Simviation Forums

Hello

Always wondered what to do when using an ILS that is reversed ie. back course ILS.

I tend to use the runway that is showing the true ILS or adjust the CRS knob 180 degrees.

Is there a proper procedure for this situation?


Cheers

lib

Hi...just approach as normal to intercept the localizer beam but you will I think find that there is no GS...glideslope...so you will have to do that bit manually.........if you are doing the localizer part manually you will notice that "reverse sensing" comes in to play too so remember to steer the wrong way to keep on line, there are some with glideslopes around in the real world but not many. At least that is as I have found it..........commoner

Backcourses are, in my opinion, a waste. And not at all because here in Italy are forbidden (you can't hope to use a backcourse in landing here), but because they only offer a FALSE horizontal guidance (false because inverted) and no glide. Why not to go in a visual, then? Or, if an instrumental approach is called for, a VOR-DME? After all, backcourse approaches (wherever they are legal) are pretty much a non-precision approach, just like VOR-DME.

The BC function on the AP is useful for other things, namely like when you're cleared to land on a physical runway with ILS on both ends that share the same operative frequency. IRL the tower would keep in use the ILS beam of the actual in use runway only, shutting the other off, but in FS this doesn't happen. Both ILS beam are always active at the same time. This means that on one end the ILS works fine, while on the other end it's a backcourse with glide (personal experience).

Particular attention must be used when approaching this kind of runway (at Rome LIRF there is one, another one you can find in Toronto, and they are far from finished here), as FS doesn't give you a head-up on which runways has what, and you must be VERY careful, lest the AP going loco on you while trying to land.

The localizer backcourse is frequently used here.  It is a non precision approach, which means once on the localizer and the initial approach fix, you simply descend to the minimum descent altitude for the approach (typically 500 agl).   It works very well at my airport and is the second most used approach.  It is usually a simpler approach than a VOR type approach, because you know you are lining up directly with the runway centerline in most cases.