To do an autolanding...

Let's clarify some things.Autoland ≠ Category IIIc Instrument Approach"CAT III C operations are not currently authorized.""You" (an airline pilot with appropriate aircraft etc.) can Autoland VFR if you wanted to do this.ILS Categories define the Landing Minima.

Without any autopilot you can only do a CAT I

You do not need an autopilot for Cat II or Cat III approaches. Alaska Airlines demonstrated this years ago with the Flight Dynamics HUD flying CAT IIIa approaches on B-727-100/200 aircraft.What you do need for Cat II and/or Cat III approaches is "Special Aircrew and Aircraft Certification". I am fairly certain an FAA Part 91 Operator could get an LOA (Letter of Authorization) for CAT II approaches. "Fairly Certain" as I have not actually tried or heard of anyone actually getting this type of LOA... but I did research and write a paper on this very topic for one of my Purdue Aviation ground courses.

Ummm...if your on the 240 degree radial heading TO the VOR then indeed your course will be 60 degrees.Your heading to maintain that course will depend on the wind speed and direction.You may well indeed need to maintain a heading of 50 degrees or 70 degrees to stay on that 60 degree course.regards,Joe

I so confused.Now I have been flying FSX since the day of it's release, eventually working my way up to the tubeliners.My favorite now is the 737 - the default, have not gotten into payware aircraft as of yet.But I ended up learning to fly IFR, using ILS runways. For the longest time, I would fly my routes manually using the aforementioned. I would follow ATC as it directed me, enter the ILS frequencies once I got runway assignment, and manually follow the glidescope and hsi indicators straight to the runway - and I had gotten very proficient at this. More recently, in the last year, I took the time to learn the autopilot functions, and now use that to get me very close to the runway before I disengage and land.So I guess I somehow missed learning about VOR's, radials, how to plot and follow them, etc.. I may be just lost on this in Flight!

Ummm...if your on the 240 degree radial heading TO the VOR then indeed your course will be 60 degrees.Your heading to maintain that course will depend on the wind speed and direction.You may well indeed need to maintain a heading of 50 degrees or 70 degrees to stay on that 60 degree course.regards,Joe

LOL I was just trying to keep it simple. :P The point I was trying to make is that you should mainly watch your heading indicator (taking into mind indeed a correction due to wind) and only look at the needle every now and then to check if you are still on the desired radial.Most people who are new to VOR only look at the needle and think that when it is centered, they are okay, which isn't necessarily so because the needle is also centered (briefly) when you pass the radial and are heading in a complete wrong direction and that's why they constantly have to correct their heading.At the very moment you intercept the radial and the needle is centered, you also have to make sure you are on the right course (heading wind corrected) otherwise it's useless and you will keep chasing the needle all the time. As I said, intercepting the needle without being on the right heading/course isn't intercepting but passing the radial. Keep looking at your heading and make small correction to stay on the needle instead of the other way around.

Wow. I am confused now. I remember posting in another topic regarding VOR and such but for ILS, do they always relate to each other or are they two completely different things/topics/matters? I read somewhere else that intercepting a ILS you have to think heading and not left or right. Is that correct? When the word localizer is said, in the RV-6, are they referring to the instrument above the throttle with one vertical line?

Wow. I am confused now. I remember posting in another topic regarding VOR and such but for ILS, do they always relate to each other or are they two completely different things/topics/matters? I read somewhere else that intercepting a ILS you have to think heading and not left or right. Is that correct? When the word localizer is said, in the RV-6, are they referring to the instrument above the throttle with one vertical line?

 

VOR and ILS are completely different things/topics/matters but they share a few things. And that's what makes it a bit confusing when you are new to them.

 

The first thing they share is the use of the VOR gauge! In Flight's RV-6A for instance the VOR 1 gauge is used for VOR navigation but also for ILS! In both cases, when set up right, you can follow the needle left and right get where you want to.However, VOR is something different then ILS.

 

The ILS uses a Localizer and a Glide slope. The Glide slope provides vertical guidance (shows you if you need to go up or down), the Localizer provides lateral guidance (if you need to go left or right). The Localizer may 'look' like a VOR but it only sends out one signal in one specific direction (the runway course). VOR sends out signals in all possible directions!

 

To answer your specific questions: I don't really know what you mean with that 'thinking' ahead. The Localizer, as you just found out, is NOT an instrument in the plane but a station on the ground! And the instrument with one vertical line above the throttle is the VOR 2 gauge. The one above it is the VOR 1 gauge, which, as I said, can also be used for ILS landings.

 

Hope this helps a little. If not, just say what part you didn't get and I'll give it another shot.

Wow. I am confused now. I remember posting in another topic regarding VOR and such but for ILS, do they always relate to each other or are they two completely different things/topics/matters? I read somewhere else that intercepting a ILS you have to think heading and not left or right. Is that correct? When the word localizer is said, in the RV-6, are they referring to the instrument above the throttle with one vertical line?

 

They are two completely separate things/topics/matters.

 

1. A VOR can provide guidance to anywhere within range of its signal. A VOR has 360 horizontal radials. You can fly TO or FROM a VOR.

 

2. An ILS* (Localizer + Glideslope) can provide guidance to one place; the runway threshold. A Localizer has 1 horizontal radial. The Glideslope has one vertical radial. You can only fly TO a Localizer.

 

*ILS = Instrument Landing System: consists of a localizer transmitter/antenna array located at the opposite end of the runway to which it is assigned, plus a glideslope transmitter/antenna array located near the landing end of the runway to which it is assigned, and either to the left or right side of the runway.

 

Note that some airports have only a Localizer and no Glideslope installed.

 

Some airports have a colocated DME transmitter/antenna array as well, which supplies a distance in nautical miles from the runway threshlold.

Thanks. I red DME isn't being used in Flight yet, is that true? Or am I a dummy because VOR and DME are the same thing? I noticed when I want to fly to a VOR, I see the distance annotated under the comm2 radio in nautical miles. There is an absurd (yet fascinating) amount of information regarding flying that I didn't know existed and I am a sponge and want to soak it all up.

Thanks. I red DME isn't being used in Flight yet, is that true? Or am I a dummy because VOR and DME are the same thing? I noticed when I want to fly to a VOR, I see the distance annotated under the comm2 radio in nautical miles. There is an absurd (yet fascinating) amount of information regarding flying that I didn't know existed and I am a sponge and want to soak it all up.

 

Now let's see who answers first, Fr. Bill or me...

 

DME and VOR are NOT the same thing. DME stands for Distance Measuring Equipment. DME is available in Flight. In Hawaii (or at least in Flight) all VORs also have DME. The 'annotated disctance' you see is the DME. It shows the distance to the VOR and the speed at which you are closing in or moving away.

Thanks. I red DME isn't being used in Flight yet, is that true? Or am I a dummy because VOR and DME are the same thing? I noticed when I want to fly to a VOR, I see the distance annotated under the comm2 radio in nautical miles.

 

Of course DME is being used in Flight. You just said you can see a "distance annotated..." right? :Peace:

 

A DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) is a completely separate transmitter/antenna system from either a VOR or a Localizer. When installed, it is almost always colocated in the same building that houses the VOR or Localizer transmitter, but it doesn't have to be.

 

Now let's see who answers first, Fr. Bill or me...

 

Ya beat me again. I need to type faster... :Just Kidding:

I guess that was a dumb question but I've been taught that the there's no such thing as a stupid question. Every time I read a reply to a question, I always have a new question to ask. If I'm trying to do an ILS approach, should I just use the ILS freq or VOR freq as well?

Ya beat me again. I need to type faster... :Just Kidding:

 

 

LOL

 

I guess that was a dumb question but I've been taught that the there's no such thing as a stupid question. Every time I read a reply to a question, I always have a new question to ask. If I'm trying to do an ILS approach, should I just use the ILS freq or VOR freq as well?

 

 

Indeed, there are NO stupid questions!

 

Since ILS is something completely different then VOR, why should you use a VOR freq too...? So no, you don't need to use a VOR freq to do an ILS landing. However... you might need a VOR freq to get yourself close to the ILS! But I already posted some suggestions about that in this topic: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/367226-first-flight-sim-never-used-ils-before/ so I won't repeat that here.

I guess that was a dumb question but I've been taught that the there's no such thing as a stupid question. Every time I read a reply to a question, I always have a new question to ask.

 

Please keep asking them! We wouldn't be here if we didn't like talking about this stuff.