Well PMDG flyers, what is your cup of tea when choosing where to get your routes?

Online? (Flightaware etc)

Program? (PFPX, FSBuilder etc)

Other source?

For my PMDG aircraft flights, I switched to using this:

https://www.simbrief.com/home/index.php

Too many (and I mean MANY) reasons to list here, but some of the main ones for my PMDG use are:

1.  Creating flight plans are a breeze.  Enter departure and arrival airports, aircraft type (from a LARGE list of selectable aircraft), and other optional stuff (if desired...not mandatory), then click Create Plan.  If you don't like the FIRST one the SimBrief interface creates, you can one-click with your mouse for current real world flight plans from places like FlightAware, etc, and it will automatically list those and let you select those instead.  But I rarely have to use that, as the first one SimBrief creates is usually spot-on.

2.  Once you accept a plan, you can save it in PMDG format (and MANY other formats) for instant loading as a "Company Route" in your PMDG FMC.  You can also download the accompanying weather file to use in the B777 if you want.  You can ALSO save the plan as a .PLN file for something like Active Sky to use.  The list of possible formats you can download covers most major addon developers products.

3.  The flight plan "printout" (shown on screen) contains just about ANY information you may want for your FMC usage after loading the Company Route plan.  Such as a recommended Cost Index, Winds Aloft for your flight, etc (all of these things can be manually entered in the FMC using different values if you want).

It is SO much easier for me and my PMDG use than using my other "stand alone" flight planners now.  It won't "do it all" for you, but you can amend anything you want after loading the created Company Route plan in the FMC.

If nothing else, register (free) at the site and read about it, then try creating some plans.  You may get hooked on using it for PMDG use like I did.  

EDIT:  Also, if you have a Navigraph subscription, it will use your CURRENT database for planning flights.

 

6 minutes ago, FalconAF said:

For my PMDG aircraft flights, I switched to using this:

https://www.simbrief.com/home/index.php

Too many (and I mean MANY) reasons to list here, but some of the main ones for my PMDG use are:

1.  Creating flight plans are a breeze.  If you don't like the FIRST one the SimBrief interface creates, you can one-click with your mouse for current real world flight plans from places like FlightAware, etc, and it will automatically let you select those instead.  But I rarely have to use that, as the first one SimBrief creates is usually spot-on.

2.  Once you accept a plan, you can save it in PMDG format for instant loading as a "Company Route" in your PMDG FMC.  You can also download the accompanying weather file to use in the B777 if you want.  You can ALSO save the plan as a .PLN file for something like Active Sky to use.  The list of possible formats you can download covers most major addon developers products.

3.  The flight plan "printout" (shown on screen) contains just about ANY information you may want for your FMC usage after loading the Company Route plan.

It is SO much easier for me and my PMDG use than using my other flight planners now.  It won't "do it all" for you, but you can amend anything you want after loading the created Company Route plan in the FMC.

If nothing else, register (free) at the site and read about it, then try creating some plans.  You may get hooked on using it for PMDG use like I did.  

I agree. It is a great free site and service.

 

Greg

It depends. I use PFPX for longer routes, but since we got our twins in april, I don't get to fly much more than an one-hour flight every weekend.

So what I do like to do now is fire up Navigraph Charts, select a SID wich takes me in the general direction to the destination, pre-select some reasonable STARs and approaches for the anticipated runway and manually find connecting airways via the enroute charts.

It's fun to plan a route without any automatisms and it's something that I can do in the few free minutes I get every day.

I sim UAL flights so I use Flightaware for the flight number and real life route. I then copy the route into PFPX and go fly! Lately I've been flying in Japan (try it! short flights using widebody aircraft (777's mostly) and no repeating textures like the midwest or desert US) so I've looked at STAR Alliance, partner ANA, and let PFPX do the whole plan.

SimBrief, here, very much like the real world dispatch. Been using for a couple years, very fast, many options..... The service is free, but I do donate.

Jerry Friz

I used Simbrief for a long time, now I switched to PFPX. This is for my modern IFR flights. When I fly the DC6 or the Connie I plan my flights vor to vor with Little Navmap.

For choosing DEP and ARR airport I have made a google maps-map where I mark all my freeware and payware airports to get a nice overview. Also a nice to have to find new airports.

Hi,

I make all my flight plans with PFPX but I use several sources to check for real routes when available:

_ Flightaware for all the flights to/from US

_ http://www.edi-gla.co.uk/fpl/ very useful database of real flight plans

_ https://www.eurofpl.eu/front_page real and possible routes.

How do you exclude FIR airspace using Simbrief flightplanning?  The Baghdad FIR for example is avoided on real world routes between Europe and Dubai.  I know how do do this with PFPX, but not with Simbrief.

I use FlightAware if I can find the route, and if I can't, I use SimBrief.

5 hours ago, Budbud said:

Hi,

I make all my flight plans with PFPX but I use several sources to check for real routes when available:

_ Flightaware for all the flights to/from US

_ http://www.edi-gla.co.uk/fpl/ very useful database of real flight plans

_ https://www.eurofpl.eu/front_page real and possible routes.

I use the same stuff as Budbud except for edi-gla.co.uk and eurofpl.eu as I fly in aus. I also integrate AS16 weather into PFPX. PFPX can screw up routing and some other calculations occasionally but that’s only >5% of the time for me.  :)

There are also preferred routes for certain city pairings and/or intersection points

US: https://www.fly.faa.gov/rmt/nfdc_preferred_routes_database.jsp

UK: (particularly for NATS entry points) http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index.php%3Foption=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=186&Itemid=258.html

 

Flightaware for my North American flights.  All the info I need.

I use FlightAware to select an aircraft/airline/Dep and Arr...Then SimBrief to make up the actual package. I download the FMS data for both PMDG and AS2016, or just the FSX/P3D flight plan for others. The browse by operator feature at FA is so cool!!! I have been using SimBrief for several years now. It's an awesome service, and yes, it's FREE!!!

I re-create actual real world flights so when they're US based I use FlightAware for the filed route (along with the plan if available for international flights - never hurts to check, sometimes it's there).  When FA doesn't have the filed route, I have to get to work.  I have a paid subscription to flightradar24.  Since I'm re-creating flights, they've already completed.  I've learned that when you use the playback feature in FR24, you can do so with the aeronautical charts displayed.  This allows me to piece together the route start to finish for probably 95% of the flights I fly (currently only flying the 777).  This also allows you to see where the real flight step climbed.  Plug all this into PFPX and adjust CI, fixed speeds (where applicable) and weights to match up as best as possible and voila.  For me, it's very rewarding to re-create a 12+ hour flight and complete it within a minute or two of the real world one.