This document discusses factors that must be considered when planning an IFR flight, including origin and destination, weather, route, distance, speed, weight and balance, fuel, and alternates. It also describes the components of a flight plan such as the fuel plan, weight restrictions, navigation plan, air traffic services routing, and weather forecast. Finally, it provides details on various stages of flight like standard instrument departures, transitions, enroute navigation, standard terminal arrivals, instrument approach procedures, and ETOPS flights.

1. IFR Flight PlanningGilbert LeeVATSIM Hong KongStanding Committee on Aviation Resource and Education Developmenthttp://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong

2. Factors on Flight Planning- Origin and Destination- Weather & NOTAM- Route- Distance- Speed- Weight & Balance- Fuel- Alternateshttp://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong

3. Composition of Flight Plan- Fuel Plan- Weight Restrictions- Navigation Plan- Air Traffic Services routing- Weather Forecast and NOTAM=> E.g. TAF & METAR , SIGMEThttp://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong

4. ATS Route- Origin -> Transition -> SID- Enroute (Airways + Waypoints) + (Step climb speed and proposed level)- STAR- Destination- Estimated Enroute Time (EET)http://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong

5. Decoding flight plan routeE.g. VHHH – YSSYVHHH1115N0488F330 V5 SABNO A583 ZAM A461 TANAL/M081F330 A461MOLLY/N0476F370A461 BONDA/M082F370 A461 AMN R340 IGOPO/N0478F370 R340 TASHA/N0471F390 R340 WLG UH201 SCO H39 BOREEYSSY0851 YMMLVHHH = HKIA

6. Words in Italic = The aircraft proposed speed and altitude at a particular range of route

7. Words in Bold = Transition Route and the terminating point of the transition

8. Words being underlined= en-route airway and the planned exit fix to another airway or STAR

9. YSSY = Sydney Kingsford Intl’ Airport

10. Words underlined as dotted line = alternative airport for the approachhttp://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong

11. SID- Standard Instrument Departure- 2 Types: Pilot Navigation SID and Vector SID- Vector SID = ATC radar vectoring to track a particular navigational fix- Benefit of using SID on IFR departure:- Provide a obstruction free flight path- Reduced workload of pilots and ATChttp://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong

12. Transition Route- To bridge between SID and airways- Only certain SID will suit the particular transition route- In HKFIR, we have V1 – V5 transitions and V10 – V12- May not exist in every FIR, depends on regional procedural arrangementhttp://hk.vatsea.net (+852) 35947770VATSIM Hong Kong