Originally Posted by
CraigCowden
Hi All,
Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I am an author and am in need of some help from you experts regarding a manuscript I am working on.
This is an action adventure novel but that's not really important. First a little background and then my question.
Good guy finds out that the Bad guy is using a private plane to move around the globe. (Challenger 604 unless you want to suggest another)
My question is do private planes like this need to file flight plans? If so, who would keep records of this? Do they need to disclose the purpose of their trip? What about customs?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Craig
- A 604 is not really a "global" plane. Its range is likely around 4000 miles max. It will reach out from central US to Europe/Germany ish. That's still better than most though. It can reach most of the world in a stop or two. The heavy range hitters that start hitting most if not all the world non stop are the Global Express, Gulfstreams etc.
-If it is flying above 18,000 feet, it would be on a flight plan. If you wanted the jet to make it more than half its range, it would need to be above 18k feet.
-FAA keeps records and most flights can be tracked publicly online in the US. You can have your registration number blocked in which case it isn't tracked online but air traffic control still follows and works the plane.
-No need to ever disclose a reason
-Customs is not optional