I'm a little confused "9:00 at 3400ft" sounds like a traffic call.  Anyway when you tune in a towers freq and check in, your comms options then include "directions to airtport"  ATC will respond with a clock direction and range. Normally, I don't "see" the airport until I'm within 10nm, except at night, when I can see the rotating beacon from farther away.

    I normally start 2nm from the runway at 2000ft. This places me under the glideslope. I maintain 2000 until I intersect it and then start with a 500fpm descent glidepath for jets and 300fpm for props,  then use the VASI (Visual Aid Slope Indicator) to adjust the path.

    Some may say this isn't "proper" procedures. But it works until you become profiecient enough to follow the rules.

FSNavigator? I don't know, don't use it.

   If I am understanding your questions correctly, this should help...

   The only time ATC provides a ###ft call, that I know of, is during a traffic call. A standard response from ATC to a "direction request" is direction and range.  

   In any case... If the call was "9:00 at 10 miles" then the airport is on your left at ten miles,   I know you know this, please keep reading...

   Using that example,  the relationship between your aircraft and the runway at this point could be anything. If your heading is the same as the runway, your are 10 miles right of the runway. If your heading is 090 and your looking for runway 34 then you are "lined up" for the runway, just heading the wrong direction, and will end up right of the runway.  

   It only means the airport is left at ten miles, nothing to do with where you are "in relation" to the runway.

    What acros do you need/want to know? Specifically at this point.  Just a place to start.

   Am  I helping at all? ???  If not, I'll stop.

Quote:


Hey deKoven! Welcome to SimV! Well, I have some advice for the GPS question about viewing an aiport before you get there...sorry if it's a little hard to understand, I had trouble myself when I learned to use it  .
Anyway...when the GPS window is shown on your screen, look at the bottom right of the GPS and you'll see knobs that says "PUSH CRSR" with two sets of arrows going left and right. Push the top right arrow. The GPS screen should now show a different screen. At the top of this screen you should see a space on top with the word "APT"(airport) next to it. Push the icon "PUSH CRSR" and you should see the space highlight and starts flashing. Then push the lower right arrow. Now type in an airport ID.
EX: KBFI

Now, push the button ENT on your GPS twice and information about the airport you typed in will appear on the GPS screen, showing the name of the airport, city, the elavation, ect. To "see" the airport just click the lower right hand arrow. Hope this helps!

*For more help try going to the learning center in FS2004*  

deKoven,

   I didn't mean to "abandon" you, got busy producing a video.  I am from the Pacific Northwest as well.  Built an airport on Hat Island and commute frequently from there to Arlington to Paine to SeaTac (Virtually of course)  Very familier with the area.  Did MattNW & Tsunami solve your problem?

   I've created a Pilots Handbook.  It contains top-down screenshots of my most frequent airports along with freq lists, vectors to other airports/milage, taxiway desigs ...etc.  You could do the same.

Joe

PS "Steer" is a correct term.

Quote:


Nope, wasn't feeling abandoned atall, atall! I'm not one of those who wants their answer 12 seconds after posting. I can wait; there's lots of things to learn and do without going any further on that subject.

I'm interested in your "Pilots Handbook"; can you tell me more about it? What did you use to create it? Is the Hat Island airstrip available?

I've learned more since I posted the first message and did indeed receive some help here. I also received my first issue of "Computer Pilot Magazine"! Boy, oh boy! It has part one of an article about the GPS system which is more oriented to actual USE rather than a techie talk about what it can do, such as the Learning Center has.

I'm getting a kick and a half out of the money I've spent so far. I really want to get a yoke and pedals for it.

Quote:



I LIKE! I'm wondering if TreePad would do for this. If you could let me know what it looks like. What info is in it?

Edit:
   In any case... If the call was "9:00 at 10 miles" then the airport is on your left at ten miles,   I know you know this, please keep reading...

    Using that example,  the relationship between your aircraft and the runway at this point could be anything. If your heading is the same as the runway, your are 10 miles right of the runway. If your heading is 090 and your looking for runway 34 then you are "lined up" for the runway, just heading the wrong direction, and will end up right of the runway.   

    It only means the airport is left at ten miles, nothing to do with where you are "in relation" to the runway.

What is the significance of the runway number? Can you tell from the number what heading that runway is on?

Quote:


There are a few airports I've been to that has a center runway. I don't remember the rest but Bankstown Airport in Sydney, Australia has one

Quote:


Yes. The runway number is the heading of the runway in relation to magnetic north with the final digit of the heading dropped. Example: Runway heading 151 degees would be runway number 15 at one end and heading 331 degrees or runway number 31 at the other.