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GPS route load

Asked by: 2917 views General Aviation

A guy told me if I fly a GPS route, I must load it by type in route number instead of load the waypoint one by one. Is there some regulation says I should do so?

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  1. Best Answer


    Mark Kolber on Jun 30, 2016

    No. There is no regulation requiring a certain technique. As AIM 5-5-16.a.(3) says:

    Whenever possible, RNAV routes (Q- or T-route) should be extracted from the database in their entirety, rather than loading RNAV route waypoints from the database into the flight plan individually. However, selecting and inserting individual, named fixes from the database is permitted, provided all fixes along the published route to be flown are inserted.

    The reason for the recommendation to load the route is both convenience and prevention of error. Consider: You are cleared or instructed to fly T287 from Gordonsville VOR (GVE) all the way to its termination at TOMYD to get around the Washington DC area (you can look at this on your charts or, if you don’t have the charts for that area, on a site like SkyVector).

    Does it make more sense to you to

    (1) Load the route and have all five waypoints (I’m only counting the ones with a bend) loaded for you; or

    (2) Load all the waypoints individually, making sure, of course, that each one is spelled correctly so you don’t end up flying where you are not supposed to.

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  2. Chris Carlson on Jul 17, 2016

    If he were talking about loading GPS approaches, than he is correct. The approach must be able to be loaded from the database, not having individual way points plugged in to make the approach.

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