I was just doing approach to EGGP, trying to do an ILS landing but when I was about to intercept glideslope it wouldn't let me arm VOR/LOC. I could however arm APP and it brought me down to the runway anyway. My question is why couldn't I arm VOR/LOC? First thought I had was that the airport maybe doesn't have it but when checking the FMC and aiport info in FSX both rwys appeared to have ILS.

 

I tried same approach again later and that time I the plane didn't descend. What I noticed however was that when I enabled APP a white sign B/CRS appeared under HDG SEL  on PFD and then turned green (the same way G/S or LOC does after established). And also when activating APP the course settings automatically change to 89, no matter what I had set earlier. I don't have any add-on scenery for the airport or the UK (only have Active Sky Next)

I was just doing approach to EGGP, trying to do an ILS landing but when I was about to intercept glideslope it wouldn't let me arm VOR/LOC. I could however arm APP and it brought me down to the runway anyway. My question is why couldn't I arm VOR/LOC? First thought I had was that the airport maybe doesn't have it but when checking the FMC and aiport info in FSX both rwys appeared to have ILS.

 

I tried same approach again later and that time I the plane didn't descend. What I noticed however was that when I enabled APP a white sign B/CRS appeared under HDG SEL  on PFD and then turned green (the same way G/S or LOC does after established). And also when activating APP the course settings automatically change to 89, no matter what I had set earlier. I don't have any add-on scenery for the airport or the UK (only have Active Sky Next)

 

Firstly, welcome to the forum. It's a forum rule here to include your first and last name in your posts, in each post. Please ensure that you do this in the future.

 

As far as your issue goes, my guess is that it's a couple things:

1. Your scenery is out of date, compared to the real world approach offerings. You will need to download what people (somewhat improperly) call an AFCAD for that airport. I'm betting your current scenery does not have the ILS on that side of the runway (which is why you're seeing the backcourse, because it's seeing the other side has one).
2. Your scenery being out of date means that the LOC course is different from what you're seeing on the charts. Our software is defaulted to auto-set the FSX course to ensure there aren't any conflicts, which is why you're seeing it override your settings.

To fix this, find an AFCAD for the airport. Install it using the directions included with that file.

I haven't bothered with updating anything so that might be the case but how come FSX displays the information about ILS anyway? Is there a software that would make sure all AFCADs are up to date or so you have to do it manually?

 

Also what kind of approach was in use then when I activated APP on MCP panel and why did the plane descend only on the first try?

I haven't bothered with updating anything so that might be the case but how come FSX displays the information about ILS anyway? Is there a software that would make sure all AFCADs are up to date or so you have to do it manually?

 

Also what kind of approach was in use then when I activated APP on MCP panel and why did the plane descend only on the first try?

 

Instead of answering the question, I'll offer one up:

What did the FMA say? That's the important part, and something that most beginning pilots forget about. At the stop of your primary flight display (PFD), you will see three boxes. What did the right two boxes say? I'm guessing the aircraft went into some other type of approach mode to salvage a situation.

 

AFCADs must be updated manually. In my case, I always just run a check online before each flight. They're small files and super simple to add into the Addon Scenery folder, so I just treat it as part of the flight planning.

 

Again - full names in each post - first and last.

I believe the FMA said CRS/B in one box and G/P in the other one. But if I hadn't updated AFCAD, wouldn't that mean that FSX didn't have information about ILS at the airport (when I opened map and clicked on the airport it showed the frequency and heading for the ILS landing)? Or did I miss the point?

 

About the name, I tried adding it to signature but for some reason it won't let me update my signature for another week or so. I'll just add it at the end. Sorry about that.

 

Nick Johnson

I believe the FMA said CRS/B in one box and G/P in the other one. But if I hadn't updated AFCAD, wouldn't that mean that FSX didn't have information about ILS at the airport (when I opened map and clicked on the airport it showed the frequency and heading for the ILS landing)? Or did I miss the point?

 

It could have old information. Some airports have had the ILS frequencies change in the 10 or so years since FSX came out, or the approach was formerly a LOC only approach, and has since gotten a G/S installation to be an ILS. Without a picture, though, I can't be sure if you clicked on the correct object, or if the object was an ILS or LOC.

 

Regardless, G/P being shown means the systems did not pick up on an ILS, and instead, attempted to approximate a glidepath (G/P) in the absence of a valid glideslope (G/S) signal.

 

I know this is oddly specific, but it's not an ILS landing. It's an ILS approach. The optional autoland at the end is a completely separate function. I know that's very nitpicky, but people using "ILS landing" contributes to the misconception that an ILS approach always terminates in an autoland, among other things.

 

Not sure why AVSIM has a time requirement on the signature thing, but I do appreciate the manual effort until that kicks in for you.

Just one more question. I was looking for AFCAD file for EGGP but I can't find it anywhere. I've only found a few for FS 2004. I searched around on avsim but no luck either. Where do you get your AFCAD?

 

Nick Johnson

Just one more question. I was looking for AFCAD file for EGGP but I can't find it anywhere. I've only found a few for FS 2004. I searched around on avsim but no luck either. Where do you get your AFCAD?

 

If there's no AFCAD, I either ignore the issue, or fix it myself. There's a tool out there called Airport Design Editor. It's free (unless you use it for commercial purposes) and allows you to rather quickly fix those sorts of issues. If you do, be sure to upload it to AVSIM so that others can benefit from it!