| NOTE: This review was written in 1996, and while it may be helpful in planning your purchases, links to purchase or download the demo no longer work. We recommend visiting Destination Direct at their current home on the web, www.FlightPlan.com. - 5/24/2005 |
Iremember my first major cross country flight as if it were yesterday. It was a trip frommy Philadelphia home base to Boca Raton, Florida, to visit my in-laws who had recentlymoved to the sunny south. The ink was still wet on my private pilot certificate, and thedistance involved was a bit over 900 nautical miles. This was serious business.
I recall spending weeks with charts spread out on the floor, struggling with the factthat charts printed on both sides can't be laid out to see the whole trip at once. I usedup a small ball of string plotting straight line courses, squinted at a protractor todetermine headings, and drew ragged lines on the charts themselves so I would rememberwhere I left off when I started the process again the next day.
When departure day arrived at last, I visited the Philadelphia FSS in person for acomplete weather briefing. I scribbled down columns of winds aloft figures, used my trustyE6B to laboriously work out all the leg ETEs, and took off as fully prepared as I couldbe.
That was many years and many thousands of gallons of avgas ago. Today, having now madethat very same Philly-to-Boca trip more than 50 times, I scarcely need to do any flightplanning or even open a chart enroute. I pretty much just check the weather, file, and go.When I level off at cruising altitude, black boxes on the panel tell me how I'm doing andwhen I'll arrive, assuring my passengers that I must know what I am doing.
But when I travel to a less-familiar destination, flight planning is a necessity. Thedifference is that with today's computerized flight planning and on-line weather access,the process takes me minutes instead of the hours or days that it used to take. And myflight planning is a lot more complete than it used to be, too.
The DD Pilot Logbook allows you to log your flying hours almost any way you want.There's a total of 40 columns in the logbook, with 35 of them customizable to your needs.Because the log is integrated with the flight planning system, you can pull informationfrom the Flight Plan for any logbook field. So you can enter your planned flight in thelogbook with just a click of the button. Then, after the flight, you can go back andadjust the entry for real time and conditions. Or print out the last logbook page, andfill it out by hand as you go, then enter the information into the computer later.Whatever works for you.
The modules lets you set up filters totrack your currency requirements. You can ask the program to look for field entries withina specific time and warn you when time is running short on fullfilling those requirements.A message will display when you start the program. Or, while in the currency area, justhightlight the item you wish to check on, then click the Check button. You can establishfilters for the on-screen display and hardcopy printouts as well. For instance, if youonly want to see your entries for flights taken in a Cessna 182 within the last six monts,just set up the filter and it's done.
Keeping the logbook software simple and tothe point was Delta Tech's goal. This is not an "all things to all pilots"logbook program. On the other hand, it is flexible enough to handle most requirements andis very easy to learn. There's also an import feature that allows you to importinformation from other popular logbook programs. so the switch to DD pilot logbook shouldbe relatively painless!
Current registered owners of the IFR or VFR versions of Destination Direct may addMoving Map capability for $120, and may add Personal Logbook capability for $49.
You can purchase a variety of database update subscriptions (Delta gets a newly-revisedJeppesen database every 28 days) or simply order updates whenever you think you need one.Here's the pricing on updates:
One or two updates a year is plenty for folks who fly mostly VFR. (That's how often ourWACs and sectionals are updated.) IFR pilots should consider a 112-day updatesubscription. (That's about how often IFR enroute charts are revised.) A commercialoperator who flies IFR every day might conceivably justify the 56-day update subscription,but I frankly can't imagine anyone needing a 28-day subscription. even Jepp's own IFRenroute charts aren't updated that often.
The update prices reflect the fact that Jeppesen is very proud of its NavData, butare actually remarkably low when you consider the cost a single NavData updatefor a Garmin GPSMAP-195 handheld: $130.00. What's more, every Destination Direct updatecomes with the latest revision of the software at no additional cost, so it's easy to keepyour software current.
Destination Direct's primary competition is FliteStar from MentorPlus (recentlyacquired by Jeppesen), a package that is heavily advertised and better known. FliteStarcosts about the same as DD, and its capabilities are very similar to those of DestinationDirect. FliteStar is available in both Windows and Macintosh versions (DD is strictlyWindows-only).
However, FliteStar appears to fall short of Destination Direct in a couple of areasthat I consider important. The FliteStar database lacks data on FBOs, hotels, car rentals,etc., unless you spring for the optional AOPA Aviation USA option for an extra $79.95 peryear. In addition, FliteStar doesn't do automatic routing around special-use airspace,overwater areas, or high terrain the way Destination Direct does.
There are two other low-end competitors: FlightSoft from RMS and The Aviator'sUtilities (TAU) from Excel. Both are cheaper than either FliteStar or Destination Direct,and both are much less capable programs. For aviators who want to experiment with PC-basedflight planning on a tight budget, TAU is now bargain-priced at $99.00 with (non-Jeppesen)database updates at $45.00. But it's a DOS-based (non-Windows) program and has the fewestfeatures and the most primitive map display of any of the packages mentioned.
After looking at all of them, my opinion is that Destination Direct is the best of thebunch, with a few more features and a bit less expensive than FliteStar, and lightyearsahead of the others. Unless you use a Macintosh, in which case FliteStar is pretty muchthe only game in town.
I find thatDestination Direct does a first-rate job of planning my cross-country flights, IFR or VFR.It selects a route, displays it graphically and allows me to revise it, obtains a weatherbriefing, and prints out a nice trip log. It takes forecast winds aloft into account andcalculates all the necessary information I need (and more) before I pull the chocks, startthe engines, and launch. You have a right to expect all these things from a flightplanning package that costs a couple of hundred bucks, and Destination Direct does themwell.
If I had to criticize any aspect of the program, it would be the automatic routingfunction. Sometimes it seems to me that the automatic routing processing takes a longertime than it should. The folks at Delta tell me that this is because the software doesthree-dimensional analysis of the route to make sure it provides adequate terrainclearance and conforms to your other constraints such as avoiding overwater legs. All thiscleverness is apparently pretty processor-intensive. Maybe Santa will bring me a PentiumPro 200 this Christmas!
And sometimes, the automatically-selected route isn't exactly what I had in mind.Occasionally, it has me flying past my destination to the next VOR and then doubling backto get to the airport, probably because of some weird STAR or somesuch. No automaticrouting algorithm is perfect, and sometimes I'll have to manually "tweak" theroute to get what I really want. The "rubber band" feature is invaluable here,and makes it easy to fine-tune the route.
If you fly the same route often, you can save your "tweaked" route on diskfor next time. Then any time you want to fly that route in the future, simply retrieve it,and have Destination Direct call DUATS to get your briefing and file your flight plan.
I love the FBO and airport database, and find it both very complete and very useful.You can find a hotel or a restaurant at your destination or other airport using the"look up" functions strategically placed throughout Destination Direct. With alittle more refinement, I'd probably be willing to throw out my printed airportdirectories altogether.
Storing the weather briefing on disk allows you to go back and look up a terminalforecast you didn't pay much attention to until the enroute weather turned sour, or theheadwinds turned out to be worse than expected. Having all the weather at your fingertipsfor the entire flight is a valuable feature. I often carry my Toshiba laptop on-board so Ican double-check such details enroute. I only wish its screen was easier to read in thebright cockpit environment. Of course, you can print out the weather briefing and carry itin hardcopy if you prefer.
As I mentioned at the outset, I started using Destination Direct about two years ago,first using a Beta version I bought at Oshkosh, so I have watched the program evolve fromits somewhat uncertain beginnings to the mature and refined program that it is today. Ialways look at first-time Oshkosh vendors and wonder if they will be back next year. Deltahas proven itself to have staying power.
Located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin,Delta Technology has been around for 13 years, close to an eternity in the softwarebusiness. During the time I've owned Destination Direct, I've experienced good support, asuccession of software improvements, and readily available Jeppesen NavData databaseupdates.
Like many software firms, Delta Technology is net-savvy: you can ask questions or obtain support via e-mail.Your e-notes will usually be answered by Delta's technical support manager Gary Hawkins,who I've found to be extremely helpful and responsive. If you'd rather talk than type, youcan call Delta toll-free at 1-800-515-6900.
Delta promises even more features and a continued upgrading of the Destination Directproduct. Personally, I'd vote for a CD-ROM version of the program that contained even moreFBO and airport data.
While writing this, I just happened to look out the window and wondered: "How longwould it take for Helen and me to fly to New Orleans for the weekend?" It's nice toknow that the answer is just a few mouse clicks away.
Delta Technology has now introduced a new low-end version - Destination Direct BASIC - designed specifically for the new or recreational pilot. BASIC is great for the weekend renter-pilot, or the VFR pilot who seldom travels more that 200-300 miles from home. Delta kept the price of BASIC down - way down - by saying goodbye to expensive Jeppesen NavData and taking out features that a VFR pilot just doesn't need.
DD BASIC is limited to VFR single-pilot use, and includes FAA navigation data for the lower 48 states. Like other DD versions, BASIC calculates W&B, performs automatic routing, interfaces with DUATS to get weather and file flight plans, prints out complete reports to take along on the flight, and is Y2K-compliant. But its best feature is its low introductory price of $79, with low-cost data updates that cost just $35 each or $65 for three updates per year.
What features do you lose with DD BASIC that are included with higher-priced versions? Here's what you don't get:
If you can live without these features, Destination Direct BASIC may be just the ticket, and its low price is irresistable. You can now order it online.
NOTE: This review was written in 1996, and while it may be helpful in planning your purchases, links to purchase or download the demo no longer work. We recommend visiting Destination Direct at their current home on the web, www.FlightPlan.com. - 5/24/2005
You can download a free demo version of "DestinationDirect" and take it for a test-drive. See for yourself how the software looks andworks. The download is 2.7 megabytes and should take about 30 minutes at 14.4Kb/s or about15 minutes at 28.8Kb/s.
You can purchase Destination Direct on-line right here, andhelp support continued free access to AVweb and AVflash in the process. Ifyou're thinking about buying a PC flight planning package, we'd sure be grateful for yourpatronage!
