What is Little Navmap and how do you use it?

Little Navmap is a free, open-source flight planner, moving map and navigation utility for Microsoft Flight Simulator, FSX, Prepar3D and X-Plane. Install it outside the simulator, load the matching scenery database, connect to the running sim, then build, check and export routes or follow your aircraft on the live map.

What does Little Navmap actually do?

Little Navmap combines route planning, airport information and live aircraft tracking in one external desktop application.

• Plan VFR and IFR routes using direct legs, navaids, waypoints, airways and published procedures.
• Search airports and inspect runways, parking positions, frequencies, elevation, approaches and nearby facilities.
• Display terrain, airspace, minimum altitudes, weather information and an elevation profile where the required data is available.
• Follow your aircraft on a second screen, record its track and display simulator traffic supported by the connection.
• Estimate fuel and flight time using an aircraft performance profile.
• Export flight plans in formats supported by stock simulators and many add-on aircraft.

It does not fly the aircraft or replace its GPS, FMC or autopilot. An exported route may still need to be loaded, checked or entered manually in the cockpit. We treat Little Navmap as a planning and situational-awareness tool, not as a substitute for the aircraft's avionics.

The utility package and a broader feature summary are available on our Little Navmap download and information page. It is intended for flight simulation and must not be used for real-world navigation.

How do you set up Little Navmap?

Set up Little Navmap by placing the application in its own folder, loading your simulator's scenery library and configuring the appropriate live connection.

1. Install or extract the application. Little Navmap runs separately from the simulator. Do not place the main application in the MSFS Community folder, an FSX or Prepar3D Addon Scenery folder, or X-Plane's Resources/plugins folder.
2. Load the correct scenery database. Open Little Navmap's scenery-library or database loader and select the exact simulator you intend to use. This imports installed airports, runways, parking positions and related scenery information. Selecting an old FSX database while flying in MSFS is a common reason for incorrect airport layouts.
3. Configure the local connection. Microsoft Flight Simulator, FSX and Prepar3D normally communicate locally through SimConnect. X-Plane requires the supplied Little Xpconnect component in Resources/plugins.
4. Start an actual flight. Place the aircraft in the simulator, connect Little Navmap if it has not connected automatically, and look for the user-aircraft symbol. Its position and heading should update as the aircraft moves.
5. Rescan after scenery changes. Rebuild the scenery library after adding, removing or updating airports. Otherwise, Little Navmap may continue showing an old runway, parking layout or airport location.

You can plan routes without a live simulator connection. The connection is required only for moving-map functions, simulator weather and traffic data, and other live information.

Can Little Navmap run on a second computer?

Yes. Run the companion Little Navconnect application on the simulator computer, then connect Little Navmap from the other computer over the local network. The simulator-side machine still needs its normal SimConnect or X-Plane connection.

If the aircraft never appears, confirm both computers are on the same network, use the address and port reported by Little Navconnect, and allow the connection through the firewall. A remote moving map that remains frozen is usually a connection problem, not a scenery-database problem.

How do you plan and export a flight?

Build a route by choosing the departure and destination, setting an appropriate cruise altitude, adding the required route and procedures, then exporting for the simulator or aircraft you will fly.

1. Set the departure and destination. Find each airport through the search function and assign it to the flight plan. Add a parking position or runway start if the intended export format supports one.
2. Enter the cruise altitude. Do this before calculating an IFR route because airway availability, direction and minimum altitude can affect the result.
3. Choose the route style. For IFR, calculate a low- or high-airway route or edit the legs manually. For VFR, add visual turning points, navaids or suitable airports while checking terrain and controlled airspace.
4. Add published procedures properly. Select a SID, STAR, transition or approach through the procedure browser rather than recreating it by dragging individual fixes onto the route. This preserves the procedure structure and makes later changes easier.
5. Check the plan. Inspect terrain clearance, airway restrictions, discontinuities, runway length, airspace and alternates. Confirm that the selected procedures suit the expected runway and weather.
6. Save a master copy. Keep the route in Little Navmap's native .lnmpln format before exporting. Target formats can omit performance data, comments, procedure details or parking information.
7. Export for the intended target. Choose the specific simulator or aircraft format, save it in the location that target expects, and load or verify it before departure.

For an instrument flight, route creation is only one part of the task. Our guide to planning and flying a complete simulator IFR flight covers avionics setup, clearances, departures, en-route navigation and approaches.

Does exporting a route load it into the aircraft?

No. Exporting normally creates a flight-plan file; it does not automatically programme every GPS or FMC.

A mistake we see constantly is exporting a generic simulator plan and expecting a complex add-on FMC to read it. Check the export target, folder and file extension, then compare the waypoint sequence in the cockpit with the Little Navmap route.

Why are the airports or procedures wrong?

Wrong airport layouts usually indicate a stale or incorrect scenery library, while missing SIDs, STARs and approaches usually indicate mismatched navigation data.

These are separate databases. The scenery library describes installed airports, runways and parking positions. The navigation database supplies waypoints, airways and procedures, while an add-on aircraft may use yet another database inside its FMC. Rescanning scenery will not repair a procedure mismatch caused by different nav-data cycles.

Why do Little Navmap procedures not match the FMC?

Little Navmap and the aircraft are probably using different nav-data cycles or sources. Runway renumbering and revised procedure names can produce the same symptom.

Align the navigation databases where your supported setup permits it. Otherwise, select procedures and fixes available in both systems, and verify every leg rather than forcing an unavailable procedure into the FMC.

Missing traffic or weather does not always indicate a failed aircraft connection. Simulators differ in what they expose, and some multiplayer traffic or weather layers require a separate supported source or setting. Establish a reliable user-aircraft position before troubleshooting optional overlays.

When is Little Navmap better than the built-in planner?

Little Navmap is the better choice for detailed route design, database checking and second-screen navigation; the built-in planner is faster for a simple flight created entirely inside the simulator.

• Use the built-in planner for a quick direct route where convenience matters more than detailed editing.
• Use Little Navmap for airway planning, procedure inspection, VFR terrain and airspace checks, multi-leg flights, performance estimates or a persistent moving map.
• Use both when you want to build and verify the route externally, export it, then fly it through the simulator and cockpit avionics.

MSFS users can compare that workflow with our explanation of creating and loading routes through the MSFS world map. For the older platform, we also cover how the stock FSX Flight Planner handles routes.

Whatever method you choose, verify the imported waypoints, cruise altitude, departure, arrival and approach in the cockpit. The fact that a line looks correct on Little Navmap's map does not guarantee that the aircraft has loaded the same route.