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By the end of this guide, you will have assembled the trip binder with all required documents, shared it with crew, and archived it for regulatory retention.
The Operations module must be enabled for your workspace. You also need the appropriate operations permissions. Contact your workspace administrator if you cannot access these features.
You need the dispatch.read permission to view binders and dispatch.update to add or remove documents.

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Prerequisites

  • A trip must exist in Draft, Confirmed, or Active status. The trip binder is created automatically when a trip is created.
  • Documents you plan to attach (PDFs, images) must be under 25 MB each.
  • For auto-populated documents (weather, NOTAMs), the trip must have a route with valid ICAO airport codes.

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Open the trip binder

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Step 1: Navigate to the trip detail page
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Open the Operations sidebar and click All Trips under the Trips group. Locate the trip in the list and click its row to open the trip detail page.
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You can also reach a trip from the Dispatch Board by clicking View Detail on the aircraft card, or from the Schedule page by clicking a trip block.
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Step 2: Open the Binder tab
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On the trip detail page, click the Binder tab in the tab bar. The Trip Binder view loads with a document list organized by category.

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Understand the binder layout

The Trip Binder page has a document list on the left (organized by category) and a document preview on the right. Categories include Flight Plan, Weight & Balance, Weather, NOTAMs, Approach Plates, Passenger Manifest, Customs & Immigration, Crew Documents, Catering, and Other.
Categories marked with a red “Missing” badge indicate documents that your organization’s dispatch policy requires but have not yet been uploaded. Resolve all missing items before releasing the trip.

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Add documents to the binder

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Step 1: Click Add Document
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From the Binder tab, click the Add Document button in the toolbar above the document list.
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Step 2: Select the document category
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In the upload dialog, choose the appropriate category from the dropdown (Flight Plan, Weight & Balance, Weather, NOTAMs, Approach Plates, Passenger Manifest, Customs, Crew Documents, Catering, or Other).
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Step 3: Upload the file or use auto-populate
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You have two options:
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  • Upload a file — Drag and drop a PDF or image into the upload area, or click Browse to select from your file system. Accepted formats: PDF, PNG, JPG. Maximum file size: 25 MB.
  • Auto-populate — For Weather and NOTAM categories, click the Fetch Latest button to pull current data based on the trip route. The system retrieves METARs, TAFs, and NOTAMs for the departure, destination, and alternate airports and generates a formatted PDF.
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    Step 4: Add a description (optional)
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    Enter an optional description or note in the Description field. This is useful for version tracking (e.g., “Updated TAF as of 1400Z”).
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    Step 5: Save
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    Click Save. The document appears in the binder under the selected category with a timestamp and the uploader’s name.

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    Auto-populated documents

    PlaneConnection can automatically generate and attach certain documents when the trip has a complete route:
    DocumentSourceTrigger
    Weather briefingAviation weather services (METARs, TAFs, winds aloft, SIGMETs)Click Fetch Latest in the Weather category, or enabled automatically at trip confirmation.
    NOTAMsFAA NOTAM systemClick Fetch Latest in the NOTAMs category.
    Passenger manifestTrip passenger listAuto-generated from the Crew & Pax tab data. Regenerates when passengers change.
    Weight & BalanceAircraft profile + passenger/cargo weightsGenerated from the W&B calculator on the trip Legs tab.
    Auto-populated weather and NOTAMs reflect conditions at the time of retrieval. For regulatory compliance under 14 CFR 135.213, the PIC must verify that the weather briefing is current before departure. Click Refresh on any auto-populated document to pull updated data.

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    Remove or replace a document

    1. In the document list, hover over the document row and click the three-dot menu icon.
    2. Select Replace to upload a new version (the previous version is moved to the document’s version history), or select Remove to delete the document from the binder.
    3. Confirm the action in the dialog.
    Replaced documents are retained in the version history accessible from the document detail view. This preserves the audit trail required for record retention.

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    Share the binder with crew

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    Step 1: Click Share
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    From the Binder tab toolbar, click the Share button.
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    Step 2: Select recipients
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    The share dialog shows the crew assigned to the trip (PIC, SIC, flight attendant) pre-selected. You can add additional recipients by searching for crew members or entering an email address.
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    Step 3: Choose the share format
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  • Link — Sends a secure link that opens the binder in the PlaneConnection app. Recipients must be authenticated.
  • PDF bundle — Generates a single PDF containing all binder documents, merged in category order, and attaches it to the notification email.
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    Step 4: Send
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    Click Send. Recipients receive a notification (email and in-app) with access to the binder.
    Sharing the binder as a PDF bundle is useful for crews who need offline access during flight. The bundle includes a table of contents with page numbers for each document category.
    Click the Print button in the Binder tab toolbar to generate a print-ready PDF of the entire binder. The print version includes:
    • A cover page with the trip number, route, date, aircraft, and crew.
    • A table of contents listing every document by category.
    • All documents rendered sequentially.
    The PDF opens in a new browser tab for printing or downloading.
    Under 14 CFR 135.63, the certificate holder must retain completed trip records including the load manifest, flight plan, and dispatch release for at least 30 days (and 12 months for some records). Digital binders in PlaneConnection satisfy this requirement, but if you print a hard copy, ensure it is stored according to your organization’s records retention policy.

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    Archive a completed trip binder

    When a trip reaches Completed status, the binder is automatically locked to prevent further edits. The locked binder remains accessible from the trip detail page for the full retention period. To manually archive an active binder before trip completion:
    1. Click the three-dot menu in the Binder tab toolbar.
    2. Select Archive Binder.
    3. Confirm the action. The binder is marked as archived and becomes read-only.
    Archived binders are searchable from the Ops > Documents page using the trip number or date range filters.

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    Binder completeness check

    The trip detail header displays a Binder status badge:
    BadgeMeaning
    Complete (green)All required document categories have at least one document.
    Incomplete (yellow)One or more required categories are missing documents.
    Empty (gray)No documents have been added to the binder.
    The release checklist references binder completeness as a required item. A trip cannot be released for dispatch if required binder documents are missing.

    Create a Trip

    Build a trip and start populating the binder.

    Use the Release Checklist

    Verify binder completeness as part of the pre-departure release.

    Manage Passengers

    Passenger data feeds into the manifest document.

    Use the Weather Page

    Detailed weather tools that feed auto-populated briefings.
    Last modified on April 11, 2026