"Off course"

[willywonka 36]

A controller claimed that I was off course from the airway today. Of course I'm watching my ND and my airplane looked peachy and fine. He wanted me to turn 10 degrees left away from the magenta route that I see. By the 3rd request he was getting pretty steamy so I complied to shut him up. I turn 10 degrees left and flew for about a min and turn back direct on course. He seems happy now.What gives?FS pln and FMC route made from FSbuild, they should be the same. Right? NAVDATA differences?

[willywonka 36]

Nop. He asked me the 4th time now. Geez!

[jd 57]

how far apart are your checkpoints? send me your .plni get my lat/longs for your plan from the .pln, i don't look anything up.jd

[willywonka 36]

Oh.. you know.. they're 'normal' sized apart.This ATC madness occurs around AHN, VXV and FOUNThttp://www.mynameispreston.com/private/KMIA-KORD.PLN

[jd 57]

if this happened right after "resume own navigation" that doesn't mean return to the pretty little green line. it means fly direct the next checkpointjd

[Guest mmcevilley]

>if this happened right after "resume own navigation" that>doesn't mean return to the pretty little green line. it means>fly direct the next checkpoint>>jd... magenta line ... ;-)-michael

[willywonka 36]

No it wasn't resume own nav. It was 'are you showing yourself on the airway' and then 'you're off course turn to..' and then 'do you need special assistance' and then 'what JDFN@H(*#R are you doing' :)Anyways I think it's a rare occurance. RC4 works awesome most of the time. But, one doesn't like to get yelled at no matter how rare the occasion :)

[jd 57]

oh, i know what the calls say. did they start after the "resume own navigation" call by the center controller.was the heading you were told to fly, 180 degrees opposite of the one you were flying? it's possible you missed a checkpoint. if you fly the heading in the advdisp first line, is your best gauge of where you should go.jd

[willywonka 36]

Nop, the call that I was off course really came out of nowhere.The AdvDisp showed everything to be in order. It was showing AHN 350 at some 38 miles. My ND showed the same.. so I was profoundly confused.

[jd 57]

fsuipc 3.53? big crosswind enroute?

[willywonka 36]

3.48.. as yes there was a 63kt almost abeam crosswind. But I just had another successful flight (although this time no crosswind though... hmmm... not that it should matter since the aircraft was on track).

[ronzie 21]

3.48 did not have the crosswind problem but had a few other bugs. Go for 3.53, the current version as a lot of enhancements including better control of AI have occurred. Link pinned at the top and it will not affect your registration.In RC3.1 I had trouble with direct-to's using VOR homing when they were about 25 nm away. I increased the heading allowance deviation in the Options.JD: When the direct-to course is calculated from the next waypoint position is it converted to magnetic heading? Is magnetic deviation taken into account? I'm thinking of the heading displayed in the AD window - is it course or heading - to plot the virtual path RC looks at. At some places in the world magnetic deviation can be quite a bit. I found flying the GPS bearing to the next waypoint from present position worked better than VOR homing also.

[PeteP 2]

>>Is magnetic deviation taken into account?<http://www.jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannerbeta.jpg

[ronzie 21]

It may be simulated for navaids like VOR, though. If not it would be quite a mismatch for published charts which many use.I use FSBuild 2.22 as a flight planner and notice it lists both true and magnetic headings in its navlog.I'll have to try flying in larger deviation areas, but so far the plan mag headings seem to work for VOR. I'll compare the VOR homing with the mag bearing on my Reality-XP Apollo 50 and the AD window readout next opportunity.

[PeteP 2]

Ah, right, I see what you're talking about now, Ron - you're referring to magnetic variation which is the angular difference between True North and Magnetic North which is, of course, simulated in FS.The deviation you mentioned is actually the term for the angular difference between the magnetic heading and the compass heading. This angular difference is brought about by the effect of the metal of the aircraft and any electrical devices such as radios within the vicinity of the compass. It varies from aircraft to aircraft and with the direction in which the aircraft is pointing. That's why each compass has to be "swung" when it's installed so that the effects can be measured in situ through a range of headings and an individual "deviation correction card" - which you'll find placed close to every magnetic compass installation - filled in. BestPetehttp://www.jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannerbeta.jpg