Five Tips for Planning Your Flight with FltPlan.com
FltPlan.com is the largest flight planning company in North America and offers free, web-based flight planning and filing, plus a full range of premium services. In fact, it’s got so many features that it’s easy to overlook some of your options. Below, we’ve highlighted five of our favorite FltPlan® components, complete with some tips to help you take full advantage.
Expected Departure Clearance Time (EDCT)
Obtaining your EDCT up to 90 minutes before departure can help alleviate headaches for flight crews and passengers alike. FltPlan can help.
EDCTs can be obtained up to 90 minutes before your scheduled departure time. EDCT notices and Planned ATC Routes are a package. If you select that you’d like to receive your Planned ATC Route, we will also send you any EDCT that may be in effect along with your wheels-up time, i.e., your EDCT. If your flight is not flying in an area of EDCTs, then you will not receive any EDCT emails.
To opt in, EDCTs can be found on the Main Menu page under Flight Tracking > ATC Route/EDCT.
We also offer a link on your Active Flight Plan List that will direct you to the FAA’s EDCT website. The FAA website will let you know whether or not your flight will be affected by delays.
Aircraft Performance Customization
FltPlan flight planning service’s customizable Aircraft Performance Page now allows you to switch your fuel units between lbs, gallons and kg with just a click.
Go to Main Menu > Settings > A/C Performance, and select your aircraft. Under the Method 2 heading, look for the “Fuel Units” drop-down menu, and select your desired unit of measurement. The conversion calculations are completed for you automatically.
You can also complete the blanks in the Advanced Fuel Burn section. This is ideal for taking information from your flight manual, POH or QRH, where some of the altitudes are not listed. By clicking the “Fill in Blanks Below” button, any empty fields — such as climb speed, cruise speed, fuel burn, etc. — are filled in. When you save your changes, a warning message will let you know if you have any gaps.
Find Nearby Fuel Stops
Looking for places to stop for fuel? Our Find Fuel Stop feature (under Flight Planning > Find Fuel Stop) can do just that. Select your aircraft, departure and arrival, and the date of flight, and you’ll be able to customize the distance, runway length and fuel type you’re looking for on the search. Once completed, all nearby fuel stops will display along with the runway length, FBO and fuel pricing.
Adding the Operator Name to Your ICAO Format Flight Plan
The FAA requires that Part 135 operators indicate their operator name in Item 18. With FltPlan, it’s a simple one-time process to set up your account to include this information in all your ICAO format flight plans.
To add OPR information to your ICAO data, go to Main Menu > Settings > A/C ICAO Data, and select the A/C. Under Emergency Contact & Aircraft Operator / Owner Info, complete the Operator Name field.
While you’re there, please make sure your emergency contact name and phone number are current. This is the number that FltPlan will call if there is an incident or accident, so please don’t enter your own contact information.
Plan Fuel Loads for the Day at a Glance
Do you fly multiple legs in a single duty and want a quick way to look at needed fuel loads? Minimum fuel required can be quickly viewed from our Flight Listing page. The listing, which also includes fuel burn, displays requirements for both IFR and VFR flights. With Flight Listing, all your routing and flight information can be seen on one page, which can be printed out to bring with you.
The Flight Listing page can be accessed from Main Menu > Flight Planning > Flight Listing.
Going to Oshkosh? Come visit us!
We’re excited to get back to AirVenture Oshkosh and be reunited with our aviation family! Visit Garmin and FltPlan at our exhibit on Celebration Way to demo our latest, greatest products and services. Flying a Garmin equipped airplane? We will be offering up to $100 off select database packages for all your flying needs at Oshkosh this year, and we will have pros on-site at our Database Desk to help you find the best solution for you. The discount applies only to purchases at the show and includes select database regions. See here for more information.
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