Start me up

Immediately after install

We’ll assume you followed the instructions and managed to download and add the app to your preferred device(s). Now let’s reveal the hidden wonders.

After a first install on mobile devices the app will ask permission to access your contacts. This is because ‘people’ are a major component of your declaration and carry confidentiality issues.

Your contacts are only used to assemble declarations and not for any other purpose.

Another screen emphasises the terms and conditions. You must accept in order to use the app. Quite simply we do not create the messages — we just pass them on and accept no liability for mistakes or misinterpretations of the rules or the information.

Minimum set up

Now you can go to the ‘settings’ screen and enter your member username and password — the one you used on this site to register. You only have to do this once.

There are other settings such as entering your credentials for Authorouter — this makes importing an Authorouter flightplan very easy.

The mail server fields are for advanced users who do not wish to use the device’s native mail client — not necessary for normal use.

Entering the principal pilot name is optional. Below that you will see radio buttons to select a cloud service — again optional if you only use one device.

Setting up a cloud service

The app stores data locally on your device. If you want the same data across multiple devices you must set up synchronisation using your own cloud service such as iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive.

AFTER SETUP — key steps for an easy life

(on first time use on some devices there may be a delay opening screens – this will go away and we continue to try to make performance improvements)

All systems such as these to deliver ‘trip’ information in a form are made up of three parts:

1. The craft/aircraft/vessel
2. The journey to be declared
3. The crew and passenger manifest

You don’t want to be filling in aircraft details every time you create a declaration. Crew and passengers will often be the same too. So it’s worth setting these up before creating your first declaration.

Step 1 — enter and save an aircraft

Click ‘manage aircraft’ on front menu – if you have already saved aircraft they will be  shown as a list for you to edit or delete
In the top right of the screen there is an add buttonin passin the navigation is usually by clicking on the top left arrow – this will save your work.  Wherever you might want to abandon any edit there will be a ‘discard’ button in top right.But for now we want to add a crafta scrolling form appears – ernter the details most of the fields are mandatory   Click top left to save or top right to discardIf saved the aircraft will appear in your list of saved aircraft

Now to add people

The apps save all crew/passenger details in you contacts with the exception of the windows platform where person data is held in a sql database locally. On devices like android or IOS this is very secure. Mac desktop also uses your personal contacts – thats why at the beginning it asked for your permission. The Windows platform is not as well integrated into one contacts system so the sql database is embedded securely within the app.

In the dummy screenshot shown you will notice that one passport is highlighted in pink to denote a problem with the document details
once again in the top right there is an ‘Add’ button. This displays an entry form.   most details are mandatory except for addresses (PiC MUST though have an address and contact details)

because the apps integrate with contacts you can get a passenger to send you their contact details using a vcf card – it is common for most contact apps to allow you to ‘share’ a contact using a vcf card
this will import name and address easily. However if the contact record has the ‘long passport number and place of birth. In either the notes field or a spare email field in case of iOs  it will fill almost all the details needed

the Long passport number is the 28 character line at the bottom of the passport page. in the dummy example it is the line starting 0234…    if this line – well just teh first 28 chars are entered into the notes field thus
(longpassportnumber)placeofbirth   – like (6372459179GBR5101016M2306093)liverpoo

You can ask a passenger to photo their passport page and send it to you – Using OCR the app will import as much detail as it can recognise. The best results are where there are no reflections/shadows and the image is cropped to the borders of the page.  On Phones and tablets you can use the built in camera. Avoiding shadows and bright spots applies here too.

Ready to make a declaration

Click on ‘Create/edit’ on main menu
If there are previously submitted forms they will appear as a list with summary detail. This is a useful quick reference if you are asked for your gar receipt.
Clearly there wont be any in the list first time around – lets ‘create new’

the declaration screen has 3 tabs across the top referring to the previously mention 3 pages of a typical declaration

1. the aircraft
2. the journey
3. the manifest

At the bottom right of the aircraft tab/page there is an ‘add aircraft button. You have previously saved an aircraft for posterity so now you’ll be taken to your list, select it and it will fill in all the fields on this tab/page

To move between tab/pages just tap on the tab – a blue line indicates which is the active page

Now lets jump to the Crew Pax page
this will be blank initially with an inviting ‘Add crew’ button
clicking on this takes you to your saved crew/pax which have been extracted from your contacts or previous declarations – Remember you wont see all your contacts in that crewlist unless they have tracvel document details saved. You can on android and IOS choose to select any person from contacts and add their travel details on the edit screen. We covered above how you may also OCR a passport or import a vcard.

Once you have selected a previously saved px/crew or entered all their details manually – the back button will save and add them to the manifest for this trip

Please note another  gotcha – on the crew list you MUST specify a the status of the crew/pax AND there must be one Pilot in Charge

Now click on the Journey tab

this is the meat of the declaration

This needs little explanation but an understanding of some  constraints

• the departure and destination must be icao coded unless you are on the UKBF designated list and have permission not to use a customs/police airfield
• if you have agreement either as a one off or otherwise sometimes typing in the name of your location will find it. If it does not you must enter the lat and long – Click on the ! icon next to the label on left and an entry for for decimal degrees lat and long appears. Entering ZZZZ is no longer allowable
• note for ports of entry there are notes in green just below the departure or destination which indicate notice periods  for submission
• date and time are self explanatory – but you can enter the departure time  either as UTC or local – the app will work it out including daylight saving
• you MUST enter a ETE – otherwise dest time will be wrong- you will note that destination date and time are ‘calculated’ for you – you cannot enter them
• below are three action buttons
  • copy and old declaration – means what it says but remember ti change dates at least
  • Import from flight plan – this is subject of another page on this support site
  • NEXT  – you’re ready to send

the next button brings up a menu – to send  – just view pdf if it is not a UKBF electronic gar  – or share with handling agent

Clicking on send forms will alert you if there are any validation issues such as not setting a PiC or mandatory fields in error

if the form validates there will be a ‘busy’ screen shown – we hope that sponsors will assist and this will be the only advertising screen

It can take up to a minute to send the data and get a response

If all crew and passengers pass the ‘permission to travel’ test you should see a screen like this

It will say ‘permission to carry granted’ REMEMBER this is NOT a message from us but from UK BOrder Force – They caveat the message saying you need to carry out a manual check – The usual only way of doing that for a non GBR/IRL citizen is to check on the Online ETAS where electronic visas are granted. If in any doubt cancel the form and call one of the numbers given –
Note that a conventional GAR HAS already been sent and if there are questions over crew/pax you should cancel the GAR while sorting them out. Note – not our logic UKBF  – they insist on having a gar even if there are pax errors so that they can cross check. the share button allows you to send someone a message of the result.

Note that if the other end of the journey is channel islands IoM  IRL france or Belgium it will populate a pdf form approriate to them and you may forward by email