2.2 Create and edit a flight plan

Create a flight plan

Android Apple Web

From the flight plan index, select New Plan in the top-right corner.

Android and Apple

Android and Apple

New Plan

Android

In En Route, select the map to open Nearest Items, then select New Plan at the end of the menu.

INFO

This is the available method in Essentials mode.

New Plan using Nearest Items

Apple

You can also:

• open Planning > New Flight Plan; or
• select the map in En Route, choose the starting waypoint from Nearest Items, then select New Plan at the end of its details.

New Plan from waypoint details

After defining the route, use the flight plan view to set altitudes and flight rules.

Web

Use the plan editor to configure aircraft, performance, flight rules, route, ETD, and plan notes.

Start a New Plan

1. Open Planning.
2. Press New.
3. Select an Aircraft.
4. Choose a Performance Profile if the field is shown.
5. Set Flight Rules.
6. Enter the route.
7. Set ETD.

Aircraft

• Aircraft selects the aircraft profile for the plan.
• Performance Profile selects the performance profile when profiles are available.
• If no aircraft are available, use aircraft setup before completing the plan.

Flight Rules

• Use Flight Rules to choose VFR or IFR.
• The route input adapts to the selected rules.
• For IFR plans, route suggestions may be available when route endpoints can be resolved.

Route

1. Enter the departure, route waypoints, airways, and destination in the route field.
2. Press Enter or select a suggestion to apply the route.
3. Check that the route resolves into the correct waypoint sequence.

ETD

• Type ETD using DDHHMM or HHMM.
• Use the date/time picker when you need to select the date and time manually.
• Use Now + 1h to quickly set a departure time one hour from now.

Saving and syncing

• The editor can show these status tags:
  • Loading... means AvPlan is retrieving the selected plan from AvPlan Cloud.
  • Draft means the plan has not been saved to AvPlan Cloud. Select the tag to recalculate and save the plan now.
  • Pending means changes are waiting to be recalculated. Select the tag to recalculate now.
  • Recalculating means AvPlan is saving the plan to AvPlan Cloud and updating calculated values.
  • Synced means the latest saved plan is available to linked devices. It does not confirm that a device has downloaded or imported it.
• When the latest saved plan is not available to linked devices, no device-status tag is shown in the editor. Use Sync to publish a plan for the first time.
• AvPlan recalculates regularly because some plan values are calculated by AvPlan Cloud. It sends the latest route, aircraft, fuel, loading, and timing details to Cloud, then applies the calculated fields returned to the plan.
• Saving a plan in AvPlan Web and publishing it to other devices are separate. A new plan remains unpublished until you select Sync for the first time. Later updates do not require a manual sync action.
• After a plan has been published, device updates follow Pause device sync while editing under Settings > Preferences > Planning:
  • When Disabled (the default), AvPlan batches later saved changes and makes them available to linked devices after 10 seconds without another edit. Leaving the plan editor also sends any remaining changes.
  • When Enabled, AvPlan holds later device updates while the plan editor is open and sends them when you leave or close the editor. Synced remains hidden while an update is held.

See Reduce device update prompts while editing for preference details.

INFO

Moving between plans, back to Flight Plans or to another area of AvPlan Web first attempts to recalculate, save and send the latest changes without showing a separate AvPlan confirmation. If the save cannot complete, AvPlan keeps the current plan open so its unsaved changes are not discarded. If you close or reload the browser tab while changes are still pending, the browser displays its standard leave-site warning and still attempts a best-effort final update if you continue. For the most reliable result, stay until Draft, Pending or Recalculating is no longer shown. Always confirm the latest plan details before filing.

Adding route waypoints to a flight plan

Android Apple

Add waypoints to a flight plan

Android

Option 1:

Via the Quick Plan Entry field.

Quick Plan Entry field

Option 2:

Via the Nearest Items dialogue on the EnRoute page.

Nearest items menu

Tap the Screenshot for 5.2.2. Adding waypoints to flight plan to the right of your desired waypoint to quickly add it to your plan.

If you tap on the row of the waypoint, rather than the quick add icon, select Insert from the Waypoint Details menu.

NOTE: Essentials subscribers will need to use this method.

Option 3:

Via ‘rubber banding’ the track line.

If you already have two or more waypoints in your plan:

• Press and hold on the track line in between the two waypoints. After two seconds, a blue halo will appear around your finger.
• Drag the blue halo across the map, near the place you’d like to add to the plan and release your finger.
• The Nearest Items menu will appear.
• Tap the blue plus icon Screenshot for 5.2.2. Adding waypoints to flight plan next to your desired waypoint.

The waypoint will then be added in the correct order within the flight plan.

Option 4:

(feature coming soon)

Tap the Screenshot for 5.2.2. Adding waypoints to flight plan button at the top of the flight plan. This opens the search window to add a single new waypoint to the plan. You can search for a waypoint identifier or a place name.

To manually add a new track point/waypoint to the plan:

1. Either:
   1. Enter the Waypoint Identifier and results will automatically appear, or
   2. Enter the full or partial name and press Search.
2. Tap the desired waypoint’s row to add it to the plan.
3. The Primary/Alternate/Direct To selection changes whether the waypoint added is a primary tracking point or part of the track to the alternate aerodrome. Direct To enables direct tracking to that point.

To dismiss the Add Leg view without adding a track point: • Press Dismiss.

Apple

There are several different ways that a waypoint can be added to the route in a flight plan. There is no hierarchy of importance- all methods are equivalent.

Option 1: The Add button

Tap the Screenshot for 5.3.1. Adding route waypoints to a flight plan button at the top of the flight plan. This opens the search window to add a single new waypoint to the plan. You can search for a waypoint identifier, or a place name.

To manually add a new tracking point/waypoint to the plan:

1. Either:
   1. Enter the Waypoint Identifier and results will automatically appear, or
   2. Enter the full or partial name and press Search.
2. Tap the desired waypoint’s row to add it to the plan.
3. The Primary/Alternate/Direct To selection changes whether the waypoint added is a primary tracking point, or part of the track to the alternate aerodrome. Direct To enables direct tracking to that point.

To dismiss the Add Leg view without adding a track point: • Press Dismiss.

Option 2: Nearest Items

Via the Nearest Items dialogue on the EnRoute page. (Just tap on the map!)

Nearest Items

Then tap on the + button next to the desired waypoint. This will add the waypoint to the plan (at the end).

Option 3: Quick Plan Entry

Quick plan entry field

To quickly enter flight plan waypoints, tap within the Quick plan entry field (aka the route box) and type the waypoint identifiers in order with a space between each. When finished, tap return on the keyboard and your waypoints will be entered into the flight plan below. Air routes can also be included in the plan.

For example:

Identifiers

YMMB YTYA YTDN YLTV YMMB Or

Identifiers with Routes

YWGT WGT W696 ELW W188 MB YMMB

You can also incorporate Lat/Long or Bearing/Distance entries directly into the route box by using the Lat/Loing format below:

3805S14540E

Or

Points defined as a distance and bearing from a waypoint

For example;

YMMB YMMB10020 (where this flight plan departs from YMMB, then moves to 100º magnetic at 20 miles).

Inserting a User Waypoint

• If waypoints are already entered in your flight plan, then typing additional waypoints in the appropriate position in the Quick plan entry field will add them to the plan.
• If you want to put a User Waypoint into a route and that User Waypoint has a space or spaces in its name, then you must enclose the User Waypoint name in quotes like this: “MY WPT NAME”.

Option 4: Rubber-Banding a route segment

To insert a waypoint along an existing route segment that is displayed on an Enroute page, simply tap and hold on the route segment until a pale blue circle appears, then drag the point as close as you can to where you wish the new waypoint to be and “drop” it. The nearest items dialogue will appear. Tapping on the add button next to the waypoint that you wish to add will put it into the plan.

Passing Abeam a Point

Apple

If you wish to track directly towards your distant destination while still having timing points along the route, it is possible to set up User Waypoints along the way. However, this could be a time consuming process. Another useful technique is to use large, easily visible features abeam the track for timing purposes while maintaining a straight-through track for flight.

For example, consider this simple VFR flight plan:

Apple

Apple

Note the Summary tells us that it is 225 NM, travelling via those turning points.

Now, try this:

Apple

Apple

Repeat the above procedure for any intermediate waypoints as appropriate. Which will give us this result:

Apple

Apple

Note that the overall distance has been reduced to 215 NM, but you still use those points as references whilst flying our plan.

Any Abeam waypoints will be noted by (Abeam) appearing in the waypoint name field within the flight log, and on the map an ‘A’ will appear in the waypoint label before the identifier code.

You can submit the plan with these type of waypoints. When submitting the plan, the Abeam waypoints will automatically be sent in a format that will be understood by your local air traffic authority (for example, distance and bearing from the original waypoint).

To undo a waypoint that has been set to Pass Abeam, tap and hold its line in the flight log. Then select the option Overfly. The original waypoint now appears in the same menu position that Pass Abeam held previously.

Clearing a Plan for ReUse (Quick method)

Apple

Clearing a flight plan for re-use

If you’ve re-opened a flight plan that has been previously flown and you wish to use the same plan again, it will need to be cleared for re-use. There is a quick way of doing this:

Apple

Apple

Clear Plan options

1. Tap within the ETD (Estimated Time of Departure) field of the first stage.
2. Type in your new departure date/time. Tap the Return key.
3. The Clear Plan popup will appear. Select or Deselect the options depending on what you wish to clear. (This choice is remembered as a default for next time)
4. Tap Clear. The new time you typed in will be entered in the ETD field, the app will perform a recalculation of expected times using the predicted winds.

INFO

The Clear Plan prompt is only displayed when the plan has actual times recorded and you are updating the ETD for the first leg of the flight. AvPlan checks to see if the plan has been activated/flown. If it has not, then there will not be a prompt.

However, you can force the prompt to display if you tap the Departure (or Next) button in the top button bar first and then change the ETD. The Departure/Next button action writes the current time to the departure waypoint ATA/ATD field. This is enough to trigger the “Clear Plan” prompt when you update the ETD.

INFO

The Clear Plan prompt will only appear for the first stage of a plan. It will not appear when changing the ETD on subsequent stages.

Deleting waypoints from a plan

Android

Option 1: Via the flight log

• Tap and hold on the waypoint in the flight log you wish to delete. Make sure you are tapping and holding anywhere other than the green shaded cells.
• From the Leg Settings menu, tap the Delete option.

Android

Android

Option 2: Via the Nearest Items

• On the EnRoute tab, tap directly on the waypoint you wish to delete.
• From the Waypoint Details menu, tap the Delete button in the top-right corner.

Android

Android

Waypoint details menu

Option 3: Via the Quick Plan Entry field

• Tap in the Quick Plan Entry field to bring up the text edit cursor
• Drag the cursor to the end of the waypoint’s identifier
• Use the delete key on the keyboard to remove the identifier’s letters
• Tap the Return key

Android

Android

Quick Plan Entry field