{"id":15664,"date":"2021-10-27T05:38:41","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T09:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=15664"},"modified":"2021-10-27T05:38:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T09:38:41","slug":"faa-plotting-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/faa-plotting-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"The Golden (FAA) Rules for a Good Plot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people really enjoy plotting. If the other pilot has added some tiny krakens or miniature pirate ships to find on the chart, it can be a fun way to pass the time on a dark and endless North Atlantic crossing. For most though it is an irritating thing not made an easier by the somewhat confusing requirements as to how, when and why<\/strong> you need to do it.<\/p>\n

So here is a brief summary of the FAA Plotting requirements.<\/p>\n

What do the rule books say?<\/h4>\n

The place to find the info is this – AC 91-70B<\/a><\/p>\n

It is an advisory circular providing ‘general information and guidance for commercial and General Aviation operators (\u201cyou\u201d) planning flights in oceanic and remote continental airspace’.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sounds good until you actually open and discover it is 114 pages long<\/strong> and the first chunk is a very long list of links to other documents which you also need to refer to for information and guidance. We actually started writing this post in 2019 when the current AC came out\u2026<\/p>\n

So, this post is just <\/i>looking at plotting. That\u2019s it. Just plotting.<\/p>\n

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Here is the Opsgroup North Atlantic 2021 chart. Click for info on how to download a copy!<\/p><\/div>\n

Why do we need to plot?<\/h4>\n

We plot so that we can check that the airplane is actually going where it should be going, and that we are where we are supposed to be.<\/p>\n

The North Atlantic is big and remote and unlike land, there aren\u2019t many places to put Navaids, which means you are relying entirely on your Long Range Navigation Systems<\/strong> (usually something to do with satellites) to ensure you are in the correct place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second problem is we make mistakes – sometimes we put the wrong things in the box (see the section on half degree waypoints below). So plotting can help catch those navigation errors<\/strong> before they become really ‘gross’.<\/p>\n

The FAA say \u201cyou should use a chart, of appropriate scale, to provide yourself with a visual presentation of your intended route, regardless of your type(s) of LRNS.\u201d (6.3.1.11)<\/i><\/p>\n

And ICAO say\u2026 actually they pretty much say the same. (Position Plotting 8.2.10)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When do we need to plot?<\/h4>\n

The earlier FAA AC 91-70A<\/a> had a whole section (3.6) on when plotting is required:<\/p>\n