Flight Planning and Monitoring
Flight Planning and Monitoring
Flight planning tests the preparation and in-flight monitoring of a safe flight: route, weather, fuel, mass, alternate, ATC flight plan and contingency. The CPL candidate must produce a plan that is legal, fuel-safe and adaptable when conditions change.
Core rules
- Fuel planning includes taxi, trip, contingency, alternate and final reserve. The final reserve is a minimum; it is not available for normal diversion. Use forecast winds and temperatures, and update the plan in flight.
- The route must respect airspace, restricted areas, minimum safe altitudes and ATS routes. The flight plan must be filed within the prescribed time and amended if the route or time changes.
- Alternate selection considers weather, runway availability, fuel and navigation aids. An alternate is required when destination conditions are marginal under the applicable rules.
- Monitoring includes comparing actual fuel flow, ground speed and time against plan. A significant deviation requires recalculating fuel and, if necessary, diverting.
Worked example
Trip time 2 h 00 min, fuel burn 40 L/h, alternate 20 min, final reserve 30 min, taxi 10 L. Trip fuel = 80 L. Alternate fuel = 40 × 20/60 = 13.3 L. Reserve = 40 × 30/60 = 20 L. Total = 80 + 13.3 + 20 + 10 = 123.3 L. If 5% contingency is required, add 4 L, giving 127.3 L. The pilot compares usable fuel with this figure before departure.
Traps
- Planning with still-air fuel and ignoring forecast headwinds.
- Treating final reserve as trip fuel.
- Forgetting taxi fuel or APU fuel.
- Not amending the plan when departure is delayed.