AOPA's RTFP and STARs

SCCutler

SCCutler

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Spike Cutler
There was a question asked over at AOPA, for which no answer has yet appeared, and it's a good one.

Using AOPA's Real Time Flight Planner, you plan a trip, using the Airways autorouting function. Then you select the destination, right-click, and select an appropriate STAR.

At that point, RTFP has you flying to the destination airport via the original autoroute, then flying back to the transition fix for the STAR, and back in again.

I cannot figure out, for the life of me, how to do away with all of the un-needed route and waypoints. It seems as if there ought to be a way to look at a table with route segments you could just delete, but if there is, I have not found it.

Ideas, answers, abuse? Thanks in advance!
 
OK, some playing around, I find that when I use IFR Low autoroute, and select a SID, it automatically deletes the old routing and substitutes the DP routing, but (as referenced above), if you autoroute and try to add the STAR, it does not work.

From fiddling around, I tried creating the autoroute to the initial transition fix for the STAR, then adding the destination airport by clicking and dragging, *then* adding the STAR by right-clicking the destination and selecting the appropriate STAR, which then substituted the STAR routing for the previously-created staright-line.

There has got to be a more elegant method, though... right?
 
No clue Spike. Works for me. I just planned JFK -> ORD and selected the OXI.3 (I think) arrival, and it worked just fine.

Ah, doing airways it says "oops" but it took me from an intersection not the destination airport.
 
Last edited:
Well, for proof of concept, I planned ADS-HOU, auto-routed airways, and it allowed SID selection properly, but STAR created the big back-track.

I'll try another destination, see if I am just getting a "just-here" glitch.

Thanks for your help, Ed. That'll be $20.00.
 
If you plan it great circle/direct then it works just dandy.
 
OK, further funny experimentation; I create an initial flight from origination airport to trasnition point for STASR (example: KADS to ACT, which is a routine trasition fix for southbound SIDs from Dallas area, and also is a transition fix for arrival STAR for KAUS).

I then select KADS, right-click, substitute the JPOOL2.ACT departure, and it substitutes nicely. At this point, I have a flight plan to the ACT VOR using the Joe Pool Two departure.

Then, I "rubber band" from ACT to KAUS, thus adding the destination airport (KAUS) to the plan; then I select KAUS, right-click, select a STAR (ACT.BLEWE1), thus completing a routing KADS to KAUS (which happens to be all SID and STAR, but machts nichts for what I am about to describe).

When I look at the "Nav Log," it shows the transition fix (ACT VOR) twice, with a distance "between" ACT and ACT of -1, and travel time of 0:12 (twelve minutes)- a twilight zone thing.

If I then select the ACT VOR, RTFP asks whether I want to select it in the SID or the STAR, I choose the SID, delete the waypoint, and now, it's only in the NavLog once, the phantom 0:12 disappears, and I appear to have a good plan.

Very strange bahavior.

And that's just me- wait'll you see what the software does!
 
File /G and forget about it. Works much nicer.
 
N2212R said:
File /G and forget about it. Works much nicer.
Click to expand...

Yep, since one rarely gets "as filed," anyway.

Still, trying to be a team player, Dan Brown-style.
 
I get as filed all the time. Got it yesterday in fact. Only thrice have I not gotten it, and the last time was not an as filed because they gave me direct. LOL On RTFP plan direct, add the SID/STAR and call it good.
 
AdamZ said:
Wa! you can plane STARS and SIDs on RTFP. I can't do that
Click to expand...

Right click on your departure/arrival field and select SID/STAR.
 
N2212R said:
I get as filed all the time. Got it yesterday in fact. Only thrice have I not gotten it, and the last time was not an as filed because they gave me direct. LOL On RTFP plan direct, add the SID/STAR and call it good.
Click to expand...

I get as filed all the time, because I file the best plan I think I can actually get. My CFII, on the other hand, tried to file V177 through ChiApp airspace:

Clearance Delivery: "Dakota 8183Xray, cleared as fi... Uhhh, that's not gonna work. Taxi to 21 via Juliet and Bravo, stand by for clearance..."
 
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