[Release] Free Flight Planning Tool for the Flight Sim Community — Simple Flight Planner

[BrittleBridge06]

Hi,

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.

offers:

1,000+ aircraft with full performance profiles (speeds, fuel burn, service ceilings)
71,500+ real-world airports with runway data and elevation info
260,000+ navigation aids and AIRAC waypoint fixes (VOR, NDB, ILS, DME, FIX)
MSFS World Update POI database covering 150+ landmarks from WU1–WU20, City Updates & 40th Anniversary
100+ pre-built scenic route templates across 6 continents
Built-in fuel and performance calculators (density altitude, TAS, takeoff/landing rolls)
Terrain awareness with elevation profile charts
Print your flight plan — with or without the map
Long-press the map on mobile to drop custom waypoints
Export to .PLN (MSFS/P3D/FSX) and .FMS (X-Plane)
Shareable flight plans — generate a unique link so anyone can view your route, stats, and map
Multi-leg itineraries — group flights into journeys with cumulative distance and time tracking
Live online networks — see VATSIM and IVAO pilots and ATC controllers on the map in real time
250,000+ worldwide AIRAC 5-letter fixes/intersections for realistic IFR route planning
Airline fuel policies — configurable contingency, reserve, taxi, and tankering fuel for dispatch realism
Cost Index optimization (0-999) — trade cruise speed vs fuel burn like a real dispatcher
Winds aloft estimates — upper-level wind components per leg derived from surface METAR data
ETOPS planning — Equal-Time Points, diversion airports, and critical segment analysis
Plan by Time — specify a flight duration and get a matching route generated automatically
SimBrief Import — import routes directly from SimBrief with your Pilot ID
Recent quick picks — instantly re-select recently used airports and aircraft
Comprehensive user guide — downloadable PDF covering all features in detail
Pilot Logbook — log flights with stats, notes, and cumulative tracking
Weight & Balance — CG envelope visualization with passenger, baggage, and fuel inputs
Checkpoint Timing Table — per-leg heading, distance, ETE, and cumulative time
Departure & Arrival Procedures — common VFR/IFR patterns with step-by-step instructions
Airspace Warnings — route checked against Class B, TMA, restricted/prohibited areas
Sunrise/Sunset Indicator — daylight/twilight/darkness status at each waypoint
Diversion Planner — nearest suitable airports from any waypoint, filtered by runway length
Recent Routes — quick access to last 5 planned routes
Route Comparison — side-by-side comparison of saved plans
Works offline as an installable PWA — no account required

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.

I would really appreciate any feedback.

• App: https://simpleflightplanner.com

[Adawg20057972]

Mucho Gracious Amigo

[Maki152]

A ton of airports I searched are missing. Also a number of navaids are wrong / don’t exist.

[Scet106]

Yep same here.

[BrittleBridge06]

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 ABQ , ANC , Aberdeen (ADN) , Accra (ACC) , Addis Ababa (ADS) , Adelaide (AD) , Acapulco (ACA) VORs
• Fixed IDs to use proper navaid identifiers.

[BrittleBridge06]

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.

[Silverwood02]

Sounds good, although UK airfields are lacking. I will try it and see what I think.

[BrittleBridge06]

Airports database update:

1. 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).
2. ~1500 curated regional and major airports added
3. 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.

[BrittleBridge06]

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
• Country names resolved from ISO codes

[BrittleBridge06]

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.

[Silverwood02]

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.

Keith

[BrittleBridge06]

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!

[BrittleBridge06]

Made some updates to the tool:

1. 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.
2. 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”).
3. 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.

Thanks to Tobago33 for the suggestions.

[BrittleBridge06]

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.

[Silverwood02]

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.

[BrittleBridge06]

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!

[SlateEvening147]

May I ask you to add the TL Ultralight Sirius TL‑3000 by FSReborn to the list of aircraft as well? Thank you.

[BrittleBridge06]

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.

[BrittleBridge06]

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:

1. Open the Aircraft Selector

In the planner sidebar, find the Aircraft section and click the aircraft dropdown to open it.

2. 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.

[Silverwood02]

Looks very impressive. Well done.

One question, can you allow a zoom feature that allows a zoomed in view without zooming back out?

Given that this is a new program, it is very very good.