Flight Plans by Radio
Radio equipment must be indicated in your flight plan. The flight plan format includes a field for "Equipment" that lists the radio and navigation equipment your aircraft carries. This information helps ATC understand what equipment you have available for navigation and communication.
The standard equipment codes used in ICAO flight plans are:
- N: No radio
- A: VHF with Direction Finding
- B: VHF with no Direction Finding
- D: VHF with Direction Finding and DME
- E: VHF with Direction Finding, DME, and ILS
- R: VHF with Direction Finding and RVSM-approved
- T: VHF with Direction Finding and TACAN
- W: VHF, RVSM-approved, and equipped with slats and/or leading-edge devices
For a typical VFR aircraft with a single VHF radio and no Direction Finding equipment, the equipment code is B.
When filing a flight plan by radio, include this information in your remarks or when asked by the facility. For example:
"Equipment VHF, single transponder, no Direction Finding."
Or simply: "Equipment B."
