does anyone know if the default flight planner gives realistic altitudes? i know it doesn't account for terrain. for a 300 mile flight it gives me 4000' in a jet. does that sound about right? i have no reason to doubt the altitude just wondering though. thanks, william

The flight planner may set some altitude based on type flight and airways to be used. However, as in the real world, the pilot needs to request/set the altitude for a safe flight.W. Sieffert

ok, thanks! william

Hi William,I find the altitudes given by the VFR setting of the default flight planner to be - at the risk of sounding a little "rough" - to be absolutely ridiculous with respect to real life!I get the same 4000 feet or even less for a 747 Jumbo Jet...It's possible that MS is assuming that if you want to fly Visual Flight Rules (VFR), that you want to see the landscape/scenery and hence want to fly low enough to enjoy it. If you're wondering why I'm flying VFR, but still selecting high altitudes like 28,000 feet or higher (depending on my flight distance) it's because the IFR ATC of FS2004 is also rather strange so I draw my own flight plan using the waypoints on the map.I don't use it much but if you try the "high altitude airways" option or IFR, the altitudes should be more realistic.John

thanks john. i think my last flight plan the other day was ifr from charleston to atlanta in my new cj1, it gave me 4000' vor to vor. maybe i'll try one of the high altitude airways and see what they give me. thanks, william

Try making several flight plans using the planner over a long distance especially were mountains are concerned. I did several using KORL to KPDX.I tried using different size aircraft to see if it made a difference on altitude. It didn't. The flight planner does note the highest altitude of the terrain in selecting a flight altitude. It also differentiates between VFR and IFR assigned altitudes.If a flight is planned where the terrain is flat, it will use an altitude for safe flight over that terrain. While that may be okay, you just don't fly jets, private or commercial, at low altitudes for long periods of time. It is perfectly normal to fly GA aircraft between 3000 to 12000+ since they are usually aircraft efficient at those altitudes.Again it is the pilot's responsibility to select the altitude, based on weather, winds aloft, aircraft capabilities, and trip distance. If the suggested altitude is not what you want, change it!If you are really interested in determining the best altitude, visit http://aviationweather.gov/ , select Winds/Temps (FB) on the left menu, select the area for your planned flight, determine the best altitude, and select this altitude in the flight planner. Go fly, and monitor the winds aloft (CTRL-Z) to see if the forcast winds match/don't match the reported winds.W. Sieffert

thanks, and that's good to know. that looks like a great link too. william