IFR approaches

[Double_Farvel]

During IFR flights, when are you supposed to load your approach if ATC continues to give you instructions till landing almost? I find that if I load the approach after I am told to make straight and I line up, but I like to do it a lot earlier. When am I supposed to do it so I am lined up farther out?

[ashaman]

What do you mean "load your approach"? :-?

The flight plan you file before taking off. You make the plane with the integrated flight planner or other tools, and submit before taking off and keep it on for all the travel. The ATC (contrarily to what happens in real life) tells you when it's the moment to leave cruise level and land (barring some mess-ups I could write a book about).

What exactly do you want to do?

[Double_Farvel]

I'm, sorry, when am I supposed to activate the approach? Also, how do I know when I am "established on the localizer"?

[ashaman]

When the ATC tells you to get down from the cruise level, at a certain point tells you are to land on a given runway following a certain procedure (usually it's either visual or ILS).

If the ATC gives you a visual approach, they vector you in a position where you can see the runway and from there (after having declared you see the runway to the ATC) you can land manually.

If the ATC gives you a ILS approach, follow the tutorial here.

It's complete and very exhaustive. Read it all and then try on the field what you've learned.

Let us know.

[Double_Farvel]

But after they say that I am to land ILS Rwy 33, they continue to give me instructions. Should I activate the approach and ignore their instructions?

[ashaman]

Of course they continue giving you instructions, they continue instruct you until they say you to switch on the tower for the clearance.

Look, it's explained completely in the link I gave you. Give it a try, eventually you don't get something, feel free to come here again to ask for clarifications.

[Nav]

But after they say that I am to land ILS Rwy 33, they continue to give me instructions. Should I activate the approach and ignore their instructions?

Double-Farvel, as soon as you are told which runway you're to land on, look up the airport in Map View and set NAV1 to the frequency, runway direction etc. Then go on following ATC instructions.

In due course they'll say something like, "turn to course 40 degrees, maintain 2,500 feet until you are established on the localiser.Contact tower on 113.5." By that time (as explained in the Tute) you'll be able to see the course to the runway, and your own position, on the NAV1 gauge.

Tune in to the tower, press 'APR', and go on flying the course and height you've been given. As you get close to the runway line the ILS system will take over, line you up, and start you down the glidepath.

At some stage the Tower will tell you that you're 'cleared to land.' That will be the last instruction (unless you get told to 'Go Around') so after that you are in charge.

Hope it's clear now?

[pepper_airborne]

Yup, the tower probably wants you to intercept the ILS on a 30degree angle.

[Jakemaster]

But after they say that I am to land ILS Rwy 33, they continue to give me instructions. Should I activate the approach and ignore their instructions?

No, you do what they say.  Then when they hand you off to the tower, you tune the tower, tell them what's what, and continue to fly the heading and altitude assigned by ATC.  Once the localizer comes 'alive', you will see the glideslope become active.  That is when you activate approach mode on the autopilot.  If you do it to early, the AC will be confused because there is no glideslope.  Also if you maneuver away from ATC instructions they will yell at you and eventually cancel your flight plan.

[Double_Farvel]

Thanks for all your help guys. I will give it a try. Also, will the plane descend by itself after the approach is activated?

[ashaman]

After you'll activated the APR the plane will follow both LOCalized and GLIDE, your intervention can be limited in, when on the start of the runway, disengage both autothrottle and autopilot, press F1 to zero the throttle and flare to land manually.