ETOPS function for non-ETOPS route in Simbrief

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Hello Developers,

Recently, I became aware that the ETOPS Scenario section in Simbrief will not be available if ETOPS is not required for the planned route.

In reality, some airliners calculate the Equal Time Point (ETP) for every alternate airport along the entire route. This way, in case of an emergency, the pilot can simply check the flight plan to know which airport will be the nearest suitable airport for them to divert to.

The following is a capture of the airliner’s flight plan from a YouTube video. We can see that the flight is from RCTP to WSSS, and the ETP for every alternate airport (VHHH, RPLL, VVDN, VVTS) has been listed.

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Therefore, I would like to suggest the release the ETOPS Scenario function for non-ETOPS route or the creation of a new function that allows pilots to plan their alternate airports and calculate all the Equal Time Points (ETPs). This would enable them to create a detailed plan for any emergencies that may require them to divert to the nearest suitable airport.

Thanks!

Regards,
Marco

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I would only support this is an option. For example, a certain Swiss-registry operator will do this across Europe, called STOPS, and some Turkish operators will do this is as well. It acts as described, but the enroute airports do not show up in the ATC FPL as RALT/.

For the US, there is no requirement outside our B041 OpSpec - non ETOPS twins across the NAT. One FAA inspector wanted to require this worldwide, but thankfully it went nowhere, so far.

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Just to supplement, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) refers to this as Extended Diversion Time Operations (EDTO), which has already been adopted by many countries. EDTO comes with following requirements related to the flight plan.

  • Determine the EDTO diversion time required and the EDTO engine inoperative planning speed.
  • Establish the required EDTO Area of Operations.
  • Establish a system for obtaining EDTO flight plan data i.e. EDTO en-route alternates, equal time points, the critical fuel scenario and time limited systems.
  • Make arrangements to obtain weather data for EDTO en-route alternates.