One-stop flight planning tool

[srgalahad]

I was over on FlightSim.com this morning and found this announcement:


Plan-G Announcement

http://www.flightsim.com/notams09/taso1125.jpg (http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/) Stunning New Free VFR Flight Planner For FSX And FS2004.
UK based TA Software has released the most exciting freeware add-on for Flight Simulator enthusiasts for a long time. Targeting the VFR and GA pilot, it is easy to use, packed with features, fully configurable, and remarkably - entirely FREE!
Called Plan-G, it uses the acclaimed and versatile Google Maps mapping tool. Any geographical feature which exists in Google Maps can be included in your flight plans, and all the features of Google Maps are fully available. Overlaid on the Google Map are the necessary navigation features extracted from FS - controlled airspace, airports, navaids, VRPs, etc., with automatic switching at lower zoom levels to avoid clutter.
Plan-G runs outside FS as a web-style application using its own inbuilt Internet Explorer browser. It requires only an internet connection to function, and installation could not be simpler.
Flight Plans can be reversed, with text-based or graphical creation and editing. Waypoints can be added, amended and deleted and track lines dragged to new waypoints with the mouse. Flights can be saved in FS2004 or FSX format and existing flight plans created in FS itself can be imported, displayed and modified as required.
User defined waypoints can be created "on the fly" as you build a plan, and stored in an internal database or imported from external databases.
Plan-G can be connected to FS2004 or FSX so you can see your aircraft moving across the map as you fly, with the option to also display aircraft instrumentation, heading, altitude, distance to run, course deviation, etc. as you fly. AI aircraft or other aircraft in a multiplayer session within a configurable range may also be displayed. Flight trails can be recorded, weather data can be imported from FS to help calculate headings and leg times.
Get it from http://www.tasoftware.co.uk (http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/)


I've tried it ( in FS9) and although it still has a few bugs/issues/gaps it seems to be a pretty good product.... and it's FREEWARE!
You have to register on the forum before you can download it, but installation was easy and quick (read the read-me), it started right up and worked fine on a 1 hour, multi-point flightplan


Rob
(http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/)

[dandog]

Got, DL'd it. Looks sharp. Will give it a go when family time winds down. I like how you can hover over an airport, and you get the specs listed.

[Felixthreeone]

It has a slew of great features....I'm only beginning to read up on it, but it is looking to be a VERY useful tool indeed :ernae:

[srgalahad]

A few screenshots...
As you can see there are slight positional errors ( due to the MS tubular earth) but traffic shows accurately and the position is close enough for VFR

[dandog]

Pretty nice being able to use Google Earth images as the map to track your flight. I guess good mesh and landclass would be helpful. If what you see out of the cockpit does not look like the map, things could get wierd. It is also pretty slick that as you get near an airfield, hover the mouse over it to get runway specs if you need/want to make a stop.

[srgalahad]

I have FSGenesis mesh with the N. American landclass and I've often found I can identify individual hills (shape & contour). Depends on the altitude etc, but this is excellent for VFR flight.

Funny, but since I have used GMap and now Plan-G I have a tiny bit more respect for MS' default mapping... some parts are still horrid, but the major highways are actually almost :icon_lol: right -even in places like Iraq and the default Australia