Having criss crossed the US in a PMDG 737 several times, I decided to venture into Mexico recently. My first flight was from KSAN to MM0(zero)F. RC guided me perfectly down the Baja Peninsula until I was near my destination and I waited for some approach guidence, which never came. When I attempted to turn to approach my destination, RC told me that I had violated my heading, so RC was still running.No big deal. I'd had this sort of thing happen before. Tonight, I flew from KSAT to MMMX. Again, everything was fine until the approach. The airport is at elevation 7316 ft. and I was told to descend to 15,000 at 250kts. I was directed to runway 5R and on my final "cleared to the ILS" turn I was told to head 080 and maintain altitude 14,000 ft. and to maintain no more than 210 knots. The problem was that at that altitude, I was way too high to make it to the runway and not bust my speed restriction.So my question is, is there something that I need to know about flying in Mexico or other countries besides the US? I've noticed that when I'm out of the US, rather than getting an altimeter setting, I get a wierd number and an instruction that I can't understand.So anyway, I'm sure that it's something simple.Thanks,--Scott

Hi Scott,I'm not sure what happened to you in Baja...seems strange.I'm not quite sure what you mean for your second scenario. I understand that you were cleared for the ILS at 14000 ft, but the speed restriction should not affect you. If you look at the "Controller Info" page in Radar Contact, you will notice that the MSA (Minimum Safe Altitude) is 13200. Therefore, the controller would not clear you lower than 14000 feet (the highest round figure). You can always change this if you want. In mountainous areas, it is also a good idea to click on "Notams" so you have the right to refuse a clearance if it will put you in the side of a mountain. The speed restriction is below 210 knots...you shouldn't be any faster as you intercept the ILS...I do it at 190 knots when I fly jets. Just one question...when you were cleared to intercept the ILS, were you below the glideslope (glideslope indicator all the way at the top)? If you were, then you were cleared correctly and could have made the runway. If not...let me know...I will test it myself to confirm...I've never seen it happen before.For the last bit, altimeter settings outside the US and Canada are given as QNH instead of inches of mercury. Therefore, instead of 29.92in/hg, it would be QNH of 1013

Hi Devin,Thanks for the info. I'm usually around 190 knots when I intercept, but I'll try and make it a habit. When I was cleared ILS, my glideslope indicator was at full bottom. I had captured the localizer, but the glide slope didn't budge. By the time that I was trying to hit the runway, I was going so fast that I would have been arrested by the Mexican Federales the minute that I got out of the cockpit. I'm not losing sleep over it, but you know how it is to spend 3-4 hours in the air (plus two start ups and take offs) only to have no success at the ARR airport.I'll look into the "controller options" and see if I can get a better handle on MSA and Notams. Thanks for the tip.I'm glad that I asked about the altimeter settings. Is there a "mode" button or such thing that switches from in/hg to QNH? I'm sure that I can figure it out, but why think when you can be lazy and ask someone else?--Scott

Hi Scott,I figured you would be quite high (about 7000 AGL) for an ILS intercept, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Another way you could prevent this from happening would be to ask for the an IAP (Instrument Approach Procedure) and fly a STAR for MMMX or whatever airport you are flying in. You can usually find the STARS with a google search.No, there is no way to switch from QNH to In/Hg. Radar Contact mimics the real world, so in Mexico, Europe, etc, you get QNH. On the PMDG 737, you can switch the Baro indication from In/Hg to QNH on the EFIS Control Panel on the glare shield (Labeled BARO) This should help you transition from one to the other.Hope this helps.

Thanks for your help, Devin. I'll start working with your suggestions.--Scott

Hello:I am a user of RC from many years.I use it a lot in Mexico. The suggestion given is the right one I normally use IAP so I can follow the STARS and IAP which are well known and rather difficult for MMMX which is one of the hardest one as you have to make a turn from 161

Thank you Pete, for your detailed answer.--Scott