flight planning

7 posts / 0 new

Sat, 02/27/2010 - 05:53

fmasino

flight planning

what happened ? use to be a great site; easy to use , very direct. but like most computer geeks you must think more is better. now I get crap I can't explain and yout "tutorial" sucks. Ex: I want to plan a course that includes a return to my original departure airport. but since the pink (nice color choice btw) course line already exists there, i can't get the drop down menu to "plan" again that geographical location. also when the page opens up the wx overlay is already depicted even tho the box doesnt contain a check mark requesting it. finally- whenever mu cursor movesover any image/symbol the small drop down microsoft window option appears for printing, saving, etc. I used to send all my students here but you guys can screw up a wet dream, Less is more fellas.

Sat, 02/27/2010 - 13:50

Dave

Upgrade your browser

Almost every annoyance you describe here are known IE6-only glitches. (Checking, then un-checking the weather control will remove the icons.) Adding the same waypoint to your flight plan a second time is a bit tricky, becuase, as you describe, a right-click on that spot opens up a "modify point" dialog instead of an "add point" dialog. You can use the text-entry mode of entering a waypoint, or you can create the waypoint as a 'GPS' fix nearby, then drag that point to the desired point, and click plan on the desired object. I realize that you are probably sick of people telling you to stop using IE6. Perhaps as a compromise you could install a second browser in your machine, I would suggest Firefox or Chrome, which you can use alongside IE6. You don't have to change your "default browser", but soon you will want to. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html http://www.google.com/chrome

Mon, 03/01/2010 - 14:10

DorianJ

fmasino: I hope this isn't

fmasino: I hope this isn't that way you talk to and berate your students! A few words of constructive criticism will always work, but to lash out and insult the site programmer(s) like you did makes you out to look like a real jerk. The service provided here is FREE. Now, let me share with you a favorite quote of mine: "Beggars can't be choosers." If you don't like this FREE service, then go pay for a subscription elsewhere and take your demeaning attitude with you. And one last thing -- update your browser. I've been using this site without incident since October. Don't blame the programmer when fault of all your issues is sitting in front of your computer. That being said, I think it would be a great idea for the site admin to add a new section to the forums to allow users to make improvement suggestions. I know I have a few, but I certainly won't convey them the way fmasino did.

www.wittmantailwind.com

Thu, 03/11/2010 - 00:59

mikeywhite

Flight Planning

I know that SkyVector isn't "For Flight Planning", but, it sure is a great tool! Saturday, I decided to make a 105NM VFR flight on Sunday. Having discovered that I left my current sectional in my hangar, I planned via SkyVector, did a screen print of the chart, pasted it into Paint, cropped & printed it. I took this to the airport Sunday & made the flight with the SkyVector printout suplimenting my sectional. I think I'm legal. What do CFIs think? Of course, I had a briefing from Flight Service before I departed. Great Flight!

Mike

Thu, 03/11/2010 - 13:04

(Reply to #4) #5

Dave

Printing

Did you miss the "print" button? BTW, the regs say nothing about flying with charts for VFR. See this comment for more on this subject: http://skyvector.com/content/new-sky-vector#comment-642 For VFR flight the rules are really quite relaxed. You don't "Have" to study the charts. If you were to, say, violate controlled airspace, then things would get interesting. Hypothetically speaking, if you had studied an FAA chart on SkyVector, and there was something about the chart that was misleading, confusing, or otherwise excusing your bad behavior, the inspectors aren't going to hear it. But if you had studied the same chart on official FAA paper, you may be able to save your ticket. If something actually bad happened, like property damanged or someone got injured or killed, you could personally be sued for negligence in preflight planning. Studying the charts on SkyVector is not going to do much for you in a court of law, whereas if you had studied the charts on paper you can face the judge and jury with a much stronger case. Those are my thoughts. I'll finish with a reminder that SkyVector is not an official source of data and should not be used for navigation. -dave

Sat, 03/13/2010 - 23:33

mikeywhite

Flight Planning & Don't use this for Flight Planning

Dave, You are providing an outstanding service! I know you can't satisfy everyone, nor should you. I know pilots want to use SkyVector for flight planning, as I did, but, perhaps, legally shouldn't. Still, you are doing a great service! I didn't miss the Print button, but, if I Screen Print & paste into Paint, or another photo editor, I can crop to exactly the region I want. BTW, that flight was from Richland, WA (KRLD) to Joseph, OR (4S3)) & back. I regard the FAR stipulation that pilots have all information about a flight, or however it's stated, to mean that they should have every pertinent bit of information concerning a flight, but in a court of law, it might be pointed out that they have missed something. Therefore, I carry current sectionals & AFDs for my VFR flights. Thus, I think I was legal with my SkyVector planning, suplimented with my current pubs. I have created my own VFR flight plan form, based on ASA's, for this. I could send you a copy. I still have the 430 portion of my flight plan to complete, which I expect to finish tomorrow. I'd be glad to send you the spreadsheet, tabulating the various flight planning methods, if I had your email address. Thanks, again, mikeywhite@charter.net

Mike

Sun, 03/14/2010 - 09:53

(Reply to #6) #7

Dave

Sounds good

I look forward to your comparison spreadsheet. You can send it to skyvector@gmail.com

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