I like putting in the distance, course data, etc. well ahead of time and
then plugging in the weather information just before I go. Driving the
Sporty's E6B through it all is just too much work now that I'm no longer a
student and don't have to show my work to anyone. This spreadsheet should
make it easier.

I'm not trying to throw cold water on your work but I guess I don't see
any advantage, Roger. Are you going to lug a laptop into the airplane to
work the spreadsheet? You mentioned paper folded onto a clipboard. After
you plug in the relevant info, how do you print it out -- copy by pencil?
So, I get this picture.... bags are loaded, preflight is done, now it's
time to call WXBRIEF. Uh oh, the winds at cruise altitude are 65 degrees off
the nose and blowing 22 knots. Later on, just past midway on my
cross-country, a check with flight watch reveals the winds have shifted
around to 20 or so degrees off the nose and picked up 5 knots.
In either of the above cases, a few movements of my whiz-wheel will
tell me: (1) the mag course to follow to correct for the cross-wind to hold
track, (2) the headwind(or tailwind) component and its affect on my ground
speed, and (3) the change in fuel consumption. By reverse logic, I can use
the whiz-wheel to estimate unknown wind directions and velocities
I do my planning on the "Flight Planner" sheets provided by AOPA Air
Safety Foundation. In addition to being handy for keeping all the
information organized, it is a great memory tickler for getting all the
information -- a flight planning checklist, so to speak.
I saw a favorably impressive demonstration of an electronic gizmo, like
Sporty's E6B. If it weren't for batteries and LCD screen, I'd probably have
one. For now, I use the calculator functions of the KLN-89B in the panel to
back up my whiz-wheel.
Do it the way it works best for you, Roger. What makes you warm and
fuzzy makes flying the best.

Regards,

Casey