ICAO Flight Plan
Flight Plans can be filed with a Flight Service Station or FAA contracted flight plan filing service.
Within the continental U.S., a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan is not normally required. When filed, usually this is done in case there is a need for for search-and-rescue (SAR) — for example, if the flight will cover uninhabited or hostile terrain.
VFR flights to international destinations, into an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), or a Special Visual Flight Rules (SVFR) area have specific rules that include flight plans.
Flight plans are mandatory for all domestic and international flights operating under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).
The FAA's domestic flight plan form was discontinued in August 2019 and replaced by the International Flight Plan (ICAO) form. The ICAO form is mandatory for:
- Any flight that will depart U.S. domestic airspace
- Any flight requiring Performance Based Navigation.
- Any flight requesting services only supported by the ICAO form.
Flight plans include information on the flight's operating parameters, the aircraft, the route, and supplemental information.
- Flight-specific information includes such items as the aircraft identification, flight rules, type of flight, equipment and capabilities, and the date of flight.
- Aircraft-specific information includes the number of aircraft (if more than one), the aircraft type, and the aircraft's wake turbulence category.
- Flight routing information includes the departure airport, departure time, cruise speed, requested altitude, route, delay en route, destination airport, and, total estimated elapsed time.
- Flight-specific supplementary Information is retained by the facility/organization that transmits the flight plan to Air Traffic Control (ATC) for Search and Rescue (SAR) purposes. It is not transmitted to ATC as part of the flight plan. This includes endurance, persons on board, pilot name and contact information, and color of aircraft.
For more information, read 5-1-5 "VFR Flight Plan" in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM).
For more information, see FAA Form 7233-4, International Flight Plan on the FAA website.
It's not necessary to memorize equipment codes used with ICAO flight plans, since filing a flight plan is a preflight action. However, pilots preparing to take knowledge tests should be familiar with some of the common codes, since they can be the answers to test questions.
Navigation, Communication, and Approach Aid Capabilities
- D: DME
- F: ADF
- G: GNSS
- L: ILS
- O: VOR
- V: VHF RTF (transceiver)
Surveillance Capabilities
- C: Mode-C transponder
- B1: ADS-B Out
- B2 ADS-B in/Out
Note that "GNSS" stands for "Global Navigation Satellite System," i.e. any satellite navigation system with global coverage. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is owned by the United States and is one of four GNSS systems in service, along with alternate systems owned by the European Union, Russia, and China.
Test Questions
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