I use duats also to get a general idea of time and winds aloft and to pick my
best altitude. I always select the user selected way points so I can do a
direct. Their direct uses waypoints, I dont care much about way points. When I
file I call FSS. If I am going to be in IMC I will use the airways, if not, then
I go direct.

If your not familiar with the area, and you expect bad weather, I would use the
airways. If the weather was good and I wanted to cut time, I would go direct or
a combination of the two, depending on weather and terrain.

"O. Sami Saydjari" wrote:\Well, I used the route planning software available at
the duats website.

I picked the low-level victor airway that it recommended....and thats
the one that had the conflicts. How does one directly find the great
circle route during flight planning (I assume my GPS uses great cricle
when it does a direct-to course)? I figured I would be better off on
victor airways as a matter of extra safety, in case my GPS fails...but I
am open to be talked out of that viewpoint.