How do I distinguish between Airways and Waypoints in order to load the FMC?

[cliffardus 3]

I'd like to be ready to fly the new 777 by loading the FMC with Flight Plans produced in "Flightsim Commander". As I don't want to load the Flight Plans  automatically I should to learn how to enter them manually.

 

However I'm not clear as to how to distinguish which entries are for the "via" on the left and which should be on the "to" on the right.

 

As an example here's Flight Plan from Alicante (Spain) to Heathrow.:

 

LEAL NARGO UN860 VCL UM985 SOPET UN608GIROM UQ226 ANG GIROM UQ226 ANG UN861 DIKRO UN863 AVANT UL980 MID EGLL

 

I assume that all the numbered items are Airways (for entry on the left) and the rest are Waypoints (for entry on the right)

 

Am I correct? If not how do I work out which is which?

 

Cliff

[DreamsOfWings 18]

I think your assumptions are correct but I'm interested in this question as well.

[denthibbe 18]

Kyle Rodgers' tutorial about flightplanning is what you need to read :

http://forum.avsim.net/tutorials/article/81-a-guide-to-routing/ to get started and

 

http://forum.avsim.net/tutorials/article/82-a-guide-to-playbook-routing/ when you understood the first one 

[aceridgey 330]

~As a generalisation [disregarding custom waypoints/fixes] the entries with numbers are the airways. You so have some waypoints next to each other with no waypoints, which is far from uncommon. 

 

Alex

[scandinavian13 5,192]

LEAL NARGO UN860 VCL UM985 SOPET UN608 GIROM UQ226 ANG GIROM UQ226 ANG UN861 DIKRO UN863 AVANT UL980 MID EGLL

Am I correct? If not how do I work out which is which?

Here's the general rule of thumb, based on the number of letters (particularly in the United States):

2 - NDB

3 - VOR or NDB

4 - Airport

5 - Waypoint/Fix

Everything else - Airway

In the United States, all airways start with V, J or Q and end with numbers.

 

In Europe, these normally start with letters and end with numbers (UN, UM, UL, etc).

 

Using your above example:

LEAL NARGO UN860 VCL UM985 SOPET UN608 GIROM UQ226 ANG UN861 DIKRO UN863 AVANT UL980 MID EGLL

Kyle Rodgers' tutorial about flightplanning is what you need to read :

http://forum.avsim.net/tutorials/article/81-a-guide-to-routing/ to get started and

 

http://forum.avsim.net/tutorials/article/82-a-guide-to-playbook-routing/ when you understood the first one

Thanks for the support/link :wink:

[cliffardus 3]

My thanks to all of you and particularly to "scaninavian13" whose explanation is a model of clarity. I've printed it and will use it as my guide in the future.

 

I'm grateful for your guidance.

 

Cliff

 

 

 

 

 

[Virtualviking 0]

My thanks to all of you and particularly to "scaninavian13" whose explanation is a model of clarity. I've printed it and will use it as my guide in the future.

 

I'm grateful for your guidance.

 

Cliff

 

 

 

 

 

 

+1 Thanks to both of you!

[cowpatz 243]

All you need to do is enter the first waypoint on the first airway on the right hand side of the route page (To). Next enter the airway (yellow in scandanavian13's example above) from that way point on the next line down on the left hand side (via). Enter the next airway under the first one and so on. You will see the intersection waypoint appear automatically on the right hand side. Keep doing this until you reach the last airway and then put the last waypoint on that airway on the right hand side (to) (as it needs to know where you want flight on that airway to end as it does not join another). So you should end up with all the yellow airways on the left and all the others on the right.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

My thanks to all of you and particularly to "scaninavian13" whose explanation is a model of clarity.

 

+1 Thanks to both of you!

 

You're welcome.  Glad it helped.

[crazy voyager 13]

To add some more examples from Europe (UK).

 

NDBs 2 or 3 letters (usually enroute NDBs have 3 and more local ones have 2 or 3).

 

VORs have 3

 

Fixes have 5 letters.

 

Airways have a letter such as, T, N, Z, M, these are actually assigned after some logical reason but I've never really bothered in finding out how.

 

Often you get a U for an "upper" airway, so N17 is a lower airway (DB-FL245, Designated Base to FL245), and UN17 (Upper November 17) will normally be above FL245-Fl460.

 

 

You do also in the UK get some advisory routes that often use Letter-number-ltter, such as the W4D class F route from Aberdeen to Inverness.