Mental calculations for VFR flight planning

[EHM-0654 Murray]

As I'm flying VFR pretty much exclusively at the minute (want to complete the IVAO VFR WT before Xmas, nearing the end of the 5th tour ATM) I was trawling around the Intarweb looking for flight planning resources that could assist me with getting my ETEs a bit closer (as FSP likes you to get the ETE right).

I came across Mental Calculations for Cross-country Flight Planning, a great page that gives some really rather basic calculations that can be used to get your ETE (no-wind and wind adjusted) and True Heading to steer based on the cruise wind (assuming you can get the average wind at cruise - ASV provides this figure for me). I've been using the techniques described for my VFR WT legs, and I've been arriving pretty much exactly when the maths says I will, and the heading figure provided gets me close enough for a VFR circuit.

Any other VFR nuts out there? You will find this useful...

[EHM-1358 Tim]

I've started becoming a VFR nut myself, but sadly I don't know anything that cuold help.

[EHM-0654 Murray]

No, you fool... Grab a copy of that web page (you'll need to refer to it during the math) and use it for your flight planning...

/me goes away and edits his original post to make it all a little clearer

[EHM-1358 Tim]

Oh, use it. My brain suddenly feels all small.

[EHM-0502 Desmond]

By the time I've worked any of this out I would have landed already!!;)

[EHM-0654 Murray]

Hehehe... I know what you mean Des. I should point out that thanks to a simple little spreadsheet I run on my Psion that does a fair chunk of the math for me, using his techniques adds all of three minutes to my pre-flight planning now, but the first three or four attempts took me far longer.

With reference to the article, the only things I don't have the spreadsheet doing for itself are theta (the horizontally lined zero is theta for those that don't know) and the adjusted values for true heading and wind-adjusted ETE (which has to be adjusted for block time and climb any way); everything else the spreadsheet spits back for me (including all the "1/3 W" and so forths, to make the mental math even easier).

[EHM-1651 Christian]

Maybe sound silly bit i'v been trying to fined metar that i can use enroute to get windspeed and direction etc where can i find that.

Just hit me hard for this :-)

[EHM-1358 Tim]

Christian, I normally use aerodromes that are new my flight plan.

Murray, any chance you could give is the spread sheet?

[EHM-0654 Murray]

Originally posted by baszw
Maybe sound silly bit i'v been trying to find metar that i can use enroute to get windspeed and direction etc where can i find that.

Just hit me hard for this :-)

I use ASVE (ActiveSky 5 Enhanced) and it will give a cruise wind speed and direction. This is payware unfortunately...

I'm sure there must be online METAR tools for flight planning...

[EHM-0654 Murray]

Originally posted by Tim
Murray, any chance you could give us the spread sheet?

[strike]If I get a chance tonight, I'll Excelify it and post it.[/strike]

EDIT: Excelified when I was flying VFR

Took the chance to tidy up my Psion-based spreadsheet a lot (I got a load of calulated fields that I have no idea what they're doing on it... and to output a lot more data for use in the mental calculations. This is not, and nor is it ever going to be, a one-stop solution to the procedures Barry H. Silverman outlines in his article "Mental Calulations for Cross-country Flight Planning", it just makes the majority of the procedures a lot easier...

There will be questions, I'm sure...

[EHM-0654 Murray]

Forgot to include the link...

http://www.fly-euroharmony.com/downloads/VFR_FP.xls

[EHM-1358 Tim]

I ended up making my own flightplanner and its similar, just some things like working out fuel, weights and what you have done rather well!

Does anyone know how to work out true airspeed? I think I might be able to work it out from one of my Computer Pilot mags.