Do airlines pay a fee to file their flight plans with the Air Traffic Control system?
There is no specific fee (with one exception) that pilots or airlines pay to fund the Air Traffic Control system in the USA. Rather, taxes on fuel, aircraft, airports, tickets, etc. go to the general funds of the USA, and air traffic control system is funded by the U.S. budget. This encourages use of the system, which is considered beneficial for all users of the system, overall. If individual fees were charged, then pilots and perhaps some airlines would look for ways to avoid using the ATC system and paying those fees, which could lead to undesirable or even unsafe situations.The one exception is that the USA charges an overflight fee to aircraft operators that neither depart from nor arrive in the USA, but use airspace controlled by the USA. Since there would be no way to collect a tax from such users, they must pay a fee for each overflight. This can add up, because the USA controls a lot of airspace, including the bulk of the airspace over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Why is it illegal to just fly a plane?
You are welcomed to build your own aircraft, but unless it is a specific class (ultralight) you will still need a license to fly it. As to getting clearance for flights, that is absolutely true for commercial passenger flights at all times and for other flights in other circumstances or in weather with extremely restricted visibility. All flights are required to go through the control tower at airports with control towers. During good weather at smaller airports without control towers, private aircraft take off and land without being required to file a flight plan or get clearance from anybody. So do many business aircraft and non-passenger commercial flights. In short, some airspace is restricted, and other airspace is not. It is a matter of how many flights may operate in the same space safely. There is some airspace that is completely "off limits" to all aircraft -- such as right over the White House.
When filing an IFR flight plan, what is the final point a pilot files to?
In the route of flight section of a flight plan, what is typically the final point the pilot requests and are there a specific reasons for choosing certain points? Does the pilot file to an initial approach fix of the instrument procedure he hopes to use? Also, this also applies to the first point listed in the "route of flight" block of the flight plan. Assuming there is no DP, would I choose the closest fix in my direction of flight as my first waypoint? Also, assuming I have no GPS (no "direct" capabilities), can an intersection be my first waypoint if I would like radar vectors immediately after takeoff to that intersection? I know these are a lot of questions, but I'd rather just make it one subject.
Do Light Aircraft normally need to file a Flight Plan before flying? And do they need permission from anyone to actually make a trip?
No distinction is made between light and heavy aircraft. Neither is required to file a flight plan. A flight plan is only required when flying under instrument flight rules (IFR), which enables the aircraft to fly through clouds and fog. In visual conditions, a flight plan is optional and serves only to advise rescue personnel should the aircraft go missing. That being said, commercial aircraft always fly IFR, regardless of the weather conditions.Aircraft only need clearance when operating in controlled airspace, typically surrounding busy airports. Again, no distinction is made by the size of the aircraft. If you park your aircraft at a towered airport, you will need clearance to taxi and takeoff, but once you leave the airspace, you're on your own unless you're IFR.If an airplane is traveling between two small, untowered airports in good weather and not crossing any controlled airspace, it need not file a flight plan and it needn't even have a radio or electrical system onboard.
Does filing a flight plan mean a flight is unlikely to be cancelled?
I agree with Jay. You should never be afraid of logging a flight plan. Well, in some places, you can’t fly without one. In Europe, you must have one in order to cross borders.For example, if you are flying to Norway from Sweden or Denmark and not to an airport with custom office, you must file a flight plan at least four hours before crossing the border.When your flight plan has been accepted, you have half an hour to get in the air and open it. But you can always delay it, several times, or cancel it all together. No one should feel pressed to fly un uncertain weather because of a flight plan. What they usually don’t like is to advance the time of departure. Mind you, most of the time, if you can explain why, those guys are willing to bend the rules quite a lot.For example, some years ago, a group of us where flying formation, returning from Friedrichshafen, in Germany, to Norway when number two called me and said that he had to land as soon a possible. I told Sweden Control that we had to land at Fjallbacka and they asked me if I wanted to declare emergency. Not knowing what happened, I said: no.Once the three aircraft on the ground, the pilot in need said that he was short of fuel due to a headwind. But that airfield didn’t had a fuel tank and we had, late in the afternoon, to find someone who could come with jerrycans. Once refueled, I was sure we couldn’t get to Norway, a couple of hours flight, before sunset but I called the AIS/NOTAM to explain the situation and they said: “Okay, take off at once and report, we forget the four hours rule!”Nice, isn’t it?
What happens if you get caught flying a plane without a pilots licence?
If there is a licensed pilot aboard acting as pilot in command, nothing will happen, because it's legal, as long as the unlicensed person is not acting as a required member of the crew (e.g., copilot on an airliner). It's only a violation of Federal air regulations if there is no licensed pilot aboard the aircraft. There has to be a licensed pilot aboard, but he doesn't necessarily have to be the person flying the aircraft, as long as he is supervising. The law is this way to allow people to learn to fly. The requirement for a license generally is embodied in Federal air regulations (14 CFR 61.3, mainly), not U.S. Code. Flying an aircraft commercially without a license is prohibited by 49 USC § 44711, and this applies to private flight in some cases (49 USC § 40102). For punishment, 49 USC § 46301 prescribes a maximum fine of $25,000 (imposable directly by the FAA's administrative process). And 49 USC § 46317 prescribes fines and imprisonment of up to 3 years under Title 18 of USC for flying an aircraft without the required airmen's certificate(s), although this appears to apply to commercial air transportation (the definitions are not clear on this). So for flying illegally, you'll get at least a fine, and in some cases a prison sentence (after being convicted of the violation in court). Penalties for airworthiness certificates are along the same lines, but I've not researched those specifically.
What kind of planes can you fly w/o a pilots license?
Paper, R/C, toy, etc. If you're talking about an airplane that will physically lift you off the ground, then in the USA you'll need an FAA Part 103 legal Ultralight aircraft. That is a powered, single seat airplane that weighs less than 254 lbs, carries less than 5 gallons of fuel, and has a top cruising speed of not than more that 55 MPH. It can be flown during daylight hours only.