FSX Newbie, needing help with IFR...

[BAW0343]

just another fact about altimeter settings... and probably a bad practice for anyone involved...

when i used to fly sailplanes (in real life), the seat-of-the-pants way of calibrating the altimeter was to simply zero it out on the runway, effectively converting it into a height meter

i gather that for sailplanes, this practice has it's uses, since normally sailplanes fly in quiet airfield with practically no other traffic and usually don't go very high (usually... i know that sailplanes CAN go very very high) and thus, turning the altimeter into a height meter can be very practical to estimate when you should be disengaging from the tow, or entering a landing pattern and things like that

however, this can't be done in FSX unless you're very close to sea level, since the altimeter setting does have a limit and can only be turned so far

Cheers

I got to ride in a glider one time and when I asked the instructor what the airport elevation was so I could set the altimeter (He said we were going to 7000 ft so I wanted to follow along) he just set the altimeter just as you described. Was weird for me, especially since I knew it was at least 2000 ft off  :P

[b108]

I have not taken any offense-I'd rather you guys clear up my trail and repave it, than leave the road potholed, so to speak. Thanks also because I now know a little more about that altimeter than what I did before-Though I could have sworn I heard it said the way I wrote it down. But your explanation makes just as much sense and I guess I was kind of getting at that but I'm not well with words once I'm off and running with it-so that's where some of my mistakes came from, most likely.

I can obvioulsy not argue with the guy who is clearly and actual pilot because that's a loose-loose situation-As I said, "I'm not really sure how to put it" (About the altimeter, etc.)

And, of course, we all undoubtably know that ILS is not only focused for use per the autopilot-but most often it is used this way because it allows you to monitor the aircraft while descending via computer control. Most multiplayer participants especially take great pride in the ability to land ILS via autopilot. There's nothing more fun than actually having a 3-point landing. (though I do find it annoying that in real life the ILS feathers line you up in the center of the runway and FSX has several that just land you in the grass off of the side of the runway... oh well, at least they're not ALL like that.) I think it would be much harder to control the glideslope, horizontal positioning, and speed all at the same time on your own. Hard, certainly. But not impossible. Though I will admit I've never tried a manual ILS before

I also don't recall actually saying that IFR was an autopilot-only system of flight. I know it's not. Its just the ability to fly with out actual sight; being able to trust your instruments and read them the proper way in order to fly correctly.

Again I say no harm done and want to thank you sincerely for fixing my mistakes. Thanks!

[BAW0343]

IFR is just Instrument flight rules, can be entirely flown by the pilot, so your correct in IFR has nothing to do with autopilot.

Though I do find it interesting that people online take pride in being able to land an ILS via AP. There's absolutely no skill in that, all you do is set the numbers and let the computer take control. I'd be far more impressed if they flew the ILS procedures by hand in 0 visibility. Who cares if they net the numbers for autopilot, fly it yourself and then I'll be impressed.

[Brett_Henderson]

Yeah.. that's kinda odd. I wonder why people would rather watch the autopilot fly the approach, than fly it themselves. You might as well be watching s youtube video..

[BFMF]

Most multiplayer participants especially take great pride in the ability to land ILS via autopilot.

wow, pushing a couple buttons and watching the autopilot do it sure takes a lot of skill...

But could they hand fly a jet down the glideslope onto the numbers in 1 mile visibility....?

[flaminghotsauce]

I used to keep a situation saved where I had to fly down to the ground before the runway environment came into view. Then I would dial in random winds and try to hand fly it all the way in. Tough practice! But this is stuff I'd do before I went for my IFR checkride. It made the actual ride a lot easier.

[b108]

I did not say I was one of those people-I just said they enjoy doing it that way. Yes, ILS manually flown would be more useful to you in the real world-but this is a game people. Just relax. You're kind of acting like I offended you in some way...

I believe people are happy about it because it might take a while to understand, and they are just glad that they can land on the runway well, etc; etc. Whether it's manual or not-you have to admit it's still cool to watch a computer safely land a Boeing filled with people right on the centerline of a runway. I don't know, maybe I'm just wierd, but I think that's fascinating.

But, by the way, maybe you guys can answer me this:

Why is the default A321 so... odd? Why does it fly so irratically, especially on ILS approach, it will go up and down repeatedly and violently instead of triming the elevators and maintaining a glideslope... and why does it fly the same way under manual pilot control?

[Brett_Henderson]

I don't fly the jets very often.. I have my hands full flying single-engine props realistically..

However.. I do know that MSFS tries to replicate the "fly-by-wire" aspect of the Airbus. From what little of it I've flown; I think they've done a pretty good job. It just takes some getting used to.

If you do not like it.. you can turn off the three, fly-by-wire axes.. If I remember correctly, they're on the overhead panel, near the left side.

[b108]

I tried that-I found a video on youtube by "Cessna154" and He actually had a tutorial on how to "fix" the A321. He clicked the 3 far left switches from left to right, in that order, and it worked. Then I did the exact same thing, and It didn't do a thing for me. How can I get it to fly normal?