Before a flight is cleared for takeoff, flight plans need to be filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Flight plans indicate the plane’s planned flight path, and generally include information such as the departure and arrival airports, the estimated time en route, an alternate airport in case of bad weather, the cruising airspeed, and the starting and ending fuel amounts.
The person responsible for creating the flight plan for a flight at an airline is called a dispatcher. At the end of this activity, you will play the role of a dispatcher to create a flight plan for a flight that has been chartered to fly to a music festival.
Departure and Checkpoints
Checkpoints are landmarks that are easily visible from the air. When planning a flight, the pilot or dispatcher determines checkpoints along the route that help the pilot to stay on the correct route and estimate how much fuel has been used, called fuel consumption.
Now plan a flight path for a flight from Phoenix, AZ to El Paso, TX. Use a map to determine the distance between the departure and arrival airports, as well as plan a checkpoint for the flight.
Departure Airport: Phoenix, AZ, Sky Harbor International Airport
Checkpoint: San Carlos Reservoir
nautical mile: Distance measurement used in both air and marine navigation. It is equal to one minute of latitude or 1.15 miles.
In the Google Maps search box, type “Phoenix, AZ Sky Harbor International Airport”.
Measure the distance between Phoenix and El Paso.
1. Click the blue Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport symbol. A red marker appears on it. You may have to zoom our until you see the blue airport symbol.
2. Right-click the red marker and select Measure distance.
3. Zoom out until you see El Paso, TX appear on the east side of the map. You may need to drag the map to recenter your flight path so that it is centered on your screen.
4. Find the airport in El Paso and click on the blue or red marker.
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Question 1
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What is the distance between El Paso and Phoenix? Round to the nearest mile. Put the unit.
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Question 2
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Convert the total distance from miles to nautical miles (NM).
Round to the nearest whole nautical mile. Put the unit
You will need to divide the total miles by 1.151 to get the nautical miles.
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Question 3
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Find the San Carlos Reservoir on your flight path. Remember that this is your checkpoint for the flight.
On your flight path, find the San Carlos Reservation, located at approximately the 100-mile mark. You may need to recenter your map or zoom out.
Locate the body of water on the reservation. This is the San Carlos Reservoir. If you zoom in enough it will show you the name.
Do you think the San Carlos Reservoir is a good checkpoint for this flight?
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Question 4
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How many miles into the trip would the plane be when the San Carlos Reservoir appears as a checkpoint? Use Google Maps to measure this distance in miles. Click on the area you would see first, then click on the area that would represent the end of the checkpoint. Give a range from beginning to the end of the checkpoint. Use the word "to" between the numbers. Put a picture in the show your work area to show how you got your answer. The picture can be of the map with your points and measurments.
Range, Cruise Speed, and Fuel
The next step to planning a flight is to find the range, cruising speed, and fuel capacity for your flight. You will use these specifications to calculate your travel time and whether or not you have enough fuel to make the trip. For the flight from Phoenix to El Paso, you will use a Cessna 182 Skylane. Below are the specifications for a Cessna 182 Skylane.
Airplane Specifications for a Cessna 182 Skylane
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Question 5
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Determine whether you will have enough fuel to fly a Cessna 182 Skylane from Phoenix to El Paso without refueling along the way. HInt: look at the total nautical miles you need to fly and the range that your plane can travel on a tank of fuel.
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Question 6
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The next piece of information a dispatcher has to calculate as part of the flight plan is the total time it will take to fly the planned route.
How long will it take you to fly to El Paso? To calculate actual time you will need to take the answer you get from the formula and multiply it by 60. This will give you the total minutes. You will then subtract the hour minutes from the total minutes to calculate the minutes remaining.
Example: 3.27 hours = __________ Minutes Take 3.27 X 60 = 196.2 (round) 196. 3 hours = 3 X 60 = 180. Subtract 196-180 = 16 minutes. Total time is 3hrs 16 min.
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Question 7
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Additional Practice: You are flying a Cessna 182 Skylane at a cruise speed of 140 kts. You are flying on a trip that will take you 520 NM. How long will it take you to get to your destination? Use the Distance divided by speed and then calculate the minutes as above.