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FlightPlanBridge

Plan in ForeFlight. Fly it in X-Plane.

In development

Use ForeFlight to plan your route. With a simple Send To, the route goes to the sim and loads into your flight plan. (X-Plane's built-in G1000 and GNS load it directly; add-on navigators get a file to import.)

If you change the route in the sim, the updated route comes back to the iPad, ready to share into ForeFlight with one tap.

If ATC gives you a reroute, update the flight plan in ForeFlight and push it to the panel, the same way a real pilot uses Flight Stream with ForeFlight. Rather than twisting knobs on the navigator, you change the route on the iPad and send it.

You can also practice the button presses and knob turns in the simulator and have that route pushed back to ForeFlight. It keeps you immersed in the simulator, using the same tools you would use in a real cockpit instead of the keyboard and mouse. (Route changes come back from X-Plane's own GPS and G1000; see Limitations for add-on navigators.)

How to install and connect FlightPlanBridge

The FlightPlanBridge app on the iPad sends a ForeFlight flight plan over your local network to the Simulation Instruments plugin in X-Plane. The plugin saves the plan where your navigator imports from, and also writes an X-Plane .fms plan to Output/FMS plans.

1. Install the Simulation Instruments plugin. Copy mac.xpl, win.xpl, and lin.xpl into X-Plane 12/Resources/plugins/sis/64/. Quit X-Plane before you replace the files.
2. Start X-Plane. Open Plugins, then Simulation Instruments. The first line reads Listening on port 4731. If it reads Port 4731 busy, retrying, another program is using the port. Quit it, and the plugin picks the port up by itself.
3. Set the GNS folder. In the same menu, open FlightPlanBridge and choose Choose GNS .fpl folder.... Pick the folder your RXP GNS imports flight plans from. The change takes effect at once and is saved in Output/preferences/sis_flightplanbridge.ini inside the X-Plane folder. If you don't set a folder, plans go to Output/FlightPlanBridge/Inbox. The full folder path is written to Log.txt.
4. Install FlightPlanBridge on the iPad. The first time you press Send, iPadOS asks whether FlightPlanBridge may find devices on your local network. Choose Allow. If you chose Don't Allow, open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Local Network, and turn FlightPlanBridge on. The iPad and the X-Plane computer must be on the same Wi-Fi network. Guest networks, and routers with client or AP isolation turned on, block the connection. If the app still can't find X-Plane, type the computer's IP address and port into Computer address, for example 192.168.1.50:4731.
5. Pin FlightPlanBridge to your share sheet Favorites. This step is optional, but it saves a tap every time you share.
   1. Open Files (or any share sheet).
   2. Long-press a file, then tap Share.
   3. Scroll the app row to the end and tap More.
   4. Tap Edit.
   5. Find FlightPlanBridge and tap the green + to add it to Favorites.
   6. Optionally drag it higher.
   7. Tap Done.
   FlightPlanBridge now appears directly in the share row from ForeFlight, without tapping More.
6. Send a plan from ForeFlight. On the Maps tab, tap Send To, then Share FPL File, then choose FlightPlanBridge. The plugin menu shows Last plan: with the plan's name, and Log.txt has a line starting with SIS FlightPlanBridge: that says where the plan was saved.
7. Get route changes back from X-Plane. When you change the route in X-Plane's GPS or G1000, FlightPlanBridge shows Route updated from simulator. Tap it, choose ForeFlight (or Save to Files), and the plan opens in ForeFlight. The app checks for changes every 5 seconds while it's on screen, and again whenever you reopen it. iPadOS pauses apps in the background, so for near real-time updates keep FlightPlanBridge open in Slide Over next to ForeFlight. On iPadOS 26.1 or later, touch and hold the window controls at the top of FlightPlanBridge and choose Enter Slide Over. On iPadOS 26.2 or later you can also drag it from the Dock to the left or right edge of the screen. On iPadOS 18 and earlier, drag it from the Dock over ForeFlight. To turn this off, open Plugins, then Simulation Instruments, then FlightPlanBridge in X-Plane, and uncheck Send route changes to iPad.

What works today

Not every navigator and aircraft combination has been tried yet. If something doesn't work, Log.txt lines that start with SIS FlightPlanBridge: say what happened.

Install

What you need

• X-Plane 12 with the Simulation Instruments plugin. The instant load into X-Plane's own G1000 and GNS needs X-Plane 12.1 or later. On older versions the plugin still saves the files.
• The FlightPlanBridge app on the iPad, with ForeFlight.
• The iPad and the X-Plane computer on the same local network.

The steps are under How to install and connect FlightPlanBridge. The plugin listens on TCP port 4731 and announces itself with Bonjour, so the iPad finds it without setup. If Bonjour is blocked on your network, type the address into Computer address in the app.

Plugin menu

Everything is under Plugins, then Simulation Instruments, then FlightPlanBridge. Changes take effect at once and are saved in Output/preferences/sis_flightplanbridge.ini.

• Load into X-Plane GPS/G1000: load each plan straight into X-Plane's own navigators. On by default. It replaces the active flight plan.
• Send route changes to iPad, Send current route to iPad now: the route back to the iPad.
• Choose GNS .fpl folder..., GNS folder from clipboard, Use Inbox, Open GNS .fpl folder: where the original .fpl goes.
• Choose GTN .gfp folder..., No GTN copy, Open GTN .gfp folder: the optional GTN copy.
• Choose NXi .fpl folder..., No NXi copy, Open NXi .fpl folder: the optional G1000 NXi copy.
• Open settings file, Reload settings.

Use

ForeFlight to X-Plane

On the Maps tab in ForeFlight, tap Send To, then Share FPL File, then FlightPlanBridge. Files are named after the first and last waypoints, for example KAPA-KCOS. The plugin writes:

• The original .fpl to your GNS folder, or to Output/FlightPlanBridge/Inbox if none is set. Import it in the GNS from its flight plan pages.
• An X-Plane .fms to Output/FMS plans. With Load into X-Plane GPS/G1000 on, X-Plane's G1000 and GNS 430/530 get the plan at once, with no import step.
• If set, a .gfp copy for a GTN 650/750. The TDS GTNXi reads C:\ProgramData\TDS\GTNXi\FPL, and the RXP GTN reads C:\ProgramData\Garmin\Trainers\Databases\FPLN. On the unit: Flight Plan, Menu, Catalog, Menu, Import.
• If set, a G1000 NXi copy in Garmin's XML .fpl format. A real G1000 NXi imports it from the root of an SD card. X-Plane's built-in G1000 doesn't read it; it uses the .fms.

X-Plane to ForeFlight

The plugin watches the active flight plan in X-Plane's own GPS or G1000. When the route changes and then stays the same for a few seconds, it offers the route to the iPad as a Garmin .fpl. A plan that just arrived from the iPad is not sent back.

While FlightPlanBridge is on screen, it checks every 5 seconds, and again when you reopen it. A new route shows Route updated from simulator — tap to share. Tap it and choose ForeFlight, or Save to Files.

For near real-time updates, keep FlightPlanBridge in Slide Over next to ForeFlight. On iPadOS 26.1 or later, touch and hold the window controls at the top of the app and choose Enter Slide Over. In Slide Over the app switches to a compact view built around the route button.

Platforms

Formats

ForeFlight shares a Garmin flight plan, an XML file ending in .fpl. The plugin reads each waypoint's identifier, type, latitude, and longitude, in route order, and writes an X-Plane .fms in the 1100 format, stamped with the current AIRAC cycle. The GTN copy is a one-line Garmin .gfp. The G1000 NXi copy and the route sent back to the iPad are Garmin FlightPlan v1 XML.

Limitations

• Add-on navigators (RXP GNS and GTN, TDS GTNXi) need the Import step on the unit. They keep their own routes, so changes made in them don't reach the iPad unless the add-on copies its route into X-Plane's flight plan. The TDS GTNXi can do this with its Update Simulator Flightplan setting.
• The .gfp and G1000 NXi copies carry waypoints only, with no airways or procedures.
• Routes sent back to the iPad list departure, arrival, and approach procedures as plain fixes, and carry no country codes. ForeFlight may ask which waypoint you mean when an identifier isn't unique.
• iPadOS pauses apps in the background, so the iPad only checks for route changes while FlightPlanBridge is on screen.
• Plans are stamped with the current AIRAC cycle. If X-Plane's nav data is older, X-Plane may warn when it loads a plan.
• Garmin Pilot isn't supported. Its Share Flight Plan sends an encrypted file that FlightPlanBridge can't read. Use ForeFlight, or a Garmin .fpl from Files.
• No ForeFlight account connection. FlightPlanBridge works only with plans you share.
• Not released. See What works today.

App Store information

App Store description

Plan in ForeFlight. Fly it in X-Plane.

FlightPlanBridge connects your iPad flight plan to X-Plane 12. Plan your route in ForeFlight, tap Send To, then Share FPL File, then FlightPlanBridge. The route goes to the sim and loads into your flight plan. X-Plane's built-in G1000 and GNS 430/530 load it directly. Add-on navigators, such as the Reality XP GNS, GTN 650/750, and G1000 NXi, get a file to import. You can also open any Garmin .fpl from Files.

Change the route in the sim and it comes back to the iPad. FlightPlanBridge shows Route updated from simulator, ready to share into ForeFlight with one tap, or save to Files. Keep the app in Slide Over for near real-time updates.

Got a reroute from ATC? Update the plan on the iPad and send it to the panel, instead of twisting knobs on the navigator. Or practice the button presses and knob turns in the sim and send the result back to the iPad. Either way you stay in the cockpit, using the tools a pilot uses, not the keyboard and mouse.

Requires X-Plane 12 with the free Simulation Instruments plugin on the same local network. FlightPlanBridge works only with plans you share. It does not sign in to any account and collects no data.

App Review notes

1. What you need. X-Plane 12 (version 12.1 or later) on a Mac or PC, with the free Simulation Instruments plugin installed. The iPad and that computer must be on the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Send a plan to the sim. A .fpl file is a Garmin flight plan file. Share one to FlightPlanBridge from the Files app, or from ForeFlight with Send To, then Share FPL File. You can also tap Choose .fpl from Files… in the app. The plan appears in X-Plane's built-in G1000 or GPS.
3. Send a route back to the iPad. Keep FlightPlanBridge open on the iPad. In X-Plane, change the route in the built-in GPS or G1000. Within a few seconds the app shows Route updated from simulator — tap to share. Tap it, then choose ForeFlight or Save to Files.

Notes:

• Garmin Pilot flight plans are locked (encrypted), so they are not supported. The app shows a message saying so.
• There are no accounts or logins. The app does not sign in to or open links for any other company's account.
• The app collects no data.
• The app asks for local network permission only to find the simulator on your Wi-Fi.

Technical details for the reviewer: the plugin listens on TCP port 4731 and announces itself with the Bonjour service _flightplanbridge._tcp.

Privacy

FlightPlanBridge collects no data. It has no analytics or tracking and no accounts. Flight plans stay on your iPad and travel only over your local network between the iPad and your X-Plane computer; nothing is sent to our servers. The local network permission is used only to find and talk to the plugin.

Full guide: flightplanbridge.com. Support: open a ticket on our Support page and choose the product FlightPlanBridge.

Support

Something not working? Open a ticket on our Support page and choose the product FlightPlanBridge. Please include:

• Your iPad model and iPadOS version.
• The FlightPlanBridge app version (the Build line in the app's status panel).
• Your X-Plane version, your computer (Mac, Windows, or Linux), and the navigator you use.
• The lines in X-Plane's Log.txt that start with SIS FlightPlanBridge:.
• What you did, what you expected, and any error the app showed.

How the two directions fit together is on the Technology page.