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HighBypass

I learnt about simming from that.....

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I recently completed a cargo flight from EGNX to KCVG with a Southern Air DHL hybrid 777 freighter. (See "Cargo flight at sunset" in the screenshots area.) All went well ;) 

 

Prior to that I did the same run in one of DHLs 767 freighters... and nearly spread it all over the Covedale & Delhi areas  :Black Eye:

 

ATC (stock FSX!) had vectored me into position to intercept the localiser for 18L at KCVG at 2400' altitude - the airport was off to my 10 o'clock position. The ILS was already tuned in to both NAV radios. I activated the LOC on the autopilot, then the approach. (I should have just activated the LOC) The 767 turned right, but I initially thought nothing of it.... She's just aligning with the localiser, a bit of right before turning left. I was then looking at the airport chart I'd printed off. Bad move! Only when I heard the "don't sink" guy did I look up. AARRRGH! WHERE AM I?? :Shocked:

 

Rapid disconnection of autopilot and firewalling the throttles whilst pulling back on the stick ensued. Followed by cranking into a left turn (at least the weather was good enough for me to regain a visual!). I managed to land safely  :Applause: On my visual approach I realised what had happened.

 

:Thinking:  What had I done wrong? I'd only entered the ILS frequency for 36R instead. When you look at the airport details as printed out using the map facility in FSX, 18L is the line above 36R and I'd transposed the two. There in the bottom corners of the HSI MFD were the codes for 36R freq.

 

I don't know Morse code either (apart from SOS !) , so whilst I heard the Morse identifier, I didn't realise it was the wrong one.

 

The moral is - always check!  :Nerd: BUT.... in my defence. WHAT WAS ATC DOING at the time?? (stock FSX ATC isn't the best I believe)

 

... I'm not a real pilot !!...


Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

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Stock ATC isn't Air Traffic Control at all. It is scripted code with extreme limitations. Real ATC are Real People using years of training and experience and have a major advantage computers don't, which is to use discretion in a real world situation. There is no comparison. Any real world ATC guys on here your jobs are appreciated. 

 

But it sounds like you are having fun which is what Flight Sim is all about. 

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Matthew Kane

 

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Rapid disconnection of autopilot and firewalling the throttles whilst pulling back on the stick ensued. Followed by cranking into a left turn (at least the weather was good enough for me to regain a visual!). I managed to land safely   On my visual approach I realised what had happened.

 

You acknowledged a problem and took control of the aircraft instead of trying to figure out the automation! At that point it was the right thing to do.

 

 

 


WHAT WAS ATC DOING at the time??

 

I don't think the default ATC considers the frequency you tune into the NAV receiver. 

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Jaime Beneyto

My real life aviation and flight simulation videos [English and Spanish]

System: i9 9900k OC 5.0 GHz | RTX 2080 Super | 32GB DDR4 3200MHz | Asus Z390-F

 

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Thanks - although for a little while I was like a startled rabbit in the headlights. I'm sure it would have been game over had FSX's crash detection found a contact point :) Good job it was dark (in the sim)!

 

I don't think the default ATC considers the frequency you tune into the NAV receiver. 

 

True, but I meant why didn't they pick up the fact that I was actually turning away from the approach and descending away from the airport? Apart from the fact that the stock ATC is just scripted code (as ytzpilot mentioned) that is.


Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

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ATC (stock FSX!) had vectored me into position to intercept the localiser for 18L at KCVG at 2400' altitude - the airport was off to my 10 o'clock position. The ILS was already tuned in to both NAV radios. I activated the LOC on the autopilot, then the approach. (I should have just activated the LOC) The 767 turned right, but I initially thought nothing of it.... She's just aligning with the localiser, a bit of right before turning left. I was then looking at the airport chart I'd printed off. Bad move! Only when I heard the "don't sink" guy did I look up. AARRRGH! WHERE AM I?? :Shocked:

 

It doesn't sound like the problem was ATC, You yourself stated you should have just armed your localizer. From what you state it looks like ATC vectored you correctly to intercept the ILS, At that point you should arm your localizer (LOC), only when you capture the LOC should you arm your APPR. It looks to me, you armed the APPR before capturing the Localizer. (Note with default or less complex aircraft, you maybe able to (incorrectly) get aw3ay with this. With more complex aircraft though that model more realistic systems, you will not. Some models like PMDG gives the user the option to capture Appr before LOC, (In Options) ) When that happens  you can lose both lateral and vertical guidance, which is what appeared what happened here..

 

Default ATC really gets a bad rap, it actually does a pretty good job, once you realize what it's trying to do, but it does have a problem, that gives the impression it's wildly vectoring you. What it's doing when an approach is assigned is plotting a flight path usually parallel to the runway assigned at about 23-27 miles out it will turn you base then a final vector to intercept the ILS or runway if visual approach.The problem is it doesn't take wind or the environment in consideration when it does this, so as the wind  moves our plane further away off the virtual flight path it set, usually at about 4nm, it will vector you back on to it, this usually happens about 2 or 3 times on an approach, giving the impression that's vectoring S turns for no reason, where all it's trying to do is get you back on course it set.

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Tom

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I got tired of the default ATC vectoring because it was coded up in FS2002 (I believe) or at least FS2004. So it has been a standard for MSFS for well over 12 years now and to be honest boring after all this time. In order to keep things fun and interesting you need to find new ways. Currently I am subscribed to Navigraph for FMS updates as well as Charts. This way you can do SID and STAR. Usually at Top Of Descend I just request VFR and then request Flight Following and follow the STAR approach in. I switch to tower on final and request landing, sometimes you get the 'We are IFR only' response but since this is a sim you can ignore that, also I usually clear other traffic on approach and focus on my landing.

 

SIDS are usually not a problem because I use FlightSim Commander for flight planning so you can put your SID points in there, only snag is if you are assigned the wrong runway for departure but you can change things and refile your flight plan. Always a workaround when it comes to default ATC. 

 

This is just the way I do things currently and others will have other ways as well. I am enjoying the PMDG aircraft and Navigraph is a great supplement and resource. 


Matthew Kane

 

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Indeed I got the procedure wrong, trying to have the plane intercept an ILS which was set up for the other end of the runway.

 

For my purposes in the sim at the moment, the default ATC gets me to the airport vicinity on an intercept course and I have made successful ILS interceptions prior to and after this flight. What I was wondering, with "better" ATC - more akin to real world - is that would a controller question what I was doing when they saw the aircraft turn away from the airport?

 

Tom is right I'm sure. The 767 is a freeware POSKY (SkySpirit) one and the panel is a nice 2D freeware item.

 

I'm sure that the ATC in FLight Assignment: ATP was better, and that's 26 years old  :P. When vectoring in to an approach, it was telling you to slow down too. Typically, reduce speed to 180 knots, for example.

 

Thanks for the comments guys!


Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

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I'm sure in the real world if a plane veers off course on approach without contact ATC will attempt to contact the pilot to correct or establish a missed approach, in the sim though I don't think any of the off line ATC addons will do this. They'll pretty much leave you alone to land once cleared. It's incumbent on the pilot to declare a missed approach before ATC will re-establish control. Although I never tried it. I use PROATC/X now, I'll try this on my next flight to see what happens.

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Thanks

Tom

My Youtube Videos!

http://www.youtube.com/user/tf51d

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