Weird problem with FMC and FS9 flight planner?

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Hi folks. I have been tearing my hair out trying to figure this out. For some reason all of the sudden I can't get the FMC to recognize newly created flight plans. Here are the steps I have used.1. Create a flight plan in FS9 and save it as example KPHXKABQ.2. Drop the flight plan into the pln to rte converter.3. Take the new rte plan and place it in the PMDG flight plan folder with all the others I have created in the past.4. Go back into FS9 and load the flight.5. Get power in the aircraft, APU,etc.6. Open FMC and put intial start point. In this case KPHX.7. On the next page where it says Company Route in type KPHXKABQ then press the side button to enter it. This is where it all goes wrong. The arrival in the top right says KPHX instead of KABQ and the reverse and activate options don't come up. Its weird cause I can access all my older flight plans and they load correctly. In fact in I go into NAV DATA I think its called in the FMC I can find my flight plan but can't load any of the new ones.Also on a side note. Sometimes when I close out of FS9 it seems to close normally, but after it seems to have been closed a pop up comes up that says FS9 encountered a problem and needs to close, with all the other options listed to report to Microsoft etc.This has got me puzzled. Is it possible that I could have some type of corrupted module or could something suddenly be wrong with the pln to rte converter.Anyway, thanks in advance for any help figuring this out. I was up until 2 am this morning trying to get this figured out but to no avail.Regards,Sean Campbell

[downscc 1,327]

I suspect you have a couple of problems, the FS9 close error is probably not related to the flight plan issue.Can you create a flight plan in the FMS and save it (COPY PLAN) then retrieve it after clearing the FMC? If so, then I would suspect the pln to route converter.The PHX-ABQ is a nice short hop, easy to test different methods. While I'm thinking about it, the FS9 Planner doesn't have SIDSTARS so I'm missing the point of your exercise. The route is SJN3 SJN LAVAN3.. just a SID connected to a STAR at St John VOR.

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Thanks for the reply Dan. I will try that when I get home. As far as using the FS9 planer I just use it for making the the IFR flight plans in FS9 so that the ATC will follow the same route without trying to redirect me all over the place. I use Flight Aware for the route then go into FS9 and map it out using the correct intersections and such then save it and drop it into pln to rte. Once I save it in there I use over many times. I fly the same routes pretty frequently PHX to ABQ, PHX to LAX, FLL to TNCM, TJSJ to TNCM, Congonhas to Santo's Dunmont, etc. I just change the STAR enroute if I have to divert or land else where.Regards,Sean Campbell

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Dan,I tried what you suggested when I got home. I built the plan in the FMC and saved it. Cleared the FMC, then started over with IDENT, then put in the Company Route I saved and it pulled up fine. There must be something wrong with my PLN to RTE converter. I guess I need to figure out how to uninstall it and then reinstall it and try again.

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Ok, this is really got me upset. I downloaded the pln to rte converter again. Deleted the old one. I guess there is no way to uninstall it. Placed the new version. Went into FS9, created a plan, dropped the plan into the converter, placed the plan in the PMDG flight plan folder, created a new flight, and low and behold the same thing. The FMC places the arrival airport in the destination field and no option to activate. I can not imagine what is wrong. All the old plans I created using this still work, just not new plans. Is it possible that FS9's navigation data base is some how corrupt? I wouldn't imagine, since I was able to build a plan in the FMC, save it and recall it. Just can't seem to do it in the FS9 planer now. Boy, I would buy someone a beer if they were here to help me solve this. Looking forward to any ideas. Thanks again.Sean Campbell

[downscc 1,327]

Sean: Does the converter have any support? The PMDG end of it seems to be working. The FS9 navdata is embedded in the .bgl files that make up the airports and scenery... lots of little files instead of a global database that might be corrupt.You can look at the rte files with a text editor.. I never took the time to decipher their construct.. but might be interesting to compare one of your old ones with a new one of the same route and see if there's differences.Other than that, I'm out of ideas for you. Good luck.

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Dan,I took the time to open the older .rte files that worked and compared them to the ones that didn't work. I noticed that the ones that don't work have really strange lat/long coordinates with .000 at the end. That sparked my memory. A few month ago I added the following entry into the (Main)section of my fs.cfg.Display_Fractional_Minutes=0I was using RWY12 program and wanted to be able to display more lines in the coordinates section of the Shift Z lines to place objects more accurately. I deleted this entery from my cfg, opened FS9, created a new plan, converted it, started the flight and put the CO ROUTE, and it worked fine. If you hadn't mentioned comparing the old plans with new ones I never would have thought about that entery I placed and what effect it would have with the flight planner. Heck, I didn't even know you could view .rte file with Notepad.Thank you so much, I am happy and can go for a fly know.Best regards,Sean Campbell