Thanks, my flights are around an hour or less. More of a casual tubeliner guy but still like to get the approach correct. If there is a flight planner that give the correct sid/star in a suggestion that might work as it will allow me to then choose the correct one. 

Paul,

 

You should be okay with departure wx when planning in that case.

 

PFPX is as good as there is but of course you need to keep it up to date with Navigraph data and an annual subscription for the wx service is also advisable. You get 12 months wx included when you buy PFPX but still need to keep the SIDs and STARs up to date with Navigraph.

With Aivlasoft EFB you can see the SID/STARs displayed as part of your route, so you can select the one that suits your purpose; compare and contrast. The Aerosoft bus gives you the option to save a route with or without SID/STARs.

PFPX is as good as there is but of course you need to keep it up to date with Navigraph data and an annual subscription for the wx service is also advisable. You get 12 months wx included when you buy PFPX but still need to keep the SIDs and STARs up to date with Navigraph.

 

Yep. PFPX will suggest a SID and a STAR. So even though it will not export it into the flight plan which you can load as a company route, you still get the information to enter the SID and STAR manually. Make sure you check the route in PLAN mode on the Nav display in the flight deck to make sure the STAR is entered correctly and not to get a mess on arrival. But as Ray said, if weather changes during your flight then the STAR might not be the right STAR anymore...

 

Weather subscription is not required for PFPX if you have a good weather engine. PFPX can read the weather from ASN and ASN has live weather for free. This also enables you to fly historic flights with historic weather and PFPX will get runways and SIDs and STARs right with the historic weather (more or less).

 

A navdata subsription is usefull but also not necessary. The only important thing is that you buy one AIRAC and update all add-ons with this AIRAC so that all data is consistent (PFPX, Aerosoft Airbus, ...). Buying an AIRAC once a year is usually more than enough if you don't fly online and are more the casual tubeliner captain as you have described yourself above.

You can download the FAA official PDFs (FREE) for all things Aviation including IFR procedures here. You can get a printed book form for less than $10. The best investment for a simmer... Its actually exciting to get this and go over...

 

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/instrument_procedures_handbook/

 

ARRIVALS:

http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/instrument_procedures_handbook/media/Chapter_3.pdf

 

$3.50 at Amazon... This is 2004 version..probably too old

 

http://www.amazon.com/Instrument-Procedures-Handbook-FAA-H-8261-1A-Administration/dp/1616082712

 

Updated color version $30

http://www.amazon.com/Instrument-Procedures-Handbook-FAA-H-8083-16-Handbooks/dp/1619541858/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=51TciFu1p0L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR122%2C160_&refRID=0JCB4YK2FPPNWWFS8PSV

Ok thanks,,I do not use ATC so need correct sid and star to my  route. I know I can choose one in the FMC but I always seem to choose the wrong one and it looks like noodle soup when I get to my destination. 

 

I just want a flight planner that will add the correct sid and star to a route so I can have the correct setup for a nice landing without a ton of odd and much too tight turns and most are too short. 

 

Mostly want this for the Aerosoft bus. 

 

Thanks for the replies and I am always learning.

 

I use Pro-ATC/X, which will give you SIDs during flight clearance (and mostly also STARs, at least for flights less than 2 hrs). It also pushes this flight plan into the default GPS, if you have installed it to your bus. That would mean: after flight clearance you could theoretically exit Pro-ATC/X - as you say you fly without. However, I use it because it is much better than the default one