Eric Marciano Panel A330

[Vagrant]

I want to know how do I set this panel to automatically follow the flight plan?

[yarvelling]

Provided you have set up a flight-plan, then all you need do, once ATC tells you to resume your flight on your own navigation, is to RIGHT CLICK the heading selector dial.  That puts it under the control of the FMGC.  After a few minutes of the plane seemingly to be 'hunting' around, you'll see that the aircraft is now 'locked on' course.  You should now also note that the heading readout is a series of dashes with a dot to the right. ( ----. )  This FMGC management also applies to your speed control; if you want the plane to automatically look after it's speed, just right-click the speed selector dial, and it too will change to a series of dashes.
This is also supposed to be true of the altitude control, but I can't get that one to work; if I right click the control,  altitude rests to '00000'......not nice!!  oh well, a standard left-click locks it in anyway!

Hope that answers your question  ;)

[RollerBall]

Hmmmm

Seems a rather artificial, complicated process to me. What does it give you over the default GPS and autopilot?

Not much by the sound of it - and I don't like the sound of this 'hunting around for a minute'! Sounds like an aerial rodent sniffing out every direction before deciding which one to go in - you know, the one where there's cheese at the end of it.

BTW, is this guy any relation to Rocky Marciano, the famous boxer? Better watch what I say just in case.

[yarvelling]

Perhaps 'hunting around' wasn't the best way of phrasing it.....but just as with the regular GPS, when you set the aircraft to auto/GPS mode, it'll keep adjusting itself until it's got the course correct.  The Airbus uses it's own FMGC as apparently it doesn't use conventional GPS system; the FMGC does the equivalent thing though (probably incorporates GPS within it's self??).  It's not at all artificial in use, and feels as straight-forward as GPS, but it does also look after a host of other aircraft systems, which GPS does not do.

[RollerBall]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for that

[microlight]

I'm trying out FSNavigator 3.0 for this in FS2002, which seems to be pretty good - although I have it just controlling the heaing, as it tends to flip the plane nose-over-tail if you have it controlling the ascent too - all of a sudden, it requires a vertical speed of 6000 feet per minute when you're already at cruising altitude!

The map view and course follwing are good, though. It allows you to set VOR targets close to the destination airport as well as a GPS-style direct plan, which the default GPS and flight planner won't do.

[RollerBall]

it tends to flip the plane nose-over-tail if you have it controlling the ascent too - all of a sudden

A bit like real life there, then

If you want to end flightplans at locations other than airports, create and enter your own virtual waypoints and stuff like that, why don't you look at ACS-GPS?

Alain Capt first did it for FS98 and I know it works well in FS2002 because I flew with a panel with it in (replacing the default GPS) only a few days ago.

It's very much like real life - but it's more work (just like real life) and ideally you need charts of the area you're flying in (just like real life) or navaid/route planning details.

So it'll really only appeal to serious IFR simmers - which is why you hear so little about it I guess.

Roger

[microlight]

Hmmm - so a combination of ACS-GPS and FSNav (for the charts only) sounds like a good way to go. I'll go and look for ACS-GPS ...

Thanks, Roger.


Martyn