Subject: Free Flight Planning Tool for the Flight Sim Community — Simple Flight Planner
Hi,
I wanted to reach out and introduce Simple Flight Planner — a free, browser-based flight planning tool built specifically for the flight simulation community. Since it is a browser based tool and not a downloadable add-on, I was not sure how to add it to this site.
It supports MSFS 2020 & 2024, X-Plane 11 & 12, FSX, and Prepar3D, and is designed to make VFR and GA flight planning simple, visual, and enjoyable.
Here's a quick overview of what it offers:
✈️ 1,000+ aircraft with full performance profiles (speeds, fuel burn, service ceilings)
🗺️ 71,500+ real-world airports with runway data and elevation info
📍 260,000+ navigation aids and AIRAC waypoint fixes (VOR, NDB, ILS, DME, FIX)
🌍 MSFS World Update POI database covering 150+ landmarks from WU1–WU20, City Updates & 40th Anniversary
🏔️ 100+ pre-built scenic route templates across 6 continents
⛽ Built-in fuel and performance calculators (density altitude, TAS, takeoff/landing rolls)
📊 Terrain awareness with elevation profile charts
🖨️ Print your flight plan — with or without the map
📱 Long-press the map on mobile to drop custom waypoints
💾 Export to .PLN (MSFS/P3D/FSX) and .FMS (X-Plane)
🔗 Shareable flight plans — generate a unique link so anyone can view your route, stats, and map
🗂️ Multi-leg itineraries — group flights into journeys with cumulative distance and time tracking
📡 Live online networks — see VATSIM and IVAO pilots and ATC controllers on the map in real time
📌 250,000+ worldwide AIRAC 5-letter fixes/intersections for realistic IFR route planning
✈️ Airline fuel policies — configurable contingency, reserve, taxi, and tankering fuel for dispatch realism
⚡ Cost Index optimization (0-999) — trade cruise speed vs fuel burn like a real dispatcher
🌬️ Winds aloft estimates — upper-level wind components per leg derived from surface METAR data
🌊 ETOPS planning — Equal-Time Points, diversion airports, and critical segment analysis
⏱️ Plan by Time — specify a flight duration and get a matching route generated automatically
📋 SimBrief Import — import routes directly from SimBrief with your Pilot ID
🕐 Recent quick picks — instantly re-select recently used airports and aircraft
📖 Comprehensive user guide — downloadable PDF covering all features in detail
📓 Pilot Logbook — log flights with stats, notes, and cumulative tracking
⚖️ Weight & Balance — CG envelope visualization with passenger, baggage, and fuel inputs
⏱️ Checkpoint Timing Table — per-leg heading, distance, ETE, and cumulative time
🛫 Departure & Arrival Procedures — real FAA SIDs/STARs for US airports
📄 Dispatch Report — professional go/no-go flight release document with automated safety checks, opens in a new tab
🗺️ Airspace Warnings — route checked against Class B, TMA, restricted/prohibited areas
🌅 Sunrise/Sunset Indicator — daylight/twilight/darkness status at each waypoint
🔀 Diversion Planner — nearest suitable airports from any waypoint, filtered by runway length
🕐 Recent Routes — quick access to last 5 planned routes
📊 Route Comparison — side-by-side comparison of saved plans
🗺️ Map Overlays — weather radar, wind, terrain hillshade, FAA VFR Sectional, IFR Low/High Enroute, SIGMETs/AIRMETs
🔍 Navaid & Airport Filters — toggle VOR, NDB, DME, TACAN, scenic POIs, and filter airports by size
📏 Map Measure Tool — click two points for instant distance (NM) and heading
🧲 Snap-to-Navaid Mode — attach waypoints to the nearest VOR, NDB, or fix
✈️ Airway Routing — search and route along published V-routes and J-routes
🔁 Plan the Return Leg — one click reverses the route and re-applies the correct IFR/VFR cruise altitude rule
⛽ Fuel Planner — taxi, trip, contingency, alternate, final reserve and extra fuel with block fuel, landing fuel and endurance, in US gal, litres, lb or kg
📝 Shareable Briefing Card — copy a clean text summary of the flight for Discord, forums or a kneeboard
⌂ My Airports — mark airports you own in your sim, paste a list, or scan your sim with Simple Flight Tracker v2.4; a "My airports only" map filter
📍 Favourites & Of Interest — add any airport from its map popup; both lists appear in the Pilot Hub with live weather
🏷️ Live Traffic Callsigns — permanent VATSIM/IVAO callsign labels with an on/off switch
🛬 Runway Surfaces — runway surface shown in airport popups and the runway picker
▶️ Flight Playback — animate your route on the map with adjustable speed
⭐ Favorite Airports — star your most-used airports for instant access
✋ Drag-to-Edit Route — drag waypoints on the map, route updates in real time
🛬 Detailed Runway Outlines — high-resolution OSM runway geometry on zoom
⚖️ Fuel Unit Conversion — toggle between GAL, LBS, and KG with Jet-A1 / Avgas density factors
🗑️ Manage Recent Aircraft — remove individual picks or clear the list for a tidy quick-select
📄 Enhanced MSFS 2024 PLN — ICAORegion tags and AppVersion metadata for full G1000/EFB compatibility
✏️ Waypoint Remarks & Editing — add notes to any waypoint; edit name, coordinates, and altitude for user-defined points
📶 Enhanced Offline Mode — extended PWA caching for procedures, frequencies, airways, map tiles, and weather data
🔌 Works offline as an installable PWA — no account required
🖥️ Companion App (Simple Flight Tracker v2.4) — live telemetry from MSFS 2020/2024, FSX, FSX: Steam Edition and Prepar3D via local WebSocket, send flight plans to sim, one-click Windows installer, and a simulator scan that suggests the airports you own
✈️ Airliner Mode — one-click toggle that switches the UI to jet/airliner-optimized planning with IFR defaults, airway routing, and airline fuel policies
🔄 Route Optimizer — auto-reorder waypoints to minimize distance (TSP solver) or snap to airways for IFR, with before/after map overlay
💡 Smart Suggestions — real-time contextual recommendations for wind routing, altitude efficiency, IFR compliance, and fuel warnings
🛫 Auto-Procedure Builder — intent-aware, terrain-safe, multi-leg SID/STAR procedures for any airport worldwide (adapts to airliner, GA, or bush aircraft)
🗺️ Auto SID/STAR on the Map — procedure fixes are placed on the map and inserted into your route automatically; the arrival STAR is auto-selected from the chosen runway, and a one-click Remove tab strips any applied SID/STAR/Approach
💡 "Why This Route?" Transparency Panel — collapsible explanations under each auto-generated procedure showing runway selection logic, turn reasoning, terrain notes, fix selection, and vertical profile decisions
🌦️ TAF Forecasts — terminal aerodrome forecasts for departure and arrival, with each forecast period (FM, BECMG, TEMPO) clearly labelled so pilots can see how conditions evolve during the flight window
📖 Decoded METAR & TAF — one-click "Decoded" toggle translates raw aviation strings (e.g. 28015G25KT 10SM FEW040 BKN250) into plain-English summaries — a learning aid for new simmers, with raw text still on hover
📋 Live NOTAMs (AutoRouter) — Notices to Air Missions for every airport on the route, severity-colored and categorised (RWY, TWY, NAV, OBST, AIRSPACE…), with a dedicated route-wide NOTAMs panel in the Planner header featuring Departure/Arrival/Enroute filter tabs, plus per-airport display in the Airport Directory and Dispatch Report
🎛️ Quick vs Full Mode — a site-wide toggle in the Planner header lets pilots choose between a stripped-back "Quick" workflow (essentials only) and the full planning suite with dispatch, terrain, procedures, W&B and airspace tools; new users start in Quick mode automatically
🛫 Advanced Airport Explorer — click any airport in the Planner or Airport Directory to open a full tabbed dialog: Overview stats, Runways with surface/lighting, Taxiways & gates & parking stands from OpenStreetMap, ATC frequencies, ILS approaches & nearby navaids, suitable alternates within 150 NM, and services (fuel, FBO, customs, restaurants)
✏️ Smart Route Editing — drag the magenta route line to insert new waypoints with auto navaid snapping, click orange + markers at leg midpoints on the map to drop a waypoint there, use inline + dividers in the waypoint list, duplicate any waypoint with one click, and split a flight plan at any airport waypoint to export two back-to-back .PLN files
↕️ Swap Airports — a one-click Swap button between the departure and arrival fields exchanges both airports and their selected runways while keeping the waypoint order intact, alongside the existing Reverse Route action that also flips the waypoints for a full return flight
The tool is 100% free, with no ads, no login walls, and no premium tiers. It's a passion project built to give simmers a practical, no-nonsense planning experience.
🔗 Try it here: https://www.simpleflightplanner.com
Thanks for your time, and happy flying!
Feedback@simpleflightplanner.com