How to save a flight with flightplan and continue later

User Support Hub User Interface & Activities
1

I also stepped in this trouble with ending a flight in mid-air and being unable to continue. Eventually I think I understood what’s going on and found a (rather?) simple workaround, at least for my preferred gliding activities. First I’d like to describe what’s (imho) going on, which may help those who are responsible for a more professional solution.

Usually, you start a creating a flight in the World-screen by setting a departure and destination. Then you may add further waypoints by click on the map and selecting add. You can check the result by opening the navlog. It is now important to recognize that besides the waypoints and departure and destination at least to more waypoints are inserted, “TIMECLIMB”, “TIMEDSCNT” and maybe “TIMECRUIS”. When you save the such created flight as, say, “MyFlight.flt” the amended flightplan is saved concurrently as “MyFlight.PLN”.

If you re-open then “MyFlight.flt” in a text editor you will find in the section [GPS_Engine]

[GPS_Engine]
Filename=C:\USERS<user>\APPDATA\LOCAL\PACKAGES\MICROSOFT.FLIGHTSIMULATOR_8WEKYB3D8BBWE\LOCALSTATE\MISSIONS\CUSTOM\CUSTOMFLIGHT\CUSTOMFLIGHT
CountWP=7
…

It’s noteworthy to recognize that here it is not the filename of the precedingly saved flightplan what is referenced, but, instead “CUSTOM.PLN” in the flightsimulator app-directory. At the same place there is also a “CUSTOM.FLT” and a “CUSTOM.SPB” of a minimal size of <1kB. The latter represents binary data of the flight simulator simulation and display engine.

Once a take-off has commenced and the flight is saved again under a different name some things change. Most important is that in the GPS section (not in the various ATC-sections) the flightplan is stripped back to the originally defined waypoints. Despite that the “Filename=” parameter still points to the original file “CUSTOM.PLN”, which has the larger number of waypoints. Apparently the NAV-MAP doesn’t show a flightplan if the numbers in “CountWP” and those in the “CUSTOM.PLN” are different. Furthermore “CUSTOM.PLN” will be inevitable not correlated with “MyFlight.flt” anymore, if you fly in between some other flight. You may consider to timely make a copy of “CUSTOM.PLN” in a folder with your personal flights and rename it to “MyFlight.PLN” and update the “Filename=” parameter. Unfortunately, the such preserved original flightplan does still not fit to “MyFlight.flt”. It is also not straightforward to adjust [GPS_Engine] section such that the two files match. Further, if you save the flight after the next break, again the list and number of waypoints in the “MyFlight.flt” is stripped.

I found for me that the best solution is now, to create a flightplan by means of MSFS that fits to the last state of your flight and adjust the correlated flight file accordingly. This can be achieved by the following steps:

  1. leave the flight with [ESC]
  2. save it under a name of your choice (e.g. “MyNewFlight.flt”, different from the original “MyFlight.flt”)
  3. end the flight by hitting [END]
  4. reload the flight saved before
  5. save the flightplan under a name of your choice (e.g. “MyNewFlight.PLN”)
  6. open the flight file “MyNewFlight.flt” in text editor
  7. look-up the GPS-section and edit the “Filename=”-parameter as
    Filename=[full-path-your-flight-folder]\MyNewFlight.PLN
  8. save “MyNewFlight.flt”
  9. reload “MyNewFlight.flt” in the world screen of MSFS

For a long flight with several intermediate breaks you have to do this only once, as you can keep the first stripped flightplan for all subsequent parts. The “eating” up of the completed legs, however is not addressed by htis procedure.

If you further would like to keep weather and time adjustable look-up this section

[Weather]
…
FixedClouds=False
…
and delete the line “FixedClouds=” or edit like this:
[Weather]
…
; FixedClouds=False
…

If you further don’t want the cable hanging at your glider and tear you down when starting in mid-air, than look up this:
[Sim.0]
…
GliderLaunchType=TOWPLANE
…
and delete “GliderLaunchType=…” or edit like this
[Sim.0]
…
; GliderLaunchType=TOWPLANE
…

Upon next save ;-lines are removed by MSFS anyway.

2

Done that, no flightplan loaded, C172 G1000. Situation frustrating to say the least!

3

You can only save flight with a Flight Plan by creating it on the World Map
and then save it before you click FLY.

This has been discussed in many Topics before.

1 Like
4

But why?

The hint that this has been discussed many times before might indicate that there’s a need for such a feature.

The question for me is this: Am I really expected to execute a whole flight in one go? Let’s say, I want the whole intercontinental experience for a flight from Frankfurt to Dallas, do I really have to sit 12 hrs in front of the sim? I imagine a lot of situations, where I simply cannot “afford” this time investment because, hey, life simply happens.

Yes, I know, I can increase the sim rate, but that basically is - at least for me - no longer a realistic flight experience.

I wonder if the combination of these 2 requirements (stepping away from the sim + normal sim rate) is really that exotic?

2 Likes
5

You would have to ask the developers.
But, I would guess that it would require alot of programming to do it.

Anyway, this is a simulator.
The developers could say:
Give me a RL flight in which the Pilots get out of the plane, mow their grass, and then get back in to continue the flight.

Just joking…

1 Like
6

Yes and this is a Simulator people have lives but still love to sim just in manageable bites .of course it is not as real as it gets and you don’t have to save and restore just support. Others who want to enjoy the sim and rely on this facility to enjoy the sim.

7

save and restore works you require to use seamlessly active sky for historic weather , flow to keep a toolbar and only fly pmdg and the Leonardo md80. Fbw320 works with a short fmc reprogram. Inibuilds makes it impossible and forget Fenix plus most Asobo.

8

you are probably right.

I also understand that storing a complex situation might be very complicated (weather, movement data, flight plan, others around me, all influenced eventually by 3rd party plugins and services).

At the end of the day, everyone defines ‘what is simulation’ for themselves. And I think I simply have a different definition.

1 Like
9

It’s really frustrating. My only ‘solution’ is to look very carefull where you are on the map when you want to quit. Just click the Esc button. The next time you want to continue, simply go to the World menu and create a new flight from your last location to your original destination. And click on Fly now. Maybe you miss a couple of miles but you can at least continue your long journey.
Ok, it’s far from ideal but it works for me.

10

I wanted to create a long intercontinental flight that I can save at each airport i land on the way, then pick up the next leg or 2 (or whenever i get back to simming.) Similarly to the Bush Trips on the main menu. Testing this using the save/load option is not possible, after each leg, I have to create a whole new FP to continue on. Further more, starting from a saved FP, the aircraft is already on the runway, engines running…I wanted to start cold at the ramp where I saved it at last. Saving initially before the long flight works, but any subsequent saving along your journey, you are screwed out of starting cold and dark on the ramp. All this is done on the world map and not from an outside flight planner or 3rd party app. We are missing out on the real world fun of flight simulation aspect of the long hauler/bush flying in a general aviation aircraft. Having to reset the aircraft configurations, slewing back to the cold start parking location, re-adjusting remaining fuel on board, weight & Balance, etc…after every time a leg is completed is not real life simulation experience. I found no topic in other discussions that target this point, but most of them covers well on “basic” functions and “how-to’s” that we all already know. Now, I maybe doing something wrong, so I am open to thoughts, ideas, suggestions, fixes, and , of course, all the criticisms/ridiculing that come in these message groups.

11

You cannot in FS2020 or FS2024.

You can only save a Flight Plan which has a Departure airport and
optional Arrival airport.

You cannot stop and continue the flight.