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No flight information system could be complete without some kind of route
planning. This section allows you to receive, load, create and save flight
plans as a sequence of waypoints. It works as a mini FMC and interacts with
other parts of the app (the navigation display for example).
Receiving a flight plan
The first thing you will want to do is to either receive, load or
create a flight plan.
If you are using an X-Plane data source the flight plan entered into the
FMC will be broadcasted to AirTrack and will be automatically loaded.
Time Mode
TIM
stands for time and displays each of the waypoints with the associated duration
(at current ground speed), remaining time until being reached and ETA.
Pressing the forward arrow allows you to move to the next page of the plan.
Pressing the back arrow will go back.
All legs are calculated at instant ground speed.
Times are cummulative and adjusted automatically as
you move along.
The route can be displayed in one of four modes: TIM, DIS, GEO and STA.
Distance Mode
In distance mode the same plan is shown in terms of distance. Information on
the heading of each leg is provided, together with its distance and the
cummulative total remaining distance.
It set, altitude information is also displayed.
Geo Mode
The GEO mode provides information about each point's type and geographical
coordinates.
Statistics Mode
In this mode the FMC will show route statistics.
Information regarding the flown, planned and remaining distances
will be calculated and provided as well as flight progress.
Furthermore, an estimate of the remaining flight time and ETA
is calculated based on the instant ground speed and the waypoints entered
in the plan.
The FMC also computes the tracked travelled distance and average speed.
By pressing the RST button these counters can be reset.
Saving and Loading
Plans can of course be saved and loaded for later retrieval and use.
The SAVE and LOAD buttons achieve just this.
In order to delete a saved flight plan, press LOAD and then slide your finger
from right to left on the plan you wish to delete; the iOS
system will then prompt for its deletion.
Creating a flight plan
Well now, say that you want to create your own flight plan instead
of receiving one from X-Plane. Easy; a flight plan is a sequence of
waypoints so you just need to add them.
To start with press CLEAR and make sure there is no flight plan loaded.
If you wish to start your flight plan on your current position press INIT
and an auto-generated waypoint will be added to the plan with your current
position. Otherwise press NEW WP.
You can then enter a point ID to be looked up, specify a
point filter type, and if desired set an altitude. A search will be
performed in the navigation database and if found, you can add the point to
the plan by selecting Add point to route.
And that's it, the point is added. Repeat as many times as there are points.
Editing a flight plan
You can also edit a flight plan. By pressing the UP
and DOWN buttons you can move the small selector arrow
up and down.
Green waypoint rows represent crossed waypoints, the yellow row represents
the current leg and blue rows represent waypoints ahead.
After selecting a waypoint with up or down you can make it the active WP
by selecting -D->. You can also remove it from the plan
by pressing CLEAR.
Position Reports
Ever flown an oceanic flight with ATC which required you to provide
position reports at every route point and you didn't know what to
do or how to generate them? Well now this was made simple:
Just click on PR or POS REPORT
when crossing a waypoint and the app will tell you what to say to the
oceanic ATC.
Runways and Localizers
When looking up an airport as a route point, you will also be given
the possibility of choosing one of its runways or, if available,
localizers. So you can make up a flight plan which departs
on an airport's runway and arrives on another's ILS.
Enroute Airways
Enter an entry point of an airway as the next waypoint, then
enter the airways code as the following point and then press
new waypoint again; you will be given a choice of exit points
for that selected airway. Selecting one will cause the
FMC to decode all the waypoints in between and add them to
the flight plan.
Airways are only available with Navigraph datasources.
SID and STAR procedures
When looking up a departing or arriving airport you
will also be presented with the list of available
SIDs and STARs. Select one and its waypoints will be
decoded into the flight plan.
At present only FIX, NDB and VOR points are supported,
so no phantom RNAV waypoints.
SID and STAR procedures are only available when
you have a Navigraph AIRAC loaded.
Cloud Syncing of Flight Plans
The new cloud based services allow syncing of flight plans
seamlessly across devices; create a flight plan, save it, and
seconds later it will be available on all your other devices as
it by magic. This feature is available when logged into an air account.
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