I have a question about changing a route in flight. I sometimes plan to cross the Luton CTR northbound via the BNN VOR and using the VFR corridor. I program the 3 VRPs associated with the corridor into my flight plan route as I might need to hold at any of them. But if I can’t get a clearance I want to go towards BPK VOR and then Bassingbourn staying outside CAS
The User Manual proposes I plan the alternate route and if I get a clearance, I change the route to cross CAS. But close to the CTR and just below the CTA, with a likely late clearance on a busy Luton frequency I can’t then start trying to enter the 3 VRPs for the route. I need to fly the aircraft but I would really like the track displayed on screen so I plan the primary route and If I don’t get a clearance, I need to fly the alternate route:
I could tap the leg then rubber band it to BPK but the route then goes back into CAS and needs more attention. This method is very difficult to do whilst flying the aircraft in even slight turbulence and I am likely to make an erroneous entry. Meanwhile I am close to CAS and not aviating.
If I select Direct there is a list of options but nothing useful as a next waypoint. I can select FIND and type in BPK I go direct but then need to construct the onward route. That is head down again when I need to fly the aircraft and look out. Again, I am not aviating.
Neither of those is options practicable so I would just fly the aircraft round the CAS without having a route displayed on screen. It would be really nice to be able to call up an alternate route with a simple button press or two.
If I was doing this in an Airbus, before flight I would insert the desired route in the FMC, copy that to the secondary flight plan and amend it to take me round the CAS. Then If I needed that route, I would activate the secondary, select direct to the first waypoint and get on flying the aircraft. There must be other situations where a secondary flight plan would be helpful.
Is there a way to do this now, or maybe this could be considered as a future feature?