Plan Gv3 Manual

by TA Software
VERSION 3
USER MANUAL
Author: Peter Dodds, Chester U.K.
Plan-G User Manual Version 3.1.1 July 2014
VERSION HISTORY
Date
Version
06/06/2014 3.1.0
Comment
DraftversionissuedtoTASoftwareforComment
02/07/2014 3.1.1.90 RevisedtoPlanG3.1.1Build90toTASoftwareforComment

14/07/2014 3.1.1.91 Releaseversion
Copyright20092014TASoftware
Allrightsreserved.Anyunauthorisedduplicationofthispublication(includinguploadtopublic
filesharingsites)isprohibited.
WrittenpermissionisrequiredfromTASoftwarefortheduplicationinpartorinfullofany
itemsherein.
Plan-G User Manual Version 3.1.1 July 2014
Plan G User Manual
V 3.1.1 July 2014
CONTENTS
1
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1
FEATURES .......................................................................................................................2
2.1
FeaturesRetainedfromVersion2 .....................................................................2
2.2
NewFeaturesinVersion3 .................................................................................2
PREREQUISITES ..............................................................................................................4
INSTALLATION ................................................................................................................5
8
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4.1
TheDownload ....................................................................................................5
4.2
WindowsXP .......................................................................................................5
4.3
WindowsVista,Windows7andWindows8 ......................................................5
4.4
Installation .........................................................................................................5
4.5
TheData .............................................................................................................6
4.6
AddingNewScenery ..........................................................................................7
FIRSTRUN ......................................................................................................................8
5.1
SinglePC.............................................................................................................8
5.2
NetworkedPCsMSFSorPrepar3D ...................................................................8
5.3
NetworkedPCsXPlane...................................................................................8
5.4
HasitWorked?...................................................................................................9
HAVEALOOKAROUND................................................................................................10
6.1
TheQuickAccessToolbar ................................................................................10
6.2
TheRibbonMenuTabs ....................................................................................12
6.3
TheMainWindow............................................................................................12
6.4
ThePopupWindows.......................................................................................12
6.5
ToolTips ...........................................................................................................13
THERIBBONMENUTABS.............................................................................................14
7.1
TheFileTab ......................................................................................................14
7.2
TheHomeTab ..................................................................................................14
7.3
TheMapTab ....................................................................................................14
7.4
TheDataTab ....................................................................................................15
7.5
TheViewTab....................................................................................................15
7.6
RibbonAutoHide.............................................................................................15
THEFILEMENUINDETAIL............................................................................................17
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8.1
NewPlan ..........................................................................................................17
8.2
Open.................................................................................................................17
8.3
Merge...............................................................................................................18
8.4
SaveAs .............................................................................................................18
8.5
Recent ..............................................................................................................19
8.6
Export...............................................................................................................19
8.7
Print..................................................................................................................20
8.8
Help ..................................................................................................................20
8.9
Options.............................................................................................................21
8.9.1 Locations ..............................................................................................21
8.9.2 Units .....................................................................................................22
8.9.3 Sounds..................................................................................................23
8.9.4 FSConnections.....................................................................................24
8.9.5 TheGPSPanel ......................................................................................25
8.9.6 UserAircraft.........................................................................................26
8.9.7 Traffic ...................................................................................................28
8.9.8 Weather ...............................................................................................28
8.9.9 General.................................................................................................29
8.10
MoreonLocations ...........................................................................................32
8.10.1 SingleComputerFS9&FSX...............................................................32
8.10.2 SingleComputerPrepar3D ...............................................................34
8.10.3 SingleComputerXPlane ..................................................................34
8.10.4 NetworkedComputers.........................................................................34
8.10.5 NetworkedComputersusingaNetworkDrive....................................34
8.10.6 JAllardCharts ......................................................................................36
8.10.7 AddingAdditionalSceneryLocationsontheSamePC ........................36
8.10.8 AddingAdditionalSceneryLocationsonaNetworkedPC ..................37
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THEHOMERIBBONINDETAIL .....................................................................................38
9.1
Find...................................................................................................................38
9.2
StartPosition....................................................................................................40
9.3
Altitude ............................................................................................................40
9.4
Airspeed ...........................................................................................................40
9.5
Winds ...............................................................................................................41
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9.6
AircraftProfile..................................................................................................41
9.7
VFR/IFR.............................................................................................................42
9.8
Quick ................................................................................................................42
9.9
RandomDestination ........................................................................................42
9.10
Reverse.............................................................................................................43
9.11
Edit ...................................................................................................................43
9.12
TheFrameButton ............................................................................................46
9.13
CopyRoute.......................................................................................................46
9.14
RangeRings......................................................................................................46
9.15
Bookmark .........................................................................................................46
9.16
KML ..................................................................................................................47
9.17
Connect/Disconnect.........................................................................................48
9.18
MapPanningControl .......................................................................................48
9.19
VATSIM.............................................................................................................49
THEMAPRIBBONINDETAIL ........................................................................................50
10.1
UserConfiguredSettings .................................................................................50
10.2
Airports ............................................................................................................51
10.3
Navaids.............................................................................................................52
10.4
Airspace............................................................................................................53
10.4.1 FS9,FSXandP3D..................................................................................53
10.4.2 XPlane .................................................................................................55
10.5
11
UserWaypoints................................................................................................55
THEDATARIBBONINDETAIL.......................................................................................57
11.1
BuildingaNavigationDatabase .......................................................................57
11.2
SelectingWhichDatabasetoUse ....................................................................58
11.3
DataTools ........................................................................................................59
11.4
ManagingtheUserWaypointDatabase..........................................................60
11.4.1 EditingRecords ....................................................................................60
11.4.2 DeletingRecords ..................................................................................60
11.4.3 ImportingRecords................................................................................61
11.4.4 ExportingRecords ................................................................................61
11.5
12
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AddingNewScenery ........................................................................................62
THEVIEWRIBBONINDETAIL .......................................................................................63
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12.1
MapGraticule ..................................................................................................63
12.2
MapOverlays ...................................................................................................63
12.3
ThePlanWindow .............................................................................................63
12.4
PlanElevationWindow ....................................................................................65
12.5
TheInformationWindow.................................................................................66
12.6
TheAerodromeWindow .................................................................................67
12.7
TheWeatherWindow......................................................................................67
12.8
TrailAnalysis ....................................................................................................68
12.9
PrimaryFlightDisplay ......................................................................................70
12.10 TheHorizontalSituationIndicator...................................................................71
12.10.1
DirectionIndicator ...........................................................................71
12.10.2
CourseDeviationIndicator ..............................................................71
12.10.3
AutomaticDirectionFinder ............................................................. 71
12.10.4
DescentProfileIndicator .................................................................72
12.11 TheRadioStack................................................................................................72
12.12 TheTrafficWindow..........................................................................................73
12.13 VATSIM.............................................................................................................73
12.14 ZoomControls..................................................................................................73
12.15 KeepWindowonTop.......................................................................................74
13
CONTEXTMENUOPTIONS ...........................................................................................75
13.1
RightClickontheMap.....................................................................................75
13.1.1 CreateUserWaypoint..........................................................................75
13.1.2 GetFlytoHeading,DistanceandTime ...............................................75
13.1.3 MoveFSAircrafttoHere .....................................................................75
13.1.4 SpotElevation ......................................................................................76
13.1.5 QDMRangeandBearing......................................................................76
13.1.6 DisplayandHideRangeRings..............................................................77
13.1.7 LockInfoPanel .....................................................................................77
13.2
RightClickonanAirport ..................................................................................78
13.2.1 StartFlightPlanatAirport ...................................................................78
13.2.2 SelectAlternateDestination................................................................79
13.2.3 SetCOMFrequencies...........................................................................79
13.2.4 ShowAirportDiagram..........................................................................79
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13.2.5 Charts ...................................................................................................79

13.2.6 InstrumentApproaches .......................................................................80
13.2.7 METARandTAF....................................................................................83
13.2.8 OtherSelections...................................................................................83
13.3
RightClickonaVORorNDB ............................................................................83
13.3.1 SetVORFrequencyonNAVRadio .......................................................84
13.3.2 SetNDBFrequencyonADFRadio........................................................84
13.3.3 ShowRadial..........................................................................................84
13.3.4 VORRange ...........................................................................................85
14
FLIGHTPLANS...............................................................................................................86
14.1
CreatingaFlightPlanGraphically ....................................................................86
14.1.1 NewFlightPlan ....................................................................................86
14.1.2 FlightConditions ..................................................................................86
14.1.3 AircraftProfile......................................................................................86
14.1.4 DepartureAirport ................................................................................87
14.1.5 ContinuetoAddWaypoints.................................................................89
14.1.6 InsertanIntermediateWaypoint ........................................................90
14.1.7 StartPosition........................................................................................90
14.1.8 SaveyourPlan......................................................................................91
14.1.9 PassingAltitudes ..................................................................................91
14.2
14.1.10
ATA...................................................................................................91
14.1.11
CrossReferences..............................................................................92
14.1.12
Notes................................................................................................92
14.1.13
TheReverseButton .........................................................................92
CreatingaFlightPlaninthePlanWindow ......................................................92
14.2.1 AddingWaypointstothePlanTable ...................................................92
14.2.2 AddFurtherWaypoints........................................................................93
14.2.3 PassingAltitudes ..................................................................................93
14.2.4 Notes ....................................................................................................94
14.2.5 SaveYourPlan......................................................................................94
14.3
RightClickOptionsinthePlanWindow ........................................................94
14.3.1 SetThisastheActiveLeg.....................................................................94
14.3.2 CentreonMap .....................................................................................94
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14.3.3 Insert,MoveorDeleteWaypoint ........................................................95

14.3.4 CrossReferences..................................................................................95
14.3.5 QuickSnippet .......................................................................................97
14.3.6 InsertSnippetFile ................................................................................98
14.3.7 AddAlternate.......................................................................................99
14.3.8 SetAuthor ............................................................................................99
14.4
ModifyingExistingFlightPlans ........................................................................99
14.4.1 AddingaNewWaypointtotheEndofaPlan .....................................99
14.4.2 InsertingaNewWaypoint ...................................................................99
14.4.3 MovingandDeletingWaypoints .......................................................100
14.4.4 SaveYourEditedPlan ........................................................................100
14.5
VerticalNavigationProfiles............................................................................100
14.5.1 UserDefinedVNAVProfile ................................................................100
14.5.2 DefaultVNAVProfile..........................................................................100
15
16
USERWAYPOINTS ......................................................................................................102
15.1
CreatingUserWaypoints ...............................................................................102
15.2
AddingaNewUserWaypointtoaFlightPlan...............................................104
15.3
ModifyingUserWaypoints ............................................................................104
15.4
DeletingUserWaypoints ...............................................................................105
ANEXAMPLEFLIGHTPLAN ........................................................................................106
16.1
Preparation ....................................................................................................106
16.2
TheScenicRoute............................................................................................107
16.3
ALittleStickofBlackpoolRock ......................................................................109
16.4
ControlledAirspace........................................................................................110
16.5
ChangeofPlan ...............................................................................................112
16.6
VNAVProfile...................................................................................................113
16.7
Notes ..............................................................................................................113
16.8
Alternate ........................................................................................................113
16.9
LetsGoFlying ................................................................................................115
16.9.1 MicrosoftFlightSimulator .................................................................115
16.9.2 XPlane ...............................................................................................116
16.9.3 Prepare3D ..........................................................................................117
17
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CONNECTIONTOAFLIGHTSIMULATOR....................................................................119
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17.1
FlightDataTransfer........................................................................................119
17.2
CommunicationProtocols .............................................................................120
17.2.1 FSUIPC3forFS9..................................................................................120
17.2.2 SimConnectforFSX............................................................................121
17.2.3 FSUIPC4forFSX ..................................................................................121
17.2.4 SimConnectforP3D ...........................................................................121
17.2.5 FSUIPCforP3D ...................................................................................122
17.2.6 XPUIPCforXPlane .............................................................................122
18
FLIGHTSIMULATORANDPLANGONTHESAMECOMPUTER ..................................123
18.1
ConnectingtoFS9 ..........................................................................................123
18.2
ConnectingtoFSXWithSimConnect .............................................................124
18.2.1 ConnectionUsingPipe .......................................................................125
18.2.2 ConnectionUsingIPv4 .......................................................................125
18.2.3 ConnectionUsingIPv6 .......................................................................125
19
18.3
ConnectingtoFSXwithFSUIPC......................................................................126
18.4
ConnectingtoP3DWithSimConnect ............................................................126
18.5
ConnectingtoP3DWithFSUIPC ....................................................................127
18.6
ConnectingtoXPlane....................................................................................127
FLIGHTSIMULATORANDPLANGONANETWORK...................................................129
19.1
FirstFindYourSim .........................................................................................129
19.2
ConnectingtoFS9fromaNetworkedPC ......................................................129
19.2.1 WideFS ...............................................................................................130
19.2.2 ConnectionSteps ...............................................................................130
19.3
ConnectingtoFSXfromaNetworkedPCwithSimConnect..........................131
19.3.1 CreatingaSimConnect.xmlfilefortheIPv4Protocol........................131
19.3.2 CreatingaSimConnect.xmlfilefortheIPv6Protocol........................132
19.3.3 ModifyinganExistingaSimConnect.xmlfile.....................................134
19.3.4 ConfiguretheSimConnectSettingsinPlanG....................................134
19.3.5 Connected ..........................................................................................135
19.4
ConnectingtoFSXfromaNetworkedPCwithFSUIPC..................................136
19.4.1 WideFS ...............................................................................................136
19.4.2 ConnectionSteps ...............................................................................137
19.5
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ConnectingtoP3DfromaNetworkedPCwithSimConnect .........................137
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21
19.6
ConnectingtoP3DfromaNetworkedPCwithFSUIPC .................................138
19.7
ConnectingtoXPlanefromaNetworkedPC................................................139
MOREONSIMCONNECT ............................................................................................142
20.1
Example1.......................................................................................................143
20.2
Example2.......................................................................................................144
APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................146
21.1
Appendix1TableofIllustrations ...................................................................146
21.2
Appendix2Support ....................................................................................151
21.3
Appendix3Acknowledgements .................................................................151
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Plan G User Manual
V 3.1.1 July 2014
INTRODUCTION
Releasedin2009,PlanGwasthefirstFlightSimulatorplanningsoftwaretooltouse
theacclaimedandversatileGoogleMapsmappingtool.Hitherto,theinbuiltplanner
andthirdpartyexternalflightplannershaveextrapolatedgeographicdatafromthe
Simulatorprogramitself,withthelimitationwhichthatentails.PlanGwasinstantly
popularandwidelyacclaimedacrosstheflightsimulatorenthusiastworld,andin
September2011wontheprestigiousMutleysHangarAwardforFlightSimulator
Addonexcellence.
UsingapublicdomainglobalmapPlanGoverlaysfeaturespertinenttoFlightand
FlightPlanningAirports,ControlledAirspace,ProhibitedandRestrictedAreas,
InstrumentApproachPathsandmanymore.
FlightPlanscanbegraphicallymodified;adding,deletingordraggingwaypointstonew
positionswiththemouse.Userdefinedwaypointscanbecreatedontheflyasyou
buildaplan.
PlanGVersion3isabrandnew,completelyrevisedversion,andnowusesOpen
StreetMapsasitsmappingbase.Althoughterrainmodellingandshadingisnot
currentlyavailableinOSM,theverticalterrainprofilefeatureinPlanGv2hasbeen
enhancedandsimplifiedtoprovidethesameverticalnavigationplanningcapability.
Theseveralinformationpanesarenowpresentedasfloatingwindows,allowingthe
usertoplaceinformationanywhereonthescreen,ornot,astheywish.
ManynewfeatureshavebeenaddedtoVersion3tomakePlanGv3theessential
Flightsimmersutilityapplication.AswellasworkingwithFS9andFSX,PlanGv3now
interfaceswithXPlane,andwithVATSIMiftheuserisconnectedtotheInternet.
Toavoidcomplicatingthetextunnecessarily,wherethewordsFlightSimulator
appearinthetext,XPlaneisincludedunlessthereisaspecificdifferencebetweenthe
behaviouroftheMicrosoftproductandXPlane,whichisexplainedseparately.
Newfeaturesinclude:creatingseparateaircraftperformanceprofiles,Quickflight
plans,IFRflightplans,localKML&KMZ,bookmarkingparticularmapviewsanda
uniqueRadioStackwhichsimplifieschangingfrequencies,especiallyifPlanGisrunon
aseparatedisplaytoFSorXPlane.
Version3.1.1ofthesoftwareincludesmanynewenhancements,includingsupportfor
Prepar3D,aircraftperformanceprofiles,theabilitytoopenjpegformatcharts,an
autopilotaddedtotheradiostack,multipleVORradialsprojection(allowsposition
fixingbyintersectingradials)andenhancedflightplaneditingfunctions.
TherearenowseparateversionsofPlanGforWindowsXPandforWindowsVista
onwards,includingWindows8.1.Domakesureyoudownloadthecorrectversionfor
youroperatingsystem.
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FEATURES
2.1
Features Retained from Version 2
2.2
SupportsFS9andFSX.
Showsairspace,airportsandradionavaidsonthemap(fromFlightSimdata).
Configurablelevelsofdetail(objectsdisplayed)foreachzoomsetting.
VerticalNavigationprofile(requiresadditionalDigitalElevationModel(DEM)
download).
FullyeditableflightplanscanbesavedinFSXorFS9format(.pln),orinPlanGs
ownformat(.plg).
ExistingFSplansandPlanGv2planscanbeloadedandeditedifrequired.
Flightplanscanbereversedattheclickofthemouse.
FlightPlanscanbeannotated,andwaypointscrossreferencedtogroundbased
radionavaids.
EithermaporPilotsLog(PLOG),orboth,canbeprinted.
Customisabledatabaseofuserwaypoints,VisualReferencePoints(VRPs),airstrips
etc.Manyusefulwaypointsareincludedinthedownload.Multipleuser
databasescanbebuiltifrequired.
AdditionalUserWaypointcommaseparatedtextfilescanbeimported.
CanberunonasecondmonitororonanetworkedPCacrossalocalareanetwork
(LAN).
SynchronisedconnectiontoFSXorFS9eitheronthesamecomputeroracrossa
LAN.
Aircrafttelemetry,aircraftflighttrails,traffic,weatheretcavailablewhen
connectedtoFSXorFS9.
Savedflighttrailscanbedisplayedforlateranalysis.
ConfigurableRangeRingscanshowdistanceorflighttime.
Displayinstrumentapproachesandlowaltitudeairways.
DisplaycurrentweatherforknownweatherstationsinTAFandMETARformat
evenifnotconnectedtoFS.
New Features in Version 3
PlanGVersion3.1includessupportforLockheedMartin'scommercialtraining
flightsimulatorPrepar3D.
OpenStreetMapsinterface(replacesGoogleMaps)forcomprehensive
topographicaldetailincludingrailways(traditionalVFRnavaid)woodland,parkland
andwatercourses.
Snippetsmultiplewaypointswhichcanbeinsertedintoaplaneitherbyquick
entryorfromasnippetsformat(.snip)file.
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NowsupportsXPlaneVersions9&10.Fullyeditableflightplanscanbesavedin
theXPlaneformat(.fms),orinPlanGsownformat(.plg).
VATSIMSupportshowallVATSIMcontrollersandactivepilotsonthemap.
RADIALmenuallowsyoutoclickonmultipleVORsorNDBsanddisplayspecified
radialsfromthemforeasyidentificationofintersections.
ACOM/NAVRadioStackwhichsimplifieschangingfrequencies,especiallyifPlanG
isrunonaseparatedisplaytoFSorXPlane.Theradiostackalsoincludesan
autopilot.
Draganddropeditingofflightplanroutes.
Additionaloptionsaddedtothemainmapcontextmenu.
KML(&KMZ)filescannowbestoredonyourPC.
RevisedElevationPlotdisplay.
AircraftPerformanceProfiles.Canyourchosenaircraftflyatthecruisingairspeed
oraltitudeyouhaveset?
DataToolsallowdatatobemovedbetweenMSFSandXPlanedatabases.
PDFandJPEGChartsdisplay.Copyyourairportcharts,approachplatesetcinto
PlanGFiles\Charts\<AirportCAOCode>andtheywillautomaticallybeavailable
whenyourightclickthatairportonthemap.
OneormoreVORRadialscanbeplottedbybearinganddistanceeithertoorfrom
oneormoreVORs.
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PREREQUISITES
Tofunction,PlanGrequiresthatthe.Net(DotNet)ClientProfilebeinstalledonthe
usersPC.PlanGVersion3.1.1forWindowsXPrequires.Net4.0;PlanG3.1.1for
WindowsVistaonwardsrequires.Net4.5.Ifthecorrectversionisn'tinstalledonyour
PC,itisdownloadedautomaticallybytheinstallationprogram,sotheuserdoesnt
needtotakeanyaction.Allfuturereleasesafter3.1.1willrequire.Net4.5.
PlanGrequiresanactiveInternetconnectiontodisplaytheMapbase,whicheverone
youselecttouse,andupdateitcorrectly.AnInternetconnectionalsoallowsVATSIM
trafficandcontrollerstobedisplayedwhentheVATSIMoptionontheHomeribbon
isselected.
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INSTALLATION
4.1
The Download
V 3.1.1 July 2014
Downloadthelatestversion(andthecorrectversionforyouroperatingsystem)from
theTASoftwareForumhttp://www.tasoftware.co.uk/forum.Unzipthedownloaded
zipfiletoatemporaryfolderofyourchoice.Twofileswillbeextracted:
4.2
SetupPlanG3.1.1.exe,and
ReadMe.txt.
Windows XP
PlanGVersion3.1.1xpisthecorrectversiontorununderWindowsXP.
4.3
Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8

PlanGVersion3.1.1w7workswithWindowsVista,7and8(including8.1).
ThepersoninstallingPlanGmusthaveAdministratorprivileges.Thismeanseither
HavinganAdminstratoraccountonthecomputer,inwhichcase,doubleclicking
SetupPlanG3.1.1.exe'willstartinstallation,or,
ObtainingtemporaryAdministratorprivilegesbyrightclickingonSetupPlanG
3.1.1.exeselectingRunasAdministrator.Installationwillthencommence.
Note:ThismanualisvalidforPlanGunderanyoftheaboveoperatingsystems
4.4
Installation
Thesetupwindowopenswithawindowcontainingacopyrightnotice.ClicktheNext
buttontoopenawindowcontainingadialogueboxinwhichtoenterthefolderinto
whichyouwishtoinstallPlanG.Thedefaultlocationsdependonyouroperating
system.
Ina32bitWindowssystem,thedefaultisafolderwithinthestandardProgramFiles
systemofWindows,normally:
C:\ProgramFiles\TASoftware\PlanGv3
For64bitsystems,thedefaultisafolderinProgramFiles(x86),normally:
C:\ProgramFiles(x86)\TASoftware\PlanGv3
Somepeoplehaveproblemswithfileaccesspermissionswheninstallinginthese
defaultlocations,especiallywithWindowsVista,Windows7andWindows8.With
thesethreeoperatingsystems,youmayprefertoinstallPlanGoutsidethesesecure
areasofyourfilesystem.However,becausePlanGnowstoresitsworkingfiles
outsidetheProgramFilesorProgramDatasecureareas,thisislessofanissuethan
formerly.
IfyoudochoosetoinstallPlanGoutsidetheWindowssecureareas,firstcreatean
appropriatefolderinwhichyouwishtoinstallPlanG,thensimplyclicktheBrowse
buttonandnavigatetothefolderyouhavecreated,forexample:
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C:\Users\JohnDoe\Aviation\FlightSimulation\PlanGv3
YoucaninstallPlanGforeveryonethatusesthecomputeronwhichitisbeing
installed,orjustyourself,thepersoninstallingit.Youcanalsochecktheamountof
diskspaceneeded.WhenyouthenclicktheNextbutton,followinganAreyou
sure?confirmationscreen,onwhichyouagainclicktheNextbutton,installationwill
thenproceedrapidly.
TheinstallerwillplacethePlanGicon
onyourdesktopwhichistheshortcutto
starttheprogram.Moveitsomewhereconvenientifyouwish.Ifyouareafrequent
PlanGuser,youcanalsocopyittothetaskbarsothatitisalwaysvisible.That
completestheinstallationprocess.
Figure 1 The Plan-G User Interface at First Startup
PlanG3storesallitsdatabasefilesinafoldercalledPlanGFileswithinyourMy
DocumentsFolder.IfyouhaveinstalledearlierversionsofPlanG3,youcaneither
deletethepreviouscontentsofyourPlanGfoldercompletely,oryoucanifyouwish
leavethefiles,andtheunziproutinewilloverwritethefileswhichneedtobe
overwritten,butwillretainyourdatafilesintactwithoutmodification.
4.5
The Data
BecausePlanG3storesallitsdatabasefilesinafolderwithinyourMyDocuments
Folder,awayfromtheprograminstallationfolder,updatestotheprogramdonot
affectthatdata.Thismakesiteasytomaintainbackupsandotherhousekeeping
tasks.IfyouhavecreateduserwaypointsinanearlierversionofPlanG3thatyou
wanttokeep,theywillbemaintainedintactwithanynewversionyouinstall,storedin
thisfolder,eitherinthefileUserWpts3.sdf,orinyourownuserdefinedfileincomma
separatedvalue(CSV)format.
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WithPlanG3,thereisnolongertheneedtorebuildthemaindatabasewhenyou
installanewversion.However,youwillneedtobuildthemaindatabaseifyouare
installingPlanGforthefirsttime,oronanewcomputer.Awarningmessagetothis
effectappears,ifnecessary,whenyoufirststartPlanG.However,manyother
settingsareresetineachnewversionsuchasthelocationsoftheimportantFSXfiles
PlanGneedstoaccess,(SeeSection8.9.1fordetails).
IfyouuninstallPlanGv3,allyouruserdataandyourdatabaseremainin
Documents\PlanGFilesandareunaffected.Youcanalsodeletethedatabasefilesany
timeyouwishaslongasPlanGisnotactuallyrunningitwillrecreatethemnexttime
itruns.OfcourseyouwillneedtoruntheBuildNavigationDatabaseoptionfrom
theDatatabagaintopopulatethedatabase.
4.6
Adding New Scenery

Ifyouaddnew3rdpartyscenerytoyoursimulatorafterhavingusedPlanGfora
while,evenifyouaddjustasingleairport,youMUSTrebuilttherelevantdatabase
otherwisePlanGcannotdisplayitonthemap,ifitisanairportthathasn'texistedin
yoursimpreviously.Ifthenewsceneryonlycontainschangestotheairportsuchasa
newrunway,thenthedataforthatairport,andtheairportdiagramwillbeincorrect
unlessthedatabaseisrebuilt.
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FIRST RUN
ThefirsttimeyourunPlanGitopenswithamapviewcentredonEnstoneAirfieldin
theUK.InadditiontheFlightPlanWindowandtheInformationWindowareopen.
TheycanbeclosedbyclickingtherelevanticonontheViewribbon,oryoucanmove
themtoonesideofthemapviewifthereisspaceonyourscreen.TheDataribbonis
openbydefaultwhichincludesatabwhichpromptsyoutobuildthePlanGinternal
databasebeforedoinganythingelse.Oncethedatabasehasbeencreatedyoucan
exploreatleisure.
5.1
Single PC
TobuildtheinternaldatabasewithPlanGandaFlightSimulatoronthesame
computer,gototheDatamenuandclickontheBuildNavigationDatabaseicon.You
maythenselecttheFlightSimulatorsforwhichyouwanttobuilddatabases.Youcan
buildseparatedatabasesforanyone,two,threeorallfour.Oncetheyhavebeen
built,youcanswitchbetweenthemandPlanGwillloadthecorrectdataset.
Figure 2 Database Build Options
5.2
Networked PCs -MSFS or Prepar3D

IfFSX,Prepar3DorFS9isinstalledonaseparate,networked,computertoPlanG,you
mustfirstfollowtheinstructionsinSection8.9.1belowtosetupthelocationsinPlan
GsothatitknowswheretogetitsFlightSimulatordata.Onceyouhavedonethis,
PlanGwillbeabletofindthedataitneedstobuildthedatabasefortheappropriate
sim.YoucanevenhaveFSXononePC,FS9orPrepar3Donanother,andPlanGona
third.Aslongasthelocationsaresetcorrectly,PlanGwillbuildthedatabases.
BuildingthedatabasesisnotthesameasconnectingPlanGtoyoursim.Toconnect
FStoPlanGfollowtheinstructionsinsection19FlightSimulatorandPlanGon
SeparateComputers.However,youmusthavefirstsetthelocationsotherwisewhen
youtrytoconnectFStoPlanG,youwillgetanerrormessage.
YoumayfinditsimplertoinstallanextracopyofPlanGonyourFlightSimulatorPC
andbuildthedatabase(s)there.YoucanthencopythePlanGFiles\Datafolderacross
toyournetworkedPC.
5.3
Networked PCs X-Plane

FirstensurethatthefoldercontainingXPlane.exeissharedwithallowchanges
ticked.ThensetthelocationofXPlane.exeonthePlanGcomputer.Thereisno
equivalenttoscenery.cfginXPlane,soyoudontneedtoenteranythingelse.Full
detailsaregiveninSection19.5.
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YoumayfinditsimplertoinstallanextracopyofPlanGonyourXPlanePCandbuild
thedatabasethere.YoucanthencopythePlanGFiles\Datafolderacrosstoyour
networkedPC.
5.4
Has it Worked?
OccasionallyPlanGwillappeartobuildthedatabaseveryquickly.Thisusuallymeans
thatthebuildhasfailed,andyouwillhavetobuildthedatabaseagain.Youcan
quicklycheckwhetheradatabaseexists,becausetheiconforanydatabasesnot
availablearedisabledandgreyedout.Ifadatabaseisinstalled,thenwhenyoumove
themouseoveritsicon,itwilldisplayanorangebackground(seeFigure2above).
Note,however,thattheFSXiconiscolouredorangeatstartup,asthatisthedefault
databasebuildoption.
Ifthedatabasebuildappearstohavestalled(typicallybuildstakearound10minutes),
checkthelogfileinPlanGFilesforerrors.Ifyoucanidentifyaparticularscenery
thatiscausingtheerror,temporarilyremovethesceneryfromyoursimulatorandtry
again.Iftheproblempersists,pleasecontactsupportviatheforum.
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HAVE A LOOK AROUND

Mostofthescreenisoccupiedbyamap.Ifyouhaveusedonlinemapsbefore,moving
aroundthemappanningacrossthelandscapeandzoomingtodifferent
magnificationswillbequitefamiliar.Thelevelofdetailchangesatdifferentzoom
levelsboththebasicmapfeaturesandtheflightrelatedoverlays.Thelatterareuser
configurable(SeeSection10.1).
TheseconddominantfeatureisthemenuribbonatthetopofthePlanGwindow.
Therearefourribbonmenus:Home,Map,DataandView.TheRibbonmenuicons
willchangesizeandpositionifthemainwindowsizeischanged,althoughtheystayin
thesamelogicalpartoftheribbonandsequencetoavoidanyconfusion.Themenu
ribbonmaycontainscrollbarsattheendsifthePlanGwindowiscontractedinwidth
tolessthantheminimumlengthoftheribbon.
Figure 3 The Menu Ribbon for the Map Tab
Figure 4 Menu Ribbon Scroll Bars
Thestatusbar(bottommarginofthemap)displayscertaindatacontinuously.Fromthe
leftfirstisazoomlevelindicatorwithaminusandaplusbuttonwithwhichyoucan
zoomthemapasanalternativetousingthebuttonsontheViewribbonwiththesame
functions,orthemousewheel.Next,theLatitudeandLongitudeofthemousecursor
location(note:nottheaircraft)locationisalwaysdisplayed.Dependingonyouruser
preferences,itcandisplayindecimaldegreesordegrees,minutesandseconds.
WithFSconnected,theaircraftaltitude,headingandgroundspeedisshownnext,
followedbyacoursedeviationindicator(CDI).Thisisactivatedifaflightplanisloaded,
PlanGisconnectedtothesimulatorandanaircraftisfollowingthecourseplotted.The
CDIshowsthedeviationfromtheplannedcourse,witheachdotrepresentinga2degree
coursecorrectiontothenextwaypoint.Iftheyellowdiamondindicatoristwodotsto
theleftofcentre,thecoursecorrectionrequiredis4degreestotheleft,andsoon.
Finally,theestimatedtimeofarrivalatthenextwaypointandatthedestinationis
shown.Againthesevaluescanonlybedisplayedifaflightplanisloadedandtheaircraft
isinflight.
6.1
The Quick Access Toolbar

Bydefault,thistoolbarcontainsthreeitems.However,ANYbuttononanyofthe
ribbonscanbeaddedtotheQuickAccessToolbarbyrightclickingandselecting'Add
toQuickAccessToolbar'.
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Figure 5 Quick Access Toolbar
Thedefaulticonsare,fromtheleft:
ThePlanGAeroplaneiconmoves,resizes,minimisesormaximisesthewholePlan
Gwindow(orclosestheapplication).
TheBlankPageiconclearsanyelementsofaflightplaninmemory,allowinga
freshstart.
TheFileOpeniconopenstheMyDocuments\PlanGFilesfolder,allowing
selectionanddisplayofanexistingFlightPlanfile.
TheFileSaveiconopenstheMyDocuments\PlanGFilesfolder,allowingthe
currentlyopenFlightPlantobesaved.
TheDownArrowIconclickingthisicondisplaysasmalldropdownmenuwithsix
options.Inthepicturebelow,anadditionaloption,SaveFlightPlanhasbeenselected
aswellasthedefault,andtherelevanticonisshownontheQuickAccessToolbar.
Figure 6 The Customise Quick Access Toolbar Dropdown
InadditiontothefiveQuickAccessToolbaroptions,theQuickAccessToolbaritself
canbeshownbelowtheribbonratherthanaboveit.WhentheQuickAccessToolbar
isbelowtheribbon,thefinalitemonthedropdownchangestoShowabovethe
Ribbon,asyoumightexpect.
Themenuribboncanbehiddenbydoubleclickingononeofthefourribbontabs
(Home,Map,Data&View).Torestoretheribbon,doubleclickagainanyof
theribbontabs.
Theribbonscanalsobeautohidden.Atthefarrighthandendofeachscreen,
abovetheribbonandnexttothequestionmarkHelpicon,isasmalluparrowicon
whichhidestheribbonwhenclicked.Theuparrowthenchangestoadownarrow.
Whentheribbonishidden,ifyouclickonthedownarrowicon,theribbonisagain
displayed.DoubleclickinganyoneoftheMenutabshasthesameeffect.
Whentheribbonisautohidden,ifyouclickoneoftheMenutabsonceonly,the
relevantribbonforthattabopenstemporarilyforfurtheruseraction.Ifyouclick
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awayfromtheribbononthemaporwindowbordertheribbonisagainhidden.
TheCtrlF1keycombinationhasthesameeffectastheAutohidebutton.
Themenuribbonfunctionsarenotneededatalltimes,sominimizingtheribbondoes
notnecessarilyreduceyouroptions,butcanfreevaluablescreenspace.
TheFiletabisaspecialcase.ClickingonceonlyopenstheFilescreen.Clickingonce
onlyagainclosesit.Inthisandinotherways,itfunctionsdifferentlyfromtheother
tabs.
6.2
The Ribbon Menu Tabs

TherearefiveTabs,eachofwhichwhenclicked,revealsitsownRibbonMenu(except
Filewhichopensapagewithasidebarmenu).
Figure 7 The Menu Tabs
TheribbonmenuscontrolalmostallthefunctionsofPlanG.
6.3
The Main Window

WhenPlanGstarts,themainwindowdisplaysthemaplocationwhereyouwerewhen
youlastexitedtheprogram,andatthesamemagnification.Featuresaredisplayedin
accordancewiththeuserdefinedoptionsontheMapribbon.
6.4
The Pop-up Windows

WhenthemainViewtabisselected,theribbonshowsarowofteniconswhichare
linkstotenfloatingpopupwindows.Theycanbeopened,closed,resizedandmoved
astheuserprefers.Eachofthesewindowscoversoneofthefollowingtopics:
Plan:
ThetabularFlightPlan,
PlanElevation
Theterrainprofileandverticalnavigationprofileifthe
requisiteDigitalElevationModel(DEM)fileshavebeen
downloadedandinstalled(SeeSection12.3below).
Information:
Displaystextualdataaboutcontrolledairspaceandother
details.
Aerodrome:
IfyourightclickanairportonthemapandselectShow
AirportChartfromthedropdown,theaerodromechart,with
runwaysandtaxiways,isdisplayedbeneaththeAerodrome
tag.
Weather:
WhenPlanGisconnectedtoFS,thiswindowshowstheFS
weatherforthenearestweatherstationtotheaircraft,and
theenrouteweather.ThisFSweathermayofcoursebe
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externalrealweather,dependingonthesourcebeingusedby
FSitself.
TrailAnalysis:
Displaysaverticalprofileofthecurrentlyselectedtrailshown
onthemainmap,
PFD:
Displaysfiveofthestandardsixpackflightinstruments
whicharefitteddirectlyinfrontofthepilotinmostmodern
aircraftbeforetheadventofglasscockpits.Themissingone
istheAttitudeindicator.
Radios
DisplaysaconventionalNAV/COMRadioStackwindowas
foundinmostaircraft,includinganautopilot,whichcanbe
usedinsteadoftheaircraftsownradiostackifpreferred.
Traffic
Displaysonthemainmapasmallredaircraftsymbolforany
aircraftwhichsatisfiesthedisplaycriteriasetonthe
Files/Options/Trafficpage.
VATSIM
OpensawindowwhichlistsallAirTrafficControllersandPilots
currentlyconnectedtoVATSIMinalphabeticalorderbycall
sign.
ThedefaultviewatstartupdisplaysthePlanandInformationwindows,andafterthe
initialstartup,i.e.oncethedatabasehasbeenbuilt,theribbonassociatedwiththe
Hometab.ThefunctionofeachoftheseoptionalwindowsisdescribedfullyinSection
12.
6.5
Tool Tips
Ifyouhoverthemouseoveranysymbol,menuoption,tickbox,radiobuttonor
aeronauticalfeatureonthemap,acontextsensitivetooltipisdisplayedbriefly
describingtheitemsfunctionoridentity.Ofcourse,manyareobvious,butit
surprisinghowusefultheycanbewhenyourmindgoesblank(asitwillsometimes,
fearnot!).
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THE RIBBON MENU TABS
7.1
The File Tab

IfyouclicktheFiletab,thenthemap
viewclosesandanewviewopens
containingseveralfilehandlingand
setupoptionsshownasamenuonthe
lefthandsideofthepage.
ThedefaultviewisoftheRecentoption
fromthelefthandmenu,with,onthe
right,alistoftenofthemostrecent
flightplansopened.Thelefthand
menuoptionsaredescribedfullyin
Section8below.
Figure 8 The File Menu Page
Thelefthandmenusofferanumberofsetupandprintingoptions,plusaccesstoa
copyofthismanualviatheHelpoption.
7.2
The Home Tab

SelectingtheHomeTabdisplaystheHomeribbon,whichcontainsasignificantnumber
ofoptionsdescribedfullyinsection9below.
Figure 9 The Home Ribbon
7.3
The Map Tab

SelectingtheMapTabdisplaystheMapribbon,whichshowstheitemswhichare
displayedasstandardateachscale(levelofzoom)ofthemap.Itisuserconfigurable,
butthemoredetaildisplayedatthelowerzoomlevels(moremapdisplayed)themore
clutteredthedisplaywillbeandtheslowertoloadandrefreshfollowingchanges.If
theuserselectstoomuchdatatobedisplayed,PlanGcansometimesdisplayanerror
message.
Figure 10 The Map Ribbon
Themapsettingsaredescribedinmoredetailinsection10.
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The Data Tab

TheDataTabdisplaystheDataRibbonwhichallowsyouto
CreatethedatabaseforeitherFS9,FSXorXPlane,and
Selectwhichsimulatorsdatadisplaysonthemapandforwhichyouwishtocreate
aplan.
ManagetheUserWaypointdatabase.
Theseoptionsareofcourseonlyavailableforthesimulatorversion(s)youhave
installed.
Anycurrentdatabasesavailableareindicatedbytherelevanticonbeingastrong
colour.Theiconsfordatabaseswhichhavenotbeeninstalledaregreyedout.Ifyou
passthemouseovertheiconforaninstalleddatabase,thaticonisdisplayedwithan
orangebackground.Theiconsarethesameasthoseusedfortheprogramsthey
represent.
Figure 11 Data Ribbon
Furtherdetailsofhowtousetheseoptionsisgiveninsection11below.
7.5
The View Tab

Theviewtabdisplaysoptionstocustomizesomeelementsofwhatyouseeonscreen.
Mapoverlaysandthemapgraticulecanbeswitchedofftoimproveclarityandspeed
maprefreshrate,forexample.Therearealsothreecustomisablefixedzoombuttons
forquicklyselectingafavouritezoomratio.TheteniconscommencingwithPlanon
theleftandendingwithVATSIMontherighteachenableapopupdatawindow.
TheseareresizeablewiththeexceptionoftheRadioStackandthePFDWindows.
Figure 12 The View Ribbon
7.6
Ribbon Auto-Hide
Atthefarrighthandendofeachribbonisasmallcareticonwhichwhenclickedhides
theribbon(whicheverribbonyouareviewingatthetime).Ithidesthewholeribbon
system,notjusttheoneyouarecurrentlyviewing.WhenyouclickoneoftheMenu
tabs,theassociatedribbonisdisplayeduntilyouclickonthemaporwindowborder,
whenitisautomaticallyhiddenagain.Alternatively,thehotkeycombination,CtrlF1,
toggleshiddenordisplayedmode.
IfAutohideisenabled,Theribbonisautohiddeninthiswayonfirstinstallation.
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Figure 13 The Minimise the Ribbon icon and Tooltip
Doubleclickinganyofthetabs(excepttheFiletab)willalsoautohidetheribbon.
Doubleclickingatabagainwilldisplaytherelevantribbonandswitchofftheauto
hidefeature.
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THE FILE MENU IN DETAIL

TheFileMenuisntaribbon,butapagewithaverticalsidebarmenu.Thepage
defaultfunctionistodisplaythelasttenflightplanscreatedoropened.Apushpin
iconontherightofeachofthesetenmostrecentflightplansallowstheselectedflight
plantoremainintheRecentfileslistwhileotherflightplansmaychangeasnewflights
arecreated.Alltencanbeselectedtobepinnedifdesired.Aredcrossiconwill
deletethatentryfromthelist,butitdoesnotdeletetheflightplanitself.
8.1
New Plan
SelectingNewPlanclosesthemenuandreturnstheusertothemainmapwindow,
whereanewplancanbecreatedasdescribedinSection14below.
8.2
Open
SelectingtheopenoptionopenstheWindowsfolderwhichcontainsallthePlanG
data.Bydefault,thisisthePlanGFilesfolder,locatedinMyDocuments(Windows
XP)orsimplyDocumentsinWindowsVistaorWindows7.Theusercanselecta
flightplanfromthelist,oropenaTrailfilebyopeningtheTrailfolderandselecting
oneofthetrailfileoptionsfromthefiletypeselectiondropdownatthebottomright
ofthewindow.ThefiletypeselectiondropdownincludesoptionsforPlanGflight
planfiles,(.PLG),(thedefault),FlightSimulatorflightplanfiles,(.PLN),XPlaneflight
planfiles(.FMS);PlanGVersion3Trailfiles(.IGC)andPlanGversion2Trailfiles(.txt).
Figure 14 The File Open Window and Options
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Ifyoustoreflightplansorotherdatafilesatsomeotherlocation,youcannavigatethe
filebrowserthere,usingtheusualWindowsmethodsdependingonyourOperating
System.
PlanG"remembers"whereyousavedthemostrecentsavedflightplans,andwill
openthefilebrowseratthatfolder,soyoucanselectapreviouslycreatedflightplan
fromthere.Italsosavesfilesinthelastdatafolderyouopened.Forthisreasonyou
doneedtocheckthatyouaresavingfilesinthefolderinwhichintendtokeepthem,
otherwiseyoumaynotbeabletofindtheplanyouarelookingforlater.Thisis
becauseitwassavedinthelastfolderopenedratherthanthefolderinwhichyou
expectedtofindit.
Oncetheflightplanisloaded,PlanGwillchangeitsmaplocationanddisplaythelegs
andthewaypointsofthewholeofyourselectedflightplan.
8.3
Merge
Initially,thisoptionisgreyedoutandunavailable.However,whenyouopenaflight
plan,thenthisoptionbecomesavailable.Itfunctionsasyouwouldexpectandjoins
two(ormore)flightplanstogether.Openoneplan,thenclickmerge,andtheFile
OpenWindowisagaindisplayedandyoucanselecttheplantomergewiththefirst.
Ifthetwoplansarenotcontiguous,PlanGaddsthemissingflightlegrequiredtojoin
themup.Alittlesanityisneededhere,asmergingaflightintheUKwithonein
Australiawillhaveaninterestingjoininguplegcomprisingaflightliterallyhalfway
roundtheworld!Careisalsoneededtomergeflightsinthelogicalorderthatyou
wishtoflythem.IfyouloadaflightfromBtoC,andthenmergeaflightfromAtoB.
PlanGcreatesaplanFromBtoCtoA,notfromAtoBtoC,sotheflightcreatedis
probablynotwhatyouintended.Youcanmergeasmanyflightsasyouwishinthis
way.
8.4
Save As
TheSaveAsoptionallowsyoutosavetheplanasaPlanGextendedflightplan
format(.plg)file,ortosaveaplanwithadifferentnameorformat.NotethatPlanG
formatfilescannotbeusedintheFSFlightPlannerorthebuiltinFS/GarminGPSunits.
Whensavingaplan,orexportinginadifferentformat,PlanGopensawindowtothe
lastfolderyouhadopen.Forexample,ifyouhadpreviouslysavedatrailfileto
..\PlanGFiles\Trails,thenthatisthefolderwhichwillopen,soyouwillneedto
browsetothecorrectfolder(PlanGFilesforstoringplans).Failuretocheckthismay
meanthat,later,youcan'tfindtheplanyouarelookingfor,becauseitdoesn'texistin
thefolderyouexpectittobein.
Note:IfyourPCorPlanGcrashes,PlanGrememberstheflightplanyouareworking
on,andwillautomaticallyreloadtheplan(includinganyunsavedchanges)whenyou
restartPlanG.
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Recent
TheFiletabopensbydefaultontheRecentoption,displayingthetenmostrecent
plansopened,includingnewlycreatedflightplansandexistingsavedplans.The
Recentoptiondoesnotdistinguishbetweenthem.RecentFlightPlansaredisplayedin
reversechronologicalorder.
Apushpiniconontherightofeachofthetenmostrecentflightplansallowsthe
selectedflightplantoremainintheRecentfileslistwhileotherflightplansmay
changeasnewflightsarecreated.Alltencanbeselectedtobepinnedifdesired.A
redcrossiconwilldeletethatentryfromthelist,butitdoesnotdeletetheflightplan
itself.
8.6
Export
TheExportoptionallowsyoutochoosewhethertosavetheplanasanFSXflight
planwhichFScanuseinitsFlightPlannerandGPS(.plnfile);anFS9flightplan(.pln
file);asanXPlane9or10FlightPlan(.FMS)orasaPlanGplansnippet(.snip)file,or
tosaveaPlanGformat(.plg)planwithadifferentname.
Snippetfilesaretypicallyashortflightplanscontainingtwoorthreeconsecutive
waypointswhich,ifsavedastype.snip,canbeinsertedintootherflightplans.(See
Section14.3.6fordetailsofhowtousesnippets).PlanGspecificfeatures(passing
altitudes,notes,crossreferencesetc)arenotsavedin.PLNfiles.YoumustuseSave
asandsaveyourplanasa.PLGifyouwishtopreservethisextrainformation.
Figure 15 The Flight Plan Export Options
Note1:Flightplansin.plnformatcreatedbyFS9cannotbeopenedinFSXandvice
versa.Thestructureisdifferent.PlanGplans(.plg)cannotbeopenedinFS9orFSX.
Note2:TheFS9flightplanningtooltreatsuserwaypointsasintersections.Although
userwaypointscanbeaddedtoFS9flightplansinPlanG,theycannotbeadded
directlytoaflightplanwithinFS9.
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Print
Therearethreeprintoptionsinall,thoughonlytwoareshowninFigure16below:to
printthemaportheflightplan.Eachselectableoptionincludesadescription.When
youselectanoption,thepreviewisdisplayedwithaseriesofsmalliconsatthetopof
theprintpreviewwindowtosetthepageparametersbeforeprinting,e.g.wholepage;
pagewidthetc.Eachiconhasatooltip,soyoucanquicklyselectwhichoneyouneed.
Youcanofcourseprintbothmapandflightplan,andtheyprintsequentially.Once
theoptionshavebeenset,clickingthesmallprintericonwillopenthefamiliar
WindowsPrintwindow,soyoucanselectalltheusualoptionsportrait/landscape;
colour/greyscale;bordered/borderlessetc.ClickingthePrintbuttoninthatwindow
willstarttheprintout.
Ifnoflightplanhasbeenloadedornewlycreated,theFlightplanprintbuttonis
greyedout.
Figure 16 Print Options
ThethirdprintoptionisavailableifthePlanElevationWindowisopened.Atthetop
rightofthatwindowisasmallprintericon,whichwhenclickedprintsthePlan
ElevationWindowexactlyasdisplayedonscreen.Again,theconventionalWindows
Printwindowopensfirst,soyoucanselectalltheusualoptionsportrait/landscape;
colour/greyscale;bordered/borderlessetc.
8.8
Help
ThehelpPageprovidesfouroptions:
AboutPlanGprovidesinformationaboutthecurrentbuildoftheprogram.
UserManualopenstheAdobeAcrobatformatPlanGUserManual(thisdocument).
TechnicalSupportisalinktotheTASoftwareforum,wherealltheexperts,including
TimArnot,thePlanGcreator,arereadyandeagertosolveyourproblem.
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CheckforUpdateswillautomaticallycheckforupdatestoyourcurrentlyinstalled
version.
8.9
Options
SelectingOptionsopensanOptionswindow,withasecondsidebarmenuwhich
givesaccesstoninedifferentdialoguepanes.WhenyouopenPlanG,thefirsttime
youvisittheFile/Optionsmenuselection,therighthandareaofthepageisblank,
andremainsso,unlessyouselectoneofthenineoptions.PlanGkeepsopenthelast
selectedpaneforthedurationofthePlanGsession.
Theoptionspanesarereasonablyselfexplanatory.Defaultvaluesareincludedwhich
canhelpdecideappropriatevalues.
Youmaynotwishtochangethedefaults,butwhenthingsgetbusy,forexample,you
candeclutterthescreenbyselectingtheTrafficoptionandswitchingoffAI,or
parkedaircraft,orlimittherangewithinwhichtheyareshown.Ifyouwanttosee
yourownaircraftwhenPlanGisconnectedtoFlightSimulatoryouclearlyhaveto
havethefirstboxtickedinUserAircraft,buttheremaybeoccasionswhenyouonly
wanttoseeeveryoneelse.ThiselementofPlanGallowsyoutochoose.Ofcourse
theseoptionsonlyapplytoPlanGitself.WhatyouseeinyourFlightSimulatoris
unaffectedbytheseselections.
Thenineoptionsare:
Locations
Units
Sounds
FSConnections
GPSPanel
UserAircraft
Traffic
Weather
General
Theoptionsaredescribedindetailbelow.
8.9.1
Locations
TheLocationsmenuoptionallowsPlanGtolocatetheFSfilesitrequiresinorderto
builditsinternaldatabaseofairportsandnavaids,andtocommunicatewitharunning
instanceofFlightSimulatoroneitherthesamecomputeroranetworkedPCrunning
FS.
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Figure 17 The Locations Page
Section8.10"MoreonLocations"describesinmoredetailtheseveraloptionsfor
pointingPlanGatthecorrectdatasourcesfordifferentsimulators.
8.9.2
Units
Becausedifferentnationalitiesusedifferentmeasuringsystems,especiallythe
differencebetweentheUSA/CanadaandEurope,inordertobeasuniversalas
possible,PlanGcandisplaymeasurementsinStatesideunits(feetandinches/Hg);or
Europeanunits(Metres/Kilometres/Hectopascals).
Note:From17thNovember2011theU.K.adoptedtheuseofHectopascalsinsteadof
Millibars.
UnitscanbeselectedforRunwayDimensions,SpeedandDistance,AltimeterSetting,
TimeandDate,andLatitudeandLongitudeindegrees,minutesandseconds,orin
decimaldegrees.(25o30'45.5"=25.51264oforexample),forEnglish,American,or
Europeanpreferences.Therestoftheworldtendstoadoptoneofthesethree
systems,althoughPlanGallowsyoutoselectanonstandardhybridifyouwish.
ThedefaultsystemusedistheEnglishsystem,withlocaltimeanddateusedinthe
printableNavLog.Justclicktherelevantradiobuttontochangeasetting.Settings
arerememberedbyPlanG,soitwillprobablybeaonceonlyoperation.
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Figure 18 The Units Page
8.9.3
Sounds
Youcanchoosetoplayalertsoundsforthreesituationswhereyourattentionis
primarilyonanothertask.
YoucanaccepttheWindowsdefault(illustratedinFigure19below)orchooseyour
own,aslongasPlanGistoldwheretofindthesoundfiles.
Figure 19 Sounds Page
Thethreealertsoundsavailableare:
1.
VNAVProfileAlerts:Thealertsounds:
2.
3.
OneminutebeforeTopofDescent,and
Whenyoureach500ftaboveyourtargetaltitude.
WaypointAlerts:Waypointalertssoundapproximately30secondsbefore
reachingawaypoint.
MinimumsAlert:Thissoundisplayedonfinalapproach,200ftabovetheairfield
elevation.Itisnotsetbydefault.
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FS Connections
Thereareanumberofimportantconfigurationoptionswithinthistab.Theyare
explainedindetailforthevariousconnectionoptionsinSection17ConnectiontoA
FlightSimulator.
Figure 20 FS Connections Page
Thefollowingtablesareasimplesummaryofthemostcommonlyusedofthose
optionsforFS9,FSX,P3DandXPlane.
FS9 & Plan-G on
same PC
FS9
FS9 & Plan-G on

network
Connect with
FSUIPC
FSUIPC
Network Mode
Not used
Not used
FSX Computer
Not used
Not used
Server Port/Pipe
Not used
Not used
FSX
FSX & Plan-G

on same PC
FSX & Plan-G on a

network with
SimConnect
FSX & Plan-G on a

network with FSUIPC
Connect with
SimConnect
SimConnect
FSUIPC
Network
Mode
Not used
IPv4 (Win. XP)

IPv6 (Vista/W7/W8)
Not used
FSX
Computer
localhost
IP Address (192.168.0.2
etc) Value must be
same as in
SimConnect.xml
Not used
Server
Port/Pipe
Not used
Range 4500 to 4510

Value must be same as
in SimConnect.xml
Not used
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P3D & Plan-G

on same PC
P3D & Plan-G on a

network with
SimConnect
P3D & Plan-G on a

network with FSUIPC
Connect with
SimConnect
SimConnect
FSUIPC
Network
Mode
Not used
IPv4 (Win. XP)

IPv6 (Vista/W7/W8)
Not used
P3D
Computer
localhost
IP Address (192.168.0.2
etc) Value must be
same as in
SimConnect.xml
Not used
Server
Port/Pipe
Not used
Range 4500 to 4510

Value must be same as
in SimConnect.xml
Not used
X-Plane
Connect with
X-Plane & Plan-G

on same PC
XPUIPC
X-Plane & Plan-G on

network
XPUIPC
Note:ConnectionProtocolsarefullydescribedinSection17.2.IfinstallingFS9,FSXor
P3DwithPlanGonanetwork,youneedPeterDowsonsWideFS,aswellasFSUIPC.
TherearemoredetailsaboutWideFSinsection19.2.1.
8.9.5
The GPS Panel

TheGPSPaneloptionallowsyoutoconfiguresomeofthePrimaryFlightDisplaylimits
andsetthetriggervaluesforpositionandaltitudealerts.(SeeSection12.9fordetails
ofusingtheGPSpanel).
Figure 21 GPS Panel Configuration Page
Max Airspeed
Determinesthedisplayedrange(0to<value>)oftheAirspeedIndicator.
CDI Sensitivity
ThisisthecoursedeviationthatcanbetoleratedbeforePlanGwillupdatetheCDI
bar.Choicesare(deviationfromflightplantrack):
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VNAV Targets\VNAV Profile

VNAVstandsforVerticalNavigation,morefamiliartothosewhoflyhighandneedto
planhowtogetdown,thantheVFRflyercruisingat2000feet.IFRpilotsmust
descendataratenotlessthan500feetperminute,sotheprofilevalueisimportantto
themtoo.TheseparametersdeterminewhereandwhenPlanGwillissueitspopup
warningwindowsandsounds,ifenabled,toalertthepilottohisprogressalongthe
plannedroute.
Waypoint/ETE Display
ThesetwoselectionsdeterminetheadditionalinformationPlanGdisplaysatthetop
andbottomoftheGPSpanel.Choicesare:
8.9.6
DistancetoWaypoint
ETE(EstimatedTimeEnRoute)toDestination(howlongwillittakefromhereto
gettothefinaldestination)
TimetoWaypoint
HeadingtoWaypoint
User Aircraft
Thispagesetsupoptionsaboutyourownaircraft.Firstlyyoucanchoosewhetherto
displayyourownaircraftornot.
Youhavetheabilitytoshowyourflighttrailortrackmadegood(whatitiscalled
dependsonwhoyoutalkto).Youcanalsorecordandsaveyourtrailforfuture
analysis.Practicethoseoverheadjoinsorproceduralturnsandthenseewhatflight
profileyouactuallyachievedagainsttheneatversionontheapproachchart!Youcan
changethecolourandlinewidthofthelivetraildisplayedasyoufly,andalsothe
colourandlinewidthofaselectedtrailanalysisdisplayifthedefaultsarenottoyour
liking.
Note:FlighttraildisplayandrecordingisselectedOnbydefaultwhenPlanGisfirst
installed.
Thethreeradiobuttons;Free,SyncandLockdescribehowtheyellowuseraircraft
behavesinrelationtothemap.Thesefunctionsarealsoavailableandtheoptioncan
bechangedfromtheHomeribbon.Thetooltipsdescribeexactlythebehaviourin
eachcase.
Free:TheMapanduseraircraftarenotsynchronized.Youcanmovethemap
whereveryoulike,anditwon'tbesynchronisedwiththeplane.Ifyoudontmovethe
map,theplanewillflyofftheedge.
Sync:TheMapwillmoveasnecessarytoensuretheyellowaircraftremainsvisibleon
screen.Youcanmovethemap,butifyoumoveitsothattheyellowaeroplanesymbol
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goesoffscreen,itwillrecentreontheyellowaircraftwhenitisrefreshedafew
secondslater(5secondsisthedefault,butitcanbechangedintheFSDisplay
window.)Ifyouleavethemapalone,itwillstaywhereitisuntiltheplanereachesthe
edge,whenitwillrecentre.
Figure 22 User Aircraft Options
Lock:TheuseraircrafticonstaysinthecentreoftheMapwhichisrecentredonthe
useraircraftateveryrefresh.Thedefaultrefreshrateis5seconds,sothisoptioncan
degradePlanGsperformanceonsomelesspowerfulcomputers.
IftheUpdateTASfromFStickboxisticked,andifaflightplanisloaded,andifPlan
GisconnectedtoFS,thenPlanGshowsthetrueairspeed(TAS)intheAirspeed
dropdown(accessedfromtheHomeRibbon),takendirectlyfromFS.Theuserwill
haveenteredanestimatedindicatedairspeedintheAirspeeddropdownwhile
compilingaflightplan,butiftheUpdateTASfromFStickboxisticked,thatvalueis
replacedbytheTASfromFS.Effectivelytheflightplanisupdateddynamicallyduringa
flight.TheUpdateTASfromFSstatusisuntickedbydefaultwhenPlanGisfirst
installed.
IftheShowWaypointAlertstickboxistickedanalertisdisplayedbeforereaching
thenextwaypointonyourflightplan.
7000istheInternationalCivilAviationOrganisation(ICAO)standardcodeforVFR
wherenoothercodehasbeenassigned.ThisappliesthroughoutEurope.IntheUKitis
ageneralconspicuitycodeanddoesnotnecessarilyimplyVFR.IntheUS,Canada,
Australiaandsomeothercountries,theVFRcodeis1200.
Selecttheappropriateradiobuttonforthecountryyouareflyingin,orperhapssetit
foryourhomecountryandchangeitontheRadioStackasrequired.Whicheveris
selectedbecomesthedefaultintheRadioStackTransponder,andisthevaluesentto
yourFlightSimulatorwhentheVFRbuttonispressedontheRadioStack
Transponder.TheRadioStackisanewfeatureinPlanGversion3.SeeSection12.11
forfulldetails.
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Traffic
ThispagesetsupoptionsaboutotheraircraftwhenconnectedtoFS.Thesemaybe
aircraftartificiallygeneratedbyFS,(knowngenerallysimplyasAI)orotheraircraft
beingflownonamultiplayernetworksuchasVATSIMorIVAO,whenyouareloggedin
tooneoftheirservers.
FirstlyyoucanchoosewhethertodisplayAI/multiplayeraircraftornot.Youcan
decidetherangewithinwhichtheywillbedisplayed,andiftheapronisfullofaircraft,
youcanturnoffShowParkedaircraft,byuntickingtherelevanttickbox.
Inthesamewayasforyourownaircraft,youcanshowtheflighttrailforeachof
these.Youcanchangethecolourandlinewidthifthedefaultsarenottoyourliking.
Youcanalsorecordandsavethetrailsforfutureanalysis.Seethechaosyoucaused
ploughingthroughHeathrowsClassAairspace,VFRinyourmicrolight,forcingall
thoseIFRgoaroundsandabortedtakeoffs!!!!
Figure 23 Traffic Options
Note:AIflighttraildisplayandrecordingisselectedOffbydefaultwhenPlanGis
firstinstalled.
8.9.8
Weather
TheDisplayNearestWeathertickboxmakesPlanGgettheweatherfromFSX.This
maybeusergeneratedwithinFS,ormaybefromanonlinesystem,e.g.ifFSXissetfor
"Jeppesen",thenthatistheweatherstationdatadisplayed.IfconnectedtoVATSIM
orIVAO,theweatherfedtoFSfromVATSIMorIVAOviathepilotclientsoftware,isin
turnpassedtoPlanG.
Note:Thereisno"Jeppesen"weatherdatalinkinFS9,Prepar3DorXPlane.
UpdateLocalupdatesPlanGwiththewindsettingfromFSattheuserslocation,
whenconnectedtoanonlineweatherservice.
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Figure 24 Weather Parameters
8.9.9
General
Therearefiveoptionsinthissectionmostofwhichareselfexplanatory.
Figure 25 Options / General Screen
Automatically Check for Updates

PlanGwillautomaticallycheckforupdatesattheintervalsshownwhenoneofthe
AutomaticallyCheckForUpdatesoptionsisselected.Thedefaultisonceperweek.
WithPlanGbeingsuchadynamicapplication,itisprobablyunwisetoselectNever,
buttheotheroptions,eventhemostfrequent,donotaddanyidentifiabledelaytothe
programme'sfunction.
IftheKeepToolWindowsonToptickboxisticked,thewindowswhichopenwhena
ribbonoptionisselectedwillremainontopofallotherwindowsFlightSimulator
included.Thiscanbeusefultomonitoraflightplanorairportdataonasinglemonitor
whenPlanGisopenbutoverlaidbyFlightSimulator.Theoptionbecomeseffective
aftertickingthebox,onlyafterPlanGhasbeenclosedandreopened.
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PlanGmenulabelscanbedisplayedinEnglish,French,GermanorItalian.Because
PlanGisconnectedtotheInternetatalltimeswheninuse,theAutooptionwilltry
andselectanappropriatelanguagefromthelocationidentifiedbythecomputer's
externalIPaddress.
Note:ThemaptextualdataisalwaysinEnglish,andtheaviationoverlaydatais
alwaysinthelanguageusedbytheUsersversionofFlightSimulator.Mostcommonly
ofcourse,thiswillbeEnglish;theinternationallanguageofaviation.
Map Provider
TheMapProvideroptionallowstheselectionofseveraldifferentmapstylesonwhich
theaviationdataisoverlaid.EachoftheprovidersusesaprotocolknownasTileMap
Service(TMS).Pickaprovider,andwhenyoureturntothemapview,itwillbe
redrawnusingtilesfromthatprovider.
Note1:MapQuestOpenAerialiscurrentlynotavailable(March2013).
Note2:MapboxisNOTfree.Itisasubscriptionserviceandrequiresyoutomake
yourownmapstyles,althoughdoingsoisquitestraightforward.Theycanbeterrain
orsatellitevieworsimpleOSM.Thesatellitemapscostfrom$5permonth,atthe
timeofwriting,whiletheothersarefreeforupto3000tileviewspermonth(that's
around100perday).Forfurtherdetailsseehttps://www.mapbox.com.
AmapatthedefaultPlanGWindowsize(zoomlevel9)consumes15tiles.Even
thoughPlanGcachestilesithasdownloadedbydefault,itispossibletouseupyour
allocationveryquickly,especiallyifyouzoomormovethemapaboutalot.Youare
responsibleforkeepingtrackofyourtileusageandpaymentofanyassociatedcosts.
Figure 26 Map Provider Options
Thetiledataiscachedlocallyasit'sdownloaded,sothereareoptionstodrawthemap
onlydirectlyfromtheInternet,(OnlineServerOnly);onlyfromthecache(LocalCache
Only),ormixedsource(ServerandCache).
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InLocalCacheOnlymode,ifthecacheisempty,themapbackgroundisshownasa
seriesofdarkcolouredtileswithwithawarningmessage"Exception:Nodatainlocal
cache".ineachtile.Theaviationoverlaydataisstilldisplayed.Obviouslythisisnota
usefulmodeofoperation.InServerandCachemodePlanGwillusecacheddata
whereitcanandonlygototheInternetfordataitdoesn'thavelocally.
Figure 27 MapQuest OSM Map Style
InMapQuestOSMstyle,terrainshadingisabsentabovezoomlevel9insomelocations.
Figure 28 Open Street Map Style
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Figure 29 Open Cycle Map Style
Figure 30 Mapbox Relief Map Style
8.10
More on Locations
ThissectiondescribesinmoredetailtheseveraloptionsforpointingPlanGatthe
locationofthesimulatorprogramandthecorrectdatasourcesfordifferent
simulators.
8.10.1 Single Computer FS9 & FSX

ThetwodirectoriesPlanGneedstoknowaboutare:
ThemainFlightSimulatordirectory,which,bydefault,isC:\Program
Files\MicrosoftGames\,butthisisoftenchangedbyusersduringFSinstallation,
(e.g.C:\FSXasshownbelow).
ThedirectorycontainingFS'ssceneryconfigurationfile(scenery.cfg).
ForWindowsXPusers,thisisusually
C:\DocumentsandSettings\<username>\ApplicationData\Microsoft\FSX
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ForWindowsVista,Windows7and8users,thisisusually
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\FSX.
Inmostcases,thesedirectorieswillbeinthesedefaultlocations,andPlanGwillbe
abletoautomaticallylocatethecorrectlocation,butifyourFSinstallationdiffersfrom
thedefault,youwillneedtopointPlanGatthecorrectlocationsonyourFSPC.
Figure 31 The Locations Page
Figure 32 Browsing for the Location of Scenery.CFG
ThesceneryconfigurationfileC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\FSX\scenery.cfglinksPlanG
tothedefaultsceneryandanythirdpartyairstripsceneryyouhaveinstalled.Make
sureyouhaveinstalledyoursceneryproperlyandmakesureanyairstripsyouhave
installedcanbefoundwithintheFlightSimulatorairportslist.
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Note:BecarefulnottopointPlanGatthescenery.cfgfiletobefoundintheFS
directoryitself.ThisisanFSgeneratedbackupcopyandisoftennotuptodate.One
tipyoumayconsideristocopythescenery.cfgfilefrom
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\FSX\tothemainFSXfoldereachtimeyouaddnew
scenerytoFSX,keepingabackupofcourse.
8.10.2 Single Computer Prepar3D
ThetwodirectoriesPlanGneedstoknowaboutforP3Dare:
A)ThemainP3Ddirectory,which,bydefault,isC:\ProgramFiles(x86)\Lockheed
Martin\Prepar3Dv2,butthismaybechangedbyusersduringP3Dinstallation,(e.g.
E:\P3D).
B)ThedirectorycontainingP3D'ssceneryconfigurationfile(scenery.cfg)willnormally
befoundin:
C:\ProgramData\LockheedMartin\Prepar3Dv2or,ifyouarefamiliarwith
environmentvariables:
%ProgramData%\LockheedMartin\Prepar3Dv2.
IfyourunP3Dv1,thenthosefilepathsshouldendwith"v1"ratherthan"v2",
obviously.
8.10.3 Single Computer X-Plane
ThereisonlyoneXPlanedirectoryPlanGneedstoknowabout,whichisthe
locationofXPlane.exe.ThedefaultlocationisC:\XPlane,butbeinguserconfigurable,
itmaybedifferentfromthat.
ClickintheXPlaneLocationbox,thenenterorbrowsetothelocationofyourX
Plane.exefile.e.g.D:\XPlane10.
8.10.4 Networked Computers
Thesimplest,andpreferredmethodofcreatingadatabaseonanetworkedcomputer
istocreatethatdatabaseonasinglecomputer,i.e.onewithyourflightsimulatorand
PlanGbothinstalled,andthensimplycopythefolder(My)Documents\PlanG
Files\DatatothenetworkedPC.
Note:ThismethoddoesnotenablePlanGtobeconnectedtoFlightSimulatorfor
datatransferduringflight.ThatisaseparatefunctionwhichrequiresthecorrectFS
Connectiondatatobesetup(Seesection8.9.4below).
8.10.5 Networked Computers using a Network Drive
Ifyouarereasonablycomputerliterate,anotherreliablewaytogetPlanGtofinda
networkedcomputeristomapaNetworkDrivetothelocationofFSX.EXE.Thishas
theadvantagethatyoucanatanytime,buildthedatabaseonthePlanGPCwhichis
goingtouseit,andPlanGwillusetheNetworkDrivetoconnecttoFSduringaflight.
Tomap(createashortcutto)anetworkdrive,dothefollowing.
WindowsXP
1.
OpenMyComputer
2.
ClicktheToolsmenu,andthenclickMapNetworkDrive.
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3.
IfyoudontseetheToolsmenu,pressALT.
4.
IntheDrivelist,clickadriveletter.Youcanchooseanyavailableletter.Starting
fromZ:andworkingbackwardsisrecommendedfornetworkdrives;onlytoavoid
confusionwiththenormalharddisks,DVDdrivesetc.,whichstartfromC:
5.
IntheFolderbox,typethenetworkpathofthefolderorcomputer,orclick
Browsetofindthefolderorcomputer.
6.
Toconnecteverytimeyoulogontoyourcomputer,selecttheReconnectat
logontickbox.
7.
ClickFinish.
WindowsVista,Windows7and8
OpenComputer
1.
ClickMapNetworkDriveontheCommandBar.
2.
ContinueasforWindowsXP.
Yourcomputerisnowconnected,ormapped,tothenetworkdrive.
Soonceyouhavesuccessfullycreatedanetworkdrive;sayZ:\whichpointstothe
networklocation//MyFSXPC\C:\ProgramFiles\MicrosoftGames\FSX,youonlyneedto
enterZ:\intheFSXProgram:dialoguebox.
IntheexamplepathaboveMyFSXPCistheNetworknameoftheFSXPC,created
whenyournetworkwasfirstsetup.(Ofcourseyoumustusethenetworknameof
yourFSXPC).YoucanrepeattheprocessforanothernetworkdriveY:\topointtothe
locationofFS9,ifyouhaveitinstalled.ThelocationofScenery.cfg,isusuallythesame
NetworkeddriveasthemainFSprogramlocation.
Youcanofcoursesimplyenterthefullpathtotheselocations,butitismoreproneto
typingerrorsthanthenetworkdrivemethod,althoughPlanGdoesrememberthem
betweensessionsandbetweenprogramupdates.OtherFSapplicationscanalsooften
makeuseofnetworkdrives.
ThedefaultpathsinWindowsXPandWindowsVistaaredifferent,sobecarefulto
maptothecorrectlocation.UnlikesettingupLocationsonasinglePC,PlanGcannot
automaticallyfindFSXonanetwork,soitisimportantthatyoupointPlanGatthe
correctlocationsonyourFSPC.
SomePCswontrevealthetargetofthenetworkeddrivetoPlanG(andother
applicationsitisntjustaPlanGproblem).TheonlysolutionofwhichTASoftwareis
awareistogoto(My)Computer,locatethenetworkdriveandopenthatdrivein
WindowsExplorer,i.e.justopenthefoldertoviewthecontents,nomorethanthat.
Youcanthenclosethewindow.Oncethatisdone,PlanGwillbeabletofindyour
networkeddrivebyitsdriveletter.TheproblemhasonlybeenidentifiedinPlanG
whenbuildinganewdatabasefollowinganewrelease.Oncethistrickhasbeen
doneonce,PlanGalwaysdoesseemtobeabletofindthenecessarydriveandits
databasewhenyoustartitupafterwards.
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8.10.6 J Allard Charts

WhatareJAllardcharts?OneofJohnAllard'ssubhobbies,ashedescribesitisto
makeairportdiagramsfromFS9data.Hehasuploadedaround200worldwidetothe
Mutley'sHangarsiteat:
http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/files/category/3airportdiagrams
Registrationisfreeandthesitecontainsawealthofflightsimulatormaterialforall
platforms.
Thediagramsarejpgimagesandarerelativelycompact,usuallyonlyaround100K,and
theycomedirectlyfromFSdata.Realworldairportdiagramsdonotalwaysaccurately
reflectwhatyouencounterinyoursimulatorbecauseofexpansions,runwayclosures
etcovertime.
Onceyouhavedownloadedafewofthesechartimages,placetheminasuitable
folderwithinthePlanGenvironment.Onerecommendationis..\My
Documents\PlanGFiles\Charts\JAllard.Onceyouhavedonethis,simplybrowseto
thatlocationandenterthepathtothechartsintheJAllardChartsdialogueonthe
Locationsscreen.ThisthenenablesthePlanGfeaturetodisplaytherelevantchart
whenyourightclickonanairportforwhichyouhavedownloadedachart(seeSection
13.2.5).
8.10.7 Adding Additional Scenery Locations on the Same PC
TheAdditionalSceneryLocationsboxenablestheMicrosoftFS9orFSXusertoinclude
scenerywhichhasbeenremovedfromthescenery.cfgfile,butthefilesthemselves
arestillinplaceonthesystem.Somescenerymanagersswitchsceneryentriesinor
outaccordingwhichregionisbeingused,andthereforethescenery.cfgfilemaynever
actuallycontaintheentirescenerylibraryatanyonetime.Byspecifyingadditional
locationsinthisbox,whicharetobeaddedtothedatabase,theusercanhavea
completelistofalltheirsceneriesinPlanG.
Figure 33 Adding Additional Scenery Locations
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Inaddition,AdditionalSceneryLocationsboxcanbeusedtoaddsceneryheldona
differentdiskdriveonthesamePC,andnotmappedtothesimulator.
ClicktheAddbuttontoopenafilebrowsedialog,andselecttherequiredscenery
folderthatisthefolderwhichcontainstheScenery(andusuallybutnotalways)
theTexturesubfolders.Todeletethatentry,clicktheDeletebuttontheone
containingtheredXontheleftoftheentry.
8.10.8 Adding Additional Scenery Locations on a Networked PC
Ifyoustoreallyouraddonsceneryonadifferentdrivetoyoursimulatorbutonthe
samecomputer,e.g.C:\FSXandD:\Scenery,youcanbuildthePlanGdatabaseacross
thenetworkifyoucreateanetworkdriveonthePlanGcomputertopointingto
D:\SceneryontheFScomputer(seeSection8.10.5above).Alternatively,youcan
changethepathsinscenery.cfgfromabsolute,e.g.D:\FS_Scenery\<myaddon
scenery>torelativepaths,e.g...\FS_Scenery\<myaddonscenery>.Thishastobe
donemanuallyusingatexteditor,somaynotbeasimpletask.
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THE HOME RIBBON IN DETAIL

The"Home"ribbonmenucontainstheoptionsyouneedtosetuptheparametersof
yournewflightplan.Changesmadeherewillbedisplayedinthe"Plan"window,and
theywillbesavedtoyournewFlightPlanwhenyouclickthe"Save"orExport"
buttons.
Thoseribbonbuttonswithasmalldownarrowbeneaththelabel(e.g.Find,Bookmark,
andKMLontheHomeribbon),are"splitbuttons".Clickingtheiconitselfwillactivate
thedefaultaction(e.g.FindAirport),whileclickingthebottomhalfwhichhasthelabel
andthearrowwilldisplayamenuofchoices(FindVORetc.).
Figure 34 The Home Ribbon
9.1
Find
The"Find"buttonallowsyoutosearchforanairportorradionavigationaid.TheFind
buttonisaSplitbutton.Clickingtheicon,(tophalfofbutton)activatesthedefault
action,inthiscaseFindAirport.Clickingonthelowerhalfofthebuttondropsdowna
listofobjectsyoucansearchfor.
Ifthesearchedforitemexistsinyoursimulatorsdatabase,itwillbefound,andthe
mapwillcentreonit.Iftheitemdoesnotexist,PlanGdoesnothing.Youcanselect
Canceltoreturntothemapview,orentersomesearchtextthatPlanGcanfind.
SearchtextisNOTcasesensitive.
ThefiltersatthebottomoftheAirportselectionscreenareusedtonarrowyour
search,ifyoudonotknowthepreciselocationyouarelookingfor.Ifyouknowan
airportsICAOcode,itisbesttoenterthisintheappropriatebox,asthisisofcoursea
uniqueidentifier.Theoptionsare:
FindAirport(SearchbyICAOcode,byairportname,orbycityname)
FindNDB(Searchby3letteridentifierorbynameorpartialname)
FindVOR(Searchby3letteridentifierorbynameorpartialname)
FindIntersectionGPSintersections.Searchbythe25characteridentifier,the
national2letteridentifier(e.g.EGfortheUK)orthe4letterICAOdesignatorfor
theairportwithwhichtheintersectionisassociated.
FindUserWaypoint(UserWaypointsareotherpointsofinterestthatcanbe
createdbytheuserandaddedtoaPlanGdatabase.)
Addressistheoptionyouselecttoplanaflightoveryourhome(inMSFSanyway)!
EntertheaddressandPlanGwillmovethemapcentretothataddress.Itmaybe
usedtofindanyaddressintheworld,althoughitisonlyaspreciseasthedatathe
mapmakerscanprovide,soentering137,LansdowneRoad,SouthPerthdisplays
justthecityofPerthanditssurroundings,althoughitiscleverenoughtofindthe
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cityofPerthinWesternAustraliaratherthanPerthinScotland.
ThisfeatureislimitedinXPlanebecausetheXPlanedatabasedoesnotcontain
CityorStatefields.
TheFindAirportsdialogincludesaCSVbutton.Thisbuttonallowstheusertosavea
listoftheairportsinthetableaboveit.ThismaybethewholeFSdatabaseofairports
(maybeaverylargefile)orjustasmallnumber,dependingonthesearchcriteriaand
theCountry,StateandCityfiltersapplied.ClickingthisbuttonopensaSaveAs
dialogfortheusertoselectafilenamefortheCSVformatteddataandalocationto
storeit.Bydefaultthese.csvfilesarestoredinDocuments\PlanGFiles,andcanbe
openedinNotepad,oraSpreadsheetprogramsuchasExcel.
Figure 35 Using the Find Function to Locate an Airport
Figure 36 Selecting an Intersection
A Note About Intersections

IntersectionsaredisplayedinPlanGonlyatzoomlevel9orhigher.Theyareof
limitedvaluetoVFRpilots,butareusedprincipallybyFlightManagementComputers
onheavyaircraft.However,theycanbedisplayedonmostGPSreceivers.Theyhavea
unique25characteridentifier,andanational2letteridentifier(e.g.EGfortheUK).
EnrouteintersectionsareshownasredtrianglesinPlanG(iftheoptiontodisplay
themisselected).Thoseassociatedwithanairportareshownasbluetrianglesin
PlanG,andhaveanadditionalidentifier,whichisthe4letterICAOdesignatorforthe
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airportwithwhichtheintersectionisassociated.Therearealargenumberofthem
andthemapcanbecomeclutteredandpartlyillegibleatzoomlevel9or10.
9.2
Start Position
PlanGextractstherunwaysandparkingspacesavailableatyourplanneddeparture
airportfromtheFSXorFS9database.Initially,theiconbackgroundisafadedblue,
(i.e."greyedout")butonceyouhaveselectedthestartingairportforaflightplan,or
haveloadedanexistingflightplan,itisdisplayedwithastrongbluebackground
colour.Thisindicatesthatitisavailableforuse.
Figure 37 Start Position Window
Clickontheicontodisplayawindowcontainingtheoptions.Someairportshavemore
optionsavailablethanothers,usuallydependingonhowbigtheairportisintermsof
runways,taxiways,importanceeven.WhentheFlightPlanisexportedtotheFlight
Simulator.plnformat,thenloadedintoFSX,FS9orP3D,thiswillbethelocationonthe
airportfromwhichyoursimulatedflightwilldepart,ifyouselecttheoptionwithinFS
"DoyouwantFlightSimulatortomoveyouraircrafttothedepartureairportlistedon
theflightplan?.Theelapsedtimeiszero'dfromthisdeparturelocation.
9.3
Altitude
Hereyoucansettheoverallplannedaltitudeforyournewflightplan,afterconsulting
thePlanGmapforairspaceandterrainconstraints.
"PassingAltitudes"canbesetforindividualwaypoints,byeditingtheplantable
directly,althoughthesealtitudescannotbeuseddirectlybyFS.
Figure 38 Cruising
Altitude Window
9.4
Figure 39 Cruising Airspeed

Window
Airspeed
YourplannedairspeedisenteredheresothatPlanGcancalculatethedurationof
eachlegandthecompleteflight.PlanGusestrueairspeednotindicatedairspeed.If
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youthenchangeforafasteraircraftinFSX/FS9aftercreatingyourplan,youwillhave
tomanuallychangeyourestimatedtrueairspeedhere.Withaflightplanopen,
changingtrueairspeedrecalculatesthelegtimesandtheflighttotalelapsedtime.
Ofcourse,iftheUpdateTASfromFStickboxistickedintheFile/Options/User
Aircraftscreen,thenthetrueairspeedisconstantlyupdatedfromFS.
9.5
Winds
Awindvalueenteredinthiswindowwillbeusedtocalculatetheheadingrequiredto
maintainyourplannedtrack.Ifawindvalueisentered,PlanGwillalsocalculateand
displayyourgroundspeed.
IfyouareconnectedtoFS9/FSX,andprovidedyouhaveUpdatelocaltickedin
File/Options/Weather,thentheFS9/FSXambientwindwillbeautomaticallypassedto
PlanGforuseinflightplancalculations,aswellasbeingdisplayedinthetopleft
cornerofthemapasayellowwindarrowinasmallblackbox,andintheWinds
dialogueboxwhenyouopenit.Althoughrealworldprintedweathersourcesreport
thewindindegreestrue,PlanGdisplaystheambientwindindegreesmagnetic,as
wouldbereportedtothepilotbyATC.
9.6
Aircraft Profile
CreatinganaircraftprofileisanoptionalfeaturewhichinfluenceshowPlanGfitsa
flightplantotheaircraftwhichisgoingtoflytheroute.Whatisitsbestrateofclimb;
howfastcanitflyonfinalapproach;whatisitsfuelendurance?Nopointintryingto
flyaTigerMothovertheAlps,orlanda747ona700metregrassstrip.
Figure 40 Piston Aircraft Profile Dialaogue

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PlanGcancreateflightplansandverticalnavigationprofilesmoreaccuratelyifit
knowsmoreaboutyouraircraftthansimplythatitis,say,aBeechBaron.
PerformancevaluescanbefoundinthePilotOperatingHandbooksandothersources
ontheInternet,orfromPilotSuppliesretailers,ifyouwantapukkahardcopy.From
anyofthesesources,youcancompletetheforminFigure40below.Youmayneedto
adjustsomerealworldvaluesifFlightSimulatordoesntperformtothosevalues(and
itsometimesdoesnt).
Youcansaveprofiles,whicharestoredinDocuments\PlanGFiles\Profiles,witha
.profilefileextension.TheycanbeopenedinNotepad,astheyareactuallyxmlcode
files.
Ifyouraircraftisaturbinepoweredpropelloraircraftorajet(turbofan)powered
aircraft,thenifyouticktheturbine/jettickboxatthetoprightofthedialoguebox
thenthelowerhalfofthedialoguechangestopresentyouwithdataboxes
appropriatetothosepowerplants.
Figure 41 Turbine/Jet Aircraft Profile Dialaogue
Seesection14.1.3forinformationonusingaircraftprofilesinflightplans.
9.7
VFR/IFR
AflightisconductedeitherunderVisualFlightRulesorInstrumentFlightRules.The
VFRandIFRbuttonsontheribbonselecttheflightrulesyouhavechosenforyour
flight.PlanGwillthenestimateasuitablealtitude,takingflightrulesintoaccount.
9.8
Quick
Clickingthebowandarrowicon(officiallycalledthedirecttoiconbyGPS
manufacturers)revealsaneatfeatureforaquickanddirtyAtoBplan.Enterthe
ICAOcodesfordepartureanddestination,andPlanGquicklygeneratesaGreatCircle
directtrackbetweenthetwo.Thisisveryhandyforshortflightsoranswering
questionssuchasHaveIgottimetoflyfromAtoBthisevening?
9.9
Random Destination
Therewillbetimeswhenyousimplycannotdecidewheretofly,butyouwanttogo
somewhere.PlanGcandecideforyou!OpentheQuickPlanwindowbyclickingthe
Directtoicon,enterastartlocationICAOcode,thenclickonthe"R"buttontothe
rightofthedestinationbox.PlanGwillenteradestinationforyou.Aroutebox
allowsyoutofinetunetherouteifyouwish.Ifyoulikethesuggestion,clicktheOK
button,otherwiseclickthe"Clear"buttonforanothersuggestion,ortogiveuponthe
idea,click"Cancel".
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Figure 42 Random Destination Dialogue
Youcansetlimitsonthetypeofdestinationyouwishtovisit,sothatPlanGdoesnot,
forexampletryandsuggestlandingatMontrealinyourmicrolight,oratFlorencein
yourFloatplane.Toopentheoptionsdialoguebox,clickonthesmalllaunchericonat
thebottomrightoftheFlightPlansectionoftheHomeribbon.
Figure 43 Random Destination Options Dialogue
Toclosethedialogue,clicktheredClosebuttontoprightofthewindow,orclickthe
launchericonagain.
9.10
Reverse
Thisbuttonreversesthesequenceofwaypointsinaloadedflightplan.Thisisuseful
forcreatinganewflightplanforthereturntrip.ThewindowtitleinPlanGwillreflect
anewnameforthereversedflightplan,andwhenyousaveit,PlanGautomatically
changesthenameforthenew,reversedplan.
9.11
Edit
Thisisamostusefulfeaturefortweakingaflightplantoimproveitsaccuracyto"hit"a
userwaypointmissedperhapsbecauseitwascreatedatalowzoomlevel,toavoid
obstacles,orpassroundcontrolledairspace,oranyotheradjustmentsyoumaywish
tomaketogetitjustright.Italsogivesaquickwaytochangeyourmind.Youcanof
coursechangeyourroutebyselectingnewwaypoints,movingthemupordownthe
plantable,removingredundantonesetc.,buthowmucheasieritisjusttodragthe
routelinearoundthemapastheimpulsetakesyou.
IfaFlightPlanisloadedanddisplayedonthemap,clickingtheEditbuttonputsa"drag
handle"ateachwaypointintheplan,plusanintermediateonebetweeneach
waypoint.TheEditiconbackgroundchangescolourtoorange.Itisasimpleprocess
whichneedslittleexplanation.Thefollowingsequenceofscreenshotsillustratesthe
procedure.
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Whenadraghandleisdraggedtoanewposition,anewwaypointisinsertedinthe
plan,asillustratedinFigure48plusanewgrabhandleiscreatedatthemidpointof
eachofthetwonewlegs.Toremovethedraghandleswheneditingiscomplete,
simplyclicktheEditbuttonagain.Theiconbackgroundreturnstothe"inactive"
colour.
Figure 44 The EDRK to EDKV Leg Passes Through Controlled Airspace
Figure 45 Clicking the Edit Button Reveals Grab Handles
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Figure 46 Grab Handles Can Be Dragged Anywhere on the Map
Figure 47 The Route is Moved to Avoid the Controlled Airspace
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Figure 48 The Flight Plan Table Gains a New Waypoint
9.12
The Frame Button

IfaflightPlanisloadedanddisplayedonthemap,clickingthisbuttonwillmovethe
mapviewtocentrethedisplayedflightplanintothemiddleofthemaparea,andwill
adjustthezoomleveltoincludethewholeoftheplaninoneview.Ifnoflightplanis
loaded,clickingtheFramebuttonhasnoeffect.
9.13
Copy Route
Thisoptioncopiestheflightplanroutetothewindowsclipboardfromwhereitcanbe
pastedintoVATSIMorIVAOFlightPlans,orusedforgeneratingPilotReports(PIREPS)
foryourVirtualAirline.Ifyouwanttoexcludethedepartureanddestinationpoints
(forflightplans),pressSHIFTasyouclickthebutton.Thebuttonisgreyedoutifno
FlightPlanisloaded.Thecopieddataissimpletext,e.g.(FromPerthInternationalto
JandakotviatwolocalNDBs)YPPHCVMPRLYPJT
9.14
Range Rings
RangeRingscanbeusefulforestimatingdistanceortimetorun,ifyouareconnected
toFS9/FSX.Therearetwomodes:distancemodeandtimemode.Theringsdisplayin
yellow,centredonthecurrentcursorposition.Thedefaultdistancerangeis20miles,
thedefaulttimerangeis30minutes.ForVFRflying,youmaypreferthesevaluestobe
10milesand10minutesrespectively.Youcandisplay1,2or3rings,selectablefrom
theribbonmenu.RangeringsdonotrequireyoutobeconnectedtoFS.Theyare
purelyamappingdisplayfunction.Youcandisplayasmanysetsofrangeringsasyou
wish.
SwitchingRangeRingsonoroffisachievedfromtherightclickdropdownmenu.See
section13.1.6forfurtherdetails.
9.15
Bookmark
Thisisamostusefulfeatureifyouareinthehabitofflyingtoandfromplaces
scatteredroundtheglobe.ClicktheBookmarkbuttontoopenafileswindow.Ifyou
enterafilename(ofyourchoice)thecurrentmapviewissavedwiththatnameasa
bookmark.
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Whenyouareelsewhereintheworld,andwanttoquicklyreturntoabookmarked
mapview,justclickthesmalldropdownarrowtotherightoftheBookmarkbuttonon
theribbon,andselectOpenfromthetwoavailablechoices.Thefileswindowagain
opens,butthistime,locateandclickonthebookmarkedfilenameofthelocationyou
wishtogoto,andclicktheOpenbuttonatthebottomrightofthefileswindow.The
windowimmediatelyclosesandthemapviewchangesquicklytotheselected
location.
Bookmarkfileshavetheextension.bmk.Youcanifyouwishstoreyourbookmarkfiles
intheirownsubfolderwithinPlanGFilestokeepallyourbookmarksinoneplace.
PlanGremembersthelastfolderopened,sobecarefultocheck,whensavingflight
plans,thatyoudon'taccidentallysavetheminoneofyoursubfolders,andthennot
beabletofindthemagain.
9.16
KML
KMLisafileformatusedtodisplaygeographicdatainanEarthbrowsersuchas
GoogleEarth,GoogleMaps,andGoogleMapsforMobile.Justaswebbrowsers
displayHTMLfiles,EarthbrowserssuchasGoogleEarth(andofcoursePlanG)will
displayKMLfiles.KMLandKMZfilesarestoredlocallyontheUsersPCandcanbe
copied,emailedorsharedwithotherusersasrequired.
YoucancreateKMLfileswiththeGoogleEarthuserinterface,oryoucanuseanXML
orsimpletexteditortoenter"raw"KMLfromscratch.KMLfilesandtheirrelated
images(ifany)canbecompressedusingtheZIPformatintoKMZarchives.KMLcode
isbasedontheXMLstandardandaddsfeaturesthatcanbecreatedwiththeGoogle
Earthuserinterface.Thesefeaturesincludeplacemarks,descriptions,ground
overlays,paths,andpolygons.Whenatextfileissavedwitha.kmlor.kmzextension,
Earthbrowsersknowhowtodisplayit.
InPlanG,.kmlor.kmzfilescanbeopenedandthefeaturescodedthereinwillbe
displayedasanoverlayonthePlanGmap.KMLorKMZfilesusedcanbelocatedon
yourPC.YouonlyneedtotellPlanGwheretofindthem.
WhentheuserclickstheKMLbutton,theDocuments\PlanGFilesfolderwindow
opensbydefault.SoitisagoodideatostoreyourKMLandKMZfilesthere,perhaps
intheirownsubfoldersuchasisshowninFigure49below.
SelectthefileyouwanttodisplayandclickOpeninthefilewindow,PlanGwill
displaytheKMLoverlay.TheKMLwindowalsoopensifyouclickthesmalldropdown
arrowtotherightoftheKMLbuttonontheribbon,andselectShowfromthetwo
availablechoices.
IfyouselectClear,theoverlayisremovedfromthemap.
Note:OpeningaKMLoverlaydoesnotremoveanyexistingoverlays.Youcanhave
morethanonedisplayedatatime.TheClearcommandhowever,willclearallKML
overlaysfromthedisplay.BeawarethatloadinganddisplayofKMLfilesmaybequite
slowonsomesystems,whichcouldmakeitseemasifPlanGhasstoppedworking.
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The"P"and"M"tickboxestotherightoftheKMLiconsimplytellPlanGtodisplay
polygons(P)ormarkers(M)orboth,whenaKMLfileisloaded.
Figure 49 A User-Created KMZ_Files Folder in Plan-G Files
Figure 50 Locally stored KMZ Files in a User-created Folder
9.17
Connect/Disconnect
ThesetwobuttonsconnectPlanGtoarunninginstanceofFlightSimulator(FS9,FSX,
XPlane,orP3D).Thisveryimportantoptionrequiresinitialconfigurationandis
describedfullyinsection14.3below.
9.18
Map Panning Control

IftheuserisconnectedtoFlightSimulator,thePlanGmapdisplayupdatecanbe
controlledinoneofthreeways:
Lock:TheUserAircraftremainsinthecentreofthemaparea,andthemapmoves
astheaircraftprogressthroughtheflight.Thisisveryprocessorintensiveandmay
slowthecomputerdown.Themaprefreshesevery5secondsbydefault.
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Sync:WhentheUserAircraftreachestheedgeofthemaparea,themaprefreshes
withtheaircraftnowinthecentreofthemaparea.
Free:Theaircraftmovesindependentlyofthemapdisplay,andmayflyoffthe
edgeofthedisplayedmap.Draggingthemapwillbringtheaircraftbackintoview.
VATSIM
SelectingthisoptionwilldisplayallVATSIMcontrollerpositionswhichareactive,the
boundariesoftheairspacetheycover(Tower,Approach,Centreetc.,andsmallblue
aircraftsymbolsforallconnectedpilots.Hoveringthemouseoveraconnected
positionoraircraftsymboldisplaysatootipshowingdetailsoftheconnectedposition
orflight.Itfunctions,therefore,inasimilarwaytothemapviewofServinfoand
Vatspy.
Figure 51 VATSIM Controllers and Traffic
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THE MAP RIBBON IN DETAIL

ThemapRibbonallowstheusertoconfigurethelevelofdetailshownonthemap.
10.1
User Configured Settings

Ateveryzoomlevel,thedefaultstructureisdesignedtomaintainthespeedofmap
refreshingbyturningoffmoreandmoredetailasyouzoomout.However,the
settingsforeachitemcanbeuserconfiguredforeachzoomleveltobedisplayedor
hiddenaccordingtopreference.
Figure 52 The Map Ribbon
UserconfiguredsettingsforeachzoomlevelaresetusingtheMarkerpopupboxes.
Thereisamarkerpopupforeachofthegroups;Airports,Navaids,AirspaceandUser
Waypoints.Themarkerpopupboxesareopenedbyclickingthesmalldiagonalarrow
shapedlauncherbuttonatthebottomrightofeachsection.Changethevaluesas
requiredandclosethePopup.
Figure 53 The Airports Marker Options Pop-up
So,intheexampleabove,
Largeairportswillbevisibleatzoomlevel7orhigher,
Mediumairportswillbevisibleatzoomlevel8orhigher,and
Smallairportswillbevisibleatzoomlevel9orhigher.
HelipadsandFloatPlaneBaseswillnotbedisplayed,and
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FarmStripswillbedisplayedatzoomlevel10orhigher.
TheAirportslauncherbuttonisboxedredinFigure53above.
Userconfiguredsettingsforeachzoomlevelarerememberedforthenexttimeyou
openPlanG,andunlessoruntilyouchangethem.Soeverytimeyoureturntozoom
level8thelargeandmediumairportswillbevisible,butthesmallairportswillnot.
Thissameprincipleappliestoeachofthefourmapribbonsections.
10.2
Airports
TheAirportsinPlanGareextractedfromFlightSimulatorandstoredintherelevant
database.Airportscloseintherealworld,andnewonesarebuilt.FlightSimulatoris
howeverfrozenintime(FSXisfrozenat2005,FS9at2004)sotherewillbedifferences
fromtherealworldinPlanGasthereareinFS.ForXPlane,youcanobtainairport
dataupdatesfromhttp://data.xplane.com/,roughlyinlinewiththeAeronautical
InformationRegulationAndControl(AIRAC)cycleofupdates.
Ateachzoomlevel,airportsareselectivelydisplayedasdescribedinSection10.1
above.Theasinstalleddefaultdisplaylevelsforairportsare:
NoAirportsaredisplayedatzoomlevels16
LargeAirportsarefirstdisplayedatzoomlevel7
MediumAirportsarefirstdisplayedatzoomlevel8
SmallAirportsarefirstdisplayedatzoomlevel9
TheairportsizereferenceusedinPlanGreferstothelengthofthelongestrunway.
Large:
Medium:
Longestrunwayis3,000mormoreinlength;
Between800mand2,999minlength
Small:
Lessthan800minlength
Youcanalsoselectwhichairportsyouwishtoseebyclickingtheappropriatetickboxes
atthelefthandsideoftheMapRibbon.However,optionsselectedbythismethod
arefixedacrossallzoomlevels.
InthissectionoftheMapRibbonthereisalsoaslendergreenarrowsymbollabelled
ILS/LOC.Thissymbol,calledILSfeathersisusedonaeronauticalchartstodenotean
InstrumentLandingSystem(ILS).Ifthisbuttonispressed,thoseairportsthatare
selectedfordisplay(Large,Mediumand/orSmall),wherethoseairportshaverunways
equippedwithILS/LOCinFS,willhavefeathersdisplayedagainstthemonthe
appropriateapproachbearing.
NotethatifarealworldairportrunwayhasanILSwhichisnotfeaturedinFS9/FSX,
thenthefeathersarenotdisplayed.(remember:FSXisfrozenat2005,FS9at2004),
sobecauserealworldapproachaidsarechangingyearonyear,suchdifferencesmay
becomemorecommonovertime.
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Navaids
Theradionavigationaids(Navaids)inPlanGarealsoextractedfromFlightSimulator
andstoredinthedatabaseandsubject,naturally,tothesameobsolescenceas
Airports.
TheNavaidsMarkerOptionspopupisopenedbyclickingthesmallarrowshaped
launcherbuttonatthebottomrightoftheNavaidssection.TheNavaidsMarker
Optionsallowstheusertoselectwhichnavaidsarevisibleateachzoomlevel.
Figure 54 Navaid Marker Options
ThetickboxesontheRibbonalsoallowyoutodisplayorhidenavaids.However,
optionsselectedbythismethodarefixedacrossallzoomlevels.
VeryHighFrequencyOmniRangebeacons(VORs)andNonDirectionalBeacons
(NDBs)areprobablyfamiliartomostSimpilots.Thereisanexcellenttutorialonthe
theoryandpracticeofusingtheseontheCixVFRClubwebsiteat:
http://www.cixvfrclub.org.uk/training/tutorials/pdftutorials/The%20IMC%20Rating.pdf
ISECisthestandardaviationabbreviationforIntersections.Intersectionsexistintwo
forms,named(normal)andunnamed.Namedintersectionsarethestandardtypeof
intersection.OntheNavaidssectionoftheMapRibbon,theISECtickboxswitches
onoroffnamedintersections,andtheISEC(unnamed)tickboxswitchesonoroff
unnamedintersections.
Figure 55 The ORTAC Intersection In the English Channel
NamedIntersectionsarenowcommonlyusedinVFRflight,resultingfromthe
increasinguseofGPSworldwide.SomeareincludedinGPSDatabasesandVFRpilots
cannavigatetothemsimply.Becauseitisnteasytodiscriminatebetweenthose
usefultoVFRpilotsandthosewhicharenot,PlanGincludesalltheonesidentifiedin
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FS.(e.g.ORTACatN50.00oW002.00owellknowntoVFRpilotscrossingtheEnglish
Channel).
Unnamedintersectionsarecomputergenerated'infill'intersections.Theystillhave
names,butthesenamesaregenerallynotmemorable.Unnamedintersectionsare
generallynotvalidforuseasaturningpointonanIFRflightplan.
Theintersectionsymbolisasmalltriangle.Bluetrianglesdenote'terminal'
intersections,i.e.theyare"owned"byanairport,andtypicallyformpartofan
approachprocedure.Magentaintersectionsare'EnRoute'intersections,andtypically
areassociatedwithanairway.
Inadditiontotheabove,userintersectionscanbedefined,andthesearedenotedby
greentriangles.
PlanGcandisplayLowerAirwayroutesiftheLowerAirwaystickboxisticked.Airways
areradioandareanavigationrouteswithinwhichATCensuressmoothandorderly
traffic.LowerAirwaysareroutesuptoa24,500feetceilingabovesealevel,primarily
usedforsmalleraircraftorshortflights.Upperairwaysarereservedforlargerjetson
longflights,andarenotprovidedinPlanG.
Bydefault,intersectionsandLowerAirwaysarenotdisplayedatanyzoomlevel.
10.4
Airspace
10.4.1 FS9, FSX and P3D

AirspaceoptionsareselectedviathetickboxesintheAirspaceLayerOptionspopup,
whichisopenedbyclickingthesmallarrowshapedlauncherbuttonatthelowerright
corneroftheAirspacesectionoftheRibbon.
AllairspaceisclassifiedaccordingtoasystemdefinedbyICAO.Thetablebelow
(Figure57)providesanoverviewoftheclasses,andthespecificationsforeach.
PlanGdisplaysClassesAtoEiftheICAOAirspacetickboxisticked.ClassesF&G
arecommonlyreferredtoastheOpenF.I.R.(FlightInformationRegion)andis
principallythedomainoflightaircraft,microlights,balloonsetc.Mostcommercial
flightsandallheavycategoryaircraftalmostexclusivelyconducttheirflightsin
ControlledAirspace(CAS)underATCcontrol.Whenplanningyourflightsitisessential
toknow,therefore,whereyoucanandcannotgo,andPlanGprovidesthe
information.
Figure 56 Airspace Layer Options
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Inaddition,PlanGcanshowcontrolledairspaceeitherbelow10,000ftforVFRtraffic,
above10,000ftforIFRtraffic,orboth.
Class Controlled IFR SVFR VFR
ATC
Clearance
Separation
Traffic Information
Controlled
Yes Yes
No
Required
Provided for all flights
N/A
Controlled
Yes Yes
Yes
Required
Provided for all flights
N/A
Controlled
Yes Yes
Yes
Required
Provided for all IFR &

SVFR
Provided for all VFR
Controlled
Yes Yes
Yes
Required
Provided for IFR/SVFR to Provided for all IFR and

other IFR/SVFR
VFR
Controlled
Yes Yes
Yes
Required
for IFR
Provided for IFR/SVFR to Provided for all IFR and

other IFR/SVFR
VFR where possible
Uncontrolled Yes No
Yes
Not
Required
Provided for IFR/SVFR to

Provided where
other IFR/SVFR where
possible
possible
Uncontrolled Yes No
Yes
Not
Required
Not provided
Provided where
possible
Figure 57 ICAO Airspace Classification
Intherealworld,unpressurisedaircraftarenotpermittedtomaintainsustainedflight
above10,000feet,(12,500ftinsomecountries),becausethecrewcannottakein
sufficientoxygentomaintaintheirmentalfaculties,andarepronetomakeirrational
decisions.Notgoodinanaeroplane!Soifyouarealightaircraftenthusiast,youcan
switchoffcontrolledairspace(CAS)boundariesabove10,000ft,andreducePlanGs
processingworkload.AndifyouarecrossingtheUSAina747at35,000ft,youcan
savePlanGsomeworkbyswitchingofftheBelow10,000ftCAStickbox.
TheCentretickboxdisplaysorhidestheAirRouteTrafficControlCenter(ARTCC)
boundaries.GenerallyreferredtoasCentretheyareresponsibleforcontrolling
instrumentflightrulesaircraftenrouteinaFlightInformationRegionathighaltitudes
betweenairportapproachesanddepartures.IntheUKtheNationalAirTrafficService
(NATS)combinestheLondonTerminalControlCentre(LTCC)andLondonAreaControl
Centre(LACC)attheSwanwickfacility.Centreisuntickedbydefaultatallzoomlevels.
RPDMAirspaceisshorthandforRestricted,Prohibited,DangerAreasandMilitary
ThelatterareareaswheretheRAFdoesitsmuchofitstraining;militarylowflying
areas,airtoairrefuelingareas,highaltitudedangerareasetc..ForVFRpilots,these
arenotnormallyanissue,andforIFRpilots,IFRroutesinvariablyavoidtheseareas.
RPDMAirspaceiseitherborderedinredorcolouredredwitharedborderandis
switchedoffbydefaultatallzoomlevels.
Inadditiontotheclassifiedairspace,thereisaSpecialUsetickbox.SpecialUse
includesAreasofIntenseAerialActivity(AIAI)whicharealsoRAFtrainingareasbut
whereGeneralAviationtrafficisnotlikelytocausetoomanyproblems.SpecialUse
airspaceiscolouredgreywithagreyborderandisswitchedoffbydefaultatallzoom
levels.
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TheAirspaceColourGuideicondisplaysapopupwindowwhenclicked,whichgives
anexampleofeachofthecoloursusedtodefineairspaceboundariesontheUKCivil
AviationAuthoritypublished1:500,000and1:250,000scaleGeneralAviationcharts.It
ispurelyanaidememoireandhasnofunctionwithinPlanG.
Figure 58 Airspace Colour Guide
Aswiththeothermarkerpopups,youcanselecttheAirspaceyouwishtoseeby
clickingtheappropriatetickboxesintheAirspacesectionoftheMapRibbon.Options
selectedbythismethodarevisibleatthezoomlevelssetintheAirspaceLayerOptions
asshowninFigure56above.
10.4.2 X-Plane
ThereisnoairspacedataincludedinXPlane.PlanGcanimportAirspacedatafrom
FlightSimulatortodisplayonthemap,assumingthatXPlaneusershaveaccesstoa
legitimatecopyofFlightSimulator.DatatransferbetweenMSFSandXPlaneis
describedindetailinSection11below.
10.5
User Waypoints
Userwaypointsmaybecreatedin12differenttypes
Figure 59 The 12 Predefined Types of User Waypoint
UserWaypointsarestoredinaUserWaypointdatabase.Manyoftheseareprovided
inthePlanGpackageinthefileUserWaypoints.sdf.Thesecanbeoptionallydisplayed
orhiddenbytickingtherelevanttickboxontheRibbon.AllexceptIFRwaypointsare
displayedbydefault,theiconsshowingwithanorangebackgroundcolour.
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Figure 60 Selected User Waypoint Types
Ifyouaddyourownwaypoints(seeSection11.4)theycanbecategorisedinoneofthe
12optionsshownabove.Thisalsomeansthatonlyselectedonesaredisplayed,inthe
samewayasotherfeatures.
Note:WheneveranewversionofPlanGisissued,thefileUserWaypoints.sdfis
overwritten,soifyoucreateyourownwaypoints,besuretokeepasafecopy
somewhereoutsidethePlanGfolder.Furtherdetailsareincludedinsection11.4.
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THE DATA RIBBON IN DETAIL

Thisistheribbonwhichallowsyoutocreatethedatabaseforthesimulatoryouhave,
andtoselectwhichdatabasetouse.YoucancreateadatabaseforFS9,FSX,P3DorX
Plane,foranyorallofthem.Thesedatabaseoptionsareonlyavailableforthe
simulatorversionorversionsyouhaveinstalled.Theiconsaregreyedoutforany
simulatorsnotinstalled.Ifyoudohavemorethanonesimulatorinstalled,eitheron
thesamecomputeroronseparatenetworkedcomputers,thenaswellascreatingaa
databaseforeach,youcancreateflightplansforeachonetooinPlanGformat,orthe
relevantformatforthatsimulator.
Figure 61 The Data Ribbon
11.1
Building a Navigation Database

WhenyoufirstinstallPlanGv3,thisscreenispresented,withawarningFirstData
tababovetheBuildNavigationDatabaseicon.Youmustbuildavaliddatabase
beforeyoucanusePlanG.SeeSection5above.
WhenyouclickontheBuildNavigationDatabaseoption,thefollowingwindowis
displayedinwhichyoucanselectwhichdatabasetobuild,ifthatsimulatorisinstalled
onthesamePCoranetworkedmachine.(Networkingisfullycoveredinalater
chapter).
Figure 62 Database Build Options
PlanGdetectswhichsimulatorisinstalledonthePCandtheoptionswindowreacts
accordingly,greyingoutanysimulatoroptionwhichisnotavailable.InFigure62
above,theFSXandFS9optionsareshownblack,buttheP3DandXPlaneoptionsare
greyedout.OnthePCfromwhichthisscreenshotwastaken,bothFSXandFS9are
installed,butP3DandXPlanearenot.
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IfyouclicktheSettingsbuttonattherightoftheoptionswindow,anewdialoguebox
openscontainingthecurrentpathstothesimulatorProgram,andScenery.cfg(forFS9,
FSXorP3D).Theseareexactlythesameoptionsandservethesamepurposeasthe
optionsaccessedfromtheFilemenu,(seesection8.9.1above)andgivetheuserthe
opportunitytochangethepathsifoneormoreisincorrect.
Figure 63 Simulator Paths Dialogue Box
Ifyouclickthesmalldiagonalarrowshapedlauncherbuttonatthebottomrightofthe
NavDatabasesectionoftheDataRibbonthesameSimulatorPathsDialogueBox
opensasshowninFigure63above.
11.2
Selecting Which Database to Use

Youcanselectwhichdatabaseisusedforthemapdisplay(airports,navaidscontrolled
airspaceetc.)byclickingoneoftheDisplayiconsatthelefthandsideoftheRibbon.
Ifthedatabaseforthatsimulatorexists,theiconisshowninstrongcontrast.Ifitdoes
notexist,therelevanticon(s)willbegreyedout.Theselecteddatabaseiconisshown
withanorangebackgroundwhenitsiconisclicked,andthemapwilldisplaydatafrom
thatdatabase.
Ifnoairports,controlledairspaceornavaids,oranyotheraeronauticaldataappearon
themapwhenthecorrectActiveFSVersionforyoursimisdisplayed,thenyou
shouldrebuildthedatabase.
NotethatfornetworkedPCs,theiconswillonlydisplayintheActive(blackon
orangebackground)modeifthecorrectcommunicationprotocolsareinplace(see
section17.2below).
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Data Tools
ThisoptionallowsPlanGdatatobemovedfromonedatabasetoanother.Itis
particularlyusefulforexportingAirspacedatafromFS9,FSXorP3DtoXPlane,which
doesnotcontainAirspacedata.Inthisway,amapshowingXPlaneAirports,canbe
madetoalsoshowAirspaceboundaries.
Figure 64 Database Tools
YoucanexporttheFlightSimulatorAirportsfromFSXorFS9,foruseinadifferent
application.ThedatafileissavedinCommaSeparatedValue(CSV)formatinyour
PlanGFilesfolder.ThedefaultfilenameisAirports_Export(PG).csv,anditcontainsthe
airportName,City,StateandCountryonly.ThedatawithinFlightSimulatorisnot
affected.
IfyouhaveanexistingCSVfileofairports,youcanmergeyourexporteddataintothat
file.WhenthePlanGfileswindowopens,selectyourexistingCSVfile.Duplicate
recordsareremoved.
IfyouimportaCSVfileofAirportData,thedataisagainmerged,andduplicate
recordsareremoved.
InasimilarmanneryoucanexportAirspacedatafromFSXorFS9.Asmentioned
above,thiscanbeimportedintoPlanGwhenanXPlanedatabaseisactive,to
populatethemapwithairspacedatawhichdoesntexistinXPlane.TheXPlanefiles
arenotchanged.
Caution - Important
TheFSXairspacefilecontainsover21,000recordsandthefilesizeisapproximately
8Mb.BecarefulnottoreimportthefileintotheFSXdatabaseotherwisetherecords
areduplicated.
IfyouselectCleartheAirspacedatainPlanGisclearedreadyforimportingfresh
data.IfyouaregoingtoreimporttheAirspace.csvfile,thenitisimportantthatyou
clickClearfirsttoavoidthisduplicationproblem.
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Managing the User Waypoint Database

ToviewtheUserWaypointdatabaseandmanageitdirectly,(adding,editingor
deletingwaypoints),opentheDataRibbonatthetopofPlanG,andselecttheManage
Databasebutton.TheManageUserWaypointswindowwillopen.
Figure 65 The Manage User Waypoints Window
11.4.1 Editing Records

Ifyoudoubleclickinanycellinthedatabase,itsrowishighlightedinblue.Asecond
clickonthecellhighlightsitinwhitesurroundedbyaheavyblackborder.Thetextor
numericalvalueinthatcellcanthenbechanged.ClickingOKwillsavethechanges.
Figure 66 Editing The User Waypoint Database
11.4.2 Deleting Records

Leftclickingarecordwillselect(highlight)it.IfShiftispressedwhileselectingrecords,
multiplecontiguousrecordscanbeselected.Ifcontrol(Ctrl)ispressedwhileselecting
records,multiplenoncontiguousrecordscanbeselected.
Ifyourightclickarecord,apopupmenuappearswhichhastwooptions:Centreon
MapandDeleteWaypoint.ShiftrightclickorCtrlrightclickwillselectcontiguous
ornoncontiguousrecordsasintheparagraphabove,butinthiscase,thepopup
menuisalsodisplayedratherthanthehighlightalone.Whenmultiplerecordsare
selected,onlyoneoptionDeletewaypointisoffered.
Thuseitherasinglerecordormultiplerecordscanbedeletedwithonekeypress.The
deletionisnotreversible,thereforeawarningisdisplayedThisactionwilldelete
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row(s)fromthedatabase.Doyouwishtoproceed?asaprotectionagainstaccidental
deletion.
11.4.3 Importing Records
Youcanimportorexportdatafilescontaininguserwaypointssolongasthenumberof
fieldsmatchesexactlythenumberoffieldsintheUserWaypointdatabase(9).These
filesmustbecommaseparatedvalue(CSV)filesoftheform
[CATEGORY],[NAME],[IDENTIFIER],[LATITUDE],[LONGITUDE],[ELEVATION],
[MAGVAR],[TAG],[NOTES]
e.g.VRP,BOLAMLAKE,NEWCASTLE,55.1254997253418,.87133300304413,0,4,UK,
Note:TheorderoffieldsthatyoumustcreateisntexactlyasdisplayedinthePlanG
UserWaypointDatabase.Alsonotethatthefinalcommadenotesthatthe9thfield
[NOTES]isemptyintheexampleabove,butmustbeaccountedforbythatfinal
commaafterUK.Inotherwords,inanyrecordyouwishtoimport,youmusthave8
commasotherwisetheimportwillfail.
Figure 67 A User-Created Folder Holding User Waypoints
ClickingtheImportbuttonopensafolderwindowfortheusertoselectthe(correctly
formatted)UserwaypointCSVfile.DoubleclickingtheCSVfile,orclickingonceand
selectingOpenstartstheimportprocess.Duplicaterecordsarenotcopied.
11.4.4 Exporting Records
WiththeUserWaypointWindowopen,highlighttherecordsyouwishtoexportand
onlythosewillbeexported.Contiguousrecordscanbeselectedbyholdingdownthe
Shiftkeyasyouclickeachrecord.Noncontiguousrecordscanbeselectedbyholding
downtheCtrlkeyasyouclickeachrecord.
Onceanumberofrecordshavebeenhighlighted,clickingtheExportbuttonopens
thePlanGFilesfolderwindow.Enterasuitablefilenameandtherecordswillbe
savedtothatfilewitha.csvextension.ApopupwindowappearsinPlanGon
successfulcompletionoftheexport.Ifnorecordsarehighlighted,clickingtheExport
buttondoesnothing.
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Figure 68 User Defined Records Imported
Figure 69 User Defined Records Exported
TechnicalNote:Whenyouexportuserwaypoints,The[CATEGORY]fieldasshownin
Section11.4.3aboveisanumber,sincethatshowthedataisstoredinternally.Butan
ENGLISHlanguagetextstringisacceptablewhenimportingwaypoints.The
[CATEGORY]fieldislocalizedinnonEnglishlanguages.
11.5
Adding New Scenery

Ifyouaddnewthirdpartyscenerytoyoursimulator,thathasn'texistedinyoursim
previously,evenjustasingleairport,youMUSTrebuilttherelevantdatabase
otherwisePlanGcannotdisplayitonthemap.Ifthenewscenerycontainschangesto
anairportwhichalreadyexistsinthedatabase,suchasanewrunway,thenthedata
forthatairport,andtheairportdiagramwillbeincorrectunlessthedatabaseis
rebuilt.
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THE VIEW RIBBON IN DETAIL

PlanGcanbeconfiguredtoshowasmuchoraslittledetailasyouwish.Different
featuresareswitchedonoroffdependingonthezoomlevelchosen,toavoid
excessivedataprocessingdelaysandofcoursemapclutter.Asageneralrule,the
defaultsettingsareoptimumformostusers,butinvariablyeachwillhavetheirown
preferences.TheViewRibbonallowstheusertofilterunwantedgeneraldisplay
features,withtheabilitytoturnthemonoroffastheywish.
Figure 70 The View Ribbon
12.1
Map Graticule
TheMapcanbedisplayedwithagridifdesired,bytickingthehigherofthetwo
tickboxesatthetopleftoftheribbon.Thistickboxtogglesonoroffthegraticule.This
optionisuntickedbydefault.
Thegraticuleisdrawnalongmaptileboundaries.
12.2
Map Overlays
Thisoptionistickedbydefault.Alltheoverlayfeaturescanbeswitchedoffby
untickingthelowertickbox.Ifyouwanttojustlookatthemapwithoutany
aeronauticalinformationdisplayedatall,clickthistickboxtoremovethetick.Click
againtoreplacethetickandalltheoverlaydatawillberedisplayed.
Thetencontroliconstotherightofthesetickboxeseachopensapopupwindow
showingadditionalinformationtothatprovidedonthemapbydefault.Thenext
sectionoftheribboncontrolsthezoomlevelandthefinalsectionwilllockorunlock
anyselectedcontrolwindowsothatitremainsontopofallotherwindows(ornot)
whenPlanGisminimisedoroverlaidwithanotherapplicationsuchasFlight
Simulator.
12.3
The Plan Window

TheFlightPlanWindowisopenbydefaultwhenPlanGisfirstrunafterinstallation.
Thetablecontainstheconventionalflightplanheadings,althoughinitiallywhenit
opens,itisempty,withabrownbarlineacrosstwothirdsofthewaydown.Below
thisbarappearsthesummaryofyourplannedflight,aboveitthedetailsofeachleg.
Asyoubuildaflightplan,eachnewentryisaddedtothewindowinsequenceandthe
summaryinformationisupdated.
Averticalscrollbarwillappearontherightofthedetailssectionifnecessary,asnew
legsareadded.Toviewthecompleteplan,eitherdragthebrownbarlinedown,or
dragthelowerborderofthewindowdowntorevealthewholeplan.Ifthewindowis
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reducedinwidth,ahorizontalscrollbarallowsall14datafieldsintheplantobe
shown.
PlanGremembersthewindowsizelastused,soifyouopenanexistingFlightPlan,
andthewindowwasleftexpandedwhenPlanGwaslastclosed,thewindowopens
expandedwiththeflightplandetailsvisible.
Figure 71 The Plan Window Before a Flight Plan is Created
Figure 72 Plan Window Expanded to Reveal All Flight Plan Details
MEF(theninthandlastcolumnpopulatedbyPlanG)standsfortheMaximum
ElevationFigure,andisthehighestpoint(notincludingmasts,skyscrapersetc.,)ina
0.5osquarethroughwhichthetrackpasses.TheMEFforaleganalysesallthegrid
squaresthroughwhichthelegpasses,andusesthehighestvalue.Thesourcedatais
theNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA)1.2kmGLOBEdataset
thesamesourceastheDEMtilesdescribedinthenextsection.
Whenyourplanisexpanded,youcanaddordeletewaypoints,movethewaypointsup
ordowntheplan,addsnippetsandanalternatedestinationbyrightclickingthe
relevantentryintheplantorevealthedropdownmenuofoptions.
Figure 73 Flight Plan Editing via the Dropdown Menu
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Plan Elevation Window

ThisfeaturerequirestheoptionaldownloadandinstallationofoneormoreDigital
ElevationModel(DEM)tilesfromtheNGDC'GLOBE'(GlobalLandOnekmBase
Elevation)websiteathttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/gltiles.html.Thereare
sixteenfilescoveringthewholeworld,eachonedownloadablefromoneofarowof
linkslabeledAtoPbelowthediagramoftheworld.Donotclickonthegraphicasthat
resultsinyoubeingnavigatedawayfromthepage.
ThetilefilesareTARcompressedfileswiththeextension.gzorzip.Bothcanbe
extractedwithWinziporWinrar.Theextractedfileshavenoextension.Youneedto
downloadandinstallaminimumofonetiletoenablethePlanElevationWindow
functionalityinPlanG,butyoudonotneedtodownloadandinstalleverytile.No
elevationdatawillbeshowninPlanGwheretilesarenotinstalled.Theextractedfiles
mustbeplacedinyourDocuments\PlanGFiles\DEMfolder.
Forexample,Documents\PlanGFiles\DEM\b10gisthefileforthetilethatcoversthe
westernhalfoftheUSAandsouthwesternCanada.
WhenthePlanElevationiconisselectedfromtheViewRibbon,anelevationwindow
willopenatthetopofthePlanGscreen.
IfnotilefilesexistinthefolderPlanG\DEMthePlanElevationtickboxisdisplayedin
afaintgreyandcannotbeselected.Ifnoflightplanisloadedtheelevationwindowis
displayed,butcontainsnoelevationdata.
TheFlightPlanElevationwindowshowsthetotalprofilefortheflightasacontinuous
profileeveniftheflightPlancomprisesmultiplelegswhicharenotinagenerally
similardirection.
Intheexamplebelow,aflightplanhasbeencreatedacrossCanadafromPortHardy
BritishColumbiatoCalgary,Alberta,crossingtheRockyMountains.Asyouwould
expect,theelevationprofileisquiteinteresting.
Figure 74 Flight Plan Elevation Window overlaying the Map Window
Intheexampleabove,theDEMprofileisshowngreen,theFlightPlanaltitudeis
shownasasolidblueline,(atanimpractical2000ft),andthehighestpointontrack
theMaximumElevationFigure(MEF)isshownasasolidmaroonline,atapproximately
13,000ft.Thedistanceisshownalongthexaxis.
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If,forexample,theflightcrossesarangeofmountainsandincludesareturntrack
reversingtheoutboundleg,suchastheoneshownbelowbetweenHawardenEGNR
andCaernarfonEGCKcrossingSnowdoniainNorthWales,thesamemountainrange
willbeshowntwice,thesecondbeingamirrorimageofthefirst.Itisimportantto
realisethiswheninterpretingthediagram.
Figure 75 A Mirrored profile for an Out and Back Flight Plan
12.5
The Information Window

BydefaultonfirstloadinganewversionofPlanG,thispanelisshownexpanded.It
providesimportantinformation(asitstitleimplies)aboutthefeaturecurrently
beneaththemousepointer.Thismaybeaerodromedata,(activeordisused),
controlledairspacedata(name,typeandboundaryaltitudes)orradionavigationaids,
typeandfrequencies,orallofthese,forexample,atamajorairport.
The context menus vary in content, but the Lock Info Panel is
always the last item.
Figure 76 Lock Info Panel in Dropdown menus
Figure 77 The
Information Window
Asthemousepointermovesacrosstheaeronauticalsymbolsonthemap,the
informationdisplayedconstantlychanges,soyoucancheckoutsuchinformationto
helpcreateaflightplan,e.g.avoidingcertaincontrolledairspaceorfindingoutwhich
runwaysatanairporthaveanILS.
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Theinformationdisplayediscolourcoded:Awhitebackgroundisusedforairport
data,apalegreenforVORs,adarkergreenforNDBsandorangeforcontrolled
airspace.Ofcoursenotalltheseitemsareincludedineverydisplay.
Theinformationdisplayedcanalsobelockedsothatthedataforaparticularareais
constantlydisplayedeventhoughthemousepointerismovedaway.Rightclickonthe
featureforwhichyouwishtolocktheinformationandthecontextsensitivedropdown
menuincludestheoptionasthelastitem.
12.6
The Aerodrome Window

IfyourightclickanairportonthemapandselectShowAirportDiagram(second
option)fromthedropdown,theAerodromeDiagramisdisplayed.
Figure 78 Airport Diagram

Window
Figure 79 Airport Diagram

Window with Overlay
IfyouclickthesmallblueInformationiconatthebottomleftofthewindow,the
relevantinformationforthatairportisdisplayedasanoverlayontheAirportdiagram.
Noairspaceornavaidinformationisincludedinthisoptiontoseethatdetailyou
havetousetheInformationWindow(SeeSection12.5above).Thisfunctionis
availableinallsupportedsimulators.
12.7
The Weather Window

WithPlanGconnectedtoFSX/FS9,andshowingtheuseraircraftposition,the
WeatherdropdowndataexpanderreadstheweatherdatafromFS9/FSXandshows
everythingthatFSX/FS9knowsabouttheweatherconditionsfortheaircraft's
currentlocation,eitheronthegroundorairborne.ThisFSX/FS9weatherdatamaybe
oneofthebuiltinweatherthemes,usermodifiedweather,weatherfromanonline
serversuchasVATSIMorIVAO(ifconnectedtosuchaserver),orrealworldJeppesen
weather(FSXonly).PlanGdisplaysalltheavailableweatherdata,asshowninthe
followingextract.
InPrepar3D,theweathermaybesetupforarequiredflight,andthisispassedto
PlanGinthesamewayasforFSX.WeathermaybetakenfromVATSIMifconnected
toaVATSIMonlineserver,butthe"Jeppesen"weatheroptioninFSX,which
downloadsrealtimeweatherdirectlyfromthewebisnotavailableinP3D.
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Ifyouselect"DownloadWeatherfromNWS"(accessviatheFiletab,in
Options/Weather),weatherfromtheNOAANationalWeatherService(NWS)willbe
displayedwithouthavingtobeconnectedtoFS.Theformatdisplayedinthetableis
veryslightlydifferenthowever,sinceitcomesfromrealMETARs,ratherthanthe
adapteddataprovidedbyFS.TheNWSweatherdataisdownloadedforallairports
worldwidewhichhaveaweatherreportingfacility,andstoredastwocontiguoustext
filesinthefolderPlanGFiles\WXwhiletheprogramisrunning.Thereisonefilefor
METARsandanotherforTAFs.WhenPlanGisclosed,thetwofilesaredeleted
automatically.
Ifyouhaveaflightplanloaded,theweatherisshownforthedepartureand
destinationairports,whetheryourFlightSimulatorisconnectedornot.
Figure 80 Weather Table
AyellowwindarrowisdisplayedinthetoplefthandcornerofthemainMapwindow
wheneverPlanGisconnectedtoFlightSimulator.Itindicatesthestrengthinknots
andthemagneticbearingofthewind.Thisfunctionisavailableinallsupported
simulators.
12.8
Trail Analysis
TrailplottingisenabledfromtheFiletab,inOptions/UserAircraft(Seesection8.9.6
above).IfTrailplottingisenabled,andPlanGisconnectedtoFlightSimulator,atrail
oftheflightoftheusersaircraftisdisplayedonthemapduringtheflight,andsaved
asanInternationalGlidingConvention(IGC)file.IGCfilesareaninternational
standardrecordingprotocoldesignedforuseincompetitivegliding,butwhichcanbe
usedtorecordanyflight.Thelogrecordsthecallsignoftheaircraftflown,the
flightpath,elevationandelapsedtime.
Ifyouwishtoanalyseaflightafterwards,andautomaticloggingisenabled,thenyou
canreloadthatflightandexamineit.SelecttheFiletab,thenOpen,andselectthe
subfolderofPlanGFiles.ClicktheAircraftBreadcrumbTrailFiles(.IGC)fromthe
filetypedropdownboxatthelowerrightoftheTrailFilesFolderwindow.Alistofyour
savedlogsisdisplayedfromwhichyoucanselecttheoneyouwishtoview.
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Figure 81 Loading a Logged Flight Trail
Whenthetrailloads(ittakesafewseconds)itisdisplayedonthemap,whichis
movedtodisplaythewholeroute,andtheverticalprofileisalsodisplayed.
Figure 82 A Trail Analysis Example
TheexampleaboveshowsaflightbyanaircraftwiththecallsignCXA470flyingaroute
fromPittMeadows,BritishColumbiatoCalgary,Alberta,inCanada.Thepilotwas
attemptingtocrosstheRockiesbelow8000feetalltheway,hencethevery
convolutedtrailtowardstheend.Theverticalprofileshowsthathewasforcedtogo
higherattimes.TheverticalprofilewindowtitleisgeneratedaspartoftheIGC
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protocolandcomprisestheaircraftcallsign,thedateoftheflightanddepartureand
arrivalairports.
Toclosetheverticalprofilewindow,clicktheTrailAnalysisiconontheViewribbon.
Tocloseboththetrailandtheverticalprofile,clickthelargeredcrossatthetopleftof
theVerticalProfilewindow.
NotethatalthoughatrailisgeneratedduringaflightwhenconnectedtoFS,the
verticalprofileisonlycreatedfromthesavedlogfile,sothat,ifselected,thevertical
profilewindowremainsemptyduringaflight.
12.9
Primary Flight Display

SelectingthePrimaryFlightDisplay(PFD)icondisplaysyouraircraftsperformance
instruments.Thiscanbeuseful,forinstance,whereyouhaveonlyonemonitor,but
youneedtocheckoutprogressonPlanGandalsomakesureyourhandflownVFR
aircraftdoesntsuddenlyenteraspiraldivewhileyourattentioniselsewhere.Ifused
inconjunctionwiththeRadioStackAutopilot(SeeSection12.11below),itispossible
toconductalmostanentireflightfromPlanGandnotlookattheaircraftinFlight
Simulatoratall,notthatthisisrecommended.
Figure 83 PFD Panel
Figure 84 The PFD Panel Alive during a Flight with a Flight Plan Loaded
Figure83aboveshowsthePFDPanelasitappearswhennoflightplanisloaded.
Figure84showsthePFDpanelduringaflightwithaFlightPlanloaded.
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Theinstrumentsarenotlabeled,butitisobviouswhichtheyarethebasic6pack
exceptfortheHorizontalSituationIndicator(HSI)whichhasadditionalfeatures
describedbelow.Airspeedandaltitudearealsoshowndigitally.
12.10 The Horizontal Situation Indicator

AuniquefeatureofPlanGisaHorizontalSituationIndicatorwithmorethanattitude!
Itincorporatesfournavigationalfeatures.
a) ADirectionIndicator(DI)
b) ACourseDeviationIndicator(CDI),and
c) AnAutomaticDirectionFinder(ADF)
d) ADescentProfileIndicator
Thesefeaturesareonlyavailable,however,ifaflightplanisloadedandPlanGis
connectedtoFlightSimulator.
12.10.1 Direction Indicator
MostvirtualpilotsshouldbefamiliarwithaDI.Thisoneisidenticaltothatfoundin
youraircraft,exceptthatitdoesntprecesswithtime.Ifprecessionisnotatermyou
arefamiliarwith,lookupDirectionIndicatorPrecessionontheinternetandreadall
aboutit.TheDIcompassroseshowsthemagneticheadingyouareflyingagainstthe
redlubberlineatthetop.
12.10.2 Course Deviation Indicator
TheyellowneedleandthecentralbarformaCDIwithaslightdifference.Itisnttuned
toaVOR,butisindicatingyourdeviationfromtheflightplantracklinedisplayedon
themap.Thesensitivityvarieswithdistancefromdestination.FullScaleDeflection
(FSD)forvariousdistancesisshowninthetablebelow.
Distance from Waypoint
Sensitivity
More than 35nm
FSD = 5nm from track
Between 2nm and 35nm
FSD = 1.2nm from track
Less than 2nm
FSD = 0.25nm from track
ThisisthesameasthesensitivityofanILSlocaliser,soisveryprecise.
12.10.3 Automatic Direction Finder
ThisisanADFwithadifference.ThesmallgreenarrowworksexactlylikeanADF
tunedtoanNDB,butitpointsdirectlytoyournextwaypoint.Itisnotinfluencedby
thunderstormsormountainsofironore,soismorereliablethanarealworldADF(not
thatmagneticmountainsaresimulatedinFS!)
Itdoesgetmoresensitiveasyougetnearertothewaypoint,andswingsroundinthe
normalwayanADFneedledoesasyoupassthewaypoint.WhenPlanGdecidesitis
timetolookforthenextwaypoint,itwillswingroundautomaticallytopointtothe
newone.Ifyouaredirectlyontrack,thiswillbetheinstantthattheaircraftpasses
overthewaypoint.Ifyouareofftrackalittle,itwillswingroundtoabout150oor220o
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(dependingwhetheryouareleftorrightoftrack),beforechangingtothenext
waypoint,sodontchasetheneedleasyounearthepointofchangeover.
12.10.4 Descent Profile Indicator
Thefourthfeatureisthedescentprofileindicator.Whetheryoucreateanaltitude
profileornot,PlanGwillcalculateaTopofDescentpointalongyourroute.Asyou
neartheTopofDescent,theprofilebar(asmallgreenletterboxshapedrectangle)
appearsontheHSIdial,anddescendsdownwards.
Thisissimilartoaglideslopeindicatorandshowstherateofdescentyouneedto
achievetomaintainyourVNAVprofile.ItworksinthesamesenseasanILSglideslope
indicator.Ifthebarisbelowthecentre,youshouldincreaseyourdescentrate,andif
itabovecentreyoushouldslowyourdescentrate.
Fullscaledeflectionontheprofilebaris1degreeaboveorbelowtheprofile(thesame
asanormalILS).ThismimicsthestandardhandheldGarmin(e.g.296,or496)VNAV
functionality.Ifyouwishtodisabletheprofilebar,settheProfileto0ft/minute,
accessedfromtheFileTabinOptions/GPSPanel.
TheHSItooltipcontainscontextinformationaboutyourpositionontheprofile.
12.11 The Radio Stack

TheinclusionofaradiostackinPlanGmightatfirst
seemincongruous.Howeverifyoucanrecallany
occasionwhenyouhaveneededtoadjustaradio
frequency;transponderorautopilotsettingbuteither
youareinthewrongwindowofFlightSimulatorandyou
needtomakethechangequicklyinbusytraffic,orthe
aircraftdesignerhasmadechangingfrequenciestricky
becausethenumbersaretoosmalltoberesolved
clearlybyyourslightlyantiquegraphicscard,orthe
clickablehotspotsarentquiteintherightplacethen
youwillhavewishedforaradiostackoutsidethe
Simulator,witheasymanipulation.Thelessfinancially
challengedcanbuyhardwareunits,butPlanGprovides
asimilar,free,option.IfyouhavePlanGonaseparate
monitorwiththeRadioStackdisplayed,youalmosthave
theluxuryofthehardwareoption,andcertainlyhave
theeaseofuse.
Thepaneldoesnotfunction(nonumbersvisibleand
nothingisclickable)unlessPlanGisconnectedtoFlight
Simulator.
Figure 85 The Plan-G

Radio Stack
ChangingthenumbersinPlanGchangesthenumbersintheaircraftradiosandalso
workswithVATSIMorIVAOATCwhenconnectedtothosenetworks.Infactitworks
inpreciselythesamewayasanyFlightSimulatorradiostack,soitwillnotbefurther
describedhereexcepttoexplaintheconventionofchangingnumbers.Clickabovethe
numberstoincreasethem;clickbelowthenumberstodecreasethem.
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12.12 The Traffic Window

TheTrafficWindowshowsatableofalltheFlightSimulatorartificialintelligence(AI)
oronlinetrafficwithinadefineddistanceofyouraircraft.Themaximumdistancefor
thedisplayofAItrafficcanbeuserdefinedontheOptionspageundertheFiletab.
Thedefaultsettingis100kilometres,approximately50nauticalmiles.
Figure 86 Traffic Window
12.13 VATSIM
OpensawindowwhichlistsallAirTrafficControllersandPilotscurrentlyconnectedto
VATSIMworldwide,inalphabeticalorderbycallsign.Aseparatetabisusedforpilots
andcontrollers.Allavailabledataisdisplayedifthewindowisexpandedinwidth,or
scrolledwiththehorizontalscrollbar.Theverticalscrollbarallowstheoftenverylong
listtobefullyexplored.
Figure 87 VATSIM Pilots World-wide
Figure 88 VATSIM Controllers Worldwide
12.14 Zoom Controls

TherearetwozoomcontrolsontheViewRibbon.Asingleclickoneitherchangesthe
zoomlevelbyone.IftheViewWindowisntactive,thereareapairofzoombuttons
atthebottomofthemapwindowattheleftofthestatusbar.Forthosewithamouse
whichincludesascrollwheel,thescrollwheelwillalsozoomthemapwindow.
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Inadditiontherearethreeconfigurablepresetzoombuttons.Bydefaulttheyareset
to8times,10timesand12timeszoomlevel.Clickingthesmalldiagonalarrow
shapedlauncherbuttonatthebottomrightofthepresetzoombuttonsgroupopensa
SetZoomPresetswindow,whereyoucanchangethedefaultsettingstoyourchoice.
12.15 Keep Window on Top

ClickthepushpiniconandPlanGstaysontopofallotherwindows.Thiscanbehandy
ifyouarerunningwithtwomonitors,(youwouldntwanttousethisfeaturewhile
flying,withasinglemonitor),ifyouhaveotherwindowsgettinginthewayon
occasion.ItcanbeabitunnervingifyouhavePlanGinfullscreenmode,asitcanat
firstseemthatyourcomputerisnotrespondingtomouseclicksonotherrunning
applicationsinthetaskbar.
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CONTEXT MENU OPTIONS

ContextmenuswithappropriateoptionsareavailableinPlanGwhenyourightclick
onvariouselementsofthedisplay.
13.1
Right-Click on the Map

Ifyourightclickonanypartofthemapadropdownmenuisdisplayedcontaining
severalcommonlyusedfunctions.Theoptionsavailablefromthedropdownvaryin
accordancewiththewayinwhichPlanGisbeingused.IftheDEMElevationfileshave
notbeenloaded,thentheversionontheleftbelowisdisplayed.IftherelevantDEM
elevationfiledoesexistinthePlanGFiles\DEMfolder,thentheversionontherightis
displayed,whichincludesaspotheightvalue.
Figure 89 Right-Click Map Dropdown Menus
IfyourightclickonanAirport.VORorNDBetc.,thedropdownmenusarechanged
withadditionaloptionsaddedappropriateforthosefeatures,.IfPlanGisconnected
toFS,P3DorXPlane,therightclickmenuhastwoadditionaloptions"GetFlyto
Heading,DistanceandTime",andMoveFSAircrafttohere.
13.1.1 Create User Waypoint
Youcancreatecustomwaypointsanywhereyoulikeonthemapwithoutrestriction.
ThisisparticularlyusefulforVFRflightwheretowns,lakes,hillsandotherfeaturesare
requiresaspointsofnavigationalreference.
Thissubjectisdealtwithindetailinsection14.2.1below.
13.1.2 Get Fly-to Heading, Distance and Time
IfPlanGisconnectedtoFS,thisoptionprovidesausefulquickcheckonthingslike
Whatistheflighttimeremainingto<thepointclicked>frommyaircraft,givenmy
airspeedandthecurrentweather?WillIhaveenoughfueltogetto<thepoint
clicked>?HowfarhaveIcome?Theoptionalsoappearsinthedropdownmenu
displayedwhenyouclickanywhereonthemapduringaflight.Theinformationis
displayedinasmallpopupwindowinthecentreofthemapwindow.ClickingOKin
thewindowclosesit.
13.1.3 Move FS Aircraft to Here
Thiscanactuallybeafasterwayofrelocationtoanewairportthancanbeachieved
viatheFlightSimulatormenus.However,itisactuallyaslewmanouevre(theYkeyin
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FS,afeaturenotimplementedinXPlane),withsomeofthequirksofthatactionsuch
asblurredscenery(tryingtocatchup!)andyouraircraftsometimesbeingairborne
whenitwaspreviouslyparked.
13.1.4 Spot Elevation
IftheuserhasdownloadedtheoptionalDigitalElevationModel(DEM)tilesfromthe
NGDC'GLOBE'(GlobalLandOnekmBaseElevation)website(seesection12.3above),
thenPlanGwilldisplaytheelevationabovesealevelofthepointwhichhasbeen
rightclicked,astheseconditemontherightclickdropdownmenu(seeFigure89
above).
13.1.5 QDM Range and Bearing
Intheearlydaysofradio,whentransmissionwascarriedoutentirelyinmorsecode,
theQCodewasaseriesoflettergroupsstartingwithQ,eachofwhichhadaspecific
meaning.Afew,includingQNH,QFEandQDMarestillusedinaviation.QDMmeans
"WhatistheRangeandBearingTOadistantpointFROMafixedorigin(usuallyyour
aircraft)".
Forcompleteness,youshouldknowthattheBearingFROMadistantpointtothe
origin,(againusuallyyouraircraft),isQDR.Itissometimesusedbyrealworldpilots.
Figure 90 QDM Display
TheexampleaboveshowsthedistancefromTokyosShimofusaAirBasetothenearby
IrumaAirBase.TheQDMfeaturecanalsobeusefullyusedtomeasureanystraight
linedistanceinPlanG,suchasthedistancebetweentwoairportsasabove.Placethe
cursoratthepointonthemapwhereyouraircraftorselectedfeatureis,andright
clicktodisplaythedropdownmenu(seeFigure93below).SelectQDM:Rangeand
Bearing.Aredlinewillbedrawnfromtherightclickpointtowhereeveryoumove
themousecursor,withtherangeandbearingvaluesdisplayedintheInformation
Panelatthetopwithagreybackgroundtoseparateitfromotherinformationwhich
maybevalidforthepointyouhaveselected.
Rightclickingonthemapagainwillshowacheckmarkonthedropdownmenuagainst
theQDM:RangeandBearingline,indicatingthatQDMLinedrawingisON.Clickingon
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QDM:RangeandBearingagainonthedropdownmenuwillremovethecheckmark
andswitchOFFtheQDMfeature.
Figure 91 Select the Ticked QDM Option to Switch it Off
Ifyouwishtodrawanewline,thenyoumustclosetheQDMoption,andrightclick
againfromthenewpoint.
13.1.6 Display and Hide Range Rings
Placethehandcursoratthepointonthemapwhereyouwanttherangeringstobe
centred,andrightclick.SelectDisplayRangeRingsfromthedropdownmenu.
Ifyouwanttomovethem,simplymovethecursortothenewlocationandselect
DisplayRangeRingsagain.
Tohidetherangerings,rightclickanywhereonthemapandselectHideRangeRings
fromthedropdownmenu.Rangeringsarehiddenbydefault,soifyouexitPlanG,
theywillnotbedisplayedwhenyourestarttheapplication.
Figure 92 Displaying Range Rings
Rangeringscanbesettodisplayinunitsofdistanceortime.Iftimeischosen,the
ringswillautomaticallybedistortedtotakeaccountofanywindenteredintheWinds
dialoguebox(seesections9.5and14.1.2).
RangeringsdonotrequireyoutobeconnectedtoFS.Theyarepurelyamapping
displayfunction.Youcandisplayasmanysetsofrangeringsasyouwish.The
exampleaboveshowsoneselectionoftworingsat10and20nauticalmilesradius
centredonSydneyCharlesKingsfordSmithAirport,withanotherringat10nautical
milesradiuscentredonHoxtonParkAirport.
13.1.7 Lock Info Panel
TheinformationdisplayedontheInformationPanelasyoumovethemouseroundthe
mapcanbelockedsothatthedataforaparticularareaisconstantlydisplayedeven
thoughthemousepointerismovedaway.Tolockinformation,hoverthemouseover
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theareaonthemapwhichdisplaystheinformationrequired,thenrightclickand
selectLockInfoPanelfromthedropdown.
Figure 93 Lock the

Info Panel
Figure 94 Unlock
the Info Panel
Toreturntochangingdataasthemouseismoved,rightclickandselectUnlockInfo
Panel.
13.2
Right Click on an Airport

Rightclickingthemouseonanairportsymbolopensadifferentdropdownmenufrom
theonewhichisdisplayedwhenyourightclickonthemap.
Figure 95 Right-click on an Airport
Thedropdownmenushowssomeoptionsspecifictothatairport,sometoanyairport,
andsomewhichalsoappearonthemaprightclickmenu.Theoptionsaredescribed
below.
13.2.1 Start Flight Plan at Airport
Ifyourightclickonthedepartureairportonyourplan,selectingStartflightplanat
airport<ICAOcode>"(PlanGfillsintheICAOfourlettercodefortheselectedairport)
isselfexplanatory.Ifyourightclickanairportafteryourdepartureairport,thisoption
changestoAddairport<ICAOCode>toplan.Figure95abovehasbeendeliberately
chosentodisplayalmostallofthepossibledropdownmenuoptions.Ifthe
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informationisnotavailableforanairport,thenthatoptionisnotincludedinthe
menu.If,asintheexample,aVORislocatedattheairport,thentheoptionAdd
VOR.willalsobeincludedinthemenuoptions.
13.2.2 Select Alternate Destination
Whatifyouarriveatyourdestinationandyoucannotlandthere?Intherealworld,
therecanbemanyreasonsforthis,butinFS,especiallywhenflyingonlinewith
VATSIMorIVAO,etc.,theremaybeanaircraftalreadyontherunwaywhichdoesnot
moveasyouflyyourfinalapproach.Youclearlyhavetolandsomewhere,andthatis
whattheAlternateboxisforintheonlineflyingpilotclientflightplans(thoughit
doesnotfeatureinFScreatedflightplans).
Ifyouselectthisoption,anadditionalline,butinred,isdrawnontheplanfromyour
destinationtotheairportyouselectasyouralternate.Importantly,becauseyoudont
wanttobecalculatingdistance,headingandETAetc.,whilegoingaroundbecauseof
thatunmovingaircraftontherunway,theplandisplayedinthePlanWindowincludes
thisnecessaryinformationforflighttoyouralternatefromyourdestination.Theline
ofdataforthedestinationtothealternatelegisshowninred.
Note:Thealternateheadinganddistanceisalwayscalculatedfromyourdestination,
becausestandardaeronauticalpracticeworldwideassumesthatyouflytoyour
destinationbeforedivertingtoyouralternate.
13.2.3 Set COM Frequencies
ThisoptionisonlyavailablewhenPlanGisconnectedtoFS.Ifyouselect"Set
frequencyontheCOM1Radio",alistoftheapplicableradiofrequenciesthathave
beendefinedbyFSforthatselectedairport.(e.g.Tower,Ground,Approachetc.)are
displayedtotherightofthedropdownmenu.Selectingthefrequencywillsetthe
STANDBYradiodisplayforCOM1inyouraircraftradio.Youwillneedtopressthe
ToggleActiveStandbybuttontoactivatethefrequency,eitherwithinFS,oronthe
PlanGradiostack.IftheCOMRadioonlyhasanactivefrequency,suchasintheFSX
defaultAirCreationTrike,PlanGcannotsetthefrequency.
YoucanselectthefrequencyonCOM2inasimilarmanner.
13.2.4 Show Airport Diagram
IfyouselectShowAirportDiagramfromthedropdownmenu,theAerodrome
Diagramisdisplayedasapopupwindow(seealsoSection12.6above).Youcanuse
themousewheeltozoomin/out,andifyouhoverthemousepointerovertheparking
spots,runways&taxiwaystherelevantdetailsaredisplayed.
13.2.5 Charts
IfyoucreateafoldercalledChartswithintheDocuments\PlanGFilesFolder,youcan
storecharts&instrumentdiagrams(knownas"plates")there.Airportchartsmaybe
storedaspdffilesorasjpgimagefiles.OtherformatswillnotberecognisedbyPlan
G.
TheusualsourceofpdfairportchartsistheCivilAviationAuthority,orsimilar
GovernmentAgencyforyourcountry.Mostcountriesnowstoreairportchartson
theirCivilAviationAuthoritywebsites,includingrunwayandtaxiwaylayouts,
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instrumentapproachplates,parkingdiagramsetc.Becausethesechartsoftenhave
codedfilenamesandtheremaybemanyofthemforaparticularairport,inorderfor
PlanGtodisplaythem,youmustcreateasubfolderforeachairportandputallthe
relevantchartsinthatfolder.
Note:ThesubfoldersmustbenamedusingonlytheICAOcodefortheairfield,(e.g.
Charts\EGBJ,Charts\EIDW,Charts\KLGA,etc.)otherwisechartswillnotbedisplayed.
IfyouuseJohnAllard'sairportdiagrams,downloadablefromtheMutley'sHangar
flightsimulatorcommunitywebsite,thesecompriseonlyonefileperairportinjpg
format,whichissimplyadrawingofthedatastoredinFS9.Theyhavestandard
filenames<ICAOCode>.jpg.e.g.EDDG.jpg.PlanGcanidentifythesefileswithout
needingthemtobestoredinasubfolder.Forconvenience,however,itis
recommendedthattheyareallstoredinasinglesubfolderofyourChartsfolder.
Section8.10.6abovedescribeshowtosetupthepathfortheAllardchartssothat
PlanGcanfindthem.
Thecontextmenuforanyairportforwhichyouhavestoredachartorcharts,will
includetheoption"Charts"whenyourightclickonthatairport.Thenifyouhoverthe
mouseover"Charts",thefilename(s)ofanychartsthusstoredaredisplayedalongside
thecontextmenuandcanbeselectedwiththemouse.Selectingoneofthecharts
fromthecontextmenuwilldisplayitinitsownwindow.
Figure 96 Plan-G finds the Allard Chart for Friedrichshafen EDNY
13.2.6 Instrument Approaches

IfanairporthasinstrumentapproachesbuiltintoFS,thenthereisanoptioninthe
airportrightclickdropdownmenutodisplaythem.Theyaremuchsimplifiedversions
ofrealworldInstrumentApproachPlates,butifyouareunfamiliarwithinstrument
approaches,thenyouwillwanttoknowwhatthediagramsmean.
WhenyoufirstclickontheInstrumentApproachoption,theremaybeapausewhile
PlanGloadstheinformation,thenasmallApproacheswindowisdisplayedshowing
alltheapproachproceduresavailableforthatairportinFS.(Theremaybeseveral
othersavailableforrealworldflight.)
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Figure 97 Instrument Approaches Pick-list for Mombasa Airport, Kenya
ThewindowissplitintwobyablackdividerbearingthewordTransitions.Ifyou
clickononeofthedisplayedapproachprocedures,twothingshappen:
AbluelineandaredlineappearoverlaidonthePlanGmapattheairport
SomecodesappearbelowtheTransitionsdividerintheApproachesbox.
Figure 98 Runway 21 ILS Procedure, Mombasa
Thebluelineisthetracktheaircraftshouldbeflyinginboundtotheairportonthe
runwayheading,approachingtheFinalApproachPoint(FAP).IntheUK,thisis
typicallybetween4and7nauticalmilesfromtouchdown,dependingonhowcramped
theairspaceisaroundtheairport.IntheUSAandCanada,wherecongestedairspace
islessofaproblem,thiscanbe10ormorenmfromtouchdown.
TheredlineistheMissedApproachtrack.Ifyoudonothavetherunwayinsightby
about2/3rdsofanauticalmilebeforetouchdown(200ftabovetheairfieldelevation),
calledtheMissedApproachPoint(MAP),thenyoumustcarryoutaMissedApproach.
Asillustrated,youflytherunwayheadingoutboundfor3or4nauticalmiles,climbing
to,typically,1,500feetabovetheairfieldelevation,thenmakearateoneturn
inboundbacktothebeacon(followedintheillustratedcasebyaracetrackholding
pattern,whichisflownuntilclearedbyATCtocontinuewiththeprocedureinwhich
caseyouflythebluetracklineoncemoreinthehopeofseeingtherunwaysecond
timearound.Alternatively,andactuallymorecommonly,ATCwillvectoryoutoanew
approach,asthissavestimeoverall.
ThecodesbelowtheTransitionsdivider,inthelowerhalfoftheApproaches
window,maybe2,3,4or5characters,andaretheICAOidentifiersforthetransition
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points.Typically,ifatransitionpointisanNDB,itwillbetwoletters,aVOR,three
lettersandsoon.
IfyouclickononeoftheTransitionPoints,thenthebluelinegainsanextraline,
whichistheleadinfromtheTransitionpointtotheInitialApproachFix(IAF)and
continuingontotheFAP.Itmaybeaproceduralturn,whichistypicallyteardrop
shaped,oraninboundtrackfromaVORtotheFAP.
Figure 99 Lead in Procedural Turn to the MOV VOR Transition Point
Thetransitionpointsarethepointsatwhichyourenroutenavigationceasesandyou
begintoflytheInstrumentApproachProcedure(IAP)ortheprocedureasitis
popularlyknown.TransitionpointswillalwaysbeaVOR,anNDB,oranintersection
(seesection10.3aboveforanexplanationofanintersection).
Figure 100 Instrument Approach fixes added to a Flight Plan
IfthetransitionpointisanNDBorVORlocatedontheairfield,(e.g.Manchester)then
theprocedurewillbeaproceduralturn.If,asissometimesfound,thereisanNDBon
therunwayextendedcentrelineandapproximately3nauticalmilesfromthe
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threshold,(e.g.EastMidlands),thetransitionpoint,andtheIAF,willbothbetheNDB,
andtheprocedurewillstartfromthere.
FSXincludesRNAVapproachproceduresfortheUSAandCanada,butUKtransition
pointswillalmostalwaysbeVORsorNDBs.
Clickingthe'Clear'buttonremovestheinstrumentapproachproceduresfromthe
map.'AddtoPlan'addsthetransitionpointfixestoyourplanbeforethedestination
airport.Theyaredisplayedinalightercolourtodifferentiatethemfromenroute
waypoints.
13.2.7 METAR and TAF
OneoftheminormiraclesofPlanGisitsabilitytofetchboththecurrentrealworld
weather(METAR)andforecastweather(TAF)foranyairportwithinitsdatabasewhich
hasanassociatedweatherstation.Figure95aboveshowstheonelineMETAR,
followedbyatwolineTAF,althoughitisnotalwaystwolines.Itmayonlybeoneline
oreventhree.Theweatherinformationisincorporatedwithintherightclickdrop
downmenuandinformationforthatairport.Forairportswhichdonothavean
associatedweatherstation,orforwhichthereisnocurrentinformation,PlanG
displaysnoweather,ratherthanusethenearestavailable.
Note:the"DownloadWeatherfromNWS"optionmustbeset(accessviatheFiletab,
inOptions/Weather),forMETARSandTAFstobeshown.Thereisashortdelayafter
initialstartupbeforeweatherdataisavailable.Thereisalsoaslightdelaywhenright
clickinganairport,beforethedropdownmenudisplays,whilePlanGgetstheweather
information.
13.2.8 Other Selections
TheotherselectionsintheAirportrightclickdropdownare:
GetFlytoHeading,DistanceandTime
QDMRangeandBearing
MoveFSAircrafttoHere
DisplayRangeRings
SpotElevation
HideRangeRings
TheseoptionsarealsoavailableontheMaprightclickdropdownandaredescribedin
section13.1abovewhichdealwiththatfunction.
13.3
Right-Click on a VOR or NDB

IfyourightclickonaVORorNDBratherthananairportoranundefinedpointonthe
map,severalmoreoptionsareavailable.
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Figure 101 Right Click Menu on a VOR with FS Connected
13.3.1 Set VOR Frequency on NAV Radio

ThisoptionisonlyavailablewhenPlanGisconnectedtoFS.Ifyourightclickona
VOR,thecontextmenuwillalsoincludetheoptiontosettheselectedVORfrequency
ontheNAV1orontheNAV2radio.SelectingtheNAV1optionwillsettheSTANDBY
radiodisplayforNAV1inyouraircraftradioifithasactive/standbyoptions,(suchas
thedefaultCessna172).Ifnecessary,youwillneedtopresstheToggleActive
Standbybuttontoactivatethefrequency,eitherwithinFS,oronthePlanGradio
stack.Iftheradioonlyhasanactivefrequencyoption,suchasinthedefaultBeech
Kingair,thenPlanGcannotselectthefrequencyinthisway.
YoucansetthefrequencyonNAV2inasimilarmanner.
13.3.2 Set NDB Frequency on ADF Radio
IfyourightclickonanNDB,thecontextmenuwillincludetheoptiontosetthe
selectedNDBfrequencyontheADFradio.
13.3.3 Show Radial
WhenShowRadialisselected.Asmallsubmenuappearswhichallowsyouentera
radialanddistanceFROMthatnavaid.OnclickingOKtheradiallineisdisplayedon
themapasathinpurpleline.Youcanrepeatthismultipletimesfromthesameor
othernavaids,allowingyoutoplottheintersectiondataofapointyoumaywishtofly
to.Youcancreateasmanyradiallinesasyouwish.Asingle'ClearAllRadials'option
onthedropdownmenuwillremoveallradiallinesfromthemap.Radialsareentered
anddisplayedareindegreesmagnetic.Acheckboxallowsyoutoselecttheradialas
'inbound'whichshowstheradiallineTOthenavaidfromthepointthespecified
distancefromit..
Figure 102 The "Show Radial" Dialogue
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Figure 103 The Radial Displayed
13.3.4 VOR Range

IfyourightclickonaVORorNDBthereisanotheroptionVORRange(orNDBRange).
Thisoptioniscontextsensitiveasyouwouldexpect.Selectingtheoptionshadesthe
mapapaleblueinacirclewhichrepresentstheguaranteedrangeoftransmissionof
theNavaidsignal.ForVORsthisiscommonly195nauticalmiles.ForNDBs10nautical
milesistypical,buttherearesomelongerrangeNDBs(andsomeshorterrangeVORs
tooonly75nauticalmiles).Tocleartherangedisplay,rightclicktheNavaidagain
andselecttheVOR/NDBRangeoption.AlternativelyyoucanopentheViewribbon
andclickthe"MapOverlays"tickboxtwice.ThefirstclickclearsALLoverlays;the
secondclickrestorestheaeronauticaldatawithouttheVORrangedisplay.
TheseoptionsarealsoavailableifyourightclickonanairportwhichhasaVORorNDB
locatedatthefieldor,inthecaseofaVOR,within10nauticalmilesofit.
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FLIGHT PLANS
Thissectiondescribestheallimportantproceduresforcreating,amending,saving,
loadinganddeletingflightplans.Therearetwobasicmethodsofcreatingflightplans:
a) Graphical
b) Tabular
14.1
Creating a Flight Plan Graphically

Thismethodisintuitiveandfast,andwillalmostcertainlybethechoiceofmostusers
forcreatinganewflightplan.
14.1.1 New Flight Plan

WhenPlanGisstarted,theHomeribbonandmaparedisplayed.Themapopenswith
theviewandzoomlevelthatwascurrentwhenPlanGwaslastclosed.Noflightplan
willbeshown,butthenormaloverlaydatawillbedisplayed.PlanGisreadytocreate
anewflightplan.
Ifaflightplanhasbeenloadedandisdisplayed,thiscanbeerased,readytocreatea
newplan,byoneofthefollowingactions:
a) ClicktheFiletabatthetopleftofthemainPlanGwindowtoopenthedrop
downmenu,thenclickonNewPlan,or,
b) ClicktheNewPlaniconontheQuickAccessToolbar(SeeSection6.1abovefor
detailsoftheQuickAccesstoolbar).
14.1.2
Flight Conditions
TheHomeribbonmenucontainstheoptionsyouneedtosetuptheconditionsfor
yournewflightplan.Theselectionsmadehereareusedtocalculatetheheadingsand
elapsedlegtimes,andaredynamicallyadjustedintheFlightPlanifyoumakechanges.
TheseconditionsaresavedtoyournewFlightPlanwhenyouclickthe"Save"orSave
As"buttons.
Altitude,Cruisingairspeed,WindandVFRorIFRcanbeenteredbeforeorafter
creatingtheplan,butStartPosition(e.g.Parking,Ramp,ActiveRunway)canonlybe
enteredoncethestartlocationofaflightplanhasbeencreated(seesection14.1.6
below).
Figure 104 Setting Flight Plan Conditions
14.1.3 Aircraft Profile

UsinganaircraftprofileisanoptionalfeaturewhichinfluenceshowPlanGfitsaflight
plantotheaircraftwhichisgoingtoflytheroute.Youcanbuildaplanwithoutusing
Aircraftprofilesatall,andmakeyourownjudgementsonhowtoexecutetheflight
withregardtotheaircraftsperformancecharacteristics,oryoucanloadthe
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performancecharacteristicsofyourfavouriteaircraft,andPlanGwillattempttotell
youwhetheryoucanflyfromNewYorktoSanFranciscoin6hoursinaBeechBaron
(veryunlikely).
Touseanaircraftprofile,selecttheAircraftProfileiconfromtheHomeribbon.The
AircraftProfiledialoguescreenisthendisplayedoverlaidonthemap.Clickthe
"Open"buttoninthatscreentodisplayafilewindowfromwhichyoucanselecta
suitableaircraftprofile.Theaircraftprofilewindowwillbepopulatedwithdata.Now
closethewindowbyclickingtheusual"Close"iconattopright.Youwillknowwhen
theprofileisbeingused,becausethesmallPlanGversion"label"atthecentretopof
theheaderwillincludetheaircrafttypeandregistrationthatyouhaveselected.Plan
Gwillnowusethataircraftprofiletohelpcalculateyourrouteparameterssuchas
climbanddescentprofiles,fuelperformanceetc.
Note:Throughoutthismanual,withthisoneexception,thePlanGVersionlabelisomittedon
screenshotswhereitwouldnormallyappear,inordertoavoidhavingtounnecessarilyupdatemanyof
theotherwiseunchangedscreenshotswhenanewversionofPlanGispublished.
Figure 105 The Beech Baron Aircraft Profile
Seesection9.6forinformationoncreatingaircraftprofiles.
14.1.4 Departure Airport
Firstfindyourdepartureairportonthemap.Ifitisvisibleonthecurrentmap,then
movethemousepointerovertheairporticon,andrightclick.Ifitisnotvisibleonor
nearthecurrentmapdisplay,youcanzoomoutorpanbydraggingthemapwiththe
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mouse.Alternatively,youcanclickontheFindbuttonontheHomemenuribbon
(farleft).
Clickingontheupperhalfofthe"Find"buttonallowsyoutosearchforyourstarting
airport.Ifthesearchedforitemexistsinyoursimulatorsdatabase,itwillbefound.If
youenteronlypartoftheICAOcode,PlanGwilllistallairportswhoseICAOcodes
startwiththatcombinationofcharacters.SearchtextisNOTcasesensitive.
The"AddtoPlan"and"OK"buttonsintheFindAirportwindowaregreyedoutuntil
youhaveselectedatleastoneairportinthelist.WhenyouclickontheOKbuttonon
theFindAirportwindow,themapiscentredonthatairport.
Figure 106 Using the Find Function to Locate an Airport
NowrightclickontherequireddepartureAirportonthemapandselectStartflight
planatairport<ICAOcode>".(PlanGfillsintheICAOfourlettercodefortheselected
airport).
Figure 107 Right-Click Dropdown - Start Flight Plan
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14.1.5 Continue to Add Waypoints

You now can add further waypoints which may be any map
featureyouwish.Ifitisanaeronauticalfeatureandyoucansee
it on your map, simply rightclick on the feature and select the
firstoptionAdd<Feature>toPlan.
If you cant see your next waypoint, then either pan the map
withthemouseorusetheFindfunctionontheHomeribbon.
Clickingonthelowerhalfofthe"Find"buttondropsdownalist
ofobjectsyoucansearchfor:
FindAirport.(InMSFSandP3D,youcansearchbyICAOcode,
airportname,orcity;andinXPlane,youcansearchbyICAO
codeorAirportname).
FindNDB(Searchby3letteridentifierorbypartialname).
FindVOR(Searchby3letteridentifierorbynameorpartial
name).
Figure 108 Find

Options Dropdown
List
FindUserWaypoint
Oncethefeatureisdisplayedonthemap,rightclickonitandselectAdd<Feature>to
Planfromthedropdown.
TheFeaturecanbeanairport,anNDB,aVOR,oraUserWaypoint.ItsnameandICAO
codearedisplayedinthedropdownmenu,sothatyouknowyouhaveselectedthe
rightone.TheexamplebelowshowstheresultofrightclickingontheClonmelNDB
(CML)nearWaterford,Ireland.
Figure 109 Right-click Dropdown Add Waypoint to Plan
Themapwillnowshowatracklinefromyourstartlocationtothenewwaypoint,and
thenewwaypointwillappearinthePlantablewhenthePlaniconisclickedonthe
Viewribbon.Continuewitheachsubsequentwaypointinthesamewayuntilyou
haveaddedyourarrivalairport.Ateachstep,thetracklinewillupdateandeach
waypointwillbeaddedtoyourFlightPlan.
NotethatwaypointsareaddedtothePlaninsequence,soifyoudecidetoaddan
intermediatewaypointafteryouhavegonepastit,yourtracklinewilldoubleback,
whichisprobablynotwhatyouintend.SeeSection14.4.3MovingandDeleting
Waypointsbelowforthewaytocorrectthis.
Onceyouhaveselectedyourstartingairport,ifyouclickonanotherairportasa
waypoint,thesecondoptionontherightclickdropdownisSelectAlternate
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Destination.Seesection13.2.2abovefordetailsonaddinganalternate.Itisgood
airmanship,ifnotmandatory,toalwaysenteranalternate.
14.1.6 Insert an Intermediate Waypoint
If,asmanypilotsdo,youdecideyourdepartureandarrivalpointsbeforelookingat
whatintermediatewaypointsyouwishtogoto,thenyoucandothisonthemap.
Oncethebasicplanhasbeencreated,openthePlanWindowifitisntalreadyopen,
andclickonthewaypointoftheplanbeforeorafterwhichyouwishtoadda
waypoint.
Figure 110 Insert Intermediate Waypoint
ThengototheMapandrightclickontheintermediatewaypointyouwishtoinsert.A
popupmenuappearswhichprovidestwooptionsforinsertinganintermediate
waypointeitherbeforeorafterthewaypointontheplanwhichyouhadselectedin
thetabularPlan.
NotethatinFigure110above,thePlanGgenerateduserwaypointlabelBC03has
beenaddedtothescreenshotalomngsidethewaypointsymbolnearthetoptoidentify
thewaypointmentionedinthedropdownmenu.Normallyitisnotdisplayedunlessthe
mouseishoveredoverthewaypoint.
14.1.7 Start Position
AStartPositiononyourdepartureairfieldcanbeenteredoncetheStartAirportof
yourplanhasbeencreated.Untilthen,theStartPositioniconontheHomeribbonis
greyedout.Youcanofcoursecompleteyourplan,beitadirecttrackplan,orone
involvinganumberofwaypoints,andaddtheStartPositionattheendoftheprocess
justbeforesavingthePlan.Thisfeatureisavailableinallsupportedsimulators.
Tousethisoptionyourplanmustbeexportedtoa.PLNfile.Then,ifyouhaveaddeda
startpositioninPlanGandloadyour.PLNformatplanintoFlightSimulator,whenFS
asksifyouwanttomoveyouraircrafttothedepartureairportlistedontheflightplan,
andprovidedyouclickYesyouraircraftismovedinFS,nottotheactiverunway,
whichistheFSdefault,buttothestartpositionyouselectedinPlanG.Ifyouare
flyingonline,thenthispositionshouldbeastartinggateorGAramp,anddefinitely
NOTtheactiverunway.
ThisoptionisonlyavailableinMicrosoftFS9andFSX.
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Figure 111 Move your Aircraft, but not to the Active!
14.1.8 Save your Plan

Onceyouaresatisfiedwiththesequenceofwaypoints,passingaltitudesandnotesin
thePlantable,savetheplanasdescribedinsection8.3.
However,youwillhavenoticedthatthereareblankfieldsintheplan.Thesefields;
PassingAlt,ATA,XRef1,XRef2andNotesarenotfilledinwhencreatingaFlightPlan
graphically.
Figure 112 The Completed Flight Plan - So Far
14.1.9 Passing Altitudes

Passingaltitudescannotbedonegraphically,butrequirestheparameterstobe
enteredfromthekeyboard.ItcanbedonebyenteringthedetailsinthePlan,once
theflightplanroutehasbeencompletedgraphically.Seesection14.2.3belowforfull
details.
14.1.10 ATA
ATAisthestandardaviationabbreviationforActualTimeofArrival.Thisfieldcannot
beeditedbytheuser.TheATAtimes(UTC)areenteredbyPlanGastheflight
progresses.Thetimeisrecordedintheplaniftheaircraftpasseswithin5nautical
milesofthewaypoint.Ondeparture,thetimethattheaircraftstartstomove(brakes
off)isrecorded.Onapproachtothedestination,thetimeisrecordedwhenthe
aircraftisstillairborneand5nauticalmilesaway,socannotbeusedforaccurateflight
timelogging,whichisnormallycalculatedfrombrakesofftobrakeson.
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14.1.11 Cross References

XRef1andXRef2areautomaticallyenteredifyourightclickonawaypointandselect
"SetWaypointCrossReferences"fromthedropdownmenu.Theycannotbeset
graphically.Seesection14.3.4forfulldetails.
14.1.12 Notes
Addingnotestoaflightplaniscarriedoutfromthekeyboard.Itcanbedoneby
enteringthedetailsinthePlan,oncetheflightplanroutehasbeencompleted
graphically.OpenthePlanWindow.ScrollacrosstotheNotescolumnanddouble
clicktheappropriatecell.Youcannowenterfreetexttoaddanyimportant
informationforthatlegoftheroute.Thecellexpandstoaccommodatethetext
entered.
14.1.13 The Reverse Button
Thisbuttonautomaticallyreversesthesequenceofwaypointsinaloadedflightplan
andrecalculatesthebearingstocreateanewflightplanforthereturntrip,assuming
youwanttogobackalongtheverysameroute.ThewindowtitleinPlanGwillreflect
anewnameforthereversedflightplan,andwhenyousaveit,PlanGautomatically
changesthenameforthenew,reversedplan.
14.2
Creating a Flight Plan in the Plan Window

Althoughyoumayfinditlessintuitive,PlanGnonethelessallowsyoutoadd,moveor
deletewaypointsdirectlyinthePlanWindow.Thiscouldbeconvenient,forexample,
whentranscribingaflightplanfromaprintedformorahandbook.
FirstclicktheNewFlightPlaniconontheQuickAccesstoolbartoclearanyloaded
datafromPlanG.Thedepartureairportmustnowbechosenbyeitherrightclicking
onitssymbolonthemap,orbyusingtheFindmenuatthetopleftofthePlanG
window.Nowthatthereisasinglewaypointinthenewflightplan,thePlanwindow
willcontainasinglelinecontainingthedepartureairport,plusalineinthesummary
boxbelowthebrowndividerbar,althoughitwontbemeaningfulatthispoint.
14.2.1 Adding Waypoints to the Plan Table

Thenextwaypoint,orthedestinationairport,cannowbeenteredintothetable.
Rightclickonthetableentryforthedepartureairport,andselectInsertWaypoint
Below.
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Figure 113 Adding a Waypoint to the Plan Table
ThispopsupanInsertWaypointpanel,whereyoucanselectthetypeofwaypoint
(Airport/VOR/NDB/UserWaypoint)toadd.Thewaypointtobeaddedcanbefound
eitherbyitsICAOcodeorbyitsname.IfitexistsinthePlanGdatabase,thenasyou
type,PlanGwillfindallrelevantentriesanddisplaythembelowtheentryline.Asyou
enterafewlettersofthenameorICAOcode,PlanGwilldisplayonlythoseentriesin
thedatabasecontainingthoseletters(inanypositionandineithertheICAOcodefield
ortheAirportName.Intheexampleabove,thelettersEidelwereenteredwhich
showedalistofairfields,notstartingwiththoseletters,butcontainingthoseletters,
fromwhichtheonerequiredcanbechosen.
Oncethedesiredwaypointisfound,clickingOKwillinsertitintothePlantable,and
willextendthetracklineonthePlanGmaptothenewwaypoint.
14.2.2 Add Further Waypoints
Youcancontinuetoaddwaypointsinthiswaytobuildacompleteroute.Youcanadd
Airports,VORs,NDBs,orpredefinedUserWaypointsfromthe'InsertWaypointpanel.
However,thismethodofbuildingaflightplandoesnotpermittheadditionof
temporaryuserwaypoints.Temporaryuserwaypointsthosewhicharenotsavedin
thedatabasecanonlybecreatedbyrightclickingthemapandselecting'AddUser
WaypointtoPlan'fromthedropdownmenu.
14.2.3 Passing Altitudes
ThealtitudeatwishyouwishtopasseachwaypointmaybeaddedtothePlantableby
clickingthe"PassingAlt"cellforeachwaypointinthetable.Thesevaluesaretargets
only;theaircraftwillonlypassthewaypointatthesetaltitudeifyouflyitatthat
altitude.
Figure 114 Inserting Passing Altitudes in a Plan Table
PassingaltitudesmustbeenteredinthePlantable.Theycannotbeaddedbyclickingon
themap.ThepassingaltitudesaredisplayedinthePlanElevationwindowaspartofthe
'PlannedAltitude'line(seeFigure115below).
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Figure 115 Passing Altitudes in the Plan Elevation Window
SeealsoSection14.5whichdescribesamoredevelopeduseforPassingAltitudes
14.2.4 Notes
OpenthePlanWindow.ScrollacrosstotheNotescolumnanddoubleclickthe
appropriatecell.Youcannowenterfreetexttoaddanyimportantinformationfor
thatlegoftheroute.Thecellexpandstoaccommodatethetextentered.
14.2.5 Save Your Plan
OnceyouaresatisfiedwiththealltheinformationinthePlantable,savetheplanin
theusualway.
Note:Ifyouexportitasa.PLNfileforusewithinFlightSimulator,crossreferences,
passingaltitudesandnotescannotbesaved.Allthesearesavedonlyin.PLGfiles.
ThereforeitisrecommendedthatyousavethePlanasa.PLGfilefirsttopreserveall
thatadditionalPlanGdata,andthenexportit.
14.3
Right-Click Options in the Plan Window

AswellasaddingnewwaypointstoaPlantable,thereareanumberofotheroptions
formodifyingyourplan.
14.3.1 Set This as the Active Leg

Clickingthisoptionsetsthe'active'legforcalculatingtime&distancetonext
waypoint.ItisonlyusefulifconnectedtoFSandwhereyoumayhaveopenedaflight
planpartwaythroughaflight.Settinganewactivelegallowsyoutopickuptheleg
intheflightontheflightplanwhichyouraircraftiscurrentlyflying.Putanotherway,
(anditisnotexactofcourse)itsortofsynchronisesyourflighttotheplan.Itcan
alsobeusefulif
Thepilotmissesawaypointcompletely,andwantstotellPlanGtoforgetpointing
tothelastwaypoint,buttonowhelpgettothenextone,or
Theflightplanhasbeenchangedmidflight,or
ThelegsequencinggoesawryinPlanGforsomereason
14.3.2 Centre on Map

Ifyourightclickonawaypointintheplan,themapmovestopositionthatwaypointin
thecentreofthemap.
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14.3.3 Insert, Move or Delete Waypoint

Waypointscanbeinsertedormovedupordowninthetable,ordeletedfromthe
plan.Rightclicktheentryinthetableyouwishtomoveordelete,andselectthe
appropriatemenuoptionfromthedropdown.SeeFigure116andSection14.4below.
Figure 116 Flight Plan Waypoint Dropdown Options
14.3.4 Cross References

Crossreferencesareusefulfordefiningawaypointpreciselyusingvectorgeometry.
Forthenonmathematicallyinclined,itmeansthatanypointonamapcanbe
preciselyidentifiedbyanangleanddistancefromapoint.Youcanalsogetafixif
youhaveonlytheanglefromtwoknownpointsrelativetoacommonaxis.That
principleiscalledTriangulation.Inaviation,theangleisofcoursetheMagnetic
Bearingfromthewaypoint(QDR)andthecommonaxisisMagneticNorth.
Inflight,ifapilottunesinaVORonhisNAV1radio,thenturnstheOmnibearing
selector(OBS)untiltheCDIneedleiscentredandtheTOflagisdisplayed,andalso
observingtheDMEinstrument,thepilotisabletoobtainapositionfixforthe
aircraft,whichwillbe,forexample,262oTOtheVOR(i.e.broadlytothewestofthe
aircraft)and22.4milesfromit.Inotherwords,Inaviationterminology,theQDMto
theVORis262o,range22.4nauticalmiles.
ByselectingasecondVORwithinrangeandcarryingoutthesameexercise,the
positionfixmaybeconfirmed,ortheaccuracyofthepilotsroughplotonthechart
improved(rememberhe/sheisflyingtheaircraftatthesametime!)Ideallytheradials
fromthetwoVORsshouldintersectasnearlyatrightanglesaspossible.
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Figure 117 Position fix from two VORs
InPlanG,ifyouselectSetWaypointCrossReferences,youcanentertworadio
Navaidsinthedialogueboxwhichopens.ClicktheAddbuttonforthefirstcross
referencethenselectthetableyouwishtosearcheitherVORorNDB,byclickingthe
appropriatetabatthetopofthewindow.NowselectaNavaid,eitherbytypinginthe
ICAOIdentifier,e.g.BPKforBrookmansParkVOR,orpicktheoneyouneedbyscrolling
downthe(verylong,worldwide)databaseofNavaidsdisplayed.
Figure 118 Set Waypoint Cross References
Figure 119 Waypoint Cross References Dialogue
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Thevectorlinesaredrawnonthemap,andthebearingTOtheNavaid(QDMremember)
anddistanceareshownintheflightplan,intheInformationWindow,andincludedin
thePilotsLog(PLOG).Tousethisinformationtoarriveatthewaypoint,youneedto
turntheOmnibearingselector(OBS)untiltheTOflagisdisplayed,andtheCDIneedle
iscentred.Notethebearingindicatedatthetopoftheinstrument.TurntheOBSagain
untilthePlanGQDMisindicatedandflyaclosingheadinguntiltheCDIneedleisagain
centred.ObservethedistanceontheDMEinstrumentandturnontotheQDMheading,
keepingtheCDIneedlecentreduntilthePlanGdistanceisdisplayedontheDME.Then
youwillbeatthewaypoint.Forexample:thePlanGQDMis262oandyouaresouthof
VOR1inFigure117andflyingheading030o.TurntheOBSto262o,turntheaircraftonto
aclosingheadingbetween45oand90otowardsit,say350oandthenturnheading262o
astheneedlestartstocentre.(seesection13.1.5aboveforanexplanationofQ
codes).
WhenusingtwoNDBsforcrossreferences,PlanGisabitsmarterthanrealworldNDBs,
becauseitprovidesdistanceinformation,whichrealworldNDBsdonot.Ifyouusetwo
NDBsintherealworldyourfixisprovidedentirelybytheintersectionofthetwo
indicatedADFbearings.
Warning:MakesureifyouenteranICAOcodethatyouhaveselectedthecorrect
waypointtype.Intheflightplanbelow,someoneselectedCAMfortheCambridge
NDB,butfromtheVORtable,andgotasillyresult2,895.3nm!TheCAMVORhappens
tobenearSchenectady,NewYorkState,USA,notnearCambridge,England!Itisthe
CAMNDBwhichisonCambridge(UK)Aerodrome,andwhichmakesagoodcross
referenceforDuxford!
Figure 120 The Wrong CAM!
14.3.5 Quick Snippet

ThisisatimesavingfeatureforinsertingintermediatewaypointsinatabularPlan.
OpenthePlanwindowandrightclickthewaypointAFTERwhichyouwishtoinsertthe
intermediatewaypointsandselecttheInsertQuickSnippetoption.TheQuick
Snippetdialogueopens.Entertheidentifierofthewaypoint(s)youwishtoinsert,
separatedbyspacecharactersasshowninFigure121below.Thewaypointswillbe
insertedinyourPlan,andthemapupdated,withthenewwaypoints.Ifyoutryto
enteratextstringotherthanthewaypointidentifier,suchasitsname,orifyou
separatethewaypointsbycommas,dashesoranyothercharacter,PlanGcomplains
byturningthedialogueboxpink.However,itwillnotcomplainifyouenterthemin
thewrongorderitisuptoyou,theuser,togetthatright.
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Figure 121 The Quick Snippet Dialogue
Figure 122 Entry Text Format Error Alert
Figure 123 Part of a Direct Route Popham to Perranporth
Figure 124 The Modified Route via Henstridge and Dunkeswell
Somethirdpartyscenerydeveloperssometimesaddnonstandardidentifierstotheir
productssuchas4charactercodesforNDBs.ThesearenotrecognizedinPlanG.
Thereistechnicallynolimittothelengthoftheinsertedtext;thenumberof
intermediatewaypointsyoucanadd.Thelimitationwillbeoneofpracticality.
14.3.6 Insert Snippet File
Ifyouhaveexportedaflightplanasasnippet(SeeSection8.6above),itcanbe
insertedintootherflightplans.Snippetscanbeanylength,anynumberofwaypoints,
butagain,thelimitationwillbeoneofpracticality.
OpenthePlanwindowandrightclickthewaypointAFTERwhichyouwishtoinsertthe
intermediatewaypointsandselecttheInsertSnippetFileoption.The
Documents\PlanGFilesFolderwindowopens.Selectthefileyouwishtoinsertand
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clickOpenatthebottomrightofthewindow.Afteraslightpause,theFolder
windowdisappearsandthePlanWindowwillbedisplayedwiththewaypointsfrom
thesnippetinsertedinyourPlan,andthemapupdatedwiththenewwaypoints,
exactlythesameasshowninFigure124above.
14.3.7 Add Alternate
Thisoptionisdescribedatsection13.2.2above.
14.3.8 Set Author
IfyouwanttoberecognisedastheworldleaderincreatingPlanGflightplans,then
clickthisoptionandenteryournameinthedialoguebox.Nowwhenyousendyour
planstoothers,yourfamewillgowithyou.
14.4
Modifying Existing Flight Plans

WithapreviouslycreatedflightplanopenedinPlanG,youcaneither:
Addoneormorewaypointstotheendoftheexistingchainofwaypoints,
Insertanewwaypointbetweentwoexistingwaypoints.
14.4.1 Adding a New Waypoint to the End of a Plan

Addinganewwaypointtotheendofthesequenceisjustamatterofrightclickingitin
themapandselecting"Add<waypointID>toplan".Youthen"Save"orSaveAs"the
changedflightplan,asdescribedabove.
14.4.2 Inserting a New Waypoint
InsertingawaypointbetweentwoothersinaflightplanmustbedoneinthePlan
Window.OpenthePlanwindowandrightclickontheentryaboveorbelowwhich
youwishtoinsertanewwaypoint.SelecteitherInsertWaypointAboveorInsert
WaypointBelowaccordingtowhereyouwishtoinsertthenewwaypoint.Thispops
upanInsertWaypointdialogue,whereyoucanselectthetypeofwaypointtobe
inserted(Airport/VOR/NDB/UserWaypoint).
Figure 125 Inserting a Waypoint
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ThewaypointtobeinsertedcanbefoundeitherbyitsICAOcodeorbyitsname.If
thedesiredwaypointexistsinthePlanGdatabase,asyoutype,PlanGwillfindall
relevantentriesanddisplaythembelowtheentryline.Asyouenterafewlettersof
thenameorICAOcode,PlanGwilldisplayonlythoseentriesinthedatabase,not
startingwiththoseletters,butcontainingthoseletters,fromwhichtheonerequired
canbechosen.
Selecttheoneyouwant(oftentherewillbeonlyoneifyouenterauniqueidentifier)
byclickingonittohighlightit,thenclickOK.ClickingOKwillinsertitintothePlan
table,andshowitonthePlanGmap,andwillmovethetracklinetomatchtheorder
ofentriesinthetable.
14.4.3 Moving and Deleting Waypoints
Youcanofcoursemovewaypointsupordowninthetable,ordeletethem.See
section14.3.3abovefordetails.
14.4.4 Save Your Edited Plan
IfyouhaveeditedyourFlightPlanbyaddingorinsertingnewwaypoints,forexample,
andwishtokeeptheoriginalaswell,thengototheFileTabandselectSaveAs,
selecteithera.PLGora.PLNfile,andgivethemodifiedplananewname.
14.5
Vertical Navigation Profiles
14.5.1 User Defined VNAV Profile

Youcanbuildacustomverticalnavigation(VNAV)profileinPlanGifyouwish.Atkey
waypoints,wherealtitudeiscritical,suchascontrolledairspaceboundariesorhigh
terrain,youcanfixthealtitudetofly.PlanGwillnotflytheprofileforyou,butwill
PlanGcalculateaTopofDescent(ToD)pointbasedonyourcurrentaltitudeandtrue
airspeed.LoadaflightplanandopenthePlanWindow.Scrollacrosstotherightof
theplantothePassingAlt.column.Doubleclicktheappropriatecellinthecolumn
andenterthedesiredaltitude.Enterthevaluewithoutacommaseparatorfor000s,
althoughifyoudoincludeacommaseparator,PlanGwillremoveit.
IfyounowopenthePlanElevationwindow,youwillseeyourVerticalNavigation
Profiledisplayedasasolidorangeline.IfthePlanElevationWindowisopenwhenyou
enterpassingaltitudes,theVNAVprofileisnotdisplayeduntilyoucloseandreopenit.
Whenyouflytheroute,oneminutebeforetheToDpoint,analertsoundisplayedand
apopupmessage,OneminutetoVNAVProfileisdisplayed.
14.5.2 Default VNAV Profile
Ifyouchoosenottobuildaverticalnavigationprofile,PlanGbuildsadefaultone
anyway,basedonthediagrambelow.
PlanGcalculatesaTopofDescent(ToD)pointbasedonyouraltitudeandtrue
airspeed.Forexample,ifyouareflyingat120knots(2nmperminute)at3,000ft,and
therateofdescentissetat500ftperminute,thentodescendto1000ftwilltake4
minutes,inwhichtimeyouwillhavetravelled8nauticalmiles.Thetargetpositionis
normally1000ftabovethedestinationand3milesbeforeiti.e.atcircuitheightand
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inacomfortablepositiontojointhevisualcircuit.SotheToDpointinthiscasewould
be8nm+3nm=11nmfromyourdestination.
OneminutebeforetheToDpointanalertsoundisplayedandapopupmessage,One
minutetoVNAVProfileisdisplayed.Intheexampleabove,thiswouldbe13nm
beforetouchdown.
Figure 126 Vertical Navigation Profile Diagram
Asecondalertsoundsataspecifiedaltitudeabovethetargetaltitude,andafurther
popup,specigfiedaltitude>totargetaltitudeisdisplayed.
Thedefault<specifiedaltitude>is1000ftabovethetargetaltitude.Verticalnavigation
profileparametersarealluserconfigurableviatheFiletab,inOptions/GPSPanel,see
section8.9.5above).
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USER WAYPOINTS
PlanGbuildsaninternaldatabase(PlanG_FSX.sdforPlanG_FS9.sdf)ofairportsand
navaidsbasedonascanoftheFSsceneryconfigurationfile.UserWaypointstogether
withofficialVisualReferencePointsarecontainedinaseparatedatabasewithin
PlanG,namely,UserWaypoints.sdf.PlanGincludesalargenumberofpredefined
UserWaypoints,asshowninFigure127belowandyoucanalsoaddyourown.
Figure 127 The User Waypoint Database
15.1
Creating User Waypoints

Youcancreatecustomwaypointsanywhereyoulikeonthemapwithoutrestriction.
ThisisparticularlyusefulforVFRflightwheretowns,lakes,hillsandotherfeaturesare
requiredaspointsofnavigationalreference.
Rightclickthemapatthepointwhereyouwanttocreateauserwaypointtodisplay
thedropdownmenuwhichincludestheCreateUserWaypointoption.
Figure 128 User Waypoint Dropdown
ClicktheCreateUserwaypointoptionandadialoguewindowopensforyoutoenter
thedetails.
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Figure 129 Create User Waypoint Dialogue
Enterthewaypointnameandanidentifyingcodewhichcanbeupto8charactersin
length.Themagneticvariation(Variation)atthatpointandtheLatitudeand
LongitudeareautomaticallyaddedbyPlanG,butyoucaneditthemtofinetunea
waypointpositiontoanexactspotifyourmouseclickingisntsoaccurate.
IftheappropriateDEMfilesareinstalled(asdescribedinSection12.3above),PlanG
willautomaticallyfillintheElevationforthenewUserWaypoint.
ClickOKtosavethewaypoint.
Figure 130 User Waypoint Created
Thewaypointsymbolswhichareshownonthemapdependonthetypedefinedinthe
dialogue(Figure129above).Figure130showsthattheOlgaRangeofHillsinSouth
AustraliaareaPointofInterest
Figure131UserWaypointTypeSymbols
ThewaypointissavedintheUserWaypointDatabasewhichcanbemanipulatedina
similarwaytoaspreadsheet(seeSection11.4below).GototheDatatab,clickon
ManageUserWaypointstoopentheUserWaypointDatabaseasshowninFigure132
below.
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Figure 132 User Waypoint Added to Database
15.2
Adding a New User Waypoint to a Flight Plan

RightclickthenewUserWaypointontheMap,andtheNameofthewaypointwillbe
displayedasthefirstitemonthedropdownmenu,asAddUserWaypointTheOlga
HillstoPlan.
Figure 133 Add User Waypoint to Flight Plan
SelectthisoptionandthewaypointisaddedtotheFlightPlan.Thenewwaypointis
addedasthelastitem.Rightclickontheflightplantodisplaythedropdownmenu
whichallowsyoutomovethenewwaypointintoitscorrectposition.Thetrackline
willadjustaccordingly.(Seesection14.4.3aboveformoreoneditingflightplans.)
15.3
Modifying User Waypoints

Youmaywishtomoveawaypointslightly,changeitsnameoridentifier.Ifyouright
clickonthenewwaypoint,thedropdownhasthreenewitemswhicharereasonably
selfexplanatory.IfyouselectEditUserWaypointtheCreateUserWaypoint
dialogueisagaindisplayed,althoughnowwiththewindowtitleEditUserWaypoint
atthetop.Youcanmakechangesdirectlyinthetextboxes,includingmovingthe
waypointbychangingtheLatitudeand/orLongitudevalues.
Ifyourenameawaypointthatisincludedinthecurrentflightplan,theplanwillbe
updatedtoreflectthechange.Anyplanthatisnotcurrentlyopenwill,ofcourse,not
beupdated.
Note:NewUserwaypointscannotbecreateddirectlyinthewaypointTable.You
mustcreatethemusingthemethoddescribedinsection15.1above.
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Deleting User Waypoints

TodeleteaUserWaypoint,rightclickonthenewwaypoint,andselectDeleteUser
WaypointfromDatabasefromthedropdownmenu.Thewaypointisimmediately
removedfromthedatabase,andthemap,butnotfromthecurrentflightplanorits
tracklineonthemap.
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AN EXAMPLE FLIGHT PLAN

MuchofPlanGisintuitive.Youdontneedthiscomprehensivemanualatall.So,for
thosewhodonthavetimetoreadmanuals,butjustwanttogetgoing,hereisa
workedexampleofashortVFRflightacrosssomeofEnglandsmostbeautifuland
famouslandscapes.ItintroducesasmanyfeaturesofPlanGthatcanbereasonably
packedintoashort115mileflight.
Figure 134 Carlisle to Liverpool The Route
16.1
Preparation
Justasintherealworld,thereisasignificantamountofpreparationrequiredbefore
flight.OfcoursewewillstartbycreatingaflightplaninPlanG.
1.
OpenPlanGandontheHomeTab,clickFind.
2.
SelectAirportfromthedropdownandenterEGNCintheICAOCodebox.
3.
Carlislewillbehighlighted.ClickOK.
4.
RightclicktheairporticonandselectStartFlightPlanatairportEGNC
5.
Nowsetuptheflightconditions.OpentheHomeRibbonbyclickingtheHome
tab,andthenclickAltitude,andset4,000feet.
6.
SelectAirspeed,andenter100knotsforthedefaultCessna172.
7.
NowthatyouhaveaStartLocation,youcannowaddaStartPositionforyour
aircraftatCarlisle.InFS,youhavealreadyselectedPARKING1RAMPGA
SMALL,sofromtheHomeRibbon,selectStartPosition.Fromtheoptions
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showninthepopupSetAirportStartPositionwindowwhichappears,select
PARKING1RAMPGASMALLagain,andclickOK.
16.2
The Scenic Route

Youhaveestablishedtheflightpreconditionsandnowitistimetoplottherouteto
Liverpool.
1.
FindtheWigtonVRPtothesouthwestofCarlisle.RightclickandselectAdd
UserWaypointCARLISLEWIGTONtotheplan.(WigtonisaVisualReference
PointandincludedinthedefaultPlanGdatabase,althoughitiscalledaUser
Waypoint).
2.
IfyoudonothavephotographicsceneryfortheUK,Wigton(thetown)willnot
beobvious,soyoumaywishtoaddaCrossReferencetoitfromDeanCrossVOR.
RightclicktheWigtonVRPsymbolandselectSetWaypointCrossReferences
3.
IntheCrossreferencewindow,clickAddforthefirstpoint,andenterDCSin
theentrybox.SelecttheDeanCross(theonly)entry,andclickOK
4.
ObservetheCrossreferenceredlinefromWigtontoDeanCrossVOR.Inthe
plan,notethebearinganddistance(2318.7nauticalmiles).Whenyouflythe
route,youcancompareyourpresentbearinganddistancefromDeanCrossVOR
tofindwhichwaytoflytoarriveoverheadWigton.
5.
FromWigton,youwillflyoverKeswickandadmirethebeautyoftheLake
District.YouneedtocreateaUserWaypointforKeswick(pronouncedKezzik,by
theway).YouwillfindKeswicktothesoutheastofDeanCross,onthesouth
sideofBassenthwaiteLakeandjustnorthofDerwentwater.
6.
Atzoomlevel12,youwillseethetownclearly.Rightclickonthetownname
Keswickshownonthemap,andcompletetheUserWaypointDialoguebox.
CheckthatLocationissetasthewaypointtype.EnterKeswickTowninthe
Namebox,andKESWIKintheIdentifierbox.Inthetagbox,youcouldenteryour
initialstoindicatethatitisoneofyourusercreatedwaypoints.
7.
ClickOKandobservethesmallgreenwaypointcircleappearontheplan.Ifit
doesntshow,dragthemapasmallamountanditwillbedisplayedasthemap
refreshes.
8.
Nowyoucanaddanotherlegtotheplan.Rightclickyournewwaypointand
SelecttheoptionAdduserwaypointKESWIKKeswickTowntothePlan
9.
Notethatthenewlyaddedtracklinegoesoversomeimpressivelookinghigh
ground.ItisinfactSkiddaw,at3,052feet,the4thhighestmountaininEngland.If
youhavedownloadedtheDigitalElevationModel(DEM)tilesfromtheNGDC
'GLOBE'websiteathttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/gltiles.htmlyoucan
nowlookatwhatthismeansintermsofverticalnavigation.(Seesection12.3for
detailsofDEM.)IfyouhaventdownloadedtheDEMtilefortheUK,youreally
oughtto.ItaddsagreatfeaturetoPlanG.YouneedtileB,filenameb10g.gz
whichcovers90%oftheUK.
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10. SoyounowhavetheDEMinfoinstalled.OpentheViewRibbon,byclickingthe
Viewtab,andtickthePlanElevationTickboxatthetopleftoftheribbon.
11. Whoa!Thatissomemountain(inUKtermsanyway)24nauticalmilesenroute.
NotetheMaximumElevationFigure(MEF).Youwillnowrealisewhytheplanned
altitudewas4,000feet.
12. NowzoomthemaptoLevel13or14.ThenamesoftheLakelandpeaksare
visibleatthatscale.MovethecursorandobservetheLatitudeandLongitude
changingonthestatusbaratthebottom.FindthelocationwhichisatLatitude
N542715LongitudeW0031242.YouwillseethenameScafellPike
Englandshighestmountainat3,210ft.Createanotheruserwaypointatthetop
ofthemountain.CallthewaypointScafellPike,withtheIdentifierSCAFLPK.The
elevationofyourwaypointshouldbe3,100feet.Ifyouhavethedownloadedthe
DEMfiles,thisvaluewillalreadybesetintheelevationboxbyPlanG.
Figure 135 Over the Lakeland Hills
13. AddScafellPiketoyourroute,asbefore.Whenyouflythisroute,alongside
BassenthwaiteLake,overheadDerwentwateranddowntheBorrowdaleValleyto
ScafellPike,youwillfindtheviewhereaboutsquitespectacularindefault
scenery,butwithagoodmeshandphotographicscenerysimplystunning.
14. YounowwanttoheadmorewesttoRavenglass,LatitudeN5424.00Longitude
W00329.00.Buttherearesomethingsyouneedtowatchoutfor.Openthe
Mapribbon,andswitchonRPDMAirspacebyclickinginthetickbox.(RPDM
standsforRestricted,Prohibited,Danger,Military,whichcouldbesimply
translatedDontgothere).
15. Atscalelevel12,thereisalargeorangecirclecentredonSellafield,andjustsouth
ofthat,averylargeredfanshapedarea.OpentheInformationWindowfrom
theViewmenutoseewhatisknownaboutthem.Clickontheedgeofthe
orangecircle.IntheInformationWindow,youwillseeRestrictedAreaSellafield
SFC2200.YoucannotoverflyoneofBritainsoldestandmostfamousNuclear
PowerStationsbelow2,200feet.
16. Butnotealso,thatifyoumovethemouseintotheopenareaalittletotheeast,
theInformationWindowshowsthatyoucannotflyabove5,500feetbecause
thatistheWartonRadarAdvisoryServiceArea.YoumustcontactWartonRadar
forpermissiontoflyupthere.WartonEGNOisanRAFstation6nauticalmiles
eastofBlackpoolAirportEGNH.
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17. ThebigredareaisEskmealsDangerArea,fromthesurfaceupwardstothe
stratosphere(that'swhatSFC+means).Eskmealsisaweaponstestingrange
where,amongotherthings,theyfirebigshellsouttosea,andupashighas
80,000ft.Avoid!
18. ItmightbeabetterplantoroutedirectfromScafellPiketoBarrowandlookat
nuclearsubmarinesbeingbuilt!PanslowlydownfromRavenglassandyouwill
seeBarrow(WalneyIsland)AerodromeEGNLandtwoNDBsWLandFN.Add
BarrowAerodrometoyourroute.
Figure 136 Sellafield and Eskmeals Dont Go There Areas
16.3
A Little Stick of Blackpool Rock

EnglishcomicsingerGeorgeFormbymadethissongfamous,alongwithhisother
risqusongssuchasWithmelittleukuleleinmeand.Youareprobablynot
interestedinthat,buttoflydownthecoasttoBlackpoolandbeyondmightbe
interesting.
1.
FromBarrow,lookingsouth,youhavethewideexpanseofMorecambeBay.The
famouscomedianEricMorecambetookhisstagenamefromtheplace.When
thetideisout,thiswholeareaisdevoidofwater;whenthetideisin,itlooksasit
doesinFS,allwater.Theareaistreacherouswithquicksand,veryfastflowing
tidesandchannelssothatanyonecaughtoutonthesandsonanincomingtide
hadbettergetoutoftherequickly.Ithasbeenthesceneofmanytragedies.
InFlightSimulator,whereditchinginthisdangerousareaisnotaconsideration,
youmightaswellplantogostraightacrosstoFleetwoodGolfCourse,aVisual
ReferencePointforBlackpool.MakesureyouhaveVisualReferencePoints
(VRPs)enabledontheMapribbon,sothatyoucanseethesmallorangecircle
symbolsforVRPs.RightclickonthesmallorangecircletoaddFleetwoodtoyour
route.
2.
FleetwoodwasoncehometoBritainssecondlargestfishingfleetafterGrimsby,
butfishinghasdeclinedtonearzeroandtheharbourtodayispopulatedbymany
smartyachts.IfyouintendtoflyonlineandbychanceBlackpoolApproachison
duty,thisiswhereyouwillmakeyourinitialcalltothem.Requesttransityour
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overheadat4,000feet.SoyouhadbetteraddBlackpoolEGNHtoyourPlan
now.
16.4
3.
ThetracklinefromFleetwoodtoBlackpoolisoverland,buttheLeftHandRule
forVFRflightstatesthatifyouarefollowingalinefeature,youshouldkeepiton
yourleft.Thisrouteiswellusedbylightaircraftintherealworld,whofollowthe
conventionofkeepingtheshorelineontheleft.Thussouthboundtrafficfliesa
mileorsoouttosea.Northboundtrafficfliesovertheland.Soalthoughthe
tracklineisoverland,whenyoucometoflytheroute,youshouldreallydothe
same,passingamileorsowestofthe08endofBlackpoolsmainrunway.
BlackpoolApproachwillwantyoutocallthematthethetalltower.Theydont
sayBlackpoolTower,asyoucouldwellthinktheymeanthebuildingonthe
aerodrome,nottheworldfamous518fthighlatticesteelstructureacoupleof
milesfurthernorth.
4.
AfterBlackpool,addMarshsideVRPtoyourroute;(youcandothisnowwithout
help,surely)andthenoncemorefollowthecoasttoWoodvale.
5.
NowaddWoodvaleaerodromeEGOWtoyourplan.Theairportsymbolisred
becauseitisamilitary(RAFinthiscase)aerodrome.Thetracklineisagain
inlandbutyouwillwanttoflyontheseawardsideoftheshoreline.
6.
SowhynotflyoverBirkdaleSands,abeachairstripwhichwasfirstusedfor
pleasureflightsaslongagoas1919?
http://www.seftoncoast.org.uk/articles/01winter_aviation.html.
7.
RightclickBirkdaleSandsairstrip(EGCO)toaddittoyourplan.Thetrackline
nowgoesfromMarshsideVRPtoWoodvalethenbacktoBirkdaleSands,azigzag
linewhichisnotwhatyouwant.SoopenthePlanWindowfromtheView
ribbonandrightclickthenewBirkdaleSandsentry,andselectMovewaypoint
up.NowBirkdaleSandsappearsbeforeWoodvaleandyourrouteisrestoredto
somethingsensible.
8.
Looknowabout2.5milessouthofWoodvale.Seetheredlinerunning
horizontallyacrossthemap?Movethemousetothatlineandreadthe
informationintheInformationWindow.Hereyouareat4,000feet.Isthere
somethingyouneedtodo?
Controlled Airspace
YouarenowgettingclosetoLiverpoolandthingswillchangerapidly.Youhave
plannedtoenjoyaleisurelyflightwiththatgreatsenseoffreedomwhichflying(real
orvirtual)bringsbutwhatyouwillnowhavetoplanforiscontrolledairspaceand
procedures.Ifyouplantoflyonline,youwillquitepossiblyhaveanATCposition
mannedsomeonetotalktoandgiveyouinstructions.Youshouldbefamiliarwith
correctATCphraseologyifyouareplanningtoflythisrouteonline.
ManchesterTMAClassA3500+youshouldhavereadintheInformationWindowin
Section16.3,numbereditem8above.TMAstandsforTerminalManouevringArea,
andbeingClassAAirspace,andyouareflyingVFR,youabsolutelycannotgothere,so
youmustplantodescend.
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About6milesfurthersouthagainistheLiverpoolControlArea(CTA)from2500
3500ft,withbeneathit,theLiverpoolControlZone(CTR)whichextendsfromthe
surfaceto2500feet.BothareClassDairspace.Youcangothere,butonlywith
permissionfromAirTrafficControl.
BecauseIFRtrafficinboundtoLiverpoolwillbebroughtdowntoaminimumaltitude
of2,500feettocapturetheILS,andrequiredtrafficseparationis1,000feetIFRfrom
VFRinClassDAirspace,youwillbegiventheinstructionfromLiverpoolApproachto
flynotabove1,500feet.Soyoumustplantodescendfrom4,000to1,500feetin8
milesorso,about4minutes.Aquickcalculation,tellsyouthatthatis650feeta
minutequitearapiddescentinalightaircraft.
Figure 137 Controlled Airspace around Liverpool
Figure137isacompositegraphicshowingthecomplexityofcontrolledairspaceround
Liverpool.JustsouthofWoodvale(EGOW)istheManchesterTMAboundary,andan
arrowpointstotheSeaforthVRP.Theotherfourarrowsrepresentmousepointer
positions.ThefourInformationWindowsareshownwhichyouwillseeifyouplace
themousepointerateachofthosepositions.OfcourseinPlanGyouwillonlysee
onesetofinformationatatimeinyourInformationWindow.
9.
Fortunately,allyouneedtoknow,asalightaircraftpilotinboundtoLiverpool,is
thatyoumustonlyentertheLiverpoolControlZone(CTR)atSeaforthVRP,and
onlythenwhenATCgivespermission,andatanaltitudeatorbelow1500feet.
10. First,however,completethenextlegoftheroute.FindtheSeaforthVRPjust
westofBootle.AddSeaforthVRPtoyourplan.OnaVFRflight,whenyoufirst
contactATCatLiverpooljustafterWoodvale,youwillbetoldRunway27(or09)
inuse,reportatSeaforth,notabove1,500feet.
11. NowaddLiverpoolAirporttotheplan.Younowhaveacompleterouteairportto
airport.
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Change of Plan
However,youdecidetopracticeflyingtheILSandtheproceduralapproach(calledjust
theprocedureamongpilots)ratherthanthenormofacceptingvectorsfromAir
TrafficControl,sothatchangestheballgamecompletely.Youwillnowdeemedtobe
flyingIFR,andyouneedtheInstrumentApproachCharts,orApproachPlates.Plan
Gcansaveyouthetroublelookingforthoseapproachplatesfortheplanningstageas
youwillsee.However,thismanualisntgoingtotellyouhowtoflytheprocedure,but
justhowtocompleteyourplantolanding.
TheprocedurestartsattheLPLNDB,soyoucanflydirectfromWoodvaletotheNDB.
NoneedtogoviaSeaforth,whichistheVFRroute,becauseyouarenowflyingIFR.
1.
First,addtheLPLNDBtoyourplan.
2.
DeletethewaypointLiverpoolSeaforthfromyourplan,byrightclickingits
entryandselectingDeleteWaypoint.Itisnolongerrelevant.
Figure 138 Seaforth VRP Deleted from the Plan
Figure 139 Instrument Approach Procedure
3.
RightclickonLiverpoolAirport,andselectInstrumentApproaches.SelectILS
27fromthepopupwindow.
4.
Clickonthetransition2.LPLwhichistheoneforCategoryAaircraft(thatsyou
inyourCessna),andtheprocedureisdisplayedonthemap.
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ThebluelineindicatestheapproachpathontheILSpassingovertheLPLNDB.Thered
lineisthemissedapproachprocedure.Itusestighterradiusturnsandshorterdistances,
butisotherwisethesameas1.LPL.Ifyouselect1.LPLtemporarilyyoucanseethe
difference.
16.6
VNAV Profile
Thenexttaskistocreateaverticalnavigationprofile.Youneedtogetsafelyover
thosemountains,yetdescendintimetogetundertheManchesterTMAnear
Woodvale,andthenbeat2,500ftonreachingtheLPLNDB.
1.
OpenthePlaninthePlanWindow,andusingthehorizontalscrollbarif
necessary,findthePassingAltColumn.Itisreasonabletoassumethat
climbingoutofCarlisleat500feetperminuteinyourCessna172,thatinthe13.9
milestoWigton,youcaneasilyreach2,500ft.Sodoubleclickinthecellonthe
rowCARLISLEWIGTONandtypein2500.
2.
MovedowntotheKeswickrowanddoubleclickthecellinthePassingAlt
column.TomakesureyouclearSkiddawandScafellPike,typein4000.
3.
Inthesameway,enter4000forFleetwoodGolfCourseVRPandBlackpool
AirportEGNH.
4.
MindfuloftheManchesterTMAsouthofWoodvale,withitsbaseat3500ft,goto
theWoodvalerowandthePassingAltcolumn,andenter2500.
5.
ToflytheLiverpool27procedurefortheILS,youneedtobeattheLPLNDBat
2500feet.SomovedowntotheLPLrowandthePassingAltcolumn,andenter
2500again.
Whenyouflytheroute,youwillgetTopofDescentalertsamilebeforeWoodvale,
andagainamilebeforereachingtheLPLNDB.
16.7
Notes
YouhavereadintheFlightPlanssection(section14above)abouthowtoenternotes.
ItwillbeimportantnottoforgettodescendbelowtheManchesterTMAfloorsouthof
Woodvale,andtoremindyourselfthatafterWigton,youneedtobeat4,000ft.
1.
ScrollacrosstotherightofthePlantableandintheNotescolumnforthe
KeswickRow,doubleclickandenterContinueclimbto4000ft.
2.
ThendothesamefortheWoodvaleRow,doubleclickandenterManchester
TMAbase3500ft.
Rememberthatpassingaltitudes,crossreferencesandnoteswillbeprintedonyour
plog,andsavedwithyourplanifyousavethefileasa.PLGfile,butnotifyousavethe
fileasa.PLNfile.
16.8
Alternate
WhatifyoucannotlandatLiverpool?WhatifsomeVATSIMorIVAOnewbieis
plonkedrightontherunwayandisdisinclinedtomove.Youneedtoaddan
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AlternatetoyourplansomewhereyoucangotoifNewbieisstilltherewhenyou
areamilefromtouchdownrapidlyapproachingtheMissedApproachPoint!
Lookaroundthemap,andselectsomewheresuitable.RAFSealandisclosed,and
anywayitwasglidersonly,ManchesterwontreallywelcomeaslowCessna172,but
Hawarden,justtothesouthwestofChester,isG.A.friendly.
RightclickonHawardenandselectSetEGNRasAlternate.Aredlineisnowdrawn
onthemapfromLiverpool.Hawarden(pronouncedHardenbytheway)was,in
VATSIMsearlyyears,VATSIMUKsbusiestairport,withacontrollerondutyseven
nightsaweek.
Figure 140 The Track to the Selected Alternate Airport
Sothatisyourplannedflight,withsomelocalknowledgethrownintomakeitmore
interesting.Infact,ifyoudontflyVFRoften,youmayhavediscoveredthatshortVFR
flightscanbejustaschallengingasIFRflightacrosscontinents.
Figure 141 The Completed Plan
Whenyouflytheroute,dontforgettocompletethetaskproperlybytaxiingto
LiverpoolsGeneralAviationapronattheeastendoftheairport.Parkonstand
Parking1RampGALarge,shutdownandsecuretheaircraft.
IfyouneedanAirportdiagramtofindoutwhereMediumParking1RampGALargeis,
(itsanFSparkingspot,sowontbeshownontheofficialCAAAerodromeDiagram,
willit?)rightclicktheairportsymboloncemore,andselectShowAirportDiagram.
ThisopenstheAirportDiagramWindowandafterasecondortwoloadingthedata,
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theairportdiagramappearsinthewindow(SeeSection12.6aboveformoredetails.)
YoucanseetheG.A.Apronattheeasternendoftheairport,withsmallbluecirclesfor
theparkingstands,oneofwhichisParking1.Zoomintotheairportdiagramwithyour
mousewheel,hoverthemouseovereachofthebluespots,untilyoudiscoverwhich
oneitis.
16.9
Lets Go Flying
YouhaveprintedoutthePlogfromPlanGsoitistimetogoflying.
16.9.1 Microsoft Flight Simulator
Figure 142 Forney Aircoupe G-ARHC Over Derwentwater in FSX
1.
OpenFlightSimulator,andselectFreeFlightfromtheMainMenu.
2.
SetCountryasUnitedKingdom,andselectCurrentLocationasCarlisle(EGNC).
3.
SelectStartingpositionPARKING1RAMPGASMALL.
4.
SelectAircrafttypeCessna172
5.
SetasuitabletimeanddateforadaylightVFRflight.
6.
ClickFlyNow.
7.
Whentheflighthasloaded,saveitasthedefaultsothatyoucaneasilygetback
tothispositionifyouneedto.
8.
FindthecurrentweatherforNewcastleEGNX(thenearestweatherstationto
Carlisle)fromanInternetAviationWeathersite,suchas
http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/coded.html.
9.
SettheNewcastlewind,cloudandprecipitationinformationinFS.
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10. Alternatively,ifyouareamemberofanonlineFlightsimcommunitysuchas
VATSIMorIVAO,simplyconnecttotheserviceandtheweatheratNewcastlewill
beautomaticallyloadedintoFS.
11. Startup,taxitotheactiveandenjoyyourflightoverEnglandshighestmountains
toEnglandssecondmostfamouscity.
16.9.2 X-Plane
Figure 143 Heading towards Derwentwater in X-Plane 9
12. StartXPlane,andOpenSettings/QuickFlightSetup
13. SetyourLocationasCarlisle(EGNC).
14. SelectAircrafttypeCessna172.
15. FindthecurrentweatherforNewcastleEGNX(thenearestweatherstationto
16. SettheNewcastlewind,cloudandprecipitationinformationintheweatherbox.
17. Alternatively,ifyouareamemberofanonlineFlightsimcommunitysuchas
VATSIMorIVAO,simplyconnecttotheservicewithXSquawkboxorXIvApand
theweatheratNewcastlewillbeautomaticallyloadedintoXPlane.
18. GotoLocation/LocalMapandmoveyouraircrafttothemainapron(ifXPlane
hasplacedyouraircraftinthedefaultpositionatthecenteroftherunway
intersections)
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19. GotoEnvironment/Date&Timeandsetasuitabletimeanddateforadaylight
VFRflight.
20. SavetheflighttoavoidhavingtoresetthemanyparameterssuchasQNH,and
weather,andyoucaneasilygetbacktothispositionifyouneedto.
21. Startup,taxitotheactiveandenjoyyourflightoverEnglandshighestmountains
Note:InXPlanenonhardsurfacesaregenerallybestavoidedforstartingupor
parking,astheeffectofsoftgroundisexaggerated.
16.9.3 Prepare3D
1. OpenP3DandfromtheFlightsMenuselect"CreateScenario"
2.
ChangeSelectedVehicletoyourchoiceofaircraft,setAirporttoCarlisleand
locationtoParking,1,2,3or4asdesired.
Figure 144 The Prepar3D Scenario Screen
3.
SetDateandTimeasappropriate.
4.
FindthecurrentweatherforNewcastleEGNX(thenearestweatherstationto
5.
SettheNewcastlewind,cloudandprecipitationinformationinP3D.
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6.
Alternatively,ifyouareamemberofanonlineFlightsimcommunitysuchas
VATSIMorIVAO,simplyconnecttotheserviceandtheweatheratNewcastlewill
beautomaticallyloadedintoP3D.
7.
ClickOK.
8.
Startup,taxitotheactiveandenjoyyourflightoverEnglandshighestmountains
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CONNECTION TO A FLIGHT SIMULATOR

PlanGcanbeconnectedtoarunningMicrosoftFlightSimulator(MSFS),Prepar3D
(3D)orXPlanesession,eitheronthesamemachineoronanotherPCconnectedviaa
localareanetwork.
WhenPlanGisconnectedtoMSFSorP3D,theWeather,PFDPanel,RadioStack,
Traffic&TrailAnalysisViewWindowsfunctionsareenabled.Inaddition,theusers
aircraftandanyAIaircraftorotheraircraftinaMultiplayerenvironmentarealso
displayed.Thestatusbaratthebottomofthemapshowsthebasicflightdata.
WhenPlanGisconnectedtoXPlane,thesamedatacanbedisplayedexceptweather,
whichinthiscase,comesfromtheU.S.NationalWeatherService,notXPlane.Your
aircraftandanyAIaircraftorotheraircraftinaMultiplayerenvironmentarealso
displayed,andtheinformationinthestatusbaristhesameasthatforMSFS.
17.1
Flight Data Transfer

ThedatapassedtoPlanGincludes:
AsoverlaysonthebasicMap:
Usersaircrafticon(yellow)
AIaircrafticons(smaller,red)
Multiuseraircrafticons(alsosmallandred)
VATSIMaircrafticons(smaller,blue)
UsersAircrafttrail(defaultcolourred)
MultiuserandAItrails(defaultcolourmagenta)
FlytoHeading,distanceandtimeenroutefromtheusersaircrafttoanypointon
themapbysimplyrightclickthepointforwhichthatinformationisrequired.
Optionally,switchable,intheViewWindows
TheTabularFlightPlan
TheVerticalNavigationProfile
AirspaceandAerodromeInformation
AirportDiagrams
Weather
TrailAnalysis
PFDdata(airspeed,heading,altitude,rateofclimb/descent)
RadioStack
Traffictable(Multiuser&AI)
VATSIM(connectedmembers)
Andinthestatusbarbelowtheplan
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CurrentpositionLatitudeandLongitude(whenthemousepointerisplacedonthe
yellowaeroplaneindicator)
Altitude
Heading
Groundspeed
Coursedeviation
EstimatedTimeofArrivalatthenextwaypoint
EstimatedTimeofArrivalatthedestinationairport
Figure 145 Connected to FS: - lots of valuable data about your flight
17.2
Communication Protocols
InorderforPlanGtocommunicatewithFS,datahastobetransferredusingaspecific
setofrulesthecommunicationsprotocol.
17.2.1 FSUIPC3 for FS9

FS9userswillneedPeterDowson'sfreeFSUIPC3(FlightSimulatorUniversalInter
ProcessCommunication)programtobeabletoconnecttoPlanG,eitheronthe
samePCoroveranetwork.TherearenootheroptionsavailableforFS9.FSUIPCmay
bedownloadedfromhttp://www.schiratti.com/dowson.htmlfreeofcharge.
PeterDowsonprovidesveryfriendlyandattentivesupportforhisprogramsonthis
forum:
http://forums.simflight.com/viewforum.php?f=54
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TheFSUIPCinstallerprogramcopiesafilecalledFSUIPC.DLLintotheFS9/Modules
folder.AfterinstallingFSUIPC3,youwilldiscover,whenyourunFS9,thattherewillbe
anewentryintheModulessectionoftheFS9topmenulabeledFSUIPC.FSUIPC3
canbeconfiguredtodomanythingsitreallyisamostversatiletool.However,for
PlanG,youdonotneedtoknowhowitworksorconfigureitatall.
17.2.2 SimConnect for FSX
FSXnormallyusesaspecialMicrosoftinterfaceprotocol,SimConnect,for
communicatingwithotherWindowsprograms,eitherlocallyoracrossanetwork.
Seehttp://msdn.microsoft.com/enus/esp/cc835021.aspxforanintroductionto
SimConnect.SimConnectonlyworkswithFSX.
SimConnectisthepreferredconnectionoptionforFSX.Itisefficient,fast,and
providesoptimalcontrolovertheinformationavailable.
TherearethreedatatransferprotocolsavailableinPlanGforFSXandSimConnect:
Pipe,IPv4andiPv6.
PipeisusedonlyinternallyinaPC,butisthefastestofthethree.
IPv4isusedbyWindowsVista,XPandearlierversionsofWindows.Itcanstillbe
usedifyouroperatingsystemisWindows7.
IPv6isinstalledinWindowsVistaandWindows7,(thoughitmaynotbeenabled)
andmayoptionallybeinstalledinWindowsXP.
17.2.3 FSUIPC4 for FSX

PlanGhasbeendesignedtoalsocommunicatewithFSXusingPeterDowson'sfree
FSUIPC4,whichisanupdatedversionofFSUIPC3specificallyforusewithFSX.
FSUIPC4willalsoworkwithFS9.
IfusingSimConnectdoesnotworkforyou,(SimConnectcanbetroublesomeonsome
computers,andsolvingtheproblemisnottrivial,unfortunately)thenuseFSUIPC4
ThisusesSimConnectinternally,andmaybedownloadedfrom
http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.htmlfreeofcharge.
forum:
TheFSUIPC4installerprogramcopiesafilecalledFSUIPC4.DLLintotheFSX/Modules
folder,alongwiththeFSUIPC4UserGuide.pdf.WhenyounextrunFSX,afteraccepting
thenewlyinstalledFSUIPC4modules,therewillbeanewFSUIPCentryintheAdd
Onsmenu.FSUIPC4sfirstactionwillbetoaskyoutoregistertheprogram.Ifyou
simplywanttouseFSUIPC4toconnectFSXtoaddonprogramsonthesamePC,you
donothavetocontinuewithregistrationoftheprogram.
17.2.4 SimConnect for P3D
Simconnectisdescribedinsection17.2.2above.PlanGwillconnecttoP3Dusing
SimConnectinexactlythesamewayasitdoesforFSX.
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17.2.5 FSUIPC for P3D

FSUIPCVersion4.934andlaterincludesfullsupportforP3D.Theinstructionsforusing
FSUIPCarecontainedwithinthedownload.WithFSUIPCinstalledPlanGwillconnect
toarunninginstanceofP3Dimmediately,providingFSUIPChasbeenselectedasthe
connectionmethod,asdescribedinSection8.9.4above.
17.2.6 XPUIPC for X-Plane
ThisrequiresthefreewareprogramXPUIPC.XPUIPCisapluginforXPlanewhich
emulatesPeterDowsonsFSUIPCinterfaceforMSFS.Itwaswritten,withPeter
Dowsonsandothershelp,byTorstenSpieringwhousesthepseudonymSpyy.The
currentversionofXPUIPCis2.0.0.0(June2014),butitiscontinuallybeingdeveloped.
TheprogramisaclientserverinterfaceinwhichtheServeristhecomputerrunningX
PlaneandtheClientisthecomputerrunningPlanG.Thesemaybeoneandthesame,
ortwonetworkedPCs.Itisveryeasytoinstallandthemanualisclearand
unambiguous.
DownloadXPUIPCfromhttp://www.tosionline.de/XPUIPC/XPUIPC.html
Thedownloadisazipfilewhichcanbeunpackedtoanyfolderyouwish.The
downloadincludestheexcellentmanual,anexecutableXPWideClient.exe,anda
plugin,XPUIPC.xpl.
InstallationinstructionsforXPUIPCaresimpleandclearlyexplainedinthemanual,but
arerepeatedhereforcompleteness.
PutthefileXPUIPC.xplinXPlane\Resources\Plugins.
Figure 146 Put the file XPUIPC.xpl in X-Plane\Resources\Plugins
ifyouonlyhaveonePC,XPWideClient.exeandXPWideClient.inifilesarenotneeded
socanbeleftintheXPUIPCPackagefolder.
IfyouintendtorunPlanGonanetwork,theinstructionsforsettingup
XPWideClient.exeandXPWideClient.inifilesaredetailedinsection19.5below.These
twofilesmustbeinthesamedirectory.
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FLIGHT SIMULATOR AND PLAN-G ON THE SAME

COMPUTER
ThissectionwillguideyouthroughtheconfigurationstepsrequiredtoconnectPlanG
toyoursimulatorsession.
Recommendation:PlanGdoesnotalwaysdisplaycorrectlyifyoursimulatorisloaded
afterPlanG.IFyoustartyoursimulatorandallowittoloadfullybeforePlanG,then
reliableoperationofPlanGcanbeexpected.
18.1
Connecting to FS9
ThisrequiresthefreewareprogramFSUIPC3describedinSection17.2.1above.
WithFS9running,startthePlanGprogram,ClicktheFiletabandselecttheOptions
menu,andthentheFSConnectiontab.
Thescreenbelowisdisplayed.
TheFSConnectionParametersdialogue(seeFigure147below)canalsobeaccessed
byclickingthesmalldiagonalarrowshapedlauncherbuttonintheFlightSimulator
connectionstaboftheHomeribbon(belowtheLock/Sync/Freebuttonsattheright).
Figure 147 File/Options FS Connection Tab for FS9
Alltheothersettingsinthatwindowcanbeignored.SimConnectisanFSXonly
functionandXPUIPC,theXPlaneVersionofFSUIPC,istheconnectiontoolforXPlane.
ClosetheOptionswindowbyclickingOK,andreturntothemainwindow.WithFS9
loaded,presstheConnectbutton.
Figure 148 Connected to FS9
Onconnecting,thePlanGmapwillmovesothatyourFS9aircraftlocationisshown,
andayellowUserAircraftIconwillappear.IfAIaircraftareinthearea,andaslongas
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youhaveselectedAIaircraftintheoptionspaneltobedisplayed,theywillappearin
red.IfyouareconnectedtoVATSIM,IVAOorothermultiplayerserver,thenPlanG
displaysotherconnectedaircraftratherthanAIaircraft,andcolouredblueratherthan
red.
YoucannowsetupTrailAnalysis,importFSWeatherdataetc.asdescribedabove,
whichsignificantlyenhancesthevalueofPlanG.
Ifyougetaconnectionerror,oraconnectiontimeouterror,themostlikelyreasonis
thatyouhavenotselectedthecorrectconnectionoption,whichmustbeFSUIPC,on
theOptionspageundertheFiletab.Lesscommonly,youmayhaveinstalledFSUIPC
incorrectly.BesuretoreadtheFSUIPCinstallationinstructionsandfollowthem
carefully.Ithastobesaid,though,thatFSUIPCisalmostalwaystroublefreeinuse,so
ifyoudon'tgetaconnection,theproblemismostlikelytobesomethingyouhave
done,ornotdone.
18.2
Connecting to FSX With SimConnect

WithPlanGontheFSXPC,thereisnosetuprequiredinFSXwhenusingSimConnect.
However,inPlanG,theSimConnectsettingswillneedtobeconfiguredbeforea
connectioncanbemade.First,decidewhichistheappropriateSimConnectdata
transferprotocol:Pipe,IPv4oriPv6.Remember:
IPv4isusedbyWindowsVista,XPandearlierversionsofWindows.
IPv6isinstalledinWindowsVistaWindows7andWindows8,(thoughitmaynot
beenabled)andmayoptionallybeinstalledinWindowsXP.
Toconfigurethesettings,selectOptionsfromtheFileTab,thenopentheFS
Connectiontab.Checkoramendthesettingssothattheycorrespondtooneofthe
threeconfigurationsbelow(alsoshowninFigure149,Figure150andFigure151
below).
Figure 149 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using Pipe
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TheConnectionParametersdialog(seeFigure149above)canalsobeaccessedby
clickingthesmalldiagonalarrowshapedlauncherbuttonintheFlightSimulator
connectionstaboftheHomeribbon(belowtheLock/Sync/Freebuttons)
18.2.1 Connection Using Pipe
SetConnectwithradiobuttontoSimConnect
NetworkMode:
SelectPipefromthedropdownoptions.
FSXComputer:
Entereitherlocalhostor127.0.0.1(withoutquotes)
ServerPort/Pipe:
Leaveblank(important)
18.2.2 Connection Using IPv4

SetConnectwithradiobuttontoAuto
NetworkMode:
SelectIPv4fromthedropdownoptions.
FSXComputer:
ServerPort/Pipe:
Enter0(Withoutquotes)
Entereitherlocalhostor127.0.0.1(withoutquotes)
Figure 150 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using IPv4
18.2.3 Connection Using IPv6

SetConnectwithradiobuttontoAuto
NetworkMode:
SelectIPv6fromthedropdownoptions.
FSXComputer:
Entereitherlocalhostor::1(withoutquotes)
ServerPort/Pipe:
Leaveblank.
Figure 151 SimConnect Settings for a Single PC Using IPv6
AslongasyousetupPlanGasdescribedhere,itisunlikelythatyouwillhaveany
difficultyconnectingtoFSXfromPlanGonasinglecomputer.
ClosetheOptionswindowbyclickingOK,andreturntothemainwindow.WithFSX
running,presstheConnectbutton.
Figure 152 Connected to FSX with SimConnect
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Onconnecting,thePlanGmapwillmovesothatyourFSXaircraftlocationisshown,
displaysotherconnectedaircraftratherthanAIaircraft,andcolouredblueratherthan
red.
thatyouhavenotconfiguredPlanGwiththecorrectSimConnectparametersonthe
OptionspageundertheFiletab.Section20belowdealswithaddressingSimConnect
problems.IftheadviceinthatsectiondoesnotresultinSimConnectsuccessfully
connecting,theproblemmaybetrickytosolve.Ifyouhaveotherprogramswhichuse
SimConnectandyouareunsureofhowtocorrectSimConnectproblems,pleasedonot
experiment,butseekexpertadvice.
18.3
Connecting to FSX with FSUIPC

ThisrequiresthefreewareprogramFSUIPC4describedinSection17.2.3above.
StartFSXandthenstartPlanG.FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuand
thenFSConnection,selectFSUIPCastheconnectionmethod.Thereisnoneedto
changeanyoftheotherparameters;theyarenotused.
Ifalliswell,closetheOptionswindowbyclickingOK,andreturntotheHomeribbon
window.NowpresstheConnectbutton.
Onconnecting,thePlanGmapwillmovesothatyourFSXaircraftlocationisshownin
thecentre,andayellowUserAircraftIconwillappear.IfAIaircraftareinthearea,
andaslongasyouhaveselectedAIaircraftintheoptionspaneltobedisplayed,they
willappearinred.IfyouareconnectedtoVATSIM,IVAOorothermultiplayerserver,
thenPlanGdisplaysotherconnectedaircraftratherthanAIaircraft,butinbluerather
thanred.
YoucannowsetupTrailAnalysis;importFSWeatherdataetc.asdescribedabove,
thatyouhavenotselectedthecorrectconnectionoption,whichmustbeFSUIPC,on
theOptionspageundertheFiletab.Lesscommonly,youmayhavesetupFSUIPC
incorrectly.BesuretoreadtheFSUIPCinstallationinstructionscarefully.Ithastobe
said,though,thatFSUIPCisalmostalwaystroublefreeinuse,sotheproblemismost
likelytobesomethingyouhavedone,ornotdone.
18.4
Connecting to P3D With SimConnect

TheprocedureforconnectingPlanGtoPrepar3DisexactlythesameasforFSX.With
PlanGonthesamePCasP3D,nosetupisrequiredontheP3DPCwhenusing
SimConnect.ThePlanGsettingswill,however,needtobeconfiguredbeforea
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connectioncanbemade.First,decidewhichistheappropriateSimConnectdata
transferprotocol:Pipe,IPv4oriPv6.Remember:
IPv4isusedbyWindowsVista,XPandearlierversionsofWindows.
IPv6isinstalledinWindowsVista,Windows7andWindows8,(thoughitmaynot
beenabled)andmayoptionallybeinstalledinWindowsXP.
Toconfigurethesettings,selectOptionsfromtheFileTab,thenopentheFS
Connectiontab.Checkoramendthesettingssothattheycorrespondtooneofthe
threeconfigurationsshowninFigure149,Figure150andFigure151above).
TheConnectionParametersdialog(seeFigure149above)canalsobeaccessedby
clickingthesmalldiagonalarrowshapedlauncherbuttonintheFlightSimulator
connectionstaboftheHomeribbon(belowtheLock/Sync/Freebuttons)
18.5
Connecting to P3D With FSUIPC

PlanGisconnectedtoP3DviaFSUIPCinexactlythesamewayasFSX.Rememberthat
FSUIPCVersion4.934andlaterisrequired.MakesurethattheoptionFSUIPCasthe
connectionmethodisselectedfromOptionsfromtheFilemenu.Thereisnoneedto
changeanyoftheotherparameters.
StartP3DandselecttheHometabinPlanG.PresstheConnectbutton,andyour
aircraftshouldappearonthemapcentredinthedisplay.
18.6
Connecting to X-Plane
Note:PlanGcanonlyconnecttoXPlaneinstalledonaPCrunningtheMicrosoft
Windowsoperatingsystematpresent.
WithXPlanerunning,startthePlanGprogram.
FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuandthenFSConnection,select
XPUIPCastheconnectionmethod.Thereisnoneedtochangeanyoftheother
parameters;theyarenotused.
Figure 153 XPUIPC is used with X-Plane
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TheConnectionParametersdialoguecanalsobeaccessedbyclickingthesmall
diagonalarrowshapedlauncherbuttonintheFlightSimulatorconnectionstabofthe
Homeribbon(belowtheLock/Sync/Freebuttonsattheright).
NowclosetheOptionswindowbyclickingOK,andreturntothePlanGHome
ribbon.
NowclicktheConnecticon,youraircraftwillbedisplayedonthemap,andallthe
functionalityofPlanGdescribedinthismanualwillbeavailable.
Figure 154 Connected to X-Plane with XPUIPC
ThetextFlightSimulatorbelowtheConnect/Disconnectbuttonsdoesnotmeanyou
areconnectedtoMicrosoftFlightSimulator,buttoaFlightSimulatorthewordis
usedgenericallyinthisinstance.YouwillbeconnectedtoXPlaneofcourse.
IfeithertheSyncorLockoptionisselected,thenonconnecting,thePlanGmapwill
movesothatitiscentredatthelocationsavedintheXPlaneflightyouareloading,
displaysotherconnectedaircraftratherthanAIaircraft,butinblueratherthanred.
YoucannowsetupTrailAnalysis,describedabove,whichsignificantlyenhancesthe
valueofPlanG.
BecauseFSUIPCandXPUIPCwerecreatedbydifferentauthors,therearesome
differencesinthefunctionalitybetweenthem.SomefeaturesinPlanGmaytherefore
bedisabledoroperatedifferentlyinXPlanefromMSFS.XPUIPCisregularlyupdated
youshouldcheckthesourcesitehttp://www.tosionline.de/XPUIPC/XPUIPC.htmlfrom
timetotimeforupdates.
BesuretoreadtheXPUIPCinstallationinstructions.Ithastobesaid,though,that
XPUIPCisalmostalwaystroublefreeinuse,sotheproblemismostlikelytobe
somethingyouhavedone,ornotdone.Ifyougetaconnectionerror,oraconnection
timeouterror,themostlikelyreasonisthatyouhaveeithernotselectedthecorrect
connectionoption,whichmustbeXPUIPC,intheFileOptionswindow,oryouhave
enteredaninvalidIpv4addressforyourPCinXPWideClient.ini.
MostpeopleallowtheirinternetroutertoassignanIpv4addressautomatically,andif
thisisthecase,andthereismorethanonedeviceconnectedtotherouter,thenthe
Ipv4addressofyourXPlanePCmaynotalwaysbethesame.Thiscanberectifiedby
reservingtheIpv4addressofyourXPlanePCinyourrouter.Readyourrouter
documentationtofindouthowtodothis.ForXPlaneenthusiasts,thisisnormallya
goodideaanywayifothersoftwareneedstointerfacewithXPlane.
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FLIGHT SIMULATOR AND PLAN-G ON A NETWORK

YoucaninstallPlanGonasecondPC(theNetworkPC)thatisconnectedtothe
FlightSimulatorPCthroughahomeTCP/IPnetwork,eitherwirelessly(WiFi,IEEE
802.11a/b/g/n/ac)orwiredviaEthernet.Firstly,followthestepsinthePrerequisites
andInstallationsectionsofthismanual(sections3and4)toinstallPlanGonthe
NetworkPC.ItdoesnotneedtobeinstalledontheSimulatorPC.
FirewallsoftwaremustbeconfiguredtoallowTCPcommunicationsontheportyou
setbelowthisincludesWindowsFirewallandanyrouterfirewallandappliesto
bothcomputers,FlightSimulatorPCandNetworkPC.
FSXandP3DuserscanchoosebetweenusingSimConnect,orusingPeterDowson's
FSUIPC4program,thesamechoice(andforthesamereason)asconnectingonasingle
PCi.e.SimConnectmaynotalwayswork,andfindingoutwhyisntalwayseasy,
whereasFSUIPCalmostalwaysworks.However,SimConnectisthepreferred
connectionoptionforFSX.Itismoreefficient,faster,andprovidesoptimalcontrol
overtheinformationavailable.
19.1
First Find Your Sim

Section8.9.1abovedescribeshowtosetupthelocationsinPlanGsothatitknows
wheretogetitsSimulatordata.Thismustbedonebeforeattemptingtoconnectthe
SimtoPlanG,whetheritbeFS9,FSX,P3DorXPlane.
19.2
Connecting to FS9 from a Networked PC

FS9userswillhavetoinstallPeterDowson'sfreeFSUIPC(FlightSimulatorUniversal
InterProcessCommunication)program
http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html
ontheFS9PCtobeabletoconnecttoPlanG.
YouwillalsoneedtobuyPeterDowsonsWideFSanduseitwitheitherwiththe
freewareFS9versionofPeterDowson'sFSUIPCFSUIPC3,oryoucan,ifyouwish,buy
thefullfeaturedversionofFSUIPC3.
FSUIPC3maybedownloadedfromhttp://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html
forum:
TheFSUIPC3installerprogramcopiesafilecalledFSUIPC.DLLintotheFS9/Modules
folder,alongwiththeFSUIPCUserGuide.pdf.WhenyounextrunFS9,afteraccepting
thenewlyinstalledFSUIPCmodules,therewillbeanewFSUIPCentryintheAddOns
menu.FSUIPCsfirstactionwillbetoaskyoutoregistertheprogram.Ifyousimply
wanttouseFSUIPC3toconnectFS9toaddonprogramsonthesamePC,youdonot
havetocontinuewithregistrationoftheprogram.
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19.2.1 WideFS
Inaddition,youwillneedasecondPeterDowsonprogramcalledWideFS,which
installsaserverportion,WideServer.dll,ontheFS9PC,andaclientportion,
WideClient.exe,ontheNetworkPC.WideFSisavailablefrom
Notethat,incontrasttoFSUIPC,WideFSisnotfree,andmustbepurchasedand
registered,usinganaccesskey.Thereisanoptiontobuytheregisteredversionof
FSUIPCandWideFSasabundle,whichcostslessthanthetwopurchasedseparately.
NotethatforFS9youmustbuytheFS9specificversion.
FollowtheinstructionsintheWideFSUserGuide(apdfdocument)toinstalltheclient
andserverportionsalongwiththeirconfigurationfiles(WideServer.iniontheFS9PC,
andWideClient.iniontheNetworkPC).Thetwo.iniconfigurationfileshavetobe
editedtomatchyourtwoPCnamesandIPaddresses.
OneoftheWideFSinstallationoptionsistoplaceanicononyourdesktop.Thisis
stronglyrecommendedthatyoudothatsothatyoudontforgettostartitwhenever
youwanttorunFS9andPlanGonseparatePCs.
19.2.2 Connection Steps
AftertheinstallationandconfigurationofFSUIPCandWideFS,youwillbeabletorun
FS9ontheFS9PC,andPlanGontheNetworkPC.Thereisjustoneextrastepinthe
procedurethanforconnectingonthesamePC.
1.
StartFS9.NotethatinthetopframeoftheFS9Windowyouwillseethewords
FS2004withWideserver:Waitingforclients.Thisisyourindicationthatthe
WideFSservermoduleisworking.
2.
StartWideclientonthePlanGPCfromthedesktopiconifyouhaveone.You
wontseeanythinghappenexceptablankgreyscreenopens(unlessyouhave
configuredittostartminimized.IfyoumaximizetheWideclientwindowfrom
thetaskbar,youwillseethewordConnectedinthetopframeofthewindow.
ThatisyourindicationthatWideclientisworking.Youcannowminimize
Wideclienttothetaskbaragain.OnceyoubecomefamiliarwithWideFSyouwill
almostforgetaboutitasitworkssilentlyandreliablyinthebackground.
3.
StartPlanG
4.
FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuontheleftandthenFS
Connection.SelectFSUIPCastheconnectionmethod.
5.
ReturntotheHomeribboninPlanGandclicktheConnectbutton.Afterafew
seconds,youwillhearaConnected!soundfromtheNetworkPC,andthe
Connect/Disconnectbuttonswillshowthatyouareconnected.
Figure 155 Connected to FS9

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IntheFS9windowtopframe,thewordingwillnowhavechangedtoFS2004with
Wideserver:1connected.
AlltheadditionaldatafeaturesmentionedaboveforconnectingtoFSwillbeavailable
inanidenticalwaytoconnectingwithonlyonePC,anditishighlyunlikelythatyouwill
experienceanylossofFS9performance.
19.3
Connecting to FSX from a Networked PC with SimConnect

TherearethreestepsrequiredtoconnectthetwoPCswithSimConnect.Dontbeput
offbytheseeminglytechnicalinstructionswhichfollowTheprocedureisactually
quiteeasy:
Decidetheappropriatedatatransferprotocol(seesection17.2above).Notethat
Pipedoesnotworkacrossanetwork.
CreateormodifyaspecialfileSimConnect.xmlontheFSXPC
ConfiguretheSimConnectparametersinPlanGtomatchthoseinSimConnect.xml.
Note:YoudonotneedtobuildaSimConnect.xmlfileifyouarerunningFSXandPlanG
onthesamePC.
19.3.1 Creating a SimConnect.xml file for the IPv4 Protocol
ThisfilemustbecreatedontheFSXPC,inthesamefolderasfsx.cfg.
ForWindowsXPusers,thisisusually
C:\DocumentsandSettings\<username>\ApplicationData\Microsoft\FSX
ForWindowsVistausers,thisisusually
C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX.
SimConnect.xmlisatextfilewhichyoucancreateusingWindowsNotePadorany
simpletexteditor(notMSWord).PlanGwillnotbuildaSimConnect.xmlfileforyou.
Thefollowingisanexamplewhichhasbeenprovedtoworkfortwonetworked
WindowsXPmachines.TheredcolouredtextwillnotchangeinanySimConnectfile.
Thebluecolouredtextisthepartwhichyoumayneedtochangetosuityoursetup.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Windows-1252"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="SimConnect" version="1,0">
<Descr>SimConnect</Descr>
<Filename>SimConnect.xml</Filename>
<SimConnect.Comm>
<Disabled>False</Disabled>
<Protocol>Auto</Protocol>
<Scope>global</Scope>
<Address>192.168.0.2</Address>
<MaxClients>64</MaxClients>
<Port>4506</Port>
<MaxRecvSize>4096</MaxRecvSize>
<DisableNagle>False</DisableNagle>
</SimConnect.Comm>
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<SimConnect.Comm>
<Protocol>IPv4</Protocol>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
</SimBase.Document>
Theexampleaboveincludestwoprofiles(thebluecolouredcodebetween
<SimConnect.Comm>and</SimConnect.Comm>).OneisconfiguredforanAuto
connection,theotherforanIPv4connection.Ifyouchoosetousetheexampleabove,
thenusually,onlythecomputeraddress(inbold)needstobechangedtomatchyour
FSXPCsIPaddress.Inmostnetworksnowadays,theroutersIPAddressis192.168.0.1
or192.168.1.1,andthePCshavesimilaraddresses,withjustthelastofthefourgroups
ofdigitschangedetc.e.g192.168,0,2,butbewareoccasionallydefaultIPaddresses
aredifferent,sodocheck.
ThePortvalue4506needonlybechangedfromtheexampleabove,ifyouhavean
existingSimConnect.xmlfileandyouseethatPort4506isalreadyinusebyanotherFS
addon.Inthatcase,changingtheportforPlanGto4505isquitesufficient,butdont
forgettomakethesamechangeinPlanG.FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthe
menuandthenFSConnection.EnterthechangedportnumberintheServerPort/Pipe
dialoguebox.TherangeofportvalueswhichyoucanuseforPlanGisfrom4500to
4510inclusive.
19.3.2 Creating a SimConnect.xml file for the IPv6 Protocol
RememberthatIPv6isinstalledinWindowsVistaandWindows7bydefault,(though
itmaynotbeenabled)andmayoptionallybeinstalledinWindowsXP.Seethelinkat
theendofthissectionforfurtherinformation.
TheSimConnectfilemustbecreatedontheFSXPC,inthesamefolderasfsx.cfg.
Thisisusually
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\FSX
SimConnect.xmlisatextfilewhichyoucancreateusingWindowsNotePadorany
simpletexteditor(notMSWord).PlanGwillnotbuildaSimConnect.xmlfileforyou.
Thefollowingisanexamplewhichhasbeenprovedtoworkfortwonetworked
Windows7machines.TheredcolouredtextwillnotchangeinanySimConnectfile.
Thebluecolouredtextisthepartwhichyoumayneedtochangetosuityoursetup.
<Descr>SimConnect</Descr>
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<SimConnect.Comm>
<Scope>link-local</Scope>
<Address>fe80::899d:395:c919:168f</Address>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
</SimBase.Document>
Theexampleaboveincludesjustoneprofile(thebluecolouredcodebetween
<SimConnect.Comm>and</SimConnect.Comm>).Ifyouchoosetousetheexample
above,thenusually,onlythecomputeraddress(inbold)needstobechangedtomatch
yourFSXPCsIPaddress.TofindyourWindows7/VistacomputersIPaddress:
OntheStartmenu,rightclickonNetwork
Selectproperties,thenclickontheactiveconnection(LocalAreaConnectionor
WirelessConnectionforexample.
ThisbringsuptheConnectionStatusdialog.ClickonDetailsandallyour
parametersarelisted,includingtheIPv6address,whichalwaysstartsfe.
ThePortvalue4506needonlybechangedfromtheexampleabove,ifyouhavean
existingSimConnect.xmlfileandyouseethatPort4506isalreadyinuse.Changingit
inthatcaseforPlanGto4505isquitesufficient,butdontforgettomakethesame
changeinthePlanG.FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuandthenFS
Connection.EnterthechangedportnumberintheServerPort/Pipedialoguebox.The
rangeofportvalueswhichyoucanuseisfrom4500to4510inclusive.
TechnicalNote:IPv6addressesare128bithexadecimalnumbers.Eachpairofbytes
(octets)isseparatedbyacolon,viz:ab32:12cd.Buttheycanbeshorthandedsoyou
wouldrarelyhavetowriteoutthefullstring.
Leading0sinapaircanbeomitted(:34d:isthesameas:034d:)
Pairsthatareall0scanbeomitted(E3D7:0000:0000:0000:51F4canbewrittenas
E3D7::51F4),butyoucanonlydothatonceperip
SiteLocal(fec*throughfef*)istheIP6equivalenttotheIP4192.168..and10.0...
privatesubnets,ietheyarenotpropagatedontotheInternet.Theywillpass
throughrouters,socanspananentireorganisation.
LinkLocal(fe8*throughfeb*)arealsoprivateaddresses(like192.168etc)that
don'tgetpropagatedtotheInternet,BUTtheyrestrictedtoasingleLAN,sothey
willnotpassthrougharouter.
Thereisachecksumattheendoftheaddress(%11,or%13etc).Thisdoesnotform
partoftheaddress.
MoreinformationaboutIPv6isavailableathttp://ipv6int.net/systems/windows_xp
ipv6.html
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19.3.3 Modifying an Existing a SimConnect.xml file

Itisstronglyrecommendedthatyoumakeacopyoftheexistingfileonyourcomputer
beforeyoumodifyit.Thecodeinblueaboveshouldthenbeaddedtotheexistingfile
justbeforethefinal
</SimBase.Document>
Donotcopythecodeinredintotheexistingfileonceisenough!Savethefile.Again
ifyouchoosetousetheexampleabove,thenonlythecomputeraddress(inbold)
needstobechangedtomatchyourFSXPCsIPaddress.
OtherexamplesaregiveninSection20below,withmoredetailedexplanation,should
youbeinterested.
Ifyoudontwishtogetastechnicalasthis,simplyaskforhelpontheveryactivePlan
GForum.ThereareTechiesbythescoretherewhowillbeonlytoowillingtoanswer
allyourquestions.
19.3.4 Configure the SimConnect Settings in Plan-G
OnceyouhavetheSimConnect.xmlfilecreatedontheFSXPC,youcanconfigurePlan
GontheNetworkPCtofindtheFSXdataonthenetworkedPC.InthePlanG
program,fromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuandthenFSConnection.
SelectAuto,preferably,orSimConnectastheconnectionmethod.
TheSimConnectSettingsshouldbesetasdescribedbelow.
IPv4 Setting
NetworkMode:
FSXComputer:
ServerPort/Pipe:
IPv4
IPaddress(e.g.192.168.0.2)orcomputernetworkname
4506
Figure 156 A SimConnect Configuration for IPv4 with Windows XP
InFigure156above,thecorrespondingSimConnectprofilewouldbe:
<SimConnect.Comm>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
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IPv6 Setting
NetworkMode:
FSXComputer:
ServerPort/Pipe:
V 3.1.1 July 2014
IPv6
IPv6address,e.g.fe80::899d:395:b16c:168f
4506
Figure 157 A SimConnect Configuration for IPv6 with Windows 7
InFigure157above,thecorrespondingSimConnectprofilewouldbe
<SimConnect.Comm>
<Address> fe80::899d:395:c919:168f</Address>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
Note:LinklocalisanIPv6mechanismforaccessingcomputersonanetworkthatdoes
notinvolvetraversingarouter.ItisrequiredforlinklocalIP6addresses(whichstart
fe80:....).
19.3.5 Connected
ClosetheOptionswindowbyclickingOK.NowpresstheConnectbutton.
Figure 158 Connected to FSX
Afteralltheabove,youmayfeelthatyouhaveachievedaminormiracle.Thegood
newsisthat,hopefully,youonlyhavetogothroughthatprocessonce,unlessyoure
installFSXorsomethingequallydrastic.
Onconnecting,thePlanGmapwillmovesothatyourFSXaircraftlocationisshown,
displaysotherconnectedaircraftratherthanAIaircraftandinblueratherthaninred.
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thatyouhavenotconfiguredPlanGwiththecorrectSimConnectparametersonthe
OptionspageundertheFiletab.Section20belowdealswithaddressingSimConnect
problems.IftheadviceinthatsectiondoesnotresultinSimConnectsuccessfully
connecting,theproblemmaybetrickytosolve.Ifyouhaveotherprogramswhichuse
SimConnectandyouareunsureofhowtocorrectSimConnectproblems,pleasedonot
experiment,butseekexpertadvice.
19.4
Connecting to FSX from a Networked PC with FSUIPC

SimConnectisthepreferredconnectionoptionforFSX.Itismoreefficient,faster,and
providesoptimalcontrolovertheinformationavailable.FSXusersshouldbeableto
useFSX'sbuiltinSimConnectbycarefullyfollowingtheinstructionsinthismanual,but
ifyoucannotgetittoworkforyou,thenyouwillneedtobuyPeterDowsonsWideFS
anduseitwitheitherwiththefreewareFSXversionofPeterDowson'sFSUIPC
FSUIPC4,whichusesSimConnectinternally,oryoucan,ifyouwish,buythefull
featuredversionofFSUIPC4.
FSUIPC4maybedownloadedfromhttp://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html
forum:
TheFSUIPC4installerprogramcopiesafilecalledFSUIPC4.DLLintotheFSX/Modules
folder,alongwiththeFSUIPC4UserGuide.pdf.WhenyounextrunFSX,afteraccepting
thenewlyinstalledFSUIPC4modules,therewillbeanewFSUIPCentryintheAdd
Onsmenu.FSUIPCsfirstactionwillbetoaskyoutoregistertheprogram.Ifyou
simplywanttouseFSUIPC4toconnectFSXtoaddonprogramsonthesamePC,you
donothavetocontinuewithregistrationoftheprogram.
19.4.1 WideFS
Inaddition,youwillneedasecondPeterDowsonprogramcalledWideFS,which
installsaserverportion,WideServer.dll,ontheFSXPC,andaclientportion,
WideClient.exe,ontheNetworkPC.WideFSisavailablefrom:
Notethat,incontrasttoFSUIPC,WideFSisnotfree,andmustbepurchasedand
registered,usinganaccesskey.Thereisanoptiontobuytheregisteredversionof
FSUIPC(whichhasmanymorefeaturesthanthefreeversion)andWideFSasabundle,
whichcostslessthanthetwopurchasedseparately.NotethatforFSXyoumustbuy
theFSXspecificversion.
FollowtheinstructionsintheWideFSUserGuide(apdfdocument)toinstalltheclient
andserverportionsalongwiththeirconfigurationfiles(WideServer.iniontheFSXPC,
andWideClient.iniontheNetworkPC).Thetwo.iniconfigurationfileshavetobe
editedtomatchyourtwoPCnetworknamesandIPaddresses.
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OneoftheWideFSinstallationoptionsistoplaceanicononyourdesktop.Itis
stronglyrecommendedthatyoudoso,sothatyoudontforgettostartitwhenever
youwanttorunFSXandPlanGonseparatePCs(averycommonusererror).
19.4.2 Connection Steps
AftertheinstallationandconfigurationofFSUIPCandWideFS,youwillbeabletorun
FSXontheFSXPC,andPlanGontheNetworkPC.Thereisjustoneextrastepinthe
procedurethanforconnectingonthesamePC.
1.
StartFSX.NotethatinthetopframeoftheFSXWindowyouwillseethewords
"FSXwithWideserver:Waitingforclients".Thisisyourindicationthatthe
WideFSservermoduleisworking.
2.
StartWideclientonthePlanGPCfromthedesktopiconifyouhaveone.You
wontseeanythinghappenexceptablankgreywindowopens(unlessyouhave
configuredittostartminimized.IfyoumaximizetheWideclientwindowfrom
thetaskbar,youwillseethewordConnectedinthetopframeofthewindow.
ThatisyourindicationthatWideclientisworking.Youcannowminimize
Wideclienttothetaskbaragain.OnceyoubecomefamiliarwithWideFSyouwill
almostforgetaboutitasitworkssilentlyandreliablyinthebackground.
3.
StartPlanG
4.
FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuandthenFSConnection.Select
FSUIPCastheconnectionmethod.
5.
ReturntotheHomeribboninPlanGandclicktheConnectbutton.Afterafew
seconds,youwillhearaConnected!soundfromtheNetworkPC,andthe
Connect/Disconnectbuttonswillshowthatyouareconnected.
IntheFSXwindowtopframe,thewordingwillnowhavechangedtoFSXwith
Wideserver:1connected.
experienceanylossofFSXperformance.IntheFSXwindowtopframe,thewording
willnowhavechangedtoFSXwithWideserver:1connected.
experienceanylossofFSXperformance.
Figure 159 FSX Connected via FSUIPC
19.5
Connecting to P3D from a Networked PC with SimConnect

ThestepsrequiredtoconnectthetwoPCswithSimConnectareidenticalforP3Dto
theinstructionsforFSXatSection18.2above:
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Decidetheappropriatedatatransferprotocol(seesection17.2above).Notethat
Pipedoesnotworkacrossanetwork.
CreateormodifyaspecialfileSimConnect.xmlontheP3DPC
ConfiguretheSimConnectparametersinPlanGtomatchthoseinSimConnect.xml.
ATypicalSimconnectfileforP3Disasfollows:
<Descr>SimConnect Server Configuration</Descr>
<SimConnect.Comm>
<Scope>Global</Scope>
<Address192.168.1.14</Address>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
<SimConnect.Comm>
<Protocol>Auto</Protocol>
<Address>local</Address>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
</SimBase.Document>
YouwillnoteimmediatelythatitisidenticaltothestructureofaSimConnect.xmlfile
forFSX.Ithasbeenincludedheretoreinforcethepoint.InP3DtheSimConnect.xml
fileisputinthemainP3DFolder,e.g.C:\ProgramFiles(x86)Lockheed
Martin\Prepar3Dv2.Withthisfileinplace,andthePlanGlocationspagecongured
exactlyasFigureabove,PlanGwillconnecttoP3D.
19.6
Connecting to P3D from a Networked PC with FSUIPC

IfyoufindsettingupSimConnecttoomuchlikehardwork,thenyoucanusePeter
DowsonsWideFSwitheitherwiththefreewareP3DversionofPeterDowson's
FSUIPC,whichusesSimConnectinternally,oryoucan,ifyouwish,buythefullfeatured
versionofFSUIPCforP3D.YoumustuseFSUIPC4.923orlaterwithPrepar3Dversion
2.0.
ThemethodofinstallationanduseofFSUIPCandWideFSforP3Disidenticaltothat
forFSXasdescribedinSection19.4above.
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Connecting to X-Plane from a Networked PC

ConnectingtoXPlanefromaNetworkedPCwithXPUIPCisverysimpleindeed.Just
putthefileXPUIPC.xplinXPlane\Resources\PluginsexactlyasforasinglePCsetup.
Note,however,thatPlanGcanonlyconnecttoXPlaneinstalledonaPCrunningthe
MicrosoftWindowsoperatingsystematpresent.
Figure 160 Put the file XPUIPC.xpl in X-Plane\Resources\Plugins
PuttheXPWideClient.exeandXPWideClient.inifilesinadirectoryofyourchoiceon
thePlanGPC.ThesetwofilesmustbeinthesamedirectoryonthePlanGPC.
IfthereisnoXPWideClient.inibeforeyoustartXPWideClient,theprogramwillcreate
itforyouwhenyoufirststartit.Howevertheprogramgeneratestheinifilewitha
defaultIPv4addressfortheserver,192.168.0.20,whichalmostcertainlywontbe
correctforyourPC.
So,youneedtofindtheIPv4addressofyourPC.Thereareanumberofwaystodo
this,buttheeasiestistoopenaCommandPromptwindow.ClicktheStartbutton,
selectAllPrograms/Accessories,andCommandPromptisnormallythethirdoption
downthelist.
Attheflashingcursor,typeipconfig(noquotesofcourse).Youshouldthensee
somethingsimilartothefollowing.
Figure 161 Command Prompt Window
Theremaybequitealotofinformationdisplayed,solookcarefullyfortheIPv4line.In
Figure161above,theIPv4addressis192.168.0.8.IfyouarerunningWindowsXP,the
datadisplayedismuchbriefer,andthelinetolookforstartsIPAddress......
NowopenthefileXPWideClient.iniinNotepad,andchangethedefault192.168.0.20
totheIPv4addressofyourPC.Savethefile.Notethatyoucannotuseanyalternative
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namesuchasServer,orhostetc).Thereisnoerrorcheckinginthecurrentversionof
XPUIPC,sobecarefultoenterthenumberscorrectly.
Figure 162 Editing XPWideClient.ini
XPUIPCshouldnowbeconfiguredforyourPC.
StartthePlanGprogram.FromtheFiletab,selectOptionsfromthemenuandthen
FSConnection,selectXPUIPCastheconnectionmethod.
NowclosetheOptionswindowbyclickingOK,andreturntothemainwindow.
Figure 163 XPUIPC is used with X-Plane
Next,startXPWideClient.TheXUIPCwindowshowninFigure165belowwillbe
displayedonyourPlanGPCdesktop.
UsefulTip:OnyourPlanGPC,youwillhaveashortcutonyourdesktoptoPlanG.
WhynotputashortcuttoXPWideClient.exealongsideit,asshownbelow?
Figure 164 XPWideClient Desktop Shortcut on Plan-G PC
FinallystartXPlane.AsloadingofXPlanenearscompletion,theXPUIPCwindow
changestothatshowninFigure166below.
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Figure 165 XPUIPC Running
Figure 166 XPUIPC Connected
IfyoureturntothePlanGHomeribbon,andclicktheConnecticon,youraircraftwill
bedisplayedonthemap,andallthefunctionalityofPlanGdescribedinthismanualwill
beavailable.
Figure 167 Connected to X-Plane with XPUIPC
ThetextFlightSimulatorbelowtheConnect/Disconnectbuttonsdoesnotmeanyou
areconnectedtoMicrosoftFlightSimulator,buttoaFlightSimulatorthewordis
usedgenericallyinthisinstance.YouwillbeconnectedtoXPlaneofcourse.
RememberthatyoumustputboththeXPWideClient.exeandXPWideClient.inifiles
inthesamedirectoryonthePlanGPC.Whichdirectoryisnotimportant,but
Documents\PlanGFilesmightbeagoodplace.
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MORE ON SIMCONNECT
Microsoft'sSimConnectissoftwarethatcommunicatesFSXflightinformationto
anotherWindowsprogram(PlanGinourcase).See
http://msdn.microsoft.com/enus/esp/cc835021.aspx
foranintroductiontoSimConnect.
AllversionsofFSX(Basic,DeluxeandGold,theoriginalRTMversion,SP1andSP2)
incorporatetheSimConnectserverinterface.However,eachreleaseusesitsown
versionoftheSimConnectclient(simconnect.dll),whichisonlydistributedwiththe
DeluxeandGoldversionsoftheFSXprogram,intheFSXSoftwareDevelopmentKit
(SDK).TheSDKcanbefoundontheDeluxeandGoldeditions,DVD1.
YoudonotneedtoinstalltheSimConnectclient,infactyouneeddonothingtechnical
withitapartfromcreatingaSimConnect.xmlfile,becausePlanGincludesaversionof
theSimConnectClientcreatedbyTimGregson,formerlyofMicrosoftAces,which
seemstobemorerobustthantheoriginal.
SimConnectrequiresascriptinordertoknowwhattodo.Thisscriptiscalled
SimConnect.xmlandresidesonyourFSXPCinthesamefolderasFSX.CFG.The
structureofSimConnect.xmlfilesmaylookquiteawesometopeoplenotfamiliarwith
modernscriptcomputerlanguages.Hereareafewsimplerulesaboutthisfileandxml
ingeneral.
1.
Thereisnoerrortrapping.Makeatypingerroranditsimplywontworkbutit
wontcrashyourcomputereither.
2.
Allspacecharactersandnewlinesareignoredsoyoucanhaveasmanyasyou
like.
3.
EveryCommandopeningtag<tag>musthaveanequivalentclosingtag
</tag>
4.
EachProfileofthefile,definingadifferentprotocol,starts
<SimConnect.Comm>andends</SimConnect.Comm>soyoucanseein
theexamplesbelowseveralsuchProfilesintheonefile.
5.
Thewholefilemuststartwiththeheader(inredinexamplesbelow)andend
withtheclosingtag(alsoinred)
6.
Theopeningtagenclosetextwhichis

ignored,soyoucanputanycommentyoulikebetweenthosetagstoexplainto
yourselfwhenlookingatthecodeyearslater,whatitmeans.
7.
IfyougetitwrongyoucannotharmyourPC.Butdoseekexperthelpif
necessarytoavoidhoursoffrustration.
Therearethreedatatransferprotocolswhichmaybeused,Pipe,IPv4andiPv6.
PipeisnormallyusedforinternalcommunicationswithinaPC.
IPv4isusedbyWindowsXPbydefault,andearlierversionsofWindows.
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IPv6isavailableinWindowsVistaandlaterversionsofWindows,andmaybeinstalled
inWindowsXPifyouwish.
YouneedtoEnabletheoneyouwanttousebymakingsuretheline:
ispresent.FortheotherElements,youcanchangethelineto:
<Disabled>True</Disabled>
butthisisntessential.PlanGwillusetheprotocolsetinFile/Options/FSConnection.
ForIpv6connections.Notethat<Scope>needstobesettolink-localnot
global
20.1
Example 1
ThisexamplecontainsfourProfiles,oneforalocalpipeconnection,twoforremote
(network)IPv6connectionsandoneforaremoteIPv4connection.NotethatthePipe
protocolcannotbeusedfornetworkedconnections.


<SimConnect.Comm>
<Protocol>Pipe</Protocol>
<Scope>local</Scope>
<Port></Port> --THE PORT IS GIVEN NO VALUE
</SimConnect.Comm>

<SimConnect.Comm>
<Address>fe80::5974:d93:646d:a902</Address>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
<!2nd Example Global (remote) IPv6 Server Configuration->
<SimConnect.Comm>
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<Address>My_FS_PCs NETWORK NAME</Address>
<Port>4506</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>

<SimConnect.Comm>
<Port>4504</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>
</SimBase.Document>
20.2
Example 2
Theexamplebelowincludesprofilesfortworemoteandthreelocalconnections,for
Pipe,IPv6andIPv4connections.Forremoteconnections,i.e.anetworkconnection,
youwouldneedtoenableoneormoreofthethree"Global"profilesinthe
SimConnect.xmlfile.
Toenableaprofile,set"Disabled"tofalse:
andthenspecifytheIPv4/IPv6/machinenameandportnumber/pipenameinthe
appropriatesections.

<SimConnect.Comm>
<Disabled>True</Disabled>
<Address>::1</Address>
<Port>REPLACE_WITH_PORT_NUMBER</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>

<SimConnect.Comm>
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<Address>192.168.1.200</Address> 
<Port>4500</Port> 
<MaxRcvSize>4096</MaxRcvSize>
</SimConnect.Comm>

<SimConnect.Comm>
<Protocol>Pipe</Protocol>
<Port>LEAVE BLANK</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>

<SimConnect.Comm>
<Address>::1</Address>
<Port>REPLACE_WITH_PORT_NUMBER</Port>
</SimConnect.Comm>

<SimConnect.Comm>
<Port>4505</Port> <-- SET TO A VALUE BETWEEN 4500 AND
4510
</SimConnect.Comm>
</SimBase.Document>
Insteadof<Address>127.0.0.1</Address>inthelastprofileofExample2
youcanenter<Address>localhost</Address>.Eitherisvalid.
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21
APPENDICES
21.1
Appendix 1 Table of Illustrations

Figure1ThePlanGUserInterfaceatFirstStartup.............................................................6
Figure2DatabaseBuildOptions..........................................................................................8
Figure3TheMenuRibbonfortheMapTab .....................................................................10
Figure4MenuRibbonScrollBars......................................................................................10
Figure5QuickAccessToolbar ...........................................................................................11
Figure6TheCustomiseQuickAccessToolbarDropdown ..............................................11
Figure7TheMenuTabs.....................................................................................................12
Figure8TheFileMenuPage..............................................................................................14
Figure9TheHomeRibbon ................................................................................................14
Figure10TheMapRibbon.................................................................................................14
Figure11DataRibbon .......................................................................................................15
Figure12TheViewRibbon ................................................................................................15
Figure13TheMinimisetheRibboniconandTooltip......................................................16
Figure14TheFileOpenWindowandOptions ..................................................................17
Figure15TheFlightPlanExportOptions ..........................................................................19
Figure16PrintOptions ......................................................................................................20
Figure17TheLocationsPage ............................................................................................22
Figure18TheUnitsPage ...................................................................................................23
Figure19SoundsPage .......................................................................................................23
Figure20FSConnectionsPage ..........................................................................................24
Figure21GPSPanelConfigurationPage ...........................................................................25
Figure22UserAircraftOptions .........................................................................................27
Figure23TrafficOptions....................................................................................................28
Figure24WeatherParameters..........................................................................................29
Figure25Options/GeneralScreen...................................................................................29
Figure26MapProviderOptions........................................................................................30
Figure27MapQuestOSMMapStyle ................................................................................31
Figure28OpenStreetMapStyle.......................................................................................31
Figure29OpenCycleMapStyle ........................................................................................32
Figure30MapboxReliefMapStyle...................................................................................32
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Figure31TheLocationsPage ............................................................................................33
Figure32BrowsingfortheLocationofScenery.CFG ........................................................33
Figure33AddingAdditionalSceneryLocations ................................................................36
Figure34TheHomeRibbon ..............................................................................................38
Figure35UsingtheFindFunctiontoLocateanAirport....................................................39
Figure36SelectinganIntersection ...................................................................................39
Figure37StartPositionWindow .......................................................................................40
Figure38CruisingAltitudeWindow ..................................................................................40
Figure39CruisingAirspeedWindow.................................................................................40
Figure40PistonAircraftProfileDialaogue........................................................................41
Figure41Turbine/JetAircraftProfileDialaogue ...............................................................42
Figure42RandomDestinationDialogue ...........................................................................43
Figure43RandomDestinationOptionsDialogue .............................................................43
Figure44TheEDRKtoEDKVLegPassesThroughControlledAirspace.............................44
Figure45ClickingtheEditButtonRevealsGrabHandles .................................................44
Figure46GrabHandlesCanBeDraggedAnywhereontheMap......................................45
Figure47TheRouteisMovedtoAvoidtheControlledAirspace .....................................45
Figure48TheFlightPlanTableGainsaNewWaypoint ....................................................46
Figure49AUserCreatedKMZ_FilesFolderinPlanGFiles ..............................................48
Figure50LocallystoredKMZFilesinaUsercreatedFolder.............................................48
Figure51VATSIMControllersandTraffic..........................................................................49
Figure52TheMapRibbon.................................................................................................50
Figure53TheAirportsMarkerOptionsPopup ................................................................50
Figure54NavaidMarkerOptions......................................................................................52
Figure55TheORTACIntersectionIntheEnglishChannel ................................................52
Figure56AirspaceLayerOptions ......................................................................................53
Figure57ICAOAirspaceClassification ..............................................................................54
Figure58AirspaceColourGuide .......................................................................................55
Figure59The12PredefinedTypesofUserWaypoint ......................................................55
Figure60SelectedUserWaypointTypes .........................................................................56
Figure61TheDataRibbon.................................................................................................57
Figure62DatabaseBuildOptions......................................................................................57
Figure63SimulatorPathsDialogueBox............................................................................58
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Figure64DatabaseTools...................................................................................................59
Figure65TheManageUserWaypointsWindow ..............................................................60
Figure66EditingTheUserWaypointDatabase ................................................................60
Figure67AUserCreatedFolderHoldingUserWaypoints ...............................................61
Figure68UserDefinedRecordsImported ........................................................................62
Figure69UserDefinedRecordsExported.........................................................................62
Figure70TheViewRibbon ................................................................................................63
Figure71ThePlanWindowBeforeaFlightPlanisCreated .............................................64
Figure72PlanWindowExpandedtoRevealAllFlightPlanDetails ..................................64
Figure73FlightPlanEditingviatheDropdownMenu ......................................................64
Figure74FlightPlanElevationWindowoverlayingtheMapWindow .............................65
Figure75AMirroredprofileforanOutandBackFlightPlan........................................66
Figure76LockInfoPanelinDropdownmenus .................................................................66
Figure77TheInformationWindow...................................................................................66
Figure78AirportDiagramWindow...................................................................................67
Figure79AirportDiagramWindowwithOverlay .............................................................67
Figure80WeatherTable ...................................................................................................68
Figure81LoadingaLoggedFlightTrail..............................................................................69
Figure82ATrailAnalysisExample ....................................................................................69
Figure83PFDPanel ...........................................................................................................70
Figure84ThePFDPanelAliveduringaFlightwithaFlightPlanLoaded ......................70
Figure85ThePlanGRadioStack ......................................................................................72
Figure86TrafficWindow...................................................................................................73
Figure87VATSIMPilotsWorldwide.................................................................................73
Figure88VATSIMControllersWorldwide .........................................................................73
Figure89RightClickMapDropdownMenus....................................................................75
Figure90QDMDisplay ......................................................................................................76
Figure91SelecttheTickedQDMOptiontoSwitchitOff .................................................77
Figure92DisplayingRangeRings ......................................................................................77
Figure93LocktheInfoPanel.............................................................................................78
Figure94UnlocktheInfoPanel.........................................................................................78
Figure95RightclickonanAirport ....................................................................................78
Figure96PlanGfindstheAllardChartforFriedrichshafenEDNY....................................80
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Figure97InstrumentApproachesPicklistforMombasaAirport,Kenya.........................81
Figure98Runway21ILSProcedure,Mombasa ................................................................81
Figure99LeadinProceduralTurntotheMOVVORTransitionPoint ..............................82
Figure100InstrumentApproachfixesaddedtoaFlightPlan ..........................................82
Figure101RightClickMenuonaVORwithFSConnected ..............................................84
Figure102The"ShowRadial"Dialogue ............................................................................84
Figure103TheRadialDisplayed........................................................................................85
Figure104SettingFlightPlanConditions ..........................................................................86
Figure105TheBeechBaronAircraftProfile .....................................................................87
Figure106UsingtheFindFunctiontoLocateanAirport..................................................88
Figure107RightClickDropdownStartFlightPlan..........................................................88
Figure108FindOptionsDropdownList ............................................................................89
Figure109RightclickDropdownAddWaypointtoPlan ...............................................89
Figure110InsertIntermediateWaypoint .........................................................................90
Figure111MoveyourAircraft,butnottotheActive!......................................................91
Figure112TheCompletedFlightPlanSoFar..................................................................91
Figure113AddingaWaypointtothePlanTable ..............................................................93
Figure114InsertingPassingAltitudesinaPlanTable ......................................................93
Figure115PassingAltitudesinthePlanElevationWindow .............................................94
Figure116FlightPlanWaypointDropdownOptions ........................................................95
Figure117PositionfixfromtwoVORs ..............................................................................96
Figure118SetWaypointCrossReferences .......................................................................96
Figure119WaypointCrossReferencesDialogue..............................................................96
Figure120TheWrongCAM! .............................................................................................97
Figure121TheQuickSnippetDialogue.............................................................................98
Figure122EntryTextFormatErrorAlert ..........................................................................98
Figure123PartofaDirectRoutePophamtoPerranporth...............................................98
Figure124TheModifiedRouteviaHenstridgeandDunkeswell ......................................98
Figure125InsertingaWaypoint........................................................................................99
Figure126VerticalNavigationProfileDiagram...............................................................101
Figure127TheUserWaypointDatabase ........................................................................102
Figure128UserWaypointDropdown ............................................................................. 102
Figure129CreateUserWaypointDialogue ....................................................................103
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Figure130UserWaypointCreated .................................................................................103
Figure132UserWaypointAddedtoDatabase ...............................................................104
Figure133AddUserWaypointtoFlightPlan..................................................................104
Figure134CarlisletoLiverpoolTheRoute ...................................................................106
Figure135OvertheLakelandHills ..................................................................................108
Figure136SellafieldandEskmealsDontGoThereAreas...........................................109
Figure137ControlledAirspacearoundLiverpool ...........................................................111
Figure138SeaforthVRPDeletedfromthePlan .............................................................112
Figure139InstrumentApproachProcedure ...................................................................112
Figure140TheTracktotheSelectedAlternateAirport..................................................114
Figure141TheCompletedPlan.......................................................................................114
Figure142ForneyAircoupeGARHCOverDerwentwaterinFSX ...................................115
Figure143HeadingtowardsDerwentwaterinXPlane9 ...............................................116
Figure144ThePrepar3DScenarioScreen ......................................................................117
Figure145ConnectedtoFS:lotsofvaluabledataaboutyourflight ............................120
Figure146PutthefileXPUIPC.xplinXPlane\Resources\Plugins...................................122
Figure147File/OptionsFSConnectionTabforFS9 ........................................................123
Figure148ConnectedtoFS9 ...........................................................................................123
Figure149SimConnectSettingsforaSinglePCUsingPipe ............................................124
Figure150SimConnectSettingsforaSinglePCUsingIPv4.............................................125
Figure151SimConnectSettingsforaSinglePCUsingIPv6.............................................125
Figure152ConnectedtoFSXwithSimConnect ..............................................................125
Figure153XPUIPCisusedwithXPlane ..........................................................................127
Figure154ConnectedtoXPlanewithXPUIPC ...............................................................128
Figure155ConnectedtoFS9 ...........................................................................................130
Figure156ASimConnectConfigurationforIPv4withWindowsXP ...............................134
Figure157ASimConnectConfigurationforIPv6withWindows7 .................................135
Figure158ConnectedtoFSX ...........................................................................................135
Figure159FSXConnectedviaFSUIPC ............................................................................. 137
Figure160PutthefileXPUIPC.xplinXPlane\Resources\Plugins...................................139
Figure161CommandPromptWindow ...........................................................................139
Figure162EditingXPWideClient.ini ................................................................................140
Figure163XPUIPCisusedwithXPlane ..........................................................................140
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Figure164XPWideClientDesktopShortcutonPlanGPC ..............................................140
Figure165XPUIPCRunning .............................................................................................141
Figure166XPUIPCConnected .........................................................................................141
Figure167ConnectedtoXPlanewithXPUIPC ...............................................................141
21.2
Appendix 2 Support
Please go to http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/forum
EmailContact
tim@tasoftware.co.uk
21.3
Appendix 3 Acknowledgements
ManypeoplehavecontributedtotestingPlanG,buttheonesbelowdeserveaspecial
mentionfortheverysignificantcontributiontheyhavemadeoveralongperiod.
AdamMicheals
JeffSchallenberg
AlexFeldstein
JoeMorrison
Andrew Godden
JohnLygo
bman(Benjamin),
KeithDangerfield
ClaudeBouissiere
KenAlger
CristianoTagliabue
KenPratt
DaveBelsey
NormanDean
DonFraser
PaulDonnelly,
Edge,
PeteAllnutt
Fenric
PeterDodds
FrankTurley
Roddymod
GaryShaw
RuthMcTighe
GeoffCooper
ThomasHawk
GeoffreyShipton
TomEarl
GlenCoyne
VicBaron
JohnFail
ServInfo Files:
MythankstoMichaelFrantzeskakis,theauthorofServInfo,forpermissiontoinclude
certainfileswithPlanG.
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Localisation
Atthetimeofwriting,PlanGhasbeenlocalisedintoFrench,GermanandItalian.We
wouldliketoextendourthankstothefollowingpeoplefortheirtranslationexpertise.
MarcBerthomeux
RejeanEssiambre
JrgDannenberg
CristianoTagliabue
IfyouhavethenecessarylinguisticskillsandwouldliketohelptranslatePlanGinto
otherlanguages,pleasegetintouchviatheforum.
This Manual
Ourthanksarealsogratefullyextendedto:
PeterAllnutt,
MarkBrown,
VicBaron
FrankFisher,
DennisHardy
JimOates
forassistancewiththosesectionsofthisManualwhichdealwiththeinterfaceofPlan
GwithXPlaneandPrepar3D.
DocumentEnds
Pagenumberingandlayouthasbeendesignedtopermitthismanualtobeprinted
eithersinglesidedordoublesided.
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Plan-G User Manual Version 3.1.1 July 2014

Plan G User Manual

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13.2.5 Charts ...................................................................................................79

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14.3.3 Insert,MoveorDeleteWaypoint ........................................................95

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Features Retained from Version 2

New Features in Version 3

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Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8

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Figure 1 The Plan-G User Interface at First Startup

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Adding New Scenery

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Figure 2 Database Build Options

Networked PCs -MSFS or Prepar3D

Networked PCs X-Plane

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HAVE A LOOK AROUND

Figure 3 The Menu Ribbon for the Map Tab

Figure 4 Menu Ribbon Scroll Bars

The Quick Access Toolbar

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Figure 5 Quick Access Toolbar

Figure 6 The Customise Quick Access Toolbar Dropdown

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The Ribbon Menu Tabs

Figure 7 The Menu Tabs

The Main Window