FS2004 Flight Planner

[Guest kencr]

When constructing flight plans to Transatlantic or Transpacific flights, or almost any long-range flight from the UK (where I am), the flight planner constructs a plan which when following airways deviates to a position hundreds of miles from the eventual destination.For example, a flight plan from London Heathrow to JFK will be routed to a point in Western Canada or Alaska before returning towards New York.Of course this doesn't happen when a point-to-point great circle plan is used, but this doesn't take into account that an aircraft has to follow airways at either end of the flight - it's unrealistic to expect that a flight will commence and end on a direct great circle, it just doesn't happen.Can anyone suggest a fix for this, or is it something which is irreversibly coded into the system, and can't be changed ??

[MarkRey 16]

Ooooooold fs8/9 story - no fix, default planner is just plain busted that way. Most just use a third party planner, fsbuild, fsnavigator.Free online alternatives: get your route off Flightaware or Routefinder, then stick em into Simroutes or fsroute to create an fs9 formatted plan.regards,Markhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/a320/custbanner2.jpgPC Power Silencer 470/3.2HT/2048mb/ATI X1950pro/SB Audigy

[Guest wji]

"Can anyone suggest a fix for this?"May I suggest using GPS Direct to have FS9 build a perfect great circle route for Tans-Antlantic flights. By dragging and dropping the red course line in the Edit screen, one can add any ancillary waypoints along the projected route.[/font size=3]

[Guest lemonadedrinker]

Hi,My thoughts exactly, but in a smaller typeface! I think the FS9 planner is pretty good for simpletons like me to use and if you don't like the pink line everywhere just print out your plan and fly to that; you have all your heights and bearings etc.Brilliant.Andy.

[Guest wji]

Actually, what I've been doing for most FS9 flightplans is creating them in FSX (with its superior flightplanner) and using Gerhard's converter to FS9.PLN. My apologies if I've mixed my metaphors here[/font size] :-)

[Luis Hernandez 570]

Well, I use FS Navigator and RouteFinder, but I can't find a suitable route between northern South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and maybe Panama) and Europe. If I use RouteFinder, it will take me to Brazil or Boston before "crossing the pond". FS Navigator will produce me some good results, but they are VOR to VOR, so it will be painfully long to program the route on my aircraft's FMC. Does anybody know of a flight planner that doesn't have that problem? Or does any real-world pilot know how is the route?

[Guest ThrottleUp]

Bill - please can you tell me where I can find GPS Direct? It is just the kind of tool I have been looking for!Thanx :)

[altstiff 71]

You can use it right as you make the FP in FS9. In stead of low/high altitude airways select direct to.It's already part of FS9.And on the GPS just hit the direct to arrow button (it's a D with an arrow through it). Then type in your waypoint and hit enter, viola! Your now track "direct to" your desired waypoint.

[Guest lemonadedrinker]

Hi,Is GPS Direct freeware? If it's free I might try it, but if it's payware I'll leave it. It just makes straight lines you fly along, right? Sounds coool. I mean, that's gotta be a lot easier than looking for VORs or those little triangles when you're way up in the sky,in the clouds or the rain.Andy.

[MarkRey 16]

GPSD is payware I'm afraid, and expensive too, like 50 - 60EUR :-eekWorth every penny though - no more stupid NATS or any other waypoint thingies to contend with :+regards,Markhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/a320/custbanner2.jpgPC Power Silencer 470/3.2HT/2048mb/ATI X1950pro/SB Audigy

[Guest ThrottleUp]

Ack! Pricey software! But yea...Im sure it works really well, custom-waypoints is something I REALLY want in FS2004!

[Guest kencr]

Just a thought. I wonder if there might be another way round this. I downloaded the CIVA INS package some time ago. Has this package been updated to increase the number of waypoints which can be input (currently limited to 9). It might be possible to contact someone (a pilot or ex-pilot) to find out the lat and long coordinates of the various Atlantic tracks, input these to the INS and save the resultant flight plan for future use by any aircraft. Also, for transatlantic flights, from the UK to North America for example, would it be possible to do the following:Using the in-built flight planner, construct a flight plan for the UK end from the origin to the last airways waypoint, and for the North American end, create another flight from the first airways waypoint to the eventual destination, and yet another flight using the GPS or INS across the Atlantic. Could I "stitch" each of the above plans together , again using the planner built into FS2004, to produce a complete plan for the entire flight ??

[Guest lemonadedrinker]

Hi,yet another way is go to Tom Gibson's wonderful site....www.calclassic.com....and download the Ocean Stations package which will place ships at their respective locations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and enable safe passage across these vast spaces without the aid of a glass cockpit or a GPS!!Andy.

[Guest wji]

IMO, this is a

[Guest lemonadedrinker]

Hi,I don't have FSX so don't know about this, but an improved flight planner with height references was all I wanted from the new sim! Apart from al the other things as well.Andy.