Using the Flight Planner

Automate your navigation workload

The Flight Planner helps you plan VFR and IFR routes. It's not necessary to have the navigation charts for your route (although it can help and adds realism). The Flight Planner determines your routing based on the type of flight you want to make, suggests a cruising altitude, provides navigation aid frequencies for your route, provides estimated times between waypoints, and keeps track of all these items in the Navigation Log.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) also displays the route in the cockpit, including the next waypoint on the route, along with distance and bearing to that waypoint. (For more information, see Using The GPS.)

Note: Creating an IFR flight plan and clicking the OK button on the Flight Planner Edit tab in Flight Simulator is equivalent to filling out a flight plan form at the airport and handing it to the flight service representative in the real world. Your flight plan is not active until you call ATC on the radio and ask for clearance.

You can activate an IFR flight plan from your current location, even during flight. You can also activate a previously created flight plan in the air. In theory you can create a flight plan from Jerusalem to Damascus, take off from Cairo, and then activate the flight plan when you get near Jerusalem. In this scenario, a message box will appear asking whether you want to move your airplane to the airport indicated as the departure airport on the flight plan form. If you choose not to move the airplane, you will be cleared from your current location to your destination.

To access the Flight Planner

• On the Flights menu, click Flight Planner.
  -or-

1. From the main screen, click Create a Flight.
2. On the Create a Flight screen, click Flight Planner.

Creating a Flight Plan

On the Create tab of the Flight Planner, make selections for the type of flight, the departure and destination points of the flight, and the type of routing you desire.

Think of the Create tab as a five-step operation:

1. Choose the departure location.
2. Choose the destination.
3. Choose the flight plan type.
4. Choose the routing method.
5. Find the Route.

1. Choose the Departure Location

To enable the Flight Planner to automatically determine the route for your flight, you must define your departure location using the Go To Airport Dialogue Box.

Note: Flight Simulator supports filing an IFR plan during a flight. When you create a flight plan, you can choose to start the IFR flight at your current location.

 

To select a departing location In the Choose Departure Location box, click Select. Choose an airport from the Select Airport dialog box. Click OK.

2. Choose the Destination Airport

 

To select a destination airport In the Choose Destination box, click Select. Choose an airport from the Select Airport dialog box. Click OK.

3. Choose the Flight Plan Type

On the Create tab, you can select the type of flight plan you intend to fly. The choice you make will be a factor in the altitude the Flight Planner chooses for your flight.

 

To choose a flight plan type Click VFR to plan a flight under visual flight rules. The elevation of the terrain you'll be flying over will determine the suggested altitude. -or- Click IFR to plan a flight under instrument flight rules. The minimum en route altitude (MEA) along your route will determine your clearance altitude. You can change altitude later.

4. Choose the Autorouting Method

You have a choice of methods that the Flight Planner can use to plot your route. These selections are unavailable until you have chosen departure and destination airports.

 

To choose a routing Click Direct-GPS to plot a direct point-to-point route. Navigate this route using the Global Positioning System (GPS) feature. Click Low altitude airways to plot a course along low altitude airways (Victor airways). Click High altitude airways to plot a course along high altitude airways (Jet airways). Click VOR to VOR to plot a course using VOR stations along the route.

5. Find the Route

Once you have completed the first four steps of planning your flight, click Find Route in the Plot Flight Plan box; the Flight Planner will flip to the Edit tab. You will see the Map with your route drawn as a red line across the display. You can now make adjustments and refinements to your flight plan.

 

To complete the flight plan On the Edit tab, Click OK. When the Save Flight Plan dialog box appears, Click OK. When the message appears asking if you want Flight Simulator to move your aircraft to the departure airport listed in the flight plan: Click Yes to move the aircraft. -or- Click No to activate the flight plan from your current location.

Editing a Flight Plan

On the Edit tab of the Flight Planner, you can view your flight's route, make choices about how much information to display on the route map, and edit the route and cruising altitude.

Note: Be aware that the cruising altitude chosen for IFR flight plans will be used as the clearance altitude by ATC. The controller will clear you to that cruising altitude. You can, however, change the altitude in the Flight Planner or request altitude changes in flight.

Using the Route Map

After you create a flight plan, the map on the Edit tab of the Flight Planner displays the route graphically as a red line. (For more information, see Creating A Flight Plan above.) The red line indicates the route that you will follow, but you can add or delete waypoints along this route to customize it.

The map always displays north at the top. You can move the map in any direction in order to view another part of your route.

 

To move the map Click any edge of the map to scroll in that direction.

The map displays airport information, airspace boundaries, geographical borders, and latitude and longitude. You can also choose to display other features, such as navigational aids, airports, and airways. Learn what each of the icons at the top of the map represents, and use the icons to display only what you need in order to keep the map easy to read.

 

To display or hide individual map elements Pause the pointer over any map icon to see which map element it controls. Click the icon to turn the map element on or off.

See the Map Display Icons section below to learn the icon functions.

Changing the Cruising Altitude

The altitude in a flight plan in Flight Simulator is determined automatically by whether you selected VFR or IFR on the Create tab. When you choose VFR, the altitude selected is what is required to safely clear terrain along your route. When you chose an IFR flight plan, the altitude selected is at or above the minimum en route altitude (MEA) requirements. Remember that you can request a new altitude from ATC in flight when flying IFR.

 

To change your cruising altitude On the Edit tab, click the arrows on the right side of the Cruising altitude box to select a new altitude. -or- Double-click the Cruising altitude box and type a new altitude.

Map Display Icons

A set of 17 icons at the top of the map lets you customize the map display. When you move the pointer over an icon, rollover help describing the icon's function appears at the bottom of the Flight Planner screen.

 

Button	Function	How to use
	Zoom In	Click to zoom in on the map, so you can see more detail.
	Zoom Out	Click to zoom out on the map, so you can view a larger area.
	Reset Zoom	Click to reset the map to the default magnification.
	Print	Click to print the currently displayed section of the map. Only the section displayed on screen will be printed.
	Airports	Click to display airports on the map.
	VORs	Click to display all VOR stations. VORs are displayed in blue.
	NDBs	Click to display all nondirectional beacon (NDB) stations. NDBs are displayed as red concentric circles.
	ILS	Click to display ILS feathers.
	Intersections	Click to display all airway intersections. Intersections are displayed as green triangles.
	Victor Airways	Click to display all Victor airways. Victor airways are displayed as blue lines.
	Jet Airways	Click to display all Jet airways. Jet airways are displayed as teal lines.
	Airspace	Click to display airspace boundaries. You may need to zoom in to see the boundaries.
	Route Line	Click to display the route line.
	Weather stations	Click to display all weather stations.
	Weather systems	Click to display weather systems when real-world weather has been downloaded. To learn more, see Using Real-World Weather.
	Data Tags	Click to display labels next to objects on the map.
	Contour Map	Click to display terrain contours on the map.

The Waypoint List

The waypoint list sits on the right side of the Edit tab. The Type column shows the type of waypoint: VOR, NDB, intersection, or airport. The ID column shows the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) identifier for each waypoint. If you click any waypoint in the list, the map will zoom in on that waypoint. You can return to the default magnification by clicking the Reset Zoom icon.

Adding Waypoints

You can create waypoints using navigation facilities, navaid intersections, or airports. You cannot add waypoints at arbitrary points in space using the Flight Planner. You can, however, create custom waypoints by modifying the Flight Planner files. For more information, see the Creating Custom Waypoints in Flight Plan Files section below.

 

To add waypoints to a route: Drag the red route line to a navigation facility, navaid intersection, or airport on the map that you wish to include in your route. -or- Click on any navigation facility, navaid intersection, or airport along the red route line. The Facilities dialog box will appear with a list of waypoints (VORs, NDBs, intersections, and airports) near the point you've chosen. Select the waypoint you wish to add to your route from the list in the Facilities dialog box. Click OK. Click Save to save your flight plan again. You must save the Flight Plan again before the added waypoints will appear in the Navigation Log. Note: If your route is along an airway, hide the airway lines before you attempt to drag the route line. To hide the airway lines, click the airway icon at the top of the map.

If you are zoomed in on the map, you can drag the route line directly onto a new waypoint, and the waypoint will be added to the waypoint list. If you are zoomed out, the Facilities dialog box will appear when you release the mouse button, showing a list of waypoints (VORs, NDBs, intersections, and airports) near the point you've chosen. You cannot use ILS icons or marker beacons as waypoints.

 

To delete a waypoint In the Flight Planner, click the Edit tab. Click the waypoint you want to delete in the waypoint list on the right side of the Edit tab. Click Delete waypoint. Click Save to save your flight plan again. You must save the Flight Plan again after deleting waypoints before they will disappear in the Navigation Log. Note: You cannot delete the departure or destination airports from the waypoints list.

Saving, Loading and Clearing a Flight Plan

Once you've created a flight plan, you can save it for reuse. If you load a saved flight plan and make modifications to it, Flight Simulator will prompt you to save the file again. If you save the flight plan and click Yes to overwrite the previous file, the Navigation Log and Flight Planner map display will reflect your changes.

 

To save a flight plan In the Flight Planner, click Save. Note: The Save button is dimmed until you create a flight plan. In the Save Flight Plan dialog box, use the suggested name for your file -or- Type a new name in the File name text box. Click Save.

 

To load a saved flight plan In the Flight Planner, click Load. When the Load Flight Plan dialog box appears, select a saved flight plan. Click Open to load the file.

 

To clear the current flight plan: In the Flight Planner, click Clear to clear all flight plan information from the dialog box. This does not delete saved flight plan files.

Navigation Log

The navigation log lists the waypoints and time en route for your flight, as well as headings, speeds, and fuel burn rate along the route. The portion of flight from one waypoint to another is referred to as a "leg."

 

To access the navigation log: Click the NavLog button.

Navigation Log Header

The navigation log header lists your flight's departure and destination airports, the total distance between them, the estimated fuel required to complete the trip, and the estimated time en route.

Waypoints

The waypoints listed from top to bottom in the first column of the navlog follow the order that your flight will pass over them. The ICAO identifier is used as the waypoint name. If the waypoint is a radio navigation facility, its frequency is listed in parentheses next to the identifier.

Route

The route listing depends on what type of routing you chose when creating the flight plan. Flight plans routed via GPS or VOR to VOR will always show the -D-> symbol, indicating that the route is direct from one waypoint to the next. Flight plans routed via airways will indicate the airway designation (e.g., J50 or V122) on which each leg of the flight is flown.

Alt

The Alt column displays the cruising altitude in feet or meters, depending on your international settings. (For more information, see International Options.)

Hdg

The Hdg column displays the heading to the waypoint.

Distance

The distance shown in the top row indicates the distance of the entire flight. Each row in the Distance column is split into two cells: The top cell indicates the distance of the leg, or the distance from the current waypoint to the next waypoint; the bottom cell indicates the distance remaining to the final destination.

GS (Kts)

Each row in the GS (or ground speed) column is split into two cells: The top cell indicates the estimated ground speed, which is based on the speed of the aircraft selected when the flight plan was created; the bottom cell indicates the actual ground speed, which is calculated and updated during the flight.

Fuel

The top of the Fuel column indicates the total fuel on board the aircraft. Each row in the Fuel column is split into two cells: The top cell indicates the estimated fuel burn for that leg, and the bottom column indicates the actual fuel burn, which is calculated and updated during the flight.

Time

The top value in the Time column indicates time of departure. Each row in the Time column is split into two cells: The top cell indicates the estimated time to the waypoint, and the bottom cell indicates the actual time to the waypoint, which is calculated and updated during the flight.

 

To print the Navigation Log Click the Print button at the bottom of the Navigation Log.

Creating Custom Waypoints in Flight Plan Files

Note: Read this section to learn how to modify .PLN files to create user-defined waypoints.

The .PLN configuration file provides departure location, destination, route type, waypoints, and other related information to the Flight Planner. The Flight Planner uses this information to fill out the Navigation Log and to direct the autopilot when it is used with the Nav radio or the GPS. The GPS map also displays the route defined by the .PLN file.

The box below illustrates the contents of a file generated by the Flight Planner. This sample flight routes from Chicago's Meigs Field to Terre Haute, Indiana; its filename is Meigs to Terre Haute Intl-Hulman.PLN.

 

[flightplan] title=KCGX to KHUF description=KCGX, KHUF type=VFR routetype=1 cruising_altitude=5500 departure_id=KCGX, N41* 51.84', W87* 36.45', +000593.00 departure_position=18 destination_id=KHUF, N39* 26.45', W87* 19.36', +000585.00 departure_name=Meigs destination_name=Terre Haute Intl-Hulman alternate_name= waypoint.0=KCGX, A, N41* 51.84', W87* 36.45', +000593.00, waypoint.1=K5CGT, V+LOCWAY, N41* 30.60', W87* 34.28', +000000.00, waypoint.2=K5BVT, V+LOCWAY, N40* 33.37', W87* 4.16', +000000.00, waypoint.3=K5TTH, V+LOCWAY, N39* 29.34', W87* 14.94', +000000.00, waypoint.4=KHUF, A, N39* 26.45', W87* 19.36', +000585.00,

Each file parameter is explained in the tables below.

Each waypoint has six fields, separated by commas:

 

Field	Description
ICAO ID	This may be a full ICAO ID that includes the country and region identifiers ("K1WATTR"), or it may be an abbreviated identifier ("KSEA").
Waypoint type	A: airport I: intersection V: VOR N: NDB VA: victor airway (unimplemented) JA: jet airway (unimplemented) U: user defined
Latitude	Latitude of the waypoint (optional).
Longitude	Longitude of the waypoint (optional).
Altitude	Altitude of the waypoint. A "+" preceding the waypoint altitude designates that the waypoint is located above mean sea level.
Airway ID	ID for a waypoint located on an airway.

The LOCWAY flag may be appended to waypoint types to indicate that the waypoint has a full ICAO ID rather than an abbreviated one. The flag is appended to the main type designation with a "+" character. (Note the example in the flight plan above.)