How do you handle short technical stops on your flight plan? I’m thinking of a 10-15 min stop to refuel or pick up passengers.
Do you close and file a separate flight plan, or somehow accommodate for that stop in a single flight plan (and tell ATC “brb”)?
As I was taught, a flight plan covers one and exactly one take-off and one and exactly one landing.
Then again, flight plan is not required for all flights: if staying clear of controlled airspace (including airways) and if not crossing FIR boundaries, no flight plan obligation – but it is always permitted. Some countries explicitly do not require a flight plan even when their FIR boundaries are crossed: this applies to flights between Germany and most of its neighbour countries.
So that perhaps one or more legs of your day’s planning may not require filing a flight plan at all.
In Europe, officially, it doesn’t work with one single flightplan, at least not IFR.
If VFR, it obviously won’t work if there is an active ATS unit at your pit stop. If the pit stop doesn’t have an active ATS, then it can obviously done. Just make sure you don’t exceed the filed ETE by too much.
Ok, then a slightly more advanced question:
How about the combo Germany→Switzerland→France, with a brief technical stop for passenger pick up and obligatory customs (who might or might not show up)? Could this be done on a single flight plan?
The reason I’m asking is that I want to keep the overall flight simple and fast, so managing a second flight plan requires some coordination, particularly with the new departure time.
In any case, it sounds like this is not the usual way (such as putting something in the remarks section of the plan to accommodate for the stop).
No flight plan required for flight from Germany to Switzerland, so you only have to file for the CH-FR part. Though I can’t help wondering why the point is so important to you – filing a flight plan is but one hassle, and a minor one at that, among so many details of flight preparation.
Making a remark about an intended enroute stop is the very last thing to do, at any rate!
File two flight plans…
What need, Anthony? The first leg really doesn’t need one.
Assuming the OP wants to file….then file separately for each leg…
Zorg,
don’t let them fool you. A flightplan is mandatory for flights from Germany to Switzerland.
Also, you seem to be massively overestimating the hassle with flightplans. Nowadays, it’s usually nothing more a few taps on the smatphone to delay a flightplan. In fact, if you use Skydemon, preparing and filing a whole flightplan doesn’t require more than a few taps.
A flightplan is mandatory for flights from Germany to Switzerland.
I stand corrected. Must have confused with Austria, perhaps.