When flying into Kslc and Klas, I am always given an altitudethat is too high and can't descend fast enough to capture the glideslope. Is there a file where I can change the altitude given for approach.ThanksArnold

On the controller page on a flight by flight basis in the 3.1 latest build there is an option in the arrival and alternate columns called MSA. That defaults to 3000 AGL but you could select lower values. It is I believe the GL derived from averaging the highest terrain points in the current and adjacent partial quadrants. This is the last altitude stated for the localizer merge. My experience has been that the default level has been within 1000 feet of the GS capture altitude shown on the approach plates.You also can use NOTAMS arrival where you can deviate from ATC instructions in that they become advisory in nature. That way you could follow the STAR and IAPs vertical profile. If you can't get down fast enough within the approach range, while enroute you can request a lower altitude at the appropriate time.Depending on your aircraft type it is not unrealistic to require 1500 to 2500 fpm descents during the first stages of transition. If you are having model problems descending this fast modify your A/P descent rate but I would not change the default in the aircraft.cfg. You also can slow your IAS to your forward movement slows while keeping a speedy descent rate to reduce the distance covered during descent. It is a balancing act requiring you to pull out all the tricks of aircraft manipulation.

Hi,MSA = Minimum Sector Altitude. Minimum sector altitudes are established for each aerodrome and they provide at least 300m (984 ft) obstacle clearance within 46 km (25 nm) of the homing facility associated with the approach procedure for that aerodrome.So you should NEVER have to set this below the value published in the approach charts. If you are doing this you are not really safe any more because the controller may ask you to decend to altitudes where you can collide with obstacles.Don't know how RC handles this internally but that is how it's in real life :-)janosch

since i don't know the msa for every airport, i ran a 48+ hour process to determine the highest point within 20 miles of every airport.that number is my best guess. i could be wrong. if the number rc supplies in the msa is too high or too low compared to the chart you have, then by all means, change the rc valuejd

On charts you see the 25 mile MSA as the transition altitude to the IAF, but during the approach over the specified course you can see a descent path below this allowed usually within 10 nm of the IAF. This may involve a descent outbound from the IAF and then a descending PT or hold to get down to an inbound course low enough to capture the slope. In some cases where at one end of the runway high obstacles exist this may be the only way to get in, even the larger aircraft. You may also be following a narrow "trench" for a straight-in or slight offset with lower obstacles in the path in which case the 25 nm radius MSA could be misleading other than as a caution not to stray from the indicated course.So the answer might be in especially mountainous territory to fly with the NOTAMS option following the plate descent minimums as the RC established MSA calculation might include higher points than included in the published flight path.In really mountainous terrain radar vectoring may not be an option due to blockage of the radar beam below a relatively high altitude at which point it becomes required to fly the published approach through the IAF as dictated not relying on vectoring to the localizer merge.

Hi,>On charts you see the 25 mile MSA as the transition altitude to the>IAF,but during the approach over the specified course you can see a>descentpath below this allowed usually within 10 nm of the IAF. This >may sorry but i do not agree on this. I've never seen a chart where the Initial Approach Fix should/could be reached/overflown with a altitude below the MSA. When not cleared by ATC for any kind of approach, IAF usually is your clearance limit. Meaning you have to automatically enter the hold over IAF when reaching and no further clearance from atc was given. If you would do this with altitudes below MSA you could quite fast get in real trouble and i guess no real pilot would ever consider to do so.>So the answer might be in especially mountainous territory to fly with >the NOTAMS option following the plate descent minimums as the RC >established MSA calculation might include higher points than included >in the published flight path.I always set the lowest MSA within RC from the chart i use and never had problems doing it that way. When flying in mountainous areas (LOWI is a perfect example) you will almost find more then one MSA altitude in the charts. MSA for the sector you will fly when doing a ILS approach at LOWI for example is lower then MSA left and right from your path.janosch

The descent path I was referring to was the vertical profile which starts at the IAF, goes below 25 nm MSA and states usually stay within 10 nm (of the IAF). These altitudes only apply for the hnav course depicted on the plate including any hold or pt on on the protected side of the course. In addition, if terrain allows earlier transition to lower altitudes for the specified runway the hnav portion may also show no pt required and the vnav profile may consists of more than one path, not very common on the latter.Sorry for the confusion in forgetting the sectored MSA depiction.Besides the famous LOWI I guess Aspen offers a challenging approach to the point where in some circumstances I read restrictions are now daylight for the final stages. This was due to an IFR night landing in snow showers of a Gulfstream which impacted terrain before landing.

Thanks for all the replies, but I solved the problem.RC was turning me on base too soon for the given altitude and I was unable to descend in time to capture the glideslope. Problem solved by extending the downwind leg. No changes made to the MSA.ThanksArnold

There was a brief earlier 3.1 beta version out that had this bug. Make sure you have the latest build.