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Virtual Flight Plan Checker (vFPC) Controller Guide

What is vFPC?

UK vFPC (often referred to as vFPC) is a EuroScope plugin that checks filed IFR flight plans against several criteria:

  • Route validity specified by the SRD.
  • SID valid for aircraft type.
  • SID valid for time of day.
  • Filed altitude matches semicircular rule.
  • Filed level is within the level cap.
  • No (obvious) syntax errors in the route - (invalid step climbs, random symbol characters).
  • SRD warnings/bans for the filed route.

Warning

vFPC is not a replacement for proper knowledge of basic aerodrome departures and flight plan routes. All controllers must have a working knowledge of SID restrictions, flight level capping, and the semicircular rule. vFPC is an assistive resource and not a substitute for proper knowledge.

Installation and Setup

Download and Installation

vFPC is included with the 🔗 UK Controller Pack. Alternately, you can find it 🔗 here. If you have downloaded it manually, place the file named VFPC.dll into the EuroScope installation folder, at the path %AppData%\Roaming\EuroScope\UK\Data\Plugin.

Setup

First, the plugin needs to be loaded. Open EuroScope, and open the plugins dialogue box under Other Set -> Plug-ins. Click the "Load" button, select VFPC.dll, and click "Open". Now that the vFPC plugin has been loaded, it appears in the main part of the plugin dialogue. Now, we need to allow it to draw on our display. Select vFPC by clicking on its line in the plugin dialogue box. Select 'Standard ES radar screen' in the 'Forbidden to draw on types' list, then click the double left angled brackets (<<), which moves 'Standard ES radar screen' into the 'Allowed to draw on types' list. Repeat for 'SMR radar display'.

Note

If you use the Controller Pack, you will not need to add a column for vFPC as the plugin is been set up for you.

Following this, we need to edit our departure list to include a vFPC column. To do this, click the 'S' in the top left of your departure list to open the Departure List Column settings dialogue.

Departure List Header

Click 'Add Item'. This should add a new item called 'Callsign' to the bottom of the list. Select this, and using the drop-down change the 'Tag Item Type' to vFPC. The next line of options changes how the column displays within the departure list. We reccommend setting the 'Header name' to 'FPL', 'Width' to 4, and leaving 'Align to center' off (unchecked).

Finally, we need to configure the action to be completed on left/right click. Using the dropdowns, set the 'Left button' to 'VFPC (UK) / OPTIONS' and the 'Right button' to whatever you like. We reccommend setting it to 'UK Controller Plugin / Open SRD Search'.

Your Departure List columns setup dialog should look something like this:

Departure List columns setup dialog

You have now set up vFPC. Click 'OK' to close the dialog and save your changes. If you don't see the new column, you may need to click the 'F' in the top left and enable your new 'FPL' coloumn.

Use of vFPC

When controlling or observing, you should see a 'FPL' column populated with various results. Should this not show, you may need to left click in the FPL column and click 'Toggle Checks'. When set up, it should look something like this:

Departure List with aircraft

Note

vFPC is known to crash. If toggling checks does not work after a vFPC crash, you may need to reload the plugin.

vFPC Results

Green - Success

  • OK! - All checks passed.

Orange - Warning

  • OK! - All checks passed, but one or more warnings were generated. This generally occurs in cases where the SRD contains ambiguous notes, which can't be coded for automatic interpretation. This can appear if there is an enroute level restriction that it is advising you to tell the pilot. This level of knowledge is beyond the scope of VATSIM training courses, and therefore you can ignore this warning.

Red - Fail

  • SID - Assigned SID is invalid.
  • ENG - Engine type is invalid for the SID/route.
  • DST - Filed destination is invalid for this SID.
  • RTE - Filed route is invalid.
  • LVL - Filed level is outside of the allocated altitude block for this route.
  • OER - Filed level is in violation of the semicircular rule.
  • SUF - Assigned SID suffix is invalid for this route.
  • RST - Assigned SID (and suffix) is invalid for this aircraft type and/or for the current day and time.
  • FPL - Some kind of syntax error, such as bad characters in route, invalid step climb instruction, etc.
  • BAN - The route has a ban attached. This can be due to either a failed restriction (in order to display restrictions where some routes are for specific airports only), or due to an SRD-imposed ban (CDR2/3 routes may be used during events, but are not normally plannable. CDR1 (plannable for specific times only) routes may also be CDR3).

Warning

vFPC is not able to check routes against ECFMP flow control measures. When flow restrictions such as route or waypoint prohibition, or mandation, are imposed, these must be checked manually.

Use of vFPC Results

As a delivery or ground controller, you are responsible for checking every flight plan and ensuring every aircraft is cleared on a valid route to another UK airport or the UK FIR boundary. vFPC helps you to spot errors in flight plans, however it is not a replacement for good knowledge of an airport's restrictions. You can find below our reccomendations as to how to use the plugin whilst controlling.

All Checks Passed - Green OK!

Should all checks pass, the 'FPL' column will show 'OK!'. Even though vFPC has not found any errors, it is possible that there was an error. You should scan the departure list row to check for obvious errors such as incorrect aircraft type or an invalid SID. Should you not identify any errors, you can issue a clearance.

Warning - Orange OK!

This result can be treated in the same way as 'All Checks Passed - Green OK!'.

Fail - Red Error Code

This means that there could be error in the flight plan. You must now use your airport knowledge to identify if there is an error, and offer the pilot an alternative valid flight plan if required. To get more information on the error, left click on the error code and click 'Show Checks'. This will open a vFPC text chat in the bottom left of EuroScope. This information alongside the error code description should help you to identify what may be wrong with the flight plan.

Fixing Invalid Flight Plans

There are many methods to fix invalid flight plans. These are covered during your one-to-one mentoring sessions. We will explain one method that works in most situations for most people.

Fixing an Invalid Route

For this section it is assumed that you have identified the error within the flight plan is related to the route. We have not provided guidance on fixing other errors within this page, however you will learn how to deal with all types of errors during your training.

We reccomend that you try to 'get ahead of the game'. As soon as an aircraft connects, check the vFPC result. If it's green or yellow, do your scan of the departure list for errors. If it's red, attempt to fix it, if required, as soon as possible and message the pilot via a private message for longer re-routes (.msg) rather than fixing it over voice when they call for clearance. This saves precious RT time, and ensures that you are prepared to give the pilor their clearance without undue delay.

First we identify the FIR exit point if required. Switch to your route checker view with F1+2, and right click on the aircraft's callsign in the departure list. You should then be able to identify where they exit the UK FIR. In the event that the route does not go via a waypoint on the FIR boundary, you will have to find a new route from another source such as 🔗 Simbrief or other suitable sources.

Now that we know the FIR exit point, we will use the UKCP SRD Search Dialogue to find a valid route to the destination (if within the UK), or to the FIR exit point. To do this, right click on the aircraft's destination in the departure list, or on the aircraft's flight plan vFPC check result. This will open the UKCP SRD Search Dialogue, and pre-populate the available fields. Check that at least the origin and destination fix/airfield is correct, then search for routes. The SRD search dialogue will likely give you multiple routes. Use the notes and available levels of the route, alongside your airfield knowledge to select the most appropriate route.

SRD search dialog

Once you've selected your route, copy it, and close the dialog. You can now update the pilot's flight plan, taking care to join the new route with the old route at the appropriate point. Finally, pass the change onto the pilot and issue the clearance.

Common Errors

From use of the plugin, some common vFPC errors are listed below.

  • There are occasions where at Edinburgh (EGPH) vFPC will incorrectly allow a jet on a TLA SID against the SID restrictions. This is where controller knowledge is important.
  • Sometimes a valid exit point can't be found. This will require the route checker screen to find the valid exit point.
  • If <FRA> (Free Route Airspace) is left in the route the flight plan will fail the vFPC check.
  • East Midlands (EGNX) to the Channel Islands (EGJA, EGJB, EGJJ) is hard to get a route to pass. There is also confusion here with the cruising levels. Therefore, common sense applies, if it looks sensible, then it's ok.
  • For Newcastle (EGNT) to Heathrow (EGLL), the plugin requires an EVEN level, when it should be ODD.
  • For Manchester (EGCC) to Cork/Knock/Shannon (EICK/EIKN/EINN), it is not possible to get a route to pass the plugins check. In this case use your judgement.
  • Routes that contain step climbs appear to fail quite often. For these routes, consider offering the step climb as the initial RFL. If both the initial cruising level, and the step climb, conform to the semicircular rule, then this error can be ignored.

FAQ

What EuroScope profile should I use?
Whichever one you prefer best. Remember that on SMR profiles, you can see the route checker screen with F1+2

What if the error is just with the upper and lower airways?
This can cause the route checker to fail. If you identify this as the issue, then ideally you should update the route and inform the pilot. However this can just be left in all cases, espeically if workload is high.

Can I rely on this?
No. This plugin should be used to reduce your workload, however it is not a replacement for proper controller knowledge.

What about a route across the North Atlantic?
For routes going across the Atlantic, if you need to find a valid route in the SRD you should put the last waypoint in before the NAT track/latitude and longitude fixes. E.g. with NUGBO M183 CPT UL9 KENET N14 BAKUR ERNAN AMLAD SUNOT NATA RIKAL N438A TOPPS Q913 CABCI Q29 JHW Q82 DORET Q29 CREEP J39 ROD, SUNOT would be the destination in the SRD search.

I'm getting a lot of LVL errors, is this normal?
This is often caused by the route using an airway with a lower vertical limit above the initial requested cruising level, followed by a step climb to an acceptable level. The easiest fix for this is to set the requested flight level to the level of the filed step climb.