When should you activate a VFR flight plan?

In the U.S., a pilot can open (activate) a filed VFR flight plan beginning one hour before the filed departure time. The flight plan will expire out of the system two hours after the ETD. For an IFR flight plan, the period is two hours before to two hours after your ETD.



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Filing a flight plan with the FAA is optional when flying VFR unless your flight takes you across the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), a Distance Early Warning Identification Zone (DEWIZ), or international airspace.

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A VFR flight plan that is not opened is good for 3 hours, after which it expires, and the pilot must file a new one. Once the pilot reaches or is within sight of their destination, they must call the FSS local to that area and close their VFR flight plan.

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Well, as most of you under the FARs are aware—not to say used to—in the United States it is perfectly legal to fly VFR without any visual contact with the ground. As long as you maintain the minimum VFR requirements regarding visibility and cloud clearances, you are good to go—all you need is a natural horizon.

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In the United States, a pilot is required to log all flight time that is used to meet the minimum requirements for a certificate, rating, flight review, or instrument proficiency check, and for currency. This means that a pilot does not need to record every single one of his or her flights.

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You can “air file,” or file an IFR flight plan while en route. Ideally, this would involve calling up the nearest ATC frequency, stating your N number, and waiting for a controller to acknowledge your transmission.

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