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.

As a student, of course, I did everything by hand, and meticulously, and
eschewed GPS navigation as well. Some of my observations from my brief
XC experience thus far:

1) Winds aloft forecasts are never right- usually not close.

2) There's no need to produce a nav log, etc. with checkpoints when the
route is familiar.

So, for a route that is now familiar to me- say, Timmmerman (MWC) to
Appleton (ATW) (about 75nm), of course I get a briefing, and check the
winds aloft, but I'm not going to produce a nav log. I'm going to fly
by pilotage with my GPS to back me up and with a VOR receiver to back
that up. And, of course, if I encounter particularly unexpected
weather, I'm going to turn back.

For new routes, I am going to produce a nav log, knowing full well that
my heading will not likely match the precomputed values due to differing
winds aloft. No matter. But, of course, for such flights, I'm not
going to be doing things the old-fashioned way anymore. I want some
good software to make it easy.

So, I think I have two questions: 1) Does this make sense? and 2) What's
the best flight-planning software out there? I've used AOPA's tool and
I like it, but I don't really know what's out there (and yeah I can do a
google search but then you don't know if you're hearing about the latest
& greatest). I do have a Palm 5 device so PC software that has a Palm
component too would be a plus.

~Paul

P.S. Hope this isn't too much of a "newbie" post for this forum.
Thought it was more appropriate here than over at .student.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 15:43:42 GMT, Paul Folbrecht
wrote:


So, I think I have two questions: 1) Does this make sense? and 2) What's
the best flight-planning software out there? I've used AOPA's tool and
I like it, but I don't really know what's out there (and yeah I can do a
google search but then you don't know if you're hearing about the latest
& greatest). I do have a Palm 5 device so PC software that has a Palm
component too would be a plus.

I suggest you get familiar with DUATS (www.duats.com). For the Palm I
recommend AOPA eAFD for airport data, and Copilot. Copilot will not
provide automatic routing, but it is a good method of putting together
route information when you don't have access to the internet.

AOPA's tool is a crippled form of FliteStar, which is arguably the most
complete package available even though it does not download anything to your
handheld. It will download routes to your GPS.

Flitesoft also works well, although the routing routines are not as
sophisticated as those in FliteStar.

PocketFMS is shareware. www.pocketfms.com. It is still a little rough around
the edges, but it does work with both your PC and your handheld. The latest
version appears to have added some more color graphics. There is no Palm
version available at the moment.

ControlVision's software works on your handheld only, but is not Palm
compatible.

My personal opinion is that having to fly without your handheld is like
having to hike without your bathtub.

I used to do wonderful flight-plans when I was a student, with
waypoints every few miles, and winds aloft, and ground speeds,
and fuel consumption, and times to the nearest minute, and so on.
It's a useful skill, because it crops up on the FAA written tests.

Since getting my PPL, I haven't done it once (well, except for my
Instrument written). I use DUATS all the time.

-- winds aloft forecasts are, as you note, pretty much useless
-- my plane can fly for 6.3 hours with full tanks. The longest
I've done is about 4.5, and I was VERY glad to land
-- if I'm in VMC, I do check my route by pilotage regardless of
my principal navigation means (which is GPS), but I just figure
it out as I go with the sectional on my lap - actually that's one
of the most enjoyable bits of xc flying, for me

John

"Paul Folbrecht" wrote in message
ink.net...
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.

As a student, of course, I did everything by hand, and meticulously, and
eschewed GPS navigation as well. Some of my observations from my brief
XC experience thus far:

1) Winds aloft forecasts are never right- usually not close.

2) There's no need to produce a nav log, etc. with checkpoints when the
route is familiar.

So, for a route that is now familiar to me- say, Timmmerman (MWC) to
Appleton (ATW) (about 75nm), of course I get a briefing, and check the
winds aloft, but I'm not going to produce a nav log. I'm going to fly
by pilotage with my GPS to back me up and with a VOR receiver to back
that up. And, of course, if I encounter particularly unexpected
weather, I'm going to turn back.

For new routes, I am going to produce a nav log, knowing full well that
my heading will not likely match the precomputed values due to differing
winds aloft. No matter. But, of course, for such flights, I'm not
going to be doing things the old-fashioned way anymore. I want some
good software to make it easy.

So, I think I have two questions: 1) Does this make sense? and 2) What's
the best flight-planning software out there? I've used AOPA's tool and
I like it, but I don't really know what's out there (and yeah I can do a
google search but then you don't know if you're hearing about the latest
& greatest). I do have a Palm 5 device so PC software that has a Palm
component too would be a plus.

~Paul

P.S. Hope this isn't too much of a "newbie" post for this forum.
Thought it was more appropriate here than over at .student.

Several points I see here...

A couple of months ago one of the GA magazines did an article about what the
FAA regs required as far as the location of a pilot's certificate. From what
I remember, the regs previously required the certificate be on the pilots
person (billfold, etc). Again, from what I remember, it is now permissible
to have the certificate in the aircraft (flight bag, etc).

The next point is: it's 2003 and there is a terrorist under every rock.
Which means you are dealing with some non-FAA regulations on airport
property. I would not be surprised if a cop pulled over someone driving
around a non-terminal area and asking for some verifiable reason for the
person being there. Which creates a problem: as is noted elsewhere, an A & P
must be posted in the area where the holder performs most of his/her work.
And it would not be unreasonable for a pilot to leave his flight bag,
containing his certificate, in the airplane when he leaves the airport to
conduct business, go shopping, whatever (Hey, Deputy Dawg, this guy is
trying to convince me you can make business trips in those little Piper Cub
airplanes!).

I tend to take the line of least resistance: I've found that I can
frequently spend 15 seconds complying with an idiotic regulation/request, or
I can spend 30 minutes arguing about it. If it's not a huge civil liberties
issue, I'll comply with the idiotic request and be on my way.

Consequently, it would seem to be a reasonable idea to make a copy of my
certificate and stick it in my billfold/purse. I doubt if it would satisfy
the FAA, but for your average Bozo cop out there cruising the airport hoping
to stop a car with Osama in it, it would probably be satisfactory.

Just an opinion...




"Paul Folbrecht" wrote in message
ink.net...
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.

As a student, of course, I did everything by hand, and meticulously, and
eschewed GPS navigation as well. Some of my observations from my brief
XC experience thus far:

1) Winds aloft forecasts are never right- usually not close.

2) There's no need to produce a nav log, etc. with checkpoints when the
route is familiar.

So, for a route that is now familiar to me- say, Timmmerman (MWC) to
Appleton (ATW) (about 75nm), of course I get a briefing, and check the
winds aloft, but I'm not going to produce a nav log. I'm going to fly
by pilotage with my GPS to back me up and with a VOR receiver to back
that up. And, of course, if I encounter particularly unexpected
weather, I'm going to turn back.

For new routes, I am going to produce a nav log, knowing full well that
my heading will not likely match the precomputed values due to differing
winds aloft. No matter. But, of course, for such flights, I'm not
going to be doing things the old-fashioned way anymore. I want some
good software to make it easy.

So, I think I have two questions: 1) Does this make sense? and 2) What's
the best flight-planning software out there? I've used AOPA's tool and
I like it, but I don't really know what's out there (and yeah I can do a
google search but then you don't know if you're hearing about the latest
& greatest). I do have a Palm 5 device so PC software that has a Palm
component too would be a plus.

~Paul

P.S. Hope this isn't too much of a "newbie" post for this forum.
Thought it was more appropriate here than over at .student.

"Bill Denton" wrote in message
The next point is: it's 2003 and there is a terrorist under every rock.

So what about 2004?

To the original poster: DUATS gives me every thing I could need.

Aeroplanner.com give me everything I need and then some with the added
benefit of storing frequent routes. When I'm ready to fly a particular
route, I simply load up Aeroplanner and update the route for new weather the
print the thing.

--
Jim Fisher

"Paul Folbrecht wrote:
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.
[zip]
So, I think I have two questions: 1) Does this make sense? and 2) What's
the best flight-planning software out there? I've used AOPA's tool and
I like it, but I don't really know what's out there (and yeah I can do a
google search but then you don't know if you're hearing about the latest
& greatest). I do have a Palm 5 device so PC software that has a Palm
component too would be a plus.

Paul,

WingX from http://www.hiltonsoftware.com runs on a Pocket PC and let's you
quickly do route planning with wind calculations, it'll do W&B and a whole
lot more including having Parts 1, 61, 91, 119, and 141 of the FARs right on
your PDA. It's pretty cool if I say so myself (ahem...) Disclaimer:
Should be obvious.

Try it, you'll like it - it's free to download and try.

Hilton

As a student, of course, I did everything by hand, and meticulously, and
eschewed GPS navigation as well.

Try my site, www.cockpitgps.com for some info on using GPS. Someone
suggested that you use CoPilot for your Palm. Get it at www.palmgear.com.
The data is available at Paul Tomblin's excellent navaid.com.

--John Bell

Paul Folbrecht wrote in message link.net...

1) Winds aloft forecasts are never right- usually not close.

2) There's no need to produce a nav log, etc. with checkpoints when the
route is familiar.

Well, I think you might wish to consider the implications of 1)
on 2).

If you're only planning flights which are so generously within
the range of your fuel-on-board that the Headwinds from Hell
couldn't run you out of fuel, it's not a factor.

But once you start trading fuel for other forms of useful load
(pax and baggage) and flying longer flights, you need SOME means
of giving yourself the 'wake-up' call -- whoops, I'm going to
need another fuel stop.

So, how do you accomplish this? Well, one way is to make a
hard and fast rule "always land after X hrs of flight time".
But there are problems with this strategy. First, you need to
make sure "X" doesn't become fixed in your mind as a single
number, otherwise sometime you might take off with less fuel
and be running on fumes first. That's just a matter of doing
a preflight calculation and writing the number down. Of
more concern is, it might prove inconvenient to land near
the end of the flight due to limited or no airports, expensive
fuel, or flight plan hassles taking off again. If you have
to backtrack, detour, pay through the nose, or suffer delays,
the siren call of "maybe I have enough fuel to make it--I
really should..." becomes more seductive.

So, another way is to make a flight log and compare ATAs to
ETAs for enough waypoints to realize early-on when an extra
fuel stop is likely, and make the best, most convenient choice.

This applies whether the route is so familiar that you could
fly it in your sleep, or whether you're flying it for the
first time.

Now mind you, when I was a student pilot I was made to plot
checkpoints quite close -- maybe every 20-30 miles. That's
really not necessary IRL and would become quite time-consuming
when planning a 900 mile flight.

For new routes, I am going to produce a nav log, knowing full well that
my heading will not likely match the precomputed values due to differing
winds aloft. No matter. But, of course, for such flights, I'm not
going to be doing things the old-fashioned way anymore. I want some
good software to make it easy.

Since you have a Palm OS PDA, I strongly recommend Laurie Davis'
"Co-Pilot" program with Paul Tomblin's waypoint database. It won't
run on your PC, but it's simple, user friendly, and the price is right
(donations optional but appreciated).

On the PC, I use is DUATS flight planner combined with a paper
low-altitude enroute chart to sanity check routing and Airnav.com
to find inexpensive fuel stops.

I've used AOPA's tool and Aeroplanner and I like them both, but
I can accomplish more faster without the graphical interface.

In DUATS flight planner, select "direct routing for GPS/loran"
to get a list of VOR degree-distance waypoints which make plotting
a long route onto a VFR chart a cinch.

So, I think I have two questions: 1) Does this make sense?

Makes sense, barring the caveat that familiarity does not
remove the need for a nav log in some circs, and is a very
appropriate post for either .piloting or .student IMO.

Have fun,
Sydney

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"