Flight planning (and re-planning) issues

Bug Reporting Hub Miscellaneous
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Do you have any add-ons in your Community folder? If yes, please remove and retest before posting.
Yes, remove and retest does not affect this, as it’s not a bug.

Are you using Developer Mode or made changes in it?
No.

Brief description of the issue:

So, perhaps this isn’t really the place to enter this issue. It’s less about bugs in the flight planning process as overall usability. Here’s my use case - I’m planning flights from a gate or ramp, so that I can start cold/dark and walk through the entire startup/clearance/pushback/taxi/takeoff procedure. Here are my issues:

  • When choosing a ramp/gate/fuel box, there’s no indication on the world map as to facilities. When I load the flight, frequently I find I’ve located myself at a site in the airport that’s not going to work for me - no pushback cart, tighter space than I’d expect for the indicated size and my aircraft, aircraft really doesn’t do too well at backing out with thrust reversers, etc.
  • When that happens, I have to re-plan the flight, which means backing out to the main menu and going back into the world map, which takes time.
  • When I plan a flight, Flight Simulator is very… selective about what it retains in search history - it’s pretty good about the origin airport, but rarely has my destination loaded. I basically have to start from scratch.
  • Wash/rinse/repeat until you have an acceptable setup for your flight.

Now, I know what you’re gonna say: just save/reload the flight. That’s a PARTIAL workaround, it still doesn’t deal with giving me bad facilities, having to cancel and replan the flight, etc.

What would I like to see? A few things:

  • When I select a ramp or gate, I’d like to see info pop up with the supported services at that point, so that I can choose the right startup point
  • I’d like to be able to default to the last selected flight configuration (including VFR/IFR, cruise altitude, departure/arrival/approach) in the world map
  • I’d like the search history to actually retain the airports I’ve most recently searched. Mine is loaded with airports I flew to two months ago and not ones from earlier this moring
  • Ideally, I’d like to be able to change my startup point without having to replan the entire flight.

Detail steps to reproduce the issue encountered:

  • Plan an IFR flight from a ramp or gate.
  • With (bad) luck, you’ll find yourself in a place where you don’t have pushback, and your plane won’t reverse its way out
  • Go back to the main menu and start over again
  • Repeat until satisfied

PC specs for those who want to assist (if not entered in your profile)
Not a performance issue

Did you submit this to Zendesk? If so, what is your ticket #?
It’s a usability issue, not a bug. Do I still submit a ticket?

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I agree with your post. I understand other priorities on the devs lists.

A pop up taxi diagram with FBO’s marked and/or fuel pumps.

For some reason, occasionally I am placed in the hold position at the runway. I always try to start from an FBO or Transit parking. So, that ends up being a cancel, restart, replan.

When planning the flight, it would be nice to be able to slide the order of the waypoints.

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Do the airport facilities match the Airport Diagram plates? It seems that the small, medium, and large size gates are arbitrary because I haven’t seen the size definitions for these. The 747 is so big that there are a limited number of gates that can accommodate it. Essentials if the 747 is selected in the World Map, then only the right size gates should be displayed in the World Map. Another thing to consider is that the 747 is restricted to certain taxiways. In addition, the 747 cannot takeoff/land at smaller airports. These airports shouldn’t be shown in the World Map either.

It seems like MS/Asobo weaves “artistic license” throughout MSFS. For example, all aircraft can use military airports without being taken into custody. International flights have to land at a port-of-entry for customs. I doubt any simulator can COMPLETELY model real life with current technology.

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I absolutely agree that there is much room for improvement in the flight planner, all points made are valid imho. The fact that you cannot even control the order of your waypoints is truly annoying.
That said, I think it should be possible to choose any airport for any plane to land on, just for the fun of it. Why no try landing an airliner on a tiny grass strip? Still some indication of what gates/ramp positions/airports are appropriate for a given airplane could be helpful.

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