Flight planner is the software used to prepare a flight plan for an aircraft. It includes a range of calculations that must be accurate to reduce fuel costs and follow air traffic control regulations.
The best flight plans take the weather into account, particularly wind. Jetstreams, which flow around the Earth from west to east, can dramatically change the ideal flight path by avoiding or benefiting from strong winds.
User-friendly interface
Flight planner is a tool for students that helps them create their own customized course plan. It can be found in ULink and has a number of features, including a customizable calendar. It can help students understand their outstanding requirements and make decisions about when to take courses. It also lets students rearrange the order of their courses to fit their schedules.
The program allows you to drag and drop waypoints, and the map will display the position of those waypoints. It will also show you the distance between your destination and the waypoints on your route. It can even identify restricted airspaces, navaid intersections, and airports. The program also displays a list of the RBLs and range rings that will be affected by your route.
This application provides a range of other benefits as well, such as downloadable maps, weather forecasts, and detailed airspace information. It also allows you to view and track your flight in real time. This feature is especially useful for pilots who need to fly a drone in remote locations without internet access.
Detailed route information
Flight planning is a complex task and involves many safety-critical elements. It involves ensuring that the aircraft has enough fuel to reach its destination safely and following air traffic control regulations to reduce the risk of collision. It also includes calculating the route that is most efficient in terms of fuel consumption.
To begin, you must enter the departure and destination ICAO codes of your trip. The system will then attempt to find an optimal route through global airways and intersections. If you’re flying across the Atlantic or Pacific, it will also consider current oceanic tracks. This process can take up to 2 minutes.
The resulting route will be displayed in the flight plan screen, along with an Estimated Enroute Time (EET) in still air. It will also display a shortened route string that can be edited manually. You can also view distance and bearing information by clicking on the map. In addition, you can view airport details and check the route for compliance with ETOPS regulations.
Detailed weather information
The flight path tool allows pilots to visualize in four dimensions – time, space and wind – the weather conditions they will experience during the course of their journey. This can make the difference between a smooth, safe and operationally efficient journey or a long and costly reroute.
Pilots need to assimilate and visualize a range of information, including aviation-approved forecasts, observations and 3D weather maps. This enables them to make informed decisions on the most sustainable route and fuel usage.
ForeFlight’s aviation weather features include global animated ice and turbulence forecasts, color coded flight categories and graphical METARs. These can be viewed in 3D Preview, Map View and Profile View. Animated, high resolution NEXRAD composite radar and satellite observation data (visible, infrared and water vapor wavelengths) are also available. The program also collects global SIGMETS and U.S. AIRMETs, along with TAFs and PIREPs, which can be displayed over the enroute map or in 3D Preview.
Detailed airspace information
A flight plan includes many details, from the aircraft type (designated in block 3 of the form by a code such as “/G” for a GPS-approved airplane and a Mode C transponder) to the planned departure time and destination airport. It also specifies if the flight is VFR, IFR, or a combination of both types—called a composite flight plan.
A VFR flight plan should include the name of each waypoint or navaid on its route, while an IFR flight plan should list the names of all airways and the departure and arrival points for each airport. A flight plan should also include cruising altitude information. A selected cruising altitude is used as the clearance altitude by air traffic control.
A sophisticated flight planning system can reoptimize the flight plan during the flight based on new weather and traffic information. This saves airlines millions of gallons in fuel costs each year. These systems also help ensure compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.