Welcome back to another VATSIM SOAR! In this SOAR article we’ll briefly discuss the ICAO equipment codes which we use when filing our flight plan.

The ICAO Equipment field in a flight plan indicates the navigation and communication equipment onboard an aircraft. This is crucial because it helps controllers understand what equipment is onboard and whether you’re able to fly specific departure/arrival procedures or if you’re able to fly on specific airways (which may be assigned to RNAV-equipped aircraft only).

Some of the common equipment codes are S – Standard (VOR, VHF RTF, ILS), G – GNSS, L – ILS, O – VOR, D – DME, V – VHF, H – HF, W – RVSM Approved, Y – 8.33kHz VHF Spacing (important in Europe). While it’s a good idea to manually insert these codes into your flight plan if you’re flying a simple aircraft like a Cessna 152, it may not be the case for modern airliners. Many modern aircraft have a long list of features and equipment with complicated equipment codes. In that case it would be a good idea to simply use the equipment codes that come prefilled when you use websites like SimBrief to do your flight planning (make sure your aircraft add-on is capable of all the features/equipment listed on SimBrief). 

This guide by ForeFlight explains the various equipment codes and their descriptions in detail. Do note that the FAA has also transitioned to using ICAO equipment codes in flightplans, so these codes are applicable globally. Hopefully this SOAR teaches you the importance of this field in the flight plan form. Remember to not ignore this field or leave it empty the next time you file a flight plan!