Simviation Forums

As a newbie to fs9 and flight simulation in general..I need a little help. I can take off follow the flight plan to the destination and bring the aircraft in to land..but sometimes I come into the wrong runway and unfortunately they can be quite small and I do not have enough runway to bring the aircraft to a stop especially something big like the 747. I need some help with the ILS approach..the tutorial in fs9 is not great..and I have looked at the tutorial on this website but did not help...can someone help me with this. I need just about all the instruction there is to give on the ILS approach..I use the glidepath shown on the GPS to line it up for landing but sometimes come into the wrong runway. Please help!!

When navigating to the airport, you are probably using gps.  Before you land tune your NAV1 radio to the ils frequency of the runway.  Follow the instructions of atc, and input the course of the rwy, usualy next to the autopilot.  When you are vectored in via ATC click, 'app hold' in auto pilot.  Turn off the auto throttle (you control that now) you will follow the glide slope and localizer.  at about 400f AGL turn off the auto pilot and fly by hand.  DONT LAND USING THE APP HOLD.

Dont forget flaps and gear...

Hope this helps, Andy.

NB Before you perform these actions, make sure you switch from GPS to NAV, using the switch, usually on the main panel.  Andy

You can also find a lot of very usefull information at this thread

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=COF;action=display;num=1107625487

You will also find that there are many instances where airports that are relativly close together may use the same ILS frequency for their runways. A good example is Midway (KMDW) and Ohare (KORD). I unintentionally landed at miday several times while on approach to Ohare using the Autopilot. Try landing a 747 on those short runways.

Looks like using GPS is a big part of your problem, csu. It will give you the rough line to the runway, but won't line you up properly and take you down the glidepath. You need to use the proper ILS system for that.

Was it my tutorial you tried?

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/ ... 1111322151

If so, sorry it didn't help. Which bits weren't clear - let me know and I'll amend it?

Or... practice in a 172 until you can do it by reflex and work your way up to the 747  ;)

Hey Nav, I love your tutorial!  I can't even begin to tell you how helpful that was.  I have gone from a casual flyer to trying to make it as real as possible now.  I fortunately have a good excuse to play all the time now.  I tell my girlfriend that since I am an aerospace engineer I am actually doing research and that it is essential for me to play for hours!  Thanks to all of you guys who post your helpful hints in these forums, you all make the community a better place.

I tell my girlfriend that since I am an aerospace engineer I am actually doing research and that it is essential for me to play for hours!

USMC_BEANS,

So... keep us posted on how THAT works out over time.  

best,

.................john

John,
Yeah, she caught on real fast and just rolled her eyes at me.  Thankfully my girlfriend is a gamer as well, so she understands.

Beans

Thanks for all of your posts. I am going to try a full ILS approach. Oh NAV it was not your tutorial I read, I just skimmed a little bit and its a lot more helpful than the tutorial in fs9. Thanks for that link, would have never found it. Again thanks a lot you guys, I am already soo addicted to this game, now if I can perform a full ILS approach and land on the correct runway LOL then I will not be able to stop playing. Thanks again.

Careful there buddy, you are treading in dangerous waters!  You are going to get addicted very fast!  Just make sure you warn any loved ones.

Nav,
Another quick question regarding your tutorial. Where exactly do you get the ILS frequency and the runway heading from. ATC will not give you the runway heading or the ILS frequency, they give you altitude to hold until you intercept the localizer, headings and the frequency for the tower.

CSU266: The Nav frequencies, and courses, come from the map view, zoomed in at the destination airport.  Theres some good adon software to add.  Heres the link:

http://63.217.28.218/files/1misc/kb_utils.zip

It is a great tool.  All of the instructions to install it are in the folder.  

GOOD LUCK

When I was learning real ILS approaches it took me a while to learn to fly the heading and not the needle.  Adjust and hold, adjust and hold.  Don't chase the localizer or you'll end up flying a path like an Indy driver warming up his tires.

csu, about the frequencies, call up the map, centre it on the airport, and enlarge it. That will give you a full plan showing the various runways etc. Click on the middle of the airport and you get a table giving all the frequencies.

Have a notebook handy and write