Confusion at Gatwick

[Simon Leeves]

Hi,

Last night I was at Gatwick planning a flight to Frankfurt. Originally I planned for DVR2W SID. Controller asked if I could do I think it was BIG7M SID? This is around 8pm. Before I could answer my system crashed. But checking the charts I can't see a BIG7M at Chartfox?. On older charts from 06 it's there. I used Simbrief for flight planning. Also if anyone was at Gatwick last night around same time, what was the approved SID out? 

Is there a way to plan for the correct SID before asking delivery / tower?  

Thanks

Edited February 8, 2022 at 09:33 AM by Simon Leeves

[Andreas Fuchs]

Gatwick can be a bit complex with their entry- and exit-routes being different, depending on the direction that the airport operates at.

For your citypair EGKK-EDDF Simbrief holds two different SIDs that will get you to DVR in the end.

• runway 08R: ODVI2Z ODVIK Y311 DVR UL9 KONAN UL607 SPI T180 UNOKO
• runway 26L: MIMF1M MIMFO Y312 DVR L9 KONAN UL607 SPI T180 UNOKO

I assume that the controller asked whether you were able to accept the MIMFO 1M departure?

I guess that ATC wants these SIDs to be used due to airspace structure and traffic separation (departures vs. arrivals). Also, ODVIK is a RNP1 RNAV departure, DVR is a conventional departure, but so is MIMFO.

Edited February 8, 2022 at 10:13 AM by Andreas Fuchs

[Simon Leeves]

Hi Andreas,

Thank you for the clarification. Yes It was a little hard to understand what they were saying before the system crash as it cut off at the wrong moment. I think it might of been MIMFO 1M SID thinking back. As above you mentioned there are two SIDs for that same route. Both different procedures. How do I know which one the tower is going to use? Is it using the Vatsim map and working out safest less traffic congested route?

Thanks again 

[Trevor Hannant]

When planning a flight from/to/through the UK, a good source for routings is the Standard Route Document provided by NATS.   While Simbrief will get things right most of the time, this is always a good check point - it's updated monthly and can be downloaded free from here as an Excel spreadsheet:

https://nats-uk.ead-it.com/cms-nats/opencms/en/Publications/digital-datasets/

In terms of routes from Gatwick to the FIR boundary at KONAN, the following are the suggested routes from the spreadsheet:

Looking at Note 482 as referred to above, this gives you:

"Note 482
EGKK DVR SIDS ARE RWY 08 ONLY / RWY26 RNAV5 USE THE MIMFO SID"

So this would suggest it was as Andreas suggests, the MIMFO SID you were given.  If you check this chart:

https://www.aurora.nats.co.uk/htmlAIP/Publications/2022-01-27-AIRAC/graphics/278352.pdf

This shows both the MIMFO and DVR SIDs on it, both heading in the direction you were looking to go from the different runway options.

In terms of knowing which they're going to use, even if you file the wrong one, it's not an issue - just listen out for what others are getting.  If you spot someone on VATSpy heading the same direction as you and they request clearance, the likelihood is you'll get something similar to them.

For Simbrief, always check the Departure runway dropdown when you're planning the flight - it looks like it's predicted 08R in use when the airport's been operating off 26L.  If you change the dropdown to match what's happening, then the FP will be updated with a more suitable route and potentially the correct SID for your flight also.

Edited February 8, 2022 at 11:00 AM by Trevor Hannant

[Simon Leeves]

Thanks Trevor and Andreas. Much appreciated.