User Waypoints (resolved)

[Muskoka 104]

Guys, I've read the manual till I'm blue in the face, I don't understand "User Waypoints", I must be thick.

I've created a flight plan in Pilot2Atc, I've exported it to the correct location. I can find the flight plan in the GTN 750. When I import it the only waypoint listed is the departure airport. 

I see this on page 9, but have no idea where this pdf is? " See "GTN Flight Plan and User Waypoint transfer.pdf" guidelines for how to create text based flight plan files (included in the starter pack)."

Where is this starter pack? 

If I create a flight plan in Simbrief, it imports fine. I see all the waypoints in the plan. I cannot get this to work though using a plan created in Pilot2atc.

I found the above mentioned file in a zip file. It's all gibberish to me. 

Appears to be a issue according to another post I read about the way Pilot2atc is exporting flight plans? Am I reading that correctly, you can't use Pilot2Atc flight plans with the GTN?

Edited June 11, 2020 by Muskoka

[RXP 2,338]

Hi,

you might want to start reading pinned discussion first:

 

As for 'starter pack' the manual is clearly saying:

The product comes with a starter pack installed into the following folder:
"C:\ProgramData\Reality XP\Common\GtnTrainer\flightplans.zip"

[Muskoka 104]

Hey Jean-Luc, I've read that sticky, but nowhere does it mention P2Atc, and at this point that's all I'm really interested in.

I'm trying to limit the amount of "running around" just to get a flight up and running. I think I was mistaking, or not understanding, that the GTN will not work with P2Atc fp's, you don't see any of the way points with a P2Atc imported fp, other than the departure airport.  

Scenario I'd like....

Fire up P2Atc, create a flight plan using P2Atc's great fp feature, fire up X-plane, import the P2Atc flight plan in the GTN, and off I go. Well this doesn't work, and it should. All you see is the departure airport in the GTN flight plan after import. 

Simbrief works fine, but it's that extra step of creating the flight plan in the browser, saving, exporting to 2 different locations, blah, blah, blah. I already have P2Atc running, it creates "real" flight plans on it's own, export that, and load it in the GTN, much simpler.

What I think I'm going to end up doing is create the fp in P2Atc, then manually input it into the GTN while I'm sitting in the cockpit with the vr headset on.

This line in the manual is confusing, it certainly confused me.

"The second step is to create one or more flight plan files with the ".gfp" file extension and one "user.wpt" file".

That line "reads" like you need both for everything to work, and you don't. There's absolutely no need for a user.wpt file. That's what was confusing me. The P2Atc fp was not working, so I figured I needed "something" to also generate a user.wpt file. Well I've never seen that file, simply because I've never needed to create one myself. I've imported lots of Simbrief fp's before, and they work fine, with no need for a user.wpt file. Now that I'm back using P2Atc, I'm trying to streamline the process, and only use P2Atc for everything pre-flight related.

I'm just trying to remove a step, and didn't realize the RXP GTN doesn't like P2Atc fp's, it doesn't seem to at my end anyways.

I know that's long winded, but it all had me really confused yesterday. Sure, there's other ways around the issue, not interested. It's all good, I'll sort things out at me end.

 

[RXP 2,338]

Thank you for your valuable feedback. I've read the manual again to make sure about the meaning of this in context.

Please note this '2nd' step is in the chapter "Flight Plans and User Waypoints" and it is about the preparation of a virtual data card with both indeed (in the real world, you'd put these in a SD card in the GTN slot, in the simulation world, you can/must use folders instead). The purpose of the chapter is to introduce you to the import capability for both types of data (fpl and wpt).

The GTN is capable of importing Garmin's text based flight plan files. This is a documented flight plan format, which can be manually edited with any text editor. Some flight planning software are also capable of exporting to this format, but like you've realized, not all of them.

This might be confusing but hopefully, this discussion will be a good reference to the forum search feature in the future!

[moespeeds 11]

I too have struggled, and given up on importing flight plans from pilot2atc into the 750. Not because it doesn't work, but because I had so many errors because of the limited 750 database.

I create the flight plan in p2atc, and hand jam it into the 750, in vr, as you described, often having to create custom wps along the way because of the limited 750 database. 

Generally I try to get this done in flat screen pre-flight, then switch to vr, startup, and go. Tmrw I'll review the import process and walk you through it, I haven't bothered in awhile but I do remember it being a bit tricky at first. 

[RXP 2,338]

@moespeeds Hi, you might want to review these posts which are specifically shedding some light on the import process. Most annoyances are because of the way Garmin is designing the GTN import capabilities and limitations. These are documented and known, relevant for the real world albeit cumbersome sometimes in the sim world.

 

[moespeeds 11]

The import process works fine, but if you try to import a plan that includes a waypoint that isn't in the GTN database, it throws a wrench in the whole process. The GTN database is ok, but lacks many smaller fields and such.

It'd be nice if somehow it could automatically add unknown points using lat/long as you import.

[RXP 2,338]

Yes it'd be nice but unfortunately not how it was design by Garmin. The reasons are multiple certainly, but I can see at least 2:

- prevent directing pilots to 'nowhere' (unwanted directions because of an error in lat/lon)

- prevent directing pilots to a similarly named waypoint as one in DB but at different location.

- prevent flooding the limited (1000) user waypoints DB as you import more and more flight plans over time.