Flight Planning and Flight Monitoring
What the exam tests
Flight planning questions test fuel policy, route/altitude selection, NOTAM/AIP use, alternate requirements and in-flight monitoring. Iran CAO expects ICAO Annex 6 logic applied to the Tehran FIR and the operator's approved method.
Core rules
- Fuel plan: taxi + trip + contingency + alternate + final reserve + extra. Contingency is usually 5% of trip fuel or an approved statistical figure; final reserve is normally 30 min at holding speed at 1,500 ft above destination.
- An alternate is required when destination weather is at or below the planning minima; the alternate must meet AIP weather/runway criteria and have fuel to reach it.
- In-flight monitoring: compare fuel remaining with plan at each waypoint; a 5% deviation or a lost ATC slot triggers replanning.
- Use pressure altitude and temperature for performance; use flight levels above the transition altitude.
Worked example
Trip 4,200 kg; contingency 5% = 210 kg; alternate 900 kg; final reserve 1,200 kg; taxi 200 kg; extra 300 kg. Ramp fuel = 4,200 + 210 + 900 + 1,200 + 200 + 300 = 7,010 kg. At the first en-route check fuel is 300 kg below plan. The correct response is to recalculate landing fuel at destination and alternate with actual flow; if the revised landing fuel is below final reserve plus alternate, divert or reduce consumption. Reasoning: a fixed '5% rule' does not replace an actual fuel-status check.
Traps
Using average fuel flow instead of sector trip fuel; forgetting taxi fuel is burned before take-off; treating contingency as extra; planning to an alternate that is below minima; ignoring temperature correction for high-elevation Iranian aerodromes.