How to load a flight plan into the Garmin 530?

Importing a flight plan into the X-Plane Garmin G530 is simple when you know the right steps. This tutorial will walk you through the process of loading your flight plan into the G530 FMS. Just follow the instructions below to get your route set up quickly and easily.

Prerequisites

For this tutorial, we’ll assume that you’ve generated a flight plan and exported it in FMS format to the X-Plane directory: <X-Plane>/Output/FMS plans. Find more help about flight plan generation and flight plan export in the user manual.

For this example, we’ll use a flight plan from KPDX to CYVR with a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. You can download this flight plan in various formats from here.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Open the G530
   • The Garmin 530 is on the right side of the cockpit in the Cessna 172 Skyhawk.
   • To access the G530 popup, simply click on the screen or use the button directly in the 3D cockpit.
2. Load to the flight plan FPL page
   • Once the G530 is active, press and hold the CLR (Clear) button to clear the system.
   • The click on the FPL button at the bottom of the screen to enter the first flight plan page.
3. Navigate to the second FPL page
   • The CRSR knob (bottom right) is composed of
     • The inner rotary control to navigate pages.
     • The outer rotary control to scroll the cursor.
     • The CRSR cursor enabling center button.
   • Click on the CRSR inner rotary control to the right to navigate to the second FPL page.
   • All your flight plans stored in your X-Plane’s FMS plans directory are now listed.
4. Browse and select the flight plan
   • Activate the cursor by clicking the CRSR center button.
   • Scroll with the CRSR outer rotary button to select KPDXCYVR01.fms
   • Click ENT (Enter) to select and validate the flight plan.
5. Review the flight plan
   • The flight plan is now loaded into the Garmin G530.
   • Click on FPL button to review all the flight plan waypoints.

With these steps, your G530 Flight Management System (FMS) is now configured to follow the loaded flight plan. Enjoy your sim flight!

Download

Please check the X-Plane G530 manual at X-Plane.com for any question related to the FMS. Explore the skies seamlessly with XPFlightPlanner and X-Plane Garmin 530!