The download is free, but Ideal Flight requires a registration code to unlock all the features. Registration codes are available from the Purchase page now.

Ideal Flight for FSX, FSX-SE and Prepar3D

An essential addon - Ideal Flight is a whole new adventure!

Take the burden out of setting up a flight in Flight Simulator *. The simple press of a button creates a next logical flight with a flight plan and briefing.

That's just a part of Ideal Flight; another press puts you in the cockpit, with an in-sim menu of powerful functions, seamless atmospheric conditions, and procedurally generated weather.

Do more flying, see more airports, feel the environment come alive.

The Ideal Flight Premise: Take any aircraft...

• Ideal Flight measures the fuel used to calculate the range. We put the range, speeds, and altitudes into the planner and we get auto-plans with real fuel and distance values for our particular simulated model. Developers of simulated aircraft can use Ideal Flight extremely effectively to program very accurate fuel use with their models to mimic the real world aircraft precisely.

• Where can we fly it from? Where can we fly it to? How much time will it take? Ideal Flight automatically assumes your next flight starts from where you recently landed, but flights can start from any airport. Ideal Flight filters out airports located beyond our own desired flight times, so for example we can be provided only with airports between one and two hours away in our chosen aircraft. We can impose our desired runway lengths on the planner to narrow the search, and also choose several other filters to produce a subset of airports in range including direction from us.

• >augmented, Professional and S versions create the most reliable plans available by integrating AIRAC NavData from several sources with the simulator scenery and navdata. A substantial range of imports and export file types are implemented adhering to the reliable Ideal Flight subset of data appearing in simulator and AIRAC. Exports are automatically pushed when we instruct Ideal Flight to build new flights. Ideal Flight export system isn't a simple "File Save-As" mechanism. For example, SQL Nav-Databases are manipulated by a fully featured SQL transaction engine built into Ideal Flight to include missing and user waypoints. Injected waypoints are eliminated from the DB after the flight in these cases. Files are automatically pushed to their proper locations ready for GPS and FMS to load in-sim at the start of the flight.

• We can create any route or simply get Ideal Flight to provide us with a random next destination depending on where we are now, and our flight time preferences. One button press creates our full-fat flight with plan and briefing. Ideal Flight finds unlimited routes between any airports in the simulator avoiding high terrain for low flying aircraft types finding routes to go around if available. Routes adhere to general aviation regulations and keep to designated airways where possible.

• We can introduce unreliability for gear, flaps, engines, equipment, and instruments with a simple MTBF setting. Reliability decreases with unnecessary G-Forces and poor aircraft control.

• The advanced procedural fictional weather generator ensures we get the same weather in the same place at the same time, which is essential for the test and development of many simulated features and items. This system simulates typical weather for the location and time of year and day, with proper atmospheric conditions. But working offline this requires no downloaded METAR information. For regular flying, we can insert whatever winds we desire so that the planner chooses the runways for us, or accept the given weather and runways. We can turn off Ideal Flight fictional weather and utilise real-world weather generator add-ons that download their METAR information instead. For other weather, we can look up the winds at the departure and destination and put the speed/heading information into the planner and runways can be predicted.

• One button press puts us in the cockpit with a submenu of advanced in-sim features like "Fuel Report", and "Advance to Approach" or "Go to TOD" for example. Rather than merely drop in the sim to do an approach or final, we can start from a full-fat flight and pull down the menu when ready to "Advance to Approach". Ideal Flight Save Game features several values not included in the stock simulator for better reloading of saved flights and also features aircraft crash recovery.

• We can set up all our panels and windows and save these with the in-sim menu item "Save Aircraft Settings". They are restored to their saved sizes and multi-monitor locations whenever we consequently load a saved flight or start a new flight. >augmented, Professional and S versions can also remove borders of undocked windows.

• >augmented, Professional and S versions include Ai Buddy. We can study Ai Buddy to see the way the ATC is utilised and follow around airports and to our destination. Ai Buddy keeps us company on long flights with various personality modes where he will sit out in front pressing on with the route or follow us or buzz us occasionally with a close fly past.

• >augmented, Professional and S versions include a sophisticated simulation performance monitor that tracks the simulator frame rate and many atmospheric and aircraft flight values for graphing and analysis. Setting up of the simulator core affinity and assessing in-sim graphics extremes are made easy with the data collected in-sim. Making changes and comparing the time the sim takes to load the scenario can be quite useful. If the sim can load the same scenario with the same accurately simulated in-sim conditions more quickly performance throughout the sim will also improve. However, ultimate loading performance can impact the main task of rendering frame rate. Comparing Ideal Flight performance data with indicated loading time can help reduce the time taken to set up the simulator for good performance overall.

• When changing aircraft after a successful flight, Ideal Flight can save our aircraft for later use and display them in the simulator when we are nearby. Profiles can be created for different users or different flying styles. Comprehensive flight records are kept for later review. A fully configurable flight scoring facility compares profiles in a top-gun league table for fun.

• Ideal Flight handles other complex functions, for example; starting exe add-ons when we need them before or after the sim has fully started. These can be started with any desired core affinity which is more important to the sim than starting the sim with a particular core affinity setting. These add-ons are not allowed to start via the job scheduler and steered onto unmasked logical processors, but rather they start only within their defined affinity space and are fixed there so as to avoid sharing cores with the main simulator threads affecting fps.

• We can modify the Ideal Flight user interface with our screenshots and wallpapers. We can drop our screenshot and wallpaper image files onto most screens in Ideal Flight to change the background picture, .jpg .png and .bmp included.

• The user data can be backed up as a single folder tree; we can create backups anywhere and restore them later from the Ideal Flight popup menu or drag and drop. Backups can be restored simply by dropping the folder icon onto the Ideal Flight user interface or even by simply dropping the folder onto the Ideal Flight desktop icon.

Ideal Flight is an essential add-on:

• Flight generator finds airports for your flight time and knows where you can fly to
• Push-button create and launch fully featured flights with kneeboard briefing
• Automatically disables unneeded scenery for each scenario
• Collects aircraft performance data for subsequent accurate planning
• Precise ETA and Fuel
• Flights are monitored, assessed, debriefed, and added to a records database.
• Class-leading 3D auto. flight plans, generated on a per aircraft, location, scenery, nav-data and weather basis.
• Kneeboard Flight Briefing Customisable Information Overload
• In-flight menu of special functions includes Go to Approach and Pause at TOD.
• Automatic aircraft camera views and panels database
• Starts other applications
• Global Weather Simulation
• Advanced weather with seamless interpolated air currents
• Adds thermal and deflected air currents to any weather engine
• No Impact on Screen Frame Rates
• Accessibility specialised for screen readers Narrator and NVDA

Ideal Flight provides comprehensive handling of nav-aid and airways data, complete with 3D auto-route finder using actual simulator data. >augmented, Professional and S versions are the only planners available that can combine simulator data with real-world data to produce perfect plans from the subset.

Ideal Flight is not just a flight planner, but a full-fat one-click flight generator that works from your pre-set rules. A one-click simulation launcher puts you right in the cockpit, with everything to hand in the kneeboard briefing. Adding unparalleled value is a serious procedurally generated weather simulation system, Ai traffic scheduled around your flight, an in-sim menu of enhanced functions, and a configurable flight assessment recorder.

Everyone can use Ideal Flight:

• An atmospheric conditions upgrade includes seamless thermal air currents and wind deflections, uninterrupted weather and winds across the globe, with jet streams and doldrums. A global weather simulation provides the data for weather wherever you go, even across the oceans. Weather can be seen constantly changing as the day and location progresses.
• You take a pilot's case-full of information with you on every flight. The briefing documentation contains airport maps, plans, route map, navigation frequencies, fuel, load, ETA, aircraft configuration notes, and so on, all included for the flight in a document for your kneeboard.
• Automated flight plans contain enhancements usually found only as hand-edited plans, featuring TOC, TOD, and minimum altitudes. You can edit or create flight plans with your flight planning tool, and drop the file onto Ideal Flight, to create a flight with a briefing. Only create flight plans between airports you want with a comprehensive airport filter, including user-defined subsets.
• An accurate fuel and ETA prediction is generated for any aircraft from an easily configured set of aircraft configuration values; range, cruise speed, altitude, and so on. If you finish with too much fuel, you only need to increase the range value before the next calculation. It's the easiest fuel, payload, distance, and time calculation, available for FSX/P3D.
• An aircraft setup database ensures you always get presented with your favourite setup, for any aircraft. Complete with an entire configuration of Cold & Dark overrides.

Ideal Flight = big enhancements to the FSX/P3D experience!

Main Features:

Ideal Flight, "IF", is a console-like program that provides press button flight generation and launch.

Press a button; Ideal Flight creates a flight file for any aircraft, and can automatically add fuel and payload. Flights are generated with a complete cold & dark setup. A comprehensive flight briefing is included for the kneeboard, no matter what type of flight plan.

Press another button; Ideal Flight launches FSX/P3D with the new flight loaded, and you are taken straight to the cockpit. The briefing is visible in the kneeboard, and you will find additional functions are available from the pull-down in-sim Addon menu.

Fly the route; Ideal Flight monitors the whole flight and presents an assessment/debrief after the flight.

More:

The briefing contains almost all the information you would like during a flight: airport maps, nav-aid frequencies, route sections table, accurate ETA, fuel requirements, loading, speed conversion graphs, aircraft configuration notes, copy & paste quick information roundup, and so on for any plane in your collection.

The briefing describes how to climb, cruise, and descend for accurate ETAs and fuel requirements. Ideal Flight's fuel calculation is the most accurate available for FSX/P3D and works for any aircraft in your collection.

Ideal Flight generates flight plans for a specific aircraft and flight duration time set by the user.

Ideal Flight flight plans are created by the most advanced auto flight plan generator available for FSX/P3D to date. The flight parameters for the aircraft, cruise altitude, speed, range, etc. are all taken into account when building the plan. The plan may guide you around high terrain. Plans include TOC and TOD and minimum safe altitudes.

Waypoints data in addition to FSX/P3D waypoints include oceanic tracks.

Adjust flight plans by setting aircraft flight parameters such as; flight time, climb rate, cruise speed, cruise altitude, and range. The fuel requirement is calculated, and the aircraft is made ready and fuelled for the route.

There are special missions: fly coastguard missions to ships at sea and oil rigs, or maintain navigation equipment sites around the world.

Drag and Drop any plan file (.PLN) from your favourite tool onto Ideal Flight and an "Ideal Flight" is created for the plan, with a briefing, route sections table, nav-aid frequencies, with TOC and TOD added to the plan if desired.

Ideal Flight adds useful in-flight functions to the FSX/P3D pull-down add-on menu like Go to Waypoint, Go to TOD, fast Save Game, and Fuel Consumption Report. Save/Load game provides more functionality than standard FSX/P3D save game files.

Automatically set aircraft panels and views simply, by saving your favourite settings from the in-flight menu. These settings get applied to all flights currently saved or newly generated for the aircraft.

Ideal Flight introduces seamless thermal, cumulous, and deflected air currents, to any weather engine. Additional air currents are provided to breathe more life into the simulated environment. Winds are channelled and deflected by terrain. Constantly and seamlessly, hot air rises and cool air falls.

Global weather simulation; use instead of downloading internet weather reports, and choose any time of year. Ideal Flight's weather engine will generate seamless weather across the oceans, and complex winds including jet streams, move you around 360° in all directions, not just horizontally. Cloud base and visibility are computed from atmospheric conditions to give a more realistic looking sky.

Adjust weather and winds easily by making them more or less severe.

Ideal Flight monitors and rates the flight with a post-flight assessment and debrief. All flight information is stored in a history file.

Each flight is assessed, and the pilot is presented with a debrief document when FSX/P3D ends. Scores are recorded, and the profile rated against other profiles in a pilot performance table. Other information about the profile can be viewed in the profile HTML document.

Adjust the severity of flight scoring, only log flights you are happy with, review pilot history in the easily accessible records library.

A group of robot pilots compete with you for the top spots in the pilot performance table.

An automatic database remembers where you parked your aircraft, and the favourite settings for all of them. Parked aircraft appear in the sim where you left them.

Ideal Flight injects Ai traffic only where you want it, and adds a few Ai aircraft nearby your route, so you don't have to have the traffic slider up so much to get "interaction" with other aircraft.

Ideal Flight can automatically enable only essential scenery on a per flight basis, for increased performance and reduced loading times. FSX and P3D find certain scenery data during start-up and takes longer to load with more added scenery.

Ideal Flight utilises so many extra aspects of the simulator data to create flights that it must, before first use, search through and index the scenery to pre-obtain many aspects of the data. The stored index data is organised such that complicated or otherwise very lengthy processes can be made more easily and very quickly. At the same time the add-on scenery is analysed, and tables made so that Ideal Flight can manipulate the list of "Enabled=True" conditions within the simulator Scenery.cfg file before each flight.

There is an airports world map facility with search functions and filters, save and load favourite routes, and see enlarged airport diagrams.

User defined airport filter subsets comes with major hubs subset filter.

Drag and Drop your favourite screenshots onto any page to brighten it up! (excluding startup and info pages).

Please have a look at the help documentation: Ideal Flight Help Contents

Screen Images:

Upgrade with Expansion Pack ">augmented":

Main features included with >augmented expansion unlocked: AIRAC and FMC support. Ai Buddy, a true Ai pilot to keep you company. Wake proximity to improve immersion when following and leading Ai Buddy and other simulated objects. Comms Package automates starting radio settings, and aids flight startup; be ready listening to ATIS, Ai Aircraft, and ATC. With Committed Profiles, the flight is always added to the log. With Limited Profiles, the Pilot can only travel on transport within the simulation, and cannot change the current departure airport within Ideal Flight. Includes more route types, more errors and assessments, more of everything, and more fun.

...or move on to Prepar3D with Ideal Flight Professional or Ideal Flight S:

Ideal Flight Professional and Ideal Flight S, the Prepar3D versions, come inclusive of all >augmented expansion pack features. In addition, the background pictures can be locked from changes with a config setting. Version run alongside each other on the same system. Why Ideal Flight Professional or S for P3D? With control of all Sim Config Settings, Flight Files, Plans, Ai Traffic, and Weather, Ideal Flight provides true repeatable scenarios. (e.g. weather is procedurally generated with no randoms, and no data collected from the internet)

Ideal Flight S for Prepar3D v6

Ideal Flight Professional for Prepar3D v4/5

Ideal Flight 10 Professional for Prepar3D v2/3

>augmented, Professional and S versions:

• Combine AIRAC and scenery data to produce the compatible subset for perfect plans.
• Auto-export GPS plans (with ATC configured for the flight) and FMC co-route files, so that GPS plans are duplicated and ready to load into the FMC co-route.
• Follow-me shadow aircraft Ai Buddy, and Ai traffic optimisations.
• Wake proximity, and turbulence effects around moving objects.
• Turbulent conditions created by extended flaps and gear.
• Veering stressed airframe at close to max airspeeds.
• More plan types, and random route finding, with random aircraft selection.
• More approach types; with FAF, IDF, and transitions, from SID and STAR departures and approaches.
• Adjust computed approach timing. Airport destination searches sorted by; alphabet, distance, heading, altitude, and reverse order.
• World map with improved functions. Handling of airport subsets improved. More Cold and Dark functions included.
• In-flight menu enhanced with weather scenarios
• Diagnostic package lists modules used, analyses VAS usage throughout the flight, reports on exceptions encountered by FSX/P3D and lists any modules causing errors. Keeps a .csv file for analysis of more than thirty simulation values including for example; altitude, airspeed, frame rate, and VAS used.
• Comms radio package pre-sets radios to ATIS etc.
• More penalties Taxi speed and Low Altitude Speed
• More Nav-aid symbols on route maps
• Approach and Departure maps included with a briefing
• In-flight error messages, auto-pause, and auto-saves
• Profiles new features; limited movement and committed flight score.
• And much more…

co-route file formats currently supported by Ideal Flight 10 >augmented, Professional and S versions:

• FS9 .PLN - FS2004
• FSX .PLN - FSX .XML
• PMDG .rte v1 - J4100
• PMDG .rte v2/3 - 737, 777, 747v2/3
• PMDG .rte v4/5 - 737, 777
• PMDG .rte v5.3 - 747v3
• PMDG .rt2 v1 - 747v1
• PMDG .WX v1 - 777, 747v3 Weather
• iFly .FLTPLAN v1 - 737
• Quality Wings .RTE v1 - RJ100
• Aerosoft .flp - AXE, CRJ 700/900
• Level-D .rte v1 - 767
• MADDOG .mdr md82 - MD82
• FeelThere FMGC PIC .rte - A320
• Majestic .fpr vQ400 - MJC8 Q400 Dash 8
• FeelThere and Majestic virtualised user waypoints
• FSLabs .txt Plan - FSLabs A320
• FSLabs A320 Automatic Multi-Uplinking for any planner
• Flight1 .gfp - GTN 750/650
• GTN 750/650 User Waypoints Reset
• VATSIM Prefile
• vPilot .vfp file as VATSIM Prefile route
• vPilot Automatic Configuration v1/2 with VATSIM Prefile route
• Carousel IV-AC INS .AWC WP - FSL Concorde-X, Waypoints data cards
• Carousel IV-AC INS .ADC DME - FSL Concorde-X, DME Station data cards
• Clipboard Copy Routes (CTRL+C)

Note some co-route file formats shown are used by other aircraft than those models listed, see documentation for other aircraft.

Plan Import file types currently supported by Ideal Flight 10 >augmented, Professional and S versions:

• FS9 .PLN - FS2004
• FSX .PLN - FSX .XML
• PMDG .rte v1 - J4100
• PMDG .rte v2/3 - 737
• PMDG .rt2 v1 - 747x
• QW .RTE v1 - RJ100
• Level-D .rte v1 - 767
• iFly .FLTPLAN v1 - 737
• Topografix .gpx v1 - SkyVector Download
• Garmin .fpl v1 - SkyVector Download
• Comma Separated Values .csv - flightplandatabase.com
• Clipboard Paste Routes (CTRL+V)

NavData: >augmented, Professional and S versions build plans three ways: With navigation systems built into the scenery. With navigation data AIRACs from PMDG, iFly, Level-D, Aerosoft Airbus X Extended, or the Ideal Flight navigation data set specially supplied by Aerosoft NavDataPro. And uniquely, Ideal Flight can intelligently combine data from simulator and AIRAC, to produce the most reliable flight plans and FMS files available for the sim.

>augmented expansion pack, Professional and S versions can automatically build fsx.cfg/Prepar3D.cfg, dll.xml, and exe.xml files from components selected depending on chosen aircraft and can be enabled for injecting into the sim before the flight. Pre-configured Scenery.cfg files can also be utilised.

Some >augmented Screen Images:

Almost all the screens within Ideal Flight >augmented have increased functionality.

FSX/P3D + IF = More fun:

• Glider fun: Thermal and wind-induced air currents determined by environment and terrain, affect all aircraft. Complex winds move you around 360° in all directions, not just horizontally.
• Helicopter fun: Visit other locations than airports, including hundreds of navigation equipment sites, ships, and oil rigs.
• Navigation: Flight plans include top of climb and top of descent. Flight briefing includes detailed route sections and times, with an accurate ETA. Slick pilots can get within one minute of the ETA every time!
• Incentive: Get a route generated automatically for the aircraft you have, from where you are, to a destination that can be reached in a preferred time. Flights are monitored in detail and an assessment presented after the flight.
• Indispensible: Save without disturbing the flight. Several autopilot and systems items not available in the standard FSX/P3D save game file are saved and restored with Ideal Flight. Advance time to avoid lots of repetitive blue sky to concentrate more on the navigation sections of the flight.

Ideal Flight is also written nicely for Windows:

• The Ideal Flight setup .zip file is around 10-15Mb, and the running program only uses up system resources similar to that of a single File Explorer window.

• You don't need to be an admin to install or run Ideal Flight. However, Ideal Flight can run with admin privileges by setting the option in the pop-up menu on the start screen or setting the desktop shortcut property.

Ideal Flight setup can be run from inside the zip, no need to unzip first. Ideal Flight does not need to undo itself into a temp folder before setup can run. Ideal Flight installs from inside the .zip, and there are no compatibility settings to make.

Ideal Flight setup knows the system language and understands locations of the FSX/P3D directories. Ideal Flight checks the FSX/P3D installation and registry. (FSX/P3D registry entries repaired where necessary). Ideal Flight setup may ask for confirmation of the FSX/P3D location if the FSX/P3D registry settings appear incorrect.

Ideal Flight must learn about the scenery on the system and creates an index. The scenery files are scanned after changes to the scenery, or when starting Ideal Flight for the first time. Several minutes may be required to scan the scenery files to make indexes, which consequently help speed up airport searches. After making scenery changes, recreate indexes from popup menu items on the startup screen.

You can start Ideal Flight by dropping your favourite .PLN file onto the Ideal Flight desktop icon and Ideal Flight starts up with the .PLN loading. You can also drop .PLN files onto the icon to restore Ideal Flight from minimized.

Ideal Flight is a different technology that does not rely on c++ or .NET code libraries. Ideal Flight will not hurt your FSX/P3D installation and does not interact with other addons. You can use REX Textures and weather engine, or just REX textures, and the same goes with any other weather system. You can use any other traffic program, even if you use Ideal Flight traffic. You can use almost any other addon too. Enhance other flight planning tools with Ideal Flight: The plan file can be dropped on to Ideal Flight or loaded from the menu to build a new flight from that plan.

• The program window can be resized (in settings), and there is no problem when your FSX video mode kicks in.
• Ideal Flight uses little resources and has almost no effect on the frame rate. (Rain and snow will reduce your frame rate)
• Backup profiles can merge with fresh installations of Ideal Flight.

Please see the Help Documentation for more information.

Do more flying, see more airports, feel the environment come alive.

Screenshots:

All images Default FSX+IF, DX10, 1920x1200x32, 19fps limited internal, i7-960, GTX480.

Take the burden out of setting up a flight in Flight Simulator. A single press of a button creates a next logical flight with flight plan and briefing. Building fully featured flights is just a part of Ideal Flight; another button puts you straight into the cockpit with in-sim menu of special functions, kneeboard flight information and procedurally generated weather.

All the weather is generated from an algorithm, images provided have not been composed.

All images default FSX with Ideal Flight weather engine.

• Original version: Original IF10 for FSX and FSX-SE is now at version and can only be upgraded with original version >augmented. The registration is handled by codelegend.com servers.

• >augmented: Expansion pack unlock for original IF10.

• Special Edition: Same functionality as original IF10 for FSX and FSX-SE, but also includes enhanced functionality for many-core CPUs. The registration is handled by Flight1 servers. Current version. Can only be upgraded with >augmented - Special Edition.

• >augmented - Special Edition: Expansion pack unlock for IF10 - Special Edition. Has the same functionality as original >augmented, but also includes an enhanced sim data capture facility with graphing reports.

• Professional and S: Versions include all Ideal Flight 10 >augmented - Special Edition features. The complete package for P3D. Current version Ideal Flight 10 Professional for P3D versions v2/3, version Ideal Flight Professional for P3D versions v4/5 and Ideal Flight S for P3D version 6.

• FSX Steam Edition: In the case of DRM obfuscated (digital rights managed) Steam DLC add-on airport scenery files, Ideal Flight provides data from the underlying stock FSX airport data where available.

Reviews...

Just in...

Ray Rentschler

Forums

More quotes from the forums...

chas

signmanbob

Other comments...

Some of the comments shown below are from those that requested they help with the Ideal Flight project.

Stewart Ballantine emailed to say thank you...

Regards;

Stewart

(Stewart became a great help, and provided expert software testing and feedback, throughout final development of IF).

Kenneth McKinstry

Ken

(Ken soon began providing expert pilot feedback, sent in several suggestions written into IF, and expertly tested IF with dozens of addons throughout final development).

Bernhard Rems sent in several suggestions now packed into IF...

Bernhard

(Bernhard also provided expert program testing, fielded several FS forum threads, tested dozens of addons, and gave valuable feedback throughout final development).

Phil Manhart emailed to say thank you...

Sincerely

Phil Manhart

Olivier Renac emailed to say thank you...

Thanks,

Olivier

Jayakrishnan Nair emailed to say thank you...

Jay

Jeffrey Scharpf emailed to say thank you...

Jeffrey Scharpf

Rick U.