F-PLN: DEPARTURE, AIRWAYS AND ROUTE GEOMETRY
Press F-PLN to work with the flight plan. A route consists of legs joining waypoints, with additional instructions and restrictions where required. The departure and arrival procedures connect that route with the runways. Open the departure airport's lateral revision, then DEPARTURE, and use the actual runway and procedure from the current planning and clearance information. A lateral revision changes the route across the map; we will consider vertical restrictions alongside it. [26, PDF pp. 113-120]
A SID, Standard Instrument Departure, is a published departure procedure. A STAR, Standard Terminal Arrival Route, brings the enroute flight towards the arrival area. Their complete identifiers matter, including the version represented by the name. Read the chart and check how the selected procedure connects to the first or final enroute waypoint. The right airport with the wrong connection still needs correction. [26, PDF pp. 113-120]
For the historical keyboard exercise, begin the airway entry at SOBRA. In AIRWAYS, VIA names the airway and TO names the fix where we leave it: Y180 to BITBU, then Y181 to DEMUL. The system expands the selected airway section into its route legs. Check the accepted exit as well as the airway name, so that an entry does not quietly continue farther than intended. [26, PDF pp. 113-120] [47, PDF p. 1]
The next historical segment is direct to DENUT, followed by L608 to LOGAN. DCT in the written route indicates the direct connection; the practical exercise uses the NEXT WPT function for that segment. These names are the 2020 teaching example. A current flight uses the current OFP and the choices supported by its database. If the old airway no longer fits, investigate the current route rather than making up a substitute. [26, PDF pp. 113-120] [47, PDF p. 1]
Many route edits first create TMPY F-PLN, a temporary proposal. That gives us an opportunity to inspect the change before INSERT commits it. Scroll through the legs and use a useful range on the navigation display. In PLAN mode we can move through the route and compare its geometry with the charts. Look for the intended turns, correct leg order and a sensible continuation. [26, PDF pp. 312-314]
The review is worth doing even when every entry was accepted. Acceptance tells us that the system can use the entry; it cannot tell us that we meant that entry. Once the proposed path is understood, insert it and read the active plan again. The following exercise builds this into the work, so route review becomes part of programming rather than something left for an unexpectedly busy moment after departure. [26, PDF pp. 312-314]
IN PRACTICE: F-PLN: programme and inspect the lateral route
Before you begin: INIT A complete. Current charts/OFP available. The airway names below belong only to the explicitly historical keyboard exercise; use the actual OFP for a current sector.
1. Open the departure revision
Action. Press F-PLN and select the departure-airport line to open its lateral revision. Open DEPARTURE and select the actual runway you have been assigned or are explicitly planning.
Check. The runway designation matches the current preparation. The available departure list is now associated with that runway, not an unrelated airport or runway end. [26, PDF pp. 113-114]
2. Choose the correct departure connection
Action. Select the appropriate SID and transition from the current clearance and chart. Inspect their leg order and restrictions, including the point where the departure joins the enroute route.
Check. The named procedure and transition match the intended version and connect towards the correct first enroute fix. A tidy line alone is not the check. [26, PDF pp. 113-114] [26, PDF p. 128]
3. Open AIRWAYS from the right fix
Action. For the historical drill, locate SOBRA as the intended enroute starting point, entering it as a waypoint if required. Select its lateral revision and AIRWAYS. For a current route, use the actual airway-entry fix instead.
Check. The AIRWAYS page begins from the correct waypoint. You are extending the intended route rather than attaching an airway to a similarly named point elsewhere. [26, PDF pp. 115-117]
4. Enter each airway with its exit
Action. Enter Y180 in VIA and BITBU in its TO field. Then continue via Y181 to DEMUL on the next applicable airway entry. Review the accepted waypoint sequence and the airway exit after each entry.
Check. The route reaches BITBU and then DEMUL along the selected airways. NOT IN DATABASE requires a source/database check; it is not a reason to choose a plausible-looking different airway. [26, PDF pp. 115-117] [47, PDF p. 1]
5. Enter the direct segment as a waypoint
Action. At DEMUL, use its lateral revision and NEXT WPT to add DENUT for the historical direct segment. Then open AIRWAYS from DENUT and enter L608 to LOGAN.
Check. The direct segment goes to DENUT, after which the airway sequence leads to LOGAN. DCT in the written route has not been mistaken for an airway that needs inventing. [26, PDF pp. 115-117] [47, PDF p. 1]
6. Prepare the arrival connection
Action. At EGLL, open the arrival revision and use the runway, STAR, transition and approach appropriate to the actual plan. Where arrival information is provisional, keep that status clear and revisit it during descent preparation.
Check. The enroute endpoint joins the intended arrival, or a remaining gap has an understood reason. The historical LOGAN example has not dictated an invented present-day STAR. [26, PDF pp. 119-120] [26, PDF pp. 331-337]
7. Inspect before INSERT
Action. Scroll the temporary flight plan from departure through destination. Use ND PLAN mode, an appropriate range and constraint display to compare the route with the charts, including turns, duplicated fixes, distances and restrictions.
Check. The proposal is recognisable as the intended flight. Discontinuities have been classified, and no unexplained detour or doubled procedure is hidden off the current ND range. [26, PDF pp. 312-314] [26, PDF p. 128]
8. Commit, then read it again
Action. Select INSERT only after that review. Reopen F-PLN and confirm the accepted departure, first enroute connection and destination. Keep a note of any item still awaiting a later clearance.
Check. The reviewed route is active, with the expected first leg and endpoints. Temporary-plan disappearance has been followed by an actual active-plan readback. [26, PDF pp. 312-314] [26, PDF p. 128]
Complete when: Departure, enroute and arrival selections form the intended route, all temporary changes are reviewed, and only the accepted route is active.