True, you are right.
But I use those as a guide along the route in case I miss a landmark. That way it is easier to back track to a VOR, right?
I still need to figure out how to set it up correctly in the cockpit thoughđ
Your story reminds me of what happend to me and my girlfriendâs trip once.
But instead of bumping passengers they chose to not load selected cargo, like our bags for example.
We got those shipped to our hotel 2 days later.
Nice one @Boobbuster007, good question with some great responses as well. Itâs easy to forget many of us are at totally different levels but we all share this passion for flight. I love it when these forums work as intended. 
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Wow thanks for your explanation.
I like to use this simulator in a way it reflects the reality the most.
Now that I know the very basics of flying and have the need to expand those basics with real life procedures, I think it would be a nice add to learn the foundation of flight planning.
So now I wonder how I can check if Iâm going the right way, in terms of planning fuel etc.
I assume the answer to that question is to monitor the actual flight and fuel burn during each leg and post flight check if the reserves are at a level you calculated, or more ofcourse?
There is something called weight and balance. In my day the commercial planes had a weight and balance computer (I assume they still do) which measured the load on each landing gear. If you get it wrong in a big plane then you can end up dragging the tail or other nasties
I worked in the Middle East but on off days would travel (free) over night to the UK - me and a lot of others. We all used to head for the back of the plane and claim a center row so we could sleep. More than once the captain came on before takeoff and asked us to please move forward since we have made the plane tail heavy.
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Normally, you would use the Pilotâs Operating Handbook of your plane to calculate the required fuel load for the flight. Then, on most GA aircraft, you would conduct in flight regular fuel checks to compare your actual fuel consumption to the estimate you calculated during the flight planning stage.
If they differ too much, then you probably calculated it wrong, or youâre facing more headwind than expected and you might have to divert for a fuel stop before reaching your destination.
On some more recent planes, you might have a useful fuel totalizer to help with the calculations. For example, on the G1000, you can enter how much you have in your tanks and it will show you how much fuel will be burnt for each waypoint of your flight plan. But I understood this is not your cup of tea 
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Hahaha, I would have done the same! Shotgun for that center rowđ
Those fmcâs are a true work of art!
I assume your rest on that center row was permitted after take offđ
Thanks for your reply!
After some internet digging I found this POH of the Bonanza G36. As this is my go to plane when it comes to vfr flying I will try to use this book as a reference for my flight planning.
I assume your rest on that center row was permitted after take off
Yep and it made a rush for the sunbeds look like a sedate crawl
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Haha, im in the same boat. I like to have charts, they just have something special and add like a adventurous feeling to the flying and flightplanning when the whole kitchen table is covered in multiple charts and you are drawing your lines on them. 
Also its way cooler to have a big bunch of folded charts on your kneeboard instead of just a boring iPad.
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Most fuel gauges, specifically in GA planes are not very accurate. We know the average fuel burn of our planes we fly, but there are a lot of variables. Are you wide open throttle at 2,000 feet burning 10 gph at rich mixture, or are you at 10,000 feet burning 7 gph at leaned mixtured.
When I fly, I use a timer (watch) that keeps track how long the engine has been running on this specific flight. I know in the plane I fly, there are 20 gallons, roughly 4 unusable, so 16 gallons. At high cruise rpm, I burn 5gph, so I can stay in the air for 3.2 hours without reserve, or legally with reserve I plan on about 2.2 hours before landing. I cross-check the fuel I expect to burn with the two fuel gauges. Often times Iâm somewhere in the middle between the gauges.
Additionally, as others have said how far you can travel is a function of headwinds at altitude. If I plan for 100 knots, but there is non forecasted 20 knot headwind, Iâm only travelling 80 kts. The the distance I can travel (radius) is shortened.
Velocity = Distance / Time
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Awesome, thanks alot!!
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Used to have an old book of maritime navigation problems. When i was a kid i loved doing those. I have since lost that book, so i recently got a new version. Itâs not as focused on chart work as that other book (which was made in the '70s or '80s) because technology has moved on from chart work, but itâs still good fun.
So i can totally understand your endeavour, and i wish you luck with it. You will learn a lot about what your instruments are telling you and how you can use that information.
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Nice full UK map, where did you get it from?
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This is the answer!
Weight and balance are so you can take off (and in some case land. Sometimes you donât want to have too much fuel on board when landing to reduce stresses in the wings). But you need to calculate fuel because prevailing winds totally change your âradius of actionâ
The other reason airlines do it is to minimize costs. Theyâll determine how best to run engines to keep them running the longest between maintenance procedures, as well as reducing fuel cost as much as possible. Theyâll even go so far as to fly a different longer route to avoid flying directly into the wind. Even though they are flying further, they can fly faster and it can turn out better in some situations.
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To minimize costs we even fuel more than needed if possible sometimes to prevent or limit fueling were it is more expensive, but carrying fuel also costs money because the aircraft is heavier. There are tables for this to offset the difference in fuel price to the increase in weight (and therefore higher fuel consumption) to determine the breakeven point.
If you have the option between two routes youâll obviously take the one with the shorter time, its a no brainer. Even in GA you would do that as it has absolutely no benefit flying a shorter distance but being in the air longer (except for the pilot logbook) 
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To elaborate on this further there are two distances, Nautical Ground distance in Miles (NGM) and Nautical Air distance in Miles (NAM), its all about the airmiles (no seriously ). Ground miles doesnât need explanation I assume, airmiles are influenced by the wind, with headwind you fly more miles through the air, with tail wind less for the same ground distance. Its like airspeed versus groundspeed. Less airmiles is good, although the frequent flyer wonât agree with this statement 
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In other words the airmiles you are collecting should actually be called ground miles, at least I donât believe youâll collect more points when flying with a headwind versus tailwind?
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Run out of fuel in my car? Embarrassing - maybe. Inconvenient - probably.
Run out of fuel in my aircraft is simply a Procul Harum outcome every time
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As Jason Statham in âTransporterâ does 
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