java

java

Well Known Member
Now that I've got a flying plane, and am "stretching my legs" and wanting to go places, and after reading a lot of the debate around runwayfinder.com et al, I find myself searching for a good online flight planning tool. There seems to be several choices, but often there are limited services North of the 49th parallel.

Any Canadians (or American friends who fly North at times) out there who have found a good flight planning tool that works well up here?
 
Foreflight for ipad and iphone work well, Weathermeister is a good program and I am just checking out iflightplanner and it looks promising. They do not have all the Canadian data yet but they are working towards that goal.
 
Flight planner

Jeppesen's Flight Star works real well.
If you join AOPA they have an on-line flight planner that also works well.
 
I use an app called CoPilot, by Laurie Davis. I now have an iPhone version, but the program started out on Palm organizers and is still used there by some. If you have an old Palm sitting around, it might be a good place to start.

For the iPhone/iTouch version, airport databases are available that cover Canada. Once you buy the program, the data updates are free. And with the latest version, weather and wind info is downloaded automatically for each flight from the 'net.
 
A legal "gotcha"

Whatever tool you choose, if you are flying in Canadian airspace you need to have Canadian charts and Canadian facility directory, plus some additional record-keeping requirements that we Yanks don't have. At least this is what I was told when I was flying in and out of Canada on a regular basis.

Around here (Detroit) the sectional covers Canada. In fact, most of the Canadian airspace around here is controlled by Cleveland Center (up to where London Center takes it). Even so, you need Canadian charts to be legal. I never bothered.
 
hevansrv7a said:
Whatever tool you choose, if you are flying in Canadian airspace you need to have Canadian charts and Canadian facility directory, plus some additional record-keeping requirements that we Yanks don't have. At least this is what I was told when I was flying in and out of Canada on a regular basis.
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This is incorrect. The CARs only require that a pilot be aware of all information necessary for his/her flight. They do not require that you have all of the papers with you. You can legally fly with an expired CFS, expired GPS data, no charts, etc. As long as you know that the information you have is correct, or you know what's changed between your copy and what's current.

Oddly enough, I thought that in the US it was a requirement that you have on board the aircraft all of the current charts you need for your flight. Is that not the case?
 
Correct, sort of

Snowflake said:
This is incorrect. The CARs only require that a pilot be aware of all information necessary for his/her flight. They do not require that you have all of the papers with you. You can legally fly with an expired CFS, expired GPS data, no charts, etc. As long as you know that the information you have is correct, or you know what's changed between your copy and what's current.

Oddly enough, I thought that in the US it was a requirement that you have on board the aircraft all of the current charts you need for your flight. Is that not the case?
Click to expand...

Both countries, to my best information, have the technical "out" that if you "know" the information you are OK. I don't know if they do ramp checks in Canada, but I would not want to "prove" that I "know" all the relevant information for an intended flight. So, legal, yes, but can you defend it if you are challenged? That would be a good question.
 
hevansrv7a said:
Can you defend it if you are challenged? That would be a good question.
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For local flights around my home airport, I wouldn't have any problems defending not carrying charts. I know the airspace in my GPS matches the current airspace in my area (even though the GPS database in general is not current). My charts and Flight Supplement aren't current either, but I know what's changed that affects me, and that's what matters.

If I were travelling, i'd buy current charts and update the GPS database. I would want the GPS current as a primary reference, and the charts both as a backup and as a planning aid.
 
Canada data

I have heard that Voyager and WingX both have Canadian data. Not the printing sectionals like Foreflight but digital maps and airport data.
 
Duat Voyager

I downloaded the free version of Duat Voyager the other day, and it has CDN information and CDN weather. Those of us without a US pilot license need to contact their support line to get an access code to do the download.
 
Snowflake said:
...Oddly enough, I thought that in the US it was a requirement that you have on board the aircraft all of the current charts you need for your flight. Is that not the case?
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It is my understanding that you can be busted for having an out of date chart in the plane, even if you are not using it.

Some time back AOPA had a story about a charter jet pilot who was busted for having expired VFR charts on the plane even though the plane only flew IFR and had all the current charts on board. He would have been fine, if he didn't have the charts on board at all.
 
N941WR said:
It is my understanding that you can be busted for having an out of date chart in the plane, even if you are not using it.

Some time back AOPA had a story about a charter jet pilot who was busted for having expired VFR charts on the plane even though the plane only flew IFR and had all the current charts on board. He would have been fine, if he didn't have the charts on board at all.
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If the charter pilot was a "Large and Turbine-Powered Multiengine Airplanes and Fractional Ownership Program Aircraft "

He was probably violating this FAR

http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-503-FAR.shtml

...not applicable to us....:)

-- and I just noticed, that's where the "2 D-cells flashlight" is quoted...:)
 
Ramp checks etc.

I often fly on a 'flight notification' which consists of little more than telling my wife that I'll call her when I take off, and when I land at my expected destination. ditto on the return. For flights up and down our valley, the next airfield is about 30 miles; which is over the 25 miles that are specified in some CAR. Do I really need to be doing a flight plan or formal itinerary for these flights to be legal?

I've not had the 'pleasure' of a ramp check, and I'm sure I'd be written up for something. The other thing is; it seems that a LOT of mechanics, CFI's and Transport Canada types demand some kind of information, standard, or document, and it is up to us to educate them on whether in fact, this is needed for VFR ops, or amateur-built aircraft.
I guess that's the price of the freedom we operate under; constantly having to assert it!
 
25 miles

It's always good practise to file a flight plan or Itinerary even if your flight is within the 25 miles. Even local flights, 25 miles is a long ways in the mountains. I don't usually bother on local flights but probably should. If you ever have to land "off airport" it's nice if there is someone out there that cares and will come find you. I carry a "Spot 2" as added SAR equipment.
Technically if you do a T&G at an airport that's within 25 miles of your departure airport, this becomes your new departure airport and can buy you another 25 miles...Still a great idea to file a flight plan and use flight following if available.
 
flyboy1963 said:
I often fly on a 'flight notification' which consists of little more than telling my wife that I'll call her when I take off, and when I land at my expected destination. ditto on the return. For flights up and down our valley, the next airfield is about 30 miles; which is over the 25 miles that are specified in some CAR. Do I really need to be doing a flight plan or formal itinerary for these flights to be legal?
Click to expand...
The CARs just say that you must file the flight itinerary with a "responsible person". The AIM qualifies that a bit more by saying that the responsible person must agree to notify ATC or a Rescue Coordination Centre if you are overdue. So, filling the info with your wife is fine.
 
Recently most of my flying has been with a group of planes, either in formation or just flying separately but in the same general direction. For those flights we've used each other as flight following... There's nothing in the CARs that says your "responsible person" can't be flying on your wing.
 
the ultimate wingman?

...ok Rob, that's great...if you have your own squadron! :)

I'll have to hope that my 'wingman' does the right thing if I throw a rod over the Cascades one day!:rolleyes:

but as noted, I'd better leave more info with my wife, (on the fridge?) such as all the right phone numbers to call, and/or send a text message with how much fuel I have etc. to ensure the flight info package is complete.
 
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