Hey all, I've run the tutorial about 5 times now and want to start building my own flight plans. Just whilst I get used to the basics I would like to fly between some airports in the UK, but I'm really not sure what to do next. I think I need a website that can build flight plans? I've tried flight aware but it wont let me set up a UK route. When I've got the plan, is it as simple as putting the segments into the FMC like the tutorial? I'm very much a noob :) Thanks

Try http://www.vataware.com - that's like flightaware but uses flights conducted on VATSIM. Also http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/

Hi Luke, Go to this website http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/ fill in your departure and arrival airports and it will give you a flight plan.You could use a program like Flight Sim Commander to check and/ or adjust the route, save it and import it in the FMCSo even more simple than putting in the waypoints yourself.Hope this helps

Noah's two links are great resources. You can also take a look at vroute, it has flight plans. It is essentially a database of flightplans made from other users who are flying on VATSIM, and you can go in and fly them, and most routes will have the commercial "preferred" route, so you can fly what the real guys are flying. Vroute is free by the way. There is a payway version, but it is not needed for just getting routes.

alsovatroute.netwith 'destinations''departures' list also

Sorry just noticed Noah had already suggested this one. You can also try this one http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/ CheersAlan Springett

Edited October 10, 201114 yr by springal

Personally I use http://edi-gla.co.uk/ (free registration needed) which is a user submitted database of real world flight plans for planning flights outside the US.

http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/ ...is the best in my opinion. And don't forget you can use the FSX flight planner. Construct your own route. Won't give you sid's and star's of course.

Just a little advice, as it's difficult to know where you are knowledge wise right now. I certainly remember when I started reading charts and developing flightplans (I use flightware for most of mine these days). I'll pull the Departures (SIDs) and Arrivals (STARs) on Airnav or SkyVector, and my enroute flightplan from the Pilot Resources of Flightaware (real world flight plans). Hope this helps. Be well.

Any flight has up to six parts. The Departure airport, the departure Runway, the SID to get you from the runway to the first Waypoint on your route, the Route itself, the STAR to get you from the end of your route to the Approach for your runway, and the Approach and landing at your Arrival airport. If you are flying in the UK, all the information you need (as used by real world pilots) is available on the NATS UK site here: http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index.php%3Foption=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=1&Itemid=2.html (But you can also use the FSX maps - except for SIDs and STARs). Having decided where you want to fly from and to, you pick the route you want to follow, and how you want to follow it. You could fly direct from start to finish using GPS, you might prefer VOR to VOR in which case you need to pick each VOR along your route and find their frequencies and the directions to fly from one to the next. Or you could use airways and waypoints. The 'enroute' charts for the area you are flying in will show VORs, waypoints and airways you can select from. On the Route page of the FMC, enter the departure and destination airports and the route between them. Having decided your route, you need to get from your departure airport and runway to the first waypoint on the route. Which runway you depart from will depend on the weather when you depart, so it is worth knowing what options are available before hand instead of trying to work it out while taxiing. SIDs are usually named after the waypoint they connect the runway with, so that helps narrow your search. On the DEP/ARR page of the FMC, select the Departure runway you have been assigned (you can listen to the ATIS to find out which one is in use if you don't want to use the crappy ATC). Having entered the runway, only the SIDs from that runway will be listed. If one is named after one of your waypoints, select it and move on to the next step. If you don't know which SID to select, you have two options. The one I recommend is to look at the charts for a SID that goes in the direction you route will take you (or close enough anyway) and select that. The other way is to select them in the FMC and see the effect on the ND. If it gets you close, fair enough, otherwise go back in and try the next one. To select a STAR for your arrival. On the DEP/ARR page you select the runway and approach you want (you can change them later) and then select the STAR that connects that approach to your route. One the LEGs page, clean up your route and check any constraints. Then enjoy your flight. It will seem daunting the first few times but it does become more natural with practise.

Hey all, I've run the tutorial about 5 times now and want to start building my own flight plans. Just whilst I get used to the basics I would like to fly between some airports in the UK, but I'm really not sure what to do next. I think I need a website that can build flight plans? I've tried flight aware but it wont let me set up a UK route. When I've got the plan, is it as simple as putting the segments into the FMC like the tutorial? I'm very much a noob :) Thanks

Here you have a start at least....A video from Cold & Dark

Watch it in HD and fullscreen./ Leffe