How much IFR flight planning do you do?

[minitour]

Pain
In
The
A$$

 

[SkySBA]

What is a PITA?

http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=PITA

 

[Lead Sled]

I've done the electronic filing a few times. I always get worried my flight plan is going to get lost and I'll be stuck on a ramp trying to phone FSS from my cell to file. But that is a good option with the electronic programs.

...I so agree with the time spent calculating. Usually when you do that, you get two clearances before you depart, one or two right after takeoff, then two or three enroute before getting direct as soon as you can possibly get the destination to ID (assuming no GPS)...what a PITA.

Mini...
Oh ye of little faith. The only time I ever have problems with lost flight plans is when I let our FSS friends file them.

Another good way to plan and file is using www.fltplan.com , any of the duats-based programs, or the AOPA sponsered program.

FWIW, I don't know if I'd let a student use any of those programs during his training. Manually planing the flights tends to ingrain the concepts involved - there will be plenty of time to use all of the shortcuts and aids later.

'Sled

 

[Pedro]

FWIW, I don't know if I'd let a student use any of those programs during his training. Manually planing the flights tends to ingrain the concepts involved - there will be plenty of time to use all of the shortcuts and aids later.

'Sled

Agree 100 %, I never taught my students to use those programs, allways the old fashioned way. I tried my best not to teach "bad" habits to my students. Not that using these tools is a bad habit, but I didn't want them to get used to slack.

 

[minitour]

FWIW, I don't know if I'd let a student use any of those programs during his training. Manually planing the flights tends to ingrain the concepts involved - there will be plenty of time to use all of the shortcuts and aids later.

'Sled

Word.

...but once you get the ticket, there's no reason to sit down and figure out how much fuel you'll burn in the 5 miles between fixes on X airway...

-mini

 

[Lead Sled]

Don't get me wrong, I think that programs like Flitesoft, et al are the greated thing since sliced bread. There is no way that I'd go back to doing it the "old" way - I like knowing what my fuel burn will be within 100 pounds and my flight time within 5 minutes on a coast-to-coast trip. I see it as a safety of flight issue - especially when you're running out to the edges of the performance envelope as we frequently do. I guess what I'm saying is that I also wouldn't want a student to see the way we do our pre-flight planning - I would hope that a student or low-time pilot would take more than the few minutes that it actually takes us to assemble the appropriate information and calculate the actual flight plan. We take a few shortcuts, but then we've got the experience to know where we can do it and where we shouldn't. And Mini, yes, I can tell you the time and fuel burned and the fuel remaining between any two points on our flight plan. Although we seldom file or fly airways (95% of our flying is direct), we do have VOR/DME based waypoints along our entire routes at roughly 150 NM mile (20 minute) intervals to back up our great circle based direct routing.

'Sled

 

[Pedro]

I agree with you. What I mentioned above was only for IFR students. I don't even plan my own trips anymore, I just check them.

 

[cforst513]

What is a PITA?

Psychos for the Ethical Treatment of Animals....


oh wait, wrong PETA.

 

[Vector4fun]

Regarding amended routes;

I'm not complaining here, but if folks ever took the time to actually look at the DPs, noted that some are only for certain altitude strata, then noted the MEAs for the routes they file in the mountains, then noted the presence of MOAs and R-areas along their route of flight, a lot of those amendments wouldn't be needed.

I've come to realise that a lot of corporate/frac guys aren't filing their own flight plans anymore, so this is also a problem in the dispatch depts.

The FAA is also at fault for not publishing more pref routings. We have to use them because of LOAs between facilities, but they're not published where pilots and dispatch can find them.

 

[minitour]

And Mini, yes, I can tell you the time and fuel burned and the fuel remaining between any two points on our flight plan. Although we seldom file or fly airways (95% of our flying is direct), we do have VOR/DME based waypoints along our entire routes at roughly 150 NM mile (20 minute) intervals to back up our great circle based direct routing.

'Sled

As can I...but I think you misunderstood me.

What I meant was that there's no reason for you or me to sit down and take the 20 minutes it would take to figure out our mag. heading, gs, wca, time, fuel, etc. between those 5mi points when the computer does it all (the whole flight) in less than 5 minutes.

-mini