Hi allI am trying to manually fly the pmdg 747-my problem is keeping on the magenta line all the time.I find I am constantly deviating between +1 or -1 degree of the course,this happens with even no wind effect.My question is ,does this happen in real life too and doesthis constant readjusting of the route have any effect on the final flight path.Looking forward to your replies.Qas

Yes & No!It has been a number of years since I have flown IFR, in the real world. However, I think ATC give you about a mile (1/2 mile either side) in the vector airways before they say anything. I never flew IFR with a GPS.Unless you are using the autopilot to fly, most average part time pilots will drift from one side of the course to the other. So long as you arrive where you want to in the end. That is what counts.

airways are 4 miles wide on each side. you got 4 miles of play on each side....if you want to fly IFR rules, which maens you rely solely on your gauges, you need to stop flying the line. you need to learn about inst. scanning. when you are flying a straight and level flight, you use your compass as your bank indicator... your job is to keep the heading that you desire.now if you are drifting left or right, you need to know how to bracket. this is fun, but kind of confushing. it pretty much lets to correct for the winds, works well on a long course, but not on holds and stuffyou pretty much just need to search for 'IFR bracketing' for thatso what exactly is the problem i'm confused, are you drifting off the line? or are you having problems staying on the asme heading?

Thanks for the replies.Emir,I tend to drift randomly to either sides of the planned route.I am constantly correcting with the joystick.I have the ch fighterstick.The reason for my question was how normal is this in real life.Also do you correct with the rudder or stick or both.Qas

yup, its perfectly normalhttp://flightaware.com/live/flight/N75RRhere is an example of a plane doing IFR flying with no autopilot... you see the course? its all wiggly. this is PERFECTLY normal... like I said. a federal airway has 4 miles on eachside, so there is plenty of room for error :) your job is to keep that VOR line steady, not the heading.so in the PMDG 747 if you want to do this, don't follow the line.instead change the MFD setting from MAP to VOR (I think thats what it was) and do center. you will have an HSI looking view... just try to keep that magenta line centered with the other 2 white lines in the front and back.

let me also add after certain alt. (i can't remember, I think its 18,000) you have reduced separation which requires an autopilot to operate in.