fsx-ms A Stupid Bearings Question For An Old Wrinkly

[COBS 25]

'ivatt', on 06 Jan 2016 - 8:53 PM, said:

I am looking at Chapter 1 which deals with Post Mills (Vermont) using a PIper J-3 Cub which has very limited instrumentation which is my first problem as it relies heavily on visual to actually see where you are in relation with the ground. Piper Mills has no real distinctive features like a large airport so is difficult to spot in the distance.

I realise that you are using the example from your book , however 2 things standout that will make your exercises very difficult to conduct .

They are ;

(1) Aircraft type .

The Piper J-3 Cub is a bad choice for learning in .

Recommend that you use a tricycle gear aircraft , not a taildragger , you will have a better view of the runway .

Also use an aircraft that has a complete set of aviation instruments , the Cub panel is hopeless for learning purposes .

Possible aircraft are Piper or Cessna .

(2) Choose a Better airport .

Post Mills is not good for learning Take off and Landing for the following reasons , runway is too short , trees close to both ends ,

Mountinous terrain all around airport , runway is not sealed or numbered , apart from the lake it lacks significant features that are

easily visible from the air .

Recommend an airport that has a sealed and numbered runway that is at least 4,500' long , the longer the better to give you a better chance of getting

down on your early practice approaches and landings .

Choose an airport that is very , very close to the sea , and even better if the coastline has significant features such as a bit of land poking out to sea ,

it will help as a landmark when airborne and approaching your airport.

An additional point that might help are the videos of landings , when you are watching them occassionally hit the Pause button , then look at the Runway ,

what you should be looking at is the Runway perspective , learn that image , it is what you are after .

The standard approach is a 3 degree glideslope , that is the image you will commonly see in the videos , it's the correct image .

*** If you are too low and undershooting the the vertical height of the runway image will reduce , if a real bad undershoot the runway image will reduce

to virtually a flat line .

*** If you are too high (overshooting) the runway image will lengthen until ultimately it becomes a long top down view .

Try to burn that correct " runway perspective image " into you brain , it is what you are after for all your approaches .

When you have Paused the video , get an ordinary one foot school ruler , it will represent your runway , hold it out at arms length from you ,

then raise and lower the end of the ruler that is closest to you , try to match the runway perspective shown in the video ,

do this several times to get used to the required runway perspective image.

Regards landings , be patient with yourself , it has been difficult for all of us at sometime in the past , it will get better , and you will

eventually ace all your landings.

Cheers

Karol

[ivatt 0]

Thanks for the latest replies, will respond in due course.

 

COBS

 

I think you are right about Piper Mills and the aircraft, in fact I was wondering the same myself, so have spent some time look at a suitable UK airport I could use and have decided on Southend (IATA SEN ICAO EGMC).which is about 30 miles from me and has a long asphalt runaway. Was hoping to us the pier, which is the longest pleasure pier in the world extending 1.34 miles into the Thames estuary but doesn't seem FSX shows it, would have been ideal.

 

Also been looking to change the aircraft to something like a Cessna with better instrumentation.

 

Looked at a couple of online videos regarding the Virtual Flight Path Tool in FSX. As I understand it you have to set either VOR or ILS in the radio of the aircraft to use it but not sure how to identify what I need to enter for Southend.

[OldFlyboy 30]

If it has not already been mentioned: Download the freeware PLAN-g from TA software. It is equivalent to a sectional map with lots of details.

Btw...I learned to fly in a Piper J-3 and, as someone has already pointed out, it is a really tough plane to take on for learning. Unfortunately, when I was learning to fly, ALL trainers were taildraggers.

Neal Howard

[ivatt 0]

Thanks Neal, yes was aware and have installed with the idea of creating a short flight plan about 30 minutes to and from Southend and a couple of other local airports, rather than just going around in a circle whilst I'm learning.

 

All the reviews are good and it has a lot of info, much of which I confess I don't understand at the moment and don't want to get side tracked.

 

Does it by chance give the VOR or ILS settings I will need for the Virtual Flight Plan tool?

[COBS 25]

Hi  ivatt

 

For Southend airport check the following link ,

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiyu7rZup_KAhVl5aYKHdaQDeQQFggpMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rocketroute.com%2Fairports%2Feurope-eu%2Funitedkingdom-gb%2Fplates-southend-egmc.html&usg=AFQjCNFgyYYCVCT1i2RA6CZNS7cXu-7bag&sig2=XLvGRavIUGH2cvzCLAFSHA

 

click on the lines to view the plates (charts) , this will give you all you frequencies for that airport  ,

also spend a little time examining the maps and become familiar with the airport and the area around it ,

that will make you more at home when you are airborne .

 

I have the magnificent ORBX ( FTX ) payware  England scenery installed and thoroughly enjoy flying there ,

 

Cheers

Karol

[ivatt 0]

Hi COBS, have installed Plan-G (thanks OLDFLYBOY) and that seems quite comprehensive and relatively simple to to use although unless I have missed it it doesn't give you the NAVLOG that FSX provides in Flight Planner.

 

As regards, progress, have now installed a better aircraft Cessna 414A Chancellor also had Piper  PA-42 but this had an issue as below. The Cessna is a nice model.

 

Looked at the link you gave an have printed off the relative Instrument Approach Chart and this give 4 frequencies for Southend including App 130.775. Looked at the map and not sure I fully understand it but will keep working I'm sure it will go in eventually.

 

Created a short flight plan to go from London City Airport, fly over Duxford and then land at Southend but this didn't go quite according to plan as I ended up flying over the channel despite the GPS giving the correct routing on the display (it also I think kept flashing an message that my settings were incorrect but it went too quickly to really read).. Also The Piper PA-42 wouldn't let me change the NAV frequencies from 113.70 and 117.20.

 

I wonder if I could ask a really big favour? Is it possible you could give me step by step instructions on how to set everything up to do the above flight with GPS? Also what setting(s) to use to enable the Virtual Flight Plan for my approach to Southend.

 

My thinking is that if I have a working model I can follow step by step I will understand things much better and can then use that knowledge as a basis for other flights. It's rather like having an instructor sitting next to me say do this, now do that, I'm sure you get the idea.

 

If you can help I would be extremely grateful.

[COBS 25]

Hi ivatt

 

(1) Those charts are for IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) use so they can be complex to understand.

     Although I have uses approach plates quite often  , the 2 ILS plates for Southend left me with smoke coming out of my ears ( ! ?? )

    Will have to have another look at them to locate the ILS frequencies.

(2) Regards changing the frequency , you will find a "Swap" button on the radio .

     One frequency will be active , and the other is standby .

      The Swap button toggles either frequency to active then another click sets the other frequency to active .

(3) Flashing messages in the GPS usually indicate that that you are very near or transgressed a controlled airspace without

      ATC (Air Traffic Control) clearance , for your purposes at this stage just ignore the messages.

 

I will conduct a flight  London City > Duxford > Southend  and get back to you in a day or two with ,

- Route details

- Frequencies for radios

- Autopilot / GPS settings

 

Cheers

Karol

[COBS 25]

ivatt

 

ILS for Southend ,

Radio in NAV1 set frequency 111.35 for the ILS

Runway heading is 236 degrees is set in autopilot  ILS or NAV window.

 

Suggest the following flight plan route ;

EGLC = London City ,

> EGLD = Denham ,

> EGSU = Duxford ,

> CLN = Clacton VOR

> EGMC = Southend

 

Suggested flight plan altitude 2,500' .

 

NOTE;

(1) Denham was included as it is approxiamately in alignment wit the take off direction from London City , it makes easier to engage

the autopilot following Take off.

(2) Clacton VOR was included as it aligns the final flight plan  leg with the Southend runway direction for the ILS (236 degrees).

(3) Both of your above aircraft have retractable undercarraige , remember to lower gear as well as flaps during approach .

     At a guess landing speed is about 95 knots.

 

Cheers

Karol

[ivatt 0]

Hi Karol

 

Thanks for the update really appreciate your time.

 

Hoping to be able to reverse engineer the info you provided so I can see how you got there.

 

Will post back when I have had the chance to implement what you have given me with a flight, but it may not be until early next week as I have a busy few days ahead of me.

 

Regards

 

Chris

[COBS 25]

Hi Chris

 

It all can be an overload , that's standard for all of us , don't worry about it , it eventually all sinks in.

 

I will go through the whole process step by step in several posts.

 

I will use the FS Flight planner and the default Baron aircraft as I do not have the above mentioned aircraft ,

or any addon flight planner.

 

Cheers

Karol

[COBS 25]

I wonder if I could ask a really big favour? Is it possible you could give me step by step instructions on how to set everything up to do the above flight with GPS? Also what setting(s) to use to enable the Virtual Flight Plan for my approach to Southend.

 

 

Hi Chris

 

I tested and evaluated 3 aircraft and found that the Cessna  414A  Chancellor was by far the best for our purposes.

The 2D and virtual panel are the same , and the instruments are good.

 

I will use the FSX default Flight Planner.

 

I will try to keep in mind that you were after judging approaches to an airport , as well as finding your way back or 

navigating to your original airport , hopefully the following might be of help in that regard.

 

The following procedures will be a little more than just step by step instructions by me , as well you will have an

instructor to keep you company , it will be the GPS flying the full Flight Plan.

 

PROCEDURE LOGIC ;

We will create a " Saved Flight Plan " , you will then be able to load that same flight plan as often as you desire ,

you will probably need to repeat that flight more than 6 times to get the maximum learning from it , the more the better.

Immediately after Take Off you will engage the Autopilot the Autopilot will conduct the whole flight including the landing ,

your task will be to observe what is happening and to manually set and manage the airspeed at various stages of the flight.

After you have conducted several of the flights , you will start disconnecting the Autopilot and manually fly parts of the

flight plan.

Initially the manual flying will be small parts near the very end of the flight , the manual segment will increase with each

subsequent flight working back along the flight plan until the whole flight can be conducted manually .

 

The above might sound confusing , but it will be detailed as we go during the next several posts.

 

The following posts will cover :

1. Aircraft panel and instrument details with screenshots.

2. Creation of a "Saved Flight Plan" with a screenshot.

 

That will be the pre flight preparation , then ,

 

3. A running description covering from Take Off through to after Landing of the whole Flight Plan .

 

There will be a considerable amount of information to cover , but after several of the flights it will

all make sense.

 

You will find the process relatively easy to follow , and it's  a great way to learn quite a few new aspects.

 

Keep a sheet of paper and biro at hand and write down any questions that might arise.

 

Cheers

Karol

[COBS 25]

PROCEDURE  # 1 .

 

The following will be several screenshots of the panel and instruments.

If you wish to download them , right click and Save as , you will then be able to review them at your leisure.

 

The basic idea of this post is to set ILS frequency altitude , etc .

Then later when you create your saved flight plan some of these aspect will be set when you load any subsequent flight .

 

Shot 1.

Become familiar with the instrument layout in the panel  , shot is 2D panel -keyboard F10 .

The ILS frequency (111.35) added to NAV 1 radio and Altitude (2500) set , and Yellow arrow in HSI set to (236 degrees) for Southend runway heading.

Elevator trim set for Take Off (nose up) trim marker moved down half way from neutral position .

Note the following Icons

-Tick , open kneeboard and read both , reference , and checklists.

- Star , open map and locate all waypoints that will be used , move pointer to each airport to get data boxes , also pointer on Southend/EGMC ILS feather write down frequency and runway heading.

- Dish , opens the GPS unit  , 

***Note also that the Flight plan is showing up on the GPS display

Shot 2.

Covers Autopilot appearance and functions.

Shot 3.

Covers ILS display within the HSI  , and setting the Southend ILS frequency in NAV 1 Radio.

Shot 4. 

This is the virtual cockpit  F9 .

Shows runway during ILS approach to Southend airport  EGMC.

Note especially the HSI  ILS indications (yellow locator arrow and glideslope triangle  , indicates on ILS . 

 

 

Cheers

Karol

[COBS 25]

PROCEDURE  #  2 .

 

This covers the creation of a  Saved Flight Plan.

 

The screenshot is reasonably self explanatory .

 

The flight plan route is detailed in the screenshot , I have specifically included Denham airport and Clacton VOR for reasons

previously given in an earlier post , also Denham will come in handy for a much later exercise where the Flight Plan will be

interrupted to allow a landing at Heathrow , and then the resumption of flight plan.

 

Note the Dark Arrow on one of the maps , if you place the pointer near the very edge of any side of the map the arrow appears

and the map can be moved in that direction.

 

Next post will cover the actual flight , it wlll probably be tomorrow .

 

Cheers

Karol

 

 

[jlong 1]

I'm a little late to this post but a lot of good comments here.

 

A couple of points though. One, you have to remember that FSX was developed a decade ago so the included GPS is that old too and not up the the state of the art touch screens of today which makes it a little complicated to use. Garmin has admitted this and has switched over to touch screen GPS's. Second, as much fun as flying a hot airplane is it may not be the best to learn in. A Cessna 414 with twin engines, variable pitch props, retractable gear is very nice but you have a lot more to remember to do especially on landing and it is quite a bit faster so it could get ahead of you. For learning I probably would have gone with the included Cessna 172. It is faster than a Piper Cub with better instruments and has fixed tricycle gear and prop and is fairly easy to take off, fly, and land. Also, with a high wing you can see more of the ground which will help with VFR navigation.

 

Cross country navigation will be a good mental exercise as there are true headings (the line you draw on the chart), magnetic headings (what you see on the compass or directional gyro) after including a wind correction angle, VOR's, etc. This is where a photo scenery package can come in handy as it makes the FS world look like the real world and makes pilotage possible.

 

Finally, as you have found, flying is the second most thrilling thing known to man, landing is the first and in the real world take-offs are optional landings are mandatory so it takes a lot of practice to do it and even more to do it well and even at that they won't all be perfect especially with a cross wind.

 

Anyhow, have fun with it.

[ivatt 0]

Hi Karol

 

Just got back from a few days away and picked up your messages.

 

Will take a good look as soon as I can and get back to you. Did email you a reply last night.

 

Thanks also jlong for your input, at this stage all help is much needed and appreciated.

 

Regards

 

Chris

Chris