Understanding User Preferences for Flight Plan Loading
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Just for completeness, I have coded a simple Simbrief importer in the past using the pretty simple xml.fetcher "api". It's basically just a url where you include the saved pilot id of the user and it gives you an xml of the flight plan, including the detailed navlog. Each waypoint on the log comes with quite some detail, including a bool for "is_sid_star", so it's really easy to exclude them and only grab the enroute ones.
This the url for my simbrief user: https://www.simbrief.com/api/xml.fetcher.php?userid=372985
This is how I planned to implement simbrief -> saved route library import - if it would have been possible.
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Nick, as of writing this, the SEND TO AVIONICS within the EFB in FS2024 only works with some equipment, regardless of the aircraft. The G1000 and G3000 work fine, but the GNS750 530 and 430 simply do not. I am not sure about the payware versions which supposedly have an import function for .pln files
At no point have I been able to use the SEND to AVIONICS on the duke turbine for eg. The aircraft is not the issue, those damn freeware garmins are useless ATM.
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Nick, as of writing this, the SEND TO AVIONICS within the EFB in FS2024 only works with some equipment, regardless of the aircraft. The G1000 and G3000 work fine, but the GNS750 530 and 430 simply do not. I am not sure about the payware versions which supposedly have an import function for .pln files
At no point have I been able to use the SEND to AVIONICS on the duke turbine for eg. The aircraft is not the issue, those damn freeware garmins are useless ATM.
@CoolGunS I have had some success getting flight plans into the GTNs, depending on the aircraft, by reloading the plan into the EFB on the ramp and executing the Send to Avionics from there. I haven't tried this with the GNSs but this might work for those too.
I discovered that when you Send to Avionics from the flight setup screen, the EFB will often "help" you by adding departures and arrivals you didn't ask for, and that don't correctly populate the GPS.
I don't use the in-built ATC, so I've taken to selecting only the departure airport, loading onto the apron, and EFBing the flight plan from there.
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I would also note that in the PMS50 GTN premium version, you can import a flight plan from a file, but the file needs to specifically be named fpl.pln and placed in a folder inside the GTN750 add-on folder.
That's annoying and inconvenient, so I made a right-click context menu for Windows Explorer that allows you to right click on a pln file and copy it to the PMS50 folder with the required rename.
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I suspect you have not made the edits to the Duke to use the WT GNSv2? If not, I would not expect it to work. I tested the "send to avionics" event last night with Starship, and it seemed to worked perfectly every time. I think that I will also be able to overwrite any weirdness that happens when also using "send to ATC", so hopefully users will be able to press "send to avionics and ATC" with no problems. Of course, I haven't been able to get the EFB to actually send the correct flight plan to the ATC when I interrogate it... but that's a MSFS 2024 problem.
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B Black Square referenced this topic
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SUCCESS with the stupid WT GNS 750 530 and 430!!
After experimenting with .pln files on the freeware versions of those units I have discovered the issues I was having, and the fix is easy! If anyone else has had issues with waypoints not showing up, remove the SID.
Yep, it was just the damn SID on IFR flight plans that was screwing it up. Once I just created a .pln with origin, destination and intermediate waypoints via Little Navmap, the flight plan exported fine from the EFB.
Yup, even the dukes!
Happy now
Now to try exporting from Little Navmap into Simbrief so that BATC can take over the flights.
CG.
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I find I enjoy fat fingering the flight plan in Starship more than just about any other aircraft - super easy, barely an inconvenience as Ryan George would say.
No need for Simbrief integration IMO but if there were going to be an option for that it would be nice for those of us who use it. Once I finally figured out what I was doing wrong for saving flight plans I will just eventually get a few I used fly IRL.
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Great, now I have a pitch meeting for Starship stuck in my head.
Manager: So, you have a replacement for the King Air for me.
Engineer: Yes sir, I do. We've been thinking about these things called composites. Lighter and stronger than traditional aluminum. We can make this airplane lighter and faster while still putting all the latest whiz-bang features into it.
Manager: Sure, but how will we get the FAA to certify it?
Engineer: Super simple, barely an inconvenience.
Manager: What are we gonna call it?
Engineer: This is the 80s! We're packing it with all of the latest in space-age materials and electronics, we should call it a Starship.
Manager: I like it, with a name like that it'll be an instant hit! -
Hello All,
As many of you are aware, I was substantially surprised when Starship was released by how my users were entering flight plans in the aircraft. I have never imported a flight plan from planning software myself, as I choose to build the route organically as I fly, just as I do in the real world. As such, I would appreciate your thoughts on how to best implement flight plan importing for as many use cases as possible.
Here are some scenarios that I am aware of, but please tell me what I am missing:
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MSFS 2020 World Map Flight Planner - I already have this working well for Starship v1.2.
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MSFS 2024 World Map Flight Planner - This seems to work using the same method I created for 2020, though the UI is more limited, so the route you get is sometimes a surprise.
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MSFS 2024 EFB Manually - The "Send to ATC" functionality seems woefully broken, and only working with a "VFR Flight Plan" (functionally identical to an IFR plan?). When "Send to ATC" does work, it seems to only send the first route you ever programmed, and will never update again to reflect what is showing on the EFB.
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MSFS 2024 EFB Import from File/Web/String - I haven't looked into these yet, but I suspect they will behave similarly to creating a flight plan manually.
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SimBrief - This is the one I know the least about, but seems to be the most popular. What are all the methods people are using to get a flight plan from SimBrief into MSFS 2020 and 2024? I know there is an integrated Dispatch tool for MSFS 2020. The flight plan file can also be saved to your desktop and then loaded through the EFB into MSFS 2024. I have also seen aircraft with "SimBrief Integration" that prompt you to enter your SimBrief ID. How does this differ from from saving a flight plan or copying a string? Just sparing you an extra step?
What other methods am I missing, and which are the most common among users?
Thank you all for your help. I will do my best to offer some/better support for flight plan importing in Starship, but after a couple days of review and implementation, the MSFS 2024 end of this challenge seems to be quite the mess with many input vectors. Let's see what we can come up with together!
@Black-Square +1 for SimBrief integration.
When I fly for my VA, the FSAirlines software used to 'book' a flight provides a SimBrief URL link when you select a 'job'.
All relevant flight information is pre-filled on the SimBrief website and you can choose either a real world route, including SIDs and STARs, or you can use a SimBrief Route that other pilots use, or you can plan your own Route.
Once you've chosen a route, you can preview, for example, the weather along the route too, before 'Generating' your flightplan.
The optional utility 'SimBrief Downloader' automatically fetches user-specified formats of your flightplan when you generate it, and saves these to the correct folder, see image below.
SimBrief also generates an OFP, typically used by commercial airliner pilots, that includes essential Fuel, Passenger and Cargo information for loading your flight accurately. This is all checked when flying for a VA.
Many of us use ATC services such as FSHud or BeyondATC which base their instructions on the actual weather in the sim, so your flightplan can and does change i.e. different runway or STAR than expected. Having to, currently, manually enter 10 waypoints for a SID/STAR is not the best use of my time, so it would be fantastic if we could import a SimBrief generated flightplan that includes all of the relevant waypoints.
I have already experienced some waypoints being 'dropped' when selecting an approach in the Starship CDU, perhaps a direct import would alleviate this issue.
Many third-party aircraft with an EFB have integrated an 'Import from SimBrief' option, which then populates the flight details into the FMS. I think this would be the cleanest way to integrate a more modern 'upgrade' into the Starship's systems. We can always change the flightplan as required by ATC in the SimBrief window and re-export the updated plan and re-import into the Starship (hopefully).
TLDR: SimBrief integration would be the cherry on top of an already phenomenal product.
Virtual Airline Flight Booking System
Pre-filled flight details in SimBrief
Route planning in SimBrief
Weather preview in SimBrief
SimBrief Downloader
SimBrief Downloader Formats
OFP
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Just wanted to say I use Simbrief then import into World Map Flight Planner using the plugin.
This generally means the aircraft I'm flying picks it up and also Beyond ATC does too.
The Starship FMS imports it nicely, the G430 doesn't so I've disabled it and add anything via the FMS if I need to during flight such as a STAR change.
