BAVirtual Minimum Standards of Flying

Revision History

Rev. No	Date Entered	Revision History
1.0	February 2023	Initial release
1.01	March 2024	Airframe Limitations corrected to reflect originally published document.
2.0	November 2024	Significant update clarifying expectations of flying standards at BAVirtual
2.1	December 2024	Typographical errors corrected.

Guidance

How this document is used

This document is referred to by BAVirtual staff who have responsibility to review PIREPs flagged for manual review in the system.

General - The “Reasonable Realism Requirement”

The overarching expectation is that pilots will at all times operate in accordance with the “Reasonable Realism Requirement”. In order to meet this requirement, the aircraft should be operated within the regulations set out in this document. These requirements are commensurate with the requirements of real world operations. The final decision on whether a flight has met the “Reasonable Realism Requirement” rests with the Director of Flight Operations (DFO) and Chief Pilots whilst reviewing PIREPs.

Flights may be flagged at random to maintain the “Reasonable Realism Requirement” at BAVirtual. The normal reporting procedures as stated within Follow-Up should be followed if a PIREP is flagged for the safeguarding of the “Reasonable Realism Requirement”.

Crews flying A380 aircraft must consult the BAVirtual A380 Approved Aerodrome list at all times. Crews should also conduct CAT F operations in line with CAT F charts and in accordance with airport restrictions as stated in charts and BAVirtual OM-C documents.

Route

Pilots must file a flight plan appropriate to the aircraft being flown, the flight rules, and the airport pair accounting for weather and any ATC flow restrictions. This flight plan should be followed, except where reasonable short-cuts or reroutes directed by ATC are accepted or when required for weather deviation.

The flight plan shall include the use of SIDs and STARs appropriate to the direction of flight (e.g. a flight bound for Barcelona should not normally be departing Heathrow to the North). If this is unexpectedly assigned by online ATC, pilots should challenge the controller where appropriate.

Pilots using an online ATC network must comply with any route or flow restrictions that apply to their departure or destination airport.

Fuel

Pilots should not tanker fuel, except:

• Where necessary during Inter-Island operations within the Caribbean or Shuttle sectors, and/or
• Where aerodrome NOTAMs indicate a fuel shortage, and/or
• Where indicated in a BAVirtual OM-C entry.

Any tankering of fuel must be justified within the PIREP.

Pilots must land with a minimum of the Final Reserve Fuel for their aircraft type (fuel to fly for 30 minutes at holding speed at an altitude of 1,500ft above the destination aerodrome elevation in standard conditions) - this is indicated on the CIRRUS as ‘RES’ fuel.

Pilots should land with at least the CIRRUS ‘TOT RES’ fuel (Final Reserve Fuel plus Diversion Fuel ‘DIVF’), unless this is justified within the PIREP (e.g. if the flight has diverted or a decision was made to commit to destination). Safety will be considered by the reviewer and acceptance or rejection determined on that basis.

Extra fuel carried by a pilot must be justified by either commercial or safety reasons. The reason must be justified in the PIREP in accordance with the Follow-Up section of this document.

Aircraft Limitations

Pilots must not exceed the published limitations (e.g. speeds, weights and altitudes) for the aircraft they are flying. Supersonic flights over populated areas are prohibited. Pilots must not repeatedly exceed the maximum speed of 30 knots while taxiing an aircraft.

Simulation of catastrophic aircraft failures are prohibited when flying. These include but are not limited to, events such as engine failure/fire, flight control failures, major electrical failures.

Stabilised Approach

Pilots who do not meet the Stable Approach Criteria as set out within OM-A should discontinue their approach and/or go-around.

Terminal and Stand Use

All flights should be operated from stand to stand, i.e flights should depart and arrive from/at a reasonable stand on the correct terminal that the flight operates to/from. Where no stand or terminal is available due to simulator limitations this must be justified within the PIREP.

Flight Profile and Aircraft Control

Pilots must fly an appropriate flight profile and remain in control of their aircraft. The following will be rejected:

• Mid-cruise dives that are not justified (i.e. for safety reasons).
• Circling overhead the destination airfield at cruise level.

Flights with apparent flight path deviations occurring as a result of control or software issues will be rejected as a result of failing to fulfil reasonable realism.

When conducting a flight online, causing another aircraft to take avoiding action as a result of pilot actions, will leave the PIREP liable to rejection.

Inappropriate diversion

Pilots must justify the reason for diversion within the PIREP. Staff will reject PIREPs where it is suspected that the diversion was undertaken to access a non-scheduled or rank limited airfields or to subvert activity requirements.

Use of third party software likely to cause a diversion is not approved whilst operating BAVirtual flights unless any “flight incident” features that may cause a diversion are disabled. Examples of this include although are not restricted to PACX, FSPassengers or Self Loading Cargo.

When a diversion is undertaken, pilots must continue operating in accordance with OM-A, OM-B and the Minimum Standards of Flying. Pilots must select a suitable airfield in line with commercial, meteorological, political and operational factors when deciding on an airfield to divert to. This may not be the closest airfield to the pilot when the incident or extenuating factor occurs. Use of the BAVirtual OM-C can support pilots in selecting a diversion airfield. Crews Operating A380 aircraft must consult the A380 approved aerodrome document when selecting a diversion airfield.

Crash

If the aircraft crashes (e.g. runway over-run, taxiway excursion) the PIREP will be rejected regardless of the outcome (i.e. if there is a runway excursion, you may not re-enter the runway whilst on roll out).

Follow-up

If flagged, pilots must comment on their PIREP using a format e.g. What happened and why? Was the outcome positive or otherwise? How do we repeat or avoid? Impact on safety. Were SOPs followed? This is to reduce time spent between a PIREP being filed and accepted/rejected.

Pilots must submit comments if their PIREP flags within 24 hours. The final decision on any subjective matter rests with the DFO/Chief Pilots responsible for reviewing PIREPs.