A Complete Manual for Conducting International Flight Operations
International Flight Planning
International Flight Planning may be accomplished in a variety of ways. Most flight operations file flightplans through 3rd parties such as ARINC www.arinc.com, Universal Weather www.universalweather.com, Honeywell Global Data Center www.mygdc.com, Jeppesen www.jeppesen.com, Rockwell Collins Ascend www.rockwellcollins.com, etc.
3rd parties will send a form requesting aircraft specific information, pilot preferences for flight planning such as target fuel reserves , ETOPS requirements, flight plan biases, etc. and company information. Once a 3rd party has your basic information and preferences they will be able to generate flight plans with very basic pilot inputs for the specific flight such as fuel on board, prefered alternate, preferred mach speed and altitude.
Another option is to develop profiles on sites such as Fltplan.com or Mygdc.com which allow flight crewmembers to calculate their own flightplans and file ICAO flight plans. At the moment Fltplan.com is somewhat limited for filing International flight plans, however it works quite well for trips to Hawaii, the Carribean and Mexico. Also be aware that Fltplan.com does not calculate ETP's or quick recalls for uploading flight plans into the FMS.
Flight Plan Specifics
1. Track Message Identifier
A Track Message Identifier or TMI is a crucial piece of information for operations within the North Atlantic airspace. Within North Atlantic, tracks are developed twice per day based upon optimizing winds and weather. Tracks with a West bound flow are utilized during the day and Tracks with an Eastbound flow are utilized at night. Each track will have a specific TMI number which identifies the layout for the tracks for a particular day. All aircraft must be in possession of the TMI number regardless of whether they intend to operate on the tracks.
TMI numbers shall be given by crewmembers in the original oceanic clearance. If a TMI number is omitted the Oceanic controlling agency will generally request it. TMI numbers followed by A,B,C etc. signify that the track has been amended. i.e. TMI 251B indicates the second amendment. TMI numbers may be difficult to locate, but will always be included by second party flight handling vendors.
Once the TMI number is located, it should be written down in a prominent position on the Master Document or Navigation Envelope
2. ICAO Flight Plan
The ICAO Flight Plan is now the standard for both Domestic and International flight operations. The ICAO format, however, may seem confusing and overly complex for those crewmembers who have developed a familiarity with the FAA format. It is important, however, for crewmembers to have an understanding of the ICAO format, particularly with respect to how new avionics technologies are applied. For instance, Do you know how to indicate that your aircraft is ADS-B equipped? What is ADS-C? What is the hex code that is assigned to the ADS-B equipment? Is the aircraft capable of RNAV-1, etc. (ICAO Flight Plan Guidance, FAA Hex reference)
It is beyond the scope of this document to address all of the possible ICAO equipment selections, but it is possible to provide a general overview so that crewmembers have the ability and familiarity with determining that their aircraft specific flight plan is correct.
This example is taken from Fltplan.com, which provides a comprehensive list of equipment selections which are then coded into box 10 in the ICAO Standard Flight Plan. Every crewmember will need to determine how their aircraft is equipped by reviewing the aircraft supplements and equipment list.
For this particular aircraft the ICAO Flight Plan box 10 code would be the following: SDFGHIM1RWXYZ/SB1.
Item 10a Equipment Code Changes
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Click through to view all equipment codes:
1
2
3
4
5
The aircraft equipment in box 10 is fairly straight forward until the / is reached. (SDFGHIM1RWXYZ/SB1) Z/ implies that there is additional equipment installed. It is here that some additional explanation is helpful.
3. International Weather Source
Obtaining relevant and timely weather forecasts and conditions outside the U.S. can often be more challenging and time consuming than obtaining weather domestically. Often times the best source of weather to a pilot will be the handler provided weather reports that are included in international flight planning packages. It is important, however, to verify the timeliness of the packages as they are often sent 4 hours prior to departure. It is recommended, therefore, that flight crews request updated weather reports closer to the time of departure. Online access to weather conditions is best provided by mygdc.com. Mygdc.com is a subscription service that provides numerous international weather resources as well as flight planning functions, RAIM predictions and ETOPS calculators.
When determining if a given weather source is approved please reference Operations Specification A10.
4. International NOTAMs
All ACI Crewmembers shall obtain timely and accurate NOTAM information prior to international flight operations. NOTAM information is more difficult to obtain internationally as opposed to domestically because there is no centralized NOTAM database, so additional time and effort may be required prior to flight. International NOTAMS also have codes which may be unfamiliar to domestic users, however, they should fall under the ICAO format which is defined in ICAO Annex 15.
For additional information please review the following abbreviation decoder for European Operations: http://www.flyingineurope.be/notam_decode
5. Plotting Basics & Requirements
Class II Navigation is any flight operation which is not Class I Navigation, or more accurately any flight operation which takes place outside the service volume of standard ground based navigation. Class II Navigation is therefore based on GPS, IRS or LORAN navigation. When ACI pilots are conducting Class II Navigation they shall comply with the requirements of FAA Order 8900 Vol 4 Ch1, which requires plotting to be conducted when the distance between ground based service volumes exceeds 725 NM for turbojet aircraft. The order also requires 10 minute GNE checks (Gross Navigational Error) to determine that the aircraft is established on the desired track 10 minutes after having crossed a desired waypoint. The intent of this regulation is to identify faults prior to committing gross navigational errors and potential loss of separation.
The following are recommendations for charting according to AC-91-70A and are the accepted industry standard in charting at this time. ACI crewmembers will plot all of the following on an acceptable plotting chart having True North and magnetic variation and being based on WGS-84 and the chart will be retained for 90 days:
Standard Plotting Format
SLOT TIMES
Not all foreign airports have slot times. However, if they do have slot times, your work load for obtaining revised slot times and keeping your passengers on schedule increases significantly. Generally Air Traffic Flow and Capacity Management will issue a slot to an aircraft. If, however, passengers are running late, the responsibility to revise slot times and to ensure that slot does not go unused falls on the shoulders of the flight crew.
If crewmembers have their passengers aboard and desire a departure time +/- 5 minutes earlier than what is indicated in a SAM, they may receive a SRM- Slot Revision Message, which is based upon a RFI- Request for Improvement. If an improvement of 15 minutes or more is desired by the crewmembers, a SIP- Slot Improvement Proposal is submitted and a new CTOT- Calculated Takeoff Time will be issued.
The most important aspect for crewmembers to remember is to never let a slot expire, as doing so will put the aircraft at the bottom of the list when requesting a new slot.
European Slot Time Terminology
CTOT (Calculated Takeoff Time)
CFMU (Central Flow Management Unit)
A time, calculated and issued by the appropriate Central Management Unit as a result of tactical slot allocation, at which a flight is expected to become airborne. Or,
An Air Traffic Flow & Capacity Management (ATFCM) departure slot, forming part of an Air Traffic Control (ATC) clearance, which is issued to a flight affected by Network Management regulations. It is defined by a time and tolerance (-5 to +10 minutes) during which period the flight is expected to take-off.
A directorate of Eurocontrol, located in Brussels. Now called "Network Manager Directorate (NMD)".
The (SAM) slot allocation message will be provided generally to the operator and the tower at the departure airport. The slot allocation message will give the Calculated Takeoff Time as well as the Estimated Off Block Time. Flight crews need to have passengers loaded in order to have the aircraft ready for taxi by the EOBT to meet the CTOT within a tolerance of -5 minutes to +10 minutes. (Scott IPC)
EOBT (Estimated Off Block Time)
The estimated time at which the aircraft will commence movement associated with departure.
SAM (Slot Allocation Message)
A message giving a Calculated Take-Off Time (CTOT) sent by the Computer-Assisted Slot Allocation (CASA) system of the Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System (ETFMS) to the operators of regulated flights a maximum of two hours before the Estimated Off-Block Time (EOBT).
SRM (Slot Revision Message)
Standard message from CFMU (Central Flow Management Unit) sent when flight regulations are revised. Or
A message sent by the Computer-Assisted Slot Allocation (CASA) system, giving a New Calculated Take-Off Time (NEWCTOT). The NEWCTOT replaces the previous CTOT and shows either an earlier or later time, or the same time with another restriction.
If crewmembers have their passengers aboard and desire a departure time +/- 5 minutes earlier than what is indicated in a SAM, they may receive a SRM- Slot Revision Message, which is based upon a RFI- Request for Improvement. If an improvement of 15 minutes or more is desired by the crewmembers, a SIP- Slot Improvement Proposal is submitted and a new CTOT- Calculated Takeoff Time will be issued. The most important aspect for crewmembers to remember is to never let a slot expired as doing so will put the aircraft at the bottom of the list when requesting a new slot.
If a crewmember needs assistance in obtaining slots, or coordinating slots, the FMD Helpdesk shall be contacted.
The phone number for the helpdesk is: Tel: 00-32-2-729-1901
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