Real-life flight planning

Paul Folbrecht wrote in message hlink.net...
1. www.Aeroplanner.com has some really great on-line flight planning
stuff -- including the ability to print out sectionals with your course line
and 10-mile-ticks superimposed. They are fabulous on long trips, cuz
they're on notebook-sized paper and you just "flip" from one map to the
next. No "octopus arms" in the cockpit, fighting to fold a sectional!

Now that is cool- I had wondered if such software (that printed
sectionals with routes) was available and figured that it must be. This
I will have to check out.

FWIW, we tried it out and we didn't like it. I bought a month and
did several long trips (2-3 3 1/2 hr legs) and several short trips.
I deliberately set up the triptiks to be more pages and wider, so
that if we had to deviate or detour maybe we'd stay on the chart.

The problem we had is that even a reasonably straightforward
detour for afternoon t-storms took us off the edge of the triptik.
Strategic replanning for the return trip (the sort where you
wind up flying a totally different route due to wx systems) and
we might as well throw it out.

So I would say, if you try it make sure you have other charts,
at least WACs, to back up your planning.

Of course I suppose you could always just not deviate

Sydney




2. Destination Direct ( www.destdirect.com/ ) is (IMHO) the best stand-alone
PC flight planner. I've used it for years, and was able to flight plan your
trip from Timmerman to Appleton in about five seconds, with fuel burn, ETA,
waypoints, etc.

snip

By the way, where did you train -- Timmerman? I trained in East Troy ten
years ago, and lived in Racine until '97.

Yep, Timmerman. I actually live just over the line into Racine county
right now, on 7 Mile Rd, which I'm sure you remember.

BTW, your establishment is definitely on my list of places to visit at
some point.