The ICAO flight plan

Navigation · Chapter 59 · DGCA CPL and ATPL

Twenty-two exam questions live on this one form. Fill it for flight ONL70, box by box.

Remember

EOBT is off blocks; file 60 min to 120 h before.
S = VHF, VOR, ILS; C = Mode A and C.
Speed is TAS: N0450, M078. Change at 5 % or 0.01 Mach.
Total EET: take-off to IAF, hhmm.
Item 19: endurance hhmm; cross out what you do not carry.

The words

Before a flight, you give ATS a fixed form. That is a flight plan, so everyone knows where to look if you stop talking.

First, its times. Follow one flight along the line.

EOBT, estimated off-block time: when the aeroplane starts to move. Not take-off, not start-up.

EOBT is off-blocks. The filing rules count from it.

EET, estimated elapsed time: from one point to another. Total EET starts at take-off.

It ends over the point where the instrument approach begins (IFR), or overhead the aerodrome (VFR, or no navaid). Not at landing.

Five more words.

And three kinds of alternate.

The departure field can itself be an en-route or destination alternate.

The rules around it

When to file: at least 60 minutes before departure. Not more than 120 hours before EOBT.

60 minutes minimum. 120 hours maximum. Both from EOBT.

Who must file: any flight with an ATC service, IFR in advisory airspace, wherever the authority requires, and across any international border. India’s AIP adds: every flight.

A scheduled operator may file electronically; briefing records kept 6 months. Non-scheduled: signed by the captain or an approved dispatcher. Flying club circuits: by telephone.

In the air, tell ATS when you drift from the plan.

Cleared "via flight planned route": your whole filed route is accepted, deviations and all.

Going from IFR to VFR: you start it, in exact words: "CANCELLING MY IFR FLIGHT". ATS replies: "IFR flight cancelled at…". ATS never invites you to.

VMC running out? Ask for a new clearance, stay VMC and tell them, ask for special VFR, or go IFR.

The other way, VFR to IFR: change your current plan, or file one, and get a clearance before going IFR in controlled airspace. Staged flights: the clearance limit is the first stop; each later stage becomes active when that departure is notified.

Closing it: report arrival as soon as you can after landing. If you land somewhere else, tell the destination ATS unit within 30 minutes of your planned ETA, or a search may start.