Hello,I have always been wondering why Flight Simulator always suggests so low cruising altitudes in Flight Planner. Even for very long flights, it suggests cruising altitudes like 7,000 ft. or 3,000 ft. - Even if you choose "high altitude airways".Why is this? And can it be fixed? Does anyobe know a good rule of thumb for choosing the right cruising altitude?Thanks in advance.Nico

bumpetibump... 've been thinking about this too.../fredrik

That occurs when you choose VFR versus IFR. Anything above 18000(?) feet is "automatically" IFR in the real world, but FS lets you override that. Choose IFR then create the flight plan, and I think you'll see higher altitudes.Mark

Nope. I usually fly singles or twins w/IFR plans and almost always FS flight planner "suggests" 6000 feet. Maybe it has to due with the plane's power plant? Not a big deal, since you can put in whatever you want...but it would be nice to have a realistic cruise defined by plane/power/airways/etc.

Ever notice the high altitudes allowed for AI flight plans? That's why I use Radar Contact for IFR. It allows you to select enroute altitude and request higher or lower.It is not for VFR.So, if you are using just FS for VFR, why bother to pay attention to its flight planner at all. There is no need to load the plan into FS. For 2K2 you can get the freeware NAV 3.1, or various payware planners, that will export to FS if you desire, but still print a flight plan. You can also purchase or try to acquire sectional chart albums or for "real" VFR pilotage, use a topographical atlas, search for mag variance charts on the web from the .gov sites, and combine with the FS navaid facility info. You pick your altitude based on aloft and METAR data from FS or a weather program.