Tordan
29th Jul 2004, 20:17
Hi all.
Hope you pros won´t get to annoyed by this request for information. I´m one of those simpilots that try to mimick as much of the real world procedures as possible when it comes to planning and performing flights. For longhaul I usually use the PS1 B744 sim (www.aerowinx.de).
My main problem when it comes to flightplanning is how to decide the most time efficient routing depending on the winds. I´m using planning tools (www.fsbuild.com) that can utilize the wind data as can be seen at for instance http://aviationweather.gov/ I usually look at the High Level SIGWX charts to get an overview of the winds in the area that I´m going to fly, say an atlantic crossing.
So, I can´t say that I lack info, rather the opposite. In my planning tool I can set up a route, load the winds, load the daily NAT routes and see what the estimated flight time, distance, fuel burn etc. will be. What I´m having trouble with is "seeing" the wx/wind charts interpolated over the routes. This would make it far easier to make choices such as what eastbound NAT to use and at what FL.
So to my questions.
1. Any good "The Idiots Guide To Flightplanning" sites?
2. What sort of tools do you professional dispatchers use? When I close my eyes I see a software that shows a 3D image where one can overlay weather/winds and routes in order to quickly find optimum routings. Or are you doing the same as I am, i.e. a bunch of manual repetitions where one varies one or more parameters such as the FL?
Again, hope you don´t mind this amateur asking ;)
Hope you pros won´t get to annoyed by this request for information. I´m one of those simpilots that try to mimick as much of the real world procedures as possible when it comes to planning and performing flights. For longhaul I usually use the PS1 B744 sim (www.aerowinx.de).
My main problem when it comes to flightplanning is how to decide the most time efficient routing depending on the winds. I´m using planning tools (www.fsbuild.com) that can utilize the wind data as can be seen at for instance http://aviationweather.gov/ I usually look at the High Level SIGWX charts to get an overview of the winds in the area that I´m going to fly, say an atlantic crossing.
So, I can´t say that I lack info, rather the opposite. In my planning tool I can set up a route, load the winds, load the daily NAT routes and see what the estimated flight time, distance, fuel burn etc. will be. What I´m having trouble with is "seeing" the wx/wind charts interpolated over the routes. This would make it far easier to make choices such as what eastbound NAT to use and at what FL.
So to my questions.
1. Any good "The Idiots Guide To Flightplanning" sites?
2. What sort of tools do you professional dispatchers use? When I close my eyes I see a software that shows a 3D image where one can overlay weather/winds and routes in order to quickly find optimum routings. Or are you doing the same as I am, i.e. a bunch of manual repetitions where one varies one or more parameters such as the FL?
Again, hope you don´t mind this amateur asking ;)