Simroutes Questions

[idahosurge 2]

I have just downloaded my first flight plan from Simroutes and got it loaded, the first thing that I noticed is that there are no speed restrictions and no flight altitude levels displayed in the flight plan for the vor's and fixes like you get when you load the KORDKJFK001 company route for the advanced tutorial.Do you have to enter the speed restrictions and altitudes yourself into the FMC via the MCDU after you load the Simroutes route? If that is what you have to do then where do you get this information from?Rod Storer

[BIGSKY 316]

Here is a Jet Blue flight, http://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU908They filed for 37000, a odd altitude,as it is a east bound flight. Once you load the plan and the weights into the FMS, It will give you the optimum and max altitudes for your weight. If you use the correct departure and arrival procedures, they will have altitude constraints automatically added next to each way point.

[PropPro 0]

Are you importing a simroutes flightplan built for FS (.PLN) or one built for PMDG (.RTE)? I'm not sure where the altitude info would be in a .RTE file, but one built for FS would include it near the top. After I download a flightplan from simroutes built for FS, I always open it up and add the cruise altitude myself, as the generated file leaves it as "0".[flightplan]title=KMIA to KJFKdescription=KMIA, KJFKtype = IFRroutetype = 3cruising_altitude=0 <CHANGE THIS VALUE TO REFLECT CRUISING ALT (35000, 30000, etc)departure_id=KMIA, N25* 47.60', W80* 17.43', +000008.00destination_id=KJFK, N40* 38.39', W73* 46.74', +000013.00departure_name=Miami_Intldestination_name=New_York_John_F_Kennedy_Intlwaypoint.0=KMIA, A, N25* 47.59', W080* 17.43', +000000.00, waypoint.1=HEDLY, I, N26* 34.96', W080* 35.82', +000000.00, waypoint.2=PHK, V, N26* 46.96', W080* 41.49', +000000.00, J53waypoint.3=OHENU, I, N27* 51.99', W081* 05.27', +000000.00, J53waypoint.4=ORL, V, N28* 32.56', W081* 20.10', +000000.00, J53waypoint.5=WORMS, I, N29* 00.76', W081* 22.81', +000000.00, J53waypoint.6=BARBS, I, N29* 18.45', W081* 24.53', +000000.00, J53waypoint.7=MATEO, I, N29* 46.01', W081* 27.21', +000000.00, J53waypoint.8=CRG, V, N30* 20.33', W081* 30.60', +000000.00, J53waypoint.9=VIYAP, I, N31* 15.14', W081* 26.14', +000000.00, J51waypoint.10=SAV, V, N32* 08.78', W081* 11.95', +000000.00, J51waypoint.11=CHS, V, N32* 53.66', W080* 02.27', +000000.00, J51waypoint.12=JMACK, I, N33* 59.31', W078* 57.99', +000000.00, J121waypoint.13=BARTL, I, N34* 18.19', W078* 39.09', +000000.00, J121waypoint.14=ISO, V, N35* 22.26', W077* 33.50', +000000.00, J121waypoint.15=WEAVR, I, N35* 51.23', W077* 08.06', +000000.00, J121waypoint.16=ORF, V, N36* 53.51', W076* 12.02', +000000.00, J121waypoint.17=SAWED, I, N37* 32.01', W075* 51.49', +000000.00, J121waypoint.18=KALDA, I, N37* 50.52', W075* 37.59', +000000.00, J121waypoint.19=SWL, V, N38* 03.40', W075* 27.84', +000000.00, J121waypoint.20=RADDS, I, N38* 38.91', W075* 05.31', +000000.00, J121waypoint.21=SIE, V, N39* 05.73', W074* 48.02', +000000.00, J121waypoint.22=KJFK, A, N40* 38.39', W073* 46.74', +000000.00,

[downscc 1,327]

I always build a flight plan without SIDs or STARs, adding those after I have imported the plan into the FMS. This method assures that I am using the sidstar procedures of my choosing (navigraph, planepath or my collection for example).

[idahosurge 2]

Bill,If I try and load a .pln downloaded from simroutes as a FSX.pln I get a "Not in database error" when I try to load it into the FMC with the MDCU. I have no problem loading a plan that was downloaded as a PMDG.RTE plan.Can you load an FSX.pln into the FSX MD11?Anyway I see what you are saying about the cruise altitude and I do not see anything like that line in the PMDG.RTE plan.Rod Storer

[downscc 1,327]

The MD11 is the only pmdg FMS that will read pln files, see FMS.10.9The not in database error occured when you entered the co route name? Verify the pln file is where the MD11 looks for it as explained on the page I referenced for you.

[PropPro 0]

Also, the route wont show up if simroutes had any problems compiling it. Simroutes is stuck on an older AIRAC cycle, and if you construct a plan that it dosent understand, it will skip those misunderstood waypoints in the sequencing. Using the example I have used above, check to see that the waypoints are numbered properly such as "waypoint.0, waypoint.1, etc. If there are any missing numbers, you have to re number them so they go from "0" to whatever the last number would be up to the end of the route in sequence. Like Dan said, the MD-11 is the only one that will read a PLN file, and only if it's in the default FS flightplan folder in your documents.

[idahosurge 2]

Thanks Dan and Bill, putting the .pln in the correct folder worked, way to much information to absorb. I will make sure the waypoints are numbered right on any plans that I download.Next question and if this has already been discussed in another thread feel free to give me the link to that thread and I will read through it.In the advanced tutorial you choose a depature sid and runway and an arrival star and runway. How do you know what sid to choose and what star to choose? I just finished my first flight plan from KDAL to KHOU. The departure sid and runway I choose really did not seem to make much difference, after I got in the air I set my heading to the first way point, armed Nav and flew to the first waypoint just like in the advanced tutorial, when I got there Nav took over and off to Houston I went.When I got to KHOU the star that I choose was to the left of my flight path, I tried to set a heading to it and then rearm Nav and pick up the star, but I wound up just over flying KHOU, turning around and landing on R30 instead of R12 as originally planned. Anyway, maybe I did not follow the flight plan exactly, but I did complete my first flight with a Simroute plan that I downloaded.Rod Storer

[downscc 1,327]

The short hop KDAL-KHOU is travelled often, go to flightaware.com and look under pilot resources for recently used flight plans. You can get the plans used recently for most any city pair.JPOOL4 ELLVR TEXNN4 is almost always the path taken in this case.Selecting the terminal procedure usually depends on the direction you are going and coming. You can go to flightaware or airnav.com and look at the procedure charts selecting the one that makes sense, or see what the real guys are using. I like looking at charts, even if I get the info from used flight plans.Get a copy of my US SIDSTAR Collection, I have these two locations and all the procedures are customized to connect the runways to procedures such as JPOOL or TEXNN if you are not using an ATC service. In the AVSIM library, do an extended search on author=dan downs and sort results on date.

[idahosurge 2]

Here is a Jet Blue flight, http://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU908They filed for 37000, a odd altitude,as it is a east bound flight. Once you load the plan and the weights into the FMS, It will give you the optimum and max altitudes for your weight. If you use the correct departure and arrival procedures, they will have altitude constraints automatically added next to each way point.

Never mind, using Don's reference to flightaware in his above response I was able to answer my question!Jim, I read in the PMDG general forum that you find a flight at flightaware.com and paste it into simroutes and generate a route. Exactly how do you find the flight at flightaware in a format that you can paste into simroutes, I tried it and the route that simroutes generated was not useable.Rod Storer

[BIGSKY 316]

Rod, you have to omit the departure procedure and the arrival from the flightaware flightplan string,and then paste into simroutes. For example, For KATL to KSAN,GEETK5 VUZ Q30 SQS GLH ELD FUZ MQP ABI J50 ELP SSO J50 TFD IPL LYNDI2, You omit GEETK5 and LYNDi2 and paste the rest into simroutes.

[PropPro 0]

Rod, you have to omit the departure procedure and the arrival from the flightaware flightplan string,and then paste into simroutes. For example, For KATL to KSAN,GEETK5 VUZ Q30 SQS GLH ELD FUZ MQP ABI J50 ELP SSO J50 TFD IPL LYNDI2, You omit GEETK5 and LYNDi2 and paste the rest into simroutes.

Exactly. And then you can add the same SIDs and STARs yourself or different ones of your choosing yourself into the FMC as Dan said earlier. I also prefer to add them myself from the FMC instead of having them be part of the flightplan. Simroutes understands most departure/arrival procedures, but not all of them so its better to just add them yourself. Also, you cant copy and paste lat/long fixes from flightaware into simroutes, you have to modify them beforehand. Same for NATs, simroutes wont understand "NATX" for example, you'll have to find out what "NATX" is actually for that particular day and copy those waypoints in before you generate the plan. Simroutes is wonderful and I use it for almost every flight I do, but sometimes you have to do some manual entering/editing to get it to give you a valid file.