Navigraph

[paulb]

I have been looking at Navigraph, but am unsure whether or not to subscribe.

 

I fly in MSFS. I have Plan G installed for flight planning as well as the PMS 50 full version. Much of my flying is VFR over Orbx scenery and this setup works well for me.

But sometimes I fly the 737 or A320.

 

That got me thinking about Navigraph. I don't like the idea of having it on the same screen as MSFS. I do have a spare older laptop and a monitor. So (I think ) I could run Navigraph on either of those and use the moving map display.

 

Does any of this make sense? 

 

Thanks

Paul

 

[wain71]

Paul I'm not sure about having it on a separate laptop but definitely on a 2nd screen... I have full subscription with navigraph and the upgrade yesterday to charts 8 looks superb...it covers so much more now including vfr, planning looks great although I only had a quick look last night... I actually use mine on the same screen, but I fly in window mode as I have volanta and navigraph open, for me it's no different to looking at a tablet or map in a cockpit and once I've checked what I want it goes back to the background...best of all for me it seamlessly integrates with simbrief.... hopefully a bit later I can try doing a plan in it for vfr and see how that goes...

[paulb]

21 minutes ago, wain71 said:

Paul I'm not sure about having it on a separate laptop but definitely on a 2nd screen... I have full subscription with navigraph and the upgrade yesterday to charts 8 looks superb...it covers so much more now including vfr, planning looks great although I only had a quick look last night... I actually use mine on the same screen, but I fly in window mode as I have volanta and navigraph open, for me it's no different to looking at a tablet or map in a cockpit and once I've checked what I want it goes back to the background...best of all for me it seamlessly integrates with simbrief.... hopefully a bit later I can try doing a plan in it for vfr and see how that goes...

 

Thanks Wayne. Very helpful 

[Scott Harmes]

Hi Paul,

 

Yes you can also run Navigraph Charts on a separate device at the same time, and the moving map will work.  It will work on a separate laptop, tablet or even phone, as long as they are connected to the internet.

[Ken Q]

1 hour ago, Scott Harmes said:

Hi Paul,

 

Yes you can also run Navigraph Charts on a separate device at the same time, and the moving map will work.  It will work on a separate laptop, tablet or even phone, as long as they are connected to the internet.

I have used Navigraph on my cheap ($50) Amazon Fire tablet all along.  With the new Navigraph Charts update I find I cannot create a flight plan on the tablet.  Probably the version of Android is out of date. When I go to enter data the keyboard flashes in and out.  However I can easily create a flight plan on another computer, even though it is running Windows 7.  Then I can access the moving map, and all of the plates and charts on my tablet. I can read the flight plan just fine. I can also select and switch between flight plans that I've created and saved. It's just a minor inconvenience that I can't create it. I have a mount attached to my yoke to hold the tablet.

 

The new version of Navigraph Charts seems to be great, with many new features. And more new features are promised in the future.  When these come along it seems NC will have much of the functionality of ForeFlight but be cheaper and not require an expensive Apple device.

 

By the way Navigraph is raising their price by a modest .75 Euro, but for now you can get an annual membership for the old price until December 7.  I just did.

 

Ken

[Ken Q]

Experimenting with I find I can edit a flight plan on my tablet.  Seems I do anything as long as it doesn't involve keyboard entries.

Ken

[paulb]

1 hour ago, Scott Harmes said:

Hi Paul,

 

Yes you can also run Navigraph Charts on a separate device at the same time, and the moving map will work.  It will work on a separate laptop, tablet or even phone, as long as they are connected to the internet.

 

Thanks Scott.

 

I currently have a laptop on my desk next to my pc. When I was using P3D, I had it linked to my pc for FS-Flight Control. Then, for a couple of years, I flew very little. So, the laptop was idle.

 

I decided to purchase MSFS last year and changed my pc. This year I have been 'learning' MSFS and buying far too many aircraft and scenery (Orbx of course)!

 

If I get Navigraph, where should I install it - new pc/laptop? Also, is there a best way to connect the pc to the laptop?

Any suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated.

 

Thanks

Paul

[paulb]

30 minutes ago, Ken Q said:

I have used Navigraph on my cheap ($50) Amazon Fire tablet all along.  With the new Navigraph Charts update I find I cannot create a flight plan on the tablet.  Probably the version of Android is out of date. When I go to enter data the keyboard flashes in and out.  However I can easily create a flight plan on another computer, even though it is running Windows 7.  Then I can access the moving map, and all of the plates and charts on my tablet. I can read the flight plan just fine. I can also select and switch between flight plans that I've created and saved. It's just a minor inconvenience that I can't create it. I have a mount attached to my yoke to hold the tablet.

 

The new version of Navigraph Charts seems to be great, with many new features. And more new features are promised in the future.  When these come along it seems NC will have much of the functionality of ForeFlight but be cheaper and not require an expensive Apple device.

 

By the way Navigraph is raising their price by a modest .75 Euro, but for now you can get an annual membership for the old price until December 7.  I just did.

 

Ken

 

Thanks Ken,

 

As I mentioned to Scott above, it probably makes sense for me to use the laptop. It's about five years old - Asus i7 7200U, 8GB DDR4 ram, 256GB SSD and 2GB GeForce GT 940Mx card, Windows 10.

 

The new version of Navigraph sounds excellent. I just need to gain the confidence and expertise to set it up!

 

Thanks

Paul

[Ken Q]

27 minutes ago, paulb said:

 

Thanks Ken,

 

As I mentioned to Scott above, it probably makes sense for me to use the laptop. It's about five years old - Asus i7 7200U, 8GB DDR4 ram, 256GB SSD and 2GB GeForce GT 940Mx card, Windows 10.

 

The new version of Navigraph sounds excellent. I just need to gain the confidence and expertise to set it up!

 

Thanks

Paul

Hi Paul,,

 

The laptop will just fine for this purpose.  Navigraph doe have a bit of a learning curve, but most of it is clear and intuitive.  Once you get the hang of it it is very useful.  You can run it on several devices at once.  You just have to have the main program running in the backgroun on the FS computer.

 

Ken

[wain71]

some great advice there, I to have an idle laptop under my desk in a bag, I may set that up for the same reason, I find it so useful when planning the descent etc to have access to all the charts and things via navigraph all overlayed if required on the moving map...also very useful in vfr flights for those unknown regions / airports...

[Ken Q]

3 hours ago, wain71 said:

some great advice there, I to have an idle laptop under my desk in a bag, I may set that up for the same reason, I find it so useful when planning the descent etc to have access to all the charts and things via navigraph all overlayed if required on the moving map...also very useful in vfr flights for those unknown regions / airports...

BTW, one great feature of NC is the moving map when taxiing around the airport, especially when said airport is large and/or unfamiliar.  With earlier versions of Charts this was easily done with the Airport ?Diagram plate.  That still works very well, but I understand that there are other ways to accomplish this in the new version.

Ken

[John Heaton]

I've seen a few reviews of the new Navigraph 8 - and demonstrations of use - and keep asking myself - what is - or are - the

difference/advantages over the free Little Map - especially when it comes down to VFR 'IFR - low altitude flying.W

One attribute that seems to get pushed - is the chart for airports that allow you to follow your taxi route - but I see this in Little Map -

and with a moving Aircraft

 

So far - I haven't really bothered with the large jets - viz 737 - A320 etc - and I make good use of the B'Jets - H420 - Longitude

and sometimes - I try them at the highest altitudes of the aircraft over long flights - where they seem to outperform the larger

tubes. The combination of Little Map - and the sim's World Map - seems to do all that need - and LM is always on a 2nd monitor

 

Another minor point is - if I am flying in my own country - airport Charts and Sids and Stars Charts are all available for free and

SKYVECTOR charts are free for the rest of the world

 

Is it worth me spending $A14/month - and for what extra - if any - do I get??

[Scott Harmes]

19 hours ago, paulb said:

 

Thanks Scott.

 

I currently have a laptop on my desk next to my pc. When I was using P3D, I had it linked to my pc for FS-Flight Control. Then, for a couple of years, I flew very little. So, the laptop was idle.

 

I decided to purchase MSFS last year and changed my pc. This year I have been 'learning' MSFS and buying far too many aircraft and scenery (Orbx of course)!

 

If I get Navigraph, where should I install it - new pc/laptop? Also, is there a best way to connect the pc to the laptop?

Any suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated.

 

Thanks

Paul

 

When you go to the Navigraph website, there is a tab at the top right called "Downloads"  here you'll find al the installers for what you need to install.  In general just install Navigraph charts on to any device you want to use it on.  I have it installed on my PC, laptop, and phone.  You could also just install it on your laptop if that's the only place you want to look at charts.  Then there is a little program called Simlink, and this needs to be installed on to the PC where your flightsim is installed, and on the laptop where Navigraph Charts is installed.  Simlink is what connects the two devices so you can see your aircraft on the moving map, charts, diagrams etc.  You can actually see your aircraft symbol on certain charts such as airport/taxi diagram, SID/STAR charts, etc, or on the VFR or IFR map.  Navigraph also has FMS update options, depending on which supscription you want to get, that will update FMS navigation databases for aircraft like PMDG 737, FS Labs A320, and many more aircraft and programs, like VOXATC, Active Sky etc etc.

 

I think if you want a subscription for Navigraph charts really depends on if you use charts much.  You can get free VFR moving map programs like Little Nav Map and others, so the difference for Navigraph is mainly the FMS updates (if you choose that) and the frequently updated charts.

[paulb]

1 hour ago, Scott Harmes said:

 

When you go to the Navigraph website, there is a tab at the top right called "Downloads"  here you'll find al the installers for what you need to install.  In general just install Navigraph charts on to any device you want to use it on.  I have it installed on my PC, laptop, and phone.  You could also just install it on your laptop if that's the only place you want to look at charts.  Then there is a little program called Simlink, and this needs to be installed on to the PC where your flightsim is installed, and on the laptop where Navigraph Charts is installed.  Simlink is what connects the two devices so you can see your aircraft on the moving map, charts, diagrams etc.  You can actually see your aircraft symbol on certain charts such as airport/taxi diagram, SID/STAR charts, etc, or on the VFR or IFR map.  Navigraph also has FMS update options, depending on which supscription you want to get, that will update FMS navigation databases for aircraft like PMDG 737, FS Labs A320, and many more aircraft and programs, like VOXATC, Active Sky etc etc.

 

I think if you want a subscription for Navigraph charts really depends on if you use charts much.  You can get free VFR moving map programs like Little Nav Map and others, so the difference for Navigraph is mainly the FMS updates (if you choose that) and the frequently updated charts.

 

Thank you Scott. I appreciate your taking the time to help me .

[Ken Q]

8 hours ago, John Heaton said:

I've seen a few reviews of the new Navigraph 8 - and demonstrations of use - and keep asking myself - what is - or are - the

difference/advantages over the free Little Map - especially when it comes down to VFR 'IFR - low altitude flying.W

One attribute that seems to get pushed - is the chart for airports that allow you to follow your taxi route - but I see this in Little Map -

and with a moving Aircraft

 

So far - I haven't really bothered with the large jets - viz 737 - A320 etc - and I make good use of the B'Jets - H420 - Longitude

and sometimes - I try them at the highest altitudes of the aircraft over long flights - where they seem to outperform the larger

tubes. The combination of Little Map - and the sim's World Map - seems to do all that need - and LM is always on a 2nd monitor

 

Another minor point is - if I am flying in my own country - airport Charts and Sids and Stars Charts are all available for free and

SKYVECTOR charts are free for the rest of the world

 

Is it worth me spending $A14/month - and for what extra - if any - do I get??

Depends on what flying you do,John.  I do almost all of my flying on PilotEdge.  PilotEdge uses real world nav data.  When still using FSX and its badly outdated GPS data base I stumbled into the Phoenix Class Bravo and got soundly reprimanded by ATC.  After that Navigraph became worth every penny of the US$8.30, just to have the data updated every month. All the other features are a great plus.

 

Ken

[Sniper31]

In addition to all the great comments and advice above Paul, I would say that Navigraph (and Simbrief) are a huge benefit when flying the larger passenger and cargo aircraft. For me LNM workds great for VFR, but when it comes to SIDS and STARS and not to mention all the included approach plates, you can't beat Navigraph. And the new version 8 has imroved so many things! I have not tried the new VFR option in Navigraph yet, but I can tell you that it was sorely missed. As great as LNM is, having one platform that can handle both VFR and IFR low and high altitude is even better. Also, I run Navigraph on a separate PC and it works great. 

[paulb]

I really appreciate all of the help here. Whilst LM would fit most of my needs, I am leaning towards Navigraph, especially as it now includes a VFR option.

Thanks for your comments .

Best wishes

Paul

[ravenn22]

I was on the fence for years on Navigraph - subscribed about 7-8 months ago and it's considerably better than I expected. Main thing is sim brief integration, and being able to spit out flight plans to any of the study level planes, and to MSFS world map. Plus, charts workflow is super easy in flight. Switching from taxi to SID to STAR to Appch to Taxi is really convenient while flying ( and being able to overlay all that on top of the enroute chart is nice.

I have a big stash of PDF plates that I've accumulated over the years, and didn't have too much problem using those for instrument approaches - but I'd be too lazy to grab all the SIDs/STARs and Airport Diagrams - so having it automatic for pretty much every airport in the world is fantastic. The monthly fee is worth your time saved hunting down charts. Makes IFR and airline flights much more fun.

[Ken Q]

1 hour ago, ravenn22 said:

I have a big stash of PDF plates that I'v accumulated over the years, and didn't have too much problem using those for instrument approaches - but I'd be too lazy to grab all the SIDs/STARs and Airport Diagrams - so having it automatic for pretty much every airport in the world is fantastic. The monthly fee is worth your time saved hunting down charts. Makes IFR and airline flights much more fun.

For years I have been downloading and printing plates, plans and charts from SkyVector. I have books of them, all neatly punched and arranged in their several binders.  As time has passed, and the technology has improved, to say nothing about about my growing ability to used this technology, I've gone to using my (cheap) tablet for all of this.  Navigraph makes access of these plates so easy. I'm probably saving more than the €8.30 on printer toner and paper.  Besides, it's the "modern" way to fly.  All in all, much more realistic.  I'll note though, that I have a full blown "sim-pit" with the capacity for multiple displays.

 

Ken

 

[ravenn22]

1 hour ago, Ken Q said:

For years I have been downloading and printing plates, plans and charts from SkyVector. I have books of them, all neatly punched and arranged in their several binders.  As time has passed, and the technology has improved, to say nothing about about my growing ability to used this technology, I've gone to using my (cheap) tablet for all of this.  Navigraph makes access of these plates so easy. I'm probably saving more than the €8.30 on printer toner and paper.  Besides, it's the "modern" way to fly.  All in all, much more realistic.  I'll note though, that I have a full blown "sim-pit" with the capacity for multiple displays.

 

Ken

 

same - have a 2nd monitor for Charts / flight planning....  have been thinking about getting an iPad mini for Navigraph and Foreflight - but I'm not flying enough IRL to justify Foreflight

[Ken Q]

5 hours ago, ravenn22 said:

same - have a 2nd monitor for Charts / flight planning....  have been thinking about getting an iPad mini for Navigraph and Foreflight - but I'm not flying enough IRL to justify Foreflight

As I mentioned above, I use an Amazon Fire 7 tablet which sells for $50 US.  I don't know of its availability or price in other countries, but it's cheaper than an iPad and quite adequate.

Ken