We should note that in FS9 there are "waypoints" (often called route waypoints or fixes) which are shown in magenta (pink) in the map/GPS and "terminal waypoints" which are shown in blue. Route waypoints are associated with enroute flying while terminal waypoints are associated with instrument approaches. The main difference is that the names for terminal waypoints are not guaranteed to be unique (and typically are not, unless assigned a pronounceable 5-letter name).There exists an addon for the US which I think was created by auto-conversion of the FAA database which contains current waypoint data, but I don't think there is any route data in that addon so its usefulness is so-so.scott s..

Thanks for the input, guys! I think I understand what's happening now. I'm pretty much at the mercy of FS9, then. I never really noticed just how many failings FS9 had until I started this trek using only VOR/DME and not an FMC. These realisations have actually dampened the experience a bit for me since I'll now have to rely on checking the GPS for drift and correcting before FS9 ATC steps in. Bummer. I really appreciate the help guys. Really. It has certainly put things into perspective.

It's not a failing. Remember FS is a sub $50 game and can't model everything precisely and accurately enough to satisfy individual requirements.

It's not a failing. Remember FS is a sub $50 game and can't model everything precisely and accurately enough to satisfy individual requirements.

Well said.It just takes a little more work. I think it was Eric Shipton who said there's as much pleasure to be found in planning an expedition as in its execution.D

Scott and mgh have showed that a route is from a waypoint to a waypoint which may also have a VOR. Using ADE9X we extract the Route Data for internal use in the code of Naviads but do not compile that same data.If we look at the VOR data we see there is a Mag Var for each VOR. Most all Mag Var's must pass through the Magdec.bgl. The exception to the rule is in the VOR Mag Var Property's. MS gave us the ability to realign the CDI needle so it will agree with current charts as they come available.If we update the Mag Var of the VOR this changes the CDI by the same amount so the ATC course (point to point) and the VOR course agree.WE have Utility's available such as the one Scott used called BGL2XML that will extract out all the stock VOR's. Once the property values as been changed we compile the XML to give us a master VOR bgl. This single bgl can have all the VOR's nested since they are world owned and FS will know where to find them. CAUTION.....FS only honors certain changes in the VOR property's.NEVER change the VOR IDENT or NAMENEVER change the Lat/Lon or the VOR can duplicateADE9 can also change the VOR property showing on the grid if you have our Raw Data View Plugin. Since this is something ADE9X can do you can get more precise help at our forum on FSdeveloper.jim

Re "failings": I use the word loosely. Perhaps "shortcomings" would have been a better choice, but alas, at the end of the day it boils down to semantics. In any event, I think I may have (quite by accident) found a solution. In the Flight Planner (after setting my point of departure and destination, etc) I moved on to the Nav Log to see how long my flight would be. There in the table under "heading" is what I believe I've been looking for. It gives a heading to fly to get from one waypoint to the other. I suspect that the term "heading" is a misnomer here because "bearing" would be more accurate. I'm in the process of doing a little experiment to see how well that works. As soon as I'm reasonably sure what's going on, I'll post back and let you guys know. Thanks again.

Make a flightplan for the airway(s) you wish to follow by building it up from waypoints, then note the headings given in the flightplan. I don't think there's any more elegant way of establishing the FS9 radial for any airway: you have to do it empirically. Note that for very long legs at some headings a great circle correction might be necessary too (which would involve creating the same plan in reverse and looking to see which legs were more or less than 180° out).

In any event, I think I may have (quite by accident) found a solution. In the Flight Planner (after setting my point of departure and destination, etc) I moved on to the Nav Log to see how long my flight would be. There in the table under "heading" is what I believe I've been looking for. It gives a heading to fly to get from one waypoint to the other. I suspect that the term "heading" is a misnomer here because "bearing" would be more accurate. I'm in the process of doing a little experiment to see how well that works. As soon as I'm reasonably sure what's going on, I'll post back and let you guys know.

I believe that's the only way to do it .D

I don't know about other planners but FSBuild has a database of airways so you can enter a route using the transition points to/from the airway label and it will expand the airway section into individual waypoints. It s navlog lists the individual waypoints and also has an AWY column that labels the airway (and also SID and STAR) waypoints are on. The individual waypoints are then exported to FS9 and/or FSX, plus many proprietary nav instruments (FMC's) and other add-ons.As of version 2.4 FSB uses Navigraph AIRACs. It comes with cycle 1013.Here's the syntax of a route I pasted from flightaware.com into the FSB route window:KBWI SWANN3 OOD J42 RBV J222 JFK INNDY2 KBOS which expanded into individual waypoints.FSB has auto-routing features and also lets you modify the waypoint grid for corrections before exporting.FSB also can connect to Active Sky to use real-time or archived weather for fuel planning.I am not familiar as I stated with Flight Sim Commander or others if they can use airway syntax in their routing.

It all looks like too much work to me, kudos to the OP for giving it a go. I'm more of a vroute->export to FMC->execute and hit LNAV kind of guy. I did try a couple of flights in the DF 727 but the combination of no autothrottle, crappy autopilot and VOR to VOR navigation defeated me... :(