• Filing an Ocenic Flight Plan
• Receiving a Clearance
• Entering a Track
• Enroute in the Track
• Leaving a Track
• Requested Clearance Unavailable
• Accuracy of Flying
• Concorde Operations

Filing an Oceanic Flight Plan

If you look at an oceanic flight plan you will notice that it is different to that of an domestic flight plan, this is because the pilot will have filed for a particular NAT (North Atlantic Track).

NAT's were set up to provide a uniform flow of traffic across the Atlantic due to the diurnal nature of the North Atlantic traffic.

The next step by step illustration will show you how to correctly file an oceanic flight plan, using an example flight of BAW123 from London Heathrow (EGLL) - Boston/Logan International (KBOS).

Which NAT?

The first thing you should decide is which NAT you are going to fly, this is because it is no good planning your departure and getting to the South coast of Ireland when your NAT starts in the North.

Since we are flying Westbound, below is an example of NAT's to us:

So which track do we choose? We use a process of elimination.

• We cannot use NAT A as this is too far North (This is used for more Central and Western US destinations)
• NAT's B, C and D all look like they could be suitable
• We would not want to use NAT E as this now routes too far South

We now have reduced our choice to 3 NAT's (B, C and D) so how do we now choose which to use?

We have to look at the distances involved now to see which would be the most economical for our flight. However it is important to remember it is the distance of the whole flight not just the the NAT, this is because the further South you go the longer the track will be (due to the curvature of the earth). However for every extra mile North you go to get to the shorter track you are adding to the length of the overall track.

With the use of some charts and a calculator we find the following rough distance information for our flight:

As we see NAT's C and D are identical with B been slightly longer, we therefore discard NAT B and just now need to choose between C and D.

How? There are a couple of ways that you can decide which NAT is better now:

• Do more accurate calculations to get an exact distance and take the shorter one
• Look at your chart and find which is the easiest NAT for you to join
• Look at your chart and find which NAT puts you in the best position for the arrival procedure
• Check the weather and see if either NAT has better winds

I have decided to use NAT C in the end because although it is slightly longer than D on the day the winds were better and therefore offered me a shorter flight time. Tomorrow the winds may even make NAT B viable and therefore before any Oceanic flight you make you should go through the above process to find out which is the best NAT to fly ON THE DAY. You can now see that a check of forecast winds would be useful!

Now that you have chosen your NAT you know where you need to join it (BURAK) and where you leave it (YAY - Saint Anthony). Therefore now you need to plan on how to get to and from these points.

If you are contemplating an Oceanic flight I am assuming that you are capable of working out your flight plan from departure to Ocean entry, and from Ocean exit to destination.

Flight Plan

We now have our complete routing for our flight so now it is just a case of putting it all together to create the flight plan:

Receiving Clearance

Note - The above flight plan has been updated (29 Oct 2005) to reflect current route desgnators and SB3 flight plan format

Note - I would strongly recommend inserting all of the oceanic waypoints so that the controller knows that you have todays tracks!

Airports WEST of 03°W (e.g Dublin, Shannon, Glasgow)

If you are at an airport west of 03W you receive your oceanic clearance on the GROUND. The following is an example transcript for an aircraft departing Glasgow for New York (Newark):

"Good day Glasgow, Speedbird 123 a Boeing 772 on stand 32, ready to copy clearance for Newark with information Mike".

"Speedbird 123, good day, you are cleared IFR to Newark on a Turnberry 2 Alpha Departure, climbing 6000 feet, squawk 0301".

"Speedbird 123 is cleared IFR to Newark on a Turnberry 2 Alpha Departure, 6000 feet, squawking 0301

"Speedbird 123 readback correct, QNH 1024 millibars, contact Oceanic on 131.80 for your Oceanic clearance, call me ready for push and start".

"1024 millibars and over to Oceanic on 131.80, speak to you soon".

Our aircraft has just received its departure clearance, its initial altitude and its squawk code. You now contact Oceanic for your clearance to cross the Atlantic.

"Good evening Shanwick, Speedbird 123 on the ground at Glasgow request clearance to Newark".

"Speedbird 123, Good evening, go ahead".

"Speedbird 123 request Newark via NAT ALPHA, NIBOG 55/15 55/20 56/30 56/40 55/50 OYSTR STEAM at Flight Level 350 and Mach .80. Estimating NIBOG at 1943ZULU".

"Speedbird 123, Cleared as filed along NAT ALPHA to Newark at Flight Level 350, Mach decimal 80 cross NIBOG not before 1940, clearance expires 1950 ZULU".

"Cleared as filed track Alpha FL350 Mach decimal 80 NIBOG 1940 to 1950 Speedbird 123".

"Speedbird 123 correct continue with domestic frequency, bye bye".

"Speedbird 123 roger cheerio".

Note that because the pilot specified the track co-ordinates in the clearance request he was not asked for further confirmation of them. Had the request merely stated track ALPHA without co-ordinates the clearance would have specified all the track co-ordinates which would have to be read back.

Airports EAST of 03°W (e.g London, Manchester, Paris)

If you are at an airport east of 03W you will get your oceanic clearance in the air by sending a Private Chat Message to Shanwick, preferably about half an hours flying time before entering the OCA.

So you will receive your normal IFR clearance from Heathrow Delivery and be handed off to ground and so on. The following is an example of the clearance in this instance:

"Good day Shanwick, Speedbird 123 request ocean clearance".

"Speedbird 123, Good day, go ahead".

"Speedbird 123 request NAT CHARLIE via 53/15 53/20 54/30 54/40 53/50 HECKK SAINT ANTHONY at Flight Level 350 and Mach .80. Estimating 53/15 at 1943ZULU".

"Speedbird 123, Cleared as filed along NAT CHARLIE to BOSTON at FL350 Mach decimal 80 cross 53/15 not before 1903 ZULU".

"Speedbird 123 cleared track Charlie FL350 Mach decimal 80 53/15 not before 1940 ZULU".

"Speedbird 123 correct continue with domestic, bye bye".

"Speedbird 123, cheerio".

Note - In either case, if you get delayed and your ETA for the entry point changes by more than 5 minutes, send a Private Message to Shanwick Clearance advising them.

Entering a Track

NAT tracks start at the OCA boundary so you can expect to be handed off just prior to that point.

Even if you are only handed off at or marginally before the OCA boundary you MUST make the initial position report, even if it is slightly after the event.

"Speedbird 123, contact Shanwick on 131.80, bye bye".

"Shanwick on 131.80, cheerio".

Our 767 has now just been handed off to the Shanwick controller by the Shannon controller, this therefore means we must just be coming up to 53North 15 West. When entering a track (or contacting the Shanwick controller for the first time) there is no special procedure. A normal transcript is shown below:

"Shanwick Speedbird 123, with you.

"Speedbird123 Shanwick go ahead."

"Shanwick Speedbird123 overhead 53North 15West at 1943, Flight Level 350 Mach decimal 80, estimate 53/20 at time 2030 54/30 next".

"Speedbird 123, roger 53North 15West at 1943, Flight Level 350 Mach decimal 80, estimate 53/20 at time 2030 54/30 next".

That's it!

Enroute in the Track

We are have now left any sight of land behind us now, and we won't see it again until we reach Newfoundland. However as a pilot you have a lot more things to worry about than watching the waves.

Due to the limited amount of radar in the Atlantic the only way for the controller to know where you are is to ask for a position report. These are done:

• Passing a waypoint e.g. 52/40
• Changing level
• Performing a large change in heading
• 45 minutes has passed since last contact
• Reaching or leaving Oceanic Airspace
• Connecting up to the internet into Oceanic airspace

These tell the controller where you are, where your going next, how high you are, how fast you are, etc. This is the only way the controller is able to apply separation as there is no radar across the ocean. They are a whole new skill to many pilots, but absolutely essential.

Our Speedbird aircraft is just reaching its next positional report waypoint now, and below is a typical report:

"Speedbird 123 position report".

"Speedbird 123 go ahead".

"Speedbird 123 53 North 20 West at 2031ZULU, Flight Level 350, Mach .80, Estimating 54 North 30 West at 2122ZULU, 54 North 40 West next".

"Copy Speedbird 123 53 North 20 West at 2031ZULU, Flight Level 350, Mach .80, Estimating 54 North 30 West at 2122ZULU, 54 North 40 West next".

"Correct Speedbird 123". (Note correct the controller if he accidentally reads something back wrong).

This happens every time at the above criteria.

Just before 30West you will be passed over to Gander on 131.70, this controller is in charge of the rest of the Atlantic until we reach Canadian airspace.

"Speedbird 123 Shanwick, contact Gander 131.70 good day".

"Gander on 131.70 Speedbird 123 cheerio".

"Gander Speedbird 123 with you and we have a positional report".

"Speedbird 123 Gander, go ahead".

"Speedbird 123 54 North 30 West at 2120 zulu, FL350 Mach decimal 80, estimate 54 North 40 West at 2210 zulu 53 North 50 West next."

Gander will read this all back exactly the same way that Shanwick did.

Once again you continue with the positional reports until you are leaving Oceanic airspace.

Leaving a Track

We have now finished the Oceanic stage of our flight as we pass over Saint Anthony and begin to route down the coast into Boston. Once again there is no special procedure for leaving the NAT you will just be handed over to the relevant controller. You do not need to give positional reports to this controller, he will be able to offer a radar service.

The flight then continues as a normal flight would with descent towards SCUPP and vectors into Boston.

All that is left for you to do now is give yourself a pat on the back, flying Oceanic is one of the hardest things you can do as a pilot. Also you will need to start planning for your return to the UK!

Requested Clearance Unavailable

If the clearance you first requested from Shanwick is not available (you may have inadvertently filed an Eastbound level for a Westbound flight, or there may be other traffic in the OCA from which separation will not be achieved on your requested track/level/speed) then the Oceanic controller will ask you if you would like a different track (lots of reporgramming of the navigation system) or a different level on the original track (easier to reporgram the sim, but possibly uneconomical on fuel). Advise the controller as quickly as possible what your preferred alternative is.

In the event that this is also not available then you will be offered another alternative which IS Available, it is now up to you to decide if this is acceptable.

Level changes in Oceanic airspace. Do NOT Expect to be able to change level in oceanic airspace, the separations involved are just TOO enormous. It is strongly recommended that you ask for your clearance at the highest level you can possibly achieve on entering the OCA, as you burn off fuel the aircraft will be at optimum flight level about half way across!

By all means ask for a different level if it will make an operational difference, but it may well not be possible.

You should not expect to get initial descent for your destination while within oceanic airspace. Domestic (radar equipped) airspace starts far enough away from all destinations that this is not necessary. Descents in oceanic airspace will only be given in the event of an in flight emergency such as engine failure or decompression.

Accuracy of Flying

Flights must be conducted to within the following levels of accuracy within the OCA:-

Flight Level must be maintained within plus or minus 100'. REMEMBER TO SET 1013Mb or 29.92 InHg on your altimeter to fly a FLIGHT LEVEL not an altitude!

Track must be maintained to within plus or minus 2 nautical miles. Pilots of suitably equipped aircraft may REQUEST to fly an offset of no more than 2 N miles to the RIGHT of cleared track (offsets to the LEFT are not allowed). If this is approved then the flight must remain within 2 N miles of the offset track.

Mach number must be maintained within .01 of cleared speed (M0.82 means remain between 0.811 and 0.829), preferably within half of that amount.

Non jet aircraft must remain within ten knots IAS of their cleared speed.

Concorde Operations

Concorde follows exactly the same procedure as any subsonic aircraft, just at higher levels and MUCH faster!

When concorde reaches cruise level it gradually drifts upwards as it gets lighter. This is known as "Cruise Climb" and is in the order of 50 (yes fifty) feet per minute.

Make sure your clearance includes permission for this! There could be other concordes about.

If unsure ASK "am I cleared for cruise climb"

Typical (westbound) concorde clearance would be something like this:

"Speedbird Concorde 1 is cleared to Kennedy via track Sierra Mike, 50/15, 50/20, 50/30, 48/40, 47/50 cross 5015 at FL450 or above climbing FL550 thereafter to cruise climb."

Mach number is not normally included in Concorde clearance since if there were more than one they would be operating at similar speeds.

Concorde position reports are exactly the same as subsonic reports. Concorde must also request transonic deceleration and descent if this is to occur in Oceanic airspace.