Thread: A Question for Programmers
View Single Post
Old 05-19-2010 | 06:38 PM
  #4  
2StgTurbine's Avatar
2StgTurbine
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,854
Likes: 118
Default
Originally Posted by KC135guy
Doesn't AOPA's flight planner already do some of the same things you're talking about?
Yes it does, but it is very basic. It assumes you fly at cruise speed from the moment of takeoff to landing. It does not include accelerate stop, tell you how long and how far you can fly with your fuel load, tell you how much more fuel or baggage you can carry and still be within weight and balance, tell you how high you can fly if you lose an engine, give you the option to plan for minimum time or minimum fuel, or tell you what power settings to use.

I have used AOPA's program briefly, and it does not seem to take into account atmospheric conditions. The program I made is much more accurate. The average accuracy on times, airspeeds, and fuel are less than 3%.

If you just want to estimate how much fuel you need or how long it will take to do a flight, use AOPA's flight planner. AOPA’s program also does not have a scheduling and billing system built in. By looking future scheduled flights and comparing them to similar flights in the past, it will calculate the expected income for future dates. If you are operating a business or making a flight at the limit of fuel and payload, you will want much more accurate figures. This program is for 91 and 135 operators and anal pilots like me.
Reply
0