I have been a contented user of RocketRoute RR for many years, mostly for high level IFR flights across Europe in a PA46 (Mirage and now a Jetprop). My only reservation about RR is, despite many many hours on the phone with them, they have failed to get the Jetprop properly coded with Eurocontol, so my flight plans will not validate above FL250, whereas sometimes I prefer to cruise up to the JP limit of FL270.
So I have been playing around with Foreflight FF. FF ‘knows’ the Jetprop and can get Eurocontrol to accept this variant of the PA46 to use routes up to FL270. Great. However, in my tests I am coming up with several shortcomings of, and questions about, FF and wonder if others could kindly shed any light.
1) Routings – RR will typically give many possibly routing options, showing immediately which are valid and which invalid, allowing one to choose between routes, and even start with a very good, but invalid, route and try and fix it to be accepted. Also RR shows how inefficient each route is (eg +7% etc). So far, with tests on several routes I fly frequently, FF only gives me one route with no other options, and does not show how efficient the route is. Is there a way to get FF to provide multiple route options?
2) Validity – so far FF has failed to provide a single valid IFR route for me, despite requesting routes for several different flights that I and many others fly all the time (between UK and Switzerland or Croatia for example). Why is FF so poor at finding valid routes? And what does one do about getting a valid route through FF?
3) Support. When I simply cannot get a valid route through RR I save the best/preferred invalid route to their system and call RR support. The support team are fantastic and have never failed to fix the problem and find a valid route, which they send to me by email and also save to my RR account. Usually this will take an hour or so, but if the need is urgent (ie sitting on the ramp) they will attend to the problem immediately. How does FF help? I have seen a FF youtube video which says I would need to send an email to their support team. Is there a phone option?
I dropped RocketRoute when they increased their prices many years ago. I find routes with AutoRouter and fly with ForeFlight.
Buckerfan wrote:
How does FF help? Is there a phone option?
No, there is not.
Buckerfan wrote:
2) Validity – so far FF has failed to provide a single valid IFR route for me
While sometimes FF will find a “better” route than AutoRouter and/or a non-valid “the kernel of a better route” that I then fix manually to make a valid route, in my experience usually AutoRouter finds the better (and valid!) route.
Buckerfan wrote:
Is there a way to get FF to provide multiple route options?
FF often proposes several routes; it happens that it proposes only one, but that is not typical. But then, I don’t systematically try to generate a route with FF.
Validity – so far FF has failed to provide a single valid IFR route for me
Give me
DEP ICAO
ARR ICAO
EOBT
and I’ll check it in FF.
Thanks. Try EGKB Biggin Hill to LJPZ Portoroz. Must fly 230 or above. In the next hour say.
Here is one suggested by EuroFPL that validates at F260
DCT DET L6 DVR L9 KONAN UL607 KOK M150 DIK N852 SUTAL UN852 GTQ UZ343 BEGAR DCT ODINA M727 SRN Z982 LUMAV M859 CHI M167 ROTAR ROTAR1A
Thanks guys.
I found a solution to my problem that will allow me to stick with RR. All thanks to a RR support guy in Colorado called Mat.
It turns out that Eurocontrol accept a designation for the Jetprop of ‘P46T’. I had always looked for this under the RR dropdown list under ‘Piper’, but its not there. Just Type ‘P46T’ into the Type Bar.
This now allows me to file FPLs all the way to FL 270, which is the certified ceiling.
