SkyDemon Plan Documentation: Planning a Route
Creating a Route on the Map
As you were exploring the map you probably saw that certain types of objects light up when the mouse cursor is over them. These are waypoints, and can be used to create a route. The following types of objects are waypoints: Towns, Airfields, Radio Aids, VRPs, Instrument Reporting Points and User Waypoints. Waypoints can be selected by clicking on them, and if you click on a waypoint while another is selected, a route is created between them.
To create a route, click on the consecutive waypoints that make up the route. For instance, to create a route from Barkston Heath to Conningsby via Cranwell, click on Barkston Heath, click on Cranwell then click on Conningsby. You will see the route being formed as you click, and it appears as a thick magenta line. To clear your route and start again, press the New button on the toolbar.
If you would like to extend your route, select the last turning point in the route by clicking on it, then click on the next waypoint you'd like to be added.
If you find that clicking on a waypoint will not extend your route, it means that the last turning point in your route has become unselected. This is easy to do accidentally while dragging the map around. Not to worry: simply select your last turning point by clicking on it, then carry on clicking on waypoints to continue your route. You can also right-click any waypoint at any time and choose Append to Route.
Creating a Route with the Keyboard
There are two means to enter a route with the keyboard. You can press F4 to open the waypoint finder window and type in the name of a waypoint, then select it from the list shown. Repeat for each waypoint comprising the route, and assembling the route is just as if you had clicked on the waypoints on the map. This means of entry saves dragging the map around for longer routes. You can also do this for your start and destination airfields, which creates a long straight line between them, then use the mouse to dogleg it to any intermediate waypoints or to avoid certain airspace.
Alternatively you can create a route from a route plan, typed in the same way as would be specified on a VFR flight plan. To do this, open the File menu, choose Import then From ICAO Flight Plan. Type a route in to the box and press OK to load it.
When specifying a route like this in SkyDemon the DCT part is optional; you can just type a list of waypoints separated by spaces. Any errors in the route are highlighted as you type. A waypoint can be entered as a VOR radial and distance (SAM17522). A change of speed and level can be appended to a waypoint after a slash (EGHA/N0100A025). An example route is shown on the right.
Anatomy of a Route
At this point some terminology needs to be clarified to make the rest of this documentation understandable. Waypoints are features that can be navigated by. A route is your entire route from one location to another, which consists of a number of legs between turning points.
Route legs are drawn as thick magenta lines, and turning points are white boxes. If the turning points coincide with waypoints on the map (which they usually do), the name of the waypoint is shown in the box.
In the example on the right, 1 is a turning point at Blackpool, 2 is the leg between Blackpool and Fleetwood, 3 is a turning point at Fleetwood, 4 is a turning point that does not coincide with a waypoint and 5 is a waypoint that is not part of the route.
Altering your Route
You will almost always need to alter your route in some way to make it more desirable. In fact, many people prefer to create a route by simply entering their start and destination, which of course routes direct, then alter the route in between afterwards to make it suitable.
A route is comprised of legs between turning points. These can be selected and manipulated. As an example, find Blackpool airport on the map and create a route from there to Barrow (20 miles north) by clicking on one then the other. If you then decided you'd like to route via the Fleetwood VRP, which is a few miles to the east of the route, you would click and drag on the leg and drag it to that VRP.
Moving a turning point to a different waypoint is accomplished in the same manner: if you decided you'd like to start from Warton instead of Blackpool you would click on the Blackpool turning point label and drag it to Warton.
As you are dragging legs and turning points, you will notice that although the cursor snaps to waypoints and shows their names, you can also have a turning point which is not over a waypoint; it is simply an unnamed location in space. This is extremely handy if you will be navigating by GPS and you want to create a diversion around some airspace and there is no waypoint to hand.
This technique can be used to avoid danger areas or other pieces of airspace you do not want to fly through. Create a route from Exeter to Bodmin, this will take you straight through the Dartmoor Danger Area. Grab the leg over the danger area and drag it upwards so that the route is clear. Your route will now have two legs. You could then subdivide these two legs even further by dragging them, so that you skirt very closely around the airspace.
Removing Turning Points
You can simplify or change your route by removing turning points. To remove one, select it then press Del, or right-click it and choose Delete Turning Point. You can also remove one by dragging it on top of a neighbouring turning point in your route.
For example, to remove the secondary turning points created in the route above, drag them one at a time on top of the middle turning point at the top, and they will disappear.
Vertical Navigation and Route Conditions
The broad parameters for your route can be changed using the boxes in the toolbar. In there, you can specify the true airspeed, the level and the wind. When you have entered a value press Enter to commit the change. These values apply to the route as a whole, but you can set individual values per leg by bringing up the Leg Properties window. To do this, double-click on any leg. You will need to uncheck the relevant tickbox to indicate that you want a specific value for that leg before you are able to enter one.
So far we have dealt only with horizontal navigation. Whether you choose to alter the level for the route as a whole or per leg, You can enter either an altitude in feet or a flight level starting FL. You can also change the level of a leg visually by dragging it up and down in the Enroute Features window at the bottom of the screen, which we will cover in detail later.
Wind, like TAS and level, can either be entered for the route as a whole (which is fine for shorter trips) or per-leg. Wind is entered as a vector with direction and speed (270/15). As you enter a wind you will likely see the Time value shown in the status bar change, and you can switch to the Route Plan window at the bottom of the screen to see in more detail how the change affects the headings you will fly and the groundspeeds you will achieve.
In the Flight Details window on the right you can set the date and time of your flight. This is saved along with your route plan and is used when producing an ICAO flightplan and for filtering NOTAM that might affect the flight. Next to the Takeoff heading will appear "Not Set", but click on that link and you can set the date and time. Press enter to confirm your choice. You'll notice that the Landing time is now shown.
Route Tools
Specify an Alternate Destination
In theory every route should have an alternate destination planned, just in case your ideal destination is unreachable. Once your route is planned simply right-click on another airfield and select Set as Alternate. You will see the alternate leg is drawn with a thick dashed orange pen rather than the standard magenta pen. You can set the level of the alternate route and its conditions just like you can with other legs, though you cannot break it up into more than one leg.
Reversing the Route
To quickly reverse the route you have planned, click the double-headed arrow on the toolbar or press Ctrl-R. If you have specified an alternate destination you will need to redo this, as obviously it cannot be included in a route reversal. In this manner you can efficiently generate the return route home, after planning an outward route.
Managing Routes
You can save as many routes as you like, as files on disk. By default SkyDemon will place routes in a Routes folder within the SkyDemon folder, which is itself within your personal documents folder. These files are small and can easily be shared with friends who are also using SkyDemon.
