I wanted to start a post to get an idea of what people think is the best flight planner available today. Im using the freebie FSBuild program now and think its ok. FSNavigator looks nice but a bit complicated. Please post your thoughts and the planner you think is the best.

In my opinion, PmFlightPlanner has to be the best thing that has happened to realism in flight sim so far with regards to flight planning. It is even being used to teach real dispatchers the basics of opertional flight planning/dispatching.You can find a lot more information at www.pmflightplanner.comThanks.

Thanks for your reply OBK - at least you responded. I can't believe that hundreds of people come into this Msg Board everyday and only 10 people even looked at my post. All I wished for was for people to give me ideas of what they think is the best flight planner. I jave reviewed several but really value other peoples opinions. Please, post which planner you use and which you think is the best.Thanks

Hi,In response to your query, I use the following items for flight planning. Firstly I'd point out that I don't go for the in depth plans that Tocart and OBK post with all the FIR EET's and stuff, I basically look to get a valid route that the CFMU says is OK, at a correct speed and flight level for my chosen aircraft. I also don't worry about daily changes and stuff, and I don't do much apart from European things so its not applicable to everyone.First think I'll look at is FSNav and try work out a quick route using the airway structure it has. Then I usually pick an appropriate FL and speed for chosen aircraft. I then try it in the CFMU and it more or less always comes back wrong. I then often doa search in this forum for routes or similar routes, and see what people have come up with - a lot of times you can find a route that is adaptable (especially as the forum get more established.)Second I then try and adapt the route to get rid of the various error messages, by looking up what the types of errors are - and correcting things like flight level restrictions. For invalid routes, I check the Route Availability Document (RAD) which is linked off the CFMU page. This is pretty helpful, and I use this in conjunction with FSNAv and more recently the Skyview program (see a previous thread.) Bear in mind that the AIRAC data should always be up to date on FSNav (Skyview is old data as its only a preview - but uptodate data will be released eventually I think).Usually this fixes the route. SIDs and STARs are sometimes suggested by the CFMU validator, other times I use the Vatsim VACC's individual websites to get chart links or diagrams to help determine the SID. Some places like the UK and Spain have eay access to their AIP data which is nice.That is usually all I do - and if I cant solve something then a query on here is often the last resort, although to be fair to Tocart and others you should have at least made a good attempt first!!I have a lot of Stansted routes under construction for Vatsim website, so I am helped by always having one airport the same, so repetition of routes is helpful for me!!Cheers,Andrew

Hello,I'm also proud to tell that I'm currently working with the new version of PM Flight Planner. It will be completely reconstructed to suit people needs all over the world.I have no official list of upcoming new features yet, but here are some ideas what you can expect:[ul][li]NAT Support - North Atlantic Tracks will be available - in real time - for planning. Also autorouter will be able to handle them.[/li][li]PDF Output - Most of the outputs will be converted to pdf files. This includes not only OFP, but route bulletins, weather briefings, maps...[/li][li]New OFP Layouts - Lido, Customed Lido, Jeppesen, SWORD... Or completely customed briefing package![/li][li]New Aircraft Profile System - Build up the fleet of your favourite airlines: select equipment, performance file, seating configuration, fuel tank configuration individually for each aircraft - or save a global aircraft for all your flights.[/li][li]Different and customed a/c profiles - You can select if you want to use Eurocontrol BADA performance file, a performance file of a FS flight model, performance file based on real life aircraft manual... And if you don't find a suitable profile, you can make your own.[/li][li]CRAM Support - Check out if some of the airways are closed on your planned route based on real time Eurocontrol CRAM Messages[/li][li]SID & STAR Database - SIDs and STARs for airports all over the world - updated with AIRAC cycles.[/li][li]ETOPS Support - Fuel calculations, airports etc etc[/li][li]Different Graphical Views - Get a route map attached with your briefing package with weather information, route restrictions, FIR information... Or print a vertical profile of your flight with ground elevations etc.[/li][li]Winds Aloft - Support for winds aloft, tropopauses, upper air temperatures...[/li][li]Improved Route Template System - Use real world company routes or pick up a flight plan route published by other users. And publish your own flight plans.[/li][li]More reports and printouts - Fuelling order, loadsheet (affects to FS flight models), passenger lists, technical log...[/li][li]Export your flight plan to different formats: Squawkbox, PSS, PIC767... [/li][li]Flight Watch - During your flight, PMFP will take care that your alternate airports and other flight conditions are suitable.[/li][li]Flight Model editor - It's possible to get weights, passengers, fuelling orders and other information direct to FS without extra work.[/li][/ul]And much much more...I'm happy to hear your comments and ideas, just drop a message to PM Flight Planner Forum: http://forums.pmflightplanner.com/ or contact me via e-mail.Cheers,Ville[table width=100%][tr][td valign=top]Ville MattilaIkaalinen, FinlandPM Flight Planner:www.pmflightplanner.com[/td][td valign=top align=center]http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...&/indicator.gifhttp://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicator/[/td][/tr][/table]

Ville! You probably know me from your own support forums, as I have been adding things to the wish list. May I just say that that list is AMAZING! I just can't beleive the amount of things to look forward too! You and your team are GREAT! PS. Need a beta tester ;)?Cheers[br][/img]