Flight preparationQuite an important part of the flight preparation work was already finalized long before commencing the journey. The route planning occurred first by using Google Earth based on great circles and applying maximum endurance of our Cessna. Besides, the add-on database "DAFIF Airport Data", which contains worldwide almost all airports and landing strips, was very useful. It has some important details about IFR landing procedures and runway dimensions in it. The time line (which country - which month) was determined by worldwide climate data in order to avoid the worst weather conditions whenever possible. Further, national holidays and week-ends had to be considered. Route PlanningThe exact route planning began three months before our journey began. By using Jeppesen IFP (Internet Flight Planner) we created the first version of the IFR routes. IFP has the advantage to be always up to date as far as the worldwide IFR airways are concerned. In the next step we used Jeppesen FliteStar with the international database. This software offers some advantages compared to its’ Internet version. One of the most important ones: use of pre-described waypoints along which the planning software then selects the appropriate airways. Quite important for us because otherwise we would have had to fly some additional miles across open seas. Another argument was the later usability of the FliteStar weather component during the trip. For planning of the travel logistics (AVGAS supply, car rent, FBOs, hotels, etc.) and the available IFR landing procedures we found AC-U-KWIK to be a very useful tool. Further, we were provided by Jeppesen with the IFR en-route charts of the relevant trip kits to begin with. Beside some ONC maps for the airspace in Japan and Russia these charts were the only paper maps we decided to have on board beforehand. A shipment of the charts during our trip seemed to be too complicated. We then subscribed the appropriate trip kits according to the progress of our journey later, loaded the databases via Internet and printed the relevant approach charts by using JeppView. The end result of the second planning phase were operational and ICAO flight plans of every single trip as well as the day-exact overall flight schedule which we transmitted to FSI in Karlsruhe-Baden so they could start to apply for all necessary permits. To our surprise, we later got most of our initial flight plans approved by the different national CAAs. With all the expected trouble, we determined the required AVGAS amount per stop already at this time of planning stage. For some airfields the fuel planning had to occur in such a way that we had to come up with multiples of 200 liters (approx. 200 litres is the amount per AVGAS barrel). This requires some “refueling tactics”… The calculation occurred of course without considering wind and by applying sufficient reserves. The ordering of the AVGAS barrels for Agra, Calcutta, Jakarta, Bali, Balikpapan, Magadan had to occur in advance. Daily Flight preparation... now, the daily flight preparation: It began in the morning before the flight and followed a certain ritual. This recurring procedure was important to us to not forget anything during the hectic minutes before departure (hotel check out, rental car return/airport transport, refueling, customs, payment of fees, etc.) . WeatherRetrieval of operational flight plan and download of all relevant weather data via Internet. Some of the weather information sources we could use worldwide. A huge advantage, because you don’t to have familiarize yourself every time anew as far as representation and interpretation of the information goes.
It is important to follow a certain structure during preparation, to not run the risk of getting lost in details. The available time frame for decisions is very limited early in the morning. We planned for normal distances (approx. 5-hour flying time) 1 hour for this kind of work. Indeed, the quality of provided information is not always at a usable level. Some regions in the world have only few or no weather stations and/or are not covered by weather satellites. After studying the documents we could trust in the consultation of the DWD team in Hamburg especially on challenging routes or in difficult weather situations. Just in these situations the additional advice of an expert is of incredible value. Beside the mentioned sources there are of course a vast number of national weather information systems available. Especially in Australia (www.bom.gov.au/weather), Canada (www.flightplanning.navcanada.ca) and the USA (http://aviationweather.gov) not only the Internet sites were excellent but also the briefing by the weather briefers was predominantly very good. Airport informationAll JeppView approach charts for departure, destination, alternate and "alternate alternates" en- route and general airport information from AC-U-KWIK. Flight plansHardcopies of the operational flight plan from FliteStar and FSI Crew Briefing incl. ICAO flight plan. Other informationFor every route segment we have already prepared a briefing paper at home consisting of:
Finally step: print out of the 30-50 sided paper package, bringing it into right sequence and mark it, so that you don’t mess your cockpit. Then we were ready to go... |
