# Little Navmap plans flights beside the simulator, then exports the plan

> Little Navmap is a free C++ flight planner, moving map and airport reference for FSX, Prepar3D, MSFS 2020, MSFS 2024 and X-Plane, running on Windows, macOS and Linux. It is a separate program that talks to the simulator, and its value is in the airport diagrams, procedure support and the flight plan formats it can write out.

**albar965/littlenavmap** —  Little Navmap is a free flight planner, navigation tool, moving map, airport search and airport information system for Flight Simulator X, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Prepar3D and X-Plane.

- Repository: https://github.com/albar965/littlenavmap
- Website: https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.html
- Stars: 1,630 · Forks: 189
- Language: C++
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-10-16 · Updated: 2026-10-16 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/albar965-littlenavmap

## A planner that lives outside the simulator window

Little Navmap is a standalone desktop program, and the distinction from an in game instrument is the whole design. The project describes itself as a free open source flight planner, navigation tool, moving map, airport search and airport information system for Flight Simulator X, Prepar3D, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and X-Plane, on Windows, Apple macOS and Linux. It is written in C++ and built as a desktop application rather than a plugin.

The audience is the simulator pilot who flies with add ons and scenery rather than the default GPS, because the extra layers on the map are the point: navaids, airways, airspaces, oceanic tracks, high altitude winds, minimum off route altitudes, airport weather, and AI or multiplayer traffic. A pilot who only flies the stock aircraft with the built in moving map gets little from any of that. The read only side of the program is useful to almost anyone, since airport search and airport information work without a flight in progress, but the planning and fuel features need a connected simulator to be worth the install.

## OpenStreetMap is one background option among many

The map display is described as widely configurable, and OpenStreetMap is the background map, but the project stresses that it is only one option of many online and included offline maps. That phrasing is worth taking seriously, because the map is the part of the program a user spends the most time in.

Over whatever base layer is chosen, the program overlays the aviation data: airports, navaids, airways, airspaces, oceanic tracks, high altitude winds, AI or multiplayer aircraft and ships, airport weather, winds aloft and a minimum off route altitude grid, usually abbreviated MORA. The MORA grid is the overlay with the most practical value for a general aviation pilot, since it tells you the lowest altitude you may use away from published routes, and winds aloft is what makes the fuel and altitude numbers in the planner believable rather than decorative.

The repository layout backs up the idea that the map is a component with dependencies rather than a static asset. Alongside src/ and build/ there is a marble/ directory, an etc/ directory for configuration, resources/, web/, timezone/ and translations/, which together suggest that map rendering, regional settings and interface translation are all handled as separate concerns inside the application.

## Airport diagrams carry the detail that matters on the ground

The airport diagram is integrated into the map display and is described as showing taxiways, displaced thresholds, overrun areas, aprons, parking spots and more. This is the feature that separates Little Navmap from a chart viewer, and it is where a pilot of a smaller aircraft gets value: displaced thresholds and overrun areas are the things that catch people out when they plan a runway approach at an unfamiliar field, and neither is visible on a chart at a glance.

The program also lets you place airport traffic patterns or holdings on the map as a visual guide, which is a coaching aid rather than a navigation feature. Combined with the airport information system and search, the program can be used as a pre flight reference: find a field, look at its layout, and check the weather there before starting a flight.

What the project does not claim is a live runway or taxiway data feed. The database is bundled and updated separately, and the README points to a page that shows how to update the included Navigraph database to the latest cycle. That is a manual step, and a pilot who never updates will be reading procedure data from an old cycle.

## Flight plans move in and out of a dozen formats

Plan creation is where the program earns its keep. It supports approach and departure procedures such as SIDs, STARs and custom final approaches, offers a widely configurable automatic flight plan calculation, and allows drag and drop flight plan editing directly on the map. The elevation profile drawn for the plan shows top of climb, top of descent and procedure altitude restrictions, and the calculated climb and descent paths adhere to those restrictions, so the profile is a check on the plan rather than a picture of it.

The export side is unusually wide. The listed output formats are GFP for Reality XP GTN and Flight1 GTN, FPL for Reality XP GNS, GPX, RTE, FLP and X-Plane FMS, and there is a flight plan multiexport feature that writes several of them in one click. Reading is broader still: the program can read PLN, FMS and FLP and more flight plan formats.

That range is the practical answer to the question of what Little Navmap is for. The alternative route is to keep the plan inside the simulator and use its own FMS or a companion device, with the data staying in one place. Little Navmap takes the opposite approach, treating the plan as a document you edit on a full map and then push out to the simulator, which suits pilots who fly multiple simulators with the same routes and who want a single procedure aware source of truth.

## Fuel and altitude numbers are driven by the performance model

Aircraft performance and fuel planning are included, and the calculation automatically considers winds aloft for fuel, top of climb and top of descent results. The headline wind entry is therefore a load bearing feature rather than decoration, since a headwind on the climb leg changes both the fuel required and the altitude you can realistically reach.

The performance values can be collected automatically during flight and merged into the current profile at any time. That is a distinctive detail: the numbers improve as you fly, because the values measured in your own aircraft are merged back into the model. The practical consequence is that the first plan of a session is a rough estimate and the later ones are better, so a pilot should not treat the initial fuel figure as final.

Keyboard shortcuts reach most functions without the mouse, which matters more than it sounds in a program where you fly with a flight yoke and a side by side setup. The elevation profile, the search dialog and the flight plan editor all need to be reachable while a simulation runs.

## Installation is a download, and the stable page lags the beta line

There is no package manager entry and no build instruction in the README beyond the release artifacts, so installation is a download and an unpack. The stable version offered is 3.0.18, and the files for Linux are named like this:

```bash
LittleNavmap-linux-ubuntu-24.04-3.0.18.tar.xz
LittleNavmap-linux-ubuntu-24.04-3.0.18-1_amd64.deb
```

The .deb is the Debian package and the tar.xz is the archive for the same Ubuntu 24.04 base, and there are equivalent 22.04 builds for older Debian based systems, plus a Linux 64 bit build. On macOS the distribution is a zip archive, and on Windows there is a 64 bit installer covering MSFS 2020, MSFS 2024 and X-Plane, with a separate 32 bit installer for FSX and P3D only, and zipped Windows builds without an installer as an alternative. The project keeps a page of alternative download locations where sub folders hold beta, development and release candidate builds.

That split is the part to notice. Release listings show 3.2.1.beta and 3.2.2.beta in October 2026 while the headline download block still offers 3.0.18 from November 2025, so the stable and the current feature line are different versions. Choose deliberately, and check the manual page for the platform if the program will not start.

## The manual is part of the program, and the licence is GPL-3.0

Documentation here is unusually integrated. The project ships a detailed manual that also includes tutorials, available online and in PDF and other formats such as EPUB, and help buttons in the relevant areas of the program open the corresponding manual chapter on click. The manual covers Little Navmap and its companion Little Navconnect, and there is a separate FAQ page plus a support forum hosted at Avsim.

The licence is GPL-3.0, which matters for anyone thinking of bundling the program. A GPL-3.0 binary carries obligations for anyone who distributes a modified version, and the project is funded by donations rather than a commercial licence. The source layout supports a self build route: littlenavmap.pro is a qmake project file, littlenavmap.qrc and keys.qrc are Qt resource collections, and BUILD.txt, CHANGELOG.txt and uncrustify.cfg sit alongside src/, simconnect/, phrasebooks/ and translations/, so the interface is already set up for more than one language.

For maintenance, the repository is not archived and the last push was on 2026-10-13, with beta builds cut during October 2026, so the project is in active work on the 3.2 line while the stable download still points at 3.0.18.

## Conclusion

Little Navmap fits a simulator pilot who wants a real airport diagram, procedure aware flight plans and a plan file the simulator will actually accept, and the GPL-3.0 licence suits anyone content to release source changes. It is the wrong tool for a user who only flies inside the simulator and never wants an external program, and for anyone who cannot accept a GPL-3.0 binary in a closed product. Verify first that the build you download matches your simulator version, since the stable download page still serves 3.0.18 while beta builds for 3.2.x exist under the alternative download locations, and check whether the bundled Navigraph database is on a current cycle before you rely on its procedures.

## FAQ

### Which simulators does Little Navmap support?

Flight Simulator X, Prepar3D, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and X-Plane. The 64 bit Windows installer is listed for MSFS 2020, MSFS 2024 and X-Plane, while the 32 bit installer is for FSX and P3D only.

### How do I install Little Navmap on Linux?

Download the build for your distribution from the releases page. The README lists a .deb package and a tar.xz archive for Ubuntu 24.04, with equivalent builds for Ubuntu 22.04 for older Debian based systems, and the program is also available for Windows as an installer and for macOS as a zip archive.

### Can Little Navmap export a flight plan to my simulator?

Yes. The listed export formats include GFP for Reality XP GTN and Flight1 GTN, FPL for Reality XP GNS, GPX, RTE, FLP and X-Plane FMS, and a flight plan multiexport feature can write several of them in one click.

### How do I keep the procedure data current?

The project includes a Navigraph database and publishes a page explaining how to update it to the latest cycle. Little Navmap also reads the PLN, FMS and FLP flight plan formats, so plans from other tools can be loaded back in.

### What licence is Little Navmap released under?

GPL-3.0. The project is funded by donations, and the source is buildable from the repository, where littlenavmap.pro is the qmake project file and src/ holds the C++ sources.

## Sources

- [albar965/littlenavmap on GitHub](https://github.com/albar965/littlenavmap)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/albar965/littlenavmap/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.html)
- [README](https://github.com/albar965/littlenavmap/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/albar965/littlenavmap/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/albar965-littlenavmap