Learn to use the FlightGear flight planner: create, save and load .fgfp routes, activate the right leg, and fix map or autopilot issues.
Use FlightGear’s Route Manager to create or import a flight plan. Open it from the in-simulator Autopilot menu, enter the departure, destination and waypoints in order, then activate and save the route. To load one, choose Load, select a native .fgfp file, check the legs and activate the correct first leg.
How do I create a flight plan in FlightGear?
FlightGear’s built-in flight planner is called the Route Manager; it edits and sequences route legs but is not a full airline dispatch tool. Menu wording can vary slightly between releases and aircraft, but the underlying procedure is the same.
- Set your starting position. Select the departure airport and runway in the FlightGear launcher before starting the flight. Creating or loading a route does not reposition the aircraft.
- Open Route Manager. Once the simulator has loaded, open the Autopilot menu and select Route Manager.
- Enter the departure and destination. Use the airport identifiers recognised by FlightGear’s navigation database. Select runways only when the fields are available and the runway choice is known.
- Add intermediate waypoints. Use the waypoint entry and add or insert controls to place fixes, VORs, NDBs or airports in the order they will be flown. If an identifier is ambiguous, check its type and location before adding it.
- Inspect the leg order. Remove duplicate points and make sure the route runs continuously from departure to destination. Do not assume that entering two airports has generated a realistic airway route.
- Activate the route. If the aircraft is already on the runway or airborne, make the first active waypoint a point ahead of the aircraft rather than the departure behind it.
- Save the plan. Use the Route Manager’s save control and retain the native
.fgfpformat. Save it in a user-writable documents or flight-plans folder rather than inside FlightGear’s programme directory.
A mistake we see constantly is treating the Route Manager as an automatic route generator. It will sequence the legs supplied to it, but the pilot still needs to choose sensible fixes, procedures and cruising levels. Our guide to choosing airports, waypoints, altitude and fuel for a simulator flight plan covers that planning work.
How do I load a FlightGear .fgfp flight plan?
Load a native .fgfp file through Route Manager, then inspect and activate it before relying on the route.
- Extract the file first. If the plan arrived in a ZIP or another archive, extract the actual flight-plan file; Route Manager does not load the archive itself.
- Open Route Manager. Select Load and browse to the saved
.fgfpfile. - Check every leg. Confirm the departure, destination and intermediate waypoints. A plan created against different navigation data may contain unresolved or substituted fixes.
- Choose the active leg. Select the first waypoint ahead of your present position. If the plan is not already active, use the Route Manager’s activate control.
- Verify it visually. Open the map and confirm that the route and active leg point in the expected direction. Our instructions for displaying FlightGear’s route layer and active leg explain the relevant map controls.
The safest format is FlightGear’s own .fgfp. File compatibility should be judged by the format, not merely by whether a file contains a list of waypoints.
| File type | What to do |
|---|---|
Native .fgfp | Load it directly in Route Manager and verify the route. |
| Plan exported specifically for FlightGear | Confirm that the result is an .fgfp file and inspect any procedures or custom waypoints. |
.pln, .fms, GPX or another simulator format | Do not assume direct compatibility. Import support varies, so export or convert the route specifically for FlightGear rather than renaming the extension. |
| ZIP or other archive | Extract the enclosed flight-plan file before using Load. |
Why does a loaded flight plan not appear or sequence?
A loaded plan usually fails to display or sequence because it is inactive, uses incompatible waypoints, has the wrong active leg or is hidden by the map settings.
| Symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| The file is absent from the Load window | It may still be archived, have an unsupported extension or be hidden by the file-type filter. Extract it and use a genuine .fgfp file. |
| The plan loads with missing legs | The file may contain identifiers or procedures absent from the installed navigation data. Replace the unresolved points and save a corrected copy. |
| No route line appears on the map | Activate the plan and enable the route or flight-plan layer on the map. |
| The route points back towards the airport | The departure or another waypoint behind the aircraft is active. Advance to the next valid waypoint ahead. |
| The aircraft starts somewhere else | Loading a plan does not move the aircraft. Set the departure through the launcher or reposition separately. |
| The plan will not save | The destination folder may not be writable. Save it under your user account rather than in the FlightGear installation folders. |
How do I make the autopilot follow the flight plan?
A FlightGear flight plan supplies route guidance; it does not automatically engage the autopilot or control the aircraft’s altitude.
- Activate the plan in Route Manager and confirm that the correct leg is active.
- Select the appropriate navigation source on the aircraft’s panel, normally GPS or FMS rather than a VOR receiver.
- Intercept the active leg using heading control or manual flight. Starting close to the desired track reduces abrupt turns.
- Engage the lateral navigation mode supported by that aircraft, commonly labelled NAV, GPS or LNAV.
- Manage the vertical profile separately. A stored cruise altitude or waypoint constraint does not guarantee that the aircraft supports VNAV.
Aircraft integration differs across FlightGear. Many panels read the simulator-level Route Manager directly, while some detailed aircraft use a separate CDU or custom FMS and require the route to be entered or imported there as well. If heading mode remains selected, or the panel’s navigation source is still set to a radio aid, the autopilot will ignore an otherwise valid route.