FAQ - company routes

Back to the Company Roue Generator

1. How to install a company route?

2. How to use a company route on the PMDG B744 FMC?

3. Why is the ARINC 424 Format mandatory for oceanic waypoints?

4. Why are files only provided in ~.rt2 format?

5. Which other PMDG products are compatible?

6. Video tutorial about the Company Route Generator

1. How to install a company route?

To make the company routes available on the FMC simply click on "Generate" after entering the required flight plan data. This will initiate the download you wil then have to unzip to

"...\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\PMDG\FLIGHTPLANS".

The unzipped file name will consist of the departure and destination airfield (i.e. EDDFEGLL.rt2).

2. How to use a company route on the PMDG B744 FMC?

To load the route into the FMC click on "RTE" and then "CO ROUTE". Enter the name of the route (i.e. "EDDFEDDH" for flying from Frankfurt to Hamburg - just like the file name without extension) to the scratch pad, click "ACTIVATE" then "EXEC" and you're done. The complete route is now loaded to the FMC.

3. Why is the ARINC 424 Format mandatory for oceanic waypoints?

The real world B744's FMC supports both, the FMS LAT/LONG Format and the ARINC 424 Format - the PMDG B744 does only support the ARINC 424 Format. This is not a limitation by the PMDG simulation itself: Oceanic waypoints ( OWPT) are treated like any other waypoint by PMDG and need to be stored at the FMC's database to be supported. The only difference between OWPTs and named waypoints is that OWPTs are not linked to any airway in the database. Navigraph databases only include OWPTs in ARINC 424 Format. If the FMS LAT/LONG Format was included to the database, the PMDG B744 would also support it.

4. Why are files only provided in ~.rt2 format?

The major differences between the ~.rt2 and the ~.rte format are their structure and data complexity. The ~.rt2 format is rather simple and only provides departure and destination airports including runway selections and waypoint/airway designators. After loading the company route file the FMC will process the route based on its own AIRAC database. The ~.rte format also provides position coordinates in LAT/LONG decimal format. Company routes in ~.rte format will be processed by the FMC independently from its own AIRAC database. As a result providing company routes in ~.rte format would require to always have the latest AIRAC database installed to the Company Route Generator. Beside the extra work caused by the monthly database update and the higher source code complexity of the tool it would lead to high license costs. This would enforce me to charge you each time for using the Company Route Generator.

5. Which other PMDG products are compatible?

The only PMDG product I tested using files created by the Company Route Generator is the PMDG Boeing 747-400 X. I received some user feedback about the FSX version of the PMDG MD-11 working fine too. The FSX version of the "old" PMDG Boeing 737/738 was reported to not work with files created by the Company Route Generator; the new PMDG Boeing 737/738NG version was reported to be compatible. None of the FS 2004 versions do support company route files in ~.rt2 format. I did not receive any feedback about the PMDG BAe Jetstream 4100 yet. Please let me know about your experiences with the Company Route Generator.