European flight planning & charts - recommendations?

[tdbristol]

I am planning to a fair bit of flying around Europe in the next year (mainly Western - France, Spain, Germany but also up to Scandinavia), mainly IFR; some VFR. (In a DA40.)

What would folks recommend for:
- VFR guides in Europe (I use Pooleys in UK + CAA 1/2 mil charts)
- IFR charts etc. in UK and Europe
- flight planning software to run on a PC and ideally copy data over onto a PDA (ideally incl. Notams, flight plan filing)
- moving map software for a PDA backup GPS

Experiences of
- PocketFMS
- NavBox
- Jeppesen
..

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[BackPacker]

To be honest, I would get everything Jeppesen. Both the VFR and IFR stuff (assuming you have an IR). It might be a little more expensive, but it's good, up to date and standardized across Europe. It's also based on the same database that's in your GNS430, assuming you have one in the DA-40. (Are there any DA-40s out there without a 430 or better?)

The only thing I'm not sure of is whether Jepp does any reasonable-cost PDA-type solution. OTOH, you have a 430 so why would you need one? They have a few different PC solutions so that's what you would use to plan your flights when you're not in the aircraft.

[Fright Level]

I use both Jeppesen and Aerad (or Thales or EAG or whatever they are called nowadays). I fly both high level airways in jets and low level in SEP. Without a doubt the Jeppesen wins hands down for the airways charts.

For terminal and approach plates, I preferred EAG but since their new format a couple of months ago, riddled with omissions and errors, Jepps may be a better bet.

IO540 is the man to answer your other questions.

[cvlux]

for charts I suggest Jeppesen. To pick up infos Better solution is internet. The infos on the airport directory are quite wrong.

[Lurking123]

This (http://www.autoplan.aero/) is pretty useful.

[A and C]

Jepps are the only way to go ! Aerad was once a reasonable product but since they have become the EAG the quality has fallen to a point that the only use for them is to heat the crew room.

The great thing with Jeps is that the whole package is avalable online and Europe can be toured with a hand full of charts and all the rest of the data on the computor that you use for Met, flight plans & plogs.

[tdbristol]

Thanks to you all; looks like a pretty unanimous vote for Jeppesen.

[IO540]

What would folks recommend for:
- VFR guides in Europe (I use Pooleys in UK + CAA 1/2 mil charts)

Jepp still publish the paper Bottlang guides, but if you get Jeppview there is a VFR plate option in that which AFAIK is the same as the Bottlang books and much lighter to carry :)

- IFR charts etc. in UK and Europe

IFR approach charts - Jepp (Jeppview for the electronic ones)
IFR enroute charts - Jepp (though if you have Jepp Flitestar you rarely if ever actually look at the printed ones because you can print off A4 enroute sections for the flight)

- flight planning software to run on a PC and ideally copy data over onto a PDA (ideally incl. Notams, flight plan filing)

VFR (and UK-style informal IFR in Class G kind of stuff) - Navbox
IFR (Eurocontrol routes) - Jepp Flitestar

- moving map software for a PDA backup GPS

Depends on whether this is to be your primary/only GPS, or a backup one for emergency use. For the latter function you basically want a VFR chart, regardless of whether the flight is VFR or IFR.

The only proper up to date IFR/airway moving map is Jepp FliteDeck (which comes with Jeppview) although their now discontinued FliteMap product (identical to Flitestar but has a GPS input) would do more or less the same thing.

For VFR flying, Memory Map does nicely for the UK. For Europe, Oziexplorer but the VFR charts then have to be sourced from rather less official sources ;)

Experiences of
- PocketFMS
- NavBox
- Jeppesen

PFMS - not used it myself.

Navbox - Great for European VFR but has no real maps so you need the real VFR chart for airspace/DA/obstacle planning.

Jeppesen - the only contender for Eurocontrol routings (called "airways" by UK pilots), offers little over Navbox Pro but is a lot more clumsy, which is pointless for VFR

[Fright Level]

called "airways" by UK pilots

I remember flight planning (& flying) a trip from Exeter to Singapore at FL150 some years ago. It was fairly straightforward as most of the route was along Amber 1!

All changed now of course :(

[cvlux]

last but not least the same data that you have no jeppesen chart you have it even in the memory of your garmin gps on the airplane.

[172driver]

For charts, Jeppesen. They are consistent, and IMHO much easier to read than the various locally produced charts.

For airport plates, the various local CAA-equivalent's websites (although this doesn't work for Germany, or at least it didn't a year or so ago).

For quick flight planning, this (http://fly.dsc.net/u/Home)

For flight plans, NOTAMs and route briefings, Homebriefing (http://www.homebriefing.com)

[BackPacker]

Jepp still publish the paper Bottlang guides, but if you get Jeppview there is a VFR plate option in that which AFAIK is the same as the Bottlang books and much lighter to carry

It's no longer called the Bottlang. The Bottlang with its paper density and holes etc. was discontinued this year. The successor is the Jeppesen VFR guide, which uses the same paper density and holes of the Jeppesen IFR guide. And the content is (you guessed it) the Jeppesen IFR guide minus the IFR departures/approaches - which is essentially what the Bottlang already was.

[scooter boy]

If I'm going long distance in Europe it is (nearly) always IFR - it is just so much more straightforward. I use:

Jeppesen Flitestar IFR with integrated weather - for routings

Jeppview CDs for current approach plates - print them out the evening before (beats the hell out of dealing with the paper revisions)

(VFR in the UK I use AFE VFR guide and the 1:500000 charts.)

SB

[tdbristol]

Thank you again for all you replies.

And what about weather - what would/do you use for that?
MetOffice, WetterZentrale, MeteoBlue, Wunderground,...

Any recommendations?

Specifically (ideally) ways to get cloud tops (other than trying to interpret point-based skew T diagrams..)

[IO540]

Tdbristol - if you don't mind me saying, you post a couple of lines but a half decent answer would be an hour's typing.

I believe I sent you a URL which you can read and which has the gory detail.

But if I was to type up a really quick reply......... IF you could get forecast skew-t diagrams which are actually right then that would be the job done. You would not need anything else because cloud tops (and bases) are instantly obvious on a skew-t.

You could also join up PPL/IR (http://www.pplir.org) and in their mags somewhere are some articles on this.