Elements of a VFR flight plan

This element is about what goes in a VFR flight plan. Since 2019 the FAA accepts only ICAO format — nine numbered items, most of which auto-populate from an EFB profile, the rest of which you fill in once and save. The procedure for filing, activating, and closing is in K5.

Nine numbered items: 7 (aircraft ID), 8 (rules/type), 9 (number/type/wake), 10 (equipment), 13 (departure/time), 15 (cruise speed/level/route), 16 (destination/EET/alternates), 18 (other info), 19 (supplementary/SAR). Most auto-populate; the rest you check before clicking "file."

Every field below earns its place the same way — it either helps someone find you or tells them when to start looking. Tap through the plan, then walk the lifecycle.

The ICAO form today

Until August 27, 2019, the FAA used a domestic flight plan (Form 7233-1) tailored to U.S. operations. That form is retired. All flight plans — VFR, IFR, domestic, international — now use the ICAO format (FAA Form 7233-4).

The change is mostly invisible to pilots filing through 1800wxbrief.com, ForeFlight, or Garmin Pilot — the EFB or web tool maps the same information into ICAO fields automatically. The required information itself is set out in §91.153 for VFR plans; the ICAO form just adds international-style structure and a few new fields (PBN codes, surveillance equipment).

For a routine domestic VFR flight, most fields default cleanly from a saved aircraft profile. The pilot's job is reviewing the auto-filled content for accuracy and filling the few date-of-flight fields.

Aircraft and equipment

Item 7 — Aircraft Identification. The aircraft callsign or registration. For most U.S. GA flights this is the N-number without a dash: N12345, not N-12345.

Item 9 — Number, Type, Wake Category.

• Number — number of aircraft in formation (1 for normal GA)
• Type designator — ICAO 4-character code: C172, PA28, BE36
• Wake category — L (light, ≤ 15,500 lb), M (medium), H (heavy), J (super)

Typical 172: 1 / C172 / L.

Item 10 — Equipment and Capabilities.

• 10a — COM/NAV/Approach. S standard (VHF, VOR, ILS), G GNSS, D DME, R PBN approved (codes in Item 18)
• 10b — Surveillance. C Mode C transponder, S Mode S, B1 ADS-B Out 1090 ES, U1 ADS-B Out 978 UAT

Typical VFR 172 with VOR + GPS + Mode C + 1090 ES ADS-B Out: 10a = SG, 10b = CB1.

Route and timing

Item 8 — Flight Rules and Type of Flight.

• Flight rules — V (VFR), I (IFR), Y (IFR then VFR), Z (VFR then IFR)
• Type of flight — G (GA), S (scheduled), N (non-scheduled), M (military), X (other)

Typical private VFR flight: V and G.

Item 13 — Departure Aerodrome and Time.

• Aerodrome — ICAO 4-letter (KFFZ, KPHX)
• Time — proposed departure in UTC (4 digits, 1500 = 15:00Z)

Item 15 — Cruising Speed, Level, Route.

• Speed — TAS, prefix N for knots (N0110 = 110 KT TAS)
• Level — A075 = 7,500 ft, or literal VFR
• Route — DCT for direct, or named waypoints. For VFR, mostly DCT.

Item 16 — Destination, EET, Alternates.

• Destination — ICAO identifier
• Total EET — HHMM (0145 = 1 hr 45 min)
• Alternate(s) — ICAO identifiers, space-separated

VFR alternates are informational. They're not regulatory (unlike IFR alternates) but FSS records them for SAR.

Remarks and SAR

Item 18 — Other Information. Common entries: PBN/B2C2, DOF/260503, OPR/SELF, PER/A, RMK/DAYGLO TAIL. For a routine VFR flight, this field is often nearly empty.

Item 19 — Supplementary Information. Used by FSS for search and rescue. Not transmitted to ATC.

Field	Content
Endurance	Total fuel time, HHMM
POB	Persons on board
Emergency radio	UHF/VHF/ELBA frequencies if equipped
Survival equipment	P/D/M/J (polar/desert/maritime/jungle)
Dinghies	Number, capacity, cover, color
Aircraft color	"WHITE / BLUE STRIPES"
Remarks	SAR-relevant info
Pilot in command	Name + contact

Item 19 is the field most likely to be wrong on a filed plan — pilots tend to skim it. Endurance and POB are the two that matter most for SAR: endurance defines the search-time window; POB tells responders how many people they're looking for.

Worked examples:

• KFFZ → KPRC. Cessna 172 (N12345), VFR, departing KFFZ 1500Z to KPRC, ETE 0045, alternate KPHX. WAAS GPS, Mode C, 1090 ES ADS-B Out. Pilot John Doe.

  Item	Content
  7	N12345
  8	V / G
  9	1 / C172 / L
  10a	SG
  10b	CB1
  13	KFFZ / 1500
  15	N0110 / A075 / DCT
  16	KPRC / 0045 / KPHX
  18	DOF/260503 OPR/SELF PER/A
  19	E/0530 P/1 A/WHITE BLUE N/JOHN DOE 555-1234

  Most of this auto-populates from a saved aircraft and pilot profile. The fields that change per-flight: Item 13 time, Item 15 level (sometimes), Item 16 destination/EET/alternate, and Item 19 endurance (driven by fuel onboard) and POB.

• Common mistakes the DPE will probe. Endurance reported as flight time instead of total fuel time (the field is fuel duration, including reserve); POB reported as passengers only instead of all souls on board including PIC; equipment codes pasted from a different aircraft (G claimed without a working GPS); departure time forgotten in Zulu and entered in local; alternate listed for VFR when no alternate was actually identified during preflight. Each is a credibility hit during the oral — the DPE checks whether you actually checked the fields, not whether the EFB defaults were used.