I usually fly 737 PMDG ( or try to). My flight planning is by aquiring a route using Flightaware then aeroplanner for sid , star, and airport diagram. All is well if the route is simple, meaning if the sid and star connect. HOWEVER, if waypoints are in between, I get stuck in the air because I don't know how to connect them to get a whole flight.Any helpThanks George KPHX

Hi George,Could you provide an example?And I am note sure I understand what you mean by " if the SID and STAR connect". By definition, SIDs and STARs are supposed to be linkable to many routes.Thanks,Bruno

I understand fully what you're saying George.An example of a linking SID and STAR would be the LOOP4 DAG KEPEC2 (KLAX to KLAS)In this case, LOOP4 is the SID, DAG is the transition and KEPEC2 is the STAR. The neat thing about this route is that DAG is the end point for the SID and the start point for the STAR.On Flight Aware, when you search for a route, it's pretty much complete. You may get the occasional V## "parts" in the route. Those are merely airways.In the FMC, the way to enter those would be in the VIA column on the Active Route Page #2 (two). So, you would have a waypoint in the right TO column, then, if applicable, an airway in the left VIA column. However, if there is no airway between waypoints, you would simply put the other waypoint under the one before it in the right TO column. The left column would then be filled with a DIRECT entry, indicating that you are going from the first waypoint directly to the second one.I hope this helps.

Hi George,Could you provide an example?And I am note sure I understand what you mean by " if the SID and STAR connect". By definition, SIDs and STARs are supposed to be linkable to many routes.Thanks,Bruno

Hey BrunnoA example would be a route ( Flightaware) PHX-SEA. Route Silow1,Silow FLG, GCN, Beryl, Ely, Remo, 1MB, Chins6.The SID Silow1 leaves off at three different wp's.The STAR Chins6 @ SEA does not reference any of the wp's from Silow1. I imagine because of all the other WPs in between. My problem is I don't know where to find charts for these WP's so I can tiee them together.Hope my example is clear.Thnaks againGeorge HPHX

KPHX-KSEA routes being flown today include SILOW1 SILOW FLG GCN BERYL ELY REO IMB CHINS6, the SID is flow to SILO then direct FLG, direct GCN etc... none of the SILOW transitions are used, just go as far as SILOW.Flightaware also has charts, look at the information for the location, I am looking at the chart now and it appears that SILOW-GCN is shown but not a transition because that leg continues on the BCE (Bruce Canyon).Note that the CHINS arrival has a transition that starts at IMB. Usually, the fix before the arrival is the transition beginning.If you filed this with FAA it would look more like this: SILOW1.SILOW FLG GCN BERYL ELY REO IMB.CHINS6Also the web site http://skyvector.com/ is an excellent way to look at H L and VFR charts.

Hi George,I use FSNavigator (in FS9) but I am afraid it's not available anymore. There are plenty of good packages mentioned in this thread or elsewhere. - Unless you file a different kind of flight plan, your route will follow a network of interconnecting airways so you need first to find a good map or package for those (and then check that your FMS data base is current).- Once you know which airway(s) you'll be using, then you can select the SID (with or without transition).- You can also select a STAR, but you know that in the real world, the STAR could change due to the weather etc.). - Identifying which SID (or STAR) goes where can be an pain if your FMS provides you with a list several pages long, so here you need to get airport charts and plates. - on most flights, your SID won't connect directly into a STAR (unless the two airports are relatively close, as in Erik's example).Hope this helps,Bruno

I use the payware FS Build 2.x. It exports to FS and among others the PMDG 737/747 (others?) FMC formats. It also accepts routes pasted from flightaware.com and possibly other sources that use a standard route annotation. FS Build has an auto-route mode and includes a SID-STAR database. Occasionally the version of a SID-STAR might differ from current real world plans but a dropdown will show what is available in its database. Occasionally an auto-route point may be out of place but with route grid editing is easily correctable. A setting in it (not sticky between sessions) allows exporting from the edited grid table once the route is generated into the route grid table.The FS Build author provides frequent AIRAC updates (no charge) on his site.Its coupling to Active Sky to include winds aloft for fuel planning is a nice feature. Many but not all large aircraft performance tables are included and can be edited but I use the 737 series and find it close enough.Some people state that pilots enter manually the plan in the FMC but there seem to be some airline specific modifications that allow an ACARS input (from dispatch) and pilots just proof this so I don't consider importing plans into the FMC not realistic.Sending most of the same plan to your ATC program and your FMC keeps everything in sync.Details (but admittedly not kept current) on fsbuild.com

I use the payware FS Build 2.x. It exports to FS and among others the PMDG 737/747 (others?) FMC formats. It also accepts routes pasted from flightaware.com and possibly other sources that use a standard route annotation. FS Build has an auto-route mode and includes a SID-STAR database. Occasionally the version of a SID-STAR might differ from current real world plans but a dropdown will show what is available in its database. Occasionally an auto-route point may be out of place but with route grid editing is easily correctable. A setting in it (not sticky between sessions) allows exporting from the edited grid table once the route is generated into the route grid table.The FS Build author provides frequent AIRAC updates (no charge) on his site.Its coupling to Active Sky to include winds aloft for fuel planning is a nice feature. Many but not all large aircraft performance tables are included and can be edited but I use the 737 series and find it close enough.Some people state that pilots enter manually the plan in the FMC but there seem to be some airline specific modifications that allow an ACARS input (from dispatch) and pilots just proof this so I don't consider importing plans into the FMC not realistic.Sending most of the same plan to your ATC program and your FMC keeps everything in sync.Details (but admittedly not kept current) on fsbuild.com

I have tried to purchase FS Build and can't seem to locate it.

Their website is: http://www.fsbuild.com/It can be purchase from http://simmarket.comHope this helps.