New DUAT Voyager

ChrisS

ChrisS

Pre-takeoff checklist
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ChrisS
Dump FlightPrep and download this FREE software from Seattle Avionics instead.
 
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Done!

Voyage is slow, but overall has better features than Golden Eagle. Stenbock & Company charge eighty bucks for an "upgrade" to Golden Eagle that has features that are free in Voyager.

Turn off the "terrain" icon in Voyager's "CMD" toolbar and the map redraws faster.
 
They should all be in the database. If they are smaller runways you may need to zoom in closer. Try writing in the identifiers as waypoints in the flight planning wizard and see if it recognizes them.
 
Seriously everyone, I've been putting Voyager through it's paces and it makes FlightPrep's Golden Eagle look as though it was developed by someone from Sucksville, USA. I'm using it on a mid-range laptop and the performance is very good, and the interface is a pleasure to use.

Seattle Avionics deserves to do well with it.
 
Merry Christmas to all!!

Downloaded and installed the Voyager program. Many of the features are not available in the 'FREE' version that initially downloads from their site...airport info, fuel, and other functions, etc. I find it slower than my AOPA flight planner. A good backup tool for me personally, but I have yet to look into how many .AU's it will run us to have the full package installed. YMMV

Oh BTW, passed the instrument written this week, as soon as the plane is out of annual, and if the weather finally holds, gonna fly my IFR X-C from NY to Manassas VA. and visit the aerospace museum at Dulles, then go for the checkride...
 
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I'm starting to play with Voyager. Initially I complained that it didn't show many airports near my location. I find that if I enter the identifier that they are indeed in the database. However they don't show up in the initial view.

I wonder why the planner insists on adding numerous waypoints rather than just plotting a direct course. As an example I was planning a flight from 2AZ1 to KSDM to see how Voyager would do it. On a leg from L77 to KRNM it added multiple waypoints. Why not just draw a line between the two airports?

Well for the price it's great. I think I just need some more practice.:wink2:

Merry Christmas

Paul
N1431A
2AZ1
 
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Paul, make sure you select the 'Sectional' view, when you zoom in you'll see all the smaller airports. If you use the planner wizard you can choose for the software to select fuelling stops and nav waypoints for you, do you think this is what is happening?

I've just activated the 5 day trial of the Smartplan Express module and have been playing around with Fuel Prices. If you think about it this feature could pay for the price of the software within a few months. If you want to have a go you can activate the trial go to the 'Help'/'About' window, then click the 'Modules' button.
 
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It has several weaknesses over FlightPrep, as well as several strengths. The routing wizard does not allow a VOR-to-VOR routing, so if you are still using an older plane, this software won't help with your routing like Golden Eagle. It would also be nice if both programs had an option to route people around restricted airspace like MOAs, e.g., give me the fastest route around a MOA, class B airspace, etc. It should be programmable. Also, if you are on a broadband connection that limits your throughput (e.g., limitations on uploads and downloads like a 3G tablet or Hughes.net satellite hookup, this program randomly, and several times a week, tries to download several gigabytes of data and the download times are not programmable. You can quickly rack up hundreds of dollars in download charges at $10 per megabyte from Verizon. Downloading sectionals, WACs and approach plates and the AF/D involved between 40 and 100 GB depending on what you want. On a system with 1GB per month included, that's pretty much a system killer.
 
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And there was me thinking that MOAs were not restricted...and that class B airspace was controlled and not restricted! You learn something everyday. :rolleyes:
 
1611kjb said:
It has several weaknesses over FlightPrep, as well as several strengths. The routing wizard does not allow a VOR-to-VOR routing, so if you are still using an older plane, this software won't help with your routing like Golden Eagle.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it is because I am using the VFR payware version rather than the freeware version, but the routing wizard in my copy of DUAT Voyager does provide options to do VOR-to-VOR routing, and can be told to route around MOAs as shown in this snapshot: routingwiz.png

It would also be nice if both programs had an option to route people around restricted airspace like MOAs, e.g., give me the fastest route around a MOA, class B airspace, etc. It should be programmable. Also, if you are on a broadband connection that limits your throughput (e.g., limitations on uploads and downloads like a 3G tablet or Hughes.net satellite hookup, this program randomly, and several times a week, tries to download several gigabytes of data and the download times are not programmable. You can quickly rack up hundreds of dollars in download charges at $10 per megabyte from Verizon. Downloading sectionals, WACs and approach plates and the AF/D involved between 40 and 100 GB depending on what you want. On a system with 1GB per month included, that's pretty much a system killer.
Click to expand...
Hmmm - I'm afraid your numbers don't make sense to me unless you accidentally swapped "giga" and "mega". I have a Verizon 3G modem and mobile plan costing $35/month with a 3GB/month limit, with, as I recall, about $10/GB when exceeding that limit. I have not tracked how much data DUAT Voyager pulls down when I start it up, but I believe it is in the tens of megabytes, not gigabytes (I'd be waiting hours for the latter!) Even if the download were 100 MB, that is a modest cost of about $1.
 
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