AOPA Internet Flight Planner Review
By Patch • Category: Cross-Country, Feature, Popular
Flight schools will have you do all of your flight planning on a paper sectional and hand write your Navigation Log. Once you’ve earned your private pilot certificate, you’ll have a new set of tools you can use to plan your flight. It’s very important you learn how to plan your flights by hand before you move to a computer based system.
The AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) has a great online flight planning tool. You may already be familiar with the AOPA Real Time Flight Planner. If so, you’ll already know your way around the new web-based system. As a matter-of-fact, the webbased program will already have most of your information stored on it.
Great news for all the Mac OS X users, because this new flight planning system is web browser-based, it instantly works on your Mac. Additionally because everything is stored online, you can use this from just about any computer with internet access.
I’ve just spent several hours playing around with this new system and I already like it much better than the old downloadable Real Time Flight Planner. You can now click and drag the map around instead of needing to click on the arrows at the edge of the screen. This was always very frustrating and seemed to take a lot more time than it should have taken.
You can still use your DUATS weather overlays and file your flight plans directly with the FAA from within the system. There are quick links from the airports to the AOPA Airport Directory database. You’ll be able to print out the airport and taxi diagrams in kneeboard format and take them with you.
As you explore the new browser based system, right click on the map to open up several different menu options. In the old system, you could just drag and change your route. With this new system, you’ll have to right click on a waypoint or airport and then “add” it to your route. It’s just as user friendly, but that took a minute for me to figure out.
As you’re learning the new layout and system, make good use of the “mouse over” information. If you don’t know what a button does, just hold your mouse over it and it will pop up with the information you need.
Overall, I highly recommend this new browser based flight planner. It’s convenient, fast and thorough. If you’re not an AOPA member, is a great reason for joining (among many others).
Here’s the link: AOPA Internet Flight Planner
I’d love to have your feedback on the system. Because I don’t get to fly as much as I’d like, I may be overlooking something this desperately needs for you folks putting in 100+ hour months.
Patch is the owner of this site. I originally took my flight instruction with Spokane Airways located at Spokane International Airport (GEG). I passed my checkride in August of 2007. I now live in Florida and fly out of Lantana (KLNA) or North County Airport (F45).
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Here is the missing link:
http://www.aopa.org/aifp/index.cfm
I have just spent a few minutes on it, having never used the older one. ( Mac user ).
Seems nice enough, but whiz-bang graphics aren’t as satisfying to me as the basic text-only flight plan log you get from DUATS. I want details – winds aloft, leg ETE, course/hdg. Maybe there is a way to get that, I’ll keep looking.
I’m a big Fltplan user for IFR stuff but have always liked the older AOPA flightplanner for VFR. Very helpful review. I’ll try out the new version.
Tks
jc
Thanks Sara. Not sure how I missed that link. I’ve added it to the above review.
Do you have to be a member of AOPA to download FLIGHT PLANNER V 1.2.3
@Steve: Yes, you DO need an AOPA membership to use this tool. BUT… You can join for free for 6 months as a student pilot. They’ll also send out their Flight Training magazine to you each month.
Here’s the link
Hi,
I’ve been familiarizing myself with the AOPA Internet Flight Planner. I really like it, but I have a problem.
I cannot delete a user-defined waypoint from the chart once I create it. I can remove it from the flight plan, but when I right click on the “tack” icon to delete it from the chart, the drop-down menu doesn’t have the “delete” feature displayed.
Another thing; It says that there are video tutorials available if you click on the icon at the top-right part of the page.
I dont even have an icon displayed on my screen, so I can’t get the tutorial!
Tell me if any of y’all are having these problems.
Billy
The Search feature in the Flight Planner doesn’t find airports. The dots keep going around for ever. I’ve disabled the Firewall but this did not help. Any ideas?? help!
What an exellent site i am a big fan of flight simulator and info on flight planning just makes it morer real , i am trying to buil a 737 throttle at the moment bu still getting a chance to fly every now and then if you know what i mean.