Learn Flight Planning Tools

Dispatchers do not plan flights in their heads. They use sophisticated software systems that integrate weather data, aircraft performance models, airspace constraints, and fuel calculations into a single workflow. At major airlines, dispatchers work with multimillion-dollar platforms that generate optimized routes in seconds. But the logic behind those systems, the decisions a dispatcher makes when reviewing and adjusting a computer-generated plan, that logic is something you can start learning right now with free tools available to anyone with an internet connection.

Understanding flight planning tools before you enter a dispatcher course gives you a massive advantage. While your classmates are encountering ICAO flight plan formats and fuel calculations for the first time, you will already be comfortable with the concepts and workflow. This step is about building that comfort through hands-on practice.

SimBrief: Your Free Dispatch Simulator

simbrief.com

SimBrief is the single best free tool for learning dispatch-style flight planning. Originally built for flight simulation enthusiasts, SimBrief generates remarkably realistic flight plans that mirror what you would see on an airline operations desk. It is free to use with a basic account.

What SimBrief Does

When you create a flight plan in SimBrief, the system:

• Selects an optimal route based on current airways and typical airline routing
• Calculates fuel requirements using real aircraft performance data
• Generates a complete Operational Flight Plan (OFP) with fuel breakdown, time estimates, and waypoint-by-waypoint data
• Produces an ICAO flight plan in standard format
• Provides weight and balance information
• Includes current and forecast weather data along the route

This is essentially what airline dispatch systems do, packaged in a web interface that anyone can access.

How to Use SimBrief for Dispatch Practice

Create a free account at simbrief.com, then start planning flights. Here is a structured approach:

Start simple. Plan a domestic flight between two major airports, like KJFK to KLAX on a Boeing 737-800. Review every section of the generated OFP: the route, the fuel breakdown, the time estimates, the winds aloft data, and the alternate airport selection.

Increase complexity. Plan flights with challenging weather. Check aviationweather.gov for current convective activity and then plan a flight through that area. See how the route avoids active weather. Plan a flight to an airport with a TAF showing deteriorating conditions and practice selecting alternates.

Try different aircraft. Plan the same route on a 737, then an A320, then a 777. Notice how aircraft performance changes the fuel burn, optimal altitude, and range. Understanding how different aircraft types behave is a core dispatcher skill.

Practice oceanic flights. Plan a transatlantic flight like KJFK to EGLL (London Heathrow) on a Boeing 787. Oceanic flight planning introduces North Atlantic Tracks (NATs), ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operations) requirements, and equal time points. These concepts are tested on the FAA dispatcher knowledge exam and come up constantly in airline operations.

The ICAO Flight Plan Format

Every IFR flight in the world is filed using a standardized flight plan format defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As a dispatcher, you will file dozens of these every shift. Understanding the format is essential.

An ICAO flight plan contains these key fields:

• Aircraft identification (callsign, like UAL123)
• Flight rules and type of flight (IFR, scheduled air transport)
• Aircraft type and wake turbulence category (B738/M for a 737-800, medium wake)
• Equipment and capabilities (navigation equipment, transponder type, RVSM capability)
• Departure aerodrome and time
• Route of flight (airways, waypoints, flight levels, speed)
• Destination aerodrome, total elapsed time, and alternate aerodromes
• Other information (ETOPS, PBN capabilities, remarks)

SimBrief generates a complete ICAO flight plan for every flight you create. Study these outputs carefully. Learn what each field means and why it matters. The FAA’s Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapter 5, covers flight plan filing procedures in detail and is available free at faa.gov.

Fuel Planning: The Numbers That Keep Flights Safe

Fuel planning is one of the most critical dispatcher skills. Carry too little fuel and you risk a diversion or, in the worst case, fuel exhaustion. Carry too much and you waste money (fuel is heavy, and carrying excess fuel burns more fuel) and potentially exceed aircraft weight limits.

The Standard Fuel Categories

Every airline flight plan breaks fuel into specific categories:

Taxi fuel: The fuel burned during ground operations from gate to runway. Typically 200 to 800 pounds depending on the airport and expected taxi time.

Trip fuel (burn-off fuel): The fuel required to fly from departure to destination under the planned conditions. This is the largest fuel component and is calculated based on route distance, winds aloft, aircraft weight, and cruise altitude.

Contingency fuel: Extra fuel to account for unforeseen circumstances en route, such as unexpected headwinds, deviations around weather, or ATC-imposed routing changes. FAA regulations under Part 121 require enough fuel to fly to the destination, then to the most distant alternate, and then fly for 45 minutes at normal cruising speed.

Alternate fuel: The fuel required to fly from the destination to the designated alternate airport. If weather at the destination is forecast to be marginal, you may need to plan for a more distant alternate, increasing this fuel requirement.

Reserve fuel: The final safety margin. Under Part 121, domestic flights must land with at least 45 minutes of fuel remaining at normal cruise consumption. International flights have additional requirements.

Extra fuel: Additional fuel beyond the regulatory minimums, added at the dispatcher’s or captain’s discretion for operational reasons.

Practicing Fuel Calculations

SimBrief provides a detailed fuel breakdown for every flight plan. Study these numbers. Compare the trip fuel for the same route at different altitudes and see how winds aloft affect the total. Plan a flight with a distant alternate versus a close alternate and observe the fuel difference. Calculate what happens to fuel requirements when you add a headwind component.

Your dispatcher course will teach you to calculate fuel using aircraft-specific performance manuals. But understanding the logic and categories now means you will learn the calculations faster.

Weight and Balance

Every aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight, a maximum landing weight, and a center of gravity (CG) envelope that must remain within limits throughout the flight. The dispatcher is responsible for ensuring these limits are respected.

Operating Empty Weight (OEW): The weight of the aircraft itself, including crew, catering, and standard equipment.

Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW): OEW plus the payload (passengers and cargo). Each aircraft type has a maximum ZFW.

Takeoff Weight: ZFW plus total fuel load. Must not exceed the aircraft’s maximum structural takeoff weight or the performance-limited takeoff weight (which accounts for runway length, temperature, altitude, and obstacles).

Landing Weight: Takeoff weight minus trip fuel burn. Must not exceed the aircraft’s maximum structural landing weight.

Weight and balance calculations ensure that the CG stays within the forward and aft limits. An aircraft loaded with the CG too far aft can be dangerously unstable. Too far forward and it requires excessive control force and burns more fuel.

SimBrief provides basic weight and balance outputs. For more detailed practice, search for aircraft-specific weight and balance worksheets. The FAA’s Aircraft Weight and Balance Handbook (FAA-H-8083-1) is available as a free download from faa.gov and covers the principles thoroughly.

NOTAMs (Notices to Air Missions)

Before dispatching any flight, you must check NOTAMs for every airport and airspace along the route. NOTAMs communicate temporary changes to the aviation environment: runway closures, navigation aid outages, airspace restrictions, lighting failures, and more.

NOTAMs use a standardized format with specific abbreviations and codes. Learning to quickly scan a long list of NOTAMs, identify the ones that affect your flight, and ignore the ones that do not is a practical skill that takes practice.

The FAA’s NOTAM Search tool is available at notams.aim.faa.gov. Pull up NOTAMs for major airports and practice reading them. You will quickly notice that some NOTAMs are operationally critical (runway closed, ILS out of service) while others are routine (taxiway edge light out on a taxiway you will never use). Learning to distinguish between the two quickly is part of the dispatcher’s skill set.

Jeppesen Charts

Jeppesen is the dominant provider of navigation charts used by airlines worldwide. Jeppesen charts include:

• En route charts showing airways, waypoints, and MEAs
• Standard Instrument Departure (SID) charts for departure procedures
• Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR) charts for arrival procedures
• Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP) charts for landing

Dispatchers reference these charts constantly when building and reviewing flight plans. A full Jeppesen subscription is expensive (airlines pay thousands per year), but you can familiarize yourself with the format through several channels:

• FAA/NACO charts are free and available through the FAA’s digital products at faa.gov/air_traffic/flight_info/aeronav/digital_products. These are the government-published equivalents of Jeppesen charts and use a slightly different format, but the information content is the same.
• AirNav at airnav.com provides free access to airport information and links to approach charts.
• FlightAware at flightaware.com lets you track real flights, see their filed routes, and understand real-world routing patterns.

Airline Dispatch Systems: LIDO, Sabre, and Beyond

At the airline level, dispatchers use integrated operations platforms that combine flight planning, weather, crew scheduling, and aircraft tracking into a unified system. Understanding what these systems do, even if you cannot access them yet, prepares you for the operational environment.

Lufthansa Systems LIDO Flight Planning is used by dozens of airlines worldwide. It calculates optimal routes considering weather, airspace restrictions, overflight costs, and aircraft performance. LIDO generates complete flight plans that dispatchers review and modify before release.

Sabre AirCentre Flight Plan Manager is another widely used system, particularly among North American carriers. It integrates with airline operations control centers and provides real-time flight monitoring alongside planning capabilities.

Jeppesen FliteDeck and Flight Planning products are used by many carriers for both planning and in-cockpit chart display.

ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) is the datalink system that connects the dispatch office to the aircraft in flight. Dispatchers use ACARS to send updated weather information, revised clearances, and operational messages to the cockpit. Pilots use it to send back position reports, fuel status, and requests.

You will not have access to these systems until you work at an airline, but knowing what they are and what they do gives you context when you encounter them in your dispatcher course or during job interviews.

Building a Practice Workflow

Here is how to simulate a dispatcher’s flight planning workflow at home:

Step 1: Check weather. Go to aviationweather.gov and review METARs, TAFs, SIGMETs, and prognostic charts for your departure, destination, and route of flight.

Step 2: Check NOTAMs. Pull up NOTAMs for departure and destination airports. Identify any that affect operations (runway closures, approach outages).

Step 3: Build the flight plan. Use SimBrief to generate a flight plan. Review the route, fuel calculations, and alternate selection.

Step 4: Review the OFP. Go through the Operational Flight Plan line by line. Check that the fuel numbers make sense given the weather. Verify that the alternate airport has acceptable weather. Confirm that the planned altitude is reasonable for the wind conditions.

Step 5: Make a dispatch decision. Based on everything you have reviewed, would you dispatch this flight? If not, what would you change? A different route? A different alternate? A delay? Document your reasoning.

Repeat this exercise regularly with different city pairs, different weather conditions, and different aircraft types. Over time, you will develop the systematic thinking that defines a competent dispatcher.

What to Do Next

Create a free SimBrief account today and plan your first flight. Choose a simple domestic route and work through the entire output. Do not just glance at it — read every section and look up anything you do not understand.

Bookmark aviationweather.gov, notams.aim.faa.gov, and skyvector.com. These three sites, combined with SimBrief, give you a practice environment that closely mirrors the real dispatcher workflow.

Set a goal of planning at least two flights per week. Within a month, you will be comfortable with the ICAO flight plan format, fuel categories, and the general logic of dispatch flight planning. That foundation will serve you well in your dispatcher course and throughout your career.