I had filed a flight plan for 8pm local the other night. I tried
amending the departure time as I was leaving 1.5 hours later than the
proposed time. I called the FSS and was told the IFR flight plan gets
deleted by the system 2 hours after the proposed departure time. I
thought it was 45 minutes or an hour. My friend who thought it was 2
hours. The only reference I can find says it varies from center to
center. Is this correct? Any real world experience?

And if this is in the Pilot-Controller handbook, it's time for me to buy
it and I apologize in advance.

thanks
Gerald

"Gerald S." > wrote in message
et...
>
> I had filed a flight plan for 8pm local the other night. I tried amending
> the departure time as I was leaving 1.5 hours later than the proposed
> time. I called the FSS and was told the IFR flight plan gets deleted by
> the system 2 hours after the proposed departure time. I thought it was 45
> minutes or an hour. My friend who thought it was 2 hours. The only
> reference I can find says it varies from center to center. Is this
> correct? Any real world experience?
>
> And if this is in the Pilot-Controller handbook, it's time for me to buy
> it and I apologize in advance.
>

The national standard is two hours. That can be extended by individual
ARTCCs and is often done during periods of weather delays. It's not in the
Pilot/Controller Glossary.

On 5/29/2007 3:42:28 AM, "Gerald S." wrote:

> My friend who thought it was 2
> hours. The only reference I can find says it varies from center to
> center. Is this correct? Any real world experience?

My real world experience in the northeast US over the last four years
concurs. The IFR flight plan typically will be available to the ATC facility
handling your clearance from 30 minutes prior to your planned departure time
to two hours after.

If you know you are not going to depart until after the two hour window, you
can use FSS to adjust the departure time during that period, or you can use
the ATC facility that will handle your outbound clearance (for example, you
are flying IFR into an airport and know that your departure out of that
airport will exceed your scheduled departure time by the two hours - ask that
controller handling your approach to hold the flight plan for your new
departure time).

--
Peter

> If you know you are not going to depart until after the two hour window, you
> can use FSS to adjust the departure time during that period, ...

.... but the flight plan goes out of FSS's hands about an hour before the
scheduled departure, and then is accessible only by center. FSS will
tell you they can't change it any more.

DB

On 5/29/2007 1:47:08 PM, Dave Butler wrote:

> ... but the flight plan goes out of FSS's hands about an hour before the
> scheduled departure, and then is accessible only by center. FSS will
> tell you they can't change it any more.

Yep, my mistake...

--
Peter

Dave Butler wrote:
>> If you know you are not going to depart until after the two hour
>> window, you
>> can use FSS to adjust the departure time during that period, ...
>
>
> ... but the flight plan goes out of FSS's hands about an hour before the
> scheduled departure, and then is accessible only by center. FSS will
> tell you they can't change it any more.

Then FSS has their head up their ass. All they have to do is call the
facility where the flight plan is and have them change the time. The
pilot can do the same thing, by the way.