FlightGear Downloads

• FGComGUI -- the improved and range-extended version.
• Updated fix.dat.gz -- including some key waypoints for KBWI and KSLC which were missing from the version packaged with FlightGear. Replaces the file by the same name in /data/Navaids. (This file may not be as critical now that those locations are no longer hubs.)
• Building Collection for KIND (v1a) -- an add-on package which includes the tower, the new and old terminal buildings, and the FedEx complex at KIND. A readme is included with installation instructions. Further versions will be available at some point which will include a more complete collection of airport structures. (NOTE: verison 1a replaces version 1 which failed to include a placement reference for the FedEx complex.)

FlightGear Configuration Tips

• Disabling AI Traffic -- a quick "How-To" on getting rid of those "non-human-controlled" planes in FlightGear's virtual airspace.
• Enabling Flight Logging -- creating an automatic periodic record of your location, for ease of mid-air restarts in the event of a program crash.
• Easing Frame-Rate Stutter -- adjusting a setting which controls how much simulated time may pass during one frame, useful for reducing autopilot stutter during frame-rate drops.

Nationwide Flight Resources

• AirNav.com -- airport and nav-aid info in concise summary format, links to NACO charts.
• SimRoutes.com -- a site offering automatically-generated flight routes.
• FlightAware.com -- flight tracking, and flight route searches.
• SkyVector.com -- sectional and airway charts online.
• NACO (FAA.gov) -- the "official" airport diagrams and procedures.
• National Weather Service -- current METAR anywhere, by ICAO.

Aircraft Fuel Use Charts

• 737-300
• 737-900ER (NOTE: not currently approved for TGA use.)
• 777-200ER
• CRJ-200
• MD-81

Pre-Built Flight Routes OBSOLETE

Each route has to be built in segments, as there are often different variations of each SID and STAR depending on runway choice, which itself is usually dependent upon surface winds. So obtaining a weather briefing for the departure and arrival airports using the link above will help you figure out which runways you might need. Of course, wind patterns at your destination airport may change enroute, so it is doubly helpful to keep the other variations of your arrival handy in case of a last-minute change.

Where there is a single column, the waypoints listed are part of the flight route. Where there is more than one column, follow the column which corresponds to your departure runway (SID) or intended arrival runway (STAR and IAP). You don't need to use every waypoint in the IAP (the last one or two are probably sufficient); and, once established on the ILS localizer and glideslope, you can disregard the rest of the waypoints, which the ILS path will lead you through anyway.

Please note that there is no current method to import speed restrictions (in parenthesis) or other instructions (in italics) into the Route Manager -- yet another reason pilots may wish to consider keeping these lists handy during their flight.

Many STARs include segments in which Approach is obligated to provide vectors to transition pilots from the STAR path to their approach. In the absence of a controller, the last waypoint in the STAR will be followed by the series of waypoints in the IAP -- and while the angle to the first waypoint might end up being less than ideal as a result, usually by the third one, the runway alignment will be close enough to begin following the ILS. Pilots who wish to deviate from the direct path between STAR and IAP, to "simulate" controller-issued vectors and improve their angle of approach, should feel free to do so. Once established on the ILS it is no longer necessary to use the Route Manager to follow the remaining waypoints in the IAP.

Conversely, keep in mind that flying into controlled airspace, the Approach controller (in TGA as well as real life) has the discretion to deviate you from the STAR earlier than listed if they feel it necessary. Once you are given a vector by an Approach controller, it's usually safe to disregard the rest of your listed waypoints and rely on their guidance to intercept the ILS.

Due to the different variations, the "trip mileage" shown at the top is an estimate only.

Pilots should not feel as though they are bound by the cruise altitudes, intermediate altitudes, or even the route itself. All of these routes are provided as a matter of convenience only and pilots should feel free to modify them as they wish. However, these routes do conform to the convention of cruising at odd-numbered flight levels for Eastbound flights and even ones for Westbound flights; so for an extra snippet of realism, pilots should make their adjustments consistent with this guideline.

Please submit via e-mail any routing errors you may encounter for correction.