PFPX, EFB & PMDG, how is your setup?

[787WannabePilot 12]

What are your steps to setup pre flight route?

[downscc 1,327]

7 minutes ago, 787WannabePilot said:

What are your steps to setup pre flight route?

Pretty vague question.  Aircraft type? Long haul or short? Oceanic or Polar? Mimic an actual flight or ad hoc?

PFPX has a very thorough manual, if you are asking how to use PFPX I suggest you start there and if you have questions they also have an active forum.

Basically, start with origin, destination, aircraft to be flown and weather.  Plan the route, which can be impacted by weather and alternate requirements. Calculate the flight.  I don't know where to put the emphasis.

[vc10man 732]

If I am using the PMDG 737NGX, I first set up a flightplan in PFPX, get the weather from ASN, then I export it to PMDG as well as AivlaSoft's EFB, and that is solely to map-follow as well as give me the pre-SID and pre-STAR selection layouts. I used to rely solely on PFPX but since turning my back on FSX, which PFPX allowed to flight-follow, but does not in P3Dv4, hence I use EFB.

Hope that has answered your query.

[787WannabePilot 12]

1 hour ago, downscc said:

Pretty vague question.  Aircraft type? Long haul or short? Oceanic or Polar? Mimic an actual flight or ad hoc?

PFPX has a very thorough manual, if you are asking how to use PFPX I suggest you start there and if you have questions they also have an active forum.

Basically, start with origin, destination, aircraft to be flown and weather.  Plan the route, which can be impacted by weather and alternate requirements. Calculate the flight.  I don't know where to put the emphasis.

Just curious on what users process is.

I have been using PFPX for years, but I recently acquired EFB because I like the enroute chart usage, and the SIDS / STARS selection.

However, I did notice PFPX and EFB tend to disagree sometimes on the runways to use based off the wind.

[787WannabePilot 12]

1 hour ago, vc10man said:

If I am using the PMDG 737NGX, I first set up a flightplan in PFPX, get the weather from ASN, then I export it to PMDG as well as AivlaSoft's EFB, and that is solely to map-follow as well as give me the pre-SID and pre-STAR selection layouts. I used to rely solely on PFPX but since turning my back on FSX, which PFPX allowed to flight-follow, but does not in P3Dv4, hence I use EFB.

Hope that has answered your query.

When you generate a route in PFPX, the SIDs and STARs are automatically assigned, even though they won't transfer to PMDG they do transfer to EFB.

Do you de-select them before exporting?

[downscc 1,327]

1 hour ago, vc10man said:

If I am using the PMDG 737NGX, I first set up a flightplan in PFPX, get the weather from ASN, then I export it to PMDG as well as AivlaSoft's EFB, and that is solely to map-follow as well as give me the pre-SID and pre-STAR selection layouts. I used to rely solely on PFPX but since turning my back on FSX, which PFPX allowed to flight-follow, but does not in P3Dv4, hence I use EFB.

Hope that has answered your query.

I don't use an EFB, sounds like that EFB is a basic moving map application?  No big deal, I learned to follow my progress on aviation charts decades ago and it still works.  My work flow is to plan the flight in PFPX with it getting weather from Active Sky, which also provides weather to the simulation in P3D.  I export the flightplan from PFPX in both .pln and .rte formats.  ASP4 uses the .rte format and of course PMDG products .rte. Once I have loaded the plan the only thing that PFPX provides is the OFP sheet, which I only use on long haul flights.  I will use the PFPX map but it really isn't an aviation chart so I prefer using SkyVector and I have the simulation running on one computer with a large screen and SkyVector or PFPX is running on a second computer to my left with a typical 32-in screen.

You always have to add the terminal procedures in the CDU when importing a flightplan, unless it was saved to file by the PMDG aircraft. I don't see any reason to deselect them before exporting.... why?

I never let PFPX select the runways... I always do that myself based on my knowledge and perhaps a live track such as from FlightAware.  There are many cases where traffic flow is a specific direction even if there is a tailwind, up to a limit.

[vc10man 732]

Thanks for that Dan. In fact, you taught me something I was vaguely aware of but never implemented. PFPC does has the ability to link to ASN, but I never used it.

As regards, PFPX the SIDs and STARs being automatically assigned, that too I was unaware of, hence used EFB. Hey, you learn something new here everyday.

 

[787WannabePilot 12]

38 minutes ago, downscc said:

I don't use an EFB, sounds like that EFB is a basic moving map application?  No big deal, I learned to follow my progress on aviation charts decades ago and it still works.  My work flow is to plan the flight in PFPX with it getting weather from Active Sky, which also provides weather to the simulation in P3D.  I export the flightplan from PFPX in both .pln and .rte formats.  ASP4 uses the .rte format and of course PMDG products .rte. Once I have loaded the plan the only thing that PFPX provides is the OFP sheet, which I only use on long haul flights.  I will use the PFPX map but it really isn't an aviation chart so I prefer using SkyVector and I have the simulation running on one computer with a large screen and SkyVector or PFPX is running on a second computer to my left with a typical 32-in screen.

You always have to add the terminal procedures in the CDU when importing a flightplan, unless it was saved to file by the PMDG aircraft. I don't see any reason to deselect them before exporting.... why?

I never let PFPX select the runways... I always do that myself based on my knowledge and perhaps a live track such as from FlightAware.  There are many cases where traffic flow is a specific direction even if there is a tailwind, up to a limit.

I keep EFB on a laptop next to the main PC. Also works when I am on long flights, so I take the laptop downstairs to watch TV etc and check on it every once in awhile. :-D

Doesn't PFPX not guide your route into the STARs? Maybe I am reading it wrong, but even when I deselect the STAR or SID, there is still a fix still listed on the list that I would have to manually delete.

 

[787WannabePilot 12]

1 hour ago, vc10man said:

Thanks for that Dan. In fact, you taught me something I was vaguely aware of but never implemented. PFPC does has the ability to link to ASN, but I never used it.

As regards, PFPX the SIDs and STARs being automatically assigned, that too I was unaware of, hence used EFB. Hey, you learn something new here everyday.

 

When you import into EFB, EFB treats them as waypoints than SIDs/STARs.

[vc10man 732]

2 minutes ago, 787WannabePilot said:

When you import into EFB, EFB treats them as waypoints that SIDs/STARs.

That's what completely threw me off as I was adding SIDs to SIDs then having to delete. Thanks for sharing that.

[MattS 45]

I’ve found that PFPX doesn’t select runways well. It would work better if it selected runways after the aircraft type and weights were entered. I like to run the FSWidgets map program on a side laptop. It’s always fun to watch my progress like the passengers do. I only export my flight plan to use with FSWidgets and occasionally ActiveSky when the FMC doesn’t write a plan into P3D. I never import my flight plan into FMC. I like to manually enter it in off the OFP, which gives me something to do during ground ops. 

[787WannabePilot 12]

2 hours ago, MattS said:

I’ve found that PFPX doesn’t select runways well. It would work better if it selected runways after the aircraft type and weights were entered. I like to run the FSWidgets map program on a side laptop. It’s always fun to watch my progress like the passengers do. I only export my flight plan to use with FSWidgets and occasionally ActiveSky when the FMC doesn’t write a plan into P3D. I never import my flight plan into FMC. I like to manually enter it in off the OFP, which gives me something to do during ground ops. 

I would prefer (If possible) if PFPX would allow me to choose the runway and SIDS/STARS, and just give me the route in between.

[MattS 45]

54 minutes ago, 787WannabePilot said:

I would prefer (If possible) if PFPX would allow me to choose the runway and SIDS/STARS, and just give me the route in between.

Actually, you can do something similar.. You can tell PFPX to find a route, then you can click edit and pick your own runways and sid/star/transition. Then hit apply, and you have basically the same thing. 

[SteveW 1,792]

When FSX/P3D starts up with injected weather, ATC looks at the weather, winds, time of day, current traffic - some coming some going some in between, parking locations and other things to determine the runways in use.

So the simulation starts up with all the action going.

If we want a plan that uses runways, approaches, SIDs and STARs, we must predict the runway that will be in use.

No good deciding to make a plan to use any old runway of any direction when everyone else is going the other way.

So we need the forecast for the departure and the destination winds, mostly. From that we can guess the runways in use and build the plan between the relevant SIDs, STARs, departures, approaches and runways.

[787WannabePilot 12]

2 hours ago, MattS said:

Actually, you can do something similar.. You can tell PFPX to find a route, then you can click edit and pick your own runways and sid/star/transition. Then hit apply, and you have basically the same thing. 

However, you need to pay attention because if you switch STARs / SIDs, it still leaves a fix in the route. Such as;

KEWR -> KMIA

PORTT3 BIGGY J75 MXE DCT OTT DCT RIC J40 ILM DCT ADOOR DCT BLUFI BLUFI4   

PFPX has chosen 'BLUFI4' as  my STAR into KMIA.  I switch from BLUFI4 to ANNEY3.  This is the route now;

PORTT3 BIGGY J75 MXE DCT OTT DCT RIC J40 ILM DCT ADOOR DCT BLUFI DCT ANNEY ANNEY3

'BLUFI' is still still in the route, and I have no idea why.