Importing User waypoint flightplan into a GNS430

[Juergen Mentor]

Good morning everyone,

I seem to have encountered a peculiar puzzle and i'm hoping some of you wise folks might be able to assist. We are trying to develop a Grid flight plan on a Garmin GNS 430 that consist entirely of user GPS way points. The idea is to have the aircraft follow the grid with the autopilot. I've transferred the flight plan to a data card using the flightplan migrator kit that Garmin sells but beyond that I've had nothing but problems. When attempting to import the flightplan, all of the waypoints show up as locked. I've checked the names to see if they conflict and the actual waypoints themselves ... I am not entirely sure what i could be missing. I contacted Garmin support and a technician managed to load it into a Garmin Aera 796 where the grid worked, he was going to test on a 530 but I was never able to get in contact with him again and most of the other technicians are unsure if it is actually possible due to their limited experience with a fairly old navigation system. I am going to attach the contents of that flight plan below. If any of you have tried something like this before or have suggestions on what else i could try, I will gladly give it a shot (Including switching to a different avionics system. The criteria are only: Interface with an autopilot, allow you to create a flightplan on a computer and import it, be hopefully under 10k to at least acquire the hardware).

<flight-plan xmlns="http://www8.garmin.com/xmlschemas/FlightPlan/v1">
<created>2015-11-20T13:58:17Z</created>
<waypoint-table>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST0</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.38935</lat>
<lon>-87.51021</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST1</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.36631</lat>
<lon>-87.60233</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST2</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.36493</lat>
<lon>-87.78591</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST3</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.35763</lat>
<lon>-87.78582</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST4</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.3587</lat>
<lon>-87.65034</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST5</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.35146</lat>
<lon>-87.65032</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST6</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.35042</lat>
<lon>-87.78567</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST7</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.34308</lat>
<lon>-87.78554</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST8</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.34478</lat>
<lon>-87.57326</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST9</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.33759</lat>
<lon>-87.57318</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST10</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.33584</lat>
<lon>-87.78539</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST11</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.32854</lat>
<lon>-87.78516</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST12</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.32983</lat>
<lon>-87.62128</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST13</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.32261</lat>
<lon>-87.62128</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST14</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.32135</lat>
<lon>-87.78507</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST15</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.31398</lat>
<lon>-87.78492</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST16</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.31577</lat>
<lon>-87.57303</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST17</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.30854</lat>
<lon>-87.57301</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST18</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.30671</lat>
<lon>-87.78483</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
<waypoint>
<identifier>TEST00</identifier>
<type>USER WAYPOINT</type>
<country-code>KZ</country-code>
<lat>41.28498</lat>
<lon>-87.83052</lon>
<comment />
</waypoint>
</waypoint-table>
<route>
<route-name>GRID TEST 430</route-name>
<flight-plan-index>1</flight-plan-index>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST0</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST1</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST2</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST3</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST4</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST5</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST6</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST7</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST8</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST9</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST10</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST11</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST12</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST13</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST14</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST15</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST16</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST17</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST18</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
<route-point>
<waypoint-identifier>TEST00</waypoint-identifier>
<waypoint-type>USER WAYPOINT</waypoint-type>
<waypoint-country-code>KZ</waypoint-country-code>
</route-point>
</route>
</flight-plan>

 

[somewhereupthere]

430 won't import user waypoints into the database I don't think. I the waypoints the FP is calling for are not in the database, you will get a LOCKD message.

Are you able to load the FP into the 00 position? As in, are you able to activate the FP?

 

[Juergen Mentor]

Turns out it was a lot simpler than that. I stumbled on the answer by accident.

Short Story:
Maximum waypoint name is 5 characters. My waypoints became 6 characters after the first 10

Long Story:
I first cleared out the country code from all of the waypoints but that didn't solve the problem (unsure if that makes a difference ... apparently I had KZ for Kazakhstan and the points are most definitely in the states of Indiana/Illinios). After trying several other things I stumbled upon the user waypoint storage on the device and noted that it imported the first 10 waypoints from TEST0 to TEST9. After looking at the waypoints after that i realized that TEST10 onward had 6 character waypoint names. And that was it ... apparently the 430 only accepts 5 character names at max. Changing TEST10 to TES10 solved the problem and it imported fine. So one can create a flightplan based on user waypoints alone ... just make sure to get the names under 5 characters.

 

[Jaf]

Hello Juergen, what third party software did you use to create the user waypoints? I'm trying to do a similar thing (in Suriname south America).

Turns out it was a lot simpler than that. I stumbled on the answer by accident.

Short Story:
Maximum waypoint name is 5 characters. My waypoints became 6 characters after the first 10

Long Story:
I first cleared out the country code from all of the waypoints but that didn't solve the problem (unsure if that makes a difference ... apparently I had KZ for Kazakhstan and the points are most definitely in the states of Indiana/Illinios). After trying several other things I stumbled upon the user waypoint storage on the device and noted that it imported the first 10 waypoints from TEST0 to TEST9. After looking at the waypoints after that i realized that TEST10 onward had 6 character waypoint names. And that was it ... apparently the 430 only accepts 5 character names at max. Changing TEST10 to TES10 solved the problem and it imported fine. So one can create a flightplan based on user waypoints alone ... just make sure to get the names under 5 characters.

Turns out it was a lot simpler than that. I stumbled on the answer by accident.

Short Story:
Maximum waypoint name is 5 characters. My waypoints became 6 characters after the first 10

Long Story:
I first cleared out the country code from all of the waypoints but that didn't solve the problem (unsure if that makes a difference ... apparently I had KZ for Kazakhstan and the points are most definitely in the states of Indiana/Illinios). After trying several other things I stumbled upon the user waypoint storage on the device and noted that it imported the first 10 waypoints from TEST0 to TEST9. After looking at the waypoints after that i realized that TEST10 onward had 6 character waypoint names. And that was it ... apparently the 430 only accepts 5 character names at max. Changing TEST10 to TES10 solved the problem and it imported fine. So one can create a flightplan based on user waypoints alone ... just make sure to get the names under 5 characters.