EFASS is pretty decent.  Doesn't do ETOPS like Simbrief and PFPX.  Again, if you get your flightplan from Simbrief and paste it in then you don't need ETOPS in it.  It's also heavy on the resources so, best to run it on a different computer.  It produces a good brief with fuel/weather and you can see ATC from both VATSIM and IVAO on the moving map. 

Big vote here for Simbrief.

 

I have used both but prefer Simbrief. I didn't feel the money spent on PFPX gave me a better value than Simbrief, but that is personal preference. With PFPX you still have to pay an annual subscription to get updated NATs and other things. Nothing wrong with that but for me Simbrief is a better fit. I enjoy flight planning so SimBrief, Flightaware (for actual flight plans, at least in the US), Skyvector (aeronautical charts, course plotting, NATs, PACOTs, weather, wind) TopCat, and a few FAA and European resources (for oceanic routes and other preferred routes) give me all I need.

 

Simbrief is actually a powerful dispatch tool, and I have found fuel calculations to be quite accurate for both the 737 and 777. Since Simbrief is free (although I do suggest you donate if you like it), give it a try first.

Simbrief is actually a powerful dispatch tool, and I have found fuel calculations to be quite accurate for both the 737 and 777.

What are the fuel policies available in Simbrief?

 

 

What are the fuel policies available in Simbrief?

 

There are contingency, reserve and extra fuel adjustments.  Also, there's ETOPS, different OFP layouts and other things.  You should log in and look around.  It's free.  Also, there's a user's guide and tutorial video under Help.

I like simbrief. Simple and free.

 

This gives a rundown of its options :

 

https://www.simbrief.com/system/guide.php

Thanks Glenn. Reminds me of the old DUATS I used to use for real world planning and flight plan filing with FSS. Great for light twin trips of up to 4 hrs.  Agree, I need the ETOPS and Redispatch capabilites that PFPX brings to the table, and it's integration of weather is intuitive and easy to use.  Sure PFPX could be better, but for the price it is pretty good.

Hi Folks,

 

I've taken a cursory look at Sim Brief as my FSBuild is getting a bit long in the tooth - what if your aircraft isn't listed - is there a way to build it yourself ? Does the developer respond to new aircraft type requests ? I'm specifically interested in the Lear 35A and have pretty much all the official documentation to build flight planning profiles...

 

Thanks...

 

Regards,

Scott

i own pfpx and effass as well, i used pfpx  for about 3 years, after i bought effass, its about all i use, its routes are more direct,its efb and flight planning built in for a 3 flight sims, x-plane,fsx, p3d.effass also has a new beta for effass owners and the beta is looking good right now, sorry to get off topic, but pfpx is only flight planning, you also can connect as 2016 to effass and get better weather ect.. effass and pfpx are both easy to use after a couple flights.

Simbrief is great (and it's true, in some way it is MORE sophisticated than PFPX, not less), but it has one decisive drawback for me: no historical weather. PFPX can use ASN's historical weather data; Simbrief can't, and there's no historical saved weather data in their system. Since I fly exclusively using past weather that makes it an easy choice for me.

 

I'm always a little surprised about how few people seem to even worry about this. Do people always fly real-time flights, or just always use real-time weather (regardless of the date/time in the sim)? For me it would be strange to have night-time temperatures in the day and vice versa!

 

James

For flight planning I have used PFPX, SimBrief, vroute, FS Commander, skyvector, Flightaware and FSbuild.

Normally, route from Flightaware.
Preflight Dep/Arr ATIS from NOAA /upper level winds/temps form ASN, FSGRW or NOAA.

I use FSBuild 95% of the time.
That gives me the basics: payload/fuel required/ZFW/route/wind data and a navlog to print.
 

 

 

I'm always a little surprised about how few people seem to even worry about this. Do people always fly real-time flights, or just always use real-time weather (regardless of the date/time in the sim)? For me it would be strange to have night-time temperatures in the day and vice versa!

 

Agree James (full names here please), I like flying actual times for flights rather than current time.  For example, right now it is 09 1920Z but my flight in progress KIAH-EHAM is at 09 0912Z and will cross the N Atlantic on a random route because the NATS are full of Westbound traffic during the "daytime."  PFPX allowed me to plan the flight leaving KIAH at 09 0640Z with correct weather for departure and enroute so I can execute the flight during the same time that the actual Atlas is flying.  Also being behind actual time gives me the option of using time acceleration if I wish and not fly into the "future."  Yeah, I almost always fly at least several hours behind actual time.

 

I'm always a little surprised about how few people seem to even worry about this. Do people always fly real-time flights, or just always use real-time weather (regardless of the date/time in the sim)? For me it would be strange to have night-time temperatures in the day and vice versa!

 

James

 

Interesting point. I mostly use the current time and current weather, because it adds an element of realism to the flight. Also, you can check real world METARS, which should echo what is happening in the sim. If you fly online, you have to fly conditions, of the network. That is not to say people must do this, but I like the randomness of what the day/night throws at you. This is why a 'flight dispatch' program is important because it helps you look at the whole mission. in context, of the day, you are flying. There are other strange fight sim superstitions such as taking off from the same place you landed at. That is OCD!

 

You could do all this with historical weather I'm sure. Such is the advantage of flight sims. And practice, difficult weather situations. Crosswinds, fog etc.

 

 

I like simbrief. Simple and free

 

 

well its  kind  of free  the  dev  has  asked  if  you like  it  please  use  the donate  option

Lots of opinions here lol.  So if using flightaware real flight plans and using current Wx, SimBrief is the better option?  My question then is, how accurate are the fuel predictions and whats the deal with updating the AIRAC.  The one I saw when I sampled a flight was super old.

 

 

Lots of opinions here lol.  So if using flightaware real flight plans and using current Wx, SimBrief is the better option?  My question then is, how accurate are the fuel predictions and whats the deal with updating the AIRAC.  The one I saw when I sampled a flight was super old

 

When I use Simbrief, I find the fuel predictions to be as accurate as PFPX; additionally, like PFPX, you can establish biases for each aircraft to adjust fuel burn numbers accordingly.  You update Simbrief's AIRAC via Navigraph; 1503 is free for all users.  If you have a current Navigraph subscription, just go to your Simbrief account and click "unlock" on the current cycle...bam, you're done.