# N499CP Flight Planner — User Guide A route planner, nav-log generator, and performance/W&B calculator built around **N499CP** (2020 Cessna 172S NAV III), CAP San Diego Sr. Sq. 57. > ⚠️ **SIM USE ONLY.** This tool is for training and planning practice. Weather is > partly simulated, terrain sampling is approximate, and airport/navaid data comes > from the public OurAirports dataset. **Always brief with official sources > (1800wxbrief.com, ForeFlight, current charts, the POH) before any real flight.** --- ## 1. Getting to the app | Where | URL | |-------|-----| | Production (public) | https://flightplanner.rpc-cyberflight.com | | Cloud Run direct | https://flight-planner-383916130890.us-west1.run.app | | Local dev server | http://192.168.50.236:5001 (or http://127.0.0.1:5001 on the host) | The app is a single page — no login. On first load it checks the aviation database; the status pill in the top-right shows either an airport count (e.g. `32,553 apts`) or `No data`. If it is empty it downloads automatically; you can also force a refresh with the **DB ↻** button. --- ## 2. The interface at a glance The screen has four regions: 1. **Toolbar (top)** — route input, cruise settings, the **Fly** button, and the tool buttons (Perf, W&B, Ref, DB ↻). 2. **Map (center)** — the moving-map with chart layers and route editing. 3. **Layer switcher & map controls (over the map)** — chart selection, Plan mode, Fit. 4. **Flight Log drawer (bottom)** — slides up to show the nav log, weather, airport details, and terrain profile. --- ## 3. Building a route ### 3.1 The route box Type a route as **space-separated identifiers**, departure first, destination last. The box auto-uppercases as you type. ``` KSEE JLI TRM KPSP ``` Three kinds of identifiers are accepted: | Type | Example | Notes | |------|---------|-------| | **Airport (ICAO)** | `KSEE`, `KPSP` | US airports from the OurAirports dataset. | | **Navaid** | `JLI` (Julian VORTAC), `TRM` (Thermal VORTAC) | VORs, VORTACs, NDBs, etc. | | **User waypoint** | `@33.0450,-116.5880` | A raw `@lat,lon` point. You normally create these by dragging on the map (see §4.3) rather than typing them, but you can type them too. They appear in the log as `USR1`, `USR2`, … | At least two identifiers are required (a departure and a destination). Press **Enter** in the box or click **Fly** to calculate. > **Note:** RNAV named intersections (e.g. KAYOH, LIMBO) are **not** in the > dataset — use nearby VORs/airports or drop a user waypoint at the fix's > coordinates instead. ### 3.2 Cruise settings Three dropdowns to the right of the route box drive the performance math: - **Altitude** — grouped by VFR/IFR and cruise direction (hemispheric rule labels are a planning aid, not enforced). Pick a preset or **Custom…** to type any value (500–17,500 ft). - **RPM** — engine RPM, tied to the C172S cruise-performance table (2400 RPM ≈ 55% power is the default). **Custom…** allows 1500–2700 in 50-RPM steps. - **Reserve** — fuel reserve in minutes (30 / 45 / 60 or Custom). This is added to the total fuel requirement. ### 3.3 Fly **Fly** calculates the route and: - draws it on the map with draggable waypoints and rubber-band handles, - fills the **Log** drawer (nav log + fuel), - kicks off background loads of **Weather**, **Airports**, and **Terrain**. --- ## 4. The map ### 4.1 Chart layers The top-left switcher chooses the base layer: - **VFR Sec** — FAA VFR Sectional (default) - **IFR Low** — FAA IFR Low Enroute - **IFR High** — FAA IFR High Enroute - **Satellite** — Esri World Imagery - **Street** — OpenStreetMap FAA chart tiles are served from the FAA ArcGIS service (with any locally cached tiles used first). ### 4.2 Plan mode (click-to-add) Click **✈ Plan** (top-right of the map) to arm planning mode; the cursor becomes a crosshair. Click anywhere on the map and the app finds the nearest fixes within 20 NM and offers **Dep / Wpt / Dest** buttons to insert that fix into the route box in the chosen role. Click **✈ Planning** again to disarm. **⊙ Fit** re-centers and zooms the map to frame the whole active route. ### 4.3 Rubber-band route editing ⭐ This is the fastest way to shape a route directly on the map. **Midpoint handles** — every route segment has a small white dot at its midpoint. Drag one to bend the route: - While dragging you see a **dashed gold preview** of the new leg and a small tooltip showing the nearest snap candidate (e.g. `⌖ JLI · 4.3 NM`). - On release, a popup lists the **top three snap candidates** (weighted to favor VORs/VORTACs and real airports over private strips) plus a **📍 User waypoint here** option that drops a raw `@lat,lon` point. - **Shortcut:** hold **Shift** while you release to drop the `@lat,lon` user waypoint **immediately**, skipping the menu. - Release without choosing (click elsewhere) and the edit is cancelled. **Existing waypoint markers** are also draggable: - Drag a waypoint and you get the same snap-candidate / user-waypoint popup to redefine it. Shift-drop again drops a user waypoint in place (intermediate points only). - **Departure and destination** can only be moved to real fixes (airports/navaids) — the weather, terrain, and climb math need real airport data at the ends. - **Click** an intermediate waypoint marker to get a **✕ Remove waypoint** option. The green dot is the departure, the red dot is the destination, blue dots are intermediate waypoints. --- ## 5. The Flight Log drawer Click the **▲ Flight Log** tab at the bottom (or it opens automatically after **Fly**). Four tabs: ### 5.1 Log - **Summary strip** — total distance (NM), time en route (MIN), total fuel (GAL), and the winds used (`dir°/spd kt`). - **Nav log table**, one row per leg: | Column | Meaning | |--------|---------| | FROM / TO | Leg endpoints | | DIST | Leg distance (NM, great-circle) | | TC | True course | | WCA | Wind correction angle | | MH | **Magnetic heading** — TC + WCA − magnetic variation. Variation now comes from the World Magnetic Model at each leg's midpoint (≈ 11° E in SoCal). | | GS | Ground speed (kt) | | TIME | Leg time (min) | | FUEL | Leg fuel (gal) | - **Fuel breakdown** — taxi & takeoff, climb, cruise, reserve, and total required. ### 5.2 Weather Loads automatically after a route calc. Shows **METARs**, **TAFs**, **winds aloft**, and **NOTAM placeholders** for each airport on the route. > METARs/TAFs are fetched live from aviationweather.gov when reachable; anything > tagged **(sim)** is simulated. **Winds aloft are real** — GFS forecast winds > from Open-Meteo at the route midpoint, interpolated to the standard altitudes > (tagged with the source; they fall back to a deterministic estimate only if the > service is unreachable). NOTAMs are still placeholders pointing you to > notams.faa.gov. Always confirm with an official briefing. ### 5.3 Airports Per-airport cards for the airports on your route: name/city/state, elevation, lat/lon, current flight category, raw METAR, and a runway table (runway, length, surface). ### 5.4 Terrain An elevation profile sampled along the route (USGS elevation data): - **Max Terrain** and **Min Clearance** (ft AGL) stats, plus a status badge: **ADEQUATE** (≥ 2000'), **MIN VFR CLR** (≥ 1000'), or **INSUFFICIENT** (< 1000'). - A cross-section chart: green terrain fill, the red planned flight path (with climb and descent ramps), a dashed cruise reference line, and gold waypoint markers. - **Hover** the chart to read distance, altitude, terrain height, and clearance at any point. --- ## 6. Tools (toolbar buttons) ### 6.1 Perf Takeoff and landing distances for N499CP from the POH tables. Enter weight (takeoff), pressure altitude, temperature, and headwind; get **ground roll** and **distance over a 50 ft obstacle**. The tables use conservative (round-up) interpolation and a simple headwind credit. ### 6.2 W&B (Weight & Balance) Enter empty weight/moment and the loading (pilot, front pax, rear pax, baggage, fuel). The calculator returns total weight, CG, and moment, and checks limits: - **Forward CG limit varies with weight** — 35.0" at 1950 lb sloping to 41.0" at 2550 lb (per the POH envelope). Aft limit is 47.3". - Warns if **fuel > 53 gal usable** or **baggage > 120 lb**. - The status line spells out exactly what's out of limits (overweight amount, or CG forward/aft of the weight-specific limit). ### 6.3 Ref A quick-reference card: V-speeds, weights, fuel, CG limits, and station arms. > **Known discrepancy:** the Ref card currently lists the *old* fixed forward CG > limit (35.0") and a front-seat arm of 40.0". The **W&B calculator** uses the > corrected sloped envelope and a 37.0" front-seat arm. When in doubt, trust the > W&B calculator (and the POH). This card is slated to be updated. ### 6.4 DB ↻ Re-downloads the airport/runway/navaid database from OurAirports. Runs in the background with a progress modal; the app stays usable meanwhile. --- ## 7. Worked example — KSEE → JLI → TRM → KPSP A short cross-country from **Gillespie Field (KSEE)** in El Cajon, over the **Julian VORTAC (JLI)**, across to the **Thermal VORTAC (TRM)** in the Coachella Valley, and into **Palm Springs (KPSP)** — a nice mountains-to-desert VFR hop. ### Step by step 1. **Open the app** and confirm the DB pill shows an airport count (not "No data"). 2. In the route box, type: ``` KSEE JLI TRM KPSP ``` 3. Set **Altitude** to **9,500 ft** (good terrain clearance over the Peninsular Ranges / San Jacinto area), leave **RPM** at **2400 (55%)** and **Reserve** at **45 min**. 4. Press **Fly**. 5. The route draws KSEE → JLI → TRM → KPSP and the **Log** drawer opens. ### What you should see (illustrative) Distances and courses are stable; times/fuel/headings depend on the current winds aloft (live GFS forecast), so your exact numbers will vary with the weather. | Leg | Dist (NM) | TC | MH | GS (kt) | Time (min) | |-----|-----------|----|----|---------|------------| | KSEE → JLI | ~27 | 046° | ~022° | ~98 | ~17 | | JLI → TRM | ~36 | 036° | ~014° | ~95 | ~23 | | TRM → KPSP | ~21 | 305° | ~301° | ~88 | ~14 | | **Total** | **~85** | — | — | — | **~74** | Total fuel required ≈ **19 gal** (taxi + climb + cruise + 45-min reserve) — well within the 53-gal usable, but always confirm with a real W&B and reserve plan. Note the **magnetic headings run about 11° less than the true courses** — that's the ~11° E magnetic variation for Southern California being applied correctly. ### Explore the rest - **Terrain tab** — the profile will show the high ground east of San Diego and around San Jacinto; check the Min Clearance badge against your 9,500 ft cruise. - **Weather tab** — METARs for KSEE and KPSP (live if reachable), plus live GFS winds aloft. - **Airports tab** — runway lengths/surfaces for KSEE and KPSP. - **Edit it on the map** — drag the midpoint of the JLI→TRM leg northward and snap to another fix, or **Shift-drop** to place a user waypoint, to see the route and nav log recompute instantly. - **W&B** — open the modal, enter your actual loading, and confirm you're inside the (now weight-dependent) CG envelope. --- ## 8. Civil Air Patrol Search & Rescue (SAR) Patterns The flight planner incorporates specialized search pattern generators used in Civil Air Patrol aerial search missions, coupled with export options for flight simulators and the CAP V-SAR exercise console. ### 8.1 Accessing the SAR Tool Click the **SAR** button in the main toolbar. This opens the SAR Pattern Generator dialog and enables interactive datum selection on the map. ### 8.2 Supported Search Patterns 1. **Expanding Square (SS):** - Used when searching a concentrated area around a known datum (e.g., last known position or initial ELT alert location). - Parameters: Datum coordinates (lat/lon), track spacing (0.5–2.0 NM), number of legs, initial heading, and turn direction (Right or Left). - Generates sequential expansion legs (1×S, 1×S, 2×S, 2×S, 3×S, 3×S...) with calculated magnetic courses and leg distances. 2. **Creeping Line (CS):** - Used when searching a route corridor, valley floor, or canyon where the target is likely located along a specific track. - Parameters: Start point, end point, sweep width (NM), track spacing (NM), and maximum legs. - Generates alternating orthogonal cross-track sweeps advancing along the route axis. 3. **Parallel Track (PS):** - Used for systematic grid searches covering large rectangular areas or CAP quadrangles. - Parameters: Corner coordinate, search box length (NM), search box width (NM), axis heading, and track spacing (NM). - Generates parallel search tracks stepped across the search area. ### 8.3 Route Integration & Search Sortie Metrics Clicking **Apply to Route** integrates the generated search waypoints (`SS01`, `CS01`, `PS01`...) into the active flight plan: - The route box is automatically populated with geodesic user coordinates (`@lat,lon`). - The nav-log drawer recomputes fuel burn, time-on-station, and terrain clearances for the search pattern using the aircraft POH performance polar. - The map visualizes the search grid overlaid against FAA VFR Sectionals and IFR enroute charts. ### 8.4 Exporting & Simulator Integration - **Export X-Plane 12 `.fms`:** Downloads a standard FMS format file (version 1100) compatible with X-Plane 11 and 12 G1000 / FMS navigation systems. Save directly to your simulator's `Output/FMS plans/` folder. - **Push to V-SAR Console (`ms01:8700`):** Transmits the planned search sortie directly into the CAP V-SAR training environment over LAN (`VSAR_CONSOLE_URL`). - Automatically creates the scenario in the exercise database with the datum, alert radius, and sortie notes. - If an active sortie is currently running, broadcasts an automated mission notification message to Mission Base and connected observer consoles. --- *Questions or fixes: this app lives at [github.com/rpcraighead/flight-planner-n499cp-v2](https://github.com/rpcraighead/flight-planner-n499cp-v2) (and Gitea internally). Fly safe, brief for real.*