As we are flying along happily on autopilot, we hear ATC say: “N2852F, we have an amendment to your routing…advise when ready to copy.” These are dreaded words that pilots do not like to hear in most cases. This amendment can be a simple change or almost a new flight plan. If I may, I would like to make a few suggestions to help make these re-routes less difficult.
The first item to consider before you even get that re-route is to have your radios properly configured and understand how to work them. If you have two radio/navigators, set them up so radio/navigator #1, your primary, automatically cross-fills to radio/navigator #2, the secondary. This means that a flight plan programmed into radio/navigator #1 is automatically transferred to radio/navigator #2. Flight plans programmed in radio/navigator #2 are not auto cross-filled to radio/navigator #1 and need to be done manually by the pilot. This is a pilot programable feature that works in all Garmin radio/navigators.
Now that we have our radio/navigators properly configured, we can set up an example of a simple reroute. Prior to the flight, you have evaluated your planned route based on weather, airspace, fuel stops, and previous flights. Your flight plan was filed, and your clearance was exactly as you filed it. There were many way points and airways in your routing due to restricted areas and MOAs that were hot, so your route is quite complex.
ATC: “Cessna N2852F, we have an amendment to your routing…advise when ready to copy?”
Cessna 52F: “N2852F ready to copy.”
ATC: “Proceed direct KELSI. Rest of route unchanged.”
Cessna 52F: “Cleared direct KELSI.”
This was a very simple reroute. The pilot should first examine the flight plan to see if the KELSI intersection is part of the route. If it is, there is a simple direct-to button on the flight plan in the navigator. The pilot needs to highlight the waypoint in the flight plan and push the direct to and enter button. If it is not part of the flight plan, there is a function on the navigator, I call it a “wild card,” which allows the pilot to push the direct-to button and add one waypoint without affecting or changing anything in the flight plan itself. If this was the case, once the pilot crossed KELSI, you would bring up the next waypoint in the flight plan, highlight it, and select direct-to followed by the enter button. This type of re-route is quite common, and ATC uses it to do a small reroute around traffic, airspace, or weather.
As I mentioned earlier in my article about radio configuration and cross-fill, should ATC give you a more complex reroute, I would handle that differently. I would still use the “wildcard” direct-to function in radio/navigator #1 to get the aircraft going in the correct direction as in the previous example. Next, I would go to radio/navigator #2 and bring up the flight plan that was auto cross-filed earlier when I entered the original flight plan. I would then make the changes given to me by ATC in the amendment in radio/navigator #2. Once you, the pilot, are satisfied with the revised routing, do a manual cross-fill to radio/navigator #1. I find that this is the best way to make changes and still have your original flight plan to reference until you have verified the changes.
ATC: “N2852F, we have an amendment to your routing…advise when ready to copy?”
N2852F: “N2852F, ready to copy.”
ATC: “After crossing the DELTA intersection, fly a heading of 240 degrees to intercept and track the 090-degree radial of the CBS VOR to cross CBS at 7,000, then direct to the FOXYY intersection via the MARY-3 Arrival for the RNAV/GPS 33 approach to the PODUNK Airport. Contact PODUNK approach on 127.65 upon crossing DONKY. PODUNK ATIS is available on 119.90.”
N2852F: “Roger, I LOVE IT.”
Fly Safe until the next issue of Midwest Flyer Magazine!”
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this column is the expressed opinion of the author only, and readers are advised to seek the advice of their personal flight instructor and others, and refer to the Federal Aviation Regulations, FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, and instructional materials before attempting any procedures discussed herein. © Copyright 2025. All rights reserved!
