Anyone use an online flight planner?

[FlyboyZR1]

I was browsing the AOPA website and went through the tutorial for their flight planner. Seemed very cool, it will pretty much do everything for you that I've always had to do with the E6B. I'm not an AOPA member but I'm thinking that this feature might be worth the price of a membership.

What are some good online flight planners, and how do they compare to doing it the old fashioned way?

Anyone have experience with the AOPA planner?

[SteveC]

We use www.fltplan.com. Pretty decent, although it doesn't do quite everything that I'd like.

[Windchill]

I use AOPA's Flight Planner, although I only use it to help look at routes and what might be in the way and how to circumnavigate i.e. P-40, ADIZ, etc. I'll also play with the winds to see what it gives me as an est. time enroute.

The closer I near to a flight though, I map it out on the sectional, get a weather briefing, use the winds aloft to help figure groundspeed, time enroute, and fuel burn with the E6B.

I like using AOPAs thing just to play around with how far and how long it might take to get here or there, and map out all the trips I've been on

[jonnyb]

Steve, what doesn't Fltplan.com do that you'd like it to? I use it for the planning and filing all of my flights throughout the US. I think it's great, especially since it's free.

[mtsu_av8er]

I use Duat - it's awesome and completely free for all pilots!!

[SteveC]

[ QUOTE ]
Steve, what doesn't Fltplan.com do that you'd like it to? I use it for the planning and filing all of my flights throughout the US. I think it's great, especially since it's free.

[/ QUOTE ]

The one thing that I miss (I use Destination Direct sometimes on my home computer for comparison) is the ability to get a good look at waypoints that I might want to add to my flight plan. With DD I'll load the flight plan, pull up the map view, and I can rubber band the route to add VORs that are directly (or almost directly) along the route.

.....well I'll be danged. I just went to fltplan to take a look again, since I know that it will store preferred routes and previously used routes. What do you know, there is a mapping routine showing low or high altitude routes! And it superimposes the planned route over the chart so you can see nearby navaids. And it shows where all the STARs start as well - neat! (If they hadn't hid it at the bottom of the page I might have noticed it sooner.)

I guess maybe I stand corrected. I'll have to play around with that function some more, but it looks like that will take care of my major complaint!

Learn something new every day, I guess!

[ananoman]

I have always used the one in DUATS. It is really only good for IFR flying, but it does a good job. It is also text only, which I find to be easier and faster than the fancy ones with the maps.