I wanted to reach out and introduce Simple Flight Planner — a free, browser-based flight planning tool built specifically for the flight simulator community It supports MSFS 2020 & 2024, X-Plane 11 & 12, FSX, and Prepar3D, and is designed to make VFR and GA flight planning simple, visual, and enjoyable.
100% Free — No subscriptions, no ads, no account needed
71,000+ airports with runway diagrams, METAR weather, and ICAO lookup
1000+ aircraft with performance data (plus custom aircraft profiles)
11,000+ scenic POIs and Nav Aids and 100+ curated scenic routes worldwide
Performance calculator — density altitude, TAS, takeoff/landing estimates with safety warnings
Fuel planning with wind-corrected ETE calculations using live METAR data
Terrain awareness with elevation profiles and obstacle alerts
One-click export to .PLN (MSFS/FSX/P3D) and .FMS (X-Plane)
Works offline as a PWA — plan flights anywhere, even without internet
VFR & IFR support with automatic flight type suggestions
What makes it different:
Unlike complex dispatch tools, Simple Flight Planner is built for VFR pilots and GA enthusiasts who want to discover and explore. The scenic route library and POI database make it easy to find stunning flights — from the Amalfi Coast to Patagonia to the Greek Islands.
The tool is 100% free, with no ads, no login walls, and no premium tiers. It’s a passion project built to give simmers a practical, no-nonsense planning experience.
Thank you very much for your comments. This is the feedback I am looking for.
Increasing the number of airports in the database will be a continual task. In the meantime, the tool does allow you to search and add locally any missing airport. I know it is not as efficient compared to the airports already included in the database, but it is an option if you are looking for a particular airport. The online airport lookup now supports IATA codes (e.g., “JFK”, “LAX”) in addition to ICAO codes — it tries ICAO first, then IATA. The search button appears for any 2–4 character query when no local results are found.
I removed all unreliable VOR entries (wrong identifiers, duplicate entries, approximate coordinates). I added approximately 85 verified VORs worldwide using proper navaid identifiers and added frequency info to descriptions
Update: Replaced all VOR entries with OurAirports-verified data. Some key corrections that were done:
ORD VORTAC (didn’t exist) → Northbrook VOR-DME (OBK) — actual VOR serving Chicago O’Hare area
MIA VORTAC (didn’t exist) → Dolphin VORTAC (DHP) — actual VOR near Miami International
DEN/SFO coordinates updated to precise OurAirports values
All VOR types corrected (VOR-DME vs VORTAC) based on actual navaid classification
Added 210+ new VOR/VORTAC navaids and 140+ NDB navaids across all regions and added VOR and NDB filter buttons to the POI suggestions panel. Users can now filter by All , Scenic , Aviation (all navaids), VOR only, or NDB only — each showing their respective count.
Enhanced online lookup — Airport search now auto-triggers online lookup when you type a 2-4 character code with few/no local results, showing results inline alongside local matches (no more waiting for zero results).
~1500 curated regional and major airports added
Downloads page (/downloads) — Four downloadable airport packs (Caribbean Island-Hopping, African Safari Strips, European GA Airfields, SE Asia & Oceania Islands) as importable JSON files, with instructions. Linked from the footer.
Major Update to Airports Database - After receiving feedback regarding the lack of available airports, I took the decision to move to a cloud based airport database which has allowed for the following:
71,570 airports now in the cloud database
Breakdown: 1,302 large · 3,982 medium · 42,561 small · 22,470 heliports · 1,255 seaplane bases
Includes runway data for all airports with open runways
Cloud navaids database was created with 11,010 navaids — 6,748 NDB, 3,653 VOR, 442 TACAN, and 167 DME stations worldwide.
When you set departure and arrival airports, the planner now fetches relevant navaids from the cloud database and merges them with the local scenic POIs.
Very good - but still not really for non - US players. Strange - you have Rochester in the UK - but neither Redhill nor Headcorn both of which are close.
Keep working though and I am sure it will get better.
Great news — both Redhill (EGKR) and Headcorn (EGKH) are already in the cloud database along with 1,218 other UK airports! They should appear when you search by ICAO code (e.g. type “EGKR” or “EGKH”).
If they weren’t showing up for you, it’s likely because you searched by name — the search works best with ICAO/IATA codes or partial matches. Thanks for the kind words and for helping improve the tool!
Hide map on mobile — A “Hide Map / Show Map” toggle button appears below the header on mobile, collapsing the map to give the sidebar full screen.
Long-press to add waypoint — Press and hold (~600ms) anywhere on the map to drop a custom waypoint. A dialog appears to name it (e.g. “Lake”, “Highway intersection”).
Per-leg time estimates — When an aircraft is selected, each waypoint in the list now shows the leg distance (NM) and estimated time (e.g. “42 NM · 21m”) from the previous point.
Based on your feedback, I made the following improvement. Cloud airport search now fetches more results and ranks them client-side: exact ICAO/IATA matches first, then starts-with on city/name, then word-boundary matches, then contains — with larger airports boosted within each tier. Searching “Redhill” or “Headcorn” will now surface those aerodromes at the top.
Ok - not all airports appear on the map, yes they are in the search box, but not on the map to start with. Also you can’t add custom waypoints, so for a VFR flight from Redhill to Headcorn you would add some waypoints along the route. Finally - the ability to print your route would be good.
You are 100% correct. Not all airports were showing on the map. I have made changes and now they appear and can be filtered,
There are two methods of adding custom waypoints to your route. Depending on what you are using to plan your route (PC, Tablet, etc); you can press and hold (~600ms) anywhere on the map to drop a custom waypoint. A dialog appears to name it (e.g. “Lake”, “Highway intersection”) or use the option on the side bar menu under Add Waypoints → Add Custom Waypoint.
I like your suggestion of being able to print your flight plan. I will look into adding this option!
Thanks to your feedback, I have added the following options:
Implemented a full airport type filter system: distinct colored markers per type (large=dark blue, medium=blue, small=light blue, heliport=orange, seaplane=teal), expandable sub-filter checkboxes in the toolbar, client-side filtering with localStorage persistence, and updated legend entries. Default: large + medium + small visible; heliports and seaplane bases hidden.
Added a Print Route button to the Flight Summary section — clicking it opens a clean, print-ready page in a new tab with the route overview, stats (distance, ETE, altitude, speed), aircraft info, waypoint table, and leg-by-leg heading/distance breakdown, then auto-triggers the browser print dialog.
Hi,
I added the TL Ultralight Sirius TL-3000 (FSReborn) to the single-prop category with a cruise speed of 118 kts, 15,000 ft ceiling, and 4.5 GPH fuel burn — it’ll now appear in the aircraft selector.
The tool gives you the option to add your own custom aircraft:
Open the Aircraft Selector
In the planner sidebar, find the Aircraft section and click the aircraft dropdown to open it.
Click “Add Custom Aircraft”
At the bottom of the aircraft list you’ll find an + Add Custom Aircraft button. Click it to open the creation form.
100% Free — No subscriptions, no ads, no account needed
71,000+ airports with runway diagrams, METAR weather, and ICAO lookup
1000+ aircraft with performance data (plus custom aircraft profiles)
11,000+ scenic POIs and Nav Aids and 100+ curated scenic routes worldwide
Performance calculator — density altitude, TAS, takeoff/landing estimates with safety warnings
Fuel planning with wind-corrected ETE calculations using live METAR data
Terrain awareness with elevation profiles and obstacle alerts
One-click export to .PLN (MSFS/FSX/P3D) and .FMS (X-Plane)
Works offline as a PWA — plan flights anywhere, even without internet
VFR & IFR support with automatic flight type suggestions
App: