Can anyone comment on whether or not the FSX flight planner will allow direct flights from say Atlanta to London? In FS9, you can't do it. If you try, it takes you through Canada and Alaska before turning toward the UK. An improved flight planner is high on my list of most wanted features in FSX. RH

This is realistic.What it is doing is called "Great Circle" navigation. Quite simply, going along a 'curved' route is actually faster than a 'straight' one, due to the curvature of the earth.

With respect, I don't think flying from Atlanta via Alaska is on a great circle route! More like a great ellipse :-)

In this case, it is not. The usual flight path follows the east coast of the US then over the Atlantic and then down toward Scotland or Ireland before landing in London.In FS9, even if you take off from JFK, it takes you back over Alaska before heading to the UK.RH

This is the shortest route with no waypoints:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/157317.gifJozef K. http://homepages.onsnet.nu/~jkusters/signature.jpg

Will the FSX flight planner autogenerate a route from Atlanta to London without going via Alaska? Dave Vega

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/157319.jpg

FS9 will do the same thing in GPS mode. I meant through the other flight planner modes (I should have been more clear).RH

Well it isn't going thru Alaska-and if going direct this would be the way as Jozef's post shows above. :-)If you mean selecting vor to vor-I would assume the planner would route thru Alaska as there are no vors in the middle of the atlantic?http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

What other flight planner modes?

I think what Robbie means is when you have FSX create a flightplan using waypoints and not direct GPS, will it send you to Alaska or will it generate the waypoint needed in the US and then direct you over the Atlantic.Maybe I am wrong but I would imagine that there are a few waypoints needed while they are still over the US and once they reach Europe. What about a flight plan to the Middle East? Sure there are no waypoints when they are crossing the Atlantic but there should be once they reach Europe. In FS9, you have 3 choices. Go to Alaska first, go GPS direct or create your own flightplan.I know this has been brought up before and the reason is that the path over the Atlantic is always changing. So, does FSX handle this a little better?

Ok-I think I understand now. From what I can tell the answer is no-but I never did this with fs9 so I can't say for certain. Maybe someone else knows.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

Thank you for clearing that up; that is what I meant.RH

Unless you don't do them, how do you handle trans Atlantic flights in FS9? RH

Which program or website did you use to make this map?