Need some insight

[Tomahawk674]

Hello everyone, got a question for you all, I would appreciate some ideas.

Like I've told many before, my flying is purely for pleasure (no medical, always fly with CFI). Well all my flying I have done locally, I was wanting to try a trip to another airport, not too far away. Anyways, I have picked an airport I'd like to go to. My CFI is rather busy and I don't think I want to ask him to do all the planning and whatnot, plus I though to try it myself.

Some people yesterday led me to a checklist for xcountry planning:

http://www.geocities.com/cfidarren/r-crosscountry.htm

Now I'm thinking about calling the FBO and asking for a groundschool setion on flight planning. Meanwhile, I did some online searching and found online planners, that supposedly have all the info I need. If I were to make a flight plan, with info from their site, and print it out, including sectionals, Facility Directories, WX, nav log, and all the works, would this be all I need? Or do I actually need to buy (not print from the web) charts, a plotter and draw the course (etc) myself. I just want to know if these websites are just for backup or if they sufice as full flight planners.

What about the AOPA flight planner, haven't downloaded it yet, what would that do?

Thanks in advance for the info

 

[RotaryWingBob]

I'd suggest that you might want to discuss that with your CFI. It may be that he wants to do the planning himself (it's his ticket that's on the line), or maybe he'll want you to do it. CFI's I've worked with did their own plan (generally by computer) to check mine with.

If you ever intend to get your rating, you might as well take the ground school, and learn how to do it manually. If you're not, then using a computer flight planning tool makes sense (I use Flitesoft). But, you may not be saving him any time by doing the planning

 

[Shipoke]

Hey Jav. Do me a favor,either Email me your phone number or call me at 717-554-8247.
Dave G

 

[poadeleted20]

My experience is that unless you print out all the charts, directories, etc, you will find that something happens which requires you to go somewhere for which you don't have the charts or information, and if you do print them all out, the ink cartridge and paper will cost more than the pubs you didn't buy. Given that an A/FD and sectional chart provide all the data you need for flight planning, and they're only about $35 a year total for all the flying you're likely to do in your situation, I'd buy them.

As for the computer flight planning, that's a matter between you and the instructor. Manual planning is normally required for Student Pilots simply to develop their navigational sense, not because it's some kind of special necessity, and if you can handle a diversion in the cockpit without your computer/modem, you need not plan flights manually.