FlightPlanner Features Tour - Navigation Plans
Flight Plan Components This shows the screen that illustrates the components of a flight plan. The navigation plan itself is a table of checkpoints, courses, distances, etc. The frequencies window holds the communications frequencies for the departure and destination airports. This information is entered from the windows showing the database of frequencies and runway information for those airports. The weight and balance window uses data specific to the selected aircraft to assist verification of this critically important flight factor. Lastly, the FSS flight plan form imports data from the aircraft and calculated flight plan to prepare a form containing information needed during flight plan filing with the Flight Service Station.
Weight & Balance Weight and balance calculations show the tabular momentum and center of gravity result as well as graphs that show the center of gravity plotted with the center of gravity and momentum envelopes for the selected aircraft.
Flight Parameters The navigation plan is a table of flight parameters. Under the table are buttons to calculate the final plan considering winds and the performance capabilities of the selected aircraft, identify the entered checkpoint codes (if done so manually) to automatically compute courses and distances between them, clear the calculated data fields, invert the navigation plan, prepare a round trip plan, insert additional checkpoints to see where the climb and descent portion of the legs begin and end, and show the navigation plan top and profile views including underlying maximum terrain elevation.
Flight Plan Views The navigation plan graphs show the top view of the plan on one chart to gauge the directness of the plan. The profile view also shows the maximum terrain elevation underlying the flight path.
Identifier Database The identifier database contains data for all the landing facilities, navaids, and VFR checkpoints in the United States. Enter your own user checkpoints as needed. This can be done manually but is most easily accomplished by clicking on that location on a Sectional or Terminal Area Chart.
Charts The provided Sectionals and Terminal Area Charts for the continental US, plus Hawaii and Puerto Rico are selected from a list. The navigation plan is drawn on the charts with a thick red line.
Checkpoints Add or delete checkpoints from the plan by clicking on the displayed chart. Left click to add a checkpoint, right click to delete it. Left click and drag the mouse to insert a checkpoint. The flight path line is dragged with the mouse to show the diversion. Use this to plot paths around controlled or restricted airspace. The title bar shows the latitude and longitude of the mouse position on the chart.
Chart Display Up to four charts may be displayed on the screen at the same time. This permits showing the continuation of navigation plans that continue from one chart to another.
Scaled Views Scale the displayed charts to increase or decrease the viewed area. This can be done is 10% steps from 10% to 100%. A zoomed-in view better shows the details on the chart and a zoomed-out view permits a better overall view of the chart and flight path.
Cropped Chart View Crop the displayed chart by first drawing a selection rectangle (right click and drag the mouse) then crop the image. This is done primarily to produce a printed output limited to the displayed area.

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