A Mind of Its Own

[Guest tg272]

Ok, so the usual problems with late localizer capture and turn to final approach course cause overshoot and then overshoot the other way until established. By this time, the glideslope loses lock and here I am having to do a missed approach. No worries, I'll just disable the autopilot and fly it manually around left traffic, as cleared. Hmm? THe autopilot won't shut off? Heading hold does nothing? The FMC trip is over? No control whatsoever!Please explain.Before I'm flamed for being a lousy pilot, understand that I've flown every payware out there to excess! This isn't a pilot error. It's a software error. There was virtually NO control of the aircraft except for disabling A/T and manually executing a nice controlled crash on the side of a mountain.Deacontg272

[Guest Phoenix5]

Deacon,Are you loading the default Cessna flight first, then switching aircraft, or are you starting from the create a flight menu?Not starting from the default flight runs the risk of some or all systems not correctly loading, which sounds like what has happened here.regards,

[wad53 3]

Hi Deacon, How are you disconnecting the A/P, by keyboard or in panel? Don't know if this is any help but see this topichttp://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=12381&page=Warren

[Guest tg272]

Thanks, Steven.Yes, as always, I start from Create Flight menu with my Default Flight loaded...Cessna 172, engines on, in 2D panel mode, at ramp at local airport. At the Create Flight menu I choose a different aircraft and airport location and then Fly Now.This has worked flawlessly for years with every payware that includes its own FMC (yours, PMDG -- a decidely more lengthy load --, and others).During this particular flight I had occasion to change waypoints, landing runways, and their associated STARS(trans) several times. After the last time, the waypoint (one that is not duplicated in the Southern Hemisphere) which begins the STAR indicated a fly-to bearing of 000 degrees, while it should have been 178 deg. THe aircraft did NOT track 000, it simply maintained its present track until the waypoint had been overflown (removed from the Legs screen) whereupon the aircraft began tracking to the subsequent waypoint and continued with the approach.Deacon

[Guest tg272]

Indeed. At some point in the final stages of the approach I did hit Z as a last ditch effort which may have enable the FS9 autopilot. However, I don't seem to recall any indication from FSNav that this had been done and was on while having the uncontrolability problems I spoke of.I doubt that this is the cause however.I'll give this fix a try. If it indeed corrects the problem, why wasn't it disabled in the cfg file prior to release of the model?Bart BartholomayDeacontg272

[Guest NormanB]

>why wasn't it disabled in the cfg file prior to release of the>model?The suggestion to disable came from a user. Nobody on the team accidently hit the key during beta, but more importantly, some users have Z mapped so we didnt want to upset that mapping.

[Guest tg272]

>but more importantly,>some users have Z mapped so we didnt want to upset that>mapping.That's not exactly what I meant. Other FMCs don't respond to or use any of the functionality of the FS9 A/P. This might have been an option here.Bart BartholomayDeacontg272

[pbenoit 0]

Deacon,At the risk of this being a "works for me" post ... which it is ... I'll offer my $.05Not sure what you are doing ... but I have 180+ hours logged on the T7 -200LR .. mostly long flights .. all with AS6, RC4, FDC, Flight Keeper with FSNav in the background as moving map ... and have never experienced a bad loc capture, overshoots .. and have never missed a GS capture.RC4 usually vectors me for a downwind, base and intercept and it always works fine ... intercept is usually 30-40 deg and I am always at 180-185, flap 5 or 15. On LOC intercept I usually slow to landing ref and deploy final flaps ... when stable I take off the A/T, and usually at 500-1000 feet ditch the AP ... this works flawlessly for me (not all my landings are flawless ... hehehe ... but I am getting better). Autoland does work fine, if maybe a little heavy on the landing ... if you need it.I do note that RC4 always leaves me 10-15 miles out for the intercept and usually below the GS ... which is never a bad thing.So ... I am 99-100% certain this is not a software issue ... Even though are "experienced" you might want to try some small angle localizer captures ... 30-40 degrees at least 10 miles out ... this is a large, heavy aircraft and while maneuverable ... it's not a cessna!!!Hope you find a solution to your issue.Regards,Paul BenoitKSAN

[Guest tg272]

I know this sounds weird, Paul.For my own part, I am an instrument qualified SMEL rated pilot with jet ratings and have been for almost 35 years. When I speak of localizer capture, I am speaking from a FS9 configuration standpoint. This CAN be adjusted. Normally, 30-45 deg intercept is fine and has no problems, and I usually use these parameters. Anything over that and I've found less tracking accuracy and late/slow course corrections...more so than the plane should have. Now this really isn't the issue so much here, though.What is the issue has to do with the hang up of the system. Granted, I had already accepted the out of parameter approach and was trying to execute a missed approach but couldn't because I had no control over the entire flight management system. This is software-related I believe. Furthermore, I believe that this FMC doesn't track nearly accurately and quickly, when making corrections, as do others of note. Again, this CAN be adjusted.Bart BartholomayDeacontg272