best flight planning

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jsbougher

Pre-Flight
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Jul 9, 2008
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LafBizGuy
Hello all,
So, I've not been active for ~ 3.5 years and am now current again. Back in 2006, I used AeroPlanner premium account and loved it. I obviously didn't keep my account current. So recently, I logged in using the EAA basic flight planner on AeroPlanner and was really disappointed by the speed of the site. I dropped them and e-mail and no response - they've been scratched from my list.

I'm VFR only, but actually do (or did, and plan to again) quite a bit of cross-country with flexible dates ... we plan on going to Memphis for a weekend and I watch the weather closely until we find a good weekend, then we go.

Anyway, any suggestions on good, inexpensive flight planning software. I prefer on-line since I generally use a mix of work computer, two home computers and the iPhone to check the web (iPhone not too important in this case as I have ForeFlight). I'm looking for 3 key features:
1) easy flight planning with printable route table and "triptik" VFR maps
2) good weather reporting ability - I like to check the weather for the planned route on a very regular basis and want this to be easy
3) good terrain planning / visibility - I really don't do over-mountain flight and like to plan around inhospitable terrain

Like I said, I really loved AeroPlanner in the past and it suited my needs perfectly, but is just too slow to be usable now. I plan to begin working on my IFR in the next year or so, so something I can grow up with would be nice but not critical (I've been "going to work on my IFR in the next year" for about 10 years :^).

Advice appreciated.
 
I use and love the free Golden Eagle software from Duats.

http://www.duats.com/cirrus.shtml

It is feature rich and can be added to with for pay extras if you decide you need those.

I have my airplane configured in it for the weight and balance and performance calculation. This makes planning pretty simple. The free package interfaces with DUATS and can display weather on the flight planning page. It also can be used offline and on multiple computers without have to obtain additional licenses should you opt for any of the pay services.
 
For the online tools, I stick with three:

www.fltplan.com - especially for IFR flights since IMO it does the best job at assiting me with route selection and provides good weather information and navigation printouts

www.skyvector.com - for the online maps for planning purposes

www.navmonster.com - not quite as extensive as the paid Aeroplanner but it does provide pretty good information, other than en route charts, in its Trip Kits.

I don't use it much, but the online planning available to AOPA members is also very popular and as based on the Jepp offering.
 
I like the AOPA flight planner, if you are a member.

These days I just use Foreflight on my phone but it ain't free and my plans are relatively simple.
 
I also like, and use, Fltplan.com.
 
ScottM said:
I use and love the free Golden Eagle software from Duats.

http://www.duats.com/cirrus.shtml

It is feature rich and can be added to with for pay extras if you decide you need those.

.... This makes planning pretty simple. The free package interfaces with DUATS and can display weather on the flight planning page. It also can be used offline and on multiple computers without have to obtain additional licenses should you opt for any of the pay services.
Click to expand...

I whole heartedly agree with Scott on the golden eagle. Also for what you do AOPA flight planner and Fltplan.com are great.
 
I use Golden Eagle, as well. The only problem I've got is the newest version take forever to fully start on my 4 year old laptop. Version 5 didn't have that problem. And (and, yes, I've told them) a number of the waypoints are mislabeled when I have it plan OLM-PUW. Until the update just released it even planned the wrong route. V 5 and earlier didn't have this problem. But, they're aware of it and are working on a fix. Nice program, I may just have to break down and get a new laptop (yeah, that will sell with the finance chair. :D )

Update - I downloaded the new version to my main machine ( 3 year old Q6700 - Core 2 Quad based Windows 7) at home and it works flawlessly on it. Even starts up in a reasonable period of time. I guess my old laptop may need an upgrade (replacement). Golden Eagle Plus 6 isn't the problem, 4 year old hardware is.
 
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