Considering FSBUILD 2.1 purchase...

[Guest rds_mcleod]

I'm considering FSBuild as a flight planner for the PFMG-737 6/900 SERIES. I'd appreciate feedback from experienced FSBuild 2.1 users and what your rating might be of FSB with the PFMG-737 or the PSS Airbus 320 series. I've considered FSNav, but there's no Wideserver/Client support, whereas FSB will export directly. The FSB author is of the opinion that FSB concentrates particularly on the Flight PLAN and is superior to FSNav in that regard.Thanks in advance,:-walksmile Ron McLeod CYEG

[Guest Ken_Salter]

Excellent.

[Guest bigun]

Ron,FSBuild is a fantastic program. I use it almost everytime I fly. It gives me all the planning features I could want and then some. FSNAV is also very good but I prefer FSBuild simply because I don't have to run FS to build a flight plan. You really can't go wrong with either of them.

[Mike S KPDX 597]

fsb is excellent, very professional and very very accurate.

[Guest knack]

FSBuild is excellent, Ron and Ernie's support is also beyond reproach.Go for it :)Tony

[kerosene31 349]

What does FSBuild do that FSNav doesn't do? Does it automatically fill in airways into the FMC for an imported plan? FSNav will create a plan usng airways, but it won't actually tell you what airways are in use.Could someone briefly describe the flight planning process with FSbuild for the 737?

[Guest Paul Heaney]

I Agree, can't go wrong with FSBuild2, Support is top notch! You won't regret it.

[gbalean 0]

Creating Flight Plan.1. From the Flight Plan folder in FSBuild, search for the flight plan that you want. Enter the ICAO code of the departure or arrival airport and search.2. Modify flight plan as appropriate3. [not required] In the Airplane folder, select your aircraft you will use, enter the weights and fuel (it will automatically calculate total route fuel with compensation for winds), temperature and elevation of departure airport.4. Select your build options in the Build menu - select PMDG, Flight Sim etc. You don't have to select any, but it creates say a PMDG company route, so in the co-route field in the FMC, you put the two ICAO codes for the departure and arrival airport and all the info you set up in FSBuild is set up in the FMC.5. Go to the Navlog and print it out if desired and you built one.6. Fuel the PMDG 737 with the fuel the navlog says is required, remembering the first 1000lbs goes in the centre tank, then fill up the wings and the remainder in the centre tankFSBuild is a great program. It certainly adds to the realism and planning part of virtual flying. NOTE: If you have ActiveskywxRe or 2004 or many other weather programs, FSBuild can also calculate fuel, times and speeds based on winds aloft. If you have Activesky 2004 however, you must ask the creator of FSBuild for the Beta of 2.2 (free, email on website www.fsbuild.com).Geoffrey BaleanCanberra, AU (YSCB)http://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpg"Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. All is well!"Pentium 4 2.4GHZ, P4G8X Deluxe with Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet, 512MB RAM, LG Flatron L1710S 17" LCD, GeForce MX440 Millenium Silver, Creative Soundblaster Audigy, Logitech Speakers, CH Yoke & Rudder, Quantum Fireballp AS30.0 - Basically nothing crash hot :)MSFS 2004 acof, PMDG 737 6/7/8/900, Activesky 2004, Flight One Cessna 152, SquawkBox 2.3 w/ guage, ServInfo 2.2, FS AutoStart, FS Real Time, FSUIPC 3.212 (unreg.:()

[Krister 51]

I use both FSBuild and FSNAV, couldn't live without either, but I use them for totally different purposes. FSBuild I use for planning the flight and FSNAV for the lateral awareness during flight!I find FSNAV extremely useful when you want to check out the frequencies at an airport, where you are in relation to different navigational aids etc. Sometimes when flying online it may be difficult to realize which VOR a controller is referring to but consulting FSNAV will usually take care of that.FSbuild can't do these things but it stands heads and shoulders over FSNAV when it comes to planning the flight. Get both - if my hard disk would break down and I'd loose all my files and keys - PMDG 737, FSNAV and FSBuild would be the first program I'd buy again!/Krister

[PilotGav 0]

Where does it pull the winds from? I don't see that option anywhere in FSB 2.1Gavinhttp://www.interprom.com/gavhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/800driver.jpgSpellink doesn't count!!

[Guest zip]

Ernie Alston, the FSBuild author, is the ARTCC chief for the virtual Alburquerque ATC center on VATSIM. The product reflects the fact it was written by someone who not only knows flight plans and flight planing, but also a good bit about flying and departures and approach and ATC experience.The standalone product is very functional and makes the most accurate flight plans of all the add-ons I've tried (FSNavigator/FSCommander) and I thus recommend it highly. The fact it also has thousands of pre-built flight plans for most common routes is a big bonus, and the fact it supports most FMS and FMCs out there directly is a welcome feature. FSBuild does not deliver eye candy, the map is rudimentary, the GUI (interface) is rather interesting but it works, and it clearly shows the focus on its core functionality: making great flight plans that work with just about any add-on out there.I use FSNavigator mostly as a moving map inside my FS9 session and for terrain elevation / airspace, but I don't use it's flight planning features because they pale in comparison to FSBuild, and having had several problems with FS Navigator's database corruption problems, I'm not sure I want to go there.I believe the FSCommander program has a better moving map, and unlike FSNavigator, can run via wideFS on my second PC or as a standalone.A side note: I found that with the PMDG FMC, you should really let the FMC handle vertical navigation in regards to profile optimization, and only use the flight planner for LNAV. The fuel/profile may not be as good in the flight planner, but it can be used.Regards,

[Guest rds_mcleod]

>FSBuild is a great program. It certainly adds to the realism>and planning part of virtual flying. NOTE: If you have>ActiveskywxRe or 2004 or many other weather programs, FSBuild>can also calculate fuel, times and speeds based on winds>aloft. If you have Activesky 2004 however, you must ask the>creator of FSBuild for the Beta of 2.2 (free, email on website>www.fsbuild.com).>>Geoffrey Balean>Canberra, AU (YSCB)>Geoffrey,Thanks so much for the 'heads up' on procedures and for your comments. And, a BIG thank you to all who have come forward with excellent help. I'm going to buy FSB today.Ron McLeod CYEG

[bobbyjoh 11]

I use FSBuild for everyone of my PMDG flights. Someone asked, what it does, First I get the most accurate worldwide flight planning of any program I have used. Next a get a very professional fuel plan that is right on. I use it for any flight from 300 miles to 3000 miles. It will interface with ActiveSky for winds.I can't say enough good things about Ernie Alston the developer of FSBuild, he provides excellent support and his program is leading edge on navigation accuracy.Needless to say, I LOVE this programCheersBob

[Guest rds_mcleod]

>I use FSBuild for everyone of my PMDG flights. Someone>asked, what it does, First I get the most accurate worldwide>flight planning of any program I have used. Next a get a very>professional fuel plan that is right on. I use it for anyThanks for that, Bob:You're absolutely correct Ernie's support is great! I'm using Wideserver & Client and run FSGARMIN530 and FSMeteo from the client P4 which feeds it to the server P4. I think I've got the remote export licked, but I could sure use some pointers on how to get that fuel/load plan information from the data? Can you tell me where it is sourced so the info can be fed into FSB before export?Ron McLeod CYEG

[Guest rcarlson123]

Like others in this thread, I use both FSNav and FSBuild. When I am getting ready for a flight, the first program that I start up is FSBuild. I put in the departure/arrival airports and hit the "Auto Generate" button, which ususally finds a route from the preferred route database included with the program.I then tweak the route (DPs/STARs) if needed, tweak the cruise level if needed, then hit the "Build" button, which generates the plan and saves a copy in FSNav format and PMDG format.I then fire up FS9, and load the plan into the FMC and FSNav.I then fire up my fuel planner, input the cruise alt, distance and winds, and fuel up the bird.Then I connect to VATSIM, copy-and-paste the flight plan into Squawkbox, and I'm off and running. During the flight, I use FSNav to track my progress on the flight plan, and to see other VATSIM traffic. (Which I can now also see on TCAS thanks to the 800/900 update ... wahoo!)The two things I love most about FSBuild are the stored route database, and the fact that I can take a pre-made route from, for example, my Virtual Airline's online events listings, and paste it into FSBuild and it will generate the FSNav and PMDG plan files for me. It's been a long time since I've manually keyed a route into the 737's FMC. :)