Favorite Flight Planning Websites

[USMCmech]

My interpretation of "big boys" was just a literary device to get a point across. I simply mean people that know more than me!

Be careful when you take advice from "the big boys", it may be worth less than you paid for it. Just because that's how they do it at the airlines doesn't mean that's the way you need to do it.

I have heard so many times "so-n-so flew 747s, so I'm going to take his advice". However, what does flying a 747 have in common with your type of flying? Probably very little.

There is a story at Flight Express that a retired 747 Pan Am pilot was hired and on his first day he called flight service. After getting a weather briefing and filing a flight plan, the briefer asked if there was anything else he needed. His answer was "yes, I'd like to declare an emergency" The briefer was taken aback and asked why. The pilot replied "I'm down to one engine, no flight director, no radar. I've only got one source of electrical power, and no backup instrumentation. My co pilot and engineer are missing. At my old company that's what we would call an emergency."

 

[TXTBOOK]

Got it.

Thanks for the discussion, everyone. The point of this thread has been completely lost, and I'm not sure it was all together understood from the beginning, but I do appreciate what I've learned. I'll continue to take what I think is right from the more experienced people on this board, although I'll be a little quieter about it.

 

[Crism]

Back to the topic, I'm a SkyVector and DUAT guy. DUATS doesn't appeal to me at all, and I like the DUAT layout and format SO much more.

Anyone find Fltplan.com a pain in the butt to use? I just think there's too much going on visually, too many ads, and way too much stuff to click on.

 

[Inverted]

I use wingx or foreflight on my iPhone to file, and it saves aircraft profiles I have created and put fuel burn times on. Computer I'll use fltplan.com. I never sit with an E6b and actually fill out a flight plan form. Most planes I fly tell me when I will run out of gas so I rely on that . Jk but I seriously never see myself wizwheeling a flight plan ever again.

 

[AviatorGator]

Back to the topic, I'm a SkyVector and DUAT guy. DUATS doesn't appeal to me at all, and I like the DUAT layout and format SO much more.

Anyone find Fltplan.com a pain in the butt to use? I just think there's too much going on visually, too many ads, and way too much stuff to click on.

Not really. The last time I tried to use DUAT/DUATS they both felt antiquated, like something out of the MS-DOS era.

Fltplan.com has everything I need and then some. QICP weather, easy filing, and impressively accurate flight planning, fuel burns, and expected ATC routings for your specific flight(s).

 

[iFlightPlanner]

I voted duats but it really is a mesh of things.
DUATS+
Aviationweather.gov+
Skyvector+
PaperCharts & A/FD
= success.

I know the original poster asked about free services, but I couldn't help make a note on the above quote - iFlightPlanner.com combines all of the above into one easy-to-use, well organized site. We debuted at the Great Lakes Aviation Conference to great response and are confident we'll help you cut your flight planning time tremendously and ensure you perform critical pre-flight steps you might skip due to inconvenience.

Additionally, all of our features are available on a streamlined mobile interface as well for those with iPhones, BlackBerrys, droid, etc. allowing you to perform your flight planning tasks from anywhere.

Apologies for the promotional post, but we think you'll find it plenty worthwhile!

 

[mshunter]

I voted duats but it really is a mesh of things.
DUATS+
Aviationweather.gov+
Skyvector+
PaperCharts & A/FD
= success.

+1. Are you sure we weren't separated at birth?

 

[youngflyer]

I know the original poster asked about free services, but I couldn't help make a note on the above quote - iFlightPlanner.com combines all of the above into one easy-to-use, well organized site. We debuted at the Great Lakes Aviation Conference to great response and are confident we'll help you cut your flight planning time tremendously and ensure you perform critical pre-flight steps you might skip do to inconvenience.

Additionally, all of our features are available on a streamlined mobile interface as well for those with iPhones, BlackBerrys, droid, etc. allowing you to perform your flight planning tasks from anywhere.

Apologies for the promotional post, but we think you'll find it plenty worthwhile!

Welcome, seems like a neat product from some of the demos.

 

[mshunter]

help you cut your flight planning time tremendously and ensure you perform critical pre-flight steps you might skip do to inconvenience.

Well, if it's inconvenient to look, then maybe you shoulden't go.

 

[Nigel Croker]

we use fltplan.com for all dispatches, and it is an extremly usful tool. we can even fax ahead all needs to an fbo, if we need coffee, newspapers or whatever the clients request. Not sure what the others offer, but fltplan.com has impressed the heck out of me....

 

[pericynthion]

maps.avnwx.com

 

[Muff3n]

I use fltplan.com. They have a ton of resources on there.

 

[jason5591]

Fltplan.com looks good never seen it.

I use routefinder but hey ive only flown FSX yet. Gotta upgrade

 

[Joe]

For scoping out destinations, preliminary planning, and checking the weather a few days in advance, I like:

SkyVector.com - You can right click and select airports and fixes to determine distances and headings, view weather data, and airport info.
AirNav - More airport info, plus FBO reviews and fuel prices. I go here to get airport diagrams and check IAPs, etc.
NOAA - I use this for my local weather vs. weather.com simply for the lack of ads. Just enter in a ZIP code or city.

For night before or day-of planning, I like:
DTC DUAT - Flight planning, filing flight plans, full route and area briefings, maps, NOTAMs... everything you need. Plus, it counts as an official briefing.
ADDS - I like to use this in conjunction with DUAT... I like a lot of their maps better, so I'll look at their maps while reading a textual briefing on DUAT.
PilotWeb - NOTAMs... if you're not going to get a full briefing, at least check your NOTAMs here.
Sectional Chart, A/FD, E6B, plotter, calculator, POH - as useful as some of these sites can be, nothing beats using the real thing.

EDIT: AOPA's online airport directory has some nice kneeboard printouts which are useful when flying into unfamiliar airports.

 

[AirmetTango]

Back to the topic, I'm a SkyVector and DUAT guy. DUATS doesn't appeal to me at all, and I like the DUAT layout and format SO much more.

Anyone find Fltplan.com a pain in the butt to use? I just think there's too much going on visually, too many ads, and way too much stuff to click on.

I agree about the layouts. The CSC DUATS website (www.duats.com) has a horrible layout in my opinion - very much like an MS-DOS feel like one of the other posters mentioned. DTC DUATS (www.duat.com) is far slicker. I really like what they've done with the "interactive overlays". Fltplan.com does bother me with the quantity of ads... it definitely discouraged me from spending time on it - that was a while ago, maybe it's changed?

 

[minitour]

I've got Jeppesen flitestar, so with any internet connection I can get pretty good flight planning done (including wx from DUATS, nav logs, even weight and balance, etc, etc.).

That said, I still use fltplan.com

I was reluctant and it took me a while to make the switch, but fltplan.com does so many things well that it's worth learning which buttons to click and when. I highly recommend.

-mini