ILS Glideslope?

[BTilson]

Hello all,

I've been trying to learn how to do ILS landings recently, and from what I understand, when you tune in the ILS frequency on the nav radio, the glideslope frequency would autotune. The first few landings I did had the glideslope needle functioning properly, but I did a couple last night that didn't react that way. The needle to line up with the runway worked fine, but the glideslope needle never moved. Am I doing something wrong, or do not all ILS runways also have a glideslope frequency?

Thanks!

[ashaman]

Not all the ILS out there (and consequently in FS) have a glideslope, nor must have the glideslope at all costs (LICR, as an example, on runway 13 has a ILS that consists of only a LOC with no GLIDE, and it's offset too).

The airports with ILS with no glideslope (only localizer) are simply airports with a non precision approach similar yet perhaps a little more precise than a VOR-DME, and like a VOR-DME approach must be faced.

In all ILS systems (with glideslope or not), the tuning frequency is only one. The presence or not of a glideslope depends from the ILS system in the airport.

[DaveSims]

I believe that techincally its not an ILS without a glideslope, just a localizer approach.  One of the airports I frequent has a localizer approach, but not ILS since they do not have a glideslope.

[ashaman]

You're right, yet it's still conversationally defined a ILS, even if with no glide. That and FS indicates a LOC with no GLIDE with the very same symbol of one with glide.

Remain what I wrote above anyway, even with these asides.

[Nav]

One more possibility, BTilson - make sure that you're well below the glideslope as you line up. Otherwise the localiser will line you up with the runway all right, but the aeroplane will not start down the glideslope.

[BTilson]

Is there any specific way to find out if an airport with a localizer beacon also has the glideslope? It's not a huge deal for me, as I seem to be able to manage the descent well enough without the glideslope. I have more trouble lining myself up with the runway than in controlling my descent rate as I approach.

[Brett_Henderson]

I'm out of town.. and away from my computer, so I can't check if the FS map specifies between localizer-only and ILS..

To check.. from the FS map, click on the airport where you know it's localizer-only and see if it lists a localizer-only in the frequencies.. or if ity calls it ILS, regardless..

Push/shove, you can use a real airport and facility directory... I've only found a few discrepancies,

[ashaman]

Never really found a lot of glide-less ILS (I can remember to have met only another, outside the really not so useful LICR, and it was in the middle east) , so didn't find in myself the need to take any precautionary step in the matter. Sorry.

[Asuka]

Go to La Guardia.

Rwy 31 is LOC w/o glidepath info.

And technically a Localizer only approach is not an ILS since the lack of glideslope information forces a non-precision approach.
For loc approaches you fly it just like a VOR app except the course selector does nothing