W
Welcome to this the
third and final part of the
series.
We will be taking a look this
time at the Flight Planning
and Air Traffic control
Flight Planning
Flight planning
Flight planning is the process of producing a flight plan to describe a proposed aircraft flight.
It involves two safety-critical aspects: fuel calculation, to ensure that the aircraft can safely
reach the destination, and compliance with air traffic control requirements, to minimise the
risk of midair collision.
In addition, flight planners normally wish to minimise flight cost through the appropriate
choice of route, height, and speed, and by loading the minimum necessary fuel on board.
ATS use the completed flight plan for separation of ACFT in ATM services, including tracking
and finding lost ACFT, during search and rescue (SAR) missions.
Flight planning requires accurate weather forecasts so that fuel consumption calculations can
account for the fuel consumption effects of head or tail winds and air temperature. Safety
regulations require aircraft to carry fuel beyond the minimum needed to fly from origin to
destination, allowing for unforeseen circumstances or for diversion to another airport if the
planned destination becomes unavailable.
A - Z of Flight
July 2017
www.alliance-airways.net
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