Hi,

 

I'm doing all the RC4 lessons and have a couple of questions:

1) If ATC tells me to fly heading x do I fly that exact heading or do I need to compensate for (cross)wind (I guess when taking off and fly runway heading and when holding I do have to compensate for crosswind)? How is this for approaches when flying a procedure turn: do I fly the exact specified heading or so I compensate for wind? So basically when to fly the exact heading and when to compensate for wind?

2) When flying a SID that requires a turn directly after take-off when do you start turing? I assume that you first do the initial climb to a safe altitude. But at what altitude should you have started your turn?

 

Thanks,

 

Marcel

1 and 2. See page 44 in the RC43 manual.

 

RC is looking at your ground track. In the status area of the RC window you'll see the heading expected. In the RC general option I use 25 degrees heading deviation. With that I have not had any problems with headings either dialing them on the MCP auto-pilot or following FMC/GPS guided terminal procedures if they match the waypoints sent to RC.

 

RC does not use procedure turns. For that you will need to use an IAP approach to do your own arrival. You can request that after approach assigns your runway and you ack then immediately go to option9 - extended menu, request the IAP, and pick your approach type and runway. RC will not monitor this until you are tracking on final.

 

Page 56 in the manual describes both non-controlled (no approach local radar) and controlled airports using approach control.

 

Please read about the NOTAMS options for departure and arrival. Note that NOTAMS does not relieve you of the 40 nm arrival altitude crossing restriction. Depending on your transition altitude and arrival this will be at 11,000 feet or FL110, or 12,000 feet or FL120. Page 105 for starters.

 

RC gives you enough time to turn off runway heading usually about 500 feet up. You stay on runway heading if on vectors until otherwise commanded. If you force a departure procedure (options are with or without altitude restrictions) or if your first waypoint is within 30 nm, RC will select a DP automatically and you are responsible to cross waypoints in the DP 9 (in in the plan sent to RC) and line yourself up by 30 nm to reach that first waypoint outside of 30nm.

 

SID-DP waypoints need to be in the plan sent to RC. If the SID is runway specific, just include the waypoints common to all runways in the RC plan and use a DP departure procedure.

 

Similarly for runway specific STARs just include common waypoints for all runways in the RC plan up to about 35 nm and at 40 nm out select IAP to follow the published prodedure to finish navigating to the intercept without guidance. Your waypoint data in your GPS/FMC must agree with the plan sent to RC.

Hi,

 

Thanks for your extensive answer!

 

It was not that I had any problems regarding following RC instructions I was only curious how it is done in real life. So if I understand your answer you indeed follow the heading told by ATC exactly and for runway heading and hold headings (the ones away from the holding point, so they are not given directly by ATC) you compensate for wind.

But it for example ATC would tell me to fly heading x after takeoff, at which altitude should I turn? I assume I first climb to some safe manouvring altitude?

 

Best, Marcel

Generally unless indicated otherwise between 500 and 1,000 AGL and past the terminal area.

 

Real-world take-off and landing paths are not over terminals at such low AGL altitudes. There are a few runways in the world where they are one-way for approach direction and departure direction since one end is on a heading to the terminal buildings, typically a cross runway to the main parallels.

 

Since FS ai can't handle one way runways I just close them.