I'm still working out the details for my big X/C flight this summer - Seattle to DC in a Maule MX7-180C. I have a rough itenerary, but have had a dickens of a time with the new flight planner AOPA put up. FlyQ is a pain in the rear in my opinion. It is slow and poorly designed. I've also tried flight plan .com (http://www.fltplan.com) but it won't let me put all of my waypoints on a single map. I'll have daily flight plans, but I also want an overview of the whole flight. What web based flight planning software is everybody else using?

By the way, here is my planned route of flight. I know I am violating all that is holy by skipping Idaho on this trip, but my wife isn't into the back country - yet... My planned route takes us under the Sierras and the Rockies, but allows stops at the Oregon Coast, NAPA Valley, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, and Santa Fe. East of NM, I don't have any must see stops yet. Any thoughts?

Sky vector.com

Southern Colorado is a pretty ride. Durango is a nice area to stop...lots to see and do even if for just the day, and you don't need to go very high to cruise on through and see some great mountains. The route down south you plotted is mighty lonely by comparison (Clovis is just not all that exciting). It's pretty in its own way, but not much variety (Santa Fe excepted). If you get a chance to stay at Grand Canyon, you can get a lift from the airport and the lodges on the rim are not really all that super expensive. The hikes are unforgettable, even if for just a day.

Have fun!

We have friends to visit in Santa Fe, hence the stop there. Taos and Raton can be interesting, but the mountains around them are just too stinking high. You're right, eastern New Mexico can be pretty empty. Still scratching my head about that portion of the trip.

Hafast wrote:http://skyvector.com/

What they said...

I plan trips on skyvector just to see what they would be like. I plan them to Asia, Europe, the rest of Alaska. I was running numbers to see if I could get to Hawaii by finding a route that allowed me enough legs with a 30% overload on fuel...

As you might guess, I probably won't fly most of those trips. Don't even want to really...but it is fun to plan and nothing is quicker for a look-see than skyvector.

I use fltplan.com to file and brief, but skyvector for scoping out options.

I miss NavMonster.com I use skyvector for the route and NOAA for the weather. Although I keep experimenting with other programs. Nothing else has stuck yet.

CW

clippwagon wrote:I miss NavMonster.com I use skyvector for the route and NOAA for the weather. Although I keep experimenting with other programs. Nothing else has stuck yet.

CW

That's because FlightPrep threatens to sue anyone who builds similar functionality into a web app claiming patent infringement. Skyvector allegedly pays some licensing fee to them for the privilege. It's bullshit.

Zzz wrote:

clippwagon wrote:I miss NavMonster.com I use skyvector for the route and NOAA for the weather. Although I keep experimenting with other programs. Nothing else has stuck yet.

CW

That's because FlightPrep threatens to sue anyone who builds similar functionality into a web app claiming patent infringement. Skyvector allegedly pays some licensing fee to them for the privilege. It's bullshit.

Agreed. And with all due respect (which is not a lot), FlightPrep's program sucks! The whole thing's a shame.

Z, you should develope one for us We'll stand behind you! Promise!

CW

Flyhound wrote:Taos and Raton can be interesting, but the mountains around them are just too stinking high.

La Veta Pass between Trinidad and Alamosa is low and really shows off a few 14ers along the way. Wolf Creek or Cumbres west of there are also pretty low (10k or so), and the country north and west of around Wolf creek in particular is some of the best scenery that Colorado has to offer. S. Fe is a milk run to the south of Alamosa. There is a really nice developed fly-in hot spring just north of Alamosa (http://www.sanddunespool.com) popular with the BCP crowd.

Have fun...

If you are going to MPI(Mariposa), airport closest to Yosemite, you might want to stop by O22(Columbia) about 20 minutes north of Mariposa. I used to fly there from LA and many people go there for weekend getaways. Also lived in the area for almost a decade.

Many airplane campers there on their old crosswind grass/gravel runway. Great area to get a taste of the Goldrush era.There's a old mining/ghost town, Columbia, which is within walking distance and is kept up as a State Park with an old main street and many shops(saloon, candystore, blacksmith, general store). old Wells Fargo Bank. Go on a stagecoach ride. Pan for gold. Rent a car and check out Sonora and Jamestown. Jamestown was/is a railroad town. Many movies/TV programs filmed there using the train/train station: High Noon, Little House on the Prairie, Petticoat Junction, etc. Train rides are offered daily in summer.Check out Calaveras Big Trees State Park- giant Sequoias.

Sure miss that area.

Napa Valley--- You will break your piggy bank and spend all your loot to stay there. Not worth it, just a tourist trap designed to separate your money from your wallet. Pretty much now just a bunch of wannabe pretentious "Cali life style" people that bought their way in and now looking for a way to have you pay for it. I grew up and lived there for over 40 years. A better choice if you want to do the "wine tasting deal" would be central Oregon wine country south of Portland and Salem area which would tie into the coast as well. Just a hop, skip and a jump over the hill to the coast. The Oregon coast out towards Tillamook Cape Lookout and south is real nice. Great fresh fish dinners in Newport, a nice little harbor town. Shakespeare plays in Ashland during the summer months are preformed in an outdoor Elizabethan theatre. My wife and daughter always love seeing a play or two while we are there. The Rouge river offers great white water rafting, swimming and fishing as well. Stop in at the Merlin County Airport, Grants Pass which is the home of Chief Aircraft and spend your loot you saved by overflying the Napa/Sonoma area. I load the Skywagon up every fall and head on over for a week or two to the coast myself.-just my 2cents, your mileage may vary.......

Checked out Skyvector, is there a way to scroll around the map and a way to print the map with highlighted route. I tried the print function, it came back as disabled. Is a subscription required, I didn't see anything about that when I went to the link?

sburg58 wrote:Checked out Skyvector, is there a way to scroll around the map and a way to print the map with highlighted route. I tried the print function, it came back as disabled. Is a subscription required, I didn't see anything about that when I went to the link?

SkyVector had the Print function enabled before the FlightPrep deal happened; since then it's been disabled. Maybe it's part of the licensing agreement that SkyVector cannot have folks print what they see on the monitor... in any case it's a sad deal.

sburg58 wrote:Checked out Skyvector, is there a way to scroll around the map and a way to print the map with highlighted route. I tried the print function, it came back as disabled. Is a subscription required, I didn't see anything about that when I went to the link?

Yes, you should be able to scroll around the map.

Yes, you should be able to print sections of the map (or you could in the past).

No, a subscription is not required to do this.

CW

I've been using the subscription service at enflight.com for several years now and quite like it.

If you liked NavMonster try
http://www.weathermeister.com/free/
it has about the same information that NavMonster had but is laid out different, 2 week free trial