Flying with an FMC

[3 Wire]

Any of you guys routinely fly with an FMC and flight planner...??

I would like to hear what you guys are using and compare notes.

[mm007.emko]

Yes.

I use Plan-G as a flight planner/moving map for VFR flights. I often fly around Alaska where IFR means "I Fly over Rivers". Unlike X-Plane this game doesn't have good GPS updateable with Navigraph data. So I didn't bother to buy an add-on GPS. (If you want add-on GPS which you can "mount" to any aircraft including 3D cockpits, check Flight1 GNS530 or GTN750 or Mindstar GNS ... if you don't mind that the Flight1 uses real-world Garmin data which are expensive to come by (if you don't have a friend pilot who lets you to use their one-cycle-old data) and the Mindstar one you have to buy another set of data).

As FMC I use iFMS (http://www.ifms-fs.com/). Really cheap and capable Boeing-style FMC for phones (and tablets) updateable from Navigraph. This is good if you want to fly RNAV IFR, your aircraft doesn't have good FMC or GPS. You can do anything with that including going to arbitrary coordinates or holding. Some functionality is missing or is simplified, though.

[3 Wire]

I'm using something similar to your iFMS, it's called Easy FMC. It comes in 3 versions, one for FSX SE, one for P3D, and a "mobile" version for FSX SE that runs on an iPad or Android device. I use the standard Garmin GPS 500 for a moving map display. I generate my flightplans with an online utility called "Online Flight Planner" that I found at VATSIM. It has it's limitations but it's very simple to use and it outputs standard .PLN files that can be quickly and easily edited to add or delete waypoints, and the files can be used in both FSX SE and P3D. The non-mobile versions of Easy FMC use a "panel updater" utility that essentially adds an FMC gauge to the panel.cfg of the aircraft you choose. It then opens in popup window or is accessible thru the "views" drop down menu within the simulator. It comes in two flavors, Airbus style and Boing style. It's amazingly simple to use but not lacking in features, and it will fly the route in your flightplan very precisely.

http://emarciano.free.fr/En/EasyFMC.htm

[mm007.emko]

I checked Easy FMC. It uses the default nav database which I don't like.

Do you know SimBrief? Good tool for generating flight briefings incl. fuel planning.

[3 Wire]

I wasn't aware of SimBrief but I'll have to check it out, thanks for the tip.

I like Easy FMC for two reasons, it's simple to use and flies the route you specify extremely accurately.

Many, if not most of the payware and freeware aircraft I use come with some kind of FMC already installed. The problem with that is then you have to sort of "re-invent the wheel" by learning the procedures for using numerous different FMC's. A single FMC like the one you're using or EasyFMC solves that issue very effectively.


I mainly use the FMC to get me on the glideslope and localizer for the ILS runway I've loaded from the flightplan. Then I just switch it off and either hand fly the short final or let the autopilot approach mode get me to around minimums before disengaging the autopilot and landing manually. I've haven't had great success using autoland and autothrottle, I can't seem to get the landing ROD down to a realistic (ie. "real world") level, but it's something I want to continue to explore.

[cretedog]

The FMC on all my Carenado aircraft does not load data. This just happened over the last day or so? I dont know what the problem is but all the other aircraft's FMC's work fine?

[[57th] AngryHatter]

Zombie post
Universal Flight Management Computer (FMC) for FSX/P3D