OK trying to work out if this is me not understanding or whether I have an issue with a system problem.

I fly a lot around certain areas in the UK because of using OnAir a lot for my flight generation and some of those airports have an ILS which MSFS also have.  (there are a number of airports that should have an ILS but don't, but that is a seperate issue)

I set-up my flightplan to use the ILS prior to departing and I get a nice GPS route to intercept this..  I fly the route and get lined up on approach which ATC have given me and the height they have given me and switch to Approach mode well in advance of the last beacon on the route...   and my aircraft only intercepts the ILS maybe 50% of the time..   After going into approach mode on the A/P I see all the correct info on the G1000/3000 with the green diamond etc, but still it often fails to intercept...   now if I come in at a couple of hundred feet below what the ATC has stated, I manage to intercept the ILS 95%+ of the time.

Now, I am not real world savvy in these things, but it seems as though the radio frequency is only going out from the runway a certain distance and even though the ILS green diamond is showing and dropping, it's not actually being picked up properly.

I would have thought that if the green diamond is moving down and is above the height I am at, I should be capable of intercepting it, but it seems it's only being accepted at exactly a certain distance out from the airport and in many cases, that distance is shorter than the height that ATC is bringing you in at for that particular ILS so by the time you hit it, you are too high for it to react.

Am I missing something here, or is there an issue in MSFS that is not working as it should, or is this also part of the problems with the garmin units?  I watch the indicator on the GPS auto switch to VOR (is  this right  it's the green line) mode but often too late and after I have passed the descent point...  should I be manually switching to the VOR? mode manually when I switch to approach mode?

Hope the above makes sense.

Thanks for any advice or help.

Regards

Graham

 

Edited September 26, 20205 yr by Moria15

A couple of things to try ...

1) After stabilising onto LOC, I only switch to APP just before the green diamond reaches the central marker point (ie. when the diamond is still a tad above and you are therefore still slightly below the intercept).

2) Make sure your barometer is set. I keep stabbing the "B" key on approach,just in case.

I've never had a failed glideslope intercept in MSFS. What aircraft in particular is giving you grief? My main aircraft for ILS approaches so far has been the A320.

Adam.

12 minutes ago, Adamski_NZ said:

A couple of things to try ...

1) After stabilising onto LOC, I only switch to APP just before the green diamond reaches the central marker point (ie. when the diamond is still a tad above and you are therefore still slightly below the intercept).

2) Make sure your barometer is set. I keep stabbing the "B" key on approach,just in case.

I've never had a failed glideslope intercept in MSFS. What aircraft in particular is giving you grief? My main aircraft for ILS approaches so far has been the A320.

Adam.

Hi 🙂

okay should have been more specific..  not had a problem in the 320.. my issues are in the Garmin a/c  mooney, 172/1000, B36  for example.

Baro is always good.. have a manic habit of hitting b more often than I shoould 🙂

When you say establiched on the loc...  do you just fly in on the gps for direction and then hit APP when on the approach line with the GPS on (still purple), or do you line up on the purple line and then switch to LOC (green line) and then hit APP when you get close and the diamond is decending...  Am I missing the switch to LOC step I wonder or should that happen automatically?

Is the issue that it is not switching to LOC early enough to actually intercept?

Regards

Graham

Edited September 26, 20205 yr by Moria15

Are you setting the right COURSE for the published ILS?

1 hour ago, Moria15 said:

 Am I missing the switch to LOC step I wonder or should that happen automatically?

 

Is the issue that it is not switching to LOC early enough to actually intercept?

Regards

Graham

There is an auto feature on the G1000, but I am not sure that is simulated.

Assuming you are coming in in NAV GPS mode, I set the HDG bug to the runway heading ahead of time, and soon as the airplane turns to final, I switch the autopilot to HDG mode.  The NAV1 radio has been set to the ILS frequency.

Then I switch the G1000 from GPS to VLOC mode and check that the GS indicator is live and above the aircraft. Then I switch the autopilot to APR mode.

This is a real world procedure BTW..

Edited September 27, 20205 yr by Bert Pieke

Also, be sure you are capturing the localizer before the glide slope, and always get the glide slope from below.  You have to switch the appr on manually.

44 minutes ago, Bert Pieke said:

There is an auto feature on the G1000, but I am not sure that is simulated.

Assuming you are coming in in NAV GPS mode, I set the HDG bug to the runway heading ahead of time, and soon as the airplane turns to final, I switch the autopilot to HDG mode.  The NAV1 radio has been set to the ILS frequency.

Then I switch the G1000 from GPS to VLOC mode and check that the GS indicator is live and above the aircraft. Then I switch the autopilot to APR mode.

This is a real world procedure BTW..

It seems in a MSFS though, the G1000 autopilot sometimes won’t intercept the glide scope if the glide scope indicator is far above center.  In MSFS, it appears, as people have discussed in this thread, that the glide scope has to be closer to the middle before you can intercept it with the autopilot (ie. before you press APR).

Edited September 27, 20205 yr by abrams_tank

2 hours ago, abrams_tank said:

It seems in a MSFS though, the G1000 autopilot sometimes won’t intercept the glide scope if the glide scope indicator is far above center.  In MSFS, it appears, as people have discussed in this thread, that the glide scope has to be closer to the middle before you can intercept it with the autopilot (ie. before you press APR).

I've never had that issue, I've always been able to catch the GS as long as I'm below it.

6 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

There is an auto feature on the G1000, but I am not sure that is simulated.

Assuming you are coming in in NAV GPS mode, I set the HDG bug to the runway heading ahead of time, and soon as the airplane turns to final, I switch the autopilot to HDG mode.  The NAV1 radio has been set to the ILS frequency.

Then I switch the G1000 from GPS to VLOC mode and check that the GS indicator is live and above the aircraft. Then I switch the autopilot to APR mode.

This is a real world procedure BTW..

Thanks Bert, will try that today and see if it helps me achieve a more reliable capture 🙂    As I say, I can auto capture pretty much all the time if I just fly a couple of hundred feet below what ATC tells me to, but thats not a real solution 🙂

Thanks all,  I'll keep playing and learning.

Next job, adding all those missing ILS frequencies from the airports in the Sim so I can use my new found skills 🙂

Graham

 

I have had the same issue if I strictly follow ATC decent instructions. You must intercept the glide slope from below. ATC can sometimes leave you too high, even when following a flight plan that included an ILS approach. If the glide slope diamond is too far below the center point in the display, it won’t capture. On your final approach, when first capturing localizer, the glide slope diamond should be above the central (on glide slope) position. As you continue your approach on the localizer, usually maintaining level flight, the glide slope indicator will start to move down and the aircraft should capture it.

1 hour ago, RaptyrOne said:

I have had the same issue if I strictly follow ATC decent instructions. You must intercept the glide slope from below. ATC can sometimes leave you too high, even when following a flight plan that included an ILS approach. If the glide slope diamond is too far below the center point in the display, it won’t capture. On your final approach, when first capturing localizer, the glide slope diamond should be above the central (on glide slope) position. As you continue your approach on the localizer, usually maintaining level flight, the glide slope indicator will start to move down and the aircraft should capture it.

Yep, OK this is mirroring what I have seen..  in fact in some cases, the G at the top of the indicator and the diamond are actually grey as the diamond  starts to move down and don't become green until they have just passed below the level I am at thus making hitting it from beneath hard..  it's the timing of the diamond going green that i think is not always working for me 🙂

I am going to try @Bert Pieke real world approach a few times today and see if that gives me more confidence in this.

Graham

I know that the RNAV approaches suffer from a similar problem, but there, the GS indicator does not appear at the top as it should.  ILS approaches have worked better for me, but it may vary by airplane.