The Basics of Flight #5 (Flight Formats)

                                     The Basics of Flight #5

                                                             By: Nirek Deepak

        Hello and welcome back to The Basics of Flight! Today we will be discussing about Flight Formats in aviation. Let's get started!

                                               What are the different Flight Formats?

        The flight formats we will be talking about today are VFR,IFR,IlS and finally ATS.Each of these formats are used on an everyday basis and include many different aspects for the format to be used in-flight.

                                                             What is VFR?

         VFR(Visual Flight Rules) is mostly used for general aviation on aircrafts like the Cessna 172, helicopters or small private jets although it can be used for commercial airliners for short distance routes. VFR is when the pilot has to use his/her own visuals to fly the aircraft from airport to airport. They don't have access to radio communications or transponders like commercial aircrafts. It is prohibited from the FAA(Federal Aviation Administration) for smaller aircrafts to fly VFR in bad weather. The pilots always have to follow the VMC(Visual Meteorological Conditions in their FPL(Flight Plan) to make sure there is no bad weather in the route they are going to fly.Pilots must be able to operate aircrafts using only their flight plan and their visuals. In order to fly VFR, pilots need a VFR license. 

                                                            What is IFR?     

        IFR(Instrument Flight Rules) is when pilots use their instruments in the cockpit and ATC(Air Traffic Control) to fly from airport to airport. IFR is mostly used for long distance commercial aircraft routes and on some larger private jets.IFR gives the pilots access to radio communications and transponders. You can fly in IMC(Instrument Meteorological Conditions) but they have to make sure that they can only fly into areas that don't have up to 76 knots of wind.IFR must require an ATC clearance for each part of the flight that can include change of heading(direction),change of altitude,routes to follow, and a change of frequencies and transponder codes. 

 

                                                            What is ILS?

        ILS(Instrument Landing System) is a navigation system that allows an aircraft to safely approach the runway at night or in bad weather conditions. This can be used in all types of aircrafts except gliders.It allows the aircraft to approach until it is 200ft away from the runway.  If the pilots are still not able to spot the runway, they perform a missed approach to get back to the runway. The ILS function used both the localiser and glideslope on the aircrafts MFD(Multifunctional Flight Display).

                                                            What is ATS?

        ATS(Air Traffic Service) is a service that has ATC assisting lots of aircrafts at the same time. ATS makes sure there is a constant flow of traffic en-route allowing ATC to have less pressure and making things more organised. This can be used on all types of aircrafts. It is required from the FAA to have the ATC notified before an ATS flight.

        Thank you for joining me today in the Basics of Flight #5! Please make sure to read the other posts in the Basics of Flight series and don't forget to comment below and share this post with your friends and family. See you next time!