Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

3 Answers

Flight Plan – Route of Flight

Asked by: 4173 views Instrument Rating

On the FAA Flight Plan form, how detailed should we get with finishing off section 8, Route of Flight?  Looking to flight plan into an airport with a VOR nearby and an IAP off it to the airport, but no STAR.  Would I include the IAF for the IAP in Section 8 on the flight plan form, then the VOR, or simply just the VOR?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

3 Answers



  1. Matthew Waugh on Jan 17, 2015

    Typically you would not assume you were going to fly a specific approach at an airport (they may be using a different approach, runway or it may be visual) – so you don’t include elements of the approach in the route of flight. So just the VOR.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Dan S. on Jan 17, 2015

    You can file whatever you want. Chances are you will be on vectors before you arrive at the IAF if you filed it, so it wouldn’t be a factor anyway. In non-radar environment, you can file an IAF on the expected approach and it would probably create a lower stress situation if you were to lose comms at any point. In that case you could either shoot the approach if you arrive at ETA or hold at the IAF until ETA, and then shoot the approach. Usually we just file direct to the airport or the VOR though.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Mark Kolber on Jan 18, 2015

    There is a school of thought that one should file to a likely IAF (based on forecast wind conditions) so, in the event of radio failure you have been cleared to a fix from where you can start an approach. Whether it’s really necessary or a leftover from days with limited equipment I don’t know.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.