Long time readers know that I enjoy flying my own plane. This blog is about a flight I made in my aircraft from Boise, Idaho to Olympia, Washington. For trips I always file an IFR flight plan. IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules. IFR are the rules established by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and used by both general aviation and commercial flights. Since most of you fly on commercial airlines, I thought you may be interested in the planning and collaboration that goes into a typical flight.
Flying under Instrument Flight Rules involves many groups working together to safely get us from a departure airport, reroute, and to the destination. This is often referred to as “the system.” The groups working in the system are made up of the aircraft and pilots making the trip, the controllers controlling the flow of traffic throughout the flight, and supporting groups that provide weather and other flight services. Each group has their specific tasks and we all have to work together to make it work. I will be outlining my flight and the various groups that I had to collaborate with from start to finish. As a single pilot flying a general aviation aircraft (private) I have to do every step myself, but commercial airline pilots have large support staffs that helps make sure things work smoothly in the airline. Every step I am about to explain must be done in both instances.
Flight Planning
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Looking on my low altitude en route charts, I decided to go by way of the V-4 (pronounced Victor four) airway from Boise to the Yakima (YKM) intersection then fly V-204 into Olympia. There are various “intersections” along the route defining each leg of the flight, and each leg of the flight has a minimum altitude assigned to keep the airplanes from flying into the mountains. For example when flying on V-4 from the BOI intersection to the BKE (Baker City, Oregon) intersection I must fly above 10,000 feet to avoid the mountains and be seen on the Air Traffic Controller’s (ATC) radar.
During this planning stage I determined the distance of the trip, my alternate airport (in the event I can’t land at Olympia). With this trip distance, altitude, and alternate airport I can calculate how much fuel I will need for the trip. I then calculate the total weight of the plane including the weight of fuel, passengers and luggage, along with the location of the center of gravity of the aircraft. This is called determine the weight and balance to ensure the aircraft is operated within the limits established by the manufacturer.
Using the weight information, along with the elevation of the Boise and Olympia airports I then calculate my takeoff and landing distances. After all, if I need 2,000 feet of runway to take off and there is only 1,800 of runway available then it will be a short trip.
The next step is to ensure that I have all the charts needed for the trip (departure, en route, and arrival charts). Since my plane has electronic charts I also check to ensure the navigational databases are current and loaded into my GPS.
The final step in the preliminary planning is to look at the weather forecast for the day of the trip. The weather looked good, but it appeared that I will need to fly through a layer of clouds when taking off at Boise and again when landing in Olympia. I usually do this flight planning 1 – 2 days prior to the trip.
The Pre-flight
On the day of the flight I woke up to rain on the window and immediately checked the weather forecast. The weather had deteriorated during the night, but after checking the online weather I discovered the rain was only in the Boise area. We would be passing through a cold front on the trip so it could be a bumpy ride.
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The next step is to load the fuel for the flight based on my fuel consumption calculations. I conducted a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft, then loaded my passenger and was ready to go.
The Take-Off
Using the engine start check list I started the engine, and once completed, my engine was running nice and smooth. I then checked in on the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) frequency to get a quick snapshot of the wind, temperature, and barometric pressure at the airport, the active runway (10R), along with the airport NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen). I set my altimeter to the local atmospheric pressure then contacted Boise Clearance to get my IFR clearance to Olympia.
The controller read my clearance per a prescribe format used on every IRF flight plan it was as follows:
| Clearance as given by ATC | Description |
|---|---|
| Columbia N12345 | This is the manufacturer and my tail number of my aircraft; this is how this aircraft is referred to for the remainder of the flight |
| Cleared to the Olympia Airport | I have been cleared all the way to the Olympia Regional Airport |
| via the Boise Two Departure, | This is a published departure procedure (DP) that provides take-off minimums, the direction of the initial turn to the first fix, and what to do in the event radio communication is lost after departure. |
| then as filed | After completing the DP I fly to Olympia using the route entered on my IRF flight plan |
| Climb and maintain 12,000 ft | I am initially to climb to 12,000 ft at the minimum vertical climb rate specified in the DP. |
| expect 14,000 ten minutes after departure | Approximately 10 minutes after departing the airport I should expect an altitude clearance to 14,000 ft, the altitude I filed in my flight plan. |
| Contact Departure on 126.9 | This is the radio frequency for the Boise Departure controller. |
| Squawk 2314 | This is the numeric code I am to enter into my transponder. Each aircraft has a transponder and the assigned code helps the aircraft show up on the ATC’s radar. |
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I was given the following instructions:“Columbia N12345 taxi via Kilo, Juliet, and hold short of Runway 10R, contact tower when ready for departure.” (10R is the heading of the runway, rounded to two places. This runway had a heading of 100° and I was assigned the right runway). After repeating my taxi clearance I taxied to the assigned runway. On the way I saw four Air Force A-10’s taking off in formation, and a Navy F/A-18 Hornet landing. You don’t get to see these up close on a United flight.
After completing my engine run-up check list I contacted the Boise Tower on frequency 126.9. I was cleared to takeoff on runway 10R. I entered the runway, applied the power, then checked my speed and distance down the runway to make sure I took off close to my calculated distance. After becoming airborne, Boise Tower directed me to contact the departure controller. I then switched my radio to 126.9 and contacted the Boise Departure Controller.
The departure controller takes me from the departure end of the Boise runway to the en route portion of my flight. The controller instructed “Columbia N12345 turn right 330 and intercept V-4, resume own navigation” (turn right to a heading of 330 and intercept the Victor-4 airway and then proceed on my flight plan). I repeated the controller’s instruction and started my right turn. I then was instructed “climb and maintain one four thousand,” given my final altitude clearance of 14,000 ft.
En route
After intercepting the Victor-4 airway I was now in the en route portion of the flight. I was then handed off to Salt Lake Center. Each region of the country has a regional FAA control center controlling all flights within the region. The Salt Lake Center is located in Salt Lake City Utah and controls the traffic in southern Idaho. The controller mentioned there was an area of perception 20 miles ahead. I was already looking at the weather map on my GPS, but after looking out the window it appeared the clouds topped out at 16,000 ft. I requested permission from ATC to climb to 16,000 ft so I can fly on top of the weather. She cleared me to climb to 16,000 ft. After flying over the weather I contacted the FAA’s flight services and gave a PIREP (pilot’s weather report). Now other pilots flying the route know the elevation of the cloud tops, the ride smoothness, and other pertinent weather information.
Approximately one hour into the flight I was transferred to Seattle Center, and asked if I would like direct to Olympia. I accepted the clearance revision and updated the route in the GPS. Now instead of flying along a series of intersections specified in my flight plan I can fly directly to Olympia saving approximately 20 miles off the trip.
Arrival and Landing
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The Olympia Tower Controller then gave me permission to land, and within a few minutes, I was on the ground. The Olympia Controller then closed my flight plan (now I was no longer in the system). I received my taxi instruction and after a two hour and 20 minute trip and no less than 10 different controller contacts I was home!
As you can see, there was a lot of collaboration going on between me and ATC, but what is truly amazing is the collaboration between the various FAA controllers to safely move all aircraft through the system. For those of you that fly on United Airlines you can tune in to channel 9 on their entertainment system and listen to ATC. According to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, at any given time on an average day of the week, around 5,000 planes are in the skies above the US. In a single year, controllers handle an average of 64 million takeoffs and landings so it's no wonder this job is considered high stress. All the more reason these individuals MUST work as a well-oiled machine, with complete collaboration and clear communication in order to keep everyone safe.
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