Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
#1860191
Did anyone tried activation themselves with ForeFlight for VFR FPL in UK? I used that in the US and it seemed to work fine for departure & arrivals, it would be great if SkyDemon does a DEP button as well, as of now it only sends DLA, ARR to delay & close :roll:

Would be neat if FF & SD can do IFR flight plans (I,Z,Y) activation as well by sending DEP & ACK on behalf of ATC, airspace clearance with press of a button on phone or tablet :evil:

AFPEx is nice with level access to file & manage but the Java UI is Carp and out of fashion, and honestly who takes 20kg windows PC attached with internet cables and fly from uncontrolled airfields? you won’t make 50ft obstacle with that :lol: but AFPEx comes handy in Spain when ATC like to chat with you using AFTN message or fiddles with FPL without your consent or letting you know that they changed: route & time, saves you filling again on paper after climbing stairs to the Tower or walking to the other of the end of the runway to the ARO :eye:
#1860199
Many years ago I proposed to EuroFPL a new method of activating a VFR flight plan while airborne for situations when London Info were very busy with a long queue of callers for all the cross channel flights and there was nobody at home airfield to activate the flight plan.

EuroFPL did a software change to allow me to test the idea from my account.
It worked first time when testing it for a flight between UK airfields A and B. 8)

Its usefulness was dismissed by the forum.
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1860200
johnm wrote:Wasn't there some initiative about pre-filing on line for transit a while back, is this a variation on that theme??

It's a variation, but that was a NATS thing;

This, I believe, is temporary while Cardiff juggle reduced staffing levels. It appeared a while ago, then disappeared, and is now back.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1860203
Ibra wrote:
Would be neat if FF & SD can do IFR flight plans (I,Z,Y) activation as well by sending DEP & ACK on behalf of ATC, airspace clearance with press of a button on phone or tablet :evil:


In my isolated airstrip situation I would willingly pay an additional sub (well, I already pay extra for Pooley's and Flarm/SE2 connection so a little more won't break the bank) for the ability to use SD to open IFR Fpls for reasons given elsewhere on FF , but I guess it's way down Tim's list of SD continuous improvements of an already first rate product.

Peter :wink: ( couldn't find a 'creep' emoji.)
Last edited by PeteSpencer on Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1860204
GAFlyer4Fun wrote:Many years ago I proposed to EuroFPL a new method of activating a VFR flight plan while airborne for situations when London Info were very busy with a long queue of callers for all the cross channel flights and there was nobody at home airfield to activate the flight plan.

EuroFPL did a software change to allow me to test the idea from my account.
It worked first time when testing it for a flight between UK airfields A and B. 8)

Its usefulness was dismissed by the forum.

If you file an FPL using Autorouter, you can do all sorts of things with it using a linked Telegram acount, including sending a DEPARTURE message.

For the SD user with a one-off or very occasional need to file a VFR plan, using London Info to activate it is probably much less faff.
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By bilko2
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1860215
IMHO airfields exist to have aircraft coming and going. If they need endless PPR, flight plans etc to do this for half the number of movements they had 20 years ago then something is wrong.

In my 2000 Pooleys they required "PPR for non radio aircraft", nothing more.

If this sort of thing happened in USA they would be laughed at.
Last edited by bilko2 on Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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#1860216
bilko2 wrote:IMHO airfields exist to have aircraft coming and going. If they need endless PPR, flight plans etc to do this for half the number of movements they had 20 years ago then something is wrong.


Something is wrong. We’re in a pandemic that, in the case of Cardiff, currently appears to be causing staffing issues.
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By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1860252
PeteSpencer wrote:@GrahamB Didn't know that about 'Telegram' :
I use autorouter: Must do some digging..................

Be advised, though, that for departures OCAS you’ll still need to talk to someone, by phone or radio, to get your squawk and clearance to enter CAS.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1860255
GrahamB wrote:
PeteSpencer wrote:@GrahamB Didn't know that about 'Telegram' :
I use autorouter: Must do some digging..................

Be advised, though, that for departures OCAS you’ll still need to talk to someone, by phone or radio, to get your squawk and clearance to enter CAS.


Yep: @2Ds has given me a number, though I haven't used it yet, where one can apparently be given a pre-departure squawk...................................... :thumright:
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#1860288
Paul_Sengupta wrote:As I understand it....

The first time they did this was because they introduced electronic flight strips, and the ATSAs needed time to get used to it.

This time they've sacked all the ATSAs and the controllers don't have time to fill in electronic flight strips...


There was a Voluntary Redundancy offering within NATS at the very start of the pandemic, but I wasn’t aware of any compulsory redundancies (yet). Maybe others will know better though.
#1860292
Paul_Sengupta wrote:As I understand it....

The first time they did this was because they introduced electronic flight strips, and the ATSAs needed time to get used to it.

This time they've sacked all the ATSAs and the controllers don't have time to fill in electronic flight strips...


That is something I could understand: they used to X doing the admin, X is no longer here, pilot need FPL to facilitate X job? why X was doing admin for VFR transits is probably not a question worth asking (or at least not relevant for other ATSU), but anyway it’s already very difficult to manage what is inside airspace let alone granting someone access

Got it it’s required for temporary admin :thumleft: , that would be an easy pill to swallow :lol: anyone who thinks they need live VFR FPL in the system to strategically manage traffic flow or tactically grant transits has probably never flown an aircraft or looked at radar screens
Last edited by Ibra on Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.