Where are FSX flight plans stored and how do I use them?
Find FSX and FSX: Steam Edition .PLN flight plans, including OneDrive folders, then load, follow and troubleshoot them correctly.
FSX and FSX: Steam Edition normally save flight plans as .PLN files in your Windows Documents\Flight Simulator X Files folder, or the equivalent OneDrive Documents folder if Windows redirects it. To use one, extract the .PLN file, open FSX Flight Planner, select Load, verify the route and accept it.
Where is the FSX flight plan folder?
The normal FSX flight plan location is:
C:\Users\<Windows account>\Documents\Flight Simulator X Files
You can also express that as:
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Flight Simulator X Files
FSX: Steam Edition normally uses the same user Documents folder. Its plans are not normally stored inside the Steam installation directory.
If OneDrive backs up or redirects your Documents library, the physical location is usually:
C:\Users\<Windows account>\OneDrive\Documents\Flight Simulator X Files
Work or school OneDrive installations may use a folder whose name includes the organisation. A manually relocated Documents library can also put the folder on another drive, so the paths above are common defaults rather than absolute rules.
The quickest reliable check is to open Documents through File Explorer and look for Flight Simulator X Files. If there are several copies, create and save a temporary route in FSX and note the folder shown by its Save dialogue. That reveals the location this Windows account and FSX installation are actually using.
OneDrive does not alter the .PLN format. However, a cloud-only file may not be immediately available to an older program such as FSX. Make the plan available locally before loading it; OneDrive commonly labels this option Always keep on this device.
The standard folder is convenient, not compulsory. FSX can load a compatible plan from the Desktop, Downloads or another folder if you browse there in the Load dialogue.
What an FSX flight plan contains
An FSX flight plan is a structured route file describing the intended flight rather than the complete aircraft state. A typical .PLN contains the departure and destination, flight rules, route type, cruise altitude and a sequence of airports, navigation aids or intersections.
It does not normally preserve the selected aircraft, fuel load, weather, engine state, panel configuration or autopilot settings. Those belong to the wider saved-flight setup, not the route itself. Loading a plan also does not automatically enter it into every add-on FMC.
FSX .PLN files use structured XML data. Renaming an unrelated route file so that it ends in .PLN does not convert it and often leaves FSX unable to read it.
How do I load a .PLN flight plan in FSX?
- Extract the downloaded file: if it arrived in a ZIP or another archive, extract the actual
.PLNfile first. FSX cannot load the archive itself. - Check the full filename: enable file-name extensions in File Explorer and confirm that the file ends in
.PLN, not.PLN.txtor another hidden extension. - Place it somewhere accessible: copy it to
Documents\Flight Simulator X Files, or leave it elsewhere and browse to that location later. - Open Flight Planner: use the Flight Planner button from the Free Flight screen. During a flight, reveal the top menu if necessary and open the flight-planning command from there.
- Select Load: browse to the plan, select it and open it. If it is absent, check the dialogue's file-type filter as well as the folder.
- Inspect the route: confirm the departure, destination, flight rules, cruising altitude and waypoint sequence. Pay particular attention to plans created with newer navigation data than stock FSX.
- Choose whether to reposition: select Yes when FSX asks to move the aircraft if you are starting a new flight at the planned departure. Select No if the aircraft is already parked or airborne where you want it.
- Verify it after loading: check the default GPS or navigation log before departure. A visible route line confirms that FSX accepted the plan, but it does not mean the autopilot is configured to follow it.
To create, edit and save a route rather than import one, use our walkthrough of the built-in FSX Flight Planner controls.
What does a loaded flight plan actually do?
A loaded plan supplies route information to FSX's flight-plan system, default GPS, navigation log and default ATC where applicable. It does not fly the aircraft by itself.
GPS and autopilot route tracking
In a GPS-equipped default aircraft, open the GPS and confirm that the expected waypoints appear. On many default panels, following the GPS route with the autopilot requires the NAV/GPS selector to be set to GPS, the aircraft to be reasonably close to the active course and the appropriate navigation mode to be engaged.
Add-on panels may use different selectors or entirely separate navigation systems. When you need the route and leg details during flight, our guide to opening the FSX kneeboard and reading its navigation pages covers the relevant controls.
Filing the plan with FSX ATC
Saving a .PLN file on disk is not the same as receiving an IFR clearance. If an IFR plan is active, FSX's default ATC can use that route and offer the appropriate clearance workflow; you must still contact clearance delivery or the available ATC facility through the ATC window.
A VFR plan provides route information but does not become an IFR clearance. FSX also does not submit the route to real-world ATC or an online flying network.
Choosing direct, VOR, low-airway or jet routes
Choose the route type according to the aircraft's navigation equipment and the kind of flight you intend to simulate, then inspect the generated route rather than accepting it blindly.
| FSX route option | Choose it when | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Direct GPS | You want a simple point-to-point route or will add your own waypoints. | A straight line may disregard terrain, controlled airspace and normal IFR routing. |
| VOR to VOR | You want to practise conventional radio navigation. | The route depends on usable VOR coverage and the aircraft's radio equipment. |
| Low Altitude Airways | You are planning a lower-level IFR flight through the airway network. | Stock FSX airway and navigation data may differ from newer charts or planning data. |
| High Altitude Airways | You are planning the en-route portion of a high-level jet flight. | It does not provide a complete airline procedure with modern departures and arrivals. |
In United States terminology, jet routes are conventional high-altitude airways, commonly identified by a J-number. FSX's High Altitude Airways option is the closest built-in choice for generating this type of route.
The stock simulator uses an older navigation database, so a jet route or intersection found in newer planning data may be missing, renamed or differently connected in FSX. The built-in planner also does not reliably build a complete route around modern SIDs and STARs. Check for backtracking, large detours and unsupported fixes before departure.
Plan-G flight plans in FSX
A Plan-G route can be used in FSX when it is saved or exported as an FSX-compatible .PLN file. Exact command names vary between Plan-G releases, so select the output format intended for FSX rather than relying on the program's native project or route format.
- Build and check the route in Plan-G.
- Export an FSX-format
.PLNfile. - Save it in
Flight Simulator X Filesor another accessible folder. - Load it through the FSX Flight Planner and inspect every leg.
A route built from different scenery or navigation data can contain airports and fixes that stock FSX does not recognise. If it loads with missing legs, regenerate it against FSX-compatible data or remove the unsupported waypoints. Simply changing the extension of a native Plan-G file will not convert it.
Why does an FSX flight plan not appear or load?
Most missing or rejected plans are caused by the wrong folder, a hidden extension, a compressed download or an incompatible route format. Start by creating a short plan between two stock FSX airports in the built-in planner, then save and reload it.
If that test works, FSX's planner is functioning and the imported file is the likely problem. If the test plan also fails, investigate the active Documents folder, Windows permissions, OneDrive status or the simulator itself.
- The file is still compressed: extract the
.PLNfrom its archive before trying to load it. - The extension is disguised:
route.pln.txtis a text file despite what its shortened Windows filename may appear to show. - You are checking the wrong Documents folder: inspect the local Documents library, OneDrive Documents, redirected folders and the correct Windows user account.
- The file is cloud-only: download it locally through OneDrive before opening FSX.
- The format is not for FSX: route files from another simulator, planner or aircraft may use the same-looking extension but a different structure.
- The XML data is damaged: an incomplete download, faulty conversion or careless text edit can make the plan unreadable. Obtain or regenerate a clean copy rather than changing tags at random.
- Waypoints are unavailable: newer navigation data or add-on scenery may use identifiers that the stock FSX database does not contain.
- FSX cannot write to Documents: Windows security controls, folder permissions or OneDrive conflicts can prevent saving. Check these when new plans cannot be created as well as when imported plans fail.
If FSX: Steam Edition stops responding specifically when opening, saving or loading routes, follow our checks for isolating Steam Edition flight-plan freezes.
Add-on FMC import failures
Many add-on airliners use their own company-route format, filename rules and storage folder. A plan loading correctly in the FSX Flight Planner proves only that FSX can read it; it does not prove that the aircraft's FMC supports the same file.
Do not copy the plan into several aircraft folders or rename its extension at random. Check the aircraft's supported route format, then use our format-and-folder checks for add-on FMC imports when the simulator accepts a route but the cockpit system does not.