Genesys IDU Waypoint and Route Tools

A lightweight, browser-based mission planning utility for managing, editing, and exporting navigation data to Genesys Aerosystems IDU and Garmin GTN/GNS avionics.

Background & Origin

This toolkit exists because Genesys Aerosystems apparently believes that manual data entry is a core competency for modern pilots.

Despite their marketing-hype that they are built on an "open" architecture, Genesys provides no manufacturer-supported method for the bulk upload of user waypoints or complex flight plans. According to their documentation, if you need to build a waypoint database, your "approved" options are:

1. Manual entry in the cockpit: Spend hours twisting physical IDU knobs to enter every identifier, name, and coordinate one by one, digit-by-digit.
2. The "EFIS Training Tool" method: Use their PC-based EFIS training tool to manually click through a virtual version of the IDU to go through the exact same process of spinning knobs...except with a keyboard and mouse.

If you call their technical support line and ask the folks there if there is any other way to load waypoints other than manually one-by-one they will happily tell you "no." Trust me, that's how this all started.

In most industries this would merely be a waste of time...but in aviation this is a genuine safety issue. Forcing a pilot to manually transcribe hundreds coordinates or complex multi-leg routes is an invitation for human error. In the Rotary-Wing EMS world where this tool was born a single fat-fingered digit in a lat/long isn't just a typo; it has potential life-or-death consequences.

While other vendors (e.g. Garmin) make data entry really easy (they just use a .CSV file you can generate from any spreadsheet shoftware), Genesys has left it to its customers to build their own safety nets. Hence - instead of playing data entry clerk with a $50k avionics suite we decided our time was better spent reverse-engineering the binary formats that Genesys uses, then building this tool to recreate them. End goal here is to give our brother/sister pilots the ability to build and load large waypoint sets/routes into their IDU- series avionics as SAFELY, ACCURATELY, and QUICKLY as possible. Happy flying.

Technical Specifications

For a deep dive into the engineering behind this tool, refer to the included technical documentation.

Features

Mission Planning & Editing

• Visual Route Editor: Drag-and-drop functionality allows you to re-sequence waypoints visually. No more spreadsheet row cutting-and-pasting.
• Flight Plan Integration: Import an existing .rte file, modify the leg sequence, add new waypoints from a bulk paste, and export a route file for the cockpit.

Core Utilities

• Binary Encoding: Automatically generates valid Genesys user.dat and .rte files with correct "K7" region codes and CRC checksums.
• Format Agnostic: Paste coordinates in Decimal Degrees (DD), Degrees Decimal Minutes (DDM), or Degrees Minutes Seconds (DMS) and let the parser do the heavy lifting.
• Safety Validation: Automatically warns you when a waypoint exceeds hardware character limits (5/12 for Genesys, 6/25 for Garmin).
• Cross-Verification: One-click links to Google Maps, Google Earth, and ForeFlight Web to verify coordinates before they ever reach the aircraft.

Version History

• v8.4.4.8: - .RTE file export functionality fixed.
• v8.4.3.5: - .RTE file export functionality broken...working on it.
• v8.4.3.4: - UI FIX: Separated Waypoint IDs from Markers. Auto-toggle 'Legs' overlay for Routes vs. Waypoints.
• v8.4.3.3: - Minor visual updates to action bar.
• v8.4.3.2: - Added dark basemap as default selection.
• v8.4.3.1: - Fixed drop up menus. Fixed weather overlays.
• v8.4.3: - INTEGRATION: Added New Map Command Bar with FAA Charts & Weather Overlays.
• v8.4.2.1: - STABLE: Restored Input fields. Fixed Footer layout. Restored new Purpose text. Added Year to AIRAC.
• v8.4.2: - UI UPDATE: Added back rolling sections to timestamp. Updated waypoint tally totals.
• v8.4.1: - UI UPDATE: Added Dual-Time (Local/Zulu), explicit AIRAC Cycle display, and real-time database verification timestamp.
• v8.4: - STABLE RELEASE: Integrated forensic binary engine for .RTE flight plans (11,752 byte container).
• v8.3.1.8: - FIXED: Rewrote .RTE Exporter with "Golden Master" logic (Flags, Leg Shifts, and CRC-32).
• v8.3.1.7: - LOGIC PATCH: Smart disambiguation for duplicate IDs. 3-letter inputs prioritize NAVAIDs; 4-letter (K/P) prioritize Airports.
• v8.3.1.6: - SELF-HEALING: Added automated database corruption check and manual reset option.
• v8.3.1.5: - CRITICAL FIX: Forced schema upgrade to v2 to enable search indexing.
• v8.3.1.4: - DB Architecture Upgrade (v2): Enabled duplicate identifiers (Airport/NAVAID separation) and smart prioritization.
• v8.3.1.3: - UI Logic Fix: Identifier field now preserves user input (e.g., K-prefixes) and re-search forces row update on edit.
• v8.3: - STABLE RELEASE: Transitioned out of beta. Locked functional baseline.
• v8.0.1: Mission Planning Release. Consolidated build. Added native support for Genesys Flight Plan (.rte) import/export. Implemented "Phantom Record" architecture and strict CRC-32 logic (Offset 4768) for full avionics interoperability.
• v7.6.5: Strict Garmin user.wpt alignment (Headerless, 4 columns, fixed precision).
• v6.12: Expanded instruction block with explicit coordinate format definitions; restored hardware truncation alerts.
• v6.00: Major overhaul of bulk paste parser and auto-load event listeners.
• v5.00: Initial release of reverse-engineered user.dat binary export functionality.

Usage

1. Open index.html in any modern browser.
2. Load Data: Drag and drop a .dat, .rte, .wpt, or .kml file, or bulk-paste rows from your dispatch software.
3. Edit Mission: Use the drag handles (⠿) to reorder waypoints or modify the route sequence.
4. Export: Click Download .RTE (Flight Plan) or Download user.dat (Database) and copy the file to your data card.

License

Open Source Project. See GitHub repository for details.