Approaching Heathrow from the NW. NGX flight.

[slip-stream 5]

I've managed to put myself through refresher training on the FMC, as I've had a ten year break from FSX. I'm just trying to plan ahead so that when I purchase the NGX tomorrow I can input my route and off I go, so to speak, Sans ATC for the time being.

 

A particular route planner gave me HON as the final waypoint (via UL612) for the arrival into Heathrow. Now I'm assuming, in real life, from HON you would be directed, by ATC, as far as as Bovingdon and entered into a hold pattern.

 

Without ATC to then vector me to the chosen runway Loc and subsequent ILS, what is my best plan of action in terms of programming the FMC to arrive safely at the runway threshold?

 

Thanks in advance.

[leghorn 76]

Probably every BNN VOR arrival, followed by BNN transition to RWY 09L/27R/27L

 

Good luck

[slip-stream 5]

Thanks. Can I confirm that the Download version of the NGX is equipped with Nav Data?

[PMDG777 231]

yes, it will include Nav data however it will probably not be the latest release by navigraph.

[slip-stream 5]

Thank you. Don't care though as FSX does not change.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

Thank you. Don't care though as FSX does not change.

 

Yeah, but the NGX's base data is still years ahead of FSX's, so even then it'll be off. Won't be easy to find good flight plans, either, without up to date data.

 

As a final note, FSX might not change, but we're also not really changing VORs much in the real world. NDBs are being decommissioned as soon as they start to get run down (where they used to get regular maintenance to bring them back up). VORs are following a similar path, but not completely. The main thing that changes are the fixes, and those are all arbitrary points in space. As such, it doesn't matter if FSX sees those fixes or not unless you're using the default ATC (and even then, if you import a plan and it doesn't understand the fix, it'll just use that fix's lat/lon, I believe).

[slip-stream 5]

Thanks for the info. Funny, actually, as the FMC did not recognise ESKDO, (final waypoint) before entering the STAR into Edinburgh.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

Funny, actually, as the FMC did not recognise ESKDO, (final waypoint) before entering the STAR into Edinburgh.

 

What's the period of validity for ESKDO, though?

 

Is it a current fix? If so, the data in the NGX is from 2012ish, so it might not have been created.

Is it a fix in FSX? If so, that data is now over a decade old, so it might have been removed.

[pcubine 143]

Thanks for the info. Funny, actually, as the FMC did not recognise ESKDO, (final waypoint) before entering the STAR into Edinburgh.

ESKDO is in AIRAC 1603. It looks like it might be the transition to EDN3A STAR. Maybe it has been created since August 2011. This shows the importance of using of current NavData in the FMC.

[slip-stream 5]

Although it wouldn't allow me to enter it directly into the database, when I executed the route it then showed up.

[JC75 22]

For flights within the UK for routes you may find this useful, it would give you the sid and star and route for the flight EGPH to EGLL that you talk about.

 

www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/aip/current/srd/SRDDOC.pdf

 

 

NOTE arrivals and SIDS for Edinburgh have changed this year, and likely to have further changes, some of the routes were temporary trial routes, same as some of the sids out of Heathrow, which are all part the redesign of UK airspace thats ongoing.

 

 

 

 

[pcubine 143]

 

 

www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/aip/current/srd/SRDDOC.pdf. A lot of ESKDOs on page 168 of this document. Thank you JC75

[slip-stream 5]

I've just joined navigraph so ill be installing the latest AIRAC shortly. I just need to buy a bloody printer now for all the charts.

[downscc 1,327]

 

 

I just need to buy a bloody printer now for all the charts.

 

Why?  Just switch between your flight and the chart viewer. I usually have ASN, Navigraph Desktop and PFPX all running alongside and I refer to them often.

[slip-stream 5]

Does that require alt / tab to flick between the sim and viewing the charts?