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When providing aircraft type on a flight plan, pilots are required to
include information about the on-board equipment, using a code as a suffix to
the equipment type. Pilots are recommended to file the maximum capability of
their aircraft in the equipment suffix.
The following table indicates the code that should be used
These suffixes denote what navigation and transponder
equipment is avaliable for the aircraft, as filed in
the flight plan by the pilot.
| No
DME Equipment Onboard |
| /X |
No Transponder |
| /T |
Transponder with no Mode C |
| /U |
Transponder with Mode C |
| DME Equipment
Avaliable |
| /D |
No Transponder |
| /B |
Transponder with no Mode C |
| /A |
Transponder with Mode C |
| TACAN ONLY (usually
Military Aircraft) |
| /M |
No Transponder |
| /N |
Transponder with no Mode C |
| /P |
Transponder with Mode C |
| AREA NAVIGATION
(RNAV) |
| /Y |
LORAN, VOR/DME, or INS with no Transponder |
| /C |
LORAN, VOR/DME, or INS, Transponder with no Mode
C |
| /I |
LORAN, VOR/DME, or INS, Transponder with Mode
C |
| ADVANCED RNAV
WITH TRANSPONDER AND MODE C (If an aircraft is unable
to operate with a transponder and/or Mode C, it
will revert to the appropriate code listed above
under Area Navigation). |
| /E |
Flight Management System (FMS) with en route,
terminal, and approach capability. Equipment requirements
are:
- Dual FMS.
- A flight director and autopilot control system
capable of following the lateral and vertical
FMS flight path.
- At least dual inertial referance units (IRU's).
- A database containing the waypoints and speed/altitude
constraints for the route and/or procedure to
be flown that is automatically loaded into the
FMS flight plan.
- An electronic map.
|
| /F |
A single FMS with en route, terminal, and approach
capability that meets the requirements of /E, 1-4
above. |
| /G |
Global Positioning System (GPS)/Global navigation
Satellite System (GNSS) equiped aircraft with en
route, terminal, and GPS approach capability. |
| /R |
Required Navigational Performance. (Denotes capability
to operate in RNP designated airspace and routes). |
| /W |
Reduced Vertical Seperation Minima (RVSM). |
| /Q |
Advanced RNAV with RNP and RVSM (Denotes capability to operate in RNP and RVSM airspace |
It is important to enter the correct code as
it indicates the capability of your aircraft to accurately folow the route based
on the type of equipment carried. This means that there is a greater likelihood
that you will maintain course exactly as planned. The less equipment that is
carried, the less accurate the navigation. Tthe more
navigation equipment aboard the aircraft the more accurate the navigation,
especially when managed by an FMS and autopilot.
This will mean that ATC can bring aircraft closer to you without fear of a mid-air
collision, including 1,000 feet vertical separation for RVSM capable aircraft,
instead of the normal 2,000 feet separation.
Automatic Altitude Reporting (MODE C)
- Some transponders are equipped with a MODE C automatic
altitude reporting capability. This system converts
aircraft altitude in 100 foot increments to coded
digital information which is transmitted together
with MODE C framing pulses to the interrogating radar
facility. The manner in which transponder panels are
designed differs, therefore, a pilot should be thoroughly
familiar with the operation of the transponder so
that ATC may realize its full capabilities.
- Pilots of aircraft with operating MODE C altitude
reporting transponders should report exact altitude
or flight level to the nearest hundred foot increment
when establishing initial contact with an ATC facility.
Exact altitude or flight level reports on initial
contact provide ATC with information that is required
prior to using MODE C altitude information for separation
purposes. This will significantly reduce altitude
verification requests.
That is interesting but why should I care and what do I have to do?
An equipment code describes the transponder and/or navigation capability of
aircraft. Air traffic controllers (ATC) issue clearances based on these
suffixes; therefore it is important for pilots to use the appropriate suffix.
Aircraft
Capabilities get entered on a SquawkBox or
FSInn Flight Plan differently to one another but to a Controller, they
are displayed the same. The same abbreviations are used worldwide so it
doesn’t
matter where you are flying, the same codes get entered. The codes depict what
navigational capabilities your aircraft has and this lets the controller know
what sort of separation he or she needs to give you from other aircraft in the
area.
In SquawkBox the aircraft capabilities get picked up from a couple of places
on the Flight Plan when you file it, as you can see on the image below the Suffix needs to be filled in using The Aircraft Capabilities
drop down option, chosing the capabilities of the aircraft you have
chosen to fly, as explained above but using the Drop Down in SB3 will
apply the correct suffix code in the Aircraft Type field. This is what
will
display to controllers in your Flight Strip once you have filed your
plan and
is what they will be looking for each and every time.
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