AMEVoice

The other day we were flying somewhere, it really is a blur sometimes, and part of my pre-flight preparation is to program the Flight Management System (FMS) with all the pertinent information for our flight. It takes about 10 minutes, maybe less if I’m in a rush, to get it to a point that my first officer can double check the work.

Now the Collins FMS 4200 we use allows you to either enter stored routes in the database for quick retrieval or program the route one way point at a time.

You have to be careful either way.

Many times your “stored” route is different from your cleared route or your pre-departure clearance (PDC) route. You need to study your release and clearances carefully and then confirm the route that you have entered. Many times ATC will delete, change, or add a waypoint.

Whether you get your clearance via clearance delivery or through a PDC, if you don’t understand the clearance or you have a question about the routing, pick up the microphone and ask. Don’t take off if there is any doubt in your mind. I’ve become very cautious about this. I’ve learned that if either my first officer or myself have ANY doubt, whatsoever, about the clearance, we call

The same holds true about entering the route manually. Again, I double-check it with the clearance and then, before pushback, I ask the first officer to review the routing. It is the only way to be sure.

Here is another thing to watch out for. One of the problems with GPS waypoints is that there can be many different spellings. GPS waypoints are always five letters long. Consider the waypoint FISHR. It can be spelled F-E-S-H-R, F-I-S-R-R, P-H-I-S-R, or whatever. Unlike the old VOR to VOR navigation, where you can identify a VOR through its morse code identifier, you can not do that with GPS. If you input the wrong waypoint, you could be way, WAY off. One way to avoid this is to always check that your proposed fuel burn is consistent with the routing. If you know you normally land with between 2000 and 3000 lbs. of fuel, but your computer is telling you are landing with 1200 lbs. of fuel, check your routing and the spelling of your waypoints. You probably have the wrong one in there or there is a discontinuity. Another big clue to is if your distance is 1000 miles as opposed to 500 miles.

Real life story. I was flying from Tucson to Los Angeles. I thought I understood the clearance completely. Once airborne, we were flying along enjoying the ride when Albuquerque Center asks us where we are going. We told them that we were flying our filed route. He asked what that was and we told him. Well, to make a long story short, I had to call the Albuquerque Center supervisor to discuss it. It turns out that we had missed a waypoint and had cut a corner. In hindsight, even though the first officer and I agreed on what the clearance was (after much discussion) and what we were suppose to do, we still missed a waypoint when planning our route. The clue to us should have been that we had to discuss the clearance in the first place. The fix: call clearance delivery and ask for a “full-route” clearance. That would have solved the problem.

Here is another way to make sure you are on the right route. Check your route against the high-altitude and low-altitude enroute charts. I have to be honest, I’ve really gotten away from this and I really need to get back to doing this, but, if there is every any question or something doesn’t seem right, I break them out and review my routing. With that said, I ALWAYS check my departure routes and arrival routes. ALWAYS! In these days of flying RNAV depatures and arrivals, it is imperative that your check the route, confirm speeds restrictions, and be aware of crossing altitudes restrictions. These deviations continue to result in the highest number of reports that are written.

So a few things you can do:

1. Always verify your programmed route against your clearance, waypoint by waypoint using the SID, STAR, or enroute charts.
2. Ask your first officer to verify the route.
3. Ask your first officer if they have any questions.
4. Take time to discuss your departure and arrival paths keeping in mind altitude and speed restrictions.
5. Call clearance delivery or ATC ,if enroute, if you have a question

If you don’t feel like doing any of these, or you think you are above doing them, then just think about what it feels like when ATC calls you up on the radio and says, “Airline <1234>, write down this number.” Ugh! If that doesn’t get you verifying your inputs, I don’t know what will.

To your flying success…

John