When doing a flightplan and you wan't is as realistic as possible, should you then always use airways? I have found out that this often mean a turnaround compared to direct GPS or even VOR to VOR.When can you use direct GPS and still have it as real as it get? When can you leave airways? How is it done in real life?

Depends in real life if you have a certified gps or not.In the past, my plane did not. Therefore, I always filed the airways.However-as I have a non certified hand held gps and panel mounted non certified loran-I would put in the remarks section of the flight plan "non certified gps/loran". I would then start the route as filed-then sometimes ask for a "heading" until able direct (atc would often give me this without asking). Atc can legally assign a heading until able to receive a vor etc.-and they know I am verfifying with a handheld/loran. This is a way to go direct, "unofficially". If atc is unable to give the heading clearance-then airways are it.Now that my new plane has a certified gps-I file to a nearby fix-then direct. I have flown the last 6 months across the entire US both east to west and north to south and have not had to fly an airway-except in crossing Wyoming/Utah/Nevada where the mountains made flying the airway the best route anyway-therfore I filed and flew the airways for that part of the route.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

It is a complex subject requiring info regarding your aircraft type, whether IFR or VFR, if you are in controlled airspace, and so on.If you are intending to cruise at FL180 or above, you must file IFR as all flights at 18000 feet or above (in the US) are controlled. If you are flying from dense areas and departure procedures exist, they will suggest you file direct to a vor that places you on a high altitude jet route if going far enough. During this phase you may be receiving departure vectors for the first part of the intial climb and you may not be flying low altitude airways. You use the high altitude enroute charts for this to get you near the nearest navaid to your destination.Similar procedures are followed for lower altitude IFR cruising but you will be using mostly the low enroute V routes. You may be flying direct to the first vor to merge with the airway. ATC may approve non-airway direct navaid points to allow shortcuts if traffic conditions allow.VFR flights in other than controlled airspace allow you to fly where you wish following visual navigation merged with navaid use. For simplicity where appropriate vor to vor would be used again using v-routes but you can go off route direct if conditions allow.So if you are flying high commercial stuff you for most of your long flights will be on airways between vors. Lower slower controlled ifr stuff will have a greater chance of atc approval if airways are used.For major airports there are tables of preferred routes set up for various destinations and aircraft performance. These include tower routes which means that where atc approach zones overlap you might be passed from approach/departure control to the next one in line rather than handed to atc centers during the enroute portion.You will find that published routes do not always go direct from vor to vor but frequently "bend" at intersections defined by the crossing of to vor radials with and without dme location. For gps flying these intersections are usually marked in addition to waypoints defined within the gps realm only.Using appropriate deviation from published routes to avoid turn arounds in approved by atc for controlled flying is frequently used but at some point if going into high density traffic near destination preferred STAR arrival routes when mixing with transport and ifr controlled flights may be required to establish orderly traffic flow within controlled airspace around your destination.It is on-line but you can in the US purchase the FAA's Instrument Flying Handbook that covers all the controlled airspace techniques for flight planning and control of your aircraft. It is about $13 at many book stores.

Hi Ronzie, just as a short note - the handbooks may be downloaded off the FAA site as well:Instrument Flying Handbook, 280 pageshttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-15-1of2.pdf 8.0MB http://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-15-2of2.pdf 5.0MBAirplane Flying Handbook, 281 pageshttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-1of7.pdf 0.5MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-2of7.pdf 2.8MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-3of7.pdf 3.0MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-4of7.pdf 3.0MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-5of7.pdf 2.6MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-6of7.pdf 2.8MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-3a-7of7.pdf 1.3MBPilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, 353 pageshttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-25-1of4.pdf 4.8 MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-25-2of4.pdf 11.1MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-25-3of4.pdf 4.1MBhttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...083-25-4of4.pdf 2.6MBAircraft Weight and Balance Handbook, 95 pageshttp://av-info.faa.gov/data/traininghandbo...aa-s-8083-1.pdf 17.0MBLinks by Egbert D. Scandinavian VACheers, Uwe

>It is a complex subject requiring info regarding your>aircraft type, whether IFR or VFR, if you are in controlled>airspace, and so on.>I fly many different type of plans. Both VFR and IFR. In and out of all kind of airspaces. Both single and twins. So far only prop and usually not any longer trips. But that might change.>with the airway. ATC may approve non-airway direct navaid>points to allow shortcuts if traffic conditions allow.>So if not told otherwise by ATC you should follow airways i.ein the plan go for airways?>So if you are flying high commercial stuff you for most ofMostly flying GA at least so far. Most commercial sofar is PMDG B1900D.