icao format
Well its mainly ICAO format, but this is the direction the FAA is moving for Flight plans and planning since there are so many different configurations available now. Some electronic flight plan input systems require you to list what equipment you have. ADSB, RNP 5, RNP 10, RVSM, GPS, RNav, VOR, ILS, Tacan, TCAS 1 and 2, HF, COMSAT, RNV values for approach, departure, and enroute. ILS, MLS, these are just off the top of my head, there are soooo many qualifiers, when we have to change a suffix type we have to click on the computer then the computer, ERAM, decides whether you are qualified for what you file. I know there are 43 different qualifiers, some that the FAA is not using yet and is reserved for future equipment. If you look at ICAO format you will get a better idea what I"m talking about. For instance if you file a /I and are trying to get into RVSM airspace the computer will not allow it and it places a coral box around your mode c altitude indicating you are not qualified. The computer knows what you are flying based on what you file and it compares it to your equipment. It sees your equipment based on your transponder and ADSB. I'm not an expert on this but this is how I understand the system. We see it all the time when Havana sends us flight plans that cross into US airspace and the routes will reject because the airline or company the airlines use to send foreign flight plans does not include all the equipment qualifiers, so we end up playing 20 questions with the pilots which is not good when we are busy. Does that make sense?
just a quick story to help perhaps, airliner going into HAV, I issue opposite direction traffic 1000 below and he says he never saw the traffic or more importantly he never saw the traffic on TCAS. SO I told him to check his tcas and he says it is now inop. He is in RVSM airspace, INOP tcas disqualifies him from using RVSM airspace or makes it harder and the separation requirement now changes from 1000 vertical to 2000. and each controller has to approve non rvsm flight prior to entry or must either be above it or below it. In this instance he was landing havana anyway so he was given fl280. After I clicked Non RVSM in this equipment in his flight plan the coral box appeared and his equipment suffix changed.
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Carl Bridges
RV7 N278RV
NOW FLYING
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