How bad is the flight planner with Simbrief's FPs?

[Drumcode 1,892]

I tried to import a plan from Simbrief KLAX-PHNL today and it inserts the SID and STAR correctly, but drops all of the other waypoints over the Pacific. If I build the same route manually in the planner (which is a pain in itself) it works fine. Is there a trick to it?

Edited December 12, 2021 by Drumcode

[Room112 27]

Do you have a Navigraph sub? If so, make sure that MSFS is running on the latest AIRAC cycle. Otherwise try importing into LittleNavMap and exporting out to MSFS. I've noticed that it imports 'better' that way.

[Drumcode 1,892]

15 hours ago, Room112 said:

Do you have a Navigraph sub? If so, make sure that MSFS is running on the latest AIRAC cycle. Otherwise try importing into LittleNavMap and exporting out to MSFS. I've noticed that it imports 'better' that way.

I'll try it out and report back. 

[knich 113]

I have tried Simbrief and Little nave map and I can't get the darn flight plans to stick in MCDU, which makes for very poor experience in P2ATC or anything else for that matter.

[MDFlier 2,029]

In the FBW? 

Simbrief imports are working fine here. All I need to do is input the departure and arrival and the middle waypoints stay correct.

[knich 113]

13 hours ago, MDFlier said:

In the FBW? 

Simbrief imports are working fine here. All I need to do is input the departure and arrival and the middle waypoints stay correct.

Yes FBW

[MDFlier 2,029]

Hmmm... Sounds like the problem I had before I read the Simbrief info on FBW's web page.

When are you doing the 1st request for the flight plan from Simbief? In the AOC menu, or on the init page?

At first, I was using the SImbrief button on the Flypad, and then going straight into the AOC menu and sending the request. After I selected the departure runway, SID, and transition, and then the arrival transition, STAR, and approach, the "middle" of the FP was getting messed up. Goofy stuff like repeating all of SID waypoints twice and other odd stuff.

The FBW docs say to make sure that you send the request from INIT page 1, before going into the AOC menu (it does not seem to matter when you hit the Simbrief button on the Flypad) After I started doing that, all I usually have to do is delete a single disconnect at the end of the SID prior to the 1st enroute waypoint after setting up the departure and arrival...

One last thing. When you launch your flight from the world map, the only thing you need to do is select the proper date, time, departure airport, and gate. Leave the arrival airport and flight plan blank.

Edited December 15, 2021 by MDFlier

[knich 113]

35 minutes ago, MDFlier said:

Hmmm... Sounds like the problem I had before I read the Simbrief info on FBW's web page.

When are you doing the 1st request for the flight plan from Simbief? In the AOC menu, or on the init page?

At first, I was using the SImbrief button on the Flypad, and then going straight into the AOC menu and sending the request. After I selected the departure runway, SID, and transition, and then the arrival transition, STAR, and approach, the "middle" of the FP was getting messed up. Goofy stuff like repeating all of SID waypoints twice and other odd stuff.

The FBW docs say to make sure that you send the request from INIT page 1, before going into the AOC menu (it does not seem to matter when you hit the Simbrief button on the Flypad) After I started doing that, all I usually have to do is delete a single disconnect at the end of the SID prior to the 1st enroute waypoint after setting up the departure and arrival...

One last thing. When you launch your flight from the world map, the only thing you need to do is select the proper date, time, departure airport, and gate. Leave the arrival airport and flight plan blank.

I hadn't been doing the request.  I would create flight plan in Simbrief and then import to p2atc.  I would then get my SID/STAR and approach from p2atc and export in to MSFS flight plan.  The problem was every time I tried to select a start gate it in MSFS it would mess up the flight plan.  

So how do you select a start gate without messing up the plan?

I tried to use little navmap (pretty neat tool btw) and select start gate within the tool.  Everything imported perfectly in to MSFS but when  I hit fly button and go to flight plan in MCDU the plan has changed again and has all the discontinuity etc.  I would go in to AOC to load passengers but I cant recall if I did before or after go to INIT page.  

[MDFlier 2,029]

I can't answer those questions because I have never messed with flight plans in MSFS. Here's how I do it

Create my flight in Simbrief and generate the OFP. 

Start MSFS. select FBW, departure airport, and departure gate. Make sure weather and time are okay and start flight.

I power up the airplane, start the IRSs, and then turn on the Flypad. I click "from Simbrief" and verify the proper flight info loads into it. Then I go to the dispatch page and get the maximum planned fuel from the OFP and put that into the refuel box on the fuel page. Hit the "play" button to begin fueling.

Next, I press the INIT button on the MCDU and select "Init Request" to populate the flight info from simbrief into the airplane. I press the CLR button a couple of times to get rid of the messages at the bottom.

Then I go to the AOC page, and go from top to bottom. I hit send on each page. On the W/B page I hit start after hitting send to begin loading pax. I go to the received messages page and print both.

Now I press F PLN and click the departure airport. I get ATIS and use the runway it says if it is different from the departure runway in my OFP. I select the runway, SID, and transition and then hit insert.

Next, I scroll to the bottom of the flight plan and click the arrival airport. I click arrival runway, transition, STAR, approach transition, and approach runway then click insert.

At this point, my flight plan is loaded and will perfectly match the simbrief plan. To check it, set the navigation display to "PLAN", and the range to at least 40 miles. I use the up arrow to scroll the flight plan (making sure I am still on the F PLN page) and verify that the route looks right. There's usually a disconnect before the 1st waypoint after TO. It won't let you delete that. Just take off and use DIR to activate that waypoint once I am airborne. There is also usually a disconnect after the last waypoint of the departure. I press CLR (will show "CLR" at the bottom) and then delete the disconnect.

Now, I have to wait until the GW stops increasing (pax finish loading), to go to INIT page 2 and fill in ZFW, block fuel, and last but not least, go to the PERF page and fill in my TO parameters.

Done. Ready to fly. Try it like that.

 

[knich 113]

43 minutes ago, MDFlier said:

I can't answer those questions because I have never messed with flight plans in MSFS. Here's how I do it

Create my flight in Simbrief and generate the OFP. 

Start MSFS. select FBW, departure airport, and departure gate. Make sure weather and time are okay and start flight.

I power up the airplane, start the IRSs, and then turn on the Flypad. I click "from Simbrief" and verify the proper flight info loads into it. Then I go to the dispatch page and get the maximum planned fuel from the OFP and put that into the refuel box on the fuel page. Hit the "play" button to begin fueling.

Next, I press the INIT button on the MCDU and select "Init Request" to populate the flight info from simbrief into the airplane. I press the CLR button a couple of times to get rid of the messages at the bottom.

Then I go to the AOC page, and go from top to bottom. I hit send on each page. On the W/B page I hit start after hitting send to begin loading pax. I go to the received messages page and print both.

Now I press F PLN and click the departure airport. I get ATIS and use the runway it says if it is different from the departure runway in my OFP. I select the runway, SID, and transition and then hit insert.

Next, I scroll to the bottom of the flight plan and click the arrival airport. I click arrival runway, transition, STAR, approach transition, and approach runway then click insert.

At this point, my flight plan is loaded and will perfectly match the simbrief plan. To check it, set the navigation display to "PLAN", and the range to at least 40 miles. I use the up arrow to scroll the flight plan (making sure I am still on the F PLN page) and verify that the route looks right. There's usually a disconnect before the 1st waypoint after TO. It won't let you delete that. Just take off and use DIR to activate that waypoint once I am airborne. There is also usually a disconnect after the last waypoint of the departure. I press CLR (will show "CLR" at the bottom) and then delete the disconnect.

Now, I have to wait until the GW stops increasing (pax finish loading), to go to INIT page 2 and fill in ZFW, block fuel, and last but not least, go to the PERF page and fill in my TO parameters.

Done. Ready to fly. Try it like that.

 

Thanks.  I use p2atc...do you know how you can then get that setup in to p2atc?

Are you using default atc?

[flyinion 280]

1 hour ago, knich said:

 

So how do you select a start gate without messing up the plan?

 

Are you selecting a gate from the dropdown or from the airport map showing all the dots for the gate locations and doing a "set as departure"?  They fixed setting a gate messing up imported flight plans in SU7, however there is a catch which I found after testing multiple scenarios.  You MUST choose the gate/runway/etc that you want to leave from via the dropdown at the top.  If you don't, it thinks you're starting a new flightplan as you've chosen a new departure point and it does its own routing as it always has.  If you use the dropdowns you can even change the SID/STAR/Approach without affecting the waypoints in between, though of course you can't get it to recognize multi-branch SID/STAR transitions so I wouldn't recommend doing that if you're importing.  

[Forkboy2 27]

3 hours ago, knich said:

So how do you select a start gate without messing up the plan?

This seems to currently be broken.  The problem seems to have to do with the SID/STAR transitions.  When you select a start gate, MSFS flight planner will randomly choose a transition and then it breaks the entire flight plan.  Simple fix is to let it start you at a runway, then slew over to a gate.  A more complicated fix involves manually editing the flight plan file with a text editor to manually insert the gate starting position.  If you are using Pilot2ATC, then it shouldn't matter since you don't need the MSFS flight planner.

[Room112 27]

2 hours ago, knich said:

Thanks.  I use p2atc...do you know how you can then get that setup in to p2atc?

Are you using default atc?

Just copy the Simbrief route and paste it into P2A using the Import button. Don't forget to add the airports to the beginning and end of the route.

[knich 113]

Thanks guys…I want the flight plan controlled by the AP.  It won’t do it in p2atc..you have to import the plan in to MSFS.  Then all the problems start.  
 

The drop down fix doesn’t work anymore.

 

 

[Bernard Ducret 782]

10 minutes ago, knich said:

you have to import the plan in to MSFS

That step is not necessary if you use FBW, 787 HD mod, 748 Salty mod, since you can import your Simbrief flight plans into the FMC directly (follow MDFlier's post instructions above SU7, this is how I have been doing it and it works flawlessly).

It is true that SU7 broke the MSFS flight planning further. Before SU7 you had to select the departure gate from the dropdown menu and the flight plan into MSFS would remain intact, not any more. This is why you cannot import the SimBrief flight plan into MSFS anymore as it gets messed up.