Good evening,

 

When planning a flight, how do I know if I'll encounter a headwind or a tailwind? At what altitude and waypoints would I be able to anticipate the components of the latter?

 

Headwind and tailwind are factors I never really considered until recently, especially on long hauls where it has become more evident, the need to educate myself about these things.

 

Arrival times are affected by said components and I'd like to correct this by adjusting figures of nautical miles.

 

Please, if anyone knows, I'd truly appreciate your response. Use example flights if you need to.

 

For reference, I fly FSX boxed using the standard plan in fsx. I then fly high altitude airways, with 1-3 VOR waypoints (I usually delete everything else). I plan fuel quantity using the standard PMDG 747-400 rule:

 

MLF= 24,000 lbs

CF= 18,000 lbs

 

Etc... and, so on...

 

I never use online fuel planners. I like to use my pen and paper.

It is not possible to check winds at cruise altitude in FSX.

 

To do that you would need a good weather engine (for example Active Sky Next). In ASN you can check weather forecast for your flight plan (you can import FSX flight plan to ASN to get the weather forecast). It will also give you your Ground Speed forecast.

 

Alternatively - with ASN you can check look at Skyvector.com and check wind on your altitude (show Wind Barbs option in Layers menu). From this you can calculate headwind/tailwind components in selected waypoints. You can use this calculator: http://mye6b.com/e6b.html#_Wind

Hello,

 

Thank you for responding.

 

I do fly with ASN, but only launch the application to make use of weather conditions in live mode. I never really plan my flights using ASN. I'll start doing that from now on if I'm ever going to learn about these components.

 

Thank you!

I would suggest putting additional waypoints in your flight plan. You don't want to rely on weather data from a point that is hundreds miles away
 

Good evening,

 

When planning a flight, how do I know if I'll encounter a headwind or a tailwind? At what altitude and waypoints would I be able to anticipate the components of the latter?

Headwind and tailwind are factors I never really considered until recently, especially on long hauls where it has become more evident, the need to educate myself about these things.

Arrival times are affected by said components and I'd like to correct this by adjusting figures of nautical miles.

 

Please, if anyone knows, I'd truly appreciate your response. Use example flights if you need to.

 

Hi, Nigel,

 

You can always check the winds aloft at your cruising altitude while flying.

 

All you need to do is press "Shift" + "Z" one time and you will have your winds aloft. Press this combination one more time and you will get your FPS. Press this combination one more time and you will have winds aloft and FPS, with positioning information. One more press of this combination and it clears the information from view.

 

This will provide you with the current winds you are encountering. Which is better than not having anything at all. As you are flying along, factor in the average wind component to your trip to re-evaluate your flight time.

 

As an alternative for not having any flight plan showing the winds, just check the winds as often as you wish to update what they are doing.

 

This is a simple, but effective, method to use short of using a flight planning program.

 

Sure hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

 

Jim

Good evening,

When planning a flight, how do I know if I'll encounter a headwind or a tailwind? At what altitude and waypoints would I be able to anticipate the components of the latter?

Headwind and tailwind are factors I never really considered until recently, especially on long hauls where it has become more evident, the need to educate myself about these things.

Arrival times are affected by said components and I'd like to correct this by adjusting figures of nautical miles.

Please, if anyone knows, I'd truly appreciate your response. Use example flights if you need to.

I never use online fuel planners. I like to use my pen and paper.

 

Hello, Nigel,

 

Found this today:    http://www.simbrief.com/home/?page=home

 

You would have to register, but it is a free flight planning program online.

 

Here is a copy of a flight plan that will show you the format and that the winds are shown and accounted for:    http://www.simbrief.com/ofp/flightplans/EGLLLIRF_PDF_1448812036.pdf

 

Happy Flying,

 

Jim

Hello, Nigel,

 

Found this today: http://www.simbrief.com/home/?page=home

 

You would have to register, but it is a free flight planning program online.

 

Here is a copy of a flight plan that will show you the format and that the winds are shown and accounted for: http://www.simbrief.com/ofp/flightplans/EGLLLIRF_PDF_1448812036.pdf

 

Happy Flying,

 

Jim

Hello,

 

Thank you very much! I truly appreciate this.

 

Regards

 

Nigel