ICAO Flight Plans in FAA Flight Plans Out!

This last week was the official changeover from using FAA flight plans to using ICAO flight plans. There are a few things that need to be addressed about the changeover and how it will affect General Aviation.

If filing VFR, a pilot has the option of using either the FAA flight plan or the ICAO flight plan. If an IFR flight plan is to be used, the ICAO flight plan will need to be utilized. Filing by phone has not changed and can still be accomplished by calling 1-800-WX-BRIEF.

The switch from FAA to ICAO flight plans continues the standardizing of U.S. operations with the rest of the world flying community (e.g., remember position and hold?).  The ICAO flight plan gives the pilot more options when it comes to informing air traffic control what types of navigation equipment is on board the aircraft. With advances in navigation technology, WAAS and ADS-B for example, the ability for ATC to have a better understanding of the aircraft’s navigation performance is a good thing.

I have been flying in Japan for a couple of years now and I will admit I was bit thrown off by the ICAO flight plan when I first had to start using them. It doesn’t take much to figure them out though and in no time a pilot will be able to use them efficiently and effectively.

How do you feel about the switch? 

A GA Hero

As a kid, I always loved the adventures of Indiana Jones. I loved his movies and would watch them again and again. Playing in the back yard, I would pretend to snap my whip around a tree branch and swing off of high bridges, seconds before they collapsed, to save the damsel in distress and simultaneously save a priceless artifact.

Pay Now or Pay Later

A great pilot and an experienced airplane owner told me recently, “In aircraft ownership you either pay now or pay later.” I thought this was a great piece of advice for anyone thinking of getting into aircraft ownership.