Quick Start — N499CP Flight Planner
Plan your first route in about a minute. We'll fly KSEE → JLI → TRM → KPSP (Gillespie Field, over the Julian and Thermal VORs, into Palm Springs).
⚠️ SIM USE ONLY — weather is partly simulated. Brief with official sources before any real flight.
1. Open the app
- Public: https://flightplanner.rpc-cyberflight.com
- Local: http://192.168.50.236:5001
Check the pill in the top-right shows an airport count (e.g. 32,553 apts),
not No data.
2. Type the route
In the route box at the top, type (it auto-uppercases):
KSEE JLI TRM KPSP
Departure first, destination last, spaces between. KSEE/KPSP are airports;
JLI/TRM are VORs.
3. Set cruise
- Altitude:
9,500 ft - RPM:
2400 (55%)(default) - Reserve:
45 min(default)
4. Press Fly
The route draws on the map and the Flight Log drawer opens at the bottom.
5. Read the log
- Summary strip: ~85 NM, ~74 min, ~19 gal, winds.
- Nav log table: per-leg DIST / TC / MH / GS / TIME / FUEL. (Magnetic headings run ~11° less than true course — that's SoCal magnetic variation.)
- Exact time/fuel/heading numbers vary with the current winds aloft (live GFS forecast).
6. Look around the tabs
- Terrain — profile + Min Clearance badge vs your 9,500 ft cruise.
- Weather — METARs (live if reachable) + live GFS winds aloft.
- Airports — runways for KSEE and KPSP.
7. Edit on the map (the fun part)
- Every leg has a white midpoint dot — drag it to bend the route.
- Drop it on or near a fix → pick from the top-3 snap menu, or
- Hold Shift and release to drop a user waypoint at that exact spot.
- Click an intermediate waypoint to remove it.
The route and nav log recompute automatically after every edit.
8. Generate a CAP Search Pattern
- Click the SAR button in the toolbar.
- Select the pattern type: Expanding Square, Creeping Line, or Parallel Track.
- Pick a datum on the map or type coordinates, adjust track spacing and legs.
- Click Generate Pattern to preview the search grid.
- Use Apply to Route to update your nav log, Export .FMS for X-Plane 12, or Push to V-SAR to send the sortie to the exercise console (
ms01:8700).
Cheat sheet
| Do this | How |
|---|---|
| Add a fix by ICAO/navaid | Type it in the route box |
| Calculate | Fly button (or Enter) |
| Change chart | VFR Sec / IFR Low / IFR High / Satellite / Street (top-left) |
| Add a fix by clicking the map | ✈ Plan, click, choose Dep/Wpt/Dest |
| Bend a leg | Drag its white midpoint dot |
| Drop a user waypoint fast | Shift + release while dragging a handle |
| Remove a waypoint | Click its marker → ✕ Remove |
| Generate CAP SAR pattern | SAR button |
| Frame the route | ⊙ Fit |
| Takeoff/landing numbers | Perf |
| Weight & balance | W&B |
| V-speeds / limits | Ref |
Full details in USER_GUIDE.md.