Real-life flight planning

Being newly licenced (yesterday), I've started thinking about the type
of VFR flight-planning I'll do in the real, post-student world, and what
tools I'll use.

First of all, it seems that everyone here has forgotten their manners --
CONGRATULATIONS, Paul! Welcome to the .0005% of the world that gets to fly!

As far as flight-planning goes, I'd recommend checking these out:

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!

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.

As time goes on and you garner more flight experience, you'll find that you
really can't get lost, as long as you know just a very few basic landmarks
along your route. For example, to fly from Iowa City, IA to Janesville, WI,
do I *really* need a flight log that ticks off every railroad track and
power line from here to there?

Nah. So long as I know where (a) I-80 is, (b) the Mississippi River is, and
(c) the nuclear power plant in Rockford, IL is (it emits a tower of steam
visible for 50 miles), and have a rough idea of the necessary heading and
winds aloft, it's almost impossible NOT to find Janesville. Overlay this
knowledge with your VORs, a clock, and a moving map GPS, and, shoot, you'd
have to be pretty unlucky to really get "lost."

By the way, where did you train -- Timmerman? I trained in East Troy ten
years ago, and lived in Racine until '97.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Oops. I already replied, realized that I forgot a congratulations, then saw
that Jay beat me to it. Anyway, congrats.

downloaded charts. In my mind - fuhgedaboudit. I'm not wasting all that
color ink for charts that are not quite as good as the real thing and only
show you a small section with no connection to the adjacent plats. But then
I love maps. I have no problem folding them around in the cockpit.

familar route: Coming back from Michigan to Chicago after Thanksgiving
weekend. A route that I have flown 20 times in the last couple of years. I
hit headwinds that were 40 to 60 knots. You bet I was watching time and
landmarks.

--
-------------------------------
Travis


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:l9XQb.19922$U%5.156877@attbi_s03...
Being newly licenced (yesterday), I've started thinking about the type
of VFR flight-planning I'll do in the real, post-student world, and what
tools I'll use.

First of all, it seems that everyone here has forgotten their manners --
CONGRATULATIONS, Paul! Welcome to the .0005% of the world that gets to
fly!

As far as flight-planning goes, I'd recommend checking these out:

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!

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.

As time goes on and you garner more flight experience, you'll find that
you
really can't get lost, as long as you know just a very few basic landmarks
along your route. For example, to fly from Iowa City, IA to Janesville,
WI,
do I *really* need a flight log that ticks off every railroad track and
power line from here to there?

Nah. So long as I know where (a) I-80 is, (b) the Mississippi River is,
and
(c) the nuclear power plant in Rockford, IL is (it emits a tower of steam
visible for 50 miles), and have a rough idea of the necessary heading and
winds aloft, it's almost impossible NOT to find Janesville. Overlay this
knowledge with your VORs, a clock, and a moving map GPS, and, shoot, you'd
have to be pretty unlucky to really get "lost."

By the way, where did you train -- Timmerman? I trained in East Troy ten
years ago, and lived in Racine until '97.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:l9XQb.19922$U%5.156877@attbi_s03...

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

Ah, memories! I was born and raised about six miles from Timmerman (Silver
Spring and Lydell).

Then, I "Escaped FROM Wisconsin". :~)

More congrats!

As for getting lost...If I can't see Pikes Peak, then I'm lost. Or
else it's too foggy/rainy/snowy to go fly VFR.

(*chortle*)

In a previous article, "Jay Honeck" said:
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!

I like AeroPlanner, but this year I bought a Howie Keefe Air Chart Systems
IFR Atlas, and it was GREAT for en-route. I mark my route using removable
highlighter tape that I got from Sportys. For this year, I'm ordering a
VFR Sectional Atlas as well.


--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Just another organic pain collector racing to oblivion

First of all, it seems that everyone here has forgotten their manners --
CONGRATULATIONS, Paul! Welcome to the .0005% of the world that gets to fly!

Nah, not necessary. I got enough back-patting over at RAS. But thanks. :-)

As far as flight-planning goes, I'd recommend checking these out:

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.

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.

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

Good God, man -- Mary (my wife) lived on 7 Mile Rd (just west of Hwy 32)
when I first met her! I must have driven down that road a thousand times...

Small world!

Now go enjoy a Derango's pizza for me, have some perch at Dino's (on 16th
St.), and start your day off right with some pecan kringle from O&H bakery!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Heh. Actually I'm quite a bit west of where you were- 8707 7 Mile Road
to be exact, 4.5 miles west of 94. So, I think about 8-10 miles west of 32.

Maybe you can talk me into flying some cringle out to the hotel some
time this summer. :-) As for me- I have not been able to touch the
stuff since I ate a whole one by myself when I was about 12. No lie.

~Paul

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


Good God, man -- Mary (my wife) lived on 7 Mile Rd (just west of Hwy 32)
when I first met her! I must have driven down that road a thousand times...

Small world!

Now go enjoy a Derango's pizza for me, have some perch at Dino's (on 16th
St.), and start your day off right with some pecan kringle from O&H bakery!

:-)

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.

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

Yeah, we kept the WACs on board when using the Trip Ticks, just in case.

Didn't need 'em, though. We never went off the maps, even when diverting
around icing (on our way back from Sun N Fun last year) -- those maps are
pretty wide. You musta diverted pretty far!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"