One thing I've never understood about RC4 is when ATC instructs you to resume own navigation, then barks at you for being off the airway when you attempt to adjust heading to intercept GPS tracking in GA aircraft. What exactly should 'resume own navigation' mean?

It means you should fly to the waypoint shown on the top line of the RC display. That is your current waypoint.

 

A heading is shown. You should fly that heading.

Same when you request a direct to. These are from your present position to your next waypoint shown in the RC inflight status window.

 

If you are a Boeing FMC user if you next waypoint on the LEGS page is on the top line, just click the left softkey twice and execute the change for your new path to it (for HNAV). If it is further down just left softkey that and as I recall then the top line to jump the LEGS waypoint list.

Just my 2 cents worth.

I have never been scolded for being off course in this situation.

It is when you are flying vectors from an airport and you reach the point where ATC no longer controls your lateral navigation.

They then tell you to fly to the next waypoint (as Ray says). Either you fly the heading given in the RC window or you engage LNAV (if you have it), which can give you a bit of an erratic path until it settles.

Either way RC will not complain unless you miss the waypoint completely.

I guess I only see this when I'm using FSX's default GPS. The DTO doesn't adjust the vector line based on current position, so to correct that to 'get back on the line' as it were causes RC4 to bark at me that I'm off the airway. In some cases, if I don't adjust, the vectors that RC4 gives me actually causes me to miss the waypoint by several miles. It's an oddity that I've lived with, so it's no big deal.. I just always wondered why 'resume own navigation' doesn't really mean what it implies.

You mentioned it already: It seems to be related to the way the default GPS calculates a DTO.

 

With an IFR flightplan 'own navigation' means to follow exactly that FP, not to 'fly how you like to' - you are  under IFR ("Instrument Flight Rules") after all.

 

My way of dealing with the default GPS is to tick the NOTAMs checkbox in RC - RC won't bark at you within a 70 nm range. Enough to settle on your default GPS flightplan track.

 

Or: Handing comms over to the F/O - he will reply every time RC barks, and you can concentrate on other stuff.

 

 

With an IFR flightplan 'own navigation' means to follow exactly that FP, not to 'fly how you like to' - you are under IFR ("Instrument Flight Rules") after all.

 

Real - present position to your next FP waypoint, not return to original track.

 

Use the MCP or AP heading control to get you to the next waypoint indicated by the in-flight RC window..

 

I do not use the default GPS but as I recall it had a direct to function of some kind. I had a different payware one (not available for FSX but just for FS9 and not sure if it runs on Win 7 or later) called the Apollo 50 by Reality-XP. I think it was coupled to the heading control. It showed my distance from the original track but if I changed the heading the aircraft nose could be pointed to the next waypoint.