Flight Planning Flashcards
Basic Empty Mass (BEM)
Airframe, oil, unusable fuel and necessary equipment for all roles of the aeroplane.
Variable load (VL)
Weight of crew, their equipment and baggage, food etc.
Dry operating mass (DOM)
Sum of BEM and VL
Total mass of aeroplane before useable fuel and traffic load
[Operating mass - OM, is DOM plus fuel, but no traffic load]
Traffic Load
Payload plus non-revenue load
Useful Load
Traffic Load + Fuel
Zero-fuel mass (ZFM)
DOM + traffic load
Ramp Mass
Mass at ramp, includes fuel, traffic load, everything!
= Operating Mass + Traffic Load
= Zero fuel mass + Total fuel
Brake release weight
Maximum TAKEOFF weight (i.e. release brakes at start of takeoff run).
Includes all fuel EXCEPT TAXI!
LSS formula
38.94 x sqrt(K)
Minimum IFR Obstacle Clearance
At least 1000ft above any obstacle within 8km
High terrain (6000ft): increase to 2000ft
Non-precision vs precision approaches
Precision have minima below 250ft
Non-precision is 2D only.
Note: Use of DA (instead of MDA) in RNAV terminology doesn’t imply precision approach.
ILS categories
Cat I: DH 200ft, RVR 550m
CAT II: DH 100ft, RVR 300m
CAT IIIA: DH <100ft, RVR 200m
CAT IIIB: DH <50ft, RVR 75m
CAT IIIC: No DH, No RVR
Type A & B approaches
Type A: >250ft DA
Type B: <250ft DA
Who can do Cat II/III approaches?
Requires specific training.
No law that demands captain only, but likely to be an operational rule.
What is “my” landing minima?
Minima for DA42?
For A320?
My minima is Cat I (ME-IR allows descent to 200ft).
DA42 doesn’t have equipment necessary for Cat II or above, so Cat I.
A320 can do Cat IIIB (no aircraft has certification for Cat IIIC).
Minimum visual reference to continue below DA/MDA
Cat II/III: 3 consecutive lights
Other: Any major runway lighting element (threshold, runway etc.)
Approach type diagram
Minimum satellites for RAIM
5
When to declare fuel issues to ATC
MIGHT land below FRF - “PAN PAN, minimum fuel”
WILL land below FRF - “MAYDAY”
Block fuel
AKA ramp fuel: the total fuel loaded
- Taxy fuel
- Trip fuel
Reserve fuel
+ Contingency fuel
+ Alternate fuel
+ Final reserve fuel
+ Additional fuel (if required)
- Extra fuel (at discretion)
Contingency Fuel
Greater of A or B, where A is one of:
i) 5% of trip fuel
ii) 3% of trip (or remaining trip) fuel if there is an en-route alternate
B - 5 mins @ holding speed at 1500ft above destination aerodrome
Alternate Fuel
Fuel for a MISSED APPROACH at destination, then full trip from MAPt @ destination to landing @ alternate (furthest of 2 alternates if you NEED 2, due to bad weather/no weather info @ destination).
Number of destination alternates needed
Zero if all of:
- Trip < 6hrs
- Destination has 2 runways
- Destination weather 1hr either side of ETA is cloud base over 2000ft & 5km visibility
BUT need an extra 15 mins final reserve
[CAA - extra 15 mins NOT for piston]
2 if weather insufficient at destination (or no weather info)
Additional fuel
Depends on the operation, for special items like mid Atlantic depressurisation.
If no alternate is nominated additional fuel must have 15 mins @ holding speed, 1500ft over destination.
If existing fuel covers requirements, no additional required.
Final reserve
- description
- amount
An amount of fuel that should always be left on the aircraft on landing
30 min holding @ 1,500ft
EXCEPT if no destination alternate, need 45 mins
Extra Fuel
Captains discretion
Island reserve
Additional fuel required for arrival at island or other isolated airfield
Could also be referred to as an INCREASE in Final Reserve/Additional fuel.
Specific Air Range
SAR = TAS / Fuel flow
= NAM / lb fuel
Specific Ground Range
SAR = GS / Fuel flow
= NM / lb fuel
Ground Fuel Flow
Version of SAR based on ground speed rather than TAS (more useful)
GFF = Fuel flow / GS
= (lb fuel/hr) / (NGM/hr)
= lb fuel / NGM
SAR vs GFF
SAR is a range, we want it to be big.
GFF is the fuel used, we want it to be small.
Critical fuel reserve
Fuel required for diversion following depressurisation.
Reduced Contingency Fuel (RCF) procedure
Define a decision point (DP) and a “destination 2” refuelling aerodrome. Minimum fuel then the greater of 2 fuel calculations:
1) Normal fuel to destination 1, but contingency fuel is 5% of fuel from DP to destination 1.
2) Normal fuel to destination 2.
[NOT the biggest contingency figure, the biggest TOTAL figure, even if contingency is smaller]
En-route alternate fuel planning
By designating an en-route alternate we can reduce contingency fuel from 5% to 3%.
En-route alternative needs to be within 1 circle with radius = 20% of flight plan distance.
Centre of circle must be max( 25% flight plan distance, 20% flight plan distance + 50NM) from the destination.
Pre-determined point procedure (PDP)
Used if route to destination alternate needs to be via a pre-determined point, not from MAPt.
Max of 2 fuel calcs based on trips to the destination and destination alternate, each via the PDP.
The destination fuel calc needs additional fuel to include 2 hours cruise above destination.
Isolated Aerodrome Procedure
Nominate a point of no return (PNR) (or determined point procedure PDP), follow PDP rules for fuel.
Point of Safe Return (PSR)
Last point on a route where it is possible to turn around and land at departure airfield with fuel reserves still in tanks on the ground.
Calculation for time to reach PSR
(E x H) / (O + H)
E = Endurance based on fuel on board
H = GS towards home
O = GS outbound
NANU
Notice Advisory to Navstar Users
72 hour advance warning of GPS issues due to planned maintenance
Vertical separation required during drift down
2000ft
Stabilised criteria: Speed
V(ref) to V(ref) + 20
Running load
Weight per unit of length
