Reality XP GTN 750 Trainer

[ColinSigley 1]

It might be a dumb question but is it possible to plan and prove a route using the GTN trainer and then transfer the route into the installed GTN750.  I. using the latest version of Xplane 11 on Win10

 

 

[RXP 2,338]

Hi,

it won't be possible because the saved route in the trainer won't be 'shared' with the plugin.

You might want to refer to the User's Manual chapter about 'non volatile memory' for more information about where does the trainer save internal state and how our plugin manages this.

However, you might want to use external flight planning applications and save a .gfp flight plan which you can then load into the device.

[ColinSigley 1]

Many thanks for your very prompt response.  I can use an external flight planning service but - another dumb question - how do I load it into the device?

[DavidP 1,410]

I personally don't bother inputting via external means.

One of the beauties of the GTN series, particularly the 750 is the way Garmin revolutionalised the input of routings compared to the older 430/530 series, which while state-of-the-art at the time were labour intensive and quite frankly a pain.

The GTN's allow input of airways that fill the route with all waypoints along the airway, much the same as an airliner's FMC/CDU. Manual input of veen longer routes into GTN's is a snap.

However you use it is up to you, but I just thought that I'd add my take on it.

[RXP 2,338]

2 hours ago, ColinSigley said:

another dumb question - how do I load it into the device?

It is all explained in the RXP GTN User's Manual, and should also be found with the forum search feature.

Edited January 8, 2019 by RXP

[fppilot 4,360]

6 hours ago, DavidP said:

I personally don't bother inputting via external means.

One of the beauties of the GTN series, particularly the 750 is the way Garmin revolutionalised the input of routings compared to the older 430/530 series, which while state-of-the-art at the time were labour intensive and quite frankly a pain.

The GTN's allow input of airways that fill the route with all waypoints along the airway, much the same as an airliner's FMC/CDU. Manual input of veen longer routes into GTN's is a snap.

However you use it is up to you, but I just thought that I'd add my take on it.

I mostly agree with David. I built an inventory of .gfp flight plans from three sources and keep them backed up. That way if I ever need to complete a reinstall I have some to fall back on.  I had quite a learning curve. Just what David called "labour intensive".  Perhaps I should take time to write a post that could be pinned here in the forum.

Please note that what I report here are limitations of the Garmin GTN and Garmin GTN Trainer, and thus not in any way an issue or issues with the Reality XP product. I find that the RXP import routine is a welcome feature.  I for one however found myself immersed it in and spent a lot of time attempting to learn how to deal with the highly explicit parameters that Garmin built in.

A copy of the Garmin pdf document describing the file specifications may make interesting reading.  It is attached at the bottom of the first message in the following link: https://forums.jetcareers.com/threads/garmin-gtn650-user-flight-plan-import-question.231557/#post-2538904

The GTN series is more sophisticated than the earlier GNS series, and thus the GTN is more sophisticated in what it demands during import of a .gfp tile.  One very good set of examples are the GTN's ability to use the procedures for departures, arrivals, and approaches. But one issue with that level of sophistication is that those procedures get updated, by naming sequence.

Arrival GIIBS THREE  (GIIBS.GIIBS3) for KIND, Indianapolis, Indiana, is current today. But my GTN database has that arrival as GIIBS TWO (GIIBS.GIIBS2). So if you externally plan a flight including that GIIBS THREE arrival, the simulator GTN will reject it as not recognized.  Most arrival and departure procedures' names sequence like that over time.

I found RNAV approaches could be a problem.  At KBMG, Bloomington, Indiana, each of the four runways have one RNAV approach each.  Those work fine during import into the GTN.  But KIND, mentioned above, has two RNAV approaches each for each runway, a RNAV (GPS) Y  and a  RNAV (GPS) Z  approach for each.  For some reason the GTN does not have the ability to distinguish. So since it cannot identify which you want, it either rejects the flight plan or locks the approach during import and forces you to edit the flight to delete it, and then to select from within the GTN. 

Hi and Low airways have been added to Hi and Low Enroute IFR charts for RNAV equipped aircraft use.  Q routes for 18,000 and above, and T routes for below 18,000 ft.  Example: Q42 extends between SPOTZ near Allentown, Pennsylvania, and IRK at Kirksville, Missouri.  A T route example is T295 which extends from BGR at Bangort, Maine,  to just east of Baltimore, Maryland, and ending at LOUIE over the lower Chesapeake Bay.  When I have attempted to import flight plans using these Q or T routes they most often get rejected as unrecognized airways. 
BUT. 
Plan a flight from Bangor KBGR to KESN at Easton, Maryland, in the GTN itself with an initial fix of TICBU just south of Bangor, then select TICBU and Load  Airway and you will find T295 there waiting for you. Use fix BABBS  just north of Baltimore and then click Load and the whole route is brought in.  Why the GTN cannot import most of these Q and T routes is a mystery to me.  So in cases like that, creating then importing a .gfp file is not where to spend your time. Thus Davids reference to "labour intensive".

Still another set of occasional headaches are fixes or waypoints that get locked during the import process. The Garmin GTN series, and for that matter the Garmin GNS series as well, will not assume what waypoint you intend when it's database contains more than one waypoint that share the same name.  A good example of this is intersection/waypoint BUNKA on low altitude V221 just west of OOM Bloomington, Indiana. There is another fix in the worldwide database named BUNKA in the African country of Ivory Coast. I had BUNKA locked when I imported a flight plan from St Louis to Bloomington.  If you have had the experience of having a Garmin GTN or GNS ask you during entry to select between two such waypoints sharing the same name then you have seen yourself waypoints that the import functions will lock.

Please again note that these are limitations of the Garmin GTN and Garmin GTN Trainer, and thus not in any way an issue or issues with the Reality XP product..

I kept my .gfp files for import as simple as possible.  Departure Airport, first airway fix, last airway fix before destination, destination airport.  Then it's easy to select that first airway fix when in the GTN and quickly complete the Load Airway process(es) to pick up the airways needed to the destination.

 

Edited January 9, 2019 by fppilot