There seem to be a bunch of ways to go about this, but i’m looking for the most realistic way, as in real world flying if you were doing your PPL/had a license.
I have navigraph (the yearly premium sub), but often i try to export a flight plan from here and the TDS at least, throws an error on the plan, not always though. I also have the PMS 750.
I have little nav map, but it feels deep. I have also tried using simbrief, but many airframes are missing?
I’d like to be able to input airframe, get a Gallon per hour estimate and the whole 9 yards, then export the file so it can be used in MSFS in the GTN or G1000?
I guess there is also skyvector.
Most of the flying ill do is VFR for now at least, simulating initial PPL steps. I’ll use pilot edge, i know they have a flight plan in their web portal but i dont think it does much.
I cant recall out of these choices which was most realistic or allowed you to put in the most info to get real suggested altitude and fuel rates?
Im also confused on some of the generated routes these give, they dont always look right … which match a real world scenario best (guessing without manually mapping things out with a plotter its hard to know ), probably overthinking here
Any experiences and suggestions? (not fully relevant but i am always in VR for my flights, with a dof h6 chair, so in sim tools are great like navigraph and the gtn 750)
Little Nav Map provides a very reliable VFR and IFR plan exportable to the sim. So does Charts.
Charts has the advantage of real weather integration (i.e., satellite overhead moving display) that is easier to understand at a glance. So you can see precip and wind on your proposed route and adjust both lateral and cruise path accordingly. You can get wind readings out of LNM but not precip.
By Navigraph are you referring to base Navigraph or its flight planning arm, SimBrief? SimBrief is an excellent tool but really only works well in IFR.
Agree Little Navmap takes a bit of getting used to but once you’ve got the hang of it for VFR it’s, to me, a no-brainer. It will do IFR quite happily too although generally you have to make your own route whereas SimBrief will suggest a few. I have it running all the time, even after setting up an airliner flight in SimBrief - you can export a SimBrief plan to LNM. Also easy to export LNM plans to the sim.
As regards aircraft performance tables, they are available for both programmes and I have seen aircraft developers actually produce them for their own aircraft too, just takes a bit of searching.
Being more than happy with these two programmes I’ve not bothered looking elsewhere - I do have a Navigraph subscription that keeps everything up to date and synchronised.
Yeah i meant navigraph charts, the subscription sorry.
I dont know why but when i tried to use navigraph to do the pilotedge first flight, 1s5 to kykm i think it was, i exported to the g2p (i forget the extension, the one for tdi), and when i imported in tds in sim it threw an error about the route, so that seemed to be my first hint after trying for an hour, that i should just use simbrief or charts or similar and import in that manner and only use navigraph chairts as my reference source in the sim in vr.
Just discovered LNM will suggest a route for IFR, it’s in the Flightplan/Flight Plan Calculation tab, you just need to add a few parameters. You live and learn!
For things like LNM, how do you determine what altitude to put in, particularly if it were a VFR flight, the cruise altitude, thats the part that is still a mystery to me, ie: short local vfr flights of say 30 min or less i tend to do something like 4k or 5k feet?
I thought perhaps maybe one of these apps would auto estimate that (maybe Charts does)? Also altitude constraints due to airspace restrictions etc.
I use navigraph and simbrief and have for a very long time, and I do most of my flights VFR. I have found that skyvector while good is really only good for the US sectional charts. BUT the subscription service for Navigraph now includes them, so no turning back.
Note when you are flight planning VFR, keep to the “V” routes, plan your altitude for the appropriate level (0-179 - east - Odd levels + 500ft) (180-359 - west) Even levels + 500 feet.
As for fuel planning… I will plan out my flight in Navighraph and then import that flight ito simbrief, which then does the fuel calculations, its a little backwards, but work pretty good. Hope this helps.
So in navigraph charts, i took a look at the weather layer, but i cant seem to get it to work. I went to KLUV for instance where there is clearly radar hits going on and weather. Nothing shows up on radar at all near there in the Navigraph (external) charts app (the one in the sim doesnt display weather).
I also tried the pms50 750 gtn, it Does show radar in the area (rain/storms etc)
If you do IFR through Simbrief and select a NATS, Eurocontrol or “real world” route then you can compare them to programmes like RadarBox and you’ll see just how accurate they are (often minus some arrival vectoring).
For VFR bear in mind LNM won’t take you around any restricted airspace and this is something you will need to manually check over yourself. SkyDemon is far better at this and will automate your route to include VRPs and avoiding restricted airspace but obviously won’t follow your plane as you go along in sim.
Considering what Simbrief and LNM offer for free they have to be two of the best add ons you can get for flight simulator.
ill have to check again this eve, but at least this am checking on the charts app on the phone, the overlay was working ok, guessing something weird with the pc yesterday
