Graphical Flight Planning

[Cat_Dad 17]

I realize that the 11.50 beta is the big thing right now, but for the basic X-Plane 11 program I would like to be able to use a "Graphical" (Map) based way to plan a flight :Inside" X-Plane. This use to be the way Microsoft allowed you to flight plan in their previous version years ago. Since the X-Plane map only shows the scenery files loaded, that does not allow for a very long flight to be generated as describe. Yes I know their are external flight planing programs that  can be imported into X-Plane but that requires going in and out of the sim/full screen view. 

 

Is there some work-around with the infamous ATC flight planning in X-Plane that could be turned into a map view? Being able to see fixes, transitions, and dep/app would greatly help in flight planning and make it a little more realistic rather than putting a departure and arrival airport into the FMC and then flying between the two points.

 

If this is not possible with the current X-Plane 11, it definitively should be part of X-Plane 12 and beyond. Anyone else out there have the same feelings?

 

Terry

 

[Paraffin 2,197]

I use Little NavMap as flight planner before the flight and as a moving map during flight, just tabbing back and forth as needed. I don't find that too immersion-breaking, because I also do other things like check email and forums during a long cruise.

I can understand wanting something like that "inside" X-Plane itself, but I doubt that will show up as a standard feature except in an embedded window in VR, maybe? Austin is pretty strict about not throwing extra windows around. We were lucky to get a pop-up for the GPS. 

One alternative would be to get a cheap or reconditioned iPad, or spare laptop computer and run a flight planner on that, underneath your main monitor. It would be more like what real world pilots do with accessory iPads. I think this could be done with Little NavMap running in the background on the main PC, and using the program's internal web server to show the UI on an iPad or laptop across a network or WiFi, although I haven't tried it.