PFPX worth it?

[Orlaam 306]

I only fly the NGX (Dash 8 and RA Duke as well).  I only use RW flight plans.  Having said that, I own Topcat and wonder if the other features in PFPX are worth having?  Fuel predictions with Wx imported from AS16 and so forth.  Are the profiles accurate?  I can't find that all variants are included now.

 

I'm looking to be able to paste RW flight plans and generate a derated flight with a better level of accuracy.

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

There are a lot of fans, but you need to understand, it's a dispatch application, far more complex than Simbrief and it comes with a lot of complexity.  I have it and have tried to use it but it takes a lot of time to learn.  Sometimes it fails to produce a flightplan that I can readily get from Simbrief.  Just be prepared to spend some time with it.

[kingm56 1,023]

There are a lot of fans, but you need to understand, it's a dispatch application, far more complex than Simbrief and it comes with a lot of complexity.  I have it and have tried to use it but it takes a lot of time to learn.  Sometimes it fails to produce a flightplan that I can readily get from Simbrief.  Just be prepared to spend some time with it.

 

 

To counter Greg's opinion, I find PFPX very intuitive and easy to use; in fact, you can dispatch a full flight in about 2 mins.  However, based on your imput, Simbrief may do everything you require (e.g. paste RW flight plans).  So, I suggest you try that before buying PFPX.  If that doesn't fit your needs, don't hesitate to buy PFPX; it's easy to use and as complex as you want it to be...just try simbrief first...it's free .  

[red259 31]

I only fly the NGX (Dash 8 and RA Duke as well).  I only use RW flight plans.  Having said that, I own Topcat and wonder if the other features in PFPX are worth having?  Fuel predictions with Wx imported from AS16 and so forth.  Are the profiles accurate?  I can't find that all variants are included now.

 

I'm looking to be able to paste RW flight plans and generate a derated flight with a better level of accuracy.

 

Depends on what you want out of flying. If you want to just fly then simbrief. If you want to take your simulation to the next level then pfpx. I use pfpx for all my flight planning and love it. It does take some fine tuning though, because of the complexity you want to put in the right information so the calculations all come back correct.

[sparkie66 81]

Short answer: no. Simbrief us better and free.

[pete_auau 1,152]

 

 

Depends on what you want out of flying. If you want to just fly then simbrief. If you want to take your simulation to the next level then pfpx. I use pfpx for all my flight planning and love it. It does take some fine tuning though, because of the complexity you want to put in the right information so the calculations all come back correct.

 

 

yep agree  accept  once  you done  a few  flights  using  pfpx  is  quite  easy

[joolsd 10]

PFPX sometimes produces unusual flight plans and issues SIDS which you wouldn't normally learn about in real life. But only if you let it find a route for you.  It is only as good as the FMS data put into it. You could probably paste a route from simbreif into PFPX and force it to fly a better, more, realistic route. I do this with vRoute and it seems to work. But only if the FMS data is synched up, and I use Navagraphs FMS manager for this.  As said before it isn't a flight planner alone. It is a flight dispatcher.

 

It seems to simulate a flight and keep your reserve fuel intact. PFPX has weather prediction. Bear in mind that ASN or VATSIM, IVAO, will have there own weather. I think PFPX weather prediction pretty good, even if I am using other weather programs.

 

You can export it all as a PDF. You can save route straight into the FMC as an rte file or most formats. Or you can save a p3d/fsx file and load that into Active Sky Next, and use the briefing section of active sky, for all the meteorological information regarding a flight. There are a lot of tools which are useful.

 

If anything PFPX is worth having more than TOPCAT, and I remember TOPCAT is now more integrated into pfpx (if you own it). TOPCAT is important, but it is just a T/O and Landing calculator. It is a small part of the bigger picture, in a flight operation. So personally I don't spend too much time on it.

[kingm56 1,023]

Depends on what you want out of flying. If you want to just fly then simbrief. If you want to take your simulation to the next level then pfpx. I use pfpx for all my flight planning and love it. It does take some fine tuning though, because of the complexity you want to put in the right information so the calculations all come back correct.

 

 

I love PFPX too; however, simbrief isn't some unsophisticated software one employs to simply jump in the cockpit and fly.  It has almost all the sophistication of PFPX, to include auto route generation, validation, NAT and weather integration.  What are you doing in PFPX that can't be done via Simbrief?

[Gregg_Seipp 565]

 

 

PFPX sometimes produces unusual flight plans and issues SIDS which you wouldn't normally learn about in real life. But only if you let it find a route for you. It is only as good as the FMS data put into it. You could probably paste a route from simbreif into PFPX and force it to fly a better, more, realistic route. I do this with vRoute and it seems to work. But only if the FMS data is synched up, and I use Navagraphs FMS manager for this. As said before it isn't a flight planner alone. It is a flight dispatcher.

 

Yes, I've loaded SimBrief flight plans into PFPX too.  Seems odd but *shrugs*.  When you want to fly from A to B, it's a good way to get a route. 

[Boeing or not going 578]

I like PFPX but they are slow to fix bugs often. Right now you can't enter a custom ZFW the load defaults to empty, and it's been 3 weeks with no patch. PFPX has a nice map layout I like using to help know what liveatc.net freqencies to look for during a flight and what airspace I go over. It does a good job predicting fuel and letting me customize alternate airports, flight levels, custom speeds and step climbs, etc. Also if you own Topcat, PFPX lets you use the takeoff/landing calculator built into PFPX. It is a must have if you have the extra money but if money is tight and you are deciding whether to use a free service and buy another scenery then stick with the free. - David Lee

[kevinh 409]

I have the money to buy PFPX but I get all I need from Simbrief. I've considered PFPX a number of times but each time I've decided it doesn't offer value for money for my needs.

 

If you have an interest in the dispatching side of things and want to get into detailed flight planning options, especially ETOPS redispatch then PFPX is definitely the way to go. Simbrief does provide ETOPS predictions but it has bugs and redispatch isn't currently an option. I'm sure it will come eventually though.

 

So basically if you fly a lot of long haul or if detailed flight planning is your thing then PFPX is the way to go. Otherwise check out Simbrief first before investing in PFPX.

[beechcaptain 105]

PFPX is an excellent flight planning utility for FSX/P3D in particular with the PMDG 737 NGX and 777.  I don't have the "unusual flight plan" issues as posted above, as I always enter manual route data obtained from Flightaware. 

 

You can get exact match weights for the NGX by using the slightly modified weights to standardize between PFPX and TopCat.  This allows you to obtain the weight distributions in TopCat via PFPX so when you enter same into the NGX FMC payloads section, your weights are not way off from what was in the flight plan.  Here is the link to the thread regarding how to set PFPX and TopCat up:  http://www.avsim.com/topic/417842-topcat-pfpx-737ngx-weights-how-to/?hl=%20pfpx%20%20topcat

[G7USL 117]

I have both PFPX and more recently EFASS.   I used PFPX for 3 years and occasionally had problems.

I tested EFASS and liked it, straight away so much so, that I bought it. I have been using it continually since.

 

I like the fact that It's not asking for more money after 12 months like the stroke that PFPX pulls.

[downscc 1,327]

PFPX is a necessity for my needs, but everyone has different needs.  There is always a considerable amount of planning that goes into each flight and the industry uses licensed dispatchers to do much of the grunt work but it is still up to the pilot to prepare for the journey. I actually enjoy flight planning, weather, navigation and all the elements that go into a well planned and executed flight.

 

Not familiar with EFASS, is it more robust than PFPX or a low cost alternative?

[beechcaptain 105]

Dan,

 

Here is a link:  http://froom.de/efass/?a=screenshots

 

I looked it over and it appears to be pretty decent and has a free version.  Did not look close enough to determine differences between free and pay versions.  It does not appear to be as in depth as PFPX, and will not steer me away from PFPX.