Thats the basics, let me know what specific plane you are using and I can possibley assist a bit more, but check the Learning Center first. Again, STARS/SIDS have nothing to do with any of this at this point, you first need to learn how to insert an approach into your flight plan. SIDS/STARS are primarily for turbine aircraft and dependent on direction of flight and only major airports use them.

I am using default 737

Thats kinda like trying to run before you can stand :-) You should start with the 172, choose 2 airports fairly close together, and practice with that. Set up a 'VOR to VOR" flight plan so you have a waypoint or two, then follow the suggestions in the above posts.

For the default 737, try the following: When you get within 25 miles of your destination airport, look on either the GPS panel or the map and determine the heading of the runway you wish to land on, if you click on the airport shown on the map, it will give you information about it, and you should note some of this down, the runway heading and the ILS frequency, these two bits of information will enable you to make an automated landing, using the ILS (Instrument Landing System) of the airport. So, having found out those two bits of info, you will need to set up your aeroplane to use them. Enter the runway heading in the course window on the mode control panel (the big autopilot panel, make sure it is the course window you are adjusting, not the heading window). Next, enter the ILS frequency into the NAV 1 and NAV 2 radios (they are down on the centre pedestal, but you can use the radio pop up window if you like, make sure it is the nav radios you are tuning in, not the Coms radios). Depending on what airport you are landing at, you should now have a heading set in the course window (for example 270) and an ILS frequency tuned in on both navigation radios (for example 109.9). Now you will need to fly your airliner into the range of the ILS beacons. You can see these depicted on the GPS with green cone-shaped 'feathers', and you should be aiming to fly into those about 15 miles out from the airport. Here's how you do that... Dial in an altitude of 3,000 feet on the autopilot, use level change and then altitude hold when at 3,000, and put your aircraft on a course that will fly you into that green ILS feather at no more than about 30 degrees off the runway heading and about 15 miles out from the airport, using the heading control on the autopilot (this is basically what ATC does when they give you steering information for an approach, but you can do all this yourself just to get used to it). Whilst you are flying up to those green feathers, turn on the VOR/LOC button on the autopilot panel (this will make your aeroplane turn onto the runway heading you set in the course window when you are in line with the runway, overriding the heading control). Get your speed down to about 200 knots with the autothrottle, and when it is at about 200 knots, drop the landing gear and a bit of flaps. You should be able to see the distance to the runway you have tuned in, it will be displayed in your primary flight display (the big artificial horizon screen). When you get about ten miles away from the runway, get your speed down to about 140 knots and gradually lower the flaps as you slow to that speed, note that the placard on the main panel near the landing gear switch which tells you the speeds at which you can lower more flaps. You will see a purple diamond on the right side of the primary flight display that will be moving slowly down the display screen, this indicates the glideslope beacon which will steer your aircraft down to the runway (you will be flying into this as it fans out up from the runway at an angle of about three degrees), when you see that purple diamond get right near the middle of the display, press the APP button on the autopilot panel and you will capture the glideslope. The autopilot will now override the altitude hold setting and you will be flying an automated approach. Strictly speaking, you should disengage the autopilot just as you get about 100 feet or so above the runway and make the last bit of the landing manually, but you will probably get away with letting FS fly uyou all the way down to the runway. This is a very basic version of what you should be doing, but it is enough to get you on the right track. Really, you should suss all this out in a simpler aircraft first, but that's up to you I guess. |all of this stuff is in the tutorials buiult into FS incidentally, so you should probably have a look at them. Al

Hi I fixed the lining up problem by using the PROC button on the GPS, however i am having trouble going to NFFN. When I set up a flight from YSSY to NFFN, click PROC and press Select Approach, there are no approaches listed. Anyone know a fix?

Hi I fixed the lining up problem by using the PROC button on the GPS, however i am having trouble going to NFFN. When I set up a flight from YSSY to NFFN, click PROC and press Select Approach, there are no approaches listed. Anyone know a fix?

Make sure you have RNY02 selected, thats the only one with an ILS

Hi I fixed the lining up problem by using the PROC button on the GPS, however i am having trouble going to NFFN. When I set up a flight from YSSY to NFFN, click PROC and press Select Approach, there are no approaches listed. Anyone know a fix?

Not all airports have precision approaches therefore the runways will not be listed in the GPS. In this case, you would have to fly a visual approach.

There is another problem with lining up with a runway. Navigraph has fixed it somewhat with their cycle updates but not completely. There is a known bug with FS9 and FSX regarding real world magnetic variations whereas, you put in the course heading for a runway and it will throw you off center by some degrees and you'll come in at an angle in certain instances. Ryan over at PMDG has a sticky about this problem with a link to a fix: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/336155-magnetic-variation-updates-for-fs9-and-fsx/ . I just found out about this from a friend and thought I would bring some attention to it even if it's not exactly the problem the OP was having. Best regards,Jim

Make sure you have RNY02 selected, thats the only one with an ILS

How can I do this, there are no approaches at all.

This is the problem im having after pressing PROC - Select Approach for NFFN. Where are my approaches???

That doesnt look like the PROC options page, it should look like this..

That doesnt look like the PROC options page, it should look like this..

why doesn't mine look like that?

Presumably because you haven't clicked the correct buttons. Try reading up on the GPS on the Learning Centre.

Hi I fixed the lining up problem by using the PROC button on the GPS, however i am having trouble going to NFFN. When I set up a flight from YSSY to NFFN, click PROC and press Select Approach, there are no approaches listed. Anyone know a fix?

Without being rude - the fix is to read the manuals and help sections in FSX. There are also plenty of tutorials. You have to LEARN how to do it. As someone said, start with the 172 and progress up from there. There is also excellent info on the use of the GPS in FSX - read it. Vic

That doesnt look like the PROC options page, it should look like this..

Actually his image looks just like yours except with no data. Most likely caused by a AFCAD that has no approaches defined.

Ryan, check your PM's