Honest opinion on flight planners.

[Brian_A_Neuman 198]

Hi guys,

 

I'm looking at upgrading my flight planner. For the past several years I have been using FSBuild after using flightaware plans. 90% of all my flights are under 4 hours and 75% or so of all of my flights are using a PMDG aircraft. I am looking closely at PFPX. Is this more power then I need to do shorter hops? Does it create realistic flight plans based on weather to include proper SIDS and stars? I looked at the site and I am unsure I understand it. Thanks.

 

 

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[tcas_climb 45]

PFPX really shines brightly on long haul flights especially those that require ETOPS, but it still shines on the short routes too, it will select the appropriate departure and arrival runway, and SIDS and STARs based on the current weather, you can also set it to automatically build a route optimized for winds. I moved up from using FSBUILD for years now and PFPX is the replacement ive been wanting all along.

 

edite: it does EVERYTHING fsbuild does and a whole lot more.

[Efussander 0]

Maybe I am just old school, but I have been using vRoute Premium for years. I use it along with topcat. One thing I really like about vRoute is that it keeps up to date charts for US and EU airports. It has cycle updates for free. It also gives a nice flight plan sheet that you can print out. Let me see if I can get some screenies.

 

EDIT: I forgot to add that it can automatically book vatsim blocks for you and shows you currently online pilots and controllers, as well as foretasted based on historical data.

[EGLL77W 1,508]

I couldn't fly without PFPX now. Considering my average flight time is eight hours - even on one hour hops I use it and works perfectly. It's honestly the best product for FSX I own after the 777  ^_^

[Efussander 0]

Here are some screenies: (NOTE THAT IT ALREADY HAS PMDG 777 SUPPORT!) It is about 30USD and also worth noting, you can create a plan file for import into PMDG aircraft FMC if you wish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zmak 331]

Maybe I am just old school, but I have been using vRoute Premium for years. I use it along with topcat. One thing I really like about vRoute is that it keeps up to date charts for US and EU airports. It has cycle updates for free. It also gives a nice flight plan sheet that you can print out. Let me see if I can get some screenies.

 

EDIT: I forgot to add that it can automatically book vatsim blocks for you and shows you currently online pilots and controllers, as well as foretasted based on historical data.

+1

 

The T 777 flight profile is there now as well. 

Its a top little performer with top Support

It doesn't have Etops however in the manual PMDG state they will be supplying a tutorial on this soon

[Mike_CFII_MEL 789]

Hi,

 

I have just upgraded myself from FSBuild/Flightaware to PFPX. It's a great program, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat!!!

[Brian_A_Neuman 198]

Thanks for the feedback/advice. I'm seriously considering PFPX but will look a vRoute too. Just not as happy with how I am doing my planning at the moment and need to upgrade.

 

 

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[_Jerra_ 8]

Thanks for the feedback/advice. I'm seriously considering PFPX but will look a vRoute too. Just not as happy with how I am doing my planning at the moment and need to upgrade.

 

Hi Brian, I'm currently using FSBuild too but don't really know what I'm missing out on cos it's the only one I've ever used. So just wondering what shortcomings you've encountered using FSBuild that another planner might overcome. Are you thinking interface/ease of use, or ability to import/export, or weather integration etc?

-Paul

 

[Brian_A_Neuman 198]

Paul,

 

The ease if use on FSbuild is fantastic. But on auto routes sometimes it seems to make off plans or have way too much waypoints. I'm looking for fuel planning as well I could figure it out but I guess I am looking for a more real way to plan without spending hours trying to plan it.

 

 

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[tcas_climb 45]

Trust me, PFPX is all you will need Brian, for the PMDG 777 and the 737 fuel planning is very accurate, the only thing i had to adjust was the taxi fuel burn rate, because of FSX crappy ground friction you use more fuel taxiing than normal.

[hopskip 253]

Only niggle I have had with PFPX so far with Routing is that it tends to favour arriving via a STAR if one is available. Normally this is a good thing, but at YBCG arriving from Singapore (Scoot SCO6) it will route well south so that it can arrive via the ROONY/GREAV arrivals, which are really only valid from Sydney. Instead the route should go via a low altitude airway direct to CG VOR and enter one of the VOR/DME approach procedures from overhead the aid.

 

I havn't had any problems with more standard places (ie places with lots of STAR's or even ones with none).

 

Fuel predictions have been uncannily accurate. Example: on a Trans Atlantic I was within 0.1 metric tonnes of the predicted level through the entire NAT, every single point up to and past 52N020W. The landing was a little over 0.8 tonnes out, but that was EGLL on Vatsim with ATC online pushing me around the sky and speed limiting me with traffic etc.

[Spartan0536 49]

I use Plan-G V3 with my data synched to my FSX so I can plan routes with data directly from my game so it all matches up. Its not the most feature intensive program but it is free and it gives you actually FSX data tailored to your system, and that to me is gold.

[Brian_A_Neuman 198]

Hmmm...

 

Looks tough. vRoute looks a little like FSC which is good and bad. PFPX might be more what I am l looking for if it takes the guess work out of SIDS and STARS. I can usually figure then out using SkyVector, but that takes time.

[ak657 2]

I do not regret buying pfpx at all.  I just did a 15 hour flight in the 777, and the fuel burn was only 1 tonne off and 6 minutes late on the arrival time, but i am blaming that on active sky.