Help with navigation...

[rd350r]

Hi all, I have just registered and had a look at some previous posts. I just got flight sim 2002 yesterday and have always been a fan. In Flight Unlimited 2 I could takeoff, get vectors direct to any airport of my choice and land. However i can do the takeoff and landing perfectly in ms flight sim but im not sure about the navigation, it doesnt appear to be as simple. I have tried the lessons but they are v.complicated!! Can any one help with this matter, hope so!, Thanks, Alex

[Fozzer]

Hi all, I have just registered and had a look at some previous posts. I just got flight sim 2002 yesterday and have always been a fan. In Flight Unlimited 2 I could takeoff, get vectors direct to any airport of my choice and land. However i can do the takeoff and landing perfectly in ms flight sim but im not sure about the navigation, it doesnt appear to be as simple. I have tried the lessons but they are v.complicated!! Can any one help with this matter, hope so!, Thanks, Alex

Hi Alex.... ...!
First....Welcome to Simviation... ...!
Second Please fill in your age and location in your Profile, (it helps)...... ...!
Third....
Try this in a Cessna 152 Trainer....



I Use Fs Navigator..

Http://www.fsnavigator.com

to obtain the ATIS, VOR, NDB, ILS frequencies, but you may find them on the default GPS in FS 2002/2004..

Cheers mate... ...!
Paul.
(England).

P.S. it's nice to meet another Flight Unlimited II enthusiast... ...!
LOL...!

[microlight]

I also use FSNavigator, which is pretty good for getting frequencies in real time without having to pause the sim to go to the map.

If you're a cheapskate like me, you can use FSNav version 3.0 which was upgraded for use with FS2000, but works in 2002 also.

[dave3cu]

If you know your destination before takeoff, create a flight plan, selecting the options you prefer (ie: vfr, direct gps, etc), print it out and you have all the relavent info needed (vectors, navaid freq, etc.). Your route will also then show on the GPS

Inflight, the map, accessable thru the inst. panel icon or world menu, will give you navaid freqs.

Or like I do often, get out the atlas and use dead reckoning :-)

Welcome to FS2002
Dave

[rd350r]

Thanks guys!  ;D Im suprised 2 c so many replies so quickly!!! I will print the picture you gave paul, thanks and try what dave said so i can navigate to my landing airport. Looks v.complicated compared to flight unlimited 2 but i expected that! i will give it a go and let you know how it goes, also another quick question, i have had a look at the aircraft add-ons and downloaded a couple, which do you lot think are the best?

[Dan]

I'm just learning with flight planner... lol
Dan G

[Smoke2much]

It is possible to navigate in FS with a world atlas, a ruler and an on board clock.  

You will know where you started from and you can get an approximate bearing from your atlas.  Fly along the bearing keeping a good watch on the scenery and compare it to what the map looks like.

Remember that FS2002 makes the airports quite obvious and recognisable from a fair distance, these can then be used for a more accurate "fix".

I have flown from Southampton to Rekyavic(sp?) using this method.  It works quite well.

Will

[Poseidon]

Hello and welcome to the forum and to FS2002.

In fact I find navigation in FS2002 maybe the most exciting part of the sim. You can fly completely visually using your compass and an atlas but the most interesting way is by using the VOR.

Let's assume you want to fly from Airport A1 to Airport A2 but they are too far to each other to have visual contact (in most cases!). So, you can open the map and first of all locate A1 and A2. Then try to find VOR stations lying between A1 and A2 and let's assume you have found V1, V2 and V3. The plan is that you will takeoff from A1 fly towards V1 then to V2, V3 and finally A2 where you will land. To do this you have to write down the frequencies of the VOR stations (V1, V2, V3) which can be found on the map as well.

Once departed from A1 tune your NAV1 in your radio stack, select the NAV1 (in case you also have NAV2) and also select NAV instead of GPS navigation knob.
Now your VOR instrument is also tunned to the selected VOR station so turn the OBS knob until you find a TO route towards the tunned VOR (in our case V1). Once the needle is aligned (the way the alignment is displayed differs from plane to plane) the needle arrow will show a direction. What you have to do is to simply fly to that direction but keep the needle aligned and make course corrections as you fly if needed. At the same time the DME display will show you the distance from the tuned VOR (V1). Once you are above the VOR or just passed it, tune to V2 and follow the same procedure until you obtain visual approach to A2 where you will land.

A few comments here would be that some airports do not have a VOR so in the above scenario you should estimate a course (in the map) in order to fly from V3 to A2 until you are able to see the runway.
It is also possible that to VOR statiions (say V1and V2) are just too far from each other so their range of transmition leave an area somewhere in the mid-way without coverage that is an area where your radio does not receive anything. Plan your estimated course after V1 (from viewing the map) to V2 in case the above happens. You do no thave to be very precise. It doen's matter if you set a course of 120 instead of 130. You may deviate a little but you will eventually start receiving V2 and then you can correct your course.

I hope it helps enough.