(This is written in a way to give a laugh ) Hey guys I've had this aircraft for a while but never used it to its full potential. I'm finally trying to do that and I'm trying to put my route in the FMC and... THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS! I'm looking at my flight plan and I need to go to LHY45 via J217 AND THE DING DONG RING A RONGIN DERP DONGING FMC WON'T LET ME!!!!!!!!!! If I put the waypoint in first... then put in j217 it's just like AWWW HELL NAH! And gives me a route discontinuity. If I put J217 in first then put on LHY45 it just tells me it's an invalid entry. I have no idea what to do at this point. This is my flight plan and I want to fly it! But the fmc just won't let me. ;(

Looks like that paticular waypoint is not in the Nav data.

What's your entire flight-plan (including departure and arrival terminals)?

Welcome to AVSIM!

 

For the first scenario, if you receive an error similar to NOT IN DATABASE, you can try updating your Navdata, although this costs a small amount of money. If you choose updating via Navigraph, you can either save the remaining credits for updating Navdata in the future or use them to buy Navigraph nDAC charts. A screen shot would be somewhat beneficial (to help myself and others understand and visualize your issue).

Also, If your flight plan or planing software is old the waypoint might not exist anymore, or it does but your NGX nav data is old.

What's your entire flight-plan (including departure and arrival terminals)?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by departure and arrival terminals but here are the way points and everything.

 

KCLE to CXR Direct

TEESY via J146

MIGET via J146 (Don't some of these waypoint names just make you laugh? )

WEVEL via J146

ETG via J146

ZUUCS via J217

LHY45 via J217 (This is causing me the issue)

HNK via J217

PONEE via J68

DEKOW via J68

SWALO via J68

PUT via J68

KBOS via direct.

 

I'm using the default FSX flight planner, I was using my own custom but I'm using Radar Contact for ATC which I guess will only accept an FSX flight plan file... I'll get a screenshot

Well you don't have to enter each waypoint of the airway like that you start at ZUUCS and end at HNK and the FMS will add every waypoint in the nav data in the middle that follows that airway. So there is no need to manually enter LHY45 at all.

Screenshot just after trying to input LHY45. It's not letting me delete the J217 so I can't recreate the other way around but what would happen is it would separate LHY45 and J217 keeping J217 where it is and putting LHY45 on the next way point and telling me route discontinuity.

 

 

Well you don't have to enter each waypoint of the airway like that you start at ZUUCS and end at HNK and the FMS will add every waypoint in the nav data in the middle that follows that airway. So there is no need to manually enter LHY45 at all.

Really? I'll try this and see if it works.

 

EDIT: I tried this and it let me put HNK, but is it really OK if LHY45 just straight up isn't inputted?

 

EDIT 2: I honestly have no idea what I'm even doing with the autopilot during the flight. It's my first flight using the FMC so I'm kind of playing it by ear.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by departure and arrival terminals but here are the way points and everything.

I believe the poster is referring to SIDs and STARs, which you should be using for realism.

 

MIGET via J146 (Don't some of these waypoint names just make you laugh? )

Ha ha—Geneva has SID DIPIR 5A and STAR LUSAR 1R. Munich has SID GIVMI 5S ("I don't want to high-five you!").

 

I'm using the default FSX flight planner

I recommend utilizing real-world flight plan databases such as FlightAware and the Real-World Flight Plan Database (free registration required). You can either input the routes manually into the FMC or save them for use as company routes via SimRoutes.

 

but is it really OK if LHY45 just straight up isn't inputted?

This demonstrates two benefits of airways—they improve flight plan consistency (as well as reduce inputting error) and make inputting flight plans more concise and convenient.

 

I honestly have no idea what I'm even doing with the autopilot during the flight. It's my first flight using the FMC so I'm kind of playing it by ear.

Read the training materials provided. Most of us started in your position, but through reading and learning, were able to improve our knowledge and skills greatly.

Edited January 6, 201313 yr by zowen11

EDIT: I tried this and it let me put HNK, but is it really OK if LHY45 just straight up isn't inputted?

 

 

Yes, it automatically puts the waypoints in, but seeing as LHY45 isn't in your current nav data it will skip LHY45, which is fine as the only way around it would be to find a way to manually add the waypoint to the nav data.

I recommend utilizing real-world flight plan databases such as FlightAware and the Real-World Flight Plan Database (free registration required). You can either input the routes manually into the FMC or save them for use as company routes via SimRoutes.

 

I know, I use these for flying on VATSIM. However, I may be mistaken, but I just bought radar contact. (Third party ATC) and it appears I have to plug in a FSX flight plan and not use a custom one which surprises me given many advanced simulator hobbiests use it.

You don't have to put in all the waypoints on an airway, just the start and end points. In fact you can just enter CXR in the first TO entry (top right) then J146, J217 and J68 in the next VIA entries down the left side. The FMC will automatically fill in the TO entries for you because it knows the waypoints at which the airways intercect. All you then need to do is put the last waypoint (PUT) in the last boxed TO entry. This method really speeds up route entry. If you now go to the LEGS page you will see all the intermediate waypoints from your flightplan listed.

 

Your original problem is because either LHY45 no longer exists or it is no longer on J217. The FSX flight planner uses a navigation database which is at least 6 years old.

 

I use this free online route planner http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/ which allows you to choose what AIRAC cycle you have installed, so it will create a valid route for the data you have. If you want to use this route as an FSX flight plan (so ATC knows where you are flying) you can copy and paste the route into this website http://www.simroutes...ParseRoute.aspx along with the departure and arrival airports, and it will map the route out and allow you to save it as an FSX flight plan.

 

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by departure and arrival terminals but here are the way points and everything.

 

KCLE to CXR Direct

TEESY via J146

MIGET via J146 (Don't some of these waypoint names just make you laugh? )

WEVEL via J146

ETG via J146

ZUUCS via J217

LHY45 via J217 (This is causing me the issue)

HNK via J217

PONEE via J68

DEKOW via J68

SWALO via J68

PUT via J68

KBOS via direct.

 

I'm using the default FSX flight planner, I was using my own custom but I'm using Radar Contact for ATC which I guess will only accept an FSX flight plan file... I'll get a screenshot

 

Just so you know, you don't need to input

 

J146 -> TEESY -> J146 -> MIGET -> J146 -> WEVEL...

 

If they're all along the same airway you can just put in the airway and the last waypoint you're using on that airway. So in your case J146 to ETG. A good way to think of it, is that J146 is a motorway/highway and TEESY/MIGET/WEVEL are junctions - you're not really interested in the junctions you aren't exiting on. So you can write your entire flightplan as

 

CXR J146 ETG J217 HNK J68 PUT

(This is written in a way to give a laugh ) Hey guys I've had this aircraft for a while but never used it to its full potential. I'm finally trying to do that and I'm trying to put my route in the FMC and... THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS! I'm looking at my flight plan and I need to go to LHY45 via J217 AND THE DING DONG RING A RONGIN DERP DONGING FMC WON'T LET ME!!!!!!!!!! If I put the waypoint in first... then put in j217 it's just like AWWW HELL NAH! And gives me a route discontinuity. If I put J217 in first then put on LHY45 it just tells me it's an invalid entry. I have no idea what to do at this point. This is my flight plan and I want to fly it! But the fmc just won't let me. ;(

 

 

Unfortunately there is no waypoint on J217 by that name, or any "official" waypoint called "LHY45". Looking at my Northeast High Altitude chart, it appears that the intersection of airways J217 and J36 is exactly 45 miles northwest of LHY, but that point is just the location where the two airways cross... it has no official waypoint name. Perhaps it did in the past.

 

As others have pointed out, you can ignore the LHY45 waypoint.... just enter ETG J217 HNK for that segment of the route

Is this how it should be done? When going from my last point to KBOS now I'm getting another route discontinuity... great!