Late Vectors for Localizer Intercept?

[Guest Mendota]

I have tried several times to do the tutorial KMSP-KORD flight with the Wilco/FeelThere 737PIC. Everthing works great until I am vectored to a runway approach. It seems that I am being told to turn into a heading to intercept the localizer almost right at the extended extended center line, rather than sufficiently before it. What this means is that I am consistently missing the localizer because I overshoot and wind up on the "wrong side" of it.Let's use my last flight as an example. I was given RWY 32R ILS. I am flying at a right angle to the runway, 12 miles out (nearly over Midway). A mile and a half before I would cross the extended centerline at 12 miles distance, I am told to turn to heading 340, which gives me a little less than 2 miles at that angle of approach (20 degrees difference from localizer) before I'm crossing the localizer. This may sound like a lot of time but I'm not sure.I have the nav radios tuned to the proper frequency and course 320 set. I am at VREF +10 with AP on HDG select and VOR/LOC button pushed. But for some reason, it never catches the localizer. (I would then push APPROACH once I was established on the localizer -- which never happens.)Does anyone have any idea what kind of issue this might be? I am not so confident to rule out pilot error wth this a/c since I am not as familiar with it as the Wilco Airbus products, but in practice flights, if I have enough space to set up, I can consistently make perfect autolands. It does seem much less tolerant than my other a/c. But it also just seems to me that ATC is not setting me up properly for the approach.Other than this, so far I am enjoying the product very much, and can't believe I spent so many years with standard FS ATC.Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.Tim Capps

[jd 57]

I have tried several times to do the tutorial KMSP-KORD flight with the Wilco/FeelThere 737PIC. Everthing works great until I am vectored to a runway approach. It seems that I am being told to turn into a heading to intercept the localizer almost right at the extended extended center line, rather than sufficiently before it. What this means is that I am consistently missing the localizer because I overshoot and wind up on the "wrong side" of it.Let's use my last flight as an example. I was given RWY 32R ILS. I am flying at a right angle to the runway, 12 miles out (nearly over Midway). A mile and a half before I would cross the extended centerline at 12 miles distance, I am told to turn to heading 340, which gives me a little less than 2 miles at that angle of approach (20 degrees difference from localizer) before I'm crossing the localizer. This may sound like a lot of time but I'm not sure.I have the nav radios tuned to the proper frequency and course 320 set. I am at VREF +10 with AP on HDG select and VOR/LOC button pushed. But for some reason, it never catches the localizer. (I would then push APPROACH once I was established on the localizer -- which never happens.)Does anyone have any idea what kind of issue this might be? I am not so confident to rule out pilot error wth this a/c since I am not as familiar with it as the Wilco Airbus products, but in practice flights, if I have enough space to set up, I can consistently make perfect autolands. It does seem much less tolerant than my other a/c. But it also just seems to me that ATC is not setting me up properly for the approach.Other than this, so far I am enjoying the product very much, and can't believe I spent so many years with standard FS ATC.Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.Tim Capps

if you have pre-recorded chatter playing, uncheck that optionif you have "display text" checked on the options screen, uncheck it.if that doesn't help, make a .log, instructions pinned to the top of the forum, and duplicate the problem. then send me the .logalso, have you run the rebuild rc scenery database?jd

[jordanal 70]

I have tried several times to do the tutorial KMSP-KORD flight with the Wilco/FeelThere 737PIC. Everthing works great until I am vectored to a runway approach. It seems that I am being told to turn into a heading to intercept the localizer almost right at the extended extended center line, rather than sufficiently before it. What this means is that I am consistently missing the localizer because I overshoot and wind up on the "wrong side" of it.Let's use my last flight as an example. I was given RWY 32R ILS. I am flying at a right angle to the runway, 12 miles out (nearly over Midway). A mile and a half before I would cross the extended centerline at 12 miles distance, I am told to turn to heading 340, which gives me a little less than 2 miles at that angle of approach (20 degrees difference from localizer) before I'm crossing the localizer. This may sound like a lot of time but I'm not sure.I have the nav radios tuned to the proper frequency and course 320 set. I am at VREF +10 with AP on HDG select and VOR/LOC button pushed. But for some reason, it never catches the localizer. (I would then push APPROACH once I was established on the localizer -- which never happens.)Does anyone have any idea what kind of issue this might be? I am not so confident to rule out pilot error wth this a/c since I am not as familiar with it as the Wilco Airbus products, but in practice flights, if I have enough space to set up, I can consistently make perfect autolands. It does seem much less tolerant than my other a/c. But it also just seems to me that ATC is not setting me up properly for the approach.Other than this, so far I am enjoying the product very much, and can't believe I spent so many years with standard FS ATC.Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.Tim Capps

Are you by chance running FSX with HiFi's Activesky Advance (ASA)?If you are, uncheck Direct Weather Control (DWC) in the ASA -> Options -> Wind menu as it conflicts with Radar contact. Delayed vectors and critical approach info gets messed up during the final approach phases of flight. It has to do with the fact that ASA with DWC is only setting global weather in the FSX and leaving out local station data which confuses RC. HiFi is aware of the issue and working on it.

[Guest Mendota]

Okay, did the exact same flight tonight, but this time I was ready for split-second execution :-) I don't have any of the issues mentioned, but when I thought I could wait no longer to turn, I did, and about three seconds later ATC was telling me to. So the moral of the story is be slow, have your expected heading set and realize you are not going to have a second to fool around. Maybe on a faster system you would have a little more breathing room.I also did something bad. I'm not sure what it was, but I was being investigated at the end of the flight O.o Something about not flying my filed flight plan. I intend to fight it ;-)

[jd 57]

Okay, did the exact same flight tonight, but this time I was ready for split-second execution :-) I don't have any of the issues mentioned, but when I thought I could wait no longer to turn, I did, and about three seconds later ATC was telling me to. So the moral of the story is be slow, have your expected heading set and realize you are not going to have a second to fool around. Maybe on a faster system you would have a little more breathing room.I also did something bad. I'm not sure what it was, but I was being investigated at the end of the flight O.o Something about not flying my filed flight plan. I intend to fight it ;-)

sounds like there were some other issues elsewhere in your flight :-)jd

[Guest Mendota]

Seriously, what a joy to find a program that provides a quantum leap in flight sim fun after this many years. I could no more go back to standard FS ATC than I could those wire-frame "TRON graphics" of my first flight sim. Big Bravo Zulu to you. Not only does it make the experience seem more realistic, it provides a new learning challenge and really makes me step up my game.Oh, and I found the undocumented "corrupt investigator" box and checked it, so I was able to bribe my way out of trouble.So anyone perusing this thread in the future should know that my problems were mine, not RC's. I was not prepared to quickly execute instructions in a critical phase of flight, was not 100% comfortable with airplane I was using, and, in one case, was confused by the lack of a glideslope indicator at a runway that I later learned didn't HAVE one. (I figured every runway at someplace like Chicago O'Hare would.)Now on to the second tutorial!Best Wishes,Tim Capps