"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
Using DUATS or other planners doesn't necessarily mean letting the
software
select your waypoints. You can choose those yourself, and just let the
planner perform the tedious calculation of each leg's distance, course,
ground speed, wind correction angle, elapsed time, and fuel consumption.

But I don't find it tedious to plot each leg's course and distance.
It is part of being a pilot; how can it be tedious?

Repetitive arithmetic calculations are tedious (and error-prone) regardless
of the context. Besides, another part of being a pilot is making use of the
best available tools. And where do you draw the line? If you balk at using
a flight planner to calculate each leg's course, distance, ground speed,
wind correction, elapsed time, and fuel used, then why not reject the E6B as
well, and insist on doing all the calculations with just pencil and paper?

My airplane's fuel consumption is something I already know.

Yes, but the fuel used for each leg (as well as the cumulative usage and
remaining fuel at each waypoint) has to be calculated afresh.

Obvously, I can't calculate GS, WCA and ET because I won't know the
wind until the day of the trip--and even then, wind forecasts are
notoriously inaccurate.

Using a flight planner, I can quickly generate a no-wind plan for each of
several prospective routes, comparing the distances and times involved. I
can contrast a direct route with a more scenic route, or look at various IFR
routes that ATC might assign me. Shortly before the flight, I can get
wind-adjusted plans for several scenarios, including different altitudes as
well as different routes. A strong wind has a significant impact on flight
times; even inaccurate forecasts are usually a better bet than a no-wind
plan on a windy day.

I see the value in occasionally calculating diversion legs by hand while
flying, just to stay in practice for real-time planning. But I don't need
to perform that exercise for each leg of each contemplated route of each
flight, any more than I need to re-read all the FARs before each flight.

--Gary

vince norris