Is there a way to utilize MSFS NAV database?

[penta_a 432]

good morning to all,

I don't have a NaviGraph subscription and I get this message (nav data base out of date or something like that in MCDU), if MSFS is updating their nav data base frequently, is there a third party App/Mod to utilize that for third party airplanes like PMDG and FENIX?

 

Best regards.

[polosim 858]

22 minutes ago, penta_a said:

is there a third party App/Mod to utilize that for third party airplanes like PMDG and FENIX?

Yes, Navigraph NavData AIRAC.

 

https://navigraph.com/products/navigation-data/addon-aircraft-updates

Edited March 9 by polosim

[penta_a 432]

2 hours ago, polosim said:

Yes, Navigraph NavData AIRAC.

 

https://navigraph.com/products/navigation-data/addon-aircraft-updates

many thanks for your reply, however I mentioned that I don't have a navigraph subscription and looking to utilize MSFS free nav data AIRAC.

[martinboehme 532]

Some aircraft use the builtin MSFS navdata, but some, such as the Fenix and PMDG, use their own navdata format, and for these, Navigraph is the only way to update the navdata. 

[polosim 858]

2 hours ago, penta_a said:

free nav data AIRAC.

I missed the free part, in that case, in some updates PMDG or FENIX include the a most recent AIRAC NavData as part of the update, otherwise I think there is no other way to get it for free.

[Christopher Low 5,398]

The only update that I would like at the moment for my PMDG 737-600 is at EIDW Dublin. The NavData included with the product does not recognise the new runway at this airport.

[martinboehme 532]

21 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

The only update that I would like at the moment for my PMDG 737-600 is at EIDW Dublin. The NavData included with the product does not recognise the new runway at this airport.

I think the most realistic option is to start a monthly Navigraph subscription, then immediately cancel it. The monthly fee is about 11 Euros. You'd probably want to make a backup of the file somewhere.

Alternatively, I think PMDG still uses a text-based navdata format. If you're so inclined, you could try to add the necessary data to the file yourself, making a best guess at the format from what you see for other airports. 

[Fiorentoni 4,400]

2 hours ago, penta_a said:

many thanks for your reply, however I mentioned that I don't have a navigraph subscription and looking to utilize MSFS free nav data AIRAC.

You can't. The MSFS navdata format in insufficient (i.e. missing runways and stuff) for study level airliners and therefore they use Navigraph.

[martinboehme 532]

29 minutes ago, Fiorentoni said:

You can't. The MSFS navdata format in insufficient (i.e. missing runways and stuff) for study level airliners and therefore they use Navigraph.

Are you sure it's because the MSFS navdata format isn't up to the task? The WT G1000 uses it, and that supports some pretty advanced features, including RF legs:

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/flying-the-dca-rnp-19-in-the-new-working-title-g1000-nxi/425492

I suspect the main reason why some addons use their own navdata format is that the MSFS API for querying navdata is a JavaScript API, and it's hard to access that from an addon written in a different language (and possibly even running outside the simulator).

[polosim 858]

12 minutes ago, martinboehme said:

Are you sure it's because the MSFS navdata format isn't up to the task?

Hi, Martin. As @Fiorentoni said, the MSFS Navdatabase is incomplete, so there is an add on like Navigraph to reduce that gap.

Here are some examples of the improvements you will see updating the Microsoft Flight Simulator navigation database:

* Missing airports are added

* Missing runways are added

* Missing navaids are added

* Ranges of navaids are modeled correctly

* Widths and ranges of ILS feathers are modeled correctly

* ILS/LOC, LDA, IGS, and SDF course accuracy is improved

* ILS back courses are modeled correctly

* Missing PAPI and VASI lights are added

* Glide slopes are modeled correctly to match the runway touchdown zone and PAPI lights

* FIR/UIR boundaries are updated

* VORTAC/TACAN support

https://navigraph.com/products/navigation-data/simulator-updates

 

[Fiorentoni 4,400]

16 minutes ago, martinboehme said:

Are you sure it's because the MSFS navdata format isn't up to the task? The WT G1000 uses it, and that supports some pretty advanced features, including RF legs:

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/flying-the-dca-rnp-19-in-the-new-working-title-g1000-nxi/425492

I suspect the main reason why some addons use their own navdata format is that the MSFS API for querying navdata is a JavaScript API, and it's hard to access that from an addon written in a different language (and possibly even running outside the simulator).

It literally misses entire runways if the runway designator in the navdata is different from the one in the scenery (e.g. after the designator changed due to magnetic shift). I'd call that "not up to the task".

[Fiorentoni 4,400]

2 minutes ago, polosim said:

Hi, Martin. As @Fiorentoni said, the MSFS Navdatabase is incomplete, so there is an add on like Navigraph to reduce that gap.

Here are some examples of the improvements you will see updating the Microsoft Flight Simulator navigation database:

* Missing airports are added

* Missing runways are added

* Missing navaids are added

* Ranges of navaids are modeled correctly

* Widths and ranges of ILS feathers are modeled correctly

* ILS/LOC, LDA, IGS, and SDF course accuracy is improved

* ILS back courses are modeled correctly

* Missing PAPI and VASI lights are added

* Glide slopes are modeled correctly to match the runway touchdown zone and PAPI lights

* FIR/UIR boundaries are updated

* VORTAC/TACAN support

https://navigraph.com/products/navigation-data/simulator-updates

 

To add to that: You get charts. Hard to fly a procedure without charts.

[polosim 858]

1 minute ago, Fiorentoni said:

You get charts.

I’m afraid charts is included in a different product.

https://navigraph.com/products/charts

[Fiorentoni 4,400]

3 minutes ago, polosim said:

I’m afraid charts is included in a different product.

https://navigraph.com/products/charts

No it's all in one: https://navigraph.com/pricing

[martinboehme 532]

12 minutes ago, polosim said:

Here are some examples of the improvements you will see updating the Microsoft Flight Simulator navigation database:

This answers the question "why should I update my MSFS navdata with Navigraph", not "why do many addons use their own navdata format" (which is what I was commenting on).

9 minutes ago, Fiorentoni said:

To add to that: You get charts. Hard to fly a procedure without charts.

Again, this is a really good reason to get a Navigraph subscription, but it doesn't explain why some addons use their own navdata format instead of MSFS's.

To be clear: I have a Navigraph subscription, and I wouldn't be without it, but others might be content with the navdata included in MSFS - except that not all addons can use it. 

Edited March 9 by martinboehme