Hi there,

As the title says....is PFPX still fully usable? I read somewhere that support was stopped. It is still buyable at simmarket and i am thinking about buying it since i am not fully happy with the planning tools available (simbrief, navigraph charts). Sure i use simbrief but i miss some features such as avoiding FIRs and so on.

If anyone is using it with MSFS and has some experience to share i'd be very happy to know.

 

Best regards,

Tom

57 minutes ago, ThomseN_inc said:

Sure i use simbrief but i miss some features such as avoiding FIRs

Erm...

The Simbrief routefinder has a clear route option box that says: Avoid Airways/Fixes/SIDs/STARs/FIRs

I don't get it.

 

I used PFPX for years, including for MSFS. It is totally still usable. And totally unecessary at this point. I would not bother buying it if I were you.

Edited January 10, 20233 yr by Farlis

18 minutes ago, Farlis said:

Erm...

The Simbrief routefinder has a clear route option box that says: Avoid Airways/Fixes/SIDs/STARs/FIRs

I don't get it.

 

I used PFPX for years, including for MSFS. It is totally still usable. And totally unecessary at this point. I would not bother buying it if I were you.

If i am correct that route option only works with a paid subscription and does not work for me in simbrief (time out error).

Have you tried LittleNavmap?  It's free. If you don't like it, no harm is done.

I don't get it why Aerosoft abandoned the PFPX project. They had a window of opportunity to create the "one place" flight planning platform - I mean integrating the Navdata/Charts Pro and PFPX - that's what Navigraph is trying (at least) doing with Charts/Simbrief since they bought it. I do not understand why Aerosoft haven't done that to create ultimate flight planning software, merging the features which Navdata/Charts Pro and PFPX provide.

1 minute ago, ark4diusz said:

I don't get it why Aerosoft abandoned the PFPX project. They had a window of opportunity to create the "one place" flight planning platform - I mean integrating the Navdata/Charts Pro and PFPX - that's what Navigraph is trying (at least) doing with Charts/Simbrief since they bought it. I do not understand why Aerosoft haven't done that to create ultimate flight planning software, merging the features which Navdata/Charts Pro and PFPX provide.

Aerosoft were only the publisher, unfortunately PFPX has got left behind following an enforced career change for the developer.

PFPX can be used alongside MSFS, a dedicated MSFS export format does not exist however but the FSX/P3D format can work. The format of PMDG's 737 .rte files remain the same so there is no issue there. Fenix only links to Simbrief so the only option is to manually enter the route to my knowledge. Route exports are likely to be the weak link.

A server subscription after the first year would be required to maintain a weather source, unless you have ActiveSky that could be used as an alternative.

PFPX provides a more advanced planning capability at this time IF that is an area of interest .

I still use PFPX for flight planning (MSFS). If you need weather data you can use WX2PFPX tool (available on GitHub). It generates real-world weather data (the same format as for ActiveSky) so you can load it to PFPX and do the planning stuff.

Edited January 11, 20233 yr by AdiR

5 hours ago, tjrush said:

Have you tried LittleNavmap?  It's free. If you don't like it, no harm is done.

Not only free, but in my opinion the best flight planner utility overthere

I use PFPX and WX2PFPX  for flight planning with airliners, and LittleNavmap for planning with general aviation aircrafts. For performance calcuations, I still use TOPCAT because it features many different aircrafts and is still remarkably accurate for calculating takeoff or landing performance. In fact, I just bought a new PC, and PFPX/TOPCAT will be re-installed. There will be no new version though as the developers stopped their work on these apps.

Edited January 11, 20233 yr by Cargostorm

Thanks for the input. I just saw that there is only the product page at simmarket but no option to buy it anymore. Too bad. I would have considered PFPX as a more professional tool to plan certain flights (ETOPS, NAT, avoid airspaces etc.). Gues i'll just have to do it manually for the time being.

 

Cheers

@ThomseN_inc

PFPX is available directly from the developer FlightsimSoft

11 minutes ago, srcooke said:

@ThomseN_inc

PFPX is available directly from the developer FlightsimSoft

Thanks alot! Will give it a try tonight!

Edited January 11, 20233 yr by ThomseN_inc

This thread is full of misinformation and I feel the need to correct it to create awareness of why PFPX is not further developed for the FS world (no, I'm not related to FSS and I don't have insider infos, this is just what can be found on the internet).

 

I don't get it why Aerosoft abandoned the PFPX project.

 

Aerosoft did not abandone PFPX.

PFPX developer Christian Grill is now developing Flight Planning software for airlines and not for flight simmers anymore:
https://salzburg.orf.at/stories/3153450/

He's busy running two companies: Skylinx https://www.firmenabc.at/skylinx-gmbh_zikZ and FSS: https://www.firmenabc.at/fss-gmbh_OTtE

https://www.flightplanning.aero/index.php/en/

 

Aerosoft were only the publisher, unfortunately PFPX has got left behind following an enforced career change for the developer.

What is an "enforced career change for the developer"?

I don't think someone forced him to develop and sell a much more advanced version of PFPX to airlines.

 

Thanks for the input. I just saw that there is only the product page at simmarket but no option to buy it anymore. Too bad. I would have considered PFPX as a more professional tool to plan certain flights (ETOPS, NAT, avoid airspaces etc.). Gues i'll just have to do it manually for the time being.

You don't need to plan your North Atlantic Crossing manually. On the lower right hand side of PFPX, you have got "World Map, Weather & NOTAMs, Tracks, Scratchpad".

Just copy the North Atlantic Track Message from here https://www.notams.faa.gov/common/nat.html to "Tracks" and you're good to go.

 

Regarding weather: I still startup FSGRW (P3D V4 version) for a minute to download current weather. This is loaded into PFPX automatically and PFPX is therefore able to give you a very precise block and flight time. Often just a few minutes off on 3 hrs flights (depending on VATSIM traffic and ATC).

I'm missing soo many functions in Simbrief, like the possibility to set custom airport data (preferred runways, OPS hrs, preferred alternates etc):

Unlike simbrief, PFPX allows you to create custom company notams where you can put your personal remarks about airport specific procedures, (scenery) limitations, etc:

In PFPX, you can create flightplan templates. I've created one that gives me raw data:

 

These are all the information I need for a flight. I just copy it into an excel sheet that outputs an OFP in the old dba style (started simming some 15 years back at dba virtual airlines):



Could continue like this for hours.
Although simbrief is fancy for many simmers due to a seamless integration into some 3rd party addons, it's absolutely unusable for me, has many downsides and lacks features.

That's why I can only recommend PFPX even if it's not developed any further.

Edited January 15, 20233 yr by Konterhalbe

@Konterhalbe,

Thanks for that. I purchased PFPX some days ago and it works like a charm. 🙂

Edited January 15, 20233 yr by Ray Proudfoot
Large quoted post removed.

I have just upgraded to a Windows 11 computer and reinstalled PFPX there. After registration I find the program disappears from my screen shortly after startup. Is this a compatibility problem?

John McWilliam

Edited January 24, 20242 yr by Ray Proudfoot
Email address removed.