How to Make a Flight Plan in SimBrief

In this video we'll show you how to make a flight plan in SimBrief. Head over to dispatch.simbrief.com to get started!
SimBrief is a freeware flight planning tool that produces accurate briefing packages for flight simulation. When creating a flight plan using SimBrief, a briefing package similar to those real-world pilots use will be generated. This will provide you with the essential information required to prepare for your flight.
SimBrief has gotten a complete redesign of the dispatch interface with a more modern look and feel and additional improvements under the hood. In the new version, you can expect a long list of improvements, such as dark mode and large text options, interface adjusts to any screen size, new dashboard section featuring latest flights, news or updates, NOTAMs and other general information to the airport weather pop-ups, and much more.
Compatible devices:
Desktop PC or Mac using Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari
iPad or iPhone running iOS 12.4 or later
Android tablets and phones
For support with the SimBrief Dispatch System, or to make a feature request, users are encouraged to post in the dedicated section of the Navigraph Support Forum where our developers are available: forum.navigraph.com/c/simbrie...
Please use the search function before posting as your question may have already been answered in a previous topic.
If you want to know more about our company, check out our homepage Navigraph.com
We provide the flight simulation community with Flight Planning, Airport Charts, Enroute Maps and Navigational Data for flight simulation since 2003.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:16 Flight Info
00:50 Weather Forecast Tool
02:07 Aircraft Info
04:02 Selections
06:43 Optional Entries
08:00 Text Entries
08:16 Route
08:37 Navigraph and AIRAC data
09:45 Suggested Routes
10:05 Route Finder
10:25 Alternate Airports
11:23 Historical Weather
11:46 Generate Flight
Simulated Flight
Real Navigation
Homepage: www.navigraph.com
Instagram: / navigraph_team
Facebook: / navigraph

[@oliverunruh900]

Thanks to Simbrief to this amazing update! Absolutely amazing improvement in the interface!

[@Navigraphteam]

Thank you we will let the Dev team know.

[@kencrowe1965]

It's completely OVERWHELMING at first look!!! THANK YOU ALL for this detailed video, extremely helpful!!!

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Thank you for your kind words, we are very glad that the video helped you!

[@jaksongpg]

Thank you for all your hard work.

[@Richard_McDonald_Woods]

This is what I have always yearned for. Many thanks for all of your efforts. 🥰

[@Navigraphteam]

Thanks for the kind words. It took us a bit to do, we hope you enjoy it.

[@ralphconnell8163]

Excellent. A great addition to simming. Improving all the time.

[@Navigraphteam]

Thanks, that is our goal.

[@stevensilva8409]

great to see simbrief being updated just love it. The only thing missing from this is a tool for weight and balance and it performs rather the TOPCAT style. this tool would be perfect

[@Navigraphteam]

Thanks for that feedback.

[@denisy6]

awesomnessssss! Thnaks guys! You keep improving my favorite tool!

[@Navigraphteam]

No problem, thanks we try.

[@crashbar77]

Can't thank you enough what a great to the point video. Perfect!

[@Navigraphteam]

Thank you so much! Appreciate the positive feedback! Happy Flying!

[@neohelios77]

"Do not forget to click Generate Flight!!!" --as an IT guy I felt that. My users can be.... uh... very good for job security!

[@TomBombadiddle]

Wow, tried it out yesterday and was impressed with the smooth and slick UI you build there. Love it! Used it on Chrome and discovered that you can delete single entries in the comboxes by hovering over them, they get greyed, and then hit Shift-Del. Time for a little cleanup 😂

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Thank you for the feedback, we are glad that you appreciates the new update!

[@exiletsj2570]

Great step in the right direction. My hope is still full integration into the charts app and further GUI work, to bring simbrief up to that high navigraph standard.

[@Navigraphteam]

Thanks, we will keep that in mind.

[@conlethbyrne4809]

Fantastic update & an excellent explanation. Thank You

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@conlethbyrne4809]

@@Navigraphteam 💯 💶

[@DBO3671]

Great update - This is really good. Would love to see inclusion of a starting position selector (e.g. stand / gate) as an optional (even if only as part of Navigraph chart subscription).

[@Navigraphteam]

Thank you for the feedback. We will take that into consideration.

[@terrynorton3182]

Yes, now Beyond ATC is out its important. At the moment aircraft start from the departure runway but Beyond ATC starts from a gate!

[@roberthatcher2773]

Great Stuff!

[@hexadecimalpickle]

Folks.. "Generate flight" is the primary action of that page, you must make it more visible to reduce the number of tickets :) A grey button among other grey buttons is a no no.

[@jayc6170]

100%. There are very very good UX/UI designers at Navigraph but this generate flight button is not part of the flow in a way that makes any sense to someone who doesn’t already know it doesn’t make sense.

[@mlx39996]

I agree. In my opinion, the button should be at the bottom, like it was before. But hey, I'm not complaining this update looks amazing

[@Navigraphteam]

We are looking into that in the future.

[@sahibzairov4371]

Good to see some improvements. It would be great to add fuel at destination feature also.

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Thank you for your feedback. The best way to get our developer's attention with feedback is to post on our forum: forum.navigraph.com/c/simbrief/37 Our developers are very active there and they read everything.

[@Flight_Deck76]

Thank you!

[@Part_121]

Probably better than a lot of real-world flight planning software. Glad I'm a Navigraph subscriber! ✈

[@alexanderp.9519]

No, it's not. :)

[@Navigraphteam]

Thanks for that.

[@dedal3303]

Very nice refreshment. Thank you !

[@Navigraphteam]

You are welcome.

[@ericmartrenchard214]

thanks many 👌👌

[@dickkyardiansyahdamanik8594]

Hi, great video! can we select SID/STAR and see the runway orientation in simbrief?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! You can only see SID and STAR charts in Navigraph Charts, but you can find the runway orientation in SimBrief. If you look at the runway name, you will see the runway orientation, for example, on KJFK runway 13R is 134° and 4L is 44°.

[@rachelsobolewski2953]

Are you able to choose your own approach? For example: ILS, LNAV/VNAV, RNAV.

[@Navigraphteam]

No, however you can choose the runway of your choice. The issue in SimBrief (and all dispatch) is that runways change all the time, so the approach is not included. Give your self a bit of padding for the fuel burn.

[@Majd_Saad]

I really love simbrief, but what the heck is “N- - - -“ when i click on any VOR to check the speed ?

[@Navigraphteam]

That is estimated ground speed.

[@Majd_Saad]

@@Navigraphteam thanks, is it in knots or km/h ?

[@dbeachy1]

One humble suggestion that could help prevent users missing the crucial step -- what about making the "Generate Flight" button green and in bold? Then it would stand out from all the other buttons, and we users would be less likely to miss it. 😊

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Our SimBrief developer has made the "Generate Flight" button much clearer with a blue marking. So we want to thank all of you who give us feedback and help us make a better product. :)

[@salazarbernardo]

Hi guys! Just subscribed to the Navigraph service and I have a question. Do you plan on making Charts 8 an All in one solution without having to use navigraph for flight planning? This way, I would be able to import the FP to my Fenix A320 straight from navigraph, cause its way more intuitive, specially regarding procedures. Tnx for the great work!

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi Bernardo. Did you mean not having to use SimBrief? We all have different workflows. You can import and export several formats, and also create a route in Navigraph Charts using the autoroute function. At the moment we are not considering any flight plan APIs from Charts into any addon but this could change is we were presented with a good use case. :)

[@salazarbernardo]

@@Navigraphteam Lets say I want to use navigraph charts 8 fantastic aproach and departure finder feature, and then load this very flight plan into the Fenix without going to simbrief which doenst have that feature... What can I do?

[@triscadec]

Is there a way to disable the yellow map? If not, can we please have a way to disable the map? Or if we have to live with the map, can we have the option of it displaying on the left or right side?

[@Navigraphteam]

Not as of yet.

[@deondreward2494]

How would I copy my flight plan in the fms in the cj4 cuz I don't see cessna citation cj4 on the flight plan downloads on simbrief

[@Navigraphteam]

The CJ4, is in development, that feature is coming but timing is unknown.

[@kenz122933]

10:13 now that you're united, why not integrating directly the auto-routing from charts 8 into simbrief ? 😀(make this at the condition the user already own charts 8 if you don't want to losse the business value of the autorouting function, but overall the process would be much more straightforward than jumping from one app to the other). Othe than that, simbrief was already an incredibly marvelous app and your UI reshaping on top of that is just perfect !

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Unfortunately, this is an issue which I am afraid we at the content team can not provide direct guidance in. I suggest you to submit a post about it in our forum where you can get help from our development team: forum.navigraph.com

[@FlyingMaxFr]

If you get too many support tickets because a lot of users don't see the Generate button that's maybe because it should be made more visible?!

[@Navigraphteam]

People forget to generate the plan...very common. But something to look at in the future.

[@gerrypompero]

@@Navigraphteam Call it "Exec" and have it turn on a light like on any FMC as soon as an edit is made. I bet people will use it.

[@elturkocharro4106]

Always remember to Click the Generate Flight button!!!🤣

[@Navigraphteam]

Can't tell you how many time we forgot to do that as well!

[@BENDOESMINECRAFT10]

I tried to fill in the flight number and altitude but the flight number box wouldn’t let me input the number and the altitude box would only let me put in F or F3 and nothing else.

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi and thank you for reaching out! We recommend that you contact our support department in our forum they will gladly help resolving this issue. Happy Flying!

[@bar10dr]

Just an idea, but if you get a ton of support tickets regarding people not finding the button, then perhaps its the GUI that is wrong? I bet if you put a copy of the button at the bottom of the left side list, where its always visible, you will cut down on the amount of support tickets.

[@petemac7969]

I went into this update today for the first time and i had no trouble figuring out that I had to click the Generate Flight button. It works the same way as the old interface, you just have to READ THE PAGE! Too many people have lost the ability to THINK for themselves and expect everyone to hold their hand and tell them what to do. Great update Navigraph! Thank you!

[@bar10dr]

@@petemac7969 I was just commenting on the amount of tickets they got on this one issue. Tickets cost money, there are people answering all of them. I wasn’t belittling their product, just making a point regarding the button. That you found it doesn’t change that a lot of people don’t, and as you say you were already used to its position. Just sounds to me like it would be smarter to move the button where users expect it to be rather than continue to have deal with a ton of support tickets when there is a simple fix for it.

[@Navigraphteam]

We may look into this in the future.

[@jimnelson4273]

Where are the load sheets now?

[@carrot247]

is there any way to create a flight plan for xplane 11 without paying but with updated AIRAC? i dont have money for this option

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! I'm sorry, but you need a Navigraph Subscription for updated AIRAC data.

[@Nowaviation]

Can you please help me out over here. Every time I make a flight plan, it never aligns with the runway. Can you help with that?

[@Navigraphteam]

Best to start a new forum post at forum.navigraph.com/

[@josneira1827]

could someone tell me if they know please as i am having a specific issue with BeyondATC, what are the acceptable and reckognized formats for a call-sign? if there are any conditions.. thx

[@Navigraphteam]

You may have to contact BATC for that question.

[@josneira1827]

@@Navigraphteam Yeah i got my answer; you're basically are stuck with pre recognized call-signs. they do say on their development info, that at some point during it's path, that they will be asking the users for feature requests, i think this would be mine, customization to create identity, for users i think is important to the overall immersion, thx for your fb

[@frazixflying]

How can you add an approach into a runway, for example an ILS approach

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! You can't do it in SimBrief, because it's not realistic to select an Approach while planning a flight. The Approach is selected in your FMS with information from your destination airports NOTAM and ATIS information. But if you want to do it, I recommend using Navigraph Charts. You can select Approaches in Charts while planning a flight, as well as reading the destination airports NOTAM and ATIS.

[@user-oq2fr9je6o]

Is there a way to put waypoints into the fmc and have them pop up one by one on the simbrief map? Then when activated it would draw a line on the map...

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! There are no connections between the FMC and SimBrief, except for a few Aircraft's that implemented it while developing the aircraft. Here's a video on how you do it on a PMDG 737 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j16QooaOetClZqc&t

[@user-oq2fr9je6o]

@@Navigraphteam thank you!

[@clarkjanes3094]

"You only need to do THREE things to generate an OFP..." Video goes through a dozen complicated steps :)

[@user-oq2fr9je6o]

Hahaha

[@GrandMasterWu777]

Love it!🍻

[@Navigraphteam]

We’re happy to read that, cheers!

[@gordo1163]

When i click generate flight plan, my route turns into a straight line and there is no cruise wind or isa deviation information. any help with this?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hello there! We made a flight plan in SimBrief and everything seems to work. If you still have the problem then we suggest you to submit a post about your issue in our forum where you can get help from our technical support team as well as other users: forum.navigraph.com

[@StellaMystic]

Can someone help me? when i try to put in some way points, most of them say not in data base, so i just skip to the next one but the flight is not so complete, and also with stars/sids, the ones simbrief give me arent in the data base. is it because msfs doesnt have all of them for some places? like i tried in brazil for example and that is what happened

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi and sorry to hear that you are having problems. First of all, sorry for the late answer. Secondly, do you have an active subscription and have you updated AIRAC to the latest cycle?

[@StellaMystic]

@@Navigraphteam Hey, no worry's and thanks for replying, yeah I found out that's exactly what you mentioned, it's the AIRAC cycle, I need the nabigraph subscription for that and it looks so good! For real time charts and the most recent AIRAC makes it so worth it imo, I'm just trying to figure out some things IRL then I'll save some money to buy a month, my main currency is Brazilian Reals so it's more expensive than the Euro (5x), but no worries. Again that's for responding and soon I'll have the 50 reals for the subscription 🙏🏻☺️

[@TheTruthcometh]

Is their trim info on SimBrief pages if yes where can it be found?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Trim is not calculated in SimBrief, but thank you for the feedback.

[@cielwzx8213]

umm we cant add SID and STAR r8 in the sim brief!!!?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there, SIDs and STARs can be added in simbrief but depending on the export you might have too add it seperate.

[@skulyi3158]

How do you add a stop on your fp

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! You can't add a stop in SimBrief, you need Navigraph Charts to be able to adjust and change the flight plan.

[@jorgepadua5802]

The generate flight button is made to look as if you are already on that page. Fix it please

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! We try to gather all feature suggestions and requests in the wishlist section of our forum. Please feel free to post and vote on suggestions and/or feature requests there: forum.navigraph.com/c/wishlist. Many thanks & Happy Flying

[@A310FirstOfficer]

I have a problem,i cant seem to make a plan flr the approach,its just a line to the airport,whem i try to program it in the FMC it just goes on a route it thinks is good,please help men

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there. Unfortunately, this is an issue which I am afraid we at the content team can not provide direct guidance in. I suggest you to submit a post about your issue in our forum where you can get help from our technical support team as well as other users: forum.navigraph.com

[@A310FirstOfficer]

@@Navigraphteam No it's just when I make a flight plan I set arrival runway but it just shows a line to the airport not the runway

[@kodiakcannedy1501]

How do you find the ILS information?

[@Navigraphteam]

SimBrief is just generating the route. You can read the approach charts in Navigraph Charts. Read more about it here navigraph.com/products

[@kevindavis8175]

It’s too bad that all of the plans default to IFR when you export them. I use it for VFR sometimes.

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there, for the moment SimBrief will likely continue to focus mainly on IFR. We recommend that you use Charts when planning a VFR flight. Best regards,

[@maryelynworsham6242]

Hey when i did a flight plane itr did not give me depature or aproch

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! Simbrief is a dispatch system, and you don't get an approach, you will get the approach the ATC at your arrival airport. But you should get the departure. Please contact us again if this is still an issue for your flight plans.

[@PaRkEr12759]

How do you make it generate a ILS flight plan?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! This video explains how to make a ILS flight plan in SimBrief. Can you please explain what you want to know more about?

[@todorkapsis]

after you press the button generate flight, why it does nt go into the fs2020 ? how i can see the flight plan in fs 2020?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hello, you will need to scroll down to the flight plan downloads, from there go to FS 2020 and download.

[@todorkapsis]

@@Navigraphteam download in which folder?

[@Navigraphteam]

@@todorkapsis forum.navigraph.com/t/flight-plan-transfer-to-fs2020/5402

[@MaidensFN]

how do i set my plan to fly directly into the runway? to setup the approach

[@MaidensFN]

no plans aline with runways?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! While planning your flight go into *Optional Entries* and select *Departure Runway* and *Arrival Runway* . If you want more details about your Approach, we recommend importing the flight plan into Navigraph Charts 8. In Charts 8 you get access to *Highly Detailed Airport Diagrams* and *Jeppesen Approach Charts.

[@TheTruthcometh]

How much is a navigraph an unlimited subscription in US dollars?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! You will find the price on our homepage, in the pricing section. navigraph.com/pricing

[@MarkOleksander]

Can i put this into my msfs

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! I'm sorry, but we don't have any in-game panel for SimBrief. But you can import SimBrief flight plans to Navigraph Charts 8 In-game panel.

[@thegamerpro0094]

I would like that in the new version of simbrief they can add the option to download different aircraft profiles, from all developers, and I would like that they can support the application for android mobile phones, I have a Samsung A31 with the latest version Currently, and I can't download the application, and since I use the phone more to make flight plans, I would like them to implement the compatibility

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi There! Unfortunately, this is an issue which I am afraid we at the content team can not provide direct guidance in. I suggest you to submit a post about your issue in our forum where you can get help from our SimBrief team : forum.navigraph.com

[@A310FirstOfficer]

I meant me!

[@ShazenVideos]

How much does this program cost?

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi Shazwnvideos, simBrief is free :)

[@zrhplanespotting209]

How i can i do a approach

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! You can't do it in SimBrief, because it's not realistic to select an Approach while planning a flight. The Approach is selected in your FMS with information from your destination airports NOTAM and ATIS information. But if you want to do it, we recommend using Navigraph Charts. You can select Approaches in Charts while planning a flight, as well as reading the destination airports NOTAM and ATIS.

[@zrhplanespotting209]

@@Navigraphteam i bought navigraph charts and its really worth it! Thx!

[@earljohnpil3391]

1st 🤟

[@jeluna]

Second 😀

[@Navigraphteam]

Third 🤔

[@earljohnpil3391]

@@Navigraphteam 😆

[@nicolassantossantos1587]

En Español/Castellano, por favor, que tambien hay gente que paga de habla hispana

[@Navigraphteam]

Hola, lo siento pero no tenemos a nadie que hable español en Navigraph.

[@andresharston8380]

My brains blown I have no idea what I’m doing or what even any of this means

[@Navigraphteam]

Hey, take a look at this: dispatch.simbrief.com/guide#introduction

[@george.ogilvie]

‘Nodems’

[@Navigraphteam]

Should read NOTAMS.

[@tanmasunaga]

Welp I guess I can’t just see charts now (I just don’t want to pay for the subscription)

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! SimBrief is free and you can use SimBrief's base map layers without any cost, you can also use the brand new weather layers Airport Forecast, Weather Radar, Infrared Satellite and Significant Weather without any cost. The Navigraph subscription is only for the Navigraph features such as more advanced Weather layers and Charts map layers.

[@tanmasunaga]

No like I can’t check my gate position without them that’s what I meant

[@frontcentermusician]

Takes longer to set up the flight than to actually make the flight....

[@Navigraphteam]

We are getting closer and closer to the real world :). Have a great day and happy flying!

[@tomber46]

Mostly new look.. But no new features

[@Navigraphteam]

Yes, a refresh.

[@ShadowRev18]

It costs money 😢

[@Navigraphteam]

Hi there! SimBrief is free to use, however, it uses a slightly outdated navigation database by default. You can purchase a Navigraph subscription after registering, which will give you access to the latest real-world navigation data encoded for flight simulator use, updated every 28 days.

[@Jarhed1964]

Unfortunately, I believe Microsoft killed the Heavy mod in one of their updates. Can't even get external power working in this, and a lot of other things. Sad. I think they are trying to force everyone into what will be an extremely expensive MSFS2024.

[@brucefow8579]

what if i dont care about fuel and just want to create a flightplan and go , its a sim and i,m sitting at a desk dont care about all the make believe stuff , i dont need alternates or fuel calculations , or wiegth and balence , thats the work part of being a pilot

[@kevinju123]

So you say you don't care if you run out of fuel mid trip? :D

[@brucefow8579]

@@kevinju123 unlimited baby

[@Navigraphteam]

The neat thing is, you can just add a departure, arrival airport, and a plane type and SimBrief will do the rest.

[@kenz122933]

@@brucefow8579 Don't Use a Cannon to Kill a Fly