Once you download the 1.8-MB Real-Time Flight Planner application file from AOPA Online, you're one click away from up-to-the-minute critical preflight data such as current weather and airport information, temporary flight restrictions, and FAA notams. AOPA's new flight planner lets you plot a route, locate any active or imminent temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) or special use airspace, and drag and drop (rubber-band) your route around those off-limits areas. (Few TFRs are depicted on sectional charts, and they may be issued with very little advance notice from the FAA.) The program is integrated with both DUATS weather providers, which means you can access current radar and satellite images and overlay these on your route. And if you right-click airports on the flight planner's en route chart you'll be able to retrieve the latest airport and FBO information, including airport diagrams, from AOPA's Airport Directory Online. As you plan your route, a flight plan and navigation log are created for you, and you can print them out in kneeboard format. You can also electronically transmit your flight plan to DUATS.
If you're a student pilot, ask your CFI to show you how to use AOPA's Real-Time Flight Planner as a backup to the traditional method of planning a flight with sectional chart, plotter, and E6B. You'll be able to see at once whether changes in the wind, for example, could cause you to burn more fuel than you initially calculated. And if the weather doesn't look promising for you to complete your solo, the flight planner will let you store up to five routes and two aircraft profiles online.
AOPA's Real-Time Flight Planner is a free benefit of your membership. More than 50,000 members have tried it out since its debut last year. Why don't you?
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