ROUTE IMPORT: RETAIN THE OPERATIONAL REVIEW
Importing an OFP can remove much of the typing from route preparation. It is a welcome convenience once you understand what you are looking for. Begin by checking the intended sector and aircraft profile: EDDF-EGLL with the matching A320 CFM configuration for this exercise. Confirm that the source is the current generated flight. The import can retrieve the wrong sector perfectly successfully if that is the sector waiting at the other end. [26, PDF pp. 519-528]
An uplink is the transfer of information into the aircraft system. Read the response to the request and establish where the plan has arrived. A received route and a reviewed active route are separate stages. In particular, if a message identifies secondary-plan reception, inspect that plan deliberately; do not assume that the active route has changed just because a transfer has completed. [26, PDF pp. 519-528]
Once the route is in the intended place, open F-PLN and scroll it. Compare the airports, runway and procedure selections with the actual OFP and clearance. Then use PLAN mode on the navigation display to inspect the shape. A route list and a map complement each other: one helps read the exact identifiers, while the other helps expose an unexpected turn or connection. [26, PDF pp. 519-528] [26, PDF pp. 113-120]
Look especially at the departure and arrival connections, discontinuities and duplicated fixes. The imported plan reflects the information supplied to it. It cannot know a later clearance that you have not entered, and importing the route does not prove that final mass and takeoff data are already correct. We finish those parts from their own current sources and check how they fit with the route. [26, PDF pp. 519-528] [26, PDF pp. 113-120]
This is why the manual VIA/TO exercise remains useful. It teaches the route's structure, so a later change becomes an understood revision rather than a mysterious interruption to the automation. You do not need to type the whole route manually every time to benefit from knowing how the airway and exit fields work. Use that knowledge when reviewing an import and when making a justified change. [45, Unpaginated, single paragraph] [26, PDF pp. 99-128]
Finish with the same DIFRIPPS review used after manual programming. Inspect the accepted identity, radio selections, mass/fuel information, progress and performance, then prepare the secondary plan where useful. Importing saves keystrokes; the review turns the received information into a coherent flight in the loaded aircraft. The following workshop keeps that boundary clear, with a definite check of what actually became active. [45, Unpaginated, single paragraph] [26, PDF pp. 99-128]
IN PRACTICE: Import the OFP, then verify the aircraft’s plan
Before you begin: Navdata work is complete; engines remain off for this preflight import. Use a current generated SimBrief OFP and the matching Fenix profile. An imported plan still needs the normal route and performance review.
1. Start with the matching profile
Action. In SimBrief, use the official Fenix A320 CFM WTF profile for this stated aircraft and check the profile’s actual identity. Confirm the origin, destination, alternate and flight information for the current sector.
Check. The OFP describes the loaded aircraft and intended flight. An attractive aircraft name has not concealed the wrong engine or wing option. [51]
2. Generate the OFP you intend to retrieve
Action. Complete the intended planning inputs and use Generate OFP. Check that the resulting document is the current EDDF–EGLL sector, rather than assuming the dispatch form alone has published the flight for retrieval.
Check. There is a generated OFP ready for import, with the correct sector and current planning information. [55, Account setup and Generate OFP]
3. Check the account used by the aircraft
Action. Open the EFB Settings and check the SimBrief account/username entry used for retrieval. Confirm it belongs to the account that generated this OFP.
Check. The aircraft will request the intended account’s current flight. A valid import from a different account has not become the starting point. [55, Account setup and Generate OFP]
4. Request the initialization
Action. On INIT A, use the available INIT REQUEST prompt and wait for the response. Read any message before continuing. If reception is directed to SEC F-PLN, review that plan deliberately rather than assuming the active route changed.
Check. The received plan’s location is understood. An uplink message alone has not been mistaken for a fully reviewed active flight plan. [26, PDF pp. 519-528] [56, AOC SEC F-PLN UPLINK explanation and secondary-plan reception]
5. Check what actually arrived
Action. Open F-PLN and inspect the origin, destination, route and any included procedures. Compare the result with the generated OFP; verify the active route rather than relying on a success message or flight-number display.
Check. The intended flight is actually present in the working plan. Missing or inappropriate runway/procedure selections are identified for deliberate correction. [26, PDF pp. 519-528] [26, PDF p. 128]
6. Run the page-by-page review
Action. Use DIFRIPPS to review the accepted identity, route, radio selections, weights, progress and performance. Complete any field not supplied by the import from the correct current source, including final loading and actual takeoff calculations.
Check. Imported information and subsequently entered information agree. The import has reduced typing without replacing the preparation. [26, PDF pp. 99-128] [26, PDF p. 123] [26, PDF pp. 125-128]
7. Finish with the chart and ND
Action. Select ND PLAN mode and inspect the accepted route again, including the departure connection, important restrictions and arrival connection. Address a genuine problem through the relevant revision, then review the resulting active plan.
Check. You recognise the route that the aircraft will use. The manual-entry skills remain available for a justified later change. [26, PDF p. 128] [26, PDF pp. 312-314]
Complete when: The intended route is confirmed in the active flight plan, and the full DIFRIPPS review has identified or completed all information not provided by the import.