Hi!Is there any way to calculate the correct flying time before the flight starts?I can calculate the average wind in active sky. So this maybe can come to use when it comes to calculating how long my flight will take? Like "exact" not just "400 kts 400 nm = 1 hour"... Is it anyway to do this? I know that the FMC does a pretty accurate calculation but i want this in my preflight...how do you calculate these times?Thanks/Niklas Eriksson

TOPCAT can do it

Edited February 6, 201214 yr by Emi

I am using topcat, but i think that the time that topcat says on the "W/B" page is very inaccurate? ...Maybe its just me:-p/Niklas Eriksson

Like "exact" not just "400 kts 400 nm = 1 hour"... Is it anyway to do this?

There's a real, quick and dirty flight route calculator here. Just plug in your ICAO codes and assumed airspeed (TAS not IAS) and it'll spit you out time and distance. Doesn't account for winds, but you can vary the assumed speed to give you an approximation.

http://www.airrouting.com/content/TimeDistanceForm.aspx

FSBuild or similar tools if you use flight plans.. it's usually longer than direct to. Or fly it once and time it :(

Thanks for the information :-p and I use flight plans and also I have tried FSBUILD, and it is OKAY, but i was after something that does take the winds into consideration and lower speeds during takeoff and approach and so on. :-) i understand that this probably doesnt exist, but it was worth a try :-)

Hi!Is there any way to calculate the correct flying time before the flight starts?how do you calculate these times?

First, it's worthless to overcalculate - you'll never hit the time you plan exactly, so don't get lost in the numbers. Here's what I use, though.Take your route and enter it here (even without the SID/STAR of non-US airports, it'll give you a good guess of the time to complete the flight):http://www.simroutes.com/fb2/ParseRoute.aspxLook at the en-route time (top of REM column, or bottom of ETE column on the right side). Take that time, divide by 60, and multiply it by the wind average provided by Active Sky. That number is the number in knots to adjust your total distance (the wind is essentially making you travel more nm through the air). Take the adjusted distance, divide by your TAS, and that's your adjusted enroute time.Example:KIAD - KORD, via BLUES RAMAY EYTEE J149 ROD WATSN (no SID/STAR for a rough estimate)TAS of 434kts, 531nm, ETE of 1:13ActiveSky Wind Average: 44kt headwind1:13 (73 min) is 1.22 hours. 44 x 1.22 = 53. 53 is my wind adjustment factor for the flight.531 + 53 = 584 nm.584 / 434 = 1.35 hours -> 1:21Basically, calculate the windless flight. Once that's done, calculate your exposure to the wind. Your exposure to the wind is calculated as the estimated time enroute (in decimal hours) times the average wind. Adjust the total distance by that wind exposure (add for headwinds, subtract for tailwinds). Divide that by your TAS. Done.If you have questions, let me know.

Ah thanks that seems like a very good way to do it! Just one thing, that might be stupid, but thdn call me stupid :-P how do you figure out your exact TAS? You posted 434, that seems like a number far to exact to be a estimated number, :-P

Gents,PROG PAGE 4L : Says arrival and there is the ETA (estimated time of arrival) and fuel remaining. Subtract current time from flight time and fuel remaining from current fuel on board to get fuel burn. They are very very very accurate estimates particularly if you enter wind/temperature forecast.PS. I have no idea why you PAY for advanced computation technology that could be part of the real FMS and insist on using low tech general purpose utilities for simmers...PS2 Taxi and APU fuel is not included. This is the purpose of planned fuel in PERF INIT 2L.

It's an estimate already, because TAS varies by temp/pressure/compressibility. Even though 434 seems exact, it varies based on the weather, so it could be 430 one day, and 438 another. Trying to calculate exactly what it would be today would be getting too exact for me. You're always welcome to get into the finer parts and exact numbers (you can always work backwards in that regard), but you'd be wasting time in my opinion.There's a good video about this in AoA's Aviator90 videos (the one on flight planning).