VFR flight planning

[Stefano Zibell]

I am curious as to what you guys use to plan visual flights. I have zero experience with any external software in this regard. Only used a few sites like simbrief and onlineflightplanner for IFR, airline type flights.

The default flight planner won't show cities, rivers, powerlines, pretty much nothing. Setting waypoints via plotting coordinates is a PITA.

Maybe something that overlays actual charts or something...

Help me out.

[Portia911]

Review:
http://www.mutleyshangar.com/reviews/jack/plang/plang.htm

Product:
http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/

[Willy]

And oldie but a goodie on FS navigation.

http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/basic-nav-general.htm


I just use the default flight planner and try to use the NDBs to get me in the neighborhood. Occasionally, I'll get lost, but it's all part of the experience.

I've flown around the world a couple of times like this.

[lownslo]

Plan-G was my flight planner until Little NavMap came along. The more I use it the more I learn I can do with it! It also networks way easier than Plan-G. Now I use Little NavMap for all flight planning but prefer to print my plans from Plan-G. Also the developer of Little NavMap, Alex, is very much engaged with the community (has a forum at Avsim).

https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.html

Greg

[warchild]

it depends on where i'm going. If is in the US I follow the freeways because i know them so well, ad if its japan or the Philippines, i fly around the allusion's for japan, the west along japans coast till i reach okinawa wher i angle due south to manila..

[Mike71]

Go to https://skyvector.com/;

in the upper right you can select various types of charts. Start with World VFR -practice pulling the map around holding down left mouse key, zoom in and out (mouse wheel if you have it). In the upper left corner, choose Flight Plan, enter ICAO codes for flight desired, it will draw a straight line. You can then drag the line by holding down the left mouse to try various leg segments; once released, a list of choices pops up - click one with left mouse, or reposition the point as desired.

It takes a few minutes to get used to, but all the US is covered (and a lot of the world). I use it all the time for initial IFR planning.

[thefrog]

I use Little NavMap all the time now

[falcon409]

Plan-G was my flight planner until Little NavMap came along. The more I use it the more I learn I can do with it! It also networks way easier than Plan-G. Now I use Little NavMap for all flight planning but prefer to print my plans from Plan-G. Also the developer of Little NavMap, Alex, is very much engaged with the community (has a forum at Avsim).

https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.html

Greg
Yep, used to be an FSNav/FSTramp user til the developer got greedy. Now I use Little NavMap also. Flightplans are a breeze to setup, save as ".pln" files for P3D. Didn't care for it when it first came out, but improvements since the early release have made it very simple to use and perfect for P3D_V4. Only thing I'd like to see would be elevation readings in the mountainous regions. . .much like FSNav and FSTramp had. . .otherwise, a great program.

[Stefano Zibell]

So I tried plan-g and littlenavmap.

Plan-g is just too slow for me. It's got hiccups loading maps and moving them around.

Littlenavmap is my choice then, and is fairly straightforward, works, and does what i wanted, but I can't seem to set altitudes (for example, on individual waypoints) other than cruising altitude, which sets that altitude for all waypoints. Is that how it is?

[Willy]

I'm not sure how little map does it, but the default flight planner for a VFR flight will give you an cruising alt high enough to clear the highest terrain enroute by about 3,000 ft.

With VFR, you fly what altitude you want as long as you don't hit anything. Just beware of "cumulogranite" in mountainous areas.

[Ganter]

I use Little NavMap all the time now

Another vote for Little Nav Map. Bit of an understated name for what is an incredibly powerful VFR Planning tool.
It shows the FSX world overlaid (once you've imported the database from your FSX instal) on a choice of topo like Open Map/ Stamen Terrain, etc. (towns/ rivers/ grid, etc)

Because it integrates so tightly with FSX it will show all your addon airports, Nav info/ ILS/ VOR/ Radio Frequencies/ parking options/ Taxiways,etc.

It will also connect directly to FSX to show your flight path/ ai traffic, etc.

For something that is free it beats anything payware I've tried.

Check it out.

https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.html


Edit: With VFR you'd set Alt for cruise as Willy describes above. Then fly waypoint altitudes according to ATC restrictions, terrain below, cloud layers, general Vis, etc - in short - you Fly Visually.

[Stefano Zibell]

Edit: With VFR you'd set Alt for cruise as Willy describes above. Then fly waypoint altitudes according to ATC restrictions, terrain below, cloud layers, general Vis, etc - in short - you Fly Visually.

Sure, I just wanted a way to annotate altitude restrictions of VFR corridors, restricted areas etc

Being able to set an altitude I should fly each waypoint would help, but in any case, there's always pen and paper!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[Bjoern]

In LNM, I just plan my routes around restricted airspaces. And cruising altitudes are kind of irrelevant for VFR flights in MSFS anyway.

[tgycgijoes]

If you fly GA aircraft only and are not a real pilot, Download and watch the uTube Pilotedge videos for free. You will learn a ton of stuff about VFR and IFR GA.

I like to use BSMM Blue Sky Moving Map as my in cockpit Sectional no matter where I fly in the US. I like Plan-G. You can also download the Bluesky scenery in the Western USA and follow it very accurately for VFR navigation I find.

If you fly airliners in the jetstreams at FL250-350 you can't really follow anything on the ground. Use either GPS or FMC to navigate. I use Skyvector to plan the flight or Flightaware for real flightplans and then input them into Plan G to export an FSX flightplan with real world waypoints though sometimes you have to create them in Plan-G utilizing the lat/long co-ordinates.

[fsafranek]

I thought I had posted this but apparently not. RFN has a nice pop-up Flight Plan Tracking Gauge for VFR that reads flight plans made in the sim as well as those from Plan-G.
I helped with testing and managed to get a couple ideas implemented. Turned out to be quite useful.


This flight plan tracking gauge is a creation of RFN, based on Sylvain Parouty's source code, with the participation of Bernard Juniot, François Doré and André Chancel. Particularly suitable for low-altitude navigation, it uses the files in PLN format of which the ones proposed below that you will load by the organizer of flight. With Plan-G , you can make your own flight plans.

Link if interested: http://royalefrenchnavy.restauravia.fr/RFN-Creations.htm#Gau
:ernaehrung004:

[Naismith]

Here is another one which some may like to investigate. Good for MS & XP sims. Freeware also.

http://vfrflight.org/en/index.html

[tgycgijoes]

Thank you for posting both of these VFR Flight planners. I have RFN's Carrier Gauge in my USN aircraft but did not for some reason see this one. Also forgot about the VFR Flight Planner from UK.

[stearmandriver]

I just discovered a free iPad app called Flt Plan Go that has almost all the features of foreflight, including a pre-built interface with FSX for using it as a moving map. I haven't even gotten to try that part yet, but the program itself is great!

[vortex]

I just discovered a free iPad app called Flt Plan Go that has almost all the features of foreflight, including a pre-built interface with FSX for using it as a moving map. I haven't even gotten to try that part yet, but the program itself is great!

Sadly, you only get the approach plates and airport diagrams for the US and Canada.

[stearmandriver]

Sadly, you only get the approach plates and airport diagrams for the US and Canada.


Eh? Tried it last night, got everything... sectionals, low IFRs, satellite imagery, road maps... plus plates and diagrams, all georeferenced. This is great!

[Naismith]

re FltPlan Go - Your device isn't compatible with this version.

AAAAaarrrgh - The damned thing is only 18 months old. :banghead:

FltPlan GoFltplanGo- FltPlan Go

[stearmandriver]

re FltPlan Go - Your device isn't compatible with this version.

AAAAaarrrgh - The damned thing is only 18 months old. :banghead:

FltPlan GoFltplanGo- FltPlan Go

Might be the other way around... are you on ios 11? I seem to remember a message on Flt Plan Go that they weren't sure they were compatible with 11 yet, but were working on it. So maybe keep an eye on it.

My iPad is work - issued, and I have a recurrent checkride coming up at work, think I'll need to update to 11 to be technically current... I'll be bummed if this stops working for the sim and the little rw GA flying I do... cause this is really almost as good as foreflight!

[Naismith]

Mine is Android and probably old tech anyway as I got it by trading Airmiles. :biggrin-new:

[stearmandriver]

Ah... Avare is a free one for android, not sure but I think it interfaces with sim too.

[vortex]

Eh? Tried it last night, got everything... sectionals, low IFRs, satellite imagery, road maps... plus plates and diagrams, all georeferenced. This is great!

From the official FltPlan Go Features list: "Geo-Referenced Approach Plates & Airport Diagrams (U.S. & Canada)".

Are you saying that you're getting full, geo-referenced approach plates and airport diagrams for airports outside of the US and Canada (the UK for instance)?

[stearmandriver]

From the official FltPlan Go Features list: "Geo-Referenced Approach Plates & Airport Diagrams (U.S. & Canada)".

Are you saying that you're getting full, geo-referenced approach plates and airport diagrams for airports outside of the US and Canada (the UK for instance)?

Ah. No, sorry, I read your post backwards, as: in the US and Canada, only diagrams and plates are available (no enroute charts etc.)

You are correct, looks like most of the aeronautical data is for US and Canada only; I hadn't tasted it elsewhere yet. I'm actually surprised they have free Canadian charts too; must have worked out a deal with Nav Canada.

Non -aeronautical charts do seem to work for the rest of the world and are georeferenced; road, topo, satellite imagery etc.

[tgycgijoes]

I have had FltPln for a few years now on my Windows OS but just tried it on my OLD android tablet last night just to plan a short flight and it works great for me. I don't know how to link it to FSX though. any help here appreciated for an old android tablet if its possible. I had trouble trying to link Plan G on it.

[stearmandriver]

I have had FltPln for a few years now on my Windows OS but just tried it on my OLD android tablet last night just to plan a short flight and it works great for me. I don't know how to link it to FSX though. any help here appreciated for an old android tablet if its possible. I had trouble trying to link Plan G on it.


http://www.fltplan.com/fsx.htm

[tgycgijoes]

My daughter says that my Android tablet is too old to run the FSX integration even though FltPln works just fine on it. I am happy that I can get all the charts; routing etc. so until I get a newer tablet I'll be satisfied. Thank you for the reply, I found the FSX link and the FltPln Go links last night late.:encouragement: