ILS Approach and Landing Help

[smas4er]

Hi

Some one please help me with this. I am using Boeing 737-800. I use IFR and plan route, takeoff and switch the autopilot on, follow the ATC instructions to reach the airport. When I am near the airport I select Approach in the autopilot panel, and then it all starts going wrong, I am not sure what step I am missing, can someone please help me to land the plane on track or guide me to a good tutorial.

Thanks

[TSC.]

Hi smas4er & welcome,

It sounds like your not using any of the nav-aids, your not inputting the ILS frequency into the Nav1 or setting the runway heading

[smas4er]

TSC

Thanks a lot for your help. I have tried it and have improved a lot, just need to do more practice. Thanks a lot, you are a star!

[Brett_Henderson]

This is probably my zillionth post about this stuf..

[Lefsa123]

After reading your response Brett, you have at least changed my outlook toward Flight Sims.

[Mobius]

Brett is completely correct.  When I first started with flight simulator (many many moons ago), I would fire up the learjet and go take-off across the grass and taxiways and whatever was in my way so I could get in the air.  Then I would just do loops and rolls, which were fun for a while, but after an hour or so, it got boring.  Over the years, mostly since started real flying when I was 16, I have flown in the sim like I would fly in real life, and it is many times more rewarding.  Just last night I flew a full VOR approach into KCOD, which was almost a half-hour of flying in a straight line in the clouds, which sounds terribly boring, but when you just set yourself somewhere on the map, close to where you would be when starting an approach,  and you fly to the correct fixes, at the correct altitudes without ever seeing anything other than the gray of the clouds around you, leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment that loops and rolls can't.  That's not to say I don't strap on a 747 and fly inverted under the Golden Gate Bridge every now and then, that's why FS is great.


Brett, you should do some instructional posts about learning to fly the 'right' way.  A condensed PPL course or something like that.  I would be more than happy to help with screenshots or writing or anything you need, but you are the one with all the years of experience and all that, so I figured it would probably be best if you headed the project so I don't go and tell someone to do something wrong.

[TSC.]

Totally agree with Brett & Mobius on this one, there's nothing wrong with playing instant airline captain, but I feel you will actually gain a lot more form the sim if you start small & work your way up.

As for learning ILS in a 172, it sounds boring, plugging away through 30 minutes of cloud before you will even see any scenery - but believe me, the sense of anticipation, learning to trust your instruments (a BIG step) & the feeling of accomplishment when you break out of the clouds & 'hey presto, a runway!!" are hard to beat. I've seen many friends actually sweating & shaking their way through their first ILS landing (I always make them do it in low vis, just to reinforce how to trust the instruments).

Took Clipper & Cspyro through their first ILS landings in an MP using teamspeak & they both thoroughly enjoyed it.

Cheers,

TSC.

[reider]

Brett, you should do some instructional posts about learning to fly the 'right' way.  A condensed PPL course or something like that.  I would be more than happy to help with screenshots or writing or anything you need, but you are the one with all the years of experience and all that, so I figured it would probably be best if you headed the project so I don't go and tell someone to do something wrong.

I agree with that wholeheartedly, no bad thing for the forum as a sticky and well within the capability and knowledge of Brett.  that would be good to see....

Reider

[Brett_Henderson]

Considering how much there is to be learned and enjoyed from simming... and considering how much satisfaction I've gotten out of aviation; both real and virtual... and considering how much being a SimV member has given me...  I think it's a good idea. Maybe an open-ended sticky in the "Flight School" forum ?  A place for everyone to discuss their progress; ask and answer questions; share experience, pointers, advice and offer suggestions.

I could put together a syllabus that follows real-world training, albeit modified  for simming. A step-by-step list of tasks to be mastered in order before moving on to the next. With the FSX ability to share a cockpit in multi-player, there could even be one-on-one, real-time practice and instruction. I've already tried this with several people, including through a language barrier, with our own member, Alrot. I guess we could even give each other check-rides and have an informal, SimV rating and endorsement system; where any SimV pilot is eligible to issue ratings/endorsements to aspiring pilots, that they've already earned ?

Let's kick it around, talk about it a little, and if the interest is there... and with help to get the ball rolling (as Mobius has graciously offered  ;)  ).. I'm willing to give it a go  :)

[Mobius]

Let's kick it around, talk about it a little, and if the interest is there... and with help to get the ball rolling (as Mobius has graciously offered  ;)  ).. I'm willing to give it a go  :)

I'd be more than happy to help.  If you can make a syllabus, I could test fly different flights and make visuals that would help.  I should be able to remember everything that I've learned so far (;)), and if not, I know where to look.  We could save a flight in certain conditions, then upload it as a lesson.  We could make a thread for each lesson, then try to get a sticky in the flight school forum that would have a link to each lesson.  I haven't really seen anything else out there that has a whole range of training flights laid out and set up, so I think this could be quite successful.  I think the only thing that we couldn't do as well as we would want without multiplayer would be taking to ATC, but like you've done before, we could set up some multiplayer sessions with someone acting as ATC for some practice.  

[Brett_Henderson]

Yes, something along those lines. Nothing so formal that it's not fun, but not too easy, either. I've always found the sim lessons too buggy and stale. You never really grasp the big picture, you just learn to pass vaguely rigid check-rides. It's just too much to learn (with too much subtlety), without personal interaction and feedback.

Of course there's no way to incorporate everything from real training, but I think it can be done in a way to reinforce the basics and important aspects.. so that the bulb lights up in the old noggin,

[BFMF]

Sounds like a great, and fun idea Brett. If we already have a real pilot's license, do we automatically get the SimV Pilot's license? I'm not saying it's beneath me to go through the basics, even though I should be practicing all along, but my PPL certificate should account for something...

Now an Instrument course would be fun, even though you may already be way too busy to ever consider doing both

[Mobius]

I think an instrument course would be a natural extension of the PPL course.  FS is one of the best tools I've found for instrument flying, so I think it would have to have a place in the range of SimV ratings.  Hopefully these lessons could really help people when they try to get their real ratings too.  

Flying online together could really open up a lot of possibilities as well.  I'm sure there are plenty of real-world pilots on here that could play the role of 'bad traffic' while someone is flying a lesson to show some examples of poor flying that we have encountered that have really helped us learn.

This could be interesting.

[Brett_Henderson]

If nothing else, it will be fun.. and if it matures into something long-term, that's a bonus.

There's no way

[smas4er]

I think it is great and will help people like me, who have a lot of interest in SIM but find hard to get the practice, refrence and learning material. Therefore can't have that experience. I think it's great to have something like this!