I've started doing some flights across the pond. Before I had RC3 I would simply do a GPS direct flight plan and it would pretty much mirror the North Atlantic Tracks (NATs). If I do a RC3 flight I am unable to do a GPS direct flight because it appears RC3 does not use great circle navigation when calculating the heading to the next waypoint. (I would take off from Atlanta and fly due east over the middle of the Atlantic....not very realistic.)Does this sound correct?If so...is there anyone using NATs with RC3? What flight planner did you use as the FS2002 flight planner has a huge gap in the north atlantic.Also...any thought of modifying the RC3 flight planner (for the automatic pilot) to utilize great circle navigation? Just a different formula for calculating heading I would think.Cheers, Mike Lyons [email protected]

Mike,There are NAT sites available with the day's tracks. You have to make the plan with waypoints yourself (or just do what I do and reuse one or two). These sites will give you the points.I put waypoints 400 miles apart to keep RC from whinging at me.This is a good onehttp://www.natroutes.glideslope.de/In the real world you cannot do a point to point flight. It's not advised, and not realistic (as you say). Almost all the HF chatter (both Atlantic and Pacific) with RC are the pilots verifying the track points to make sure they won't run into anyone on the way. The Atlantic is a very crowded place.

How do you create custom waypoints in fs2002?I've seen the daily tracks but haven't been able to get those mid-Atlantic wayponts.ml

Mike,I avoid using MS stuff when possible so I use FSNav and Nav. But there is a way to put manual waypoints into the FS2K plan with 2K/2K2. I don't remember right off hand the process.

Or better still, use FSBuild to build the flightplan. You can then just enter the summary flightplan, and it will build it complete with any interim waypoints on the airway.The only slight issue is that since the North Atlantic change nearly every day, it can cope with this. so when the route crosses the atlantic you have to enter the five or so points in the nat track (i.e. 5520N for 55N20W) from a source such as that above.Kevin