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PLAN-G USER MANUAL

1. Example Local Pipe Server Configuration gt lt SimConnect Comm gt A Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt Pipe lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Port gt LEAVE BLANK lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt Example Local IPv6 Server Configuration gt lt SimConnect Comm gt A Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv6 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt 1 lt Address gt lt Port gt REPLACE WITH PORT NUMBER lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt Example Local IPv4 Server Configuration gt lt SimConnect Comm gt A Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv4 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt 127 0 0 1 lt Address gt lt Port gt 4505 lt Port gt lt SET TO A VALUE BETWEEN 4500 AND 4510 lt SimConnect Comm gt lt SimBase Document gt Instead of 127 0 0 1 in the last profile of Example 2 you can enter the name localhost Either is valid Page 101 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 22 APPENDICES 22 1 Appendix 1 Table of Illustrations Figure 1 The Plan G User Interface at Startup ocoocoonconoconnnononornononncrnonaronononnn conos 4 Figure 2 Da
2. 94 Figure 98 Connected to Picadas 95 Figure 99 FSX Connected via FSUIPC enniininiconcin ocacion inicial 97 Appendix 2 Support Please go to http www tasoftware co uk forum Email Contact tim tasoftware co uk Appendix 3 Solve the Sc ript Error Issue The Script Error problem mentioned in Section 12 is caused by a Windows internal timer which times out if script processing takes longer than a preset value You can change this time out value make it longer to reduce or avoid those annoying messages but it needs a manual intervention in the Registry Altering Registry values can cause severe problems to your computer so only try this if you are familiar with the Registry Familiar experienced or novice ALWAYS make a backup copy of the Registry before starting to tinker To change this time out value in Internet Explorer 4 0 5 0 6 7 or 8 follow these steps 1 Using a Registry Editor such as Regedt32 exe open this key HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Internet Explorer Styles Note If the Styles key is not present create a new key that is called Styles 2 Create anew REG DWORD value called MaxScriptStatements under this key and set the value to the desired number of script statements If you are unsure of what value you need to set this to you can set it to a DWORD value of OxFFFFFFFF to completely avoid the dialog 3 However timers exist for good safety reasons and it is probably more prudent to
3. FS2004 with Wideserver Waiting for clients This is your indication that the WideFS server module is working 2 Start Wideclient on the Plan G PC from the desktop icon if you have one You won t see anything happen except a blank grey screen opens unless you have configured it to start minimized If you maximize the Wideclient window from the taskbar you will see the word Connected in the top frame of the window That is your indication that Wideclient is working You can now minimize Wideclient to the taskbar again Once you become familiar with WideFS you will almost forget about it as it works silently and reliably in the background 3 Start Plan G 4 In the Global Options FS Connection tab of Plan G select FSUIPC as the connection method 5 Return to the main screen in Plan G and click the Connect button After a few seconds you will hear a Connected sound from the Network PC and the Connect Disconnect buttons will show that you are connected Page 89 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Disconnect FSA FSUIPC Figure 95 Connected to FS9 In the FS9 window top frame the wording will now have changed to FS2004 with Wideserver 1 connected All the additional data features mentioned above for connecting to FS will be available in an identical way to connecting with only one PC and it is highly unlikely that you will experience any loss of FS9 performance Conne
4. THE DATA RIBBON IN DETA Licor 36 THE VIEW RIBBON IN DETAIL vestir tod 37 12 1 Plan Elevation TICO di Un 37 12 23 DSI UCM tad 38 12 3 Map OE SS dyelbar Nu Seha AE eaa aaa 38 12 4 tEXPAnder ICOM erratas ataduras 38 12 5 Alternative Zoom Controls ali 39 12 6 Keep Window ON TOP amando 39 THE DATA EXPANDER Si dai 40 Id la id daa 40 SZ 7 A 41 13 3 TGP Sc Peet 1G le cea iaa 41 1354 Pe Special Ada adn 42 13 4 1The Wind AO Wins 42 13 4 2 Direction AICA ias tas 42 13 4 3 Course Deviation Indicator and iaa 43 13 4 4 Automatic Direction Finder coo coonnnnononnononoonconononncrnonornnncrncnnos 43 13 4 5 Descent Profile AdIcon 43 13 5 TE a a 43 13 6 PLA dolina 44 LS A A pea etehs basa eases tan Meee 45 13 8 TANTO MALO My a a AE 45 CONTEXT MENU OPTIONS 0 ria Mahara mummers 47 14 1 Right Click on the Matet ida 47 14 1 1 Create User WAPO Icaria 47 14 L 25pP06 Ele Va OM dra dada 47 14 1 3 Display and Hide RANGE RIGS secan dls 47 14 1 4QDM Range and Bearing iii eens 48 PAT SOCK A e aca r E E A a 49 14 2 Right Click on an AID an A 49 14 2 1 Start Flight Plan atAIMDO donado 49 14 2 2 Select Airport as Alternate oooconccnnnnnnnnonnnconooncnnonoonornonornororocnnos 50 14 2 3 Show Airport CA diia 50 iii of vii Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 15 14 2 4 Instrument Approaches aa a ii 50 Zoo MET PRG rta dote ii S 51 14 2 6 Other Seleccion aida ls 51 14 3 Right Click on the Plan EXD ANG sai dai s 52
5. Y i TA Software VFR Flight Planning for Microsoft Flight Simulator gt TA Software VFR Flight Planning for Microsoft Flight Simulator PLAN G USER MANUAL Authors Peter Dodds Chester U K amp J eff Schallenberg Mont Saint Hilaire Qu bec Canada Manual Design amp Editor Peter Dodds Chester U K Plan G User Manual Version 2 05 March 2011 Copyright 2011 TA Software All rights reserved Any unauthorised duplication of this publication is prohibited Written permission is required from TA Software for the duplication in part or in full of any items herein Plan G User Manual Version 2 05 March 2011 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 On bu N Pp CONTENTS INTRODUCTION iS 1 FEATURES cronicas a a et staal aa Mies india Sanna 2 PREREQUISITES Sesine a idas 3 INSTA EA TO Mi a a a iat shed patton a ol en E Ea iT 4 FIRS FRON AA II A A 6 A O aseaeastarda E 6 5 2 Networked PGS ad Stays tat dad 6 53 Hasit Worked keien Ande 6 HAVE A LOOK AROUND s sssnsssnnsnsisisisesssssssssssssesesrsrsisesiririiisisisesesesnsnsesnststsesesesesesese 7 6 1 Google Maps Options areca la duo 7 6 2 TheQu ick Access TOO Dia di AE 7 6 3 The Ribbon Menu TADS nta 8 6 4 The Main WIAdO Wins ninia diet acig 9 6 5 The OEM 9 6 6 Th Expander Pane dista add 9 A TDS at ce ENE A EAE A AE OI 9 THE RIBBON MENU TAS Std ad 10 A A O EE 10 LZ A r a a drei aoicents 10 TAS MISMA Tia ade 10 E AA ctetenotalseadeqaatetc
6. z ld gt or My Documents Flight Simulator X Y cenw voemenivngnt simuat Files A red cross icon on the right of each of the eight most recent flight Browse for existing files 5 E oe PenG rimpen plans will delete that entry from the PLG gt iii list but it does not delete the flight plan itself A Open Flight Simulator Flightplan PLN Figure 7 The File Menu Page 7 2 The Home Tab Selecting the Home Tab displays the Home ribbon which contains a significant number of options described fully in section 9 below Home e bay a 50 A Br AMPAYALF GS 4 e 7a BFR E 30 A Sync Find Map FlightPlan Terrain tart Altitude Airspeed Winds Quick erse Edit Frame of Bookmark KML Connect onnect Find Print Flight Plan Range Rings Bookmarks Flight Simulator Figure 8 The Home Ribbon 7 3 The Map Tab Selecting the Map Tab displays the Map ribbon which shows the items which are displayed as standard at each scale level of zoom of the map It is user configurable but the more detail displayed at the lower zoom levels more map displayed the more cluttered the display will be and the slower to load and refresh following changes If the user selects too much data to be displayed Plan G can sometimes display an error message The map settings are described in more detail in section 10 Page 10 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 A MJ Large MJ VORs 0 IsEC
7. 16 1 Creating User WDC ni 64 16 2 Adding a New User Waypoint to the Flight Plan 66 16 3 Modifying User Waly DOIIES arta did 66 16 4 Deleting User Way DOlAts usina od id ii 67 16 5 Managing the User Waypoint Database oconccccnonnocococnnncononnnonononncnnoss 67 16 6 Importing and Exporting RECOMS sir i 68 AN EXAMPLE FLIGHT PLAN asignada dd dada 69 TAL Proa ao 69 172 THE SCSI ROUCO aia 70 17 3 A Little Stick of Blackpool ROCK usina ae 72 17 4 Controlled Airspace crm aisaiucesubasecctmatbetve stucssncnecencantads 73 75 gt NAV Profile ia osnle 75 LEO NOES e a a Matasganatactagecacaisusettnsnesturaada 76 IT LCOS isco sessis acti ita Vadinon de Vase oderesy igh a Sag a aN 76 IN A O A E O 77 CONNECTION TO FLIGHT SIMULATOR cc it 79 18 1 Flight Data ILMO dai dia 79 18 2 Communication PrOCOCO Sd e dla enausiaetaiatnacers 80 FLIGHT SIMULATOR AND PLAN G ON THE SAME COMPUTER cccccsseseeeeees 82 19 1 Connecting to Fo iii 82 19 2 Connecting to FSX with SIMCONACE Eisasotaianiradedda cette ci 83 19 2 1 Connection Using PIDE 84 19 2 2 CO0MRECccIO RUSIA 84 19 2 3 Connection Using isa 85 19 3 Connecting to FSX with FSU IPCS ad dia 86 FLIGHT SIMULATOR AND PLAN G ON A NETWORK ccccccscssssesseeescsseeeeeseesees 88 ZE RIESE PING OUT SIM atin a taints 88 20 2 Connecting to FS9 from a Networked PC oocoonciccononocconocccnccnononncrnononnos 88 202 EWideF A IA A 89 20 2 2 Connec
8. If you double click in any cell in the database it is highlighted in white and surrounded by a heavy black border The text or numerical value in that cell can then be changed Clicking OK will save the changes Page 67 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 16 6 ALDERLEY EDGE HILL MANCHESTER 53 2905006408691 2 20733308792114 BARTON AERODROME MANCHESTER 53 4693298339844 2 38750004768372 a 1 3 9 53 2585018920898 PRSA ste ieee MANCHESTER 53 1590003967285 2 17516708374023 HILLTOP MANCHESTER 53 3383293151855 2 17116689682007 Figure 76 Editing The User Waypoint Database Records can be deleted by selecting them with a single mouse click and pressing the keyboard DEL key A single row or multiple highlighted rows can be deleted with one key press The deletion is not reversible therefore a warning is displayed This action will delete row s from the database Do you wish to proceed as a protection against accidental deletion Importing and Exporting Records You can import or export data files containing user waypoints so long as the number of fields matches exactly the number of fields in the User Waypoint database 9 These files must be comma separated value CSV files of the form CATEGORY NAME IDENTIFIER LATITUDE LONGITUDE ELEVATION MAGVAR TAG NOTES e g VRP BOLAM LAKE NEWCASTLE 55 1254997253418 87133300304413 0 4 UK Note the order of fi
9. Page 71 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 19 It might be a better plan to route direct from Scafell Pike to Barrow and look at nuclear submarines being built Pan slowly down from Seascale and you will see Barrow Aerodrome and NDB Add Barrow Aerodrome to your route Ta Y i be a Fumes Gay Figure 80 Sellafield and Eskmeals Don t Go There Areas 17 3 A Litte Stick of Blackpool Rock English comic singer George Formby made this song famous along with his other risqu songs such as With me little ukulele in me and You are probably not interested in that but to fly down the coast to Blackpool and beyond might be interesting 1 From Barrow looking south you have the wide expanse of Morecambe Bay The famous comedian Eric Morecambe took his stage name from the place When the tide is out this whole area is devoid of water when the tide is in it looks as it does in FS all water The area is treacherous with quicksand very fast flowing tides and channels so that anyone caught out on the sands on an incoming tide had better get out of there quickly It has been the scene of many tragedies In FS where ditching in this dangerous area is not a consideration you might as well plan to go straight across to Fleetwood Golf Course a Visual Reference Point for Blackpool Make sure you have Visual Reference Points enabled in the View ribbon and right click the small orange circle to add Fleetwood to y
10. SimConnect SimConnect only works with FSX There are three data transfer protocols available in Plan G for FSX and SimConnect Pipe IPv4 and iPv6 e Pipe is used only internally in a PC but is the fastest of the three Page 80 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 e Pv4 is used by Windows Vista XP and earlier versions of Windows e Pv6 is installed in Windows Vista and Windows 7 though it may not be enabled and may optionally be installed in Windows XP Some Plan G users are unable to get SimConnect working for various reasons Therefore Plan G has been designed to also communicate with FSX using Peter Dowson s free FSUIPC 4 which is an updated version of FSUIPC 3 that uses SimConnect internally Page 81 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 19 HIGHTSIMULATOR AND PLAN G ON THE SAME COMPUTER This section will guide you through the configuration steps required to connect Plan G to your FS session Recommendation Plan G does not always display correctly if FS is loaded after Plan G IF you start FS and allow it to load fully before Plan G then reliable operation of Plan G can be expected 19 1 Connecting to FS9 This requires the freeware program FSUIPC described previously The FSUIPC installer program copies a file called FSUIPC DLL into the FS9 Modules folder Peter Dowson provides very friendly and attentive support for his programs on this forum http forums simflight com viewf
11. but beware occasionally default IP addresses are different so do check The Port value 4506 need only be changed from the example above if you have an existing SimConnect xml file and you see that Port 4506 is already in use Changing it in that case for Plan G to 4505 is quite sufficient but don t forget to make the same change in the Plan G Global Options gt FS Connection window The range of port values which you can use is from 4500 to 4510 inclusive 20 3 2 Creating a SimConnectxml file for the IPv6 Protocol Remember that IPv6 is installed in Windows Vista and Windows 7 by default though it may not be enabled and may optionally be installed in Windows XP See the link at the end of this section for further information The SimConnect file must be created on the FSX PC in the same folder as fsx cfg This is usually C Program Data Microsoft FSX SimConnect xml is a text file which you can create using Windows NotePad or any simple text editor not MSWord Plan G will not build a SimConnect xml file for you Page 91 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 The following is an example which has been proved to work for two networked Windows 7 machines The red coloured text will not change in any SimConnect file The blue coloured text is the part which you may need to change to suit your set up lt xml version 1 0 encoding Windows 1252 gt lt SimBase Document Type SimConnect version 1 0 gt
12. passes The MEF for a leg analyses all the grid squares through which the leg passes and uses the highest value The source data is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA 1 2km GLOBE dataset the same source as the DEM tiles Weather With Plan G connected to FSX FS9 and showing the user aircraft position the Weather drop down data expander reads the weather data from FS9 FSX and shows everything that FSX FS9 knows about the weather conditions for the current flight This FSX FS9 weather data may be the built in weather themes user modified weather weather from an online server such as VATSIM or IVAO if connected to such a server or real world Jeppesen weather FSX only Plan G displays all the available weather data as shown in the following extract o TA ES Precip Cloud Temp C Dew C QNH 1600 ft 3000 ft 221850Z 360 04Kts 9999 FEWO16 SCTO35 4 jou EGVN 222050Z 010 08Kts 9999 FEWO35 BKNOGO 1011 EGKA 221850Z 350 06Kts 9999 FEWO30 1008 mana Figure 44 Weather Table If you select Download Weather from NWS access via the File tab in Options Weather weather from the NOAA will be displayed without having to be connected to FS The format displayed in the table is very slightly different however since it comes from real METARs rather than the adapted data provided by FS GPS Panel If Plan G is connected to FS then this line when expanded shows the u
13. the relevant details are displayed Aerodrome Biggin Hill EGKB lea Figure 50 Plan G Generated Airport Diagram The diagram can also be displayed in its own tool window To see how to do this go to section 12 4 above 13 8 Information By default this panel is shown expanded It provides important information as its title implies about the feature currently beneath the mouse pointer This may be aerodrome data active or disused controlled airspace data name type and boundary Page 45 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 altitudes or radio navigation aids type and frequencies or all of these for example at a major airport The Maximum Elevation Figure MEF for the mouse cursor location is always displayed As the mouse pointer moves so it constantly changes so you can check out such information to help create a flight plan e g avoiding certain controlled airspace The information displayed can be locked so that the data for a particular area is constantly displayed even though the mouse pointer is moved away See section 14 1 1 below for details Page 46 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 14 CONTEXTMENU OPTIONS Context menus with appropriate options are available in Plan G when you right click on various elements of the display 14 1 Right Click on the Map If you right click on any part of the map a dropdown menu is displayed containing several commonly used
14. the settings for each tick box item can be user configured for each zoom level to be displayed or hidden according to preference User configured settings for each zoom level are remembered for the next time you open Plan G For example if you switch on say small airports at zoom level 9 they are switched off by default at this level they are only switched on for that zoom level and any others in which they are switched on by default zoom level 10 and higher numbers So every time you return to zoom level 9 the small airports will be displayed even though they are normally switched off at this level MT File Home Map Data View E Large Y VORs ISEC Y Below 10 000 Y ICAO Airspace 30 Medium NDBs ISEC unnamed Above 10 000 Special Use 1 P E usert ale E ILS LOC EES ras lt 2 Reset Lock A Small _ Lower Airways Centre C Special Use 2 A j O user2 Defaults Overlays Airports Navaids Airspace 3 User Waypoints Layer Control Figure 29 The Map Ribbon Reset Display Defaults If you try and display a large amount of data at low zoom levels for example selecting zoom level 3 then ticking the boxes on the Map Ribbon to display all airfields all navaids intersections and user waypoints plus all the controlled airspace Plan G tries for so long to display all this data then gives up and a warning message is displayed i Stop running this script or aN script on this page is causing Internet Explorer t
15. the wording will now have changed to FSX with Wideserver 1 connected All the additional data features mentioned above for connecting to FS will be available in an identical way to connecting with only one PC and it is highly unlikely that you will experience any loss of FSX performance Disconnect FSX FSUIPC Figure 99 FSX Connected via FSUI PC Page 97 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 21 MORE ON SIMCONNECT Microsoft s SimConnect is software that communicates FSX flight information to another Windows program Plan G in our case See http msdn microsoft com en us esp cc835021 aspx for an introduction to SimConnect All versions of FSX Basic and Deluxe the original RTM version SP1 and SP2 incorporate the SimConnect server interface However each release uses its own version of the SimConnect client simconnect dll which is only distributed with the Deluxe version of the FSX program in the FSX Software Development Kit SDK The SDK can be found on the Deluxe edition DVD 1 You do not need to install the SimConnect client in fact you need do nothing technical with it apart from creating a SimConnect xml file because Plan G includes a version of the SimConnect Client created by Tim Gregson formerly of Microsoft Aces which seems to be more robust than the original SimConnect requires a script in order to know what to do This script is called SimConnect xml and resides on your
16. 4 000 feet to 1 500 in 8 miles or so about 4 minutes A quick calculation tells you that that is 650 feet a minute quite a rapid descent in a light aircraft E Bi enhead A jj Re 23 ri Figure 81 Controlled Airspace Red Lettering not in Plan G 1 First however complete the next leg of the route Find the Seaforth VRP just west of Bootle Add Seaforth VRP to your plan On a VFR flight when you first contact ATC at Liverpool just after Woodvale you will be told Runway 27 in use report at Seaforth not above 1 500 feet 2 However you intend to practice flying the ILS so you will reply to ATC negative request vectors for the ILS That changes the ball game completely You will now deemed to be flying IFR but assume the controller needs some practice in managing procedures so he is going to respond Negative vectors Maintain 2 500 feet and continue with the procedure for runway 27 Report beacon outbound 3 Plan G can save you the trouble looking for those approach plates for planning You should have them handy when flying the route though So now right click on Liverpool Airport and select Instrument Approaches Select ILS 27 from the pop up window There is your procedure on the map Add the transition 2 LPL which is the one for Category A aircraft that s you in your Cessna It uses tighter radius turns and shorter distances but is otherwise the same as 1 LPL If
17. 9 1 THE HOME RIBBON IN DETAIL The Home ribbon menu contains the options you need to set up the parameters of your new flight plan Changes made here will be displayed in the Plan expander on the right of the Plan G window and they will be saved to your new Flight Plan when you click the Save or Save As buttons Those ribbon buttons with a small down arrow beneath the label are split buttons Clicking the icon itself will activate the default action e g Find Airport while clicking the bottom half which has the label and the arrow will display a menu of choices Find VOR etc Find The Find button allows you to search for an airport or radio navigation aid The Find button is a Split button Clicking the icon top half of button activates the default action in this case Find Airport Clicking on the lower half of the button drops down a list of objects you can search for e Find Airport Search by International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO code by airport name or by city name e Find NDB Search by 3 letter identifier or by name or partial name e Find VOR Search by 3 letter identifier or by name or partial name e Find User VRP User Visual Reference Points or User Waypoints are other points of interest that can be created by the user and added to a Plan G database Find Airport ICAO Code Saskatchewan Canada Nejalini Lake jalini Manitoba canada Woodlands r Manitoba Canada
18. Additional User Waypoint comma separated text files can be imported e Synchronised connection to FSX or FS9 e Aircraft telemetry aircraft flight trails traffic weather etc available when connected to FSX or FS9 e Saved flight trails can be displayed for later analysis e Configurable Range Rings can show distance or flight time e Display instrument approaches and low altitude airways e Display current weather for known weather stations in TAF and METAR format even if not connected to FS e Overlay Google KML KMZ files e Can be run ona second monitor or on a networked PC Page 2 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 3 PREREQUISITES To function Plan G requires that Net 4 0 Client Profile be installed on the user s PC If it isn t installed on your PC it is downloaded automatically by the installation program and the user doesn t need to take any action Plan G also requires an active Internet connection to function Page 3 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 4 INSTALLATION Installing Plan G is simplicity itself Download the latest version from the TA Software Forum http www tasoftware co uk forum Unzip the downloaded zip file to a temporary folder of your choice Three files will be extracted setup exe setup msi and a ReadMe txt file Run the file setup exe by double clicking the filename This will install Plan G in a folder within the standard Program Files system of Windows e g C
19. EGOW Woodvale AB 197 3 A 199 El Beware Manchester TMA 3500ft LPL LIVERPOOL 349 5 KHz 148 141 Altitude 2500ft at Beacon EGGP Liverpool 264 EGNR Hawarden 207 Start Position PARKING 1 Total Distance 115 4 nm Wind 173 at 10 kts Total Time 1 17 Suggested Altitude 4000 ft TAS 100 Kts Figure 85 The Completed Plan 17 8 Let s Go Hying You have printed out the Plog from Plan G so it is time to go flying Page 77 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 pl ogy gE ee W S a 10 11 Figure 86 Forney Aircoupe G ARHC Over Derwentwater Open Flight Simulator and select Free Flight from the Main Menu Set Country as United Kingdom and select Current Location as Carlisle EGNC Select Starting position PARKING 1 RAMP GA SMALL Select Aircraft type Cessna 172 Set a suitable time and date for a daylight VFR flight Click Fly Now When the flight has loaded save it as the default so that you can easily get back to this position if you need to Find the current weather for Newcastle EGNX the nearest weather station to Carlisle from an Internet Aviation Weather site such as http weather noaa gov weather coded html Set the Newcastle wind cloud and precipitation information in FS Alternatively if you are a member of an online Flightsim community such as VATSIM or IVAO simply connect to the service
20. FSX PC in the same folder as FSX CFG The structure of SimConnect xml files may look quite awesome to people not familiar with modern script computer languages Here are a few simple rules about this file and xml in general 1 There is no error trapping Make a typing error and it simply won t work but it won t crash your computer either 2 All space characters and new lines are ignored so you can have as many as you like 3 Every Command opening tag lt t ag gt must have an equivalent closing tag lt tag gt 4 Each Profile of the file defining a different protocol starts lt SimConnect Comm gt and ends lt SimConnect Comm gt so you can see in the examples below several such Profiles in the one file 5 The whole file must start with the header in red in examples below and end with the closing tag also in red 6 The opening tag lt and the closing tag gt enclose text which is ignored so you can put any comment you like between those tags to explain to yourself when looking at the code years later what it means 7 If you get it wrong you cannot harm your PC But do seek expert help if necessary to avoid hours of frustration There are three data transfer protocols which may be used Pipe IPv4 and Pv6 Pipe is normally used for internal communications within a PC IPv4 is used by Windows XP by default and earlier versions of Windows Page 98 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 Marc
21. Open the View Ribbon by clicking the View tab and tick the Plan Elevation Tick box at the top left of the ribbon Page 70 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Whoa That is some mountain in UK terms anyway 24 nautical miles en route Move the mouse pointer and find the highest point of the mountain the Maximum Elevation Figure MEF and the Suggested Altitude If you have forgotten how to do this see 12 1 section above You should get 2605 2994 and 3959 feet respectively You will now realise why the planned altitude was 4 000 feet Now zoom the map to Level 11 and find the location which is Latitude N54 27 00 Longitude W003 12 00 using the map graticule Zoom using the Google Maps zoom slider or the Map Ribbon zoom buttons as you wish To switch the graticule on if it is off go to the View tab and tick the Map Graticule tick box Looking at the Google map scale indicator at lower left 2 miles is just over a centimetre at level 11 from the latitude and longitude you have found estimate 0 5 miles west and O 1 mile north and create another user waypoint at the top of the mountain This is the top of England s highest mountain Scafell Pike at 3 210 feet Call the waypoint Scafell Pike with the Identifier SCAFLL The elevation of your waypoint should be 3 100 feet EGNC to EGGP Alt EGNR Elevation ft Distance nm Fi
22. Plan G will appear to build the database very quickly This usually means that the build has failed and you will have to build the database again You can quickly check whether a database exists because any current databases available are indicated by the relevant database icon being a strong colour blue for FSX grey for FS9 If either sim is not installed then the database icon for that sim will be a pale blue for FSX or a pale grey for FS9 Page 6of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 6 1 6 2 HAVE A LOOK AROUND Most of the screen is occupied by a map If you have used Google maps before it will be quite familiar Top left are the Google Maps pan and zoom tools and top right the usual Google maps options Google Maps Options Figure 3 The Standard Google Maps Tools are used Map This displays roads rivers and street names if you zoom in far enough etc Satellite Obviously this displays satellite photographs of the whole earth although as you zoom in the level of detail available varies widely In the UK you can easily identify individual buildings Hybrid Street names and town names are overlaid on the basic satellite views Terrain This view is probably the most useful for FS pilots as terrain clearance and identification of high ground is important Towns roads rivers lakes etc are shown minimally Contours are shown at 200 metre intervals Earth If you already have Google Earth installed on your
23. Simulator and stored in the database and subject naturally to the same obsolescence as Airports Very High Frequency Omni Range beacons VORs and Non Directional Beacons NDBs are probably familiar to most Sim pilots There is an excellent tutorial on the theory and practice of using these on the Cix VFR Club website at Page 32 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 The tick boxes allow you to display or hide VORs and NDBs at different zoom levels if the default settings are not suitable for a particular route and plan you are developing ISEC is the standard aviation abbreviation for Intersections Intersections exist in two forms named normal and unnamed Named intersections are the standard type of intersection On the Navaids section of the Map Ribbon the ISEC tick box switches on or off named intersections and the ISEC unnamed tick box switches on or off unnamed intersections Named Intersections are now commonly used in VFR flight resulting from the increasing use of GPS worldwide Some are included in GPS Databases and VFR pilots can navigate to them simply Because it isn t easy to discriminate between those useful to VFR pilots and those which are not Plan G includes all the ones identified in FS e g ORTAC at N50 00 WO002 00 well known to VER pilots crossing the English Channel Unnamed intersections are computer generated infill intersections They still have names but these names
24. Update TAS from FS Y Show waypoint alerts Plan G v2 0 0 463 Carlisle to Liverpool Breadcrumb Trail Y Show trail Y Log trail Colour Red 3 gt Width z E3 he Traffic Weather General Figure 21 User Aircraft Options Free The Map and user aircraft are not synchronized You can move the map wherever you like and it won t be synchronised with the plane If you don t move the map the plane will fly off the edge and will never be seen again Sync The Map will move as necessary to ensure the yellow aircraft remains visible on screen You can move the map but it will re centre on the yellow aircraft when it is refreshed a few seconds later 10 seconds is the default but it can be changed in the FS Display window If you leave the map alone it will stay where it is until the plane reaches the edge when it will re centre Lock The user aircraft stays in the centre of the Map The map is re centred on the user aircraft at every refresh The aeroplane effectively stays in the middle of the map This can degrade Plan G s performance on some less powerful computers If the Update TAS from FS tick box is ticked and if a flight plan is loaded and if Plan G is connected to FS then Plan G shows the true airspeed TAS in the Airspeed dropdown accessed from the Home Ribbon taken directly from FS The user will have entered an estimated indicated airspeed in the Airspeed dropdown whil
25. are generally not memorable Unnamed intersections are generally not valid for use as a turning point on an IFR flight plan Figure 31 The ORTAC Intersection In the English Channel The intersection symbol is a small triangle Blue triangles denote terminal intersections i e they are owned by an airport and typically form part of an approach procedure Magenta intersections are En Route intersections and typically are associated with an airway In addition to the above user intersections can be defined and these are denoted by green triangles By default intersections are not displayed at any zoom level Plan G can display Lower Airway routes if the Lower Airways tick box is ticked Airways are radio and area navigation routes within which ATC ensures smooth and orderly traffic Lower Airways are routes up to a 24 500 feet ceiling above sea level primarily used for smaller aircraft or short flights Upper airways are reserved for larger jets on long flights and are not provided in Plan G Page 33 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 10 5 Airspace All airspace is classified according to a system defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO The table below provides an overview of the classes and the specifications for each Plan G displays Classes A to E if the ICAO Airspace tick box is ticked Classes F amp G are commonly referred to as the Open F I R Flight Informatio
26. in the top frame of the FSX Window you will see the words FSX with Wideserver Waiting for clients This is your indication that the WideFS server module is working 6 Start Wideclient on the Plan G PC from the desktop icon if you have one You won t see anything happen except a blank grey screen opens unless you have configured it to start minimized If you maximize the Wideclient window from the taskbar you will see the word Connected in the top frame of the window That is your indication that Wideclient is working You can now minimize Wideclient to the taskbar again Once you become familiar with WideFS you will almost forget about it as it works silently and reliably in the background 7 Start Plan G Page 96 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 8 In the Global Options FS Connection tab of Plan G select FSUIPC as the connection method 9 Return to the main screen in Plan G and click the Connect button After a few seconds you will hear a Connected sound from the Network PC and the Connect Disconnect buttons will show that you are connected In the FSX window top frame the wording will now have changed to FSX with Wideserver 1 connected All the additional data features mentioned above for connecting to FS will be available in an identical way to connecting with only one PC and it is highly unlikely that you will experience any loss of FSX performance In the FSX window top frame
27. lt Descr gt SimConnect lt Descr gt lt Filename gt SimConnect xml lt Filename gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv6 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt link local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt fe80 899d 395 c919 168 lt Address gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt SimBase Document gt A The example above includes just one profile the blue coloured code between lt SimConnect Comm gt and lt SimConnect Comm gt If you choose to use the example above then usually only the computer address in bold needs to be changed to match your FSX PC s IP address To find your Windows 7 Vista computer s IP address e On the Start menu right click on Network e Select properties then click on the active connection Local Area Connection or Wireless Connection for example e This brings up the Connection Status dialog Click on Details and all your parameters are listed including the IPv6 address which always starts fe The Port value 4506 need only be changed from the example above if you have an existing SimConnect xml file and you see that Port 4506 is already in use Changing it in that case for Plan G to 4505 is quite sufficient but don t forget to make the same change in the Plan G Global Options gt FS Connection window The range of port values w
28. of the FS scenery configuration file User Waypoints together with official Visual Reference Points are contained in a separate database within Plan G namely UserWaypoints sdf Plan G includes a large number of pre defined User Waypoints and you can also add your own Category Name Disused VRP SESS INSTIGATE Identifier Latitude Longitude FUER N Picknham gt NORTH TOWER HUMBER B HUMBERSIDE 53 7085609436035 0 450399994850159 0 2 5 qF 07 5 gt 5 K 32 N Witham 52 7886695861816 0 601166725158691 Obstacle Obstacle Et POL Obstacle Figure 69 The User Waypoint Database 16 1 Creating User Waypoints You can create custom waypoints anywhere you like on the map without restriction This is particularly useful for VFR flight where towns lakes hills and other features are required as points of navigational reference Right click the map at the point where you want to create a user waypoint to display the dropdown menu which includes the Create User Waypoint option NATA Create User Waypoint Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing Lock Info Panel Figure 70 User Waypoint Dropdown Click the Create User waypoint option and a dialogue window opens for you to enter the details Page 64 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 9 Location Name Hanningfield Reservoir Identifie
29. on startup Sounds SimConnect Settings Print PA Network Mode Pipe X Help FSX Computer localhost GPS Panel Server Port Pipe User Aircraft ES Exit Traffic Weather General Figure 19 FS Connections Page The following two tables are a simple summary of the most commonly used of those options for FS9 and FSX Page 20 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 FSO FS9 amp Plan G on FS9 Plan G on same PC network Connect with Auto FSUIPC FSUIPC Network Mode Not used Not used FSX Computer Not used Not used Server Port Pipe Not used Not used oe FSX amp Plan G dad FSX amp Plan G on a on same PC SimConnect network with FSUI PC Connect with Auto Auto or SimConnect FSUIPC Network Pv4 Win XP Made Not used IPV6 Vista W7 Not used IP Address 192 168 0 2 FSX localhost etc Value must be N t used Computer same as SimConnect xml S Range 4500 to 4510 erver Not used Value must be same as Not used Port Pipe SimConnect xml Note If installing FS9 Plan G on a network you need Peter Dowson s WideFS as well as FSUIPC There are more details about WideFS in section 20 2 1 8 5 5 The GPS Panel The GPS Panel option allows you to configure the virtual User Aircraft instrument panel that appears whenever Plan G is connected to an active FS session See Section 13 3 New Plan Select Option Open Locations Save As Units Sounds P
30. one side In Plan G it is blue and shown aligned along a compass bearing on the graduated circle of the HSI It indicates the TRUE bearing of the wind so you need to make the normal adjustment for magnetic variation Variation west magnetic best variation east magnetic least Wind strength is indicated by the number and size of the barbs Each large barb represents 10kts and a small barb represents 5kts So a wind speed of 25kts is shown as two large and one small barb Wind speeds less than 5kts have no barbs 13 4 2 Direction Indicator Most virtual pilots should be familiar with a DI This one is identical to that found in your aircraft except that it doesn t precess with time If precession is not a term you are familiar with look up Direction Indicator Precession on the internet and read all about it It shows the magnetic heading you are flying against the red lubber line at the top Page 42 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 13 4 3 Course Deviation Indicator The yellow needle and the central bar form a CDI with a slight difference It isn t tuned to a VOR but is indicating your deviation from the flight plan track line displayed on the map The sensitivity varies with distance from destination Full Scale Deflection FSD for various distances is shown in the table below Distance from Waypoint Sensitivity More than 35nm FSD 5nm from track Between 2nm and 35nm FSD 1 2nm from track Les
31. program 20 4 1 WideFS In addition you will need a second Peter Dowson program called WideFS which installs a server portion WideServer dll on the FSX PC and a client portion WideClient exe on the Network PC WideFS is available from http www schiratti com dowson html Note that in contrast to FSUIPC WideFS is not free and must be purchased and registered using an access key There is an option to buy the registered version of FSUIPC which has many more features than the free version and WideFS as a bundle which costs less than the two purchased separately Note that for FSX you must buy the FSX specific version Follow the instructions in the WideFS User Guide a pdf document to install the client and server portions along with their configuration files WideServer ini on the FSX PC and WideClient ini on the Network PC The two ini configuration files have to be edited to match your two PC network names and IP addresses One of the WideFS installation options is to place an icon on your desktop It is strongly recommended that you do so so that you don t forget to start it whenever you want to run FSX and Plan G on separate PCs a very common user error 20 4 2 Connection Steps After the installation and configuration of FSUIPC and WideFS you will be able to run FSX on the FSX PC and Plan G on the Network PC There is just one extra step in the procedure than for connecting on the same PC 1 Start FSX Note that
32. set the value to something sensible A value of OXOOFFFFFF has been demonstrated to work quite successfully although it does not eliminate script errors completely An alternative solution is to go to the MS support page on this subject http support microsoft com default aspx scid kb en us Q175500 Page 105 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 And click on the Fix It button It s a much easier option if you don t mind people tinkering with the innards of your PC from afar 22 4 Appendix 4 List of Beta Testers Many people have contributed to testing Plan G but the ones below deserve a special mention for the very significant contribution they have made over a long period Adam Micheals Alex Feldstein bman Benjamin Claude Bouissiere Dave Belsey Don Fraser Edge Fenric Frank Turley Gary Shaw Geoff Cooper Geoffrey Shipton gdawg Gary Glen Coyne Jeff Schallenberg Joe Morrison Ken Alger Ken Pratt Norman Dean Paul Donnelly Peter Dodds Pete Allnutt Roddymod Ruth McTighe Tom Earl Thomas Hawk Vic Baron Document Ends Page numbering and layout has been designed to permit this manual to be printed either single sided or double sided Page 106 of 106
33. the window opens with only the PLN or PLG files shown You can switch to the other file type from within that selection window if you got it wrong initially as there is a selection box in the lower right border area above the Open button If you store flight plans at some other location you can navigate the file browser there using the usual Windows methods depending on your Operating System Plan G remembers where you saved the most recent saved FS9 and or FSX flight plans and will open the file browser at that folder so you can select a previously created flight plan from there Once the flight plan is loaded Plan G will change its map location and display the legs and the waypoints of the whole of your selected flight plan Save As The Save As option allows you to choose whether to save the plan as an FS9 flight plan pln file an FSX flight plan pln file or as a Plan G extended flight plan format plg file or to save a plan with a different name Plan G specific features passing altitudes notes cross references etc are not saved in PLN files You must save a PLG if you wish to preserve this extra information However Plan G format files cannot be used in the FS Flight Planner or the built in FS Garmin GPS units Note that the FS9 flight planning tool treats user waypoints as intersections Although user waypoints can be added to FS9 flight plans in Plan G they cannot be added directly to a flight plan
34. time is chosen the rings will automatically be distorted to take account of any wind entered in the Winds dialogue box see sections 9 6 and 15 1 2 Range rings do not require you to be connected to FS They are purely a mapping display function You can only display one set of rings Page 47 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Create User Waypoint Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing WF Lock Info Panel 4 OCK into Pane E CUA Y ES Figure 52 Displaying and Hiding Range Rings 14 1 4QDM Range and Bearing In the early days of radio when transmission was carried out entirely in morse code the Q Code was a series of letter groups starting with Q each of which had a specific meaning A few including QNH QFE and QDM are still used in aviation QDM means What is the Range and Bearing TO a distant point FROM a fixed origin in this case the User s Aircraft For completeness you should know that the Bearing FROM a distant QDM 239 Dist 23 2miles MNC MASON CO SHELTON 348 KHz MagVar 341 Elev 209 ft Gigs MagVar 17 86 E MEF 4780 ft h po MEL E ATI Figure 53 QDM Display Place the hand cursor at the point on the map to which you want to know the bearing and distance from your aircraft and right click to display the dropdown menu see Figure 54 below Select QDM Range and Bearing A red line will be drawn from the right click po
35. to assume that climbing out of Carlisle at 500 feet per minute in your Cessna 172 that in the 13 9 miles to Wigton you can easily reach 2 500ft So double click in the cell on the row CARLISLE WIGTON and type in 2500 Page 75 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 17 6 17 7 2 Move down to the Keswick row and double click the cell in the Passing Alt column To make sure you clear Skiddaw and Scafell Pike type in 4000 3 In the same way enter 4000 for Fleetwood Golf Course VRP and Blackpool Airport EGNH 4 Mindful of the Manchester TMA south of Woodvale with its base at 3500ft go to the Woodvale row and the Passing Alt column and enter 2500 5 To fly the Liverpool 27 procedure for the ILS you need to be at the LPL NDB at 2500 feet So move down to the LPL row and the Passing Alt column and enter 2500 again 6 Open the Plan Elevation window from the tick box on the View ribbon to see the vertical profile you have created When you fly the route you will get Top of Descent alerts a mile before Woodvale and again a mile before reaching the LPL NDB EGNC to EGGP Alt EGNR 60 72 sa 9 108 120 Distance nm Elevation ft Figure 84 VNAV Profile is the Orange Line Notes You have read in the Flight Plans section section 15 above about how to enter notes It will be important not to forget to descend below the Manchester TMA floor south of Woodvale and to remind y
36. waypoint 1714034 Droitwich to plan Edit User Waypoint Delete User Waypoint from Database Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings ODM Range and Bearing Lock Info Panel Figure 63 Right click Dropdown Add Waypoint to Plan The map will now show a track line from your start location to the new waypoint and the new waypoint will appear in the Plan table in the Expander Panel on the right of the map Continue with each subsequent waypoint in the same way until you have added your arrival airport At each step the track line will update and each waypoint will be added to your Flight Plan Note that waypoints are added to the Plan in sequence so if you decide to add an intermediate waypoint after you have gone past it your track line will double back which is probably not what you intend See Editing Flight Plans below for the way to correct this If you click on an airport as a waypoint the second option on the right click dropdown is Set Airport lt ICAO gt as Alternate See section 14 2 2 above for details on adding an alternate It is good airmanship if not mandatory to always enter an alternate 15 1 5 Start Position A Start Position on your departure airfield can be entered once the Start Location of your plan has been created Until then Start Position is greyed out One leg is defined as a departure location plus an end location The end location can be your first waypoint or for direct flights
37. within FS9 Page 13 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 New Plan Recent Files E Y Resolute Bay to Yellowknife plg x C Users WTL Documents Flight Simulato ae File a Langenlebarn Mil to Langenlois plg x Save As al C Users WTL Documents Flight Simulato Sl File VFR Biggin Hill to Gloucestershire pln x Print as C Users WTL Documents Flight Simulator F IFR Liverpool to Birmingham PLN x Help C Users WTL Documents Flight Simulato an S Fie VFR Warton to Woodvale AB pig x Options a Use TL Documents Flight Simulator e File E CIX Victoria Intl to McClellan Palomar plg x Exit 2 Use TL Documents Flight Simulator X Files E A VFR Carlisle to Liverpool plg x CAU L Documents Flight Simulato Files a Blackbushe to Exeter plg x C Use TL Documents Flight Simulato gt t Files Browse for existing files Open Plan G Flightplan PLG cap Open Flight Simulator Flightplan PLN Figure 13 The File Options 8 4 Help The first option on the Help page provides information about the current build of the program and the last gives the user the opportunity to automatically check for updates to his current version The second option opens the Adobe Acrobat format Plan G User Manual this document If you can t find what you are looking for there then the third option is a link to the TASoftware forum where all the experts including Tim Arnot the Plan G creator ar
38. you select 1 LPL temporarily you can see the difference 4 The procedure starts at the LPL NDB so you can fly direct from Woodvale to the NDB No need to go via Seaforth which is the VFR route because you are now flying IFR First add the LPL NDB to your plan This manual isn t going to tell you how to fly the procedure but just how to complete your plan to landing 5 Delete the waypoint Liverpool Seaforth from your plan by right clicking it s entry and selecting Delete Waypoint It is no longer relevant Page 74 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 sa Figure 82 Seaforth VRP Deleted from the Plan 6 Now add Liverpool Airport to the plan The track line will obscure the final approach path of the procedure but that doesn t matter By the time you are established on the ILS your need for Plan G is hopefully over You have a complete route airport to airport Approaches EGGP ILS 09 ILS 27 ce K gi Sa ua ad mb oe Terportey Figure 83 Instrument Approach and Route to Alternate 17 5 VNAV Profile The next task is to create a vertical navigation profile You need to get safely over those mountains yet descend in time to get under the Manchester TMA near Woodvale and then be at 2 500ft on reaching the LPL NDB 1 Go to the Plan in the Data Expander and using the horizontal scroll bar if necessary find the Passing Alt Column It is reasonable
39. 14 3 1 Set This as the Active Leg ooooconoconoconnnoncnnononncnnononnornonornonornonnos 52 15 A COMERS A i a i ea Ea Ena 52 14 3 3 Move or Delete Waypoint ccscscsscsssessssssescssessescssescseseeseses 52 14 3 4 Cross References ara sn 52 14 3 5 AN 54 14 30 SOL A r a ae aea alee e a Aa 54 EUGAT PLAINS E E oia 55 15 1 Creating a Flight Plan GraphicallVisidai arias 55 15 E LNew Flight Plis ode 55 U5 122 FIG Conditions dra 55 15 1 3 A NO 55 15 1 4 Continue to Add Wa DO Man ada 56 15 4 5 SERIE POSICION siase ia a tases ante aa 57 15 1 6 Vertical Nada Oasis ade 58 VIANA a A E Ra 58 15 1 8 Save your Atoll 58 1519 THE Reverse Button aio is 58 15 2 Creating a Flight Plan by Dat av ENIYV arritiarai n 58 15 2 1 Inserting Waypoints into the Tabular Plan 58 A A i ea 59 15 23 Save Your Pa 59 15 3 Vertical Navara E A 59 15 3 1 User Defined VNAV Pro Mei 59 15 3 2 Default VNAV PO Saa cease tasetaascnudelancteGttund 60 15 4 Modifying Existing Flight Plans ae 60 15 4 1 Adding a New Waypoint to the End of a Plan 61 15 4 2 Inserting a New Waypoint sisi iaa 61 15 4 3 Inserting a Waypoint into the Tabular Plan 61 15 4 4 Moving and Deleting Waypoints ccc ceseeeescseeeeecseeseeeeeesees 61 iv of vii Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 15 4 5 Save Your Edited Plica a it 62 15 5 Using the Edit Button at 62 WSR MAM o EEE E 64
40. 2_ORBX_Ant kmz x http aussiex ora kmz North 20A4merican O7x NA1 0 ORBX kmz httow aussiex org kmz Serges_OZx3 2_ORBX Antkmz J Figure 28 KML Dialogue Window x http aussiex ora Y Centre Map on KML KMZ 4 Zoom map to KML KMZ extents Y Include Orbx OZx links Page 29 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 9 16 Connect Disconnect This very important option requires initial configuration and is described fully in section 17 below 9 17 Map Panning Control If the user is connected to Flight Simulator the Plan G map display update can be controlled in one of three ways e Lock The User Aircraft remains in the centre of the map area and the map moves as the aircraft progress through the flight This is very processor intensive and may slow the computer down The map refreshes approximately every 7 seconds e Sync When the User Aircraft reaches the edge of the map area the map refreshes with the aircraft now in the centre of the map area e Free The aircraft moves independently of the map display and may fly off the edge of the displayed map Dragging the map will bring the aircraft back into view Page 30 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 10 10 1 THE MAP RIBBON IN DETAIL User Configured Settings At every zoom level the default structure is designed to maintain the speed of map refreshing by turning off more and more detail as you zoom out However
41. Eagle River j Ontario Canada Fisher Branch Fisher Branch Manitoba Canada Dinsmore Dinsmore Saskatchewan Canada Whitewood Whitewood Saskatchewan Canada gt Country 224 State 0 City 15876 5 si 1 ear vj v Cancel Figure 24 Using the Find Function to Locate an Airport If the searched for item exists in your simulator s database it will be found and the map will centre on it If the item does not exist Plan G does nothing You can select Cancel to return to the map view or enter some search text that Plan G can find Search text is NOT case sensitive Page 25 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 9 2 9 3 Note the Find airports dialog now includes a CSV button This button allows the user to save a list of the airports in the table above it This may be the whole FS database of airports may be a very large file or just a small number depending on the Country State and City filters applied Clicking this button opens a Save As dialog for the user to select a filename for the csv formatted data and a location to store it Print There are three print options to print the map the flight plan or the terrain profile You can preview each printout and set page parameters before printing e g whole page page width etc via a series of small icons at the top of the print preview window Each icon has a tooltip so you can quickly select w
42. Gloucester Figure 48 A Typical Flight Trail If the option is checked the trail of the user aircraft is saved for every flight and shows the aircraft flown the path and the time at each waypoint The start and end times for the trail segment displayed can be set with the slider at the bottom of the display The trail shown in Figure 48 shows a Cessna 152 en route from Gloucester to Shobdon in the UK Midlands Clicking on the Vertical Profile button shown arrowed in Figure 49 below in the Trail Analysis Expander opens the Vertical Profile Review window where the recorded actual elevation of the flight is displayed Page 44 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 saene j Hyono _ teran Valley Flying Field Bear Gulch Seaplane Ba campsite oun Vertical Profile Review Distance nm I ffs all _ x 3 G BAFM_2010 1 1 KPWT S18 Txt Cessna C172 G BAFM osgg9 E a Ajo 2 AX j a Aircraft details Ea a Figure 49 Trail Analysis Vertical Profile To hide the vertical Profile display again click the conventional Windows Close button at the top right of the window 13 7 Aerodrome If you right click an airport on the map and select Show Airport Chart from the dropdown the Aerodrome Diagram is displayed You can use the mouse wheel to zoom in out and if you hover the mouse pointer over the parking spots runways amp taxiways
43. Make sure if you enter an ICAO code that you have selected the correct waypoint type In the screenshot below someone selected CAM for the Cambridge Page 53 of 106 V 2 05 March 2011 Plan G User Manual NDB but from the VOR table and got a silly result 2 918nm The CAM VOR happens to be near Schenectady New York State USA not near Cambridge England It is the CAM NDB which is on Cambridge UK Aerodrome m OL XRef2 Notes Waypoint TA XRef1 EGSU EGSR cam BK 292 2918 nm 254 30 9 nm STANSTED X9DH 4 gt Start Position 6 Total Distance 51 1 nm Wind 241 at 9 kts Total Time 0 45 Suggested Altitude 2500 ft TAS 72 Kts Figure 59 The Wrong CAM 14 3 5 Add Altemate This option is described at section 14 2 2 above 14 3 6 Set Author If you want to be recognised as the world leader in creating Plan G flight plans then click this option and enter your name in the dialogue box Now when you send your plans to others your fame will go with you Page 54 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 15 HIGHTPLANS This section describes the all important procedures for creating amending saving loading and deleting flight plans There are two basic methods of creating flight plans a Graphical b Tabular 15 1 Creating a Hight Plan Graphically This method is intuitive and fast and will almost certainly be the choice of most users for creating a new fli
44. Open Locations FX Progam E Browse f FSX Scenery cfg Seca Units C ProgramData Microsoft FSX AE Sounds FS2004 Browse Print A FS Connection Additional Scenery Locations Help am GPS Panel ES E FSX Addon Scenery Australia ES exit Traffic Weather General Add Figure 16 FSX and FS9 Locations using Mapped Network Drives The Additional Scenery Locations box enables the user to include scenery which has been removed from the scenery cfg file but the files themselves are still in place on the system Some scenery managers switch scenery entries in or out according which region is being used and therefore the scenery cfg file may never actually contain the entire scenery library at any one time By specifying additional locations in this box which are to be added to the database the user can have a complete list of all their sceneries in Plan G In addition this list can be used to overcome problems caused by different network mappings when building the database across a network Click the Add button to open a file browse dialog and select the required scenery folder that is the folder which contains the Scenery and usually but not always the Texture sub folders Click the Delete button the one containing the red X on the left of the entry to delete that entry Page 18 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 8 5 2 Units Because different
45. PC then it can be accessed from this option If you do not have Google Earth installed then clicking this option displays a prompt to install the Google Earth Plugin The Quick Access Toolbar By default this toolbar contains three items However ANY button on any of the ribbons can be added to the Quick Access Toolbar by right clicking and selecting Add to Quick Access Toolbar Y Large 52 VORs ISEC Medium 4 NDBs 7 ISEC unnamed ILS LOC O Small E Lower Airways Airports Navaids Figure 4 Quick Access Toolbar The default icons are from the left The Yellow Aeroplane icon moves resizes minimises or maximises the whole Plan G window Page 7 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 6 3 The Blank Page icon clears any elements of a flight plan in memory allowing a fresh start The Down Arrow Icon clicking this icon displays a small dropdown menu with six options In the picture below an additional option Save Flight Plan has been selected as well as the default and the relevant icon is shown on the Quick Access Toolbar By Customize Quick Access Toolbar val v New Plan A a Open Flight plan Find M Altitud E Y Save Flight Plan Find Print Map ea AE Print Flight Plan y wy AN Kr m y 1 t A E O Show Below the Ribbon o VY AST e ir enaa A Figure 5 The Customise Quick Access Toolbar Dropdown In addition to the five Quick Access Toolbar op
46. Program Files TA Software Plan G When installation is complete the familiar yellow aeroplane icon will be placed on your desktop which when clicked will the launch the application Z Large E vors ISEC Y Below 10 000 Y ICAO Airspace 7 Airstrip lt amp Disused yy POL E Glider Y Medium asroc E NDBs EJ ISEC unnamed J Above 10 000 E SpecialUsel E Helipad 0 Location O vRP E Usen asd sue Pa esel oct C Small Lower Airways Y Centre Special Use 2 Su A Obstacle A IFR User2 Defaults Overlays Airports Navaids dara gt User Waypoints ayer Control oa N seeng mors Temo on 7 Sn SF Y Haleswortho Southwois Leiston Lat N51 58 4 661714 Lon E0 33 37 089844 U E MES Figure 1 The Plan G User Interface at Startup If you have installed version 0 9 of this software you can either delete the previous version folder completely or you can if you wish leave it on your PC as it will not cause Version 2 0 and later to malfunction To uninstall Plan G from Version 2 0 onwards you need to uninstall it from the Windows Control Panel In Windows XP Add Remove Programs in Vista and Windows 7 Programs Uninstall a program Normally it will also be necessary to uninstall previous versions before installing an updated one The Readme file included with the download contains an appropriate warning if this is needed The separat
47. S files it requires in order to build its internal database of airports and navaids and to communicate with a running instance of Flight Simulator on either the same computer or a networked PC running FS ty E lF Home Map Data View New Plan Select Option Locations X Open A YA Browse S FSX Scenery g boe Save As YA Browse prua FS2004 ZA Browse H Print AAA FS Connection Additional Scenery Locations Help i OO 7 GPS Panel E z Em Traffic Weather General Add Figure 14 The Locations Page Page 15 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Home Map Data View New Plan Select Option Locations Oper FSX Program EAFSX AS FSX Scenery g _ Save As Units C ProgramData Microsoft FSX Browse Sounds r kin FS2004 Browse FS Connection Additional Scenery Locations Help GPS Panel y en x vere on ela Computer FlightSim E gt X Search 2 Exit Traffic EA By Organize Y N Weather te Links Name E Date modified Type Size General IB Documents SRECYCLE BIN 04 10 08 21 07 de Folder E de FSX 28 01 11 09 54 File Folder gt i 9 08 16 26 File Folder j Computer ONT Sl a P 11 11 30 File Folder 4 Recently Changed de Folders FSX 1 08 21 03 File Folder F Pictures 1 Music B Searches di Public Folders A m p File name Fight Simulator X ffsx exe fs Figure 15 B
48. SA and Canada but UK transition points will almost always be VORs or NDBs 14 2 5 METAR One of the minor miracles of Plan G is its ability to fetch both the current real world weather METAR and forecast weather TAF for any airport within its database which has an associated weather station For airports which do not have an associated weather station or for which there is no current information Plan G displays no weather rather than use the nearest available Note the Download Weather from NWS option must be set access via the File tab in Options Weather for METARS and TAFs to be shown There is a short delay after initial startup before weather data is available 14 2 6 Other Selections The other selections in the Airport right click dropdown are e Spot Elevation e Display Range Rings e Hide range Rings e QDM range and Bearing These options are also available on the Map right click dropdown and are described in section 14 1 above which deal with that function Page 51 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 14 3 Right Click on the Plan Expander The dropdown menu here displays a number of options for modifying your plan 14 3 1 Set This as the Active Leg Clicking this option sets the active leg for calculating time distance to next waypoint It is only useful if connected to FS and where you may have opened a flight plan part way through a flight Setting a new active leg allows you
49. Z Below 10 000 Y ICAO Airspace 3 Airstrip Disused yy Por E Glider 2 Medium Y NDBs 0 ISEC unnamed gt Above 10 000 7 SpecialUse1 A Helipad Location VRP Userl 9 ake ILS LOC a 3 ak Reset Lock E Small E Lower Airways Centre C Special Use2 Ey Water Obstacle A IFR User2 Defaults Overlays Airports Navaids Airspace User Waypoints Layer Control Figure 9 The Map Ribbon 7 4 The Data Tab The Data Tab displays the Data Ribbon which allows you to e Create the database for either FS9 or FSX and e Select which simulator version displays on the map and for which you wish to create a plan e Manage the User Waypoint database These options are of course only available for the simulator version s you have installed Any current databases available are indicated by the relevant icon being a strong colour blue for FSX grey for FS9 The icons are shown in the same colours but faded if a database is unavailable for that simulator version Whichever simulator version is running is shown with an orange background Data aa 3 FSX Fs9 Manage go FS F Display Data Build Database User Waypoints Figure 10 Data Ribbon Further details of how to use these options is given in section 11 below 7 5 The View Tab The view tab displays options to customize some elements of what you see on screen Map overlays and the map graticule can be switched off to improve clarity and speed m
50. ains no elevation data 12 2 Map Graticule This button toggles on or off the latitude and longitude graticule At zoom level 8 the lines are drawn at 1 intervals At higher zoom levels the lines are drawn at smaller intervals and at lower zoom levels larger intervals The actual values are shown against the leftmost longitude line and the lowest but one latitude line The graticule setting is remembered for the next time you open Plan G 12 3 Map Overlays If you want to just look at the map without any aeronautical information displayed at all click this tick box Click again to remove the tick and all the overlay data is redisplayed 12 4 Expandericon The Expander Icon to the immediate right of the three tickboxes enables or disables the display of the Expander Panel on the right of the Plan G screen The Expander Panel is displayed by default Hiding the expander panel will of course allow a larger map area to be viewed the zoom level does not change If you choose to hide the Expander Panel you can still view the Expander panel options in a Tool Window A Plan Elevation 5 2D D B 12 am O Y Map Graticule y y 9 Y Map Overlay Aerodrome Duxford EGSU 4 Figure 38 Airport Diagram in a Tool Window Page 38 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 12 5 Whether or not the Expander Panel is hidden if you click the small down arrow below the Expander icon a dropdown menu is displayed Fro
51. alse lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt TIPv6 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt link local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt fe80 5974 d93 646d a902 lt Address gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt A lt 2nd Example Global remote IPv6 Server Configuration gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv6 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt link local lt Scope gt A Page 99 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt My_FS_ PCs NETWORK NAME lt Address gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt Example Global remote IPv4 Server Cour Ira Lon lt SimConnect Comm gt lt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Pro tocol gt TPy4 lt Protoscol gt lt Scope gt global lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt 192 168 0 3 lt Address gt lt Port gt 4504 lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt SimBase Document gt 21 2 Example 2 The example below includes profiles for two remote and three local connections for Pipe IPv6 and IPv4 connections For remote connections i e a network connection you would need to enable one or more of the three Global profiles in the SimConnect xml file To enable a profile set Disabled to false and then speci
52. ame Networked drive as for the main FS program location You can of course simply enter the full path to these locations but it is more prone to typing errors than the network drive method although Plan G does remember them between sessions and between program updates Other FS applications can also often make use of network drives The default paths in Windows XP and Windows Vista are different so be careful to map to the correct location Unlike setting up Locations on a single PC Plan G cannot Page 17 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 automatically find FSX on a network so it is important that you point Plan G at the correct locations on your FS PC Some PCs won t reveal the target of the networked drive to Plan G and other applications it isn t a Plan G problem The only solution of which TASoftware is aware is to go to My Computer locate the network drive and open that drive in Windows Explorer i e just open the folder to view the contents no more than that You can then close the window Once that is done Plan G will be able to find your networked drive by its drive letter The problem has only been identified in Plan G when building a new database following a new release Once this trick has been done once Plan G always does seem to be able to find the necessary drive and its database when you start it up afterwards 4 Pl Home Map Data View New Plan Select Option Locations
53. ams which use SimConnect and you are unsure of how to correct SimConnect problems please do not experiment but seek expert advice Connecting to FSX from a Networked PC with FSUIPC SimConnect is the preferred connection option for FSX It is more efficient faster and provides optimal control over the information available FSX users should be able to use FSX s built in SimConnect by carefully following the instructions in this manual but if you cannot get it to work for you then you will need to buy Peter Dowson s WideFS and use it with either with the freeware FSX version of Peter Dowson s FSUIPC FSUIPC 4 which uses SimConnect internally or you can if you wish buy the full featured version of FSUIPC 4 FSUIPC 4 may be downloaded from http www schiratti com dowson html Page 95 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Peter Dowson provides very friendly and attentive support for his programs on this forum http forums simflight com viewforum php f 54 The FSUIPC4 installer program copies a file called FSUIPC4 DLL into the FSX Modules folder along with the FSUIPC4 User Guide pdf When you next run FSX after accepting the newly installed FSUIPC4 modules there will be a new FSUIPC entry in the Add Ons menu FSUIPCs first action will be to ask you to register the program If you simply want to use FSUIPC4 to connect FSX to add on programs on the same PC you do not have to continue with registration of the
54. and also on the Plan G map with an associated track line If necessary waypoints can be moved up or down in the table or deleted from the plan 15 2 2 Notes Open the Plan in the expander or in a tool window Scroll across to the Notes column and double click the appropriate cell You can now enter free text to add any important information for that leg of the route The cell expands to accommodate the text entered 15 2 3 Save Your Plan Once you are satisfied with the all the information in the Plan table save the plan in the usual way Note that if you save it as a PLN file for use within Flight Simulator cross references passing altitudes and notes cannot be saved All these are included in saved PLG files 15 3 Vertical Navigation 15 3 1 User Defined VNAV Profile You can build a custom vertical navigation VNAV profile in Plan G if you wish At key waypoints where altitude is critical such as controlled airspace boundaries or high terrain you can fix the altitude to fly Load a flight plan and open the tabular plan in either the Data Expanders or as a Tool Window Scroll across to the right of the plan to the Passing Alt column Double click the appropriate cell in the column and enter the desired altitude Enter the value without a comma separator for 000s although if you do include a comma separator Plan G will remove it If you now open the Plan Elevation window you will see your Vertical Navigation Pr
55. and admire the beauty of the Lake District You need to create a User Waypoint for Keswick pronounced Kezzik by the way You will find Keswick to the south east of Dean Cross on the south side of Bassenthwaite Lake and just north of Derwentwater 6 Right click on the name Keswick shown on the map and complete the User waypoint Dialogue box Check that Location is set as the waypoint type Enter Keswick Town in the Name box and KESWK in the Identifier box In the tag box you could enter your initials to indicate that it is one of your user created waypoints 7 Click OK and observe the small green waypoint circle appear on the plan 8 Now you can add another leg to the plan Right click your new waypoint and Select the option Add user waypoint KESWK Keswick Town to the Plan Note that the newly added track line goes over some impressive looking high ground It is in fact Skiddaw at 3 052 feet the 4 highest mountain in England If you have downloaded the Digital Elevation Model DEM tiles from the NGDC GLOBE Global Land One km Base Elevation website at http www ngdc noaa gov mgg topo gltiles html you can now look at what this means in terms of vertical navigation See section 12 1 for details of DEM If you haven t downloaded the DEM tile for the UK you really ought to It adds a great feature to Plan G You need tile B filename b10g gz which covers 90 of the UK 9 So you now have the DEM info installed
56. and the weather at Newcastle will be automatically loaded into FS Start up taxi to the active and enjoy your flight over England s highest mountains to England s second most famous city Page 78 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 18 CONNECTION TO HUIGHTSIMULATOR Plan G can be connected to a running Microsoft Flight Simulator FS session either on the same machine or on another PC connected via a local area network With Flight Simulator connected to Plan G several of the Data Expander functions are enabled Weather GPS Panel Traffic amp Trail Analysis which are otherwise inactive because they cannot receive any data In addition the user aircraft and any Al aircraft or other aircraft in a Multiplayer environment are also displayed plus an information bar at the bottom of the map containing positional information 18 1 Hight Data Transfer The data passed to Plan G includes 1 As overlays on the basic Google Map e User aircraft icon yellow e Alaircrafticons smaller red e Multiuser aircraft icons also small and red e User Aircraft trail default colour magenta e Multiuser and Al trails default colour red e Fly to Heading distance and time en route from the user aircraft to any point on the map by simply right click the point for which that information is required In the Data Expanders e FS Weather e GPS data airspeed heading altitude rate of climb descent e Traffic table Mu
57. anging data as the mouse is moved right click and select Unlock Info Panel 14 2 Right Click on an Airport Right clicking the mouse on an airport symbol opens a different menu from the one which is displayed when you right click on the map It shows some options specific to that airport and some which also appear on the map right click menu The options are described below Start flight plan at airport EGBE Show Airport Chart Instrument Approaches Spot Elevation 246 ft Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing TAF EGBE 221700Z 2218 2220 36008KT 9999 FEW015 SCT025 PROB30 TEMPO 2218 2220 8000 SHRA BKNO12 Lock Info Panel Figure 56 Right click on Airport 14 2 1 Start Hight Plan at Airport Right click on the departure airport on your plan Start flight plan at airport lt ICAO code gt Plan G fills in the ICAO four letter code for the selected airport is self explanatory If you right click an airport after your departure airport this option changes to Add airport lt ICAO Code gt to plan Page 49 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 14 2 2 Select Airport as Altemate What if you arrive at your destination and you cannot land there In the real world there can be many reasons for this but in FS especially when flying on line with VATSIM or IVAO etc there may be an aircraft already on the runway which does not move as you fly your final approach You clearly have to land some
58. ap refresh rate for example There are also three customisable fixed zoom buttons for quickly selecting a favourite zoom ratio On smaller screens not all the data expanders can be displayed and data at the bottom such as airport details sometimes falls off the bottom of the screen Customising the expanders you wish to hide or display can help in this respect A E Plan Elevation e J Hv a AU Y Map Graticule y Wo Expanders Zoom Zoom Keep Z Map Overlays Out In B 6 on Top Show Hide Zoom Window EE E A NA Figure 11 The View Ribbon Page 11 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 7 6 Ribbon Auto Hide At the far right hand end of each ribbon is a small arrow icon which when clicked hides the ribbon whichever ribbon you are viewing at the time It hides the whole ribbon system not just the one you are currently viewing When you click one of the Menu tabs the associated ribbon is displayed until you click on the map or expander area when it is automatically hidden again A hot key combination Ctrl F1 is also available which toggles hidden or displayed mode If Auto hide is enabled The ribbon is auto hidden in this way on first installation o x oy la Lock E 3 Sync it Simulator J Earth Minimize the Ribbon Ctrl F1 Show or hide the Ribbon Pe When the Ribbon is hidden only Ley v the tab names are shown v Trail Analvsis Figure 12 The Minimise Ribbon icon an
59. be entered or you can select one from those displayed several examples have been included Long URLS are truncated in the list but the full URL is displayed as a tooltip If the user enters a KML file URL or selects one of the examples provided on clicking OK in the file window Plan G will display the KML overlay The KML window also opens if you click the small dropdown arrow below the KML button on the ribbon and select Show from the two available choices If you select Clear the overlay is removed from the map There are three tickboxes at the bottom of the KML window The first two are self explanatory The third tickbox hides or displays the example links provided with Plan G Note Opening a KML overlay does not remove any existing overlays You can have more than one displayed at a time The Clear command however will clear all KML overlays from the display Be aware that loading and display of KML files may be quite slow on some systems which could make it seem as if Plan G has stopped working Display Google Earth KML KMZ Type the URL to a KML or KMZ file that has been uploaded to the Internet or select an entry from the list below 4 htto fullterrain com kmz FTX_PNW_NA_BLUE_1 4 2 kmz 3 htto fullterrain com kmz FTX_NRM_NA_BLUE_1 0 kmz x http fullterrain com kmz FTX_PFJ_NA_BLUE_1 5 kmz i X http aussiex ora kmz Australian_OZx3 3_ORBX_Ant kmz x http aussiex org kmz Serges_OZx3
60. can be extracted with Winzip The extracted files have no extension The extracted files must be placed in the Plan G DEM folder For example Plan G DEM f10g is the file for the tile that covers the U S Eastern seaboard When a Flight Plan has been loaded and the Plan Elevation tick box selected on the Home Ribbon an elevation window will open at the bottom of the Plan G screen a 0 gt E E gt cy wu Distance nm Zoom 9 Lat N47 25 21 045556 Lon W124 27 1 362305 Alt G Speed EEE ETA Next ETA Dest Figure 37 Flight Plan Elevation Window below the Map Window The Flight Plan Elevation window shows for each leg the Suggested Altitude as a solid mauve line the Maximum Elevation Figure MEF as a dotted red line the distance elapsed time and altitude at the mouse cursor and the DEM profile in green If you Page 37 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 move the mouse around the elevation window you will see that the pointer becomes a crosswire symbol except when in contact with the surface when it becomes a yellow circle with a smaller dot symbol inside which stays in contact with the surface as you move the mouse The numbers alongside the dot indicate distance from the origin and elevation If no tile files exist in the folder Plan G DEM the Plan Elevation tick box is displayed in a faint grey and cannot be selected If no flight plan is loaded the elevation window is displayed but cont
61. ck an airport on the map and select Show Airport Chart from the drop down The aerodrome chart runways and taxiways is displayed beneath the Aerodrome tag e Information Displays textual data about controlled airspace and other details Once the database has been built the default view shows the menu options on the Home tab Tool Tips If you hover the mouse over any symbol menu option tick box radio button or aeronautical feature on the map or any of the Google Maps tools a context sensitive tooltip is displayed briefly describing the item s function or identity Of course many are obvious but it surprising how useful they can be when your mind goes blank as it will sometimes fear not Page 9 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 7 THE RIBBON MENU TABS 7 1 The File Tab AQ If you click the File tab then various file handling and setup functions are New Plan Recent Files E ett E available File lt Save As a Esens WTN Docu ents Flight Simulator X e The default view is of the Open Print a CAUseRWTL Docamente FHont Simulator X a function with on the right a list of File po A R i a ec a eaa a eight of the most recent flight plans 3 VER Wartonto Woodvale ABpig E opened but with links also to where Ber Ci Vitoria nit McCielan Palomarpig GE all the pla ns are stored My 3 cido A documents Flight Simulator for FS9 c Users WTL Documents Flight Simulator X
62. csesessssssesssseescsessesscseseesaseesaseas 29 Figure 29 The Map RIO Oli esa cucatestia ian a iaa 31 Page 102 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Figure 30 Script Message Generated When Trying To Display Too Much A O Nobel taustvatacs cases ES 31 Figure 31 The ORTAC Intersection In the English Channel o coo ccccoccnnoccnncooo 33 Figure 32 ICAO Airspace ClassifiCatiOns isisedcscosssstiadarst catededeascasescensedeaseteanddoadesunade 34 Figure 33 The 12 Predefined Types of User Waypoint ooccconconnconoccnncnninconcnncnnoss 35 Figure 34 FSX only exists on this PEA daa 36 Figure 35 Both FSX and FS9 exist on this PC FS9 data selected to be SV 36 Figure 36 Both FSX and FS9 exist on this PC FSX data selected to be ASE inc 36 Figure 37 Flight Plan Elevation Window below the Map WindowW 37 Figure 38 Airport Diagram in a Tool WINdOW oococcocccccccnoncnnoncnncnnononocononnronononnn nono 38 Figure 39 A Flight Plan viewed in a Tool Window oooocccccccccccccnoncnnnnconcoconnnnnononncnnnos 39 Figure 40 Data Expanded Arrow SyMbol oooocconcononconoccnnconononncononornro conc nonncrnoncnos 40 Figure 41 Data Collapsed Arrow Symbol ooooocconccnocccnononnconononncrnonorncroronononncnnononos 40 Figure 42 Flight Plan Headings tala ta nas id oa 40 Figure 43 Right click a Plan Line to Display Editing Options occ ccococncccnncoc 40 Figure 44 Weather Ta
63. cting to FSX from a Networked PC with SimC onnect There are three steps required to connect the two PCs with SimConnect Don t be put off by the seemingly technical instructions which follow The procedure is actually quite easy e Decide the appropriate data transfer protocol see section 18 2 above Note that Pipe does not work across a network e Create or modify a special file SimConnect xml on the FSX PC e Configure the SimConnect parameters in Plan G to match those in SimConnect xml Note You do not need to build a SimConnect xml file if you are running FSX and Plan G on the same PC 20 3 1 Creating a SimConnectxml file for the IPv4 Protocol This file must be created on the FSX PC in the same folder as fsx cfg For Windows XP users this is usually C Documents and Settings lt user name gt Application Data Microsoft FSX For Windows Vista users this is usually C Users lt Username gt AppData Roaming Microsoft FSX SimConnect xml is a text file which you can create using Windows NotePad or any simple text editor not MSWord Plan G will not build a SimConnect xml file for you The following is an example which has been proved to work for two networked Windows XP machines The red coloured text will not change in any SimConnect file The blue coloured text is the part which you may need to change to suit your set up lt xml version 1 0 encoding Windows 1252 gt lt SimBase Document Type SimConnect ver
64. d Tooltip Double clicking any of the tabs will also auto hide the ribbon Double clicking a tab again will display the relevant ribbon and switch off the auto hide feature Page 12 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 8 1 8 2 8 3 THE ALE MENU IN DETAIL This isn t a strictly a ribbon but a page with a vertical sidebar menu The page default function is to display the last eight flight plans created or opened Any of these eight can be deleted by clicking on the red cross symbol to the right That will delete that entry from the list but does not delete the flight plan itself The side bar menu options are described in detail below New Selecting New closes the menu and returns the user to the main map window where a new plan can be created as described in Section 15 below Open Selecting the open option initially does nothing because as it is the default File page as mentioned above it is already effectively selected The user can select a recently created or opened flight plan from the list or select a PLN or PLG file by clicking on the appropriate browser link at the bottom of the page Clicking the link opens by default the Flight Simulator Files folder for FS9 users or Flight Simulator X Files folder located in My Documents Windows XP or simply Documents in Windows Vista or Windows 7 Depending on which Browse for existing files link you have selected
65. d area To see small airports you must zoom in to a higher zoom level By default e No Airports are displayed at zoom levels 1 7 e Large Airports are first displayed at zoom level 8 e Medium Airports are first displayed at zoom level 9 e Small Airports are first displayed at zoom level 11 The airport size reference used in Plan G refers to the length of the longest runway e Large Longest runway is 3 000m or more in length e Medium Between 800m and 2 999m in length e Small Less than 800m in length In this section of the Map ribbon there is also a slender green arrow symbol labelled ILS LOC This symbol called ILS feathers is used on aeronautical charts to denote an Instrument Landing System ILS If this button is pressed those airports that are selected for display Large Medium and or Small where those airports have runways equipped with ILS LOC in FS will have feathers displayed against them on the appropriate approach bearing Note that if a real world airport runway has an ILS which is not featured in FS9 FSX then the feathers are not displayed remember FSX is frozen at 2005 FS9 at 2004 so because real world approach aids are changing year on year such differences may become more common over time By default the feathers display at zoom level 8 or higher The setting is remembered for the next time you open Plan G Navaids The radio navigation aids Navaids in Plan G are also extracted from Flight
66. dding notes to a flight plan is carried out from the keyboard It can be done by entering the details in the Plan in the expander or in a tool window once the flight plan route has been completed graphically Open the Plan in the expander or in a tool window Scroll across to the Notes column and double click the appropriate cell You can now enter free text to add any important information for that leg of the route The cell expands to accommodate the text entered 15 1 8 Save your Plan Once you are satisfied with the sequence of waypoints in the Plan table save the plan as described in section 8 3 15 1 9 The Reverse Button This button automatically reverses the sequence of waypoints in a loaded flight plan and recalculates the bearings to create a new flight plan for the return trip assuming you want to go back along the very same route The window title in Plan G will reflect a new name for the reversed flight plan and when you save it Plan G automatically changes the name for the new reversed plan Creating a Fight Plan by Data Entry Although you may find it less intuitive Plan G nonetheless allows you to select waypoints directly in the drop down Plan expander This could be convenient for example when transcribing a flight plan from a printed form or a handbook Press the New Flight Plan button to clear any loaded data from Plan G The departure airport must now be chosen in the usual way by either right clicking on it
67. dow Now select a Navaid either by typing in the ICAO Identifier e g BPK for Brookmans Park VOR or pick the one you need by scrolling down the very long worldwide database of Navaids displayed The vector lines are drawn on the map and the bearing TO the Navaid QDM remember and distance are shown in the flight plan in the Expander panel and included in the Pilot s Log PLOG To use this information to arrive at the waypoint you need to turn the Omni bearing selector OBS until the TO flag is displayed and the CDI needle is centred Note the bearing indicated at the top of the instrument Turn the OBS again until the Plan G QDM is indicated and fly a closing heading until the CDI needle is again centred Observe the distance on the DME instrument and turn onto the QDM heading keeping the CDI needle centred until the Plan G distance is displayed on the DME Then you will be at the waypoint For example the Plan G QDM is 262 and you are flying heading 030 Turn the OBS to 262 turn the aircraft 90 to it 352 and then turn heading 262 as the needle starts to centre see section 14 1 4 above for an explanation of Q codes When using two NDBs for cross references Plan G is a bit smarter than real world NDBs because it provides distance information which real world NDBs do not If you use two NDBs in the real world your fix is provided entirely by the intersection of the two indicated ADF bearings Warning
68. e and a further popup 500ft to target altitude is displayed The vertical navigation profile parameters are all user configurable via the File tab in Options GPS Panel see section 8 5 5 above Modifying Existing Hight Plans With a previously created flight plan opened in Plan G you can either e Add one or more waypoints to the end of the existing chain of waypoints e Insert a new waypoint between two existing waypoints Page 60 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 15 4 1 Adding a New Waypoint to the End ofa Plan Adding a new waypoint to the end of the sequence is just a matter of right clicking it and selecting Add lt waypoint ID gt to plan You then Save or Save As the changed flight plan as described above 15 4 2 Inserting a New Waypoint There are two ways to insert a waypoint between two others in a flight plan a Right click on an entry in the tabular plan and select Insert waypoint above or below b Using the Edit button on the Home ribbon 15 4 3 Inserting a Waypoint into the Tabular Plan Right click on the table entry above or below which you wish to insert a new waypoint Select either Insert Waypoint Below or Insert Waypoint Above according to where you wish to insert the new waypoint This pops up an Insert Waypoint dialogue where you can select the type of waypoint to be inserted Airports VORs NDBs User VRPs The waypoint to be inserted can be
69. e addon waypoint packs available for Version 0 9 have been expanded and included in Version 2 0 so there is no need to reimport them into the User Waypoint Database If you have created user waypoints in an earlier version of Plan G that you want to keep then because of structural and content changes in the database from earlier versions Page 4 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 you must export them to a CSV file see Section 16 6 BEFORE installing the new version of Plan G then re import them once you have installed the new release Useful Tip Why not keep a backup of your User Waypoints as a CSV file anyway in a separate folder from Plan G to avoid it being accidentally overwritten when you install a new version You could make it part of your normal backup routine which of course you have With each new version you will need to rebuild the main database A warning message to this effect appears when you first start Plan G However many other settings are retained between versions such as the locations of the important files Plan G needs to access See Section 8 5 1 so there is no need to re enter them Page 5 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 5 1 5 3 FIRST RUN The first time you run Plan G you will be prompted to build its internal database Once the database has been created you can explore at leisure Single PC To build the internal database with Plan G and FS on the same comput
70. e aerodrome to your plan The airport symbol is red because it is a military RAF in this case aerodrome The track line is again inland but you will want to fly on the seaward side of the shoreline 6 So why not fly over Birkdale Sands a beach airstrip which was first used for pleasure flights as long ago as 1919 http www seftoncoast org uk articles 01winter_aviation html You can do this in two ways 7 On the Home ribbon select Edit Find the small square in the middle of the track line from Blackpool to Woodvale and drag it with the mouse to the small anchor symbol about halfway between Marshside VRP and Woodvale which denotes Birkdale Sands EGCO To hit EGCO accurately within its Plan G grab range you need zoom to be 13 or higher otherwise you may find that you have created a temporary user waypoint instead This will be shown in your plan as wpt01 If this happens right click that line on your plan select delete waypoint and try again Now turn off Edit on the Home ribbon 8 Alternatively you can simply right click Birkdale Sands to add it to your plan The track line now goes from Marshside to Woodvale to Birkdale Sands which is not what you want So go to the Plan right click the new Birkdale Sands line and select Move waypoint up That has restored your route to something sensible 9 Look now about 2 5 miles south of Woodvale See the red line running horizontally across the map Mov
71. e bar is below the centre you should increase your descent rate and if it above centre you should slow your descent rate The HSI tooltip contains context information about your position on the profile Full scale deflection on the profile bar is 1 degree above or below the profile the same as a normal ILS This mimics the standard handheld Garmin e g 296 or 496 VNAV functionality If you wish to disable the profile bar set the Profile to Oft minute accessed from the File Tab in Options GPS Panel Traffic The Traffic data expander shows a table of all the FSX FS9 Al or online traffic within a defined distance of the user aircraft The maximum distance for the display of Al traffic can be user defined in the Global Options The default setting is 50 nautical miles Page 43 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 A Traffic A C Reg Alt ft Hdg M G Speed From To Dist nm C172 GKIRK 105 005 12 Ba ol Las G ccaw 105 ur 2 04 ccwvr 327 208 56 0 5 m b Figure 47 Traffic Expander If you are connected to VATSIM IVAO or other online or multiplayer server then Plan G displays other connected aircraft rather than Al aircraft 13 6 Trail Analysis This is enabled from the File tab in Options User Aircraft See section 8 5 6 above It allows the user to log his her aircraft s trail or track made good Redmarley D Abitot ra Pauntley R
72. e compiling a flight plan but if the Update TAS from FS tick box is ticked that value is replaced by the TAS from FS Effectively the flight plan is updated dynamically during a flight If the Show waypoint alerts tick box is ticked an alert is displayed before reaching the next waypoint on your flight plan Traffic This page sets up options about other aircraft when connected to FS These may be aircraft artificially generated by FS known generally simply as Al or other aircraft being flown on a multiplayer network such as VATSIM or IVAO when you are logged in to one of their servers Firstly you can choose whether to display Al multiplayer aircraft or not You can decide the range beyond which they will not be displayed and if the apron is full of aircraft you can turn off Show Parked aircraft by unticking the relevant tick box In the same way as for your own aircraft you can show the flight trail for each of these You can change the colour and line width if the defaults are not to your liking You can Page 23 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 also record and save the trails for future analysis See the chaos you caused ploughing through Heathrow s Class A airspace VFR in your microlight forcing all those IFR go arounds and aborted takeoffs Plan G v2 0 0 463 Carlisle to Liverpoo New Plan Select Option Al Multiplayer Traffic Parameters EN w
73. e location of FSX EXE To map create a short cut to a network drive do the following Windows XP 1 Open My Computer 2 Click the Tools menu and then click Map Network Drive 3 If you don t see the Tools menu press ALT 4 Inthe Drive list click a drive letter You can choose any available letter Starting from Z and working backwards is recommended for network drives only to avoid confusion with the normal hard disks DVD drives etc which start from C 5 In the Folder box type the network path of the folder or computer or click Browse to find the folder or computer 6 To connect every time you log on to your computer select the Reconnect at logon tick box 7 Click Finish Windows Vista or Windows 7 1 Open Computer 2 Click Map Network Drive on the Command Bar 3 Continue as for Windows XP Your computer is now connected or mapped to the network drive So once you have successfully created a network drive say Z which points to the network location MyFSXPC C Program Files Microsoft Games FSX you only need to enter Z in the FSX Program dialogue box In the example path above MyFSXPC is the Network name of the FSX PC created when your network was first set up Of course you must use the network name of your FSX PC You can repeat the process for another network drive Y to point to the location of FS9 if you have it installed The location of Scenery cfg is usually the s
74. e ready and eager to solve your problem 8 5 Options Selecting Options opens an Options window with a second sidebar menu which gives access to nine different dialogue panes When you open Plan G the first time you visit the File Options menu selection the right hand area of the page is blank and remains so unless you select one of the nine options Plan G keeps open the last selected pane for the duration of the Plan G session The options panes are reasonably self explanatory Default values are included which can help decide appropriate values Al aircraft refresh rate of 600 seconds isn t going to be terribly useful for example You may not wish to change the defaults but when things get busy for example you can de clutter the screen by switching off Al or parked aircraft or limit the range within which they are shown If you want to see your own aircraft when Plan G is connected to Flight Simulator you clearly have to have the first box ticked in User Aircraft but there Page 14 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 may be occasions when you only want to see everyone else This element of Plan G allows you to choose The nine options are e Locations e Units e Sounds e FS Connections e GPS Panel e User Aircraft e Traffic e Weather e General The options are described in detail below 8 5 1 Locations A Single Computer The Locations menu option allows Plan G to locate the F
75. e the Options window by clicking OK and return to the main window With FS loaded press the Connect button While Plan G is connected to FS the Flight Simulator caption under the Connect and Disconnect buttons on the Home ribbon will change to one of the following according to the connection that has been made FSX SimConnect FSX FSUIPC ESQ FSUIPC In the case of FS9 this will always via FSUIPC of course Disconnect FS9 FSUIPC Figure 89 Connected to FS9 with FSUI PC On connecting the Plan G map will move so that your FS9 aircraft location is shown and a yellow User Aircraft Icon will appear If Al aircraft are in the area and as long as you have selected Al aircraft in the options panel to be displayed they will appear in red If you are connected to VATSIM IVAO or another online server then Plan G displays other connected aircraft rather than Al aircraft You can now set up Trail Analysis import FS Weather data etc as described above which significantly enhances the value of Plan G If you get a connection error or a connection time out error the most likely reason is that you have not selected the correct connection option which must be FSUIPC in the Global Options window Less commonly you may have set up FSUIPC incorrectly Be sure to read the FSUIPC installation instructions It has to be said though that FSUIPC is almost always trouble free in use so the problem is most likely to be som
76. e the mouse to that line and read the information in the Expander Here you are at 4 000 feet Is there something you need to do 17 4 Contolled Airspace You are now getting close to Liverpool and things will change rapidly You have planned to enjoy a leisurely flight with that great sense of freedom which flying real or virtual brings but what you will now have to plan for is controlled airspace and procedures If you plan to fly on line you will quite possibly have an ATC position manned someone to talk to and give you instructions The ATC instructions given in this manual are not absolutely correct but are close enough for flight planning purposes You should be familiar with correct ATC phraseology from other sources if you are planning to fly this route on line Manchester TMA Class A 3500 you should have read on the information expander in item 9 above Flying VFR you absolutely cannot go there so you must plan to descend About 6 miles further south again is the Liverpool Control Area CTA which extends from the surface to 2500 feet and is Class D airspace You can go there but only with permission Because IFR traffic inbound to Liverpool approaches at 2 500 feet and Page 73 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 required traffic separation is 1 000 feet IFR from VFR in Class D Airspace you will be given the instruction from Liverpool Approach not above 1 500 feet So you must plan to descend from
77. ed before drawing the plan but Start Position e g Parking Ramp Active Runway can only be entered once the start location of a flight plan has been created see section 15 1 5 below T AMRFAZaAS Start Altitude Airspeed Winds Quick Reverse Edit Frame Copy Position Route Flight Plan Figure 60 Setting Flight Plan Conditions 15 1 3 Departure Airport Now find your departure airport on the map If it is visible on the current map then move the mouse pointer over the airport icon and right click Page 55 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Select Start flight plan at airport lt ICAO code gt Plan G fills in the ICAO four letter code for the selected airport A Jenaitenham Ps lao Start flight plan at airport EGB AER ff 1 J Gloucester Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing gt Lock Info Panel ASS Figure 61 Right Click Dropdown Start Flight Plan from Here LA Hardwicke If it is not visible on or near the current map display you can zoom out or pan by dragging the map using the Google map tools Alternatively you can click on the Find button on the Home menu ribbon far left The Find button allows you to search for an airport or radio navigation aid Clicking on the Find button drops down a list of objects you can search for e Find Airport Search by ICAO code by airport name or by city name e Find NDB Search by 3 letter id
78. elds that you must create isn t exactly as displayed in the Plan G User Waypoint Database Also note that the final comma denotes that the 9 field NOTES is empty in the example above but must be accounted for by that final comma after UK In other words in any record you wish to import you must have 8 commas otherwise the import will fail With the User Waypoint Window open highlight the records you wish to export and only those will be exported Non contiguous records can be selected by holding down the Ctrl key as you click each record Bedford Castle Mill Disused Belfast Nutts Corner Disused Birch Disused Blyton Disused 52 139331817627 823 0 403666585683 mm Plan G I Bognor Regis Disused Boston Disused O 490 records imported Bottesford Disused Bovingdon Disused Bradwell Bay Disused Bratton Disused k Bridlington Disused A Broadwell Disused 7543296813965 1 636667013 Brockworth Disused 51 8396682739258 2 1721670627594 m Figure 77 User Defined Records Imported Page 68 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 17 AN EXAMPLE FIGHTPLAN Much of Plan G is intuitive You don t need this comprehensive manual at all However for those who don t have time to read manuals but just want to get going here is a worked example of a short VFR flight across some of England s most bea
79. en the Flight Plan is saved then loaded into FSX or FS9 this will be the place and zeroed elapsed time from which your simulated flight will depart Page 26 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 9 4 9 6 9 7 9 8 Altitude Here you can set the overall planned altitude for your new flight plan after consulting the Plan G map for airspace and terrain constraints Passing Altitudes can be set for individual waypoints by editing the plan table directly These altitudes are not able to be used directly by FS s 4 Set Airspeed r Cruising Altitude a Figure 26 Cruising Altitude Figure 27 Cruising Airspeed Window Window Airspeed Your planned airspeed is entered here so that Plan G can calculate the duration of each leg and the complete flight Plan G uses true airspeed not indicated airspeed If you then change for a faster aircraft in FSX FS9 you will have to manually change your estimated true airspeed here With a flight plan open changing true airspeed recalculates the leg times and the flight total elapsed time Winds A wind value entered in this window will be used to calculate the heading required to maintain your planned track If a wind value is entered Plan G will also calculate and display your ground speed If you are connected to FS9 FSX and provided you have Update local ticked in File Options Weather then the FS9 FSX wind will be automatically passed to Plan G
80. en you start Plan G it can be enabled by clicking the Expander Panel tick box See section 9 14 for further detail Plan Expanding this option allows you to see your flight plan as a table with the conventional flight plan headings When your plan is expanded in this way you can add or delete waypoints or move the waypoints up or down the plan by right clicking the relevant entry in the plan to reveal the dropdown menu of options A Plan Figure 42 Flight Plan Headings A Plan Waypoint Heading M Time Dist nm Track M Track T G S kts Description Gloucestershire Brize Norton AB COMPTON 114 35 MHz Set this as active leg Goodwood LITTLEHAMPTON Centre on Map 114 Shoreham 082 4 Start Position 9 Total Distance Wind 173 at 10 kts Total Time 1 08 Insert Waypoint Above Suggested Altitude 6000 ft TAS 100 Kts SHOREHAM EGKA Move Waypoint Up Move Waypoint Down Insert Waypoint Below y Cross References v GPS Panel Add Alternate w Traffic Delete Waypoint Trail Analysis Set Author Aerodrome Figure 43 Right click a Plan Line to Display Editing Options MEF right hand column stands for the Maximum Elevation Figure and is the highest point not including masts skyscrapers etc in a 0 5 square through which the track Page 40 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011
81. entifier or by name or partial name e Find VOR Search by 3 letter identifier or by name or partial name e Find User VRP User Visual Reference Points or User Waypoints are other points of interest that can be created by the user and added to a Plan G database ee ee ICAO Code Name City ICAO Name ity tate ountry CKW7 Wilkie Wilkie Saskatchewan ema E CKW9 Nejalini Lake Nejalini Lake Manitoba Canada CKX2 Woodlands Warren Manitoba Canada CKX4 Fisher Branch Fisher Branch Manitoba Canada CKX5 Dinsmore Dinsmore Saskatchewan Canada CKY2__ Whitewood Whitewood Saskatchewan Canada 4 b Filter CKX3 Eagle River Eagle River Ontario ES E City 1074 State 13 Country 225 y y Canada z e Cancel Figure 62 Using the Find Function to Locate an Airport If the searched for item exists in your simulator s database it will be found and the map will centre on it Search text is NOT case sensitive 15 1 4 Continue to Add Waypoints You can now select from the map or use the Find option as above the next waypoint in your flight plan Right click on its icon and select Add lt item gt to plan from the dropdown Page 56 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 lt item gt can be an airport an NDB a VOR a VRP and its name and ICAO are displayed in the menu so that you know you selected the right one ei N Add user
82. er go to the Data menu and click on the Build FSX or Build FS9 icon If you have both FS9 and FSX installed you must build the database for both Sims separately You can then switch between them and Plan G will load the correct dataset g5 A i Home Map Display Data Build Database a Please generate a database for FSX or FS9 Click on one of the two Build Database buttons at 3 left If neither button is active use the options dialog below them to set the FS locations FSX FS9 Figure 2 Database Build Options In the example shown above only FSX is installed on that PC Networked PCs If FSX or FS9 is installed on a separate networked computer to Plan G you must first follow the instructions in Section 8 5 1 below to set up the locations in Plan G so that it knows where to get its Flight Simulator data Once you have done this Plan G will be able to find the data it needs to build the database for the appropriate sim You can even have FSX on one PC FS9 on another and Plan G on a third As long as the locations are set correctly Plan G will build the databases Building the databases is not the same as connecting Plan G to your sim To connect FS to Plan G follow the instructions in section 20 Flight Simulator and Plan G on Separate Computers However you must have first set the locations otherwise when you try to connect FS to Plan G you will get an error message Has it Worked Occasionally
83. er Manual V 2 05 March 2011 20 2 1 WideFS In addition you will need a second Peter Dowson program called WideFS which installs a server portion WideServer dll on the FS9 PC and a client portion WideClient exe on the Network PC WideFS is available from http www schiratti com dowson html Note that in contrast to FSUIPC WideFS is not free and must be purchased and registered using an access key There is an option to buy the registered version of FSUIPC and WideFS as a bundle which costs less than the two purchased separately Note that for FS9 you must buy the FS9 specific version Follow the instructions in the WideFS User Guide a pdf document to install the client and server portions along with their configuration files WideServer ini on the FS9 PC and WideClient ini on the Network PC The two ini configuration files have to be edited to match your two PC names and IP addresses One of the WideFS installation options is to place an icon on your desktop This is strongly recommended that you do that so that you don t forget to start it whenever you want to run FS9 and Plan G on separate PCs 20 2 2 Connection Steps After the installation and configuration of FSUIPC and WideFS you will be able to run FS9 on the FS9 PC and Plan G on the Network PC There is just one extra step in the procedure than for connecting on the same PC 1 Start FS9 Note that in the top frame of the FS9 Window you will see the words
84. ething you have done or not done Connecting to FSX with SmConnect SimConnect is the preferred connection option for FSX It is efficient fast and provides optimal control over the information available FSX users should be able to use FSX s built in SimConnect directly but if that is not possible then you can use the FSX version of Peter Dowson s FSUIPC FSUIPC 4 which uses SimConnect internally FSUIPC 4 may be downloaded from http www schiratti com dowson html free of charge With Plan G on the FSX PC there is no setup required with SimConnect in FSX However in Plan G the SimConnect settings will need to be configured before a connection can be made First decide which is the appropriate SimConnect data transfer protocol Pipe IPv4 or iPv6 Remember Page 83 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 e Pipe is used only internally in a PC but is the fastest of the three e Pv4 is used by Windows Vista XP and earlier versions of Windows e Pv6 is installed in Windows Vista and Windows 7 though it may not be enabled and may optionally be installed in Windows XP To configure the settings select Options from the File Tab then open the FS Connection tab Check or amend the settings so that they correspond to one of the three configurations below also shown in Figure 90 Figure 91 and Figure 92 below The FS Connection Parameters dialog see Figure 90 below can also be accessed by clicking t
85. fication of airspace and the boundary colours used in Plan G User Waypoints User waypoints may be created in 12 different types E Airstrip E Disused Yy POI Glider Ht Helipad Location VRP Userl do Water A Obstade A IFR User2 User Waypoints Figure 33 The 12 Predefined Types of User Waypoint User Waypoints are stored in a User Waypoint database Many of these are provided in the Plan G package in the file UserWaypoints sdf These can be optionally displayed or hidden by ticking the relevant tick box on the Ribbon If you add your own waypoints see sections 10 6 and 16 5 they can be categorised in one of the 12 options shown above This also means that only selected ones are displayed in the same way as other features Note Whenever a new version of Plan G is issued the file UserWaypoints sdf is overwritten so if you create your own waypoints be sure to keep a safe copy somewhere outside the Plan G folder Further details are included in section 16 5 Reset Defaults If you click the Reset Defaults icon all your user configured display settings are deleted and the default options are reapplied Fix Overlays If you click this button then all the data overlays e g size of airports controlled airspace and user waypoints are fixed if you zoom further in In other words the default values for higher zoom levels are overridden However if you zoom out the previously defined or default overlay settings are
86. for flight plan calculation and will be displayed in the Winds dialogue box when you open it VFR IFR A flight is conducted either under Visual Flight Rules or Instrument Flight Rules These buttons select the flight rules and the plan will estimate a suitable altitude taking flight rules into account Quick Clicking the bow and arrow icon officially called the direct to icon by GPS manufacturers reveals a very neat feature for a quick and dirty A to B plan Enter the ICAO codes for departure and destination and Plan G quickly generates a Great Circle direct track between the two This is very handy for short flights or answering questions such as Have got time to fly from A to B this evening Page 27 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 9 9 9 10 9 11 9 12 9 13 9 14 Reverse This button reverses the sequence of waypoints in a loaded flight plan This is useful for creating a new flight plan for the return trip The window title in Plan G will reflect a new name for the reversed flight plan and when you save it Plan G automatically changes the name for the new reversed plan The Edit Button When the Edit button is pressed click drag release editing is possible on the track line of your flight plan The Edit Button functionality is fully described in section 16 below The Frame Button If a flight Plan is loaded and displayed on the map clicking this button will mo
87. found either by entering its ICAO code or by entering its common name If you enter the first few letters of the name or ICAO code Plan G will display only those entries in the database starting with those letters If the desired waypoint is found in the Plan G database as you type Plan G will find all relevant entries and display them below the entry line Select the one you want often there will be only one if you enter a unique identifier by clicking on it to highlight it then click OK Clicking OK will insert it into the Plan table and if it is a pre defined User Waypoint show it on the Plan G map and will move the track line to match the order of entries in the table il Insert Waypoint 7 a gt A x k b lols Airports VORs NDBs ISECs User Wpts EG i EGAD Newtownards Newtownards United Kingdom a A EGAE Eglinton Londonderry United Kingdom Se EGBB Birmingham Birmingham United Kingdom El EGBD Derby Derby United Kingdom me EGBE Coventry Coventry United Kingdom EGBG Leicester Leicester United Kingdom EGB Gloucestershire Gloucester United Kingdom EGBK Sywell Northampton United Kingdom EGBM Tatenhill Tatenhill United Kingdom EGBN Nottingham Nottingham United Kingdom Cancel Figure 67 Inserting a Waypoint 15 4 4 Moving and Deleting Waypoints You can of course move waypoints up or down in the table or delete them See section 14 3 3 above for details Pa
88. functions Create User Waypoint Spot Elevation 144 ft Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing Lock Info Panel Figure 51 Right Click Map Dropdown Menu 14 1 1 Create User Waypoint You can create custom waypoints anywhere you like on the map without restriction This is particularly useful for VFR flight where towns lakes hills and other features are requires as points of navigational reference This subject is dealt with in detail in section 15 2 1 below 14 1 2 Spot Hevation If the user has downloaded the optional Digital Elevation Model DEM tiles from the NGDC GLOBE Global Land One km Base Elevation website see section 12 1 above then Plan G will display the elevation above sea level of the point which has been right clicked as the second item on the right click dropdown menu 14 1 3 Display and Hide Range Rings Place the hand cursor at the point on the map where you want the range rings to be centred and right click Select Display Range Rings from the dropdown menu If you want to move them simply move the cursor to the new location and select Display Range Rings again To hide the range rings right click anywhere on the map and select Hide Range Rings from the dropdown menu Range rings are hidden by default so if you exit Plan G they will not be displayed when you re start the application Range rings can be set to display in units of distance or time If
89. fy the IPv4 IPv6 machine name and port numbe appropriate sections lt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt r pipe name in the lt xml version 1 0 encoding Windows 1252 gt lt SimBase Document Type SimConnect version 1 0 gt lt Descr gt SimConnect Server Configuration lt lt Filename gt SimConnect xml lt Filename gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt A lt Example Global remote IPv6 Server Lont iguration gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt True lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv6 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt link local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt 1 lt Address gt lt Port gt REPLACE WITH PORT _NUMBER lt Port gt lt SimConnect Comm gt A lt Example Global remote IPv4 Server Conftigurati n gt Page 100 of 106 DESCE gt Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 lt SimConnect Comm gt A Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocel gt LPy4 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt global lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Address gt 192 168 1 200 lt Address gt lt SET TO THE IP ADDRESS OF THE FSX PC gt lt Port gt 4500 lt Port gt lt SET TO A VALUE BETWEEN 4500 AND 4510 gt lt Disab lt MaxRcvSize gt 4096 lt MaxRcvSize gt leNagle gt False lt DisableNagle gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt
90. ge 61 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 15 4 5 Save Your Edited Plan If you have edited your Flight Plan by adding or inserting new waypoints for example and wish to keep the original as well then go to the File Tab and select Save As select either a PLG or a PLN file and give the modified plan a new name Using the Edit Button When the Edit button is pressed click drag release editing is possible on the track line of your flight plan First load the flight plan you wish to modify if it is not already loaded Find the Edit button in the middle of the Home Ribbon If you click that button it changes colour to an orange background indicating that edit mode is active A ee Y Large 2 VORs 5 ISEC Y Below 10 000 Y ICAO Airspace 7 Airstrip Disused y POI Glider 2 Medium noe Z NDBs 0 ISEC unnamed C Above 10 000 7 SpecialUsel1 B Helipad Location O VRP Userl Sage LS L TA SE ese O Small C Lower Airways 2 Centre E Special Use2 Water A Obstacle A IFR User2 Defaults Airports Navaids Airspace User Waypoints Layer con l A Harpenden e Map Satellite Hybrid Terrain Earth Wel a A ais 22 Garden Gy Hento Me A f o ce PIES gt ma Harlow amp Eerk ed Hemel atea Hoddesdon gt SS A ca i ws K o Se rut f X o eS E gt j gt 3 514 ue Potters Bar Waltham E een Radlett if L Abbey Ny wy 4 Ingatest fsha
91. ght plan 15 1 1 New Hight Plan To start clear the flight plan memory of any existing plan by clicking the File tab at the top left of the main Plan G window to open the drop down menu then click on New Plan This clears the flight plan memory and expands the Plan Data Expander on the right of the map although at this point that may not be obvious because it contains no data There are other important items in the File tab menu which will be described later Alternatively click the blank sheet icon in the Quick Access Toolbar which achieves the same result If no flight plan is loaded then there is no visible result from either of these two actions However if a Flight Plan is already loaded and the map is showing the waypoints and legs of that existing plan those legs and waypoints will be erased but the map location will remain centred on the same position as for that plan until the User changes the map view with the usual tools 15 1 2 Hight Conditions The Home ribbon menu contains the options you need to set up the conditions for your new flight plan The selections made here are used to calculate the headings and elapsed leg times in the Flight Plan and are dynamically adjusted in the Plan expander on the right of the map window if you make changes These conditions are saved to your new Flight Plan when you click the Save or Save As buttons Cruising airspeed Altitude Wind and VFR or IFR can be enter
92. gure 79 Over the Lakeland Hills Add Scafell Pike to your route as before When you fly this route alongside Bassenthwaite Lake overhead Derwentwater and down the Borrowdale Valley to Scafell Pike you will find the view hereabouts quite spectacular in default scenery but with a good mesh and photographic scenery simply stunning You now want to head more west to Seascale Latitude N54 24 00 Longitude W003 29 00 But there are some things you need to watch out for Open the Map ribbon and look at the Airspace group of options Switch on Below 10 000 feet Special Use 1 and Special Use 2 That looks ominous There is a large orange circle around Seascale itself and just south of that a very large red area Click on the edge of the orange circle In the Information Expander you will see Restricted Area Sellafield SFC 2200 You cannot overfly one of Britain s oldest and most famous Nuclear Power Stations below 2 200 feet But note also that if you move the mouse into the open area a little to the east you cannot fly above 5 500 feet because that is the Warton Radar Advisory Service Area You must contact Warton Radar for permission to fly up there Warton is an RAF station just south east of Blackpool The big red area is Eskmeals Danger Area from the surface upwards to the stratosphere SFC Eskmeals is or was a naval gun testing range where they fire d big shells out to sea Avoid
93. h 2011 21 1 IPv6 is available in Windows Vista and Windows 7 and may be installed in Windows XP if you wish You need to Enable the one you want to use by making sure the line lt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt is present For the other Elements you can change the line to lt Disabled gt True lt Disabled gt but this isn t essential Plan G will use the protocol set in Global Options For Ipv6 connections Note that lt Scope gt needs to be set to link local not global Example 1 This example contains four Profiles one for a local pipe connection two for remote network IPv6 connections and one for a remote IPv4 connection Note that the Pipe protocol cannot be used for networked connections lt Example Local Pipe Server Configuration gt lt xml version 1 0 encoding Windows 1252 gt lt SimBase Document Type SimConnect version 1 0 gt lt Descr gt SimConnect Server Configuration lt Descr gt lt Filename gt SimConnect xml lt Filename gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt Pipe lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt local lt Scope gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Port gt lt Port gt THE PORT IS GIVEN NO VALUE lt SimConnect Comm gt A A lt Example Global remote IPv6 Server Configuration gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt F
94. h instrument approaches then you will want to know what the diagrams mean When you first click on the Instrument Approach option there may be a pause while Plan G loads the information then a small Approaches window is displayed showing all the approach procedures available for that airport in FS There may be several others available for real world flight The window is split in two by a black divider bearing the word Transitions If you click on one of the displayed approach procedures two things happen e A blue line and a red line appear overlaid on the Plan G map at the airport e Some codes appear below the Transitions divider in the Approaches box The blue line is the track the aircraft should be flying inbound to the airport on the runway heading approaching the Final Approach Point FAP In the UK this is typically between 4 and 7 nautical miles from touchdown depending on how cramped the airspace is around the airport In the USA and Canada where congested airspace is less of a problem this can be 10 or more nm from touchdown The red line is the Missed Approach track If you do not have the runway in sight by about 2 3rds of a nautical mile before touchdown 200ft above the airfield elevation Page 50 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 called the Missed Approach Point MAP then you must carry out a Missed Approach As illustrated you fly the runway heading outbound for 3 or 4 na
95. hbeny eeatastata hejaatal abe eenia 11 A AAA O AA 11 20 S RibbonAuto Hid aaa dd aa 12 THEFILEMENU IN DETAL ias odia 13 O II ICAA 13 O A lee ear E A acu E A 13 8 3 A O dianieh scot 13 ON r 1 EIN o E ETA Y 14 IN II A 14 A A A 15 8 52 UNES aa as ltda 19 of vii Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 8 53 OO CIS a A a 19 3 105 ES CONNECCION Sena e e a ae as a 20 A A 21 A A TA 22 8 5 A TA 23 NS 24 THE HOME RIBBON IN DETAL a noia a 25 QT A O sunset TE A AAE 25 9 2 PM A A thane ence ate au ma A 26 9 37 Start ROSIE OM ecru acre T a a ae e e a eT 26 A E AE aacastenhs an daenins 27 EDs A O Aa E EE a aa 27 9 65 WINS A Nin 27 Ms MR IER igre ar a E E E E a 27 Sada QUIER Os 27 A E 28 9 10 The Edit BUON y O as 28 OLE PNG Eran Button ura ti aaa 28 BZ COpy RO la dad 28 gula Range RIOS a e dae 28 A A EE AE E tea hah eades toate ean Satta 28 9AL5 RIM celta cesta cinta A A A diate 29 9 16 Connect Disconnect Srvc tutesiesnsanduetatlat cents Mtn dicta dxmnndenenataatenmyaatens 30 9 17 Map Panning CONTO laicidad cta 30 THE MAP RIBBON IN DETAL iia 31 10 1 User Configured Settings prisa ad 31 10 2 Reset Display Detallada acia 31 OED SPU ONS E EAE EE A E E 32 LA AV DAS sist A PE A E NE EN iter ee weaciiaans 32 10 5 ASPE A AE o 34 10 6 SUSI Waypoints i sareren ar a A a namaysetens 35 10 7 Reset ST WES rita ta dede iia 35 10 8 TERM CL YS ac ad id Dia 35 ii of vii Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011
96. he Launcher button small diagonal arrow in the Flight Simulator connections tab of the Home ribbon below the Lock Sync Free buttons 19 2 1 Connection Using Pipe Set Connect with radio button to Auto Network Mode Select Pipe from the dropdown options FSX Computer Enter either localhost or 127 0 0 1 without quotes Server Port Pipe Leave blank important COo o Home Map Data View New Plan Select Option FS Connection Parameters Open Locations General Connect with Auto SimConnect FSUIPC Units Save As SimConnect Settings suund Network Mode Pipe Print A FS Connection FSX Computer localhost Help Server Port Pipe GPS Panel ERE uses Airera z pr Traffic Weather General Figure 90 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using Pipe 19 2 2 Connection Using IPv4 Set Connect with radio button to Auto Network Mode Select IPv4 from the dropdown options FSX Computer Enter either localhost or 127 0 0 1 without quotes Server Port Pipe Enter 0 Without quotes Page 84 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 FS Connection Parameters General Connect with Auto SimConnect FSUIPC SimConnect Settings Network Mode IPv4 X FSX Computer localhost Server Port Pipe Figure 91 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using Pv4 19 2 3 Connection Using IPv6 Set Connect with radio button to Auto Network Mode Select IP
97. hen connected to FS ocations open Aircraft Breadcrumb Trail Units Y Show Moving Y Show Parked _ Show trail Save As E Log trail Shift F6 toggles traffic on off E Log trai Sounds Colour Rea O Print Range Km 50 olour Re A FS Connection idth Refresh rate seconds 10 waite 2 f Help GPS Panel User Aircraft Weather General Figure 22 Traffic Options Note Al flight trail display and recording is selected Off by default when Plan G is first installed the same as your own flight trail 8 5 8 Weather The Display Nearest Weather tick box makes Plan G get the weather from FSX This may be user generated within FS or may be from an online system e g if FSX is set for Jeppesen then that is the weather station data displayed If connected to an online service such as IVAO the weather fed to FS from IVAO via the IVap pilot client software is in turn passed to Plan G Update Local updates Plan G with the wind setting from FS at the user s location when connected to an online weather service Home Map Data View New Plan Select Option Weather Parameters Open Locations Y Download weather from NWS When Connected to FS Units dia Save As E Display Nearest Weather Y Update Local Sounds Print FS Connection Help GPS Panel SEE alrcrate par Traffic General Figure 23 Weather Parameters Page 24 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011
98. hich you can use is from 4500 to 4510 inclusive Technical Note IPv6 addresses are 128 bit hexadecimal numbers Each pair of bytes octets is separated by a colon viz ab32 12cd But they can be shorthanded so you would rarely have to write out the full string e Leading Os in a pair can be omitted 34d is the same as 034d e Pairs that are all Os can be omitted E3D7 0000 0000 0000 51F4 can be written as E3D7 51F4 but you can only do that once per ip e Site Local fec through fef is the IP6 equivalent to the IP4 192 168 and 10 0 private subnets ie they are not propagated onto the Internet They will pass through routers so can span an entire organisation e Link Local fe8 through feb are also private addresses like 192 168 etc that don t get propagated to the Internet BUT they restricted to a single LAN so they will not pass through a router Page 92 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 There is a checksum at the end of the address 11 or 13 etc This does not form part of the address More information about IPv6 is available at http ipv6int net systems windows xp ipv6 html 20 3 3 Modifying an Existing a SimConnect xml file It is strongly recommended that you make a copy of the existing file on your computer before you modify it The code in blue above should then be added to the existing file just before the final lt SimBase Document gt Do not copy the code in red int
99. hich one you need You can of course print them all but they print separately The Print button is a Split button Clicking the icon top half of button activates the default action in this case Print Preview Clicking on the lower half of the button opens a small menu Select Quick Print from the menu to print directly without a preview window If no flight plan has been loaded or newly created the Flightplan print button is greyed out If no DEM data is installed the Terrain print button is greyed out Start Position Plan G extracts the runways and parking spaces available at your planned departure airport from the FSX or FS9 database Initially the icon is a faded blue but once you have created your flight plan it is displayed in a crisper dark blue This indicates that it is available for use l Set Airport Start Position gt a 9 a 27 PARKING 2 GATE SMALL GATE 3 GATE MEDIUM PARKING 4 GATE SMALL PARKING 5 GATE SMALL PARKING 6 GATE SMALL PARKING 7 GATE HEAVY I GATE 14 GATE HEAVY GATE 12 GATE SMALL E GATE 11 GATE SMALL GATE 10 GATE SMALL GATE 9 GATE SMALL a GATE 8 GATE MEDIUM GATE 7 GATE MEDIUM E Cancel Figure 25 Start Position Window Click on the icon to display a window containing the options Some airports have more options available than others usually depending on how big the airport is in terms of runways taxiways importance even Wh
100. ight Plan Right click the new User Waypoint on the Map and the name of the waypoint will be displayed in the menu as part of an add to flight plan option x Add user waypoint HFRes Hanningfield Reservoir to plan Edit User Waypoint F Delete User Waypoint from Database ET Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings Lock Info Panel ato Xx a Figure 74 Add User Waypoint to Flight Plan Select this option and the waypoint is added to the Flight Plan The new waypoint is added as the last item and the track line will then show a route which you probably don t intend to fly Right click on the flight plan to display the dropdown menu which allows you to move the new waypoint into its correct position The track line will adjust accordingly See section 15 4 4 above for more on editing flight plans Modifying User Waypoints You may wish to move a waypoint slightly change its name or identifier If you right click on the new waypoint the dropdown has three new items which are reasonably Page 66 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 self explanatory If you select Edit User Waypoint the Create User Waypoint dialogue is again displayed although now with the window title Edit User Waypoint at the top You can make changes directly in the text boxes including moving the waypoint by changing the Latitude and or Longitude values r 7 4 Edit User Waypoint 5 Loca
101. ikely reason is that you have not selected the correct connection option which must be FSUIPC in the Global Options window Less commonly you may have set up FSUIPC incorrectly Be sure to read the FSUIPC installation instructions It has to be said though that FSUIPC is almost always trouble free in use so the problem is most likely to be something you have done or not done Page 87 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 FLIGHT SIMULATOR AND PLAN G ON A NETWORK You can install Plan G on a second PC the Network PC that is connected to the FS PC through a home TCP IP network either wirelessly WiFi IEEE 802 11a b g n or wired via Ethernet Firstly follow the steps in the Prerequisites and Installation sections of this manual sections 3 and 4 to install Plan G on the Network PC It does not need to be installed on the FS PC Firewall software must be configured to allow TCP communications on the port you set below this includes Windows Firewall and any router firewall and applies to both computers FS PC and Network PC FSX users can choose between using SimConnect or using Peter Dowson s FSUIPC4 program the same choice and for the same reason as connecting on a single PC i e SimConnect may not always work and finding out why isn t always easy whereas FSUIPC almost always works However SimConnect is the preferred connection option for FSX It is more efficient faster and provides optimal contr
102. int to the mouse cursor with the range and bearing values displayed in the Information Panel Right clicking any point again will show a check mark on the dropdown menu against the QDM Range and Bearing line indicating that QDM Line drawing is ON Clicking on QDM Range and Bearing again on the dropdown menu will remove the check mark and turn OFF the QDM line Page 48 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 If you wish to draw a new line then with the present line displayed right click on the new point you wish to measure from The dropdown menu will be displayed again but if you right click on the map at any point away from the menu it will disappear and the new line will be drawn from the point you selected to measure from 14 1 5 Lock Info Panel The information displayed on the Information Panel as you move the mouse round the map can be locked so that the data for a particular area is constantly displayed even though the mouse pointer is moved away To lock information hover the mouse over the area on the map which displays the information required then right click and select Lock Info Panel from the dropdown Create User Waypoint Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing Lock Info Panel Figure 54 Lock the Info Panel Create User Waypoint Display Range Rings Hide Range Rings QDM Range and Bearing Unlock Info Panel Figure 55 Unlock the Info Panel To return to ch
103. istance to Waypoint e ETE Estimated Time En Route to Destination how long will it take from here to get to the final destination e Time to Waypoint e Heading to Waypoint User Airc raft This page sets up options about your own aircraft Firstly you can choose whether to display your own aircraft or not You have the ability to show your flight trail or track made good what it is called depends on who you talk to You can change the colour and line width if the defaults are not to your liking You can also record and save your trail for future analysis Practice those overhead joins or procedural turns and then see what flight profile you actually achieved against the neat version on the approach chart Note that flight trail display and recording is selected Off by default when Plan G is first installed The three radio buttons Free Sync and Lock describe how the yellow user aircraft behaves in relation to the map These functions are also available and the option can be changed from the Home ribbon The tooltips describe exactly the behaviour in each case Page 22 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 8 5 7 New Plan Open Save As Print Help Map Data View Select Option Locations Units Sounds FS Connection GPS Panel User Aircraft User Aircraft Parameters when connected to FS Aircraft Y Display F6 Refresh rate seconds 5 Map Sync O Free Sync Lock V
104. kmark button to open a files window If you enter a file name of your choice the current map view is saved with that name as a bookmark When you are elsewhere in the world and want to quickly return to the bookmarked map view just click the small dropdown arrow below the Bookmark button on the ribbon and select Open from the two available choices The bookmark files window again opens but this time click on the bookmarked file name of the location you wish to go to and click the Open button at the bottom right of the files window The window immediately closes and the map view changes quickly to the selected location Page 28 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 9 15 KML KML is a file format used to display geographic data in an Earth browser such as Google Earth Google Maps and Google Maps for Mobile KML code is based on the XML standard and adds features that can be created with the Google Earth user interface These features include placemarks descriptions ground overlays paths and polygons When a text file is saved with a kml or kmz extension Earth browsers know how to display it In Plan G kml or kmz files can be opened and the features coded therein will be displayed as an overlay on the Plan G map However any kml or kmz file used must be located on a web site due to a Google Maps limitation When the user clicks the KML button a file window opens in which the URL of the KML file must
105. l almost all the functions of Plan G Page 8 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 6 4 The Main Window 6 5 6 6 6 7 When Plan G starts the main window displays a Google map of the location where you were when you last exited the program and at the same magnification Features are displayed in accordance with the user defined options on the Map ribbon The Overview Map At the bottom right of the main screen there is a small overview map with a moveable rectangular highlight As you mouse drag the highlight about the main map display follows in synchronization This provides a quick method of adjusting the area viewed It can be minimized by clicking the launcher button the small diagonal arrow box in the bottom right hand corner The Expander Panel This panel provides information on a range of topics Plan The tabular Plan itself Weather When connected to FS shows the FS weather for the nearest weather station to the aircraft and the en route weather This FS weather may of course be external real weather depending on the source being used by FS itself e GPS Panel Displays five of the standard six pack flight instruments which are fitted directly in front of the pilot in most modern aircraft before the advent of glass cockpits The missing one is the Attitude indicator e Trail Displays user selectable previous flights as a trace across the map Aerodrome If you right cli
106. la Ned 41 Figure DGPS Pla A a 41 Figure 46 The GPS Panel Alive during a Flight with a Flight Plan Loaded 42 Figure 47 Traffic Expander nia iedaS 44 Figure 48 A Typical Flight lada a 44 Figure 49 Trail Analysis Vertical Profile ecssescsssssescssssesscssseesssessssseserssseasers 45 Figure 50 Plan G Generated Airport Diagram ooocoicnnccicicnocccnoncnnconononncononnnonononno conos 45 Figure 51 Right Click Map Dropdown MeN ccceccsseseescseeccseeseescseesecseseeeesseeeeseeaeees 47 Figure 52 Displaying and Hiding Range RINQS c cocconccnnnccnononncrnononncononaronononnononos 48 Figure 53 QDM Di ta 48 Figure 54 Lock the Info Panel near nodos 49 Figure 55 Unlock the Info Panel aid 49 Figure 56 Right click on Airport urinario idaens 49 Figure 57 Flight Plan Waypoint Dropdown OptiONS occcconcccnconoccnnccconcoconnnonononnonnnos 52 Figure 58 Position fix from two VOR Solita dd 53 Figure 59 The Wrong CAM candelas 54 Figure 60 Setting Flight Plan ConditiONS oocoocononccnoconnconoconncononorocononnononncnnononos 55 Page 103 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Figure 61 Right Click Dropdown Start Flight Plan from Here 56 Figure 62 Using the Find Function to Locate an Airport ccc cceeseseeseeeereeseeeeseeee 56 Figure 63 Right click Dropdown Add Waypoint to Plan o oococoonocicccncccoccnncnos 57 Figure 64 Move your Aircraft but not to
107. ltiuser amp Al e Trail Analysis And in the bottom panel below the plan e Flight plan waypoint distance e waypoint heading and e course deviation Page 79 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 L__ aa a earest Weather Samoni eae io Joss 1 a A Pat Plan Rote Weather Ls AN RS a Figure 87 Connected to FS Plan G can display a lot of valuable data about your flight While Plan G is connected to FS the Flight Simulator caption under the Connect and Disconnect buttons on the Home ribbon will change to one of the following according to the connection that has been made FSX SimConnect FSX FSUIPC FS9 FSUIPC When you click the Disconnect icon the caption returns to Flight Simulator Communication Protocols In order for Plan G to communicate with FS data has to be transferred using a specific set of rules the communications protocol FS9 users will need Peter Dowson s free FSUIPC 3 Flight Simulator Universal Inter Process Communication program to be able to connect to Plan G either on the same PC or over a network FSUIPC may be downloaded from http www schiratti com dowson html free of charge FSX normally uses a special Microsoft interface protocol SimConnect for communicating with other Windows programs either locally or across a network See http msdn microsoft com en us esp cc835021 aspx for an introduction to
108. lysis import FS Weather data etc as described above which significantly enhances the value of Plan G If you get a connection error or a connection time out error the most likely reason is that you have not configured Plan G with the correct SimConnect parameters in the Global Options window Section 21 below deals with addressing SimConnect problems If the advice in that section does not result in SimConnect successfully connecting the problem may be tricky to solve If you have other programs which use SimConnect and you are unsure of how to correct SimConnect problems please do not experiment but seek expert advice Connecting to FSX with FSUIPC If using SimConnect does not work for you SimConnect can be troublesome on some computers and solving the problem is not trivial unfortunately then use the FSX version of Peter Dowson s FSUIPC This is FSUIPC 4 which uses SimConnect internally and may be downloaded from http www schiratti com dowson html free of charge Peter Dowson provides very friendly and attentive support for his programs on this forum http forums simflight com viewforum php f 54 The FSUIPCA installer program copies a file called FSUIPC4 DLL into the FSX Modules folder along with the FSUIPC4 User Guide pdf When you next run FSX after accepting the newly installed FSUIPC4 modules there will be a new FSUIPC entry in the Add Ons menu FSUIPCs first action will be to ask you to regis
109. m right of the preset zoom buttons group opens a Set Zoom Presets window where you can change the default settings to your choice Keep Window on Top Click the pushpin icon and Plan G stays on top of all other windows This can be handy if you are running with two monitors you wouldn t want to use this feature while flying with a single monitor if you have other windows getting in the way on occasion It can be a bit unnerving if you have Plan G in full screen mode as it can at first seem that your computer is not responding to mouse clicks on other running applications in the task bar Page 39 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 THE DATA EXPANDERS On the right of the map is a small table of labels with an arrow in a circle next to each These are the Data Expanders If you click on the arrow in a circle symbol the selection clicked expands to show the data beneath it Clicking the arrow in a circle again collapses the relevant section once more The arrow symbols indicate whether the section is currently collapsed or expanded Dragging the left hand boundary of the Expander area will enlarge or shrink the Expander Area and that position will be remembered between sessions a Plan Waypoint Figure 40 Data Expanded Figure 41 Data Collapsed Arrow symbol Arrow Symbol The Data Expander panel can be switched off by clicking the Expander Panel tick box on the Home Ribbon Similarly if it is not visible wh
110. m this menu you can select each of the Expander Panel options and select whether to show it hide it or display it in its own Tool Window Tool Windows stay on top of other windows and do not change position unless you drag them to a new position with the mouse The Tool Window feature is especially useful for viewing flight plans as it can be awkward trying to view a flight Plan in the Expander Panel having to scroll left and right to check different elements 1 Satellite FlightPlan Waypoint Description Heading M Time Dist nm Track M Track T G S kts MEF Passing Alt ATA EGLK Blackbushe 3 0 p 000 EGHP Popham 16 6 a 242 OLD SARUM ALDERBURY y 20 5 47 244 CPT SAM 038 33 nm 113 15 3 nm EGHA Compton Abbas 16 8 y N EXETER AXMINSTER J 33 8 EX EXETER 337 KHz 116 EGTE Exeter 259 Start Position 7 Total Distance 103 9 nm Wind 241 at 9 kts Total Time 1 39 Suggested Altitude 4000 ft TAS 72 Kts Ze Figure 39 A Flight Plan viewed in a Tool Window Altemative Zoom Controls If the Google Maps standard zoom controls are not to your liking there are a pair of zoom buttons as an alternative In addition there are three configurable preset zoom buttons By default they are set to 8 times 10 times and 12 times zoom level Clicking the small launcher button the diagonal arrow symbol at the botto
111. n Region and is principally the domain of light aircraft microlights balloons etc Most commercial flights and all heavy category aircraft almost exclusively conduct their flights in Controlled Airspace CAS under ATC control When planning your flights it is essential to know therefore where you can and cannot go and Plan G provides the information In addition Plan G splits the airspace displayed into two below 10 000ft and above 10 00ft again by ticking the appropriate tick box In the real world unpressurised aircraft are not permitted to maintain sustained flight above 10 000 feet 12 500ft in some countries because the crew cannot take in sufficient oxygen to maintain their mental faculties and are prone to make irrational decisions Not good in an aeroplane ATC P A Class Controlled I FR SVFR VFR Ciearanc Separation Traffic I nformation A Required Provided for all flights N A B Required Provided for all flights N A C Required Provided for all IFR amp Provided for all VFR SVFR D Required Provided for IFR SVFR to Provided for all IFR and q other IFR SVFR VFR E Required Provided for IFR SVFR to Provided for all IFR and for IFR other IFR SVFR VFR where possible Provided for IFR SVFR to F Not other IFR SVFR where Provided where Required f possible possible Not Provided where G Required Nok proyiged possible Figure 32 ICAO Airspace Classification So if yo
112. n which that entails Now any geographical feature which exists in the vast global mapping system of Google Maps can be included in your flight plans Plan G adds overlays to Google Maps pertinent to Flight and Flight Planning Airports Controlled Airspace Prohibited and Restricted Areas Instrument Approach Paths and many more Flight Plans can be graphically modified adding deleting or dragging waypoints to new positions with the mouse User defined waypoints can be created on the fly as you build a plan Plan G runs as a web style application using its own inbuilt Internet Explorer browser Page 1 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 2 FEATURES e Google Maps interface for rich topographical and satellite detail e Shows airspace airports and navaids on the map from Flight Sim data e Configurable levels of detail objects displayed for each zoom setting e Vertical Route requires additional Digital Elevation Model DEM download e Fully editable plans can be saved in FSX or FS9 format or in Plan G s own format e Existing FS plans can be loaded e Flight plans can be reversed at the click of the mouse e Flight Plans can be annotated and waypoints cross referenced to ground based radio navaids e Either map or Pilot s Log PLOG or both can be printed e Customisable database of user waypoints Visual Reference Points VRPs airstrips etc Many useful waypoints are included in the download e
113. nationalities use different measuring systems especially the difference between the USA Canada and Europe in order to be as universal as possible Plan G can display measurements in Stateside units feet and inches Hg British units metres millibars or European units Metres Kilometres Hectopascals Europe uses Hectopascals for atmospheric pressure but these are numerically identical to millibars Units can be selected for Runway Dimensions Speed and Distance Altimeter Setting Time and Date for English American or European preferences The rest of the world tends to adopt one of these three systems although Plan G allows you to select a non Plan G v2 0 0 463 Carlisle to Liverpool Map Data View New Plan Select Option General Units Runway Dimensions Locations Open Metres Feet Save As Speed and Distance 9 Nautical Miles Knots Miles MPH Kilometres KPH Sounds Print QNH Altimeter FS Connection Millibars HPa Inches Hg Help GPS Panel Nav LOG Time Display UTC 9 Local User Aircraft Nav LOG Date Display gt o ES exit a et DD MM MM DD Weather General Figure 17 The Units Page The default system used is the English system with local time and date used in the printable Nav Log Just click the relevant radio button to change a setting Settings are remembered by Plan G so it will probably be a once only operation 8 5 3 Sounds You can choose to play ale
114. nd distance from a point You can also get a fix if you have only the angle from two known points relative to a common axis That principle is called Triangulation In aviation the angle is of course the Magnetic Bearing from the waypoint QDR and the common axis is Magnetic North In flight if a pilot tunes in a VOR on his NAV1 radio then turns the Omni bearing selector OBS until the CDI needle is centred and the TO flag is displayed and also observing the DME instrument the pilot is able to obtain a position fix for the aircraft Page 52 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 which will be for example 262 TO the VOR i e broadly to the west of the aircraft and 22 4 miles from it In other words The QDM of the Aircraft to the VOR is 262 By selecting a second VOR within range and carrying out the same exercise the position fix may be confirmed or the accuracy of the pilot s rough plot on the chart improved remember he she is flying the aircraft at the same time Ideally the radials from the two VORs should intersect as nearly at right angles as possible VOR 2 Figure 58 Position fix from two VORs In Plan G if you select Cross References you can enter two radio Navaids in the dialogue box which opens Click the Add button for the first cross reference then select the table you wish to search either VOR or NDB by clicking the appropriate tab at the top of the win
115. ng In fact if you don t fly VFR often you may have discovered that short VFR flights can be just as challenging as IFR flight across continents When you fly the route don t forget to complete the task properly by taxiing to Liverpool s General Aviation apron at the east end of the airport Park on stand E_Parking 11 Ramp_GA_Medium shut down and secure the aircraft If you need an Airport diagram to find out where E_Parking 11 Ramp_GA_Medium is it s an FS parking spot so won t be shown on the official CAA Aerodrome Diagram will it right click the airport symbol once more and select Aerodrome Chart If you can t see it clearly you can mouse wheel scroll to make it bigger or in the View Ribbon click the Expanders button and select to show the airport in a Tool Window See section 13 7 above for details You can see the G A Apron with small blue circles for the parking stands FlightPlan Heading M Time Dist nm Track M Track T G S kts MEF Passing Alt ATA XRef1 Carlisle 000 00 000 1 0 CARUSLE WIGTON 239 244 0 96 3000 2500 DCS Continue climb to 4000ft gt E i i af 231 8 7 nm KESWK Keswick Town 181 1w1 177 SCAFLL Scafell Pike Waypoint Po 2 201 EGNL Walney Island 88 189 BLACKPOOL FLEETWOOD GOLF COUR 155 152 EGNH Blackpool 181 O i aar BLACKPOOL MARSHSIDE 162 z 160 J Top of Descent
116. nnect Comm gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv4 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt global lt Scope gt lt Address gt 192 168 0 2 lt Address gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt MaxRecvSize gt 4096 lt MaxRecvSize gt lt DisableNagle gt False lt DisableNagle gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Network Mode IPv6 FSX Computer IPv6 address e g fe80 899d 395 c919 168f Server Port Pipe 4506 FS Connection Parameters General Connect with Auto SimConnect FSUIPC SimConnect Settings Network Mode IPv6 y FSX Computer fe30 399d 395 919 168f Server Port Pipe 4506 Figure 97 A SimConnect Configuration for IPv6 with Windows 7 In Figure 97 above the corresponding SimConnect profile would be lt SimConnect Comm gt lt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv6 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt link local lt Scope gt lt Address gt fe80 899 d 395 c919 168f lt Address gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt MaxRecvSize gt 4096 lt MaxRecvSize gt lt DisableNagle gt False lt DisableNagle gt lt SimConnect Comm gt Page 94 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Note Link local is an IPv6 mechanism for accessing computers on a network that does not involve traversing a router It is required for link local IP6 addresses which sta
117. o pa M25 koa wrai Rickmansworth _ Bilfencay Brentwood LA Z v 2 j E M25 T z Basildon CN 4 E es TA y ER oO y E H Stanf rd le Hope pia i ie ie AAA P TD e ADAM Y Ockendon ONO Le TAN ROG 0120 y 0 24 00 Indsor Colnbrook oat y Richmond gt ae AI oF O Stanes j Gartipfa j Gravesend Egham taines T Virgini k A a XC sunpity on hames 5 21 0 nerisey Shepperton pp Weybridge j k i da Sham PRISE Esher gt 5 j PATA RR lt 3 g xy 1 f AA H a A A ry J CRI EL SS Epsom Bidnbtead hey f 4 Map dat 02008 rele Atlas 15 Sedena E Zoom 10 Lat N51 42 54 424043 Lon E0 11 17 307129 Alt G Speed EX ETA Next Figure 68 Drag Handles in Edit Mode Highlighted here in Red Circles g Kings of amp A A nam Langi al wen gt Chipping Look at your flight plan on the map and you will see small square grey drag handles in the middle of each leg of the track line of the displayed flight plan If you have a long leg between waypoints you may need to drag or zoom the map in order to see the drag handle on that leg Note that these are the same shape as waypoint icons but are grey rather than white so be careful to select the correct icon If you hover your mouse pointer which will be a standard Windows drag hand icon over one of these drag handles the drag hand icon changes to a select hand icon Be sure to choose a zo
118. o 74 Figure 82 Seaforth VRP Deleted from the Plan occconcocnccnnncnnoonnncrncnnoncnonno nono 75 Figure 83 Instrument Approach and Route to Alternate eeceeeeseeeereeeee 75 Figure 84 VNAV Profile is the Orange Line oococconocconoconnconononncrnonorocononnononnonnononos 76 Figure 85 The Completed Plica 77 Figure 86 Forney Aircoupe G ARHC Over Derwentwater sssssssssssssssisesisirereseseses 78 Figure 87 Connected to FS Plan G can display a lot of valuable data OU YOU A E E AE E ST 80 Figure 88 Global Options FS Connection Tab o oococoncccnococnnnconornnnnoncrnonoronononnononos 82 Figure 89 Connected to FSO with FSWIPC cc 83 Figure 90 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using Pipe coooconccocicciccocincononncnnos 84 Figure 91 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using IPV4 ococonocoonociccocicccccnncnnos 85 Figure 92 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using IPV6 o oococccicnociccocicconcnncnnos 85 Page 104 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 22 2 22 3 Figure 93 Connected to FSX with SIMCONNECE wiscscescssasesscssescvsesrsccessesedtesserednessonaeiaees 85 Figure 94 Connected to FSX With FSUlPC oooccccocicccococcononoonconononnornoononoo corno nonnonnononos 87 Figure 95 Connected to FSO sion ri 90 Figure 96 A SimConnect Configuration for IPv4 with Windows XP 93 Figure 97 A SimConnect Configuration for IPv6 with Windows T c
119. o run slowly If it continues to run your computer might become unresponsive te Figure 30 Script Message Generated When Trying To Display Too Much Data You should click the Yes option and go to the Map tab and deselect some object types or reset your view settings to the default by clicking the Reset All button However if Plan G has become unresponsive due to trying to display too many objects at your present zoom level you should exit Plan G open the Plan G folder usually in C Program Files and find a program file called Mapreset exe If you run this program e g by double clicking the file name the features displayed at each zoom level are reset to the default You can then restart Plan G Page 31 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 10 3 10 4 If you have this problem frequently possibly because of the specification or processing speed of your PC there is a more permanent solution described in Appendix 3 at section 22 3 of this manual Airports The Airports in Plan G are extracted from Flight Simulator and stored in the relevant database Airports close in the real world and new ones are built Flight Simulator is however frozen in time FSX is frozen at 2005 FS9 at 2004 so there will be differences from the real world in Plan G as there are in FS At each zoom level airports are selectively displayed the largest only being displayed at low zoom levels map displays a large lan
120. o the existing file once is enough Save the file Again if you choose to use the example above then only the computer address in bold needs to be changed to match your FSX PC s IP address Other examples are given in Section 21 below with more detailed explanation should you be interested If you don t wish to get as technical as this simply ask for help on the very active Plan G Forum There are Techies by the score there who will be only too willing to answer all your questions 20 3 4 Configure the SimConnect Settings in Plan G Once you have the SimConnect xml file created on the FSX PC you can configure Plan G on the Network PC to find the FSX data on the networked PC In the Plan G program select the Global Options menu the FS Connection tab Select Auto preferably or SimConnect as the connection method The SimConnect Settings should be set as described below and shown in Figs 10 02 amp 10 03 below Network Mode IPv4 FSX Computer IP address e g 192 168 0 2 or computer network name Server Port Pipe 4506 FS Connection Parameters General Connect with Auto SimConnect 0 FSUIPC SimConnect Settings Network Mode IPy4 FSX Computer 192 168 0 2 Server Port Pipe 4506 Figure 96 A SimConnect Configuration for Pv4 with Windows XP Page 93 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 In Figure 96 above the corresponding SimConnect profile would be lt SimCo
121. ofile displayed as a solid orange line If the Plan Elevation Window is open when you enter passing altitudes the VNAV profile is not displayed until you close and reopen it Page 59 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 15 3 2 Default VNAV Profile If you choose not to build a vertical navigation profile Plan G builds a default one anyway based on the diagram below One minute to VNAV profile pS Top of Descent Flight Altitude s e 5500 ft min s we Glide Slope 1 deg 500 ft to target altitude gt Target Circuit Height 1000 ft 3nm 2 Runway Figure 66 Vertical Navigation Profile Diagram Plan G calculates a Top of Descent ToD point based on your altitude and true airspeed For example if you are flying at 120 knots 2nm per minute at 3 000ft and the rate of descent is set at 500ft per minute then to descend to 1000ft will take 4 minutes in which time you will have travelled 8 nautical miles The target position is normally 1000ft above the destination and 3 miles before it i e at circuit height and in a comfortable position to join the visual circuit So the ToD point in this case would be 11nm from your destination One minute before the ToD point an alert sound and popup message One minute to VNAV Profile is displayed In the example above this would be 12nm before touchdown A second alert sounds 500ft above the target altitud
122. ol over the information available First Find Your Sim Section 8 5 1 above describes how to set up the locations in Plan G so that it knows where to get its Flight Simulator data This must be done before attempting connect the Sim to Plan G whether it be FS9 or FSX Connecting to FS9 from a Networked PC FS9 users will have to install Peter Dowson s free FSUIPC Flight Simulator Universal Inter Process Communication program http www schiratti com dowson html on the FS9 PC to be able to connect to Plan G You will also need to buy Peter Dowson s WideFS and use it with either with the freeware FS9 version of Peter Dowson s FSUIPC FSUIPC 3 or you can if you wish buy the full featured version of FSUIPC 3 FSUIPC 3 may be downloaded from http www schiratti com dowson html Peter Dowson provides very friendly and attentive support for his programs on this forum http forums simflight com viewforum php f 54 The FSUIPC3 installer program copies a file called FSUIPC DLL into the FS9 Modules folder along with the FSUIPC User Guide pdf When you next run FS9 after accepting the newly installed FSUIPC modules there will be a new FSUIPC entry in the Add Ons menu FSUIPCs first action will be to ask you to register the program If you simply want to use FSUIPC3 to connect FS9 to add on programs on the same PC you do not have to continue with registration of the program Page 88 of 106 Plan G Us
123. om level at which the drag handle is easily selected Then left click Page 62 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 and drag the handle to the waypoint you want to insert in your plan The new waypoint can be a named object such as a User Waypoint an airport VOR or NDB Alternatively if you drag the drag handle to an unidentified point on the map the inserted waypoint will have no icon of its own and Plan G will add it to the plan in the expanded data area with a default name wpt01 wpt02 etc You can create a user waypoint at that point but Plan G will not automatically add your new User Waypoint You must add it to the plan by again dragging the appropriate drag handle to the new user waypoint To avoid confusion and clutter you should delete the default one from the Plan by selecting it in the tabular plan right clicking on it and selecting Delete waypoint These waypoints are only temporary they are added to the flight plan but not to the User Waypoints database They are saved with the plan and redisplayed if you reload that plan but if you create a new plan they will not be present If you right click a temporary user waypoint on the tabular plan there is an option in the dropdown menu to rename it if you wish Page 63 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 16 USER WAYPOINTS Plan G builds an internal database PlanG_FSX sdf or PlanG_FS9 sdf of airports and navaids based on a scan
124. orum php f 54 After installing FSUIPC you will discover when you run FS9 that there will be a new entry in the Modules section of the FS9 top menu labeled FSUIPC FSUIPC can be configured to do many things it really is a most versatile tool However for Plan G you do not need to know how it works or configure it at all With FS9 running start the Plan G program Click the File tab and select the Options menu and then the FS Connection tab The screen below is displayed The FS Connection Parameters dialogue see Figure 88 below can also be accessed by clicking the Launcher button small diagonal arrow in the Flight Simulator connections tab of the Home ribbon below the Lock Sync Free buttons at the right A Home Map Data View Ace PAD Select Option FS Connection Parameters Open Locations General Connect with Auto SimConnect FSUIPC Units Save As SimConnect Settings Sounds Network Mode Pipe X Print SS FS Connection FSX Computer localhost Help Server Port Pipe GPS Panel User Aircraft a z Ji Traffic Weather General Figure 88 Global Options FS Connection Tab The connection method is Auto by default This can be left unchanged normally but if you have problems connecting select the FSUIPC option instead as the connection method The SimConnect settings in that window can be ignored Page 82 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 19 2 Now clos
125. our route Fleetwood was once home to Britain s second largest fishing fleet after Grimsby but fishing has declined to near zero and the harbour today is populated by fancy yachts If you intend to fly online and by chance Blackpool Approach is on duty this is where you will make your initial call to them Request transit your overhead at 4 000 feet So you had better add Blackpool to your Plan now The track line from Fleetwood to Blackpool is over land but the Left Hand Rule for VFR flight states that if you are following a line feature you should keep it on your left This route is well used by light aircraft in the real world who follow the convention of keeping the shoreline on the left Thus southbound traffic flies a mile or so out to sea Northbound traffic flies over the land Although the trackline is over land when you come to fly the route you should do the same passing a mile or so west of the 08 end of Blackpool s main runway Blackpool Approach will want you to call them at the the tall tower They don t say Page 72 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Blackpool Tower as you could well think they mean the building on the aerodrome not the world famous 518ft high lattice steel structure a couple of miles further north 4 After Blackpool add Marshside VRP to your route you can do this now without help surely and then once more follow the coast to Woodvale 5 Add Woodval
126. ourself that after Wigton you need to be at 4 000ft 1 Scroll across to the right of the Plan table and in the Notes column for the Keswick Row double click and enter Continue climb to 4000ft 2 Then do the same for the Woodvale Row double click and enter Manchester TMA base 3500ft Remember that passing altitudes cross references and notes will be printed on your plog and saved with your plan if you save the file as a PLG file but not if you save the file as a PLN file Altemate 1 What if you cannot land at Liverpool What if some VATSIM or IVAO newbie is plonked right on the runway and is disinclined to move You need to add an Alternate to your plan somewhere you can go to if Newbie is still there when you are a mile from touchdown rapidly approaching the Missed Approach Point 2 Look around the map and select somewhere suitable RAF Sealand is closed and anyway it was gliders only Manchester won t really welcome a slow Cessna 172 but Hawarden just to the southwest of Chester is G A friendly Right click on Hawarden and select Set EGNR as Alternate A red line is now drawn on the map from Liverpool Hawarden pronounced Harden by the way was in Page 76 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 VATSIM s early years VATSIM UK s busiest airport with a controller on duty 7 nights a week So that is your planned flight with some local knowledge thrown in to make it more interesti
127. r Elevation MagVar HFRes 2 2 Optional Notes Displayed on the map info popup Max 50 chars User Data EN Latitude 51 6550 Longitude 0 50468 Figure 71 Create User Waypoint Dialogue Enter the waypoint name and an identifying code which can be up to 8 characters in length The magnetic variation MagVar at that point and the Latitude and Longitude are automatically added by Plan G but you can edit them to fine tune a waypoint position to an exact spot if your mouse clicking isn t so accurate If the appropriate DEM files are installed as described in Section 12 1 above Plan G will automatically fill in the Elevation for the new User Waypoint Click OK to save the waypoint Rettendon Wickford Ashingdon Hockley Rayl igh Leigh on Sea __ Southeng A ae ba gt Y Figure 72 User Waypoint Created The waypoint appears as a small green circle on the map Figure 72 above The waypoint is saved in the User Waypoint Database which can be manipulated in a similar way to a spreadsheet see section 16 5 below Page 65 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 16 2 16 3 Racetrack 80 1374282836914 lyeDo 687988 1 YGUM 136 228927612305 YHAA 31 4 7722001075744 Halesworth Disused 1 52466702461243 245733308792114 0 201333299279213 1 51681697368622 152 670562744141 Figure 73 User Waypoint Added to Database Adding a New User Waypoint to the H
128. rint GPS Panel Parameters Air Speed Indicator Max Airspeed 200 kts Course Deviation an G 200 463 Carlisle to Liverpool VNAV Target Altitude 1000 tt Above Waypoint x Target Position ee CDI Sensitivity 3 nm Before Waypoint Help ___ Auto J VNAV Profile GPS Panel EPR Waypoint ETE Display 500 ft min Options fa pq User Aircraft Upper Distance to Waypt PA ES exit Traffic Lower ETE Destination Nun Weather General Figure 20 GPS Panel Configuration Page Max Airspeed Determines the displayed range 0 to lt value gt of the Airspeed Indicator Page 21 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 8 5 6 CDI Sensitivity This is the course deviation that can be tolerated before Plan G will update the CDI bar Choices are deviation from flight plan track e Auto e 5nm e 1 25nm e 0 5nm VNAV Targets VNAV Profile VNAV stands for Vertical Navigation more familiar to those who fly high and need to plan how to get down than the VFR flyer cruising at 2000 feet IFR pilots must descend at a rate not less than 500 feet per minute so the profile value is important too These parameters determine where and when Plan G will issue its popup warning windows to alert the pilot to his progress along the planned route Waypoint ETE Display These two selections determine the additional information Plan G displays at the top and bottom of the GPS panel Choices are e D
129. rowsing for the Location of FSX The two directories Plan G needs to know about are The main FS directory by default C Program Files Microsoft Games FS9 or FSX but often changed by FS users during FS installation e g E FSX shown in Figure 15 above The directory containing FS s scenery configuration file scenery cfg For Windows XP users this is usually C Documents and Settings lt user name gt Application Data Microsoft FSX For Windows Vista and Windows 7 users this is usually C Program Data Microsoft FSX In most cases these directories will be in these default locations and Plan G will be able to automatically locate the correct location but if your FS installation differs from the default you may need to point Plan G at the correct locations on your FS PC The scenery configuration file C ProgramData Microsoft FSX scenery cfg links Plan G to the default scenery and any third party airstrip scenery you have installed Make sure you have set your scenery properly before running the FSX Build database function in order to make sure all airstrips are displayed Be careful not Page 16 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 to point Plan G at the scenery cfg file to be found in the FS directory itself This is an FS generated backup copy and is often not up to date B Networked Computers The simplest way to set Plan G to find a networked computer is to map a Network drive to th
130. rt 20 3 5 Connected Close the Options window by clicking OK Now press the Connect button Disconnect FSX SimConnect Figure 98 Connected to FSX After all the above you may feel that you have achieved a minor miracle The good news is that hopefully you only have to go through that process once unless you re install FSX or something equally drastic If the user is connected to VATSIM IVAO or other online or multiplayer server then Plan G displays other connected aircraft rather than Al aircraft On connecting the Plan G map will move so that your FSX aircraft location is shown and a yellow User Aircraft Icon will appear If Al aircraft are in the area and as long as you have selected Al aircraft in the options panel to be displayed they will appear in red If the user is connected to VATSIM IVAO or another online server then Plan G displays other connected aircraft rather than Al aircraft You can now set up Trail Analysis import FS Weather data etc as described above which significantly enhances the value of Plan G If you get a connection error or a connection time out error the most likely reason is that you have not configured Plan G with the correct SimConnect parameters in the Global Options window Section 21 below deals with addressing SimConnect problems If the advice in that section does not result in SimConnect successfully connecting the problem may be tricky to solve If you have other progr
131. rt sounds for three situations where your attention is primarily on another task 1 VNAV Profile Alerts The alert sounds e One minute before Top of Descent and e When you reach 500ft above your target altitude 2 Waypoint Alerts Waypoint alerts sound approximately 30 seconds before reaching a waypoint 3 Minimums Alert This sound is played on final approach 200ft above the airfield elevation It is not set by default Page 19 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 lan G v2 0 0 463 Carlisle New Plan Select Option Sounds Open Locations Y Play Sounds y VNAV Profile Alerts Units Save As C Windows Media notify wav Browse Test Print Waypoint Alerts FS Comection C Windows Media notify wav Browse Test Help GPS Panel Minimums Alert opticas User Aircraft Browse Test ES ext Traffic Weather General Figure 18 Sounds Page You can accept the Windows default illustrated in Figure 18 above or choose your own as long as Plan G is told where to find it 8 5 4 FS Connections There are a number of important configuration options within this tab They are explained in detail for the various connection options in Section 17 Connection to Flight Simulator Ae i El F Home Map Data View New Plan Select Option FS Connection Parameters r General Open Locations j Connect with Auto OSimConnet O FSUIPC n A A SWEA Units o utomatically connect to FS
132. s icon or by using the Find menu at the top left of the Plan G window Now that there is a single waypoint in the new flight plan the Plan expander can be opened It will contain a single line for the departure airport at this point in the process 15 2 1 Inserting Waypoints into the Tabular Plan The next waypoint or the destination airport can now be entered into the table Right click on the table entry for the departure airport and select Insert Waypoint Below Page 58 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 l Insert Waypoint y e ai SiS ss J Airports VORs NDBs ISECs User Wpts Epps Airpark Harvest United States Cordes Cordes United States South River Edgewater United States Animas Durango United States Goldstone Gts Barstow United States Natomas Field Sacramento United States Cass Field Brigosdale United States Grass Patch Bushnell United States River Oak Okeechobee United States Lt World Lithonia United States di Figure 65 Adding a Waypoint This pops up an Add Waypoint panel where you can select the type of waypoint Airports VORs NDBs User VRPs The waypoint to be inserted can be found either by its ICAO code or by its common name If you enter the first few letters of the name or ICAO code Plan G will display only those entries in the database starting with those letters Once the desired waypoint is found clicking on OK will insert it into the Plan table
133. s than 2nm FSD 0 25nm from track This is the same as the sensitivity of an ILS localiser 13 4 4 Automatic Direction Finder This is an ADF with a difference The small green arrow works exactly like an ADF tuned to an NDB but it points directly to your next waypoint It is not influenced by thunderstorms or mountains of iron ore so is more reliable than a real world ADF not that magnetic mountains are simulated in FS It does get more sensitive as you get nearer to the waypoint and swings round in the normal way an ADF needle does as you pass the waypoint When Plan G decides it is time to look for the next waypoint it will swing round automatically to point to the new one If you are directly on track this will be the instant that the aircraft passes over the waypoint If you are off track a little it tends to move round to about 150 before changing so don t chase the needle as you near the waypoint 13 4 5 Desc ent Profile Indicator The fourth feature is the descent profile indicator Whether you create an altitude profile or not Plan G will calculate a Top of Descent point along your route As you near the Top of Descent the profile bar a small green letterbox shaped rectangle appears on the HIS dial and descends downwards This is similar to a glideslope indicator and shows the rate of descent you need to achieve to maintain your VNAV profile It works in the same sense as an ILS glideslope indicator If th
134. ser aircraft s performance instruments This can be useful for instance where you have only one monitor but you need to check out progress on Plan G and also make sure your hand flown VFR aircraft doesn t suddenly enter a spiral dive while your attention is elsewhere i ec RM a aaan pa NO IC OT COCINA Figure 45 GPS Panel Page 41 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 The instruments are not labelled but it is obvious which they are the basic 6 pack except for the horizontal situation indicator HIS Airspeed and altitude are also shown digitally A Special HS An additional feature of Plan G is a Horizontal Situation Indicator with more than attitude It incorporates a wind arrow plus four navigational features a ADirection Indicator DI b A Course Deviation Indicator CDI and c An Automatic Direction Finder ADF d A Descent Profile Indicator These features are only available however if a flight plan is loaded and Plan G is connected to FS Figure 45 above shows the GPS Panel as it appears when no flight plan is loaded Figure 46 shows the GPS panel during a flight with a Flight Plan loaded a GPS Panel Aircoupe G ARHC Figure 46 The GPS Panel Alive during a Flight with a Flight Plan Loaded 13 4 1 The Wind Anow The wind arrow is the standard meteorological symbol used for winds on weather charts with an arrow head showing the wind direction and up to three barbs on
135. sion 1 0 gt lt Descr gt SimConnect lt Descr gt lt Filename gt SimConnect xml lt Filename gt Page 90 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt Auto lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt global lt Scope gt lt Address gt 192 168 0 2 lt Address gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt MaxRecvSize gt 4096 lt MaxRecvSize gt lt DisableNagle gt False lt DisableNagle gt lt SimConnect Comm gt A lt SimConnect Comm gt Disabled gt False lt Disabled gt lt Protocol gt IPv4 lt Protocol gt lt Scope gt global lt Scope gt lt Address gt 192 168 0 2 lt Address gt lt MaxClients gt 64 lt MaxClients gt lt Port gt 4506 lt Port gt lt MaxRecvSize gt 4096 lt MaxRecvSize gt lt DisableNagle gt False lt DisableNagle gt lt SimConnect Comm gt lt SimBase Document gt A The example above includes two profiles the blue coloured code between lt SimConnect Comm gt and lt SimConnect Comm gt One is configured for an Auto connection the other for an IPv4 connection If you choose to use the example above then usually only the computer address in bold needs to be changed to match your FSX PC s IP address In most networks nowadays the router s IP Address is 192 168 0 1 and the PCs have 192 168 0 2 192 168 0 3 etc
136. small launcher button a small diagonal arrow at the bottom right of that section of the Data Ribbon If you click that arrow it opens a FS File Locations window which displays the current paths to FSX Program FSX Scenery cfg or FS9 These are exactly the same options and serve the same purpose as the similar options accessed from the File menu see section 8 5 1 above and give the user the opportunity to change the paths if one or more is incorrect ETT Yk Gis i wai Home Map Data View Home Map Data View Home Map Data View 0293 3 Bos s Bass s FSX Fs9 Manage FSX FSO Manage FS9 FS9 Manage ta Data Display Data Build Database User Waypoints Display Data Build Database User Waypoints Display Data Build Database User Waypoints Figure 34 FSX only exists on Figure 35 Both FSX Figure 36 Both FSX this PC and FS9 exist on this and FS9 exist on this PC PC FS9 data selected to FSX data selected to be displayed be displayed You can select which database is used for the map display airports navaids controlled airspace etc by clicking one of the Active FS Version icons If the database for that version of FS exists the icon is shown with an orange background and the map will display data from that database If no airports controlled airspace or navaids or any other aeronautical data appear on the map when the correct Active FS Version for your sim is displayed then
137. t you have a Start Location you can now add a Start Position for your aircraft at Carlisle In FS you have already selected PARKING 1 RAMP GA SMALL so from the Home Ribbon select Start Position From the options Page 69 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 shown in the pop up Set Airport Start Position window which appears select PARKING 1 RAMP GA SMALL again and click OK 17 2 The Scenic Route You have established the flight pre conditions and now it is time to plot the route to Liverpool 1 Find the Wigton VRP to the south west of Carlisle Right click and select Add User Waypoint CARLISLE WIGTON to the plan Wigton is a Visual Reference Point and included in the default Plan G database although it is called a User waypoint 2 If you do not have photographic scenery for the UK Wigton the town will not be obvious so you may wish to add a Cross Reference to it from Dean Cross VOR Right click the Wigton VRP symbol and select Set Waypoint Cross References 3 In the Cross reference window click Add for the first point and enter DCS in the entry box Select the Dean Cross the only entry and click OK 4 Observe the Cross reference red line from Wigton to Dean Cross VOR In the plan note the bearing and distance Compare your present bearing and distance from Dean Cross VOR to find which way to fly to arrive overhead Wigton 5 From Wigton you will fly over Keswick
138. tabase Build Options aiii in dia 6 Figure 3 The Standard Google Maps Tools are used ceccceeessessesesseseeecseeseeecseesees 7 Figure 4 Quick Access TODA Ads 7 Figure 5 The Customise Quick Access Toolbar Dropdown cccsesesseseeseeeeeseesees 8 Figure 6 The Menu TADOS untada sean 8 Figure 7 The File Menu Page aa ene unl asawnsiararenmerene 10 Figure 8 The Home AID Mi iaa 10 Figure 9 The Map RIO 11 Figur 10 Data Otis daa dida a EGE 11 Figure LL The MewRIDDON msc dada 11 Figure 12 The Minimise Ribbon icon and ToOltiP ooooccconccccconocconononocononononononnonnoos 12 Figure 13 The File OPONE a 14 Figure 14 The Locations Parla aa 15 Figure 15 Browsing for the Location of Funda 16 Figure 16 FSX and FS9 Locations using Mapped Network Drives 18 Figure 17 The Units Paid 19 Figur 18 Sounds PAD ia id E A aaa 20 Figure 19 FS Connections Page a ad 20 Figure 20 GPS Panel Configuration PAQe cococccncnnocccnononnconononncrnononncrnronononncnnononos 21 Figure 21 User Aircraft EONS aa 23 Figur 22 Traffic OO ri AA AA AAA 24 Figure 23 Weather Pal cine tel atea o aa 24 Figure 24 Using the Find Function to Locate an AlrpOlt ooccconcnccconicciconnonononnnnnoss 25 Figure 25 Start Position WINDOW al sa 26 Figure 26 Cruising Altitude WindoW costas it 27 Figure 27 Cruising Airspeed WINdOWy cssccaccsietel avila adden auleiernee 27 Figure 28 KML Dialogue WINdOW ccscssessessscsscssssess
139. ter the program If you simply want to use FSUIPC4 to connect FSX to add on programs on the same PC you do not have to continue with registration of the program Now start Plan G In the Global Options FS Connection tab select FSUIPC as the connection method There is no need to change any of the other parameters they are not used If all is well close the Options window by clicking OK and return to the main window Now press the Connect button Note that the label below the Connect Disconnect buttons changes to identify which Simulator version you are connected to and how In the case of FSX this can be SimConnect but check that in this case it is showing Connected via FSUIPC On connecting the Plan G map will move so that your FSX aircraft location is shown and a yellow User Aircraft Icon will appear If Al aircraft are in the area and as long as you have selected Al aircraft in the options panel to be displayed they will appear in red If you are connected to VATSIM IVAO or another online server then Plan G displays other connected aircraft rather than Al aircraft Page 86 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 Disconnect FSX FSUIPC Figure 94 Connected to FSX with FSUIPC You can now set up Trail Analysis import FS Weather data etc as described above which significantly enhances the value of Plan G If you get a connection error or a connection time out error the most l
140. the Active nc csseeseteesesseeeeneees 57 Figure 65 Adding a Way Esas 59 Figure 66 Vertical Navigation Profile DiagraM oococcccnnnnccnnnncncnonocnnncononnonnononno nono 60 Figure 67 Inserting a WayDO Maa nieta 61 Figure 68 Drag Handles in Edit Mode Highlighted here in Red Circles 62 Figure 69 The User Waypoint Database cooocccncononccnoconnconononncrnononocononcrnonnonnononos 64 Figure 70 User WIYpolnt DEOPAOWMlisisisioncinioz cata ld ita 64 Figure 71 Create User Waypoint Dialogue cococcocconoconnconononncrnonorncrnonaononnconononos 65 Figure 72 User Waypoint Created a Sateden doveashadvavacuetodeaes 65 Figure 73 User Waypoint Added to Database oocoococoncconoconncononorncrncnnronononnononos 66 Figure 74 Add User Waypoint to Flight Plan oooononccnnccnnonnnonnnornonnrncnnonnononos 66 Figure 75 Editing a User WayOOl bss lo a 67 Figure 76 Editing The User Waypoint Database ocooconncconnonnonnnncrnonnronononno nono 68 Figure 77 User Defined Records Imported oooccccccnocconoconnconononncononorncononnononnconononos 68 Figure 78 Carlisle to Liverpool The Route ooooooccoccccoccocconononnononncnonorncononorncononnononos 69 Figure 79 Over the Lakeland AlllS aiii ia lia 71 Figure 80 Sellafield and Eskmeals Don t Go There ArBaS oococcicinnicnicionocccncnnos 12 Figure 81 Controlled Airspace Red Lettering not in Plan G occocncciccccccnccccccnc
141. tion OCIS illo 89 v of vii Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 20 3 Connecting to FSX from a Networked PC with SimConnect 90 20 3 1 Creating a SimConnect xml file for the IPv4 Protoco 90 20 3 2 Creating a SimConnect xml file for the IPv6 Protocol 91 20 3 3 Modifying an Existing a SimConnect xml file 93 20 3 4 Configure the SimConnect Settings in Plan G eee 93 203 CONNECTE Bra a LA 95 20 4 Connecting to FSX from a Networked PC with FSUIPC eee 95 ZO Ae WI Sys arin a adie daes le Xa lib 96 20 4 2 Connection ME owiieebutiuseiauino eee 96 MORE ON SIMCONNEC E aras aaa id da an 98 ZL A EME cui 99 2172 EXAMINE Za Aia 100 APPENDICES pranan eimina R outa basin a 102 22 1 Appendix 1 Table of Illustrations ooocoonicoionnonnornorncnonornononoss 102 22 2 Appendix 2 SUpport no liada desd 105 22 3 Appendix 3 Solve the Script Error ISSUE cooooononnnnnnnonncnonocncnnonoso 105 22 4 Appendix 4 List of Beta TeSters uu ccescsssccscsssesssscssescssesesessessees 106 vi of vii Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 1 INTRODUCTION Plan G is the first Flight Simulator planning software tool to use the acclaimed and versatile Google Maps mapping tool Hitherto the inbuilt planner and third party external flight planners have extrapolated geographic data from the Simulator program itself with the limitatio
142. tion y Name Hanningfield Reservoir Identifier Elevation MagVar HFRES 0 2 2 Optional Notes Displayed on the map info popup Max 50 chars VFR Flight Test Route A Tag User date for identification Max 20 chars gt Latitude 51 655 Longitude 9 50468 Figure 75 Editing a User Waypoint If you rename a waypoint that is included in the current flight plan the plan will be updated to reflect the change Any plan that is not currently open will of course not be updated 16 4 Deleting User Waypoints To delete a User Waypoint right click on the new waypoint and select Delete User Waypoint from the dropdown menu The waypoint is immediately removed from the database and the map but not from the current flight plan or its track line on the map Alternatively you can locate the User Waypoint in the User Waypoint Database table See Figure 76 below highlight the record with a single mouse click then press the DEL key on the keyboard The deletion is not reversible therefore a warning is displayed This action will delete row s from the database Do you wish to proceed as a protection against accidental deletion 16 5 Managing the User Waypoint Database To view the User Waypoint database and manage it directly adding editing or deleting waypoints open the Data Ribbon at the top of Plan G and select the Manage Database button The Manage User Waypoints window will open
143. tions the Quick Access Toolbar itself can be shown below the ribbon rather than above it When the Quick Access Toolbar is below the ribbon the final item on the dropdown changes to Show above the Ribbon as you might expect The ribbon bar can be minimised by double clicking on one of the four ribbon tabs Home Map Data View To restore the ribbon bar double click again any of the ribbon tabs The File tab is a special case Double clicking only opens and closes the file screen In this and in other ways it functions differently from the other tabs The ribbon bar functions are not needed at all times so minimizing the ribbon does not necessarily reduce your options but can free valuable screen space The ribbons can also be auto hidden At the far right hand end of each ribbon is a small arrow icon which when clicked hides not only the current ribbon but the whole ribbon system When you click one of the Menu tabs the ribbon is displayed until you click on the map or expander area when it is automatically hidden again The Ribbon Menu Tabs There are five Tabs each of which when clicked reveals its own Ribbon Menu except File which opens a page with a sidebar menu a M Large 4 Z VORs DJ ISEC Y Z Medium M NDBs _ ISEC unnamed 1 3 ILS LOC a C Small C Lower Airways Tl Airports Navaids angaa TRANS A a AN Figure 6 The Menu Tabs The ribbon menus contro
144. to pick up the leg in the flight on the flight plan which your aircraft is currently flying Put another way and it is not exact of course it sort of synchronises your flight to the plan It can also be useful if e The pilot misses a waypoint completely and wants to tell Plan G to forget pointing to the last waypoint but to now help get to the next one or e The flight plan has been changed mid flight or e The leg sequencing goes awry in Plan G for some reason 14 3 2 Centre on Map If you right click on a waypoint in the plan the map moves to position that waypoint in the centre of the map 14 3 3 Move or Delete Waypoint Waypoints can be moved up or down in the table or deleted from the plan Right click the entry in the table you wish to move or delete and select the appropriate menu option from the dropdown See Figure 57 below Centre on Map Move W aypoint Up nn lca ow Start Positior Move Waypoint Down Wind 173 at Insert Waypoint Above Suggested Al wv Weather w GPS Pane w Traffic Insert Waypoint Below Cross References Add Alternate Delete Waypoint v Trail Anal Set Author v Aerodrome J Figure 57 Flight Plan Waypoint Dropdown Options 14 3 4 Cross References Cross references are useful for defining a waypoint precisely using vector geometry For the non mathematically inclined it means that any point on a map can be precisely identified by an angle a
145. u are a light aircraft enthusiast you can switch off controlled airspace CAS boundaries above 10 000ft and reduce Plan G s processing workload And if you are crossing the USA in a 747 at 35 000ft you can save Plan G some work by switching off the Below 10 000ft CAS tick box The Centre tick box displays or hides the Air Route Traffic Control Center ARTCC boundaries Generally referred to as Centre they are responsible for controlling instrument flight rules aircraft en route in a Flight Information Region at high altitudes between airport approaches and departures In the UK the National Air Traffic Service NATS combines the London Terminal Control Centre LTCC and London Area Control Centre LACC at the Swanwick facility Centre is unticked by default at all zoom levels Page 34 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 10 6 10 7 10 8 In addition to the classified airspace there are two Special Use tick boxes Special Use 1 displays Danger Areas Restricted Areas and Prohibited Areas Special Use 2 displays the rest military low flying areas air to air refueling areas high altitude danger areas etc For VFR pilots these are normally an issue and for IFR pilots IFR routes invariably avoid these areas Special Use 1 amp 2 are switched off by default at all zoom levels The Launcher button at the bottom right of the Airspace ribbon area opens a window showing every classi
146. used to prevent map re draw overload leading to the Script running slowly message See section 10 2 above sometimes seen Page 35 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 11 THE DATA RIBBON IN DETAIL This is the ribbon which allows you to create the database for the simulator version you have If you have both FS9 and FSX you can create a database for both There is also the option to manage your User Waypoint Database creating adding modifying or removing your own defined Waypoints See section 10 6 above for full details These FS database options are of course only available for the simulator version or versions you have installed If you do have both FS9 and FSX installed either on the same computer or on separate networked computers then you can create a database for both simulator versions and create flight plans for either If FSX exists on the same computer as Plan G or a networked computer with FSX installed then the Build FSX Database icon will be a strong blue colour otherwise it will be a faded blue colour If FS9 exists on the same computer as Plan G or a networked computer with FS9 installed then the Build FS9 Database icon will be a strong grey colour otherwise it will be a faded grey colour If both versions of Flight Simulator are detected by Plan G then both Build Database icons will be a strong colour blue for FSX grey for FS9 In addition to the two drum shaped icons is a
147. utical miles climbing to typically 1 500 feet above the airfield elevation then make a rate one turn inbound back to the beacon The codes below the Transitions divider in the lower half of the Approaches window may be 2 3 4 or 5 characters and are the ICAO identifiers for the transition points Typically if a transition point is an NDB it will be two letters a VOR three letters and so on If you click on one of the Transition Points then the blue line gains an extra line which is the lead in from the Transition point to the Initial Approach Fix IAF and continuing on to the FAP It may be a procedural turn which is typically teardrop shaped or an inbound track from a VOR to the FAP The transition points are the points at which your en route navigation ceases and you begin to fly the Instrument Approach Procedure IAP or the procedure as it is popularly known Transition points will always be a VOR an NDB or an intersection see section 10 4 above for an explanation of an intersection If the transition point is an NDB or VOR located on the airfield e g Manchester then the procedure will be a procedural turn If as is sometimes found there is an NDB on the runway extended centreline and approximately 3 nautical miles from the threshold e g East Midlands the transition point and the IAF will both be the NDB and the procedure will start from there FSX includes RNAV approach procedures for the U
148. utiful and famous landscapes It introduces as many features of Plan G that can be reasonably packed into a short 115 mile flight TOAMEAZTASST SO4 x k EF gt S Map FlightPlan Terrain Start Altitude Airspeed Winds Quick Reverse Edit Frame Copy Bookmark KML Connect Disconnect we Position Route OneRing T ej Flight Plan Bookmarks Flight Simulator a EGNC Carlisle CARLISLE WIGTON KESWK Keswick Town SCAFLL Scafell Pike EGNL Walney Island t BLACKPOOL FLEETWOOD GOLF COUR J EGNH Blackpool BLACKPOOL MARSHSIDE _ EGCO Birkdale Sands EGOW Woodvale AB LPL LIVERPOOL 349 5 KHz EGGP Liverpool EGNR Hawarden Figure 78 Carlisle to Liverpool The Route 17 1 Preparation Just as in the real world there is a significant amount of preparation required before flight Of course we will start by creating a flight plan in Plan G 1 Open Plan G and on the Home Tab click Find 2 Select Airport from the dropdown and enter EGNC in the ICAO Code box 3 Carlisle will be highlighted Click OK 4 On the map close the callout box containing the airport name and ICAO 5 Right click the airport icon and select Start Flight Plan at airport EGNC 6 Now set up the flight conditions Open the Home Ribbon by clicking the Home tab and then click Altitude and set 4 000 feet 7 Select Airspeed and enter 100 knots for the default Cessna 172 8 Now tha
149. v6 from the dropdown options FSX Computer Enter either localhost or 1 without quotes Server Port Pipe Enter O Without quotes FS Connection Parameters General Connect with Auto SimConnect FSUIPC SimConnect Settings Network Mode IPv6 X FSX Computer aa Server Port Pipe Figure 92 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using IPv6 As long as you set up Plan G as described here it is unlikely that you will have any difficulty connecting to FSX from Plan G on a single computer Close the Options window by clicking OK and return to the main window With FSX running press the Connect button Note that the label below the Connect Disconnect buttons changes to identify which Simulator version you are connected to and how It should indicate that you are connected to FSX via SimConnect Disconnect FSX SimConnect Figure 93 Connected to FSX with SimConnect On connecting the Plan G map will move so that your FSX aircraft location is shown and a yellow User Aircraft Icon will appear If Al aircraft are in the area and as long as you have selected Al aircraft in the options panel to be displayed they will appear in red If Page 85 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 19 3 you are connected to VATSIM IVAO or another online server then Plan G displays other connected aircraft rather than Al aircraft You can now set up Trail Ana
150. ve the map view to centre the displayed flight plan into the middle of the map area and will adjust the zoom level to include the whole of the plan in one view If no flight plan is loaded clicking the Frame button has no effect Copy Route This option copies the flight plan route to the windows clipboard from where it can be pasted into VATSIM or IVAO Flight Plans or used for generating Pilot Reports PIREPS for your Virtual Airline If you want to exclude the departure and destination points for flight plans press SHIFT as you click the button The button is greyed out if no Flight Plan is loaded Range Rings Range Rings can be useful for estimating distance or time to run if you are connected to FS9 FSX There are two modes distance mode and time mode The rings display in yellow centred on the current cursor position The default distance range is 20 miles the default time range is 30 minutes For VFR flying you may prefer these values to be 10 miles and 10 minutes respectively You can display 1 2 or 3 rings selectable from the ribbon menu Range rings do not require you to be connected to FS They are purely a mapping display function You can only display one set of rings Switching Range Rings on or off is achieved from the right click dropdown menu See section 14 1 2 for further details Bookmark This is a most useful feature if you are in the habit of flying to and from places scattered round the globe Click the Boo
151. where and that is what the Alternate box is for in the online flying pilot client flight plans though it does not feature in FS created flight plans If you select this option an additional line but in red is drawn on the plan from your destination to the airport you select as your alternate Importantly because you don t want to be doing this while going around because of that unmoving aircraft the plan displayed in the Expander panel includes the distance heading and time etc to your alternate from your destination The line of data for the destination to alternate leg is shown in red Note The alternate heading and distance is always calculated from your destination because standard aeronautical practice worldwide assumes that you fly to your destination before diverting to your alternate 14 2 3 Show Airport Chart If you select Show Airport Chart from the dropdown menu the Aerodrome Diagram is displayed You can use the mouse wheel to zoom in out and if you hover the mouse pointer over the parking spots runways amp taxiways the relevant details are displayed You can also show it in its own Tool Window as described in section12 4 above 14 2 4 Instument Approaches If an airport has instrument approaches built into FS then there is a menu option in the airport right click dropdown to display them They are much simplified versions of real world Instrument Approach Plates but if you are unfamiliar wit
152. you should rebuild the database Note that for networked PCs the icons will only display in the Active strong colour mode if the correct communication protocols are in place see section 18 2 below Page 36 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 THE VIEW RIBBON IN DETAIL Plan G can be very slow stall altogether or throw up Script Errors if you try and display too much data at any one zoom level As a general rule the default settings are optimum for most users but invariably each will have their own preferences The View Ribbon allows the user to filter unwanted general display features with the ability to turn them on or off as they wish If you do accidentally try and display too much data and Plan G grinds to a halt section 10 2 tells you how to recover the situation A more technical solution involving changing a Registry value is given in Appendix 3 section 22 3 Plan Elevation Tick box This feature requires the optional download and installation of one or more Digital Elevation Model DEM tiles from the NGDC GLOBE Global Land One km Base Elevation website at http www ngdc noaa gov mgq topo gitiles html You need to download and install a minimum of one tile to enable the functionality You do not need to download and install every tile no elevation data will be shown in Plan G where tiles are not installed The tile files are TAR compressed files with the extension gz They
153. your destination location You can of course complete your plan be it a direct track plan or one involving a number of waypoints and add the Start Position at the end of the process just before saving the Plan se destination Do you want Flight Simulator to move your aircraft to the departure airport listed on the flight plan Low altitude airways Figure 64 Move your Aircraft but not to the Active Page 57 of 106 Plan G User Manual V 2 05 March 2011 If you add a start position in Plan G and load your plan into Flight Simulator then when FS asks if you want to move your aircraft to the departure airport listed on the flight plan and provided you click Yes your aircraft is moved in FS not to the active runway which is the FS default but to the start position you selected in Plan G If you are flying online then this position should be a starting gate or GA ramp and definitely NOT the active runway Note To use this option your plan must be saved as a PLN file though not as a PLG file which will not load into FS 15 1 6 Vertical Navigation Building a vertical navigation profile by adding passing altitudes cannot be done graphically but requires the parameters to be entered from the keyboard It can be done by entering the details in the Plan in the expander or in a tool window once the flight plan route has been completed graphically See section 15 3 below for full details 15 1 7 Notes A

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