I have been using FS for a long time. I just started to really start to use it more professionally. Therfore my question.I have designed a short VFR flight plan with FSCommander. Which I have been very happy with. This time I chose navigating using FIX's. No VOR's on NDB. My problem is that the flight plan tells me the direction and miles to the FIX. How do I measure miles to a FIX? Sure I can watch the moving map but how do real pilot's navigate to a FIX with no moving map to guide them? I must be brain dead as the answer must be simple.Thanks in advance to all who reply.Bill :(

I have been using FS for a long time. I just started to really start to use it more professionally. Therfore my question.I have designed a short VFR flight plan with FSCommander. Which I have been very happy with. This time I chose navigating using FIX's. No VOR's on NDB. My problem is that the flight plan tells me the direction and miles to the FIX. How do I measure miles to a FIX? Sure I can watch the moving map but how do real pilot's navigate to a FIX with no moving map to guide them? I must be brain dead as the answer must be simple.Thanks in advance to all who reply.Bill :(

A tricky question to answer! First, typically some fixes are defined by a dme distance from a vor, a particular radial, or the intersection of two radials. Some can also only be done with a gps. As a Vfr flyer you probably would not be using fixes as you are navigating by sight mostly. However, with the huge number of handheld gps's which just about every Vfr flyer has-you would probably use that to find a fix and yes by looking at the moving map. You can also look at a chart and take a bearing from two nearby vor's or could also use dead reckoning and time but looking at a moving map would be how most would do it.

Hey Bill, Here is an answer from a real pilot, with only a Private pilot certificate and about 200 hours total (so take it with a grain of salt). And will try to make my answer short (lots to read online)You want to fly VFR, that means that you are flying in VMC (visual meteorological conditions). If this is the case you can go from airport A to airport B anyway you want as long as you remain in VMC. I mean you can use dead reckoning and pilotage, navigate using VORs or NDBs or any waypoints, fixes. The part that you need to understand is that if you want to fly using VOR, you need a VOR receiver, same thing for NDB, and for fixes you can use a GPS. You can also use dead reckoning and pilotage if you have a map and you can mark the position of the fix and your current position, and calculate course, distances, and times and speed, but most importantly ALWAYS looking outside to make sure your calculations and course are correct (comparing it to your map)In reality, if you fly VFR, the majority of te time you fly using maps and landmarks, calculating headings, times to get to each landamark and looking outside to make sure you are on course, but if you have a gps, you can use that as well and fly directly to a waypoint...make sense? I think I probbaly confuse you even more, sorry if I did.-AbrahamI see that Geofa posted before me, hope all that info helps you.-Abraham

Go here:http://skyvector.com/ Put in the airport you are flying out of.Look at the top of the frame and click on one of the "Enroute" buttons.You'll see on the chart that "Intersections" are defined by distances and radials from VORs.Some "Fixes" (RNAV waypoints) are for GPS and are defined by their LAT/LON and require GPS.You can bring up your MS GPS (shift-3) and click the FPL button for a list of all your waypointswith their direction and distance ticking off as you fly if you don't want a moving map. You'dhave to file the flight plan in MSFS or import it to get that to work.

Thanks to all of you who have replied. You have supplied me with alot of information and resources to get more. I'm glad to see I may not be brain dead. And the answer is not that simple.Bill

If you have a few dollars to spend, you can look at Aerosoft's Flight Calculator. It's a representation of the kind of calculator pilots will use in-flight. You can use it to perform fuel and center of gravity calculations, and it will also help you with the math and timing you may need for navigating your VFR fixes, taking into account wind, altitude, temperature, and so on. I doubt it will make your flight sims any easier, but in the interest of providing options, I think it's an interesting add-on.http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/us/ibosh...2008550,DF02117Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

Thanks to all of you who have replied. You have supplied me with alot of information and resources to get more. I'm glad to see I may not be brain dead. And the answer is not that simple.Bill

IFR for the VFR pilot: I Follow Roads, Rivers & Railways.