flight planning software suggestions

[rufowler 2]

It's an old & often-asked question, and I realize the topic has been addressed in this forum before, but the posts were either old (thus might not take into account newer programs) or didn't apply to me and my specific flying preferences. So alas, I'll ask it again and hope you don't mind if it's a redundant question:

 

What flight planning do you recommend?

 

Things to keep in mind:  I'm a newbie and am still learning a lot of the basics of flight.  I'm a GA flyer -- and frankly I don't see that changing anytime soon.  I fly mostly in North America, primarily within Orbx FTX regions, and mainly into & out of small/medium sized airports.  I do a mix of VFR and some IFR flying.  At the moment, I'm using Air Hauler and FsPassengers as my career software, but that might change.  (Btw, neither AH nor FsP have flight planning tools, not do they don't care how you plan/schedule flights.)  I do not belong to a virtual airline.  I do not have a weather addon (yet), and I'd like not to be bound only to live, real-world weather conditions.  And did I mention I'm a newbie?

 

Lastly, yes, I've heard that PFPX is super robust, and there's nothing that comes close, and it's amazing, etc, etc.  But it's a tad pricey, and as a GA flyer I'm not sure if I need something like that which seems to be oriented more towards the heavies.

 

Any suggestions?  Thanks in advance.  Cheers!  

[Boeing or not going 578]

FSBuild is a great simple planner with support from the developer even after all these years.

[rufowler 2]

Yeah, I've seen that name floating around.  Does it allow you to import plans into FSX ... and allow you access it via the kneeboard?  I'm not really interested in actually printing anything up.  (If that sounds like a dumb questions, yes, I'm that green when it comes to FSX.)  

[shamrockflyer 647]

This is a VERY good flight planner, I use it all the time, I could never understand PFPX. You can also import flight plans into FSX! It also acts as a fuel planner. http://onlineflightplanner.no-ip.org/

[Dickens 1]

I use routefinder, simple and easy to use, not exactly intuitive or "pretty" though. http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/

[tjrush 54]

I don't see how either of the above are flight planners.  They merely look for previously flown flights.  If you're a GA flyer, this will probably get you nowhere. For example try a flight from Teterboro (KTEB) to  Burke lakefront (KBKL).  You get no result as is the case for many smaller airports. 

 

I suggest FS Commander.  http://www.fscommander.com

 

Plan the flight yourself.  If you find a flight on Flightaware or similar, you can plug it into FSC.

[pete_auau 1,159]

I don't see how either of the above are flight planners

 

They worked for me just tried it  you have to untick the sid and star boxes

 

if your just flying  ga aircraft another good web page  where you can plan your flight is, you have to plan your own flight plan using  this

 

http://skyvector.com/

[max2770 75]

I'm a bit of a flight planning nut. Here's what I think.

 

Don't buy PFPX. It is amazing and I couldn't fly without it - but I'm an airline guy. It's way, way too much for GA, you'd be wasting your money.

 

SkyVector isn't a flight planner per se, but it's both free and incredibly useful.

 

I honestly would NOT pay for any software in your position and use one of the many free great tools.

 

Lastly, if you want to try something a bit like PFPX for heavier planes, I encourage you to try the free and very great simbrief.com.

 

Don't hesitate, I'm keeping an eye on this thread!

[rufowler 2]

This is a VERY good flight planner, I use it all the time, I could never understand PFPX. You can also import flight plans into FSX! It also acts as a fuel planner. http://onlineflightplanner.no-ip.org/

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.  Looks promising, but does it matter than the dropdown list aircraft doesn't include the things I fly?  I'm guessing if I'm flying a C172, Cherokee, or Bonanza (the three I fly pretty much exclusively) I can just select the Cessna Grand Caravan or the Quest Kodiak 100 or something, and it will get me in the right direction?

 

I use routefinder, simple and easy to use, not exactly intuitive or "pretty" though. http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/

 

Cool, I'll look into it more ... but I believe this is just showing me existing routes flown before, and there's no real way to tweak it much, no? 

 

I suggest FS Commander.  http://www.fscommander.com

 

Plan the flight yourself.  If you find a flight on Flightaware or similar, you can plug it into FSC.

 

Yup, seems like if I'm going to pay for something (besides PFPX ... which I'm not going to do), this is a classic.  When I'm ready to spend a little, I have a feeling I'm going to go with this one.  Thanks.

 

They worked for me just tried it  you have to untick the sid and star boxes

 

if your just flying  ga aircraft another good web page  where you can plan your flight is, you have to plan your own flight plan using  this

 

http://skyvector.com/

 

I've heard of this one too and will have a look.  I was a tad confused at first glance, but I'll poke around on the site.

 

Don't buy PFPX. It is amazing and I couldn't fly without it - but I'm an airline guy. It's way, way too much for GA, you'd be wasting your money.

 

SkyVector isn't a flight planner per se, but it's both free and incredibly useful.

 

I honestly would NOT pay for any software in your position and use one of the many free great tools.

 

Lastly, if you want to try something a bit like PFPX for heavier planes, I encourage you to try the free and very great simbrief.com.

 

Thanks, max2770.  I appreciate your input.  I think I'll probably hold off on purchasing anything for the time being -- at least until I move up to bigger birds, if I ever do.  I guess my needs at the moment are pretty simple and I just want take advantage of options that will make the planning process (something i don't do a whole lot of) easier and maybe more interesting.  But like I said, I'm basically just starting out, esp compared to a lot of the seasoned folks out there.

 

Thanks for the help, gang!

[fs4fun 366]

For GA I usually use Plan-G: http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/

 

Also, +1 on skyvector.com. Fantastic for weather, charts etc.

 

If you do get into airliners, SimBrief is really good: http://www.simbrief.com/home/

[max2770 75]

Plan-G seems nice, I might try it and donate if I find good use for it!

[Dickens 1]

I don't know if routefinder uses past routes, I don't think so. However, this page at Flighaware displays recently filed routes with the FAA https://flightaware.com/statistics/ifr-route/ I particularly like this tool because it also displays the SIDS and STARS used. You don't really need to buy anything to be able to get routes, and still be successful in flights.

[vc10man 732]

Nice heads-up on that, Ciaran. Thanks, even though I already have FSC9.5,EFB, and PFPX.

[vonmar 123]

Try SimBrief:

 

http://www.simbrief.com/home/

[rufowler 2]

I don't know if routefinder uses past routes, I don't think so. However, this page at Flighaware displays recently filed routes with the FAA https://flightaware.com/statistics/ifr-route/ I particularly like this tool because it also displays the SIDS and STARS used. You don't really need to buy anything to be able to get routes, and still be successful in flights.

 

I think this might be more relevant for heavies.  Just did a few smaller-medium sized regional airports in my area and couldn't find any route.  And the ones I did find in the larger airports near me were for planes cruising at FL300+ (which is definitely a tad high for my little single props. Thanks though!

 

Nice heads-up on that, Ciaran. Thanks, even though I already have FSC9.5,EFB, and PFPX.

 

Yeah, this does look promising, but I'm wondering if it matters that the only planes listed are a notch up size-wise.  I suppose this is used primarily to figure out fuel consumption for a flight?

 

Try SimBrief:

 

http://www.simbrief.com/home/

 

Cool-looking, but might be a bit more than I can handle at the moment.  Looks like it's kinda oriented towards the heavies, no?