Print an FSX flight plan on Windows 10 or 11 using NavLog, save it as a PDF, and fix missing printers or an unresponsive Print button.
To print a flight plan in FSX or FSX: Steam Edition, open Flight Planner, create or load the route, select NavLog, then choose Print. In the Windows print dialogue, select a physical printer or Microsoft Print to PDF. FSX prints the navigation log rather than the graphical route map.
How do I print the FSX NavLog?
FSX prints a route through its NavLog window after the Flight Planner has calculated or loaded the plan.
- Open Flight Planner. Select it from the Free Flight screen. If a flight is already running, press
Altto reveal the menu bar, then select Flights and Flight Planner. - Create or load the route. Choose the departure and destination airports, select the flight rules and routing method, then calculate the route. Our walkthrough of creating and checking an FSX route covers the planner controls in detail.
- Open NavLog. Once the route appears in Flight Planner, select NavLog to display its printable navigation details.
- Select Print. Wait for the standard Windows print dialogue; legacy FSX windows can take a moment to appear.
- Choose the output. Select your physical printer, or choose Microsoft Print to PDF to create a PDF copy.
- Complete the print job. For a PDF, choose a writable folder such as Documents, enter a filename and save it.
What does FSX print?
The built-in Print command produces the NavLog, not a picture of the Flight Planner map. It normally contains the waypoint sequence and calculated leg information, such as headings, distances and estimated times.
| Required output | Best method |
|---|---|
| Printable route details | Open NavLog and use Print |
| PDF navigation log | Select Microsoft Print to PDF |
| Graphical route map | Capture the Flight Planner map with Windows Snipping Tool, then print the image |
| Editable or reusable route | Save the plan as a .PLN file rather than printing it |
How do I print an existing FSX .PLN file?
Load the saved .PLN file into Flight Planner, open NavLog and print it from there. Printing the raw file itself will not produce a useful formatted navigation log.
If the route is missing from the planner, use our guide to finding and loading saved FSX flight plans. Plans created by an external tool must be exported in an FSX-compatible .PLN format before the built-in planner can generate its NavLog.
Why will FSX not print the flight plan?
Most FSX printing failures come from Windows printer configuration, an uncalculated route or a print dialogue hidden behind the simulator.
- No printer appears: Set a default printer in Windows, confirm that it can print a test page, then restart FSX.
- Microsoft Print to PDF is missing: Open the Windows Features panel and enable Microsoft Print to PDF, then reopen FSX.
- Nothing happens after selecting Print: Press
Alt+Tab. The print or PDF save dialogue may have opened behind fullscreen FSX. Switching temporarily to windowed mode also helps; persistent display trouble is covered by our FSX fullscreen troubleshooting steps. - NavLog is blank or unavailable: Return to Flight Planner and calculate the route with Find Route, or load a valid saved plan first.
- The PDF is not created: Save it under Documents or another user-writable folder. Avoid protected locations such as the FSX installation directory.
- Other programs cannot print either: Clear the Windows print queue and restart the Print Spooler or the computer. That indicates a Windows printing problem rather than an FSX fault.
Can FSX print the route map?
FSX does not provide a built-in command for printing the graphical Flight Planner map. Set the desired zoom level, capture the map with Windows Snipping Tool, save the image and print that separately; use NavLog when you need the route's leg-by-leg figures.