Magic Words: 'Cleared as Filed'

Magic Words: ‘Cleared as Filed’

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, April 08, 2014 at 08:21 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots highly value hearing "Cleared as filed" for their IFR route, indicating ATC approval of their flight plan.
While the FAA prefers direct routes with WAAS GPS, high air traffic density often necessitates more complex, circuitous routing, especially in busy areas.
Modern aviation apps like ForeFlight alert pilots to ATC route amendments prior to departure, allowing them to update their filed route to match the expected clearance and consistently receive "Cleared as filed."

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Flying with a friend from Oshkosh back to New Jersey, I called up clearance delivery at our first fuel stop, a leg from Muskegon County Airport on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Burke Lakefront Airport on the southern shore of Lake Erie — and was pleased to hear those magic words: “Cleared as filed.”

Satisfied we were ready to go, I made last minute preparations to depart, but didn’t touch the Garmin GNS 430 navigator.