I started flying in FSX only today (had it for long, never got into it). I'm practicing on the stock 737-800 for the moment, and I have a question about the Heading/Course. I tried googling the difference but all the explanations were too confusing to me, and the fact that English is my second language didn't help. :Thinking:What should I usually set the Course to? Before I take off I set it to 328, then I only change the Heading as per radio instructions. Do I need to change it with accordance to the Heading? Flying autopilot on GPS, of course. From my understanding I should only use NAV when doing an ILS approach, and then I have to depress VOR LOC and switch to APP. Or maybe I'm missing something because my game crashed a few miles before my final destination...Thanks.

Course is your track over the ground, heading is the direction you plane is flying. You adjust your heading for the winds in order to maintain your course. Thats the short explanation, I'm sure others here will go into more detail.

Course is your track over the ground, heading is the direction you plane is flying. You adjust your heading for the winds in order to maintain your course. Thats the short explanation, I'm sure others here will go into more detail.

Not really, Jay, but heading is the direction in which the nose is pointing - not the direction your aircraft is flying.

To recap, course is the geographic direction (angle with respect to true north) you need to track to get to your destination, while heading is (usually) the magnetic compass direction you need to fly to track that desired course, given actual winds and magnetic declination (often also called magnetic variation). Exceptions are for example in Canada where geograhic headings are used, because magnetic declinations can be very large due to proximity to the magnetic North Pole such that reference to the compass becomes dangerous.When ATC vectors an aircraft, headings are always WRT the compass, i. e. magnetic, as are runway designations (which is why runways change over the years even while the runways themselves don't move). An addedd wrinkle for smaller aircraft where the pilot reads headings directly off the compass is that the pilot needs to adjust all magnetic headings issued by ATC for magnetic deviation, i.e. correct the compass' readout for the local magnetic disturbances caused by aircraft avionics and presence of ferrous metals in and near the cockpit. (Magnetic deviations are particular to each caircraft. turnnig the aircraft on the gorund to known magnetic headings to obtain the table of magnetic deviations for the compass of that aircraft is called "swinging the compass". In large aircraft with glass cockpits, all magnetic heading readouts are automatically corrected for megnetic deviation.More info:

1. Course
2. Magnetic Heading
3. Magnetic declination (variation)
4. Magnetic inclination ("dip")
5. Magnetic deviation

What you say about an ILS approach is correct:

1. Cruise with your Autopilot on NAV (called "VOR/LOC" on larger aircraft).
2. Fly GPS Direct to your destination (GPS/NAV Switch must be to GPS)
3. When nearing your destination airport, tune COM1 to your ILS Localizer frequency
4. When you begin to receive the ILS signal (ILS is "Live")...
5. GPS/NAV Switch must be to NAV for the autopilot to track the runway inbound course
6. Actual magnetic heading dispkayed by the compass will be the localizer course adjusted fora. magnetic declination,b. magnetic deviation, andc. wind.
7. Descend to 2,500 ft above the airport altitude.
8. Wait for the GS - Glideslope receiver to go live
9. As you continue to approach the airport, the GS needle will move down.
10. When the GS needle is one dot above center (i.e. the aircraft is one dot below the GS),
11. Switch from NAV (or VOR/LOC) to APP and lower the gear at the same time.

NOTE:Experienced pilots will note the preceding instructions are simplifiedand thus containe shortcuts and errors, but even so will assist a newbiepilot to learn and understand the basics of modern air navigation. Magnetic Declination changing over the years:Cheers,- jahman.

First of all, thanks for the thorough explanation. I still have not understood all of it (knew nothing about aviation to begin with), but I appreciate the effort nonetheless. Should probably sit down and read it a few times just for the hell of it.So what you're saying is that in the 737 the course changes automatically? Going with the presumption that all modern airliners have glass cockpits, does it mean that I don't have to change their course manually?

If you're talking about the heading and course selectors, basically, the heading selector is used to set an heading direction on the compass rose of your HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator), that direction will be followed by the Autopilot when used in HDG mode. The course selector is used to set a desired course to be followed referring to a navigation source, such as a VOR. If you will tune a valid local VOR frequency (NAV radio), and looking at a nav chart you need to fly on a certain radial of the VOR (a radial is a straight line starting from VOR directed in a specific magnetic direction), you have to set that specific course value on the HSI by means of the course selector. At that point you'll notice that a part of the Course Indicator (the big arrow in the middle of the HSI) will move to the left or to the right, this means that to capture and follow the requested radial, you need to turn a little or a few (depends how much you're away) in that direction, to center the CDI and than mantain it centered manually or by means of the NAV (or VOR/LOC) function on your AP.It's not all, and it's not so easy, but it is impossible to reassume how to follow a course on instruments here now. You can find a lot of tutorials on the web.For the meanings of the terms, other guys have aready answered :(

Hah, I blew it up. Spent the past 3-4 hours (I don't know why it's that long) flying from Osaka Intl to Haneda Intl in Japan as a test flight. At first I missed the approach at HND, then I managed to get back on it thanks to the radio. I set my ILS freq to 108.10 and course to 222 which was supposedly the data for runway 22 in HND, but my aircraft wouldn't descend to the runway. Or maybe I had to give it more time, I don't know. All I know is that the pink rectangle escaped too far to the left, so I disengaged autopilot and tried a noobish manual landing before my aircraft will fly over the airport and miss it again. I did manage to get on the runway, but apparently pressing and holding F2 isn't reverse thrust and so I ended up falling out of it... Man I'm so ######. I had HDG SEL and APP turned on, autopilot still fully engaged (altitude hold, speed hold, autothrottle) and flaps and gear fully extended. I know I should disengage it when my aircraft is perfectly lined on the runway, and all I have to do is tilt the nose up and brake it. What did I miss?

Having a look at the map, or GPS view where you can see the green ILS 'feathers' will help. Basically, if you draw an imaginary line extending out from the approach end of the runway to about 10-15 miles, this would be the point you are aiming for when making an approach, but what you need to ensure is that you come to that point from a pretty shallow angle, i.e. no more than around 30 degrees different from the direction you would be heading when going toward the runway. This means that when you have the course set to the runway heading and the nav radios tuned in, when your aeroplane flies into the radio beam, it will turn gently onto that course and not have to bank like crazy to line up.So, here it is:You tune both the NAV radios for the ILS frequency, and you set the course in BOTH course windows to the runway's exact heading. You fly to the runway's extended centreline about 10-15 miles out from it with the autopilot set to altitude and heading hold (flying at about 3,500-4,000 feet will do). When you get near the extended centreline, make sure you have VOR/LOC selected, so that when you fly into the localiser beam, the heading hold mode switches off and the VOR/LOC overrides it and lines you up with the runway. You will then be heading toward the runway coming in under the glideslope radio beam, which extends up and out from the runway at about a 3.5 degree slope. When you are right under the beam (watch the pink indicator on the right side of your primary flight display), you hit the APP button, this then overrides altitude hold and you will descend on the glideslope. Note that on most aircraft, you have to get both CMD buttons pressed too, so that two autopilots are running the show (for safety reasons), fancy payware add-on aeroplanes will demand this, but I'm pretty sure all the default FS aeroplanes will do it with one CMD button alone.Obviously don't forget to slow down, lower the flaps and gear, and if you have ensured that you don't still have tons of fuel on board, then you ought to be able to land at somewhere around 140 knots in a jetliner. Pressing the '/' key as you approach will arm the autospoilers which will deploy on tuchdown, and chopping the throttle and pressing 'F2' will deploy the thrust reversers. There is also an 'autobrake' on the panel you can use (the 1 setting is normal, the 3 setting is for trying to land on a postage stamp, RTO - rejected take off - is for take offs if you have to abort, when you chop the throttle it will slam the anchors on and everyone in first class will spill their Champagne).Al

Not really, Jay, but heading is the direction in which the nose is pointing - not the direction your aircraft is flying.

I did say it was a simple explanation, cause I knew what the other posts were going to saw when they say this, since its been talked about to death. But you are right, I should have said pointing, it was late :-)If the OP really wants to learn, he needs to grab a 172 not a jet and go to this link to get the 'basics'....http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/