eddsPeter wrote:
Now I‘m confused. Using the autorouter engine in GP with the performance data of the POH and flying the numbers, I nearly always arrive at the destination in a time slot around 5 minutes plus/minus to the ETA.
Me too. Except that I have adjusted the AFM performance figures to match my real TAS at various altitudes, and the flight profile I normally fly rather than the max performance climb numbers provided by the AFM. Although I initially felt somewhat constrained by what I perceived as the rigidity of the Autorouter performance model, I now find it absolutely fantastic in all respects. I particularly appreciate the route engine and the flight briefing.
That said, I find this line-up interesting because the only other flight planning tool I have used in Europe it the free version of EuroFPL
EuroFPL doesn’t do autorouting or flight planning, and never did. It merely offers previous routes and most of them are old and no longer work for various reasons.
The only other free autorouting tool was FlightPlanPro but that no longer works for large parts of Europe, due to not having had airway database updates since c. 2015.
There is also the horrible ASA routefinder which I used in 2005-2008, until Autoplan came along (that one finished in 2010). But maybe they have improved it… The guy who runs it is still maintaining it.
We also have the backup for autorouter thread which lists some other options.
Peter wrote:
The Autorouter aircraft model fixes your EET from the perf model and you cannot edit the EET (or your TAS, etc) at all. You have to file the FP with whatever it generates.
Well, you are making the performance model for your aircraft so in a sense you have determined how the TAS and EET are computed. You can have several performance models for different situations. Why would you want to change the EET? (Except to cheat on the slot times. 
)
Yes; fixing-up the ETA to match an airport slot is the only use I can think of, but is at times very relevant where this is strictly enforced (Aero Friedrichshafen, and possibly in the case of the Greek Fraport stuff).
Peter wrote:
Yes; fixing-up the ETA to match an airport slot is the only use I can think of, but is at times very relevant where this is strictly enforced (Aero Friedrichshafen, and possibly in the case of the Greek Fraport stuff).
Maybe I am old fashioned but I tend to move my departure time to hit a slot rather than my EET.
That will work if the departure airport is open, and you are in a position to depart 
Take this example:
I bought a slot for EDNY for 1230, calculated with a 0900 departure and a 3.5hr flight, which is reasonable. The airport opens at 0900. On the day (some weeks later) the router calculates the EET at 3:50. Now I cannot go because an ETA of 1250 will make EDNY tower chuck the flight plan out. This year it will just be a fine, they indicate, which, yeah, is a lot better
