There are always lots of questions on here about landing – either with ILS or manually.  None of us minds helping, but it leads to a lot of repetition, and it is also difficult to get over what is basically a visual exercise in words.  So I thought that I would fly a full landing approach and touchdown and take some screenshots.  

I flew it mostly on full auto, partly to allow me to concentrate on taking shots, and partly because that’s how I’d recommend people to start anyway.  Turned out that there was so much to explain that it was best to split it into three separate posts.  I hope it helps people, anyway.

INTERCEPTING THE LOCALISER BEAM AND GLIDESLOPE.

This shot shows a default 737 at 2,500 feet and 220 knots, 21 miles out of Miami Intl., inbound to Runway 9L. ILS systems only have a range of 30 nms., so I've waited until I'm well within that distance to start my landing preparations.

I’ve already:-

1. Asked ATC for landing clearance on the appropriate runway, called up the map, clicked on the airport, and noted the ILS frequency, runway direction, and airport height;
2. Entered up the ILS frequency (110.3) in NAV1 on the radio stack on the right (entered under ‘Standby’ and clicked across to ‘Active’);
3. Set the runway heading (92 degrees) on the VOR1 dial at lower left ('COURSE' on the autopilot sub-panel);
4. Pressed ‘B’ to zero the altimeter at the right pressure;
5. Pressed ‘APP’ on the autopilot, leaving the ‘Heading Hold', ‘Altitude Hold’, and 'Speed Hold' on;
6. Made sure that the GPS/NAV switch (left end of autopilot sub-panel) is set to ‘NAV’
7. For good measure, pressed ‘Alt – Aircraft – Visual Flightpath – Rectangles’ to bring up the flightpath.

The magenta markings on VOR1 show that the course to the runway is to my left; that I am closing in on it diagonally, on a course of 50 degrees; and that the glideslope (shown by the ‘arrowhead’ on the right) is ‘live’ and that I am well below it. The Visual Flightpath is already visible on the windscreen ahead.



In the next picture, the autopilot has turned off the ‘Heading Hold’ and is lining us up with the localiser beam. We are still comfortably below the glideslope and ‘Altitude Hold’ is still on.



Now the glidepath indicator (magenta arrowhead) is moving down and is past the last notch. The DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) on the VOR dial shows that we’re 10.1 miles out.  I’m reducing speed to 180 and putting down 5 degrees of flap and the gear.



In a moment the autopilot will turn off the ‘Altitude Hold’ and start the aeroplane down the glideslope.

LINING UP, FLARING, AND LANDING.

At this point in the ‘tutorial flight’ I made a mistake! And thought that, in fairness, I’d better leave it in! I was so busy taking shots that I forgot about the wind – and so found myself drifting slightly off the runway line. In fact, since speed, trim, and attitude were all balanced, it was very easy to drop the starboard wing a fraction and work her back on line.  Which I'm doing in the picture. Note how LITTLE banking is required – and don’t forget to give her time to respond, don’t hurry things.

The thing to notice in this shot (which is one reason I left it in) is how much wider and more welcoming the runway looks close in.  You almost can't miss! Which is why you don’t have to stare grimly at it from miles away, and try to line up perfectly from ten miles out.



In the final moments, you should have one hand on the stick and the other on the throttle lever - and I have the two top buttons on my joystick, right under my thumb, assigned to 'trim up' and 'trim down' as well. That way you can respond quickly, in a completely coordinated way, if need be.

As you cross the threshold, cut the throttles.  From now on, you’ll need to be sure to look at the whole runway – not just the part just in front of the nose.  There’s a ‘magic moment’ in landing the real thing when your ‘top-down’ view changes, and the ‘ground perspective’ cuts in – suddenly it’s more like driving a car than flying an aeroplane.  FS models this effect very well.

One trick I should mention – the panel height in the shots may be lower than you’re used to.  I like a good view, and I tend to use ‘Shift-Enter’ to drop the panel a notch or two.  You can do the same, obviously – but don’t monkey around with it too much, try to stick to one setting once you’ve found what suits you best.

'Flaring' simply means that as the ground perspective kicks in, just before you touch down, you raise the nose (only a fraction, mind) to reduce the rate of descent. And then hold it there while the speed drops off and the aeroplane settles.

I can’t TELL you when to flare – picking the exact moment takes practice, and it varies between aeroplanes, with the larger ones taking longer to respond than the smaller ones. The important thing is not to overdo it, and start back up again; to prevent this, note the position of the runway end relative to the panel, and don’t let the panel come up too high.  Also, dart a glance at the ‘rate of descent’ gauge, try to get it up from the ‘600 feet/minute down’ it’s been at through the descent to ‘200 feet down’ or so. It’s just below the altimeter in the 737; in the photo below it’s showing about 150 feet/minute, so I see that, taking screenshots notwithstanding, I got it just about perfect for once!

Generally, about flaring, later is usually better than earlier; and once you’ve flared, hold the position, hold off, hold off…..until she settles gently, of her own accord. Gets easier with practice.

I reckon this shot shows that 'ground perspective' I mentioned quite well, as I'd hoped.  Be quite difficult to stuff it up from here, wouldn't it?



There you go – I live to fly another day. ’/’ for the spoiler, hold down ‘F2’ for reverse thrust ('F1' to turn it off), joystick trigger for brakes……..hope it’s been useful.



A couple of suggestions:-

1. Rather than starting fresh all the time, save a flight about twenty miles out, roughly where this scenario started, and use it for practice. It saves a lot of time; and you can also substitute other FS aircraft or new downloaded ones, and try out landing them in familiar surroundings.

2. You can also use a practice flight to work your way up to landing manually, instead of relying on the ILS. First turn off the auto-throttle early on, and practise handling the power yourself.  When you have that taped, turn off the autopilot early as well, and fly the approach on full manual control (remember, power to regulate the rate of descent, trim to regulate the speed). By all means leave the Visual Flight Path on at first, you'll find that it helps a lot. And, above all, relax, avoid sudden movements of the controls, and give the aeroplane time to respond.

It's a great relief once you get the hang of landing without the 'aids' - after that you can go anywhere in FS. For advice on manual landings (particularly dealing with crosswinds) see -

http://205.252.250.26/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1129643666;start=0

- or go to 'Flight Simulator 2004 FAQs', Item 12 - 'Manual Crosswind Landing Tutorial with Screenshots').

Beginners, by all means ask any questions you like.  ‘Old hands’, comments/additions welcome – but remember that I’ve tried to keep things simple and basic to help people who are just starting out. PLEASE don’t rush in recommending too many of the ‘short cuts’ those of us with more experience have developed, that will only confuse the new fliers.

Thanks nexus, appreciated.

Only thing is, if I'd realised before how much there was to explain, I might have thought better of it! 

What a marvellous production FS2004 is, though.  SO close to the real thing.

Gets my vote, make it a sticky, perhaps it should be called 'IFR Landing Tutorial with Screenshots' though to allow for visual, procedural and backcourse approaches.

By all means, pete - honoured! 

Thanks, wji - I'd be surprised, though, if I could teach someone with an instrument rating anything. I never got that far, I got married instead, which was the end of flying lessons!

You're right in what you say. However much flying you've done, every flight, and especially every landing, is a new 'adventure'.

good thread, you nearly mucked up your landing though! 

ya nav, it was quite a helpful guide. I'm new to the forums but im not a total noob, I regularly go flying in Pipers (dont know the make) from Brize, and play on fs a lot.

i understand pretty much every part of fs and my only difficulties were trying to stay on the centre line when landing, and getting the rate of descent rate, i've pretty much mastered that so for the time being their isnt really anything im having major problems with.

im okay with the physics side of it too (i.e how to counteract wind, working out the right for speed f or certain weights etc), but i could do with some help on jet take off, as i always seem to get the nose up with the plane now climbing at all, jsut flying along the ground with the nose up for ages.

I understood your guide, its fairly simple, but you could have expanded on bits and pieces and described why and exactly what you were doing, so a total noob would be able to perfect their landings.

Hey! Thats great nav! Wonderful work!
I'm sure new-comers will appreciate this!!

That's what I need so desperately severla months ago! Well it will sure benefit others and I learnt one thing which I thought I was nuts on and that is I come in too low.

Just one thing though -  I am surprised you didn't have auto-break on.

Great job and I'm sure that will be useful for many. 8)

ya Nav i know all that, its common sense, ive taken off at 200 knots before just to see if would go up any better but it still just keeps movin along the ground with the nose up

i normally rotate at 160 knots, with a small amount of trim and flaps at one notch.

by the way ive sorted my taking off problem now, i made the rather nooby error of accidentally hitting / without realising  

willg, flap (or the lack of it) is your problem then.

Not 'one notch' for takeoff - 5 degrees. Three notches on the 737, two notches on the 747 and Triple Seven.

Please do yourself a favour - go to the Learning Centre Index, click on 'B' for Boeing, and look up the Flight Notes for any aeroplane you are planning to fly. All the settings and speeds are in there, for 'Takeoff', 'Climb', 'Cruise' etc. Save you a lot of time - at the moment you seem always to be 'learning the hard way'.

I've revised this to explain the initial phase of lining up with the localiser, which still seems to attract a lot of 'Help!' threads. 

Also redone the screenshots to make them clearer - the first lot had got thoroughly 'chewed up' - and added a few more tips.

Any feedback on things that still aren't clear, or other FS subjects that people would like me to try to cover, would be welcome.

That diagram is GREAT, willg. Guess that, now you've started drawing things out and writing them down, you're a fellow addict now.   You'll be READING stuff next...  

There's an old flying school joke you may not have encountered yet. Someone will ask you why they make you read an eye-chart before they give you a licence. You'll say, of course, that it's because they need to be sure that you can see clearly, for 'safety', like.

"Not so," they'll say. "It's 'cos they want to be sure that you can read all the laws and regulations and prohibitions and 'pilot's notes' and complicated approach charts they're going to throw at you by the truckload for the rest of your natural bloody life........"

Glad I thought of trying screenies - judging by the number of views this thread is getting, they seem to work a bit. It's often quite difficult to explain to people how to fly, just in words.

Imagine that you were trying to write down instructions on how to ride a bike - including how to turn. And then someone writes back and says, "I think I understand. But about turning - do I move the handlebars first, or lean over first?"

Good for you, anyway, glad you're getting it taped. The next step is to turn off the auto-controls earlier and earlier, until you can fly the whole approach VFR. Then you can go anywhere, whether or not the airports have ILS.  

Pleasure, Theis, glad you liked it!

Tony

Great tutorial. Helped me a lot. Thanks! 

How about a generic landing procedure that can be applied to any aircraft?

Quote:


I think that would be just about impossible, pilotjj1 - you'd drown in footnotes!

On the other hand, the principles don't vary, whatever you're landing. The speeds can be different, but that is what the Flight Notes in the FS Learning Centre are for. The instrument layouts differ too, but that is only a matter of practice.

My recommendation to anyone trying new aeroplanes is to have a practice landing approach saved. Fire it up and try the new one out on it - you'll soon get the hang of it by trial and error. Using an approach that you're already familiar with helps a lot, by cutting out most of the variables.

Ex-RoNiN, glad you liked it - hope the trial run went OK!

Came on today and found this great tutorial.  I sim fly light aircraft, now thanks to this tutorial I am going to have to give a Heavy a try. 

Thanks for all the time and effort, very very helpful.

Great tute, Nav! Perfect for newer pilots.

You got me thinking about doing my own now. One of the areas I do well in is VFR navigation without electronic aids. Think it'd be a good idea if I might come up with something similar for that perhaps?

Cheers!

Will do, Nav - but VOR and DR navigation should really be under seperate tutes unless the mods allow us to go over the posting limit.

I'll do the DR one first; we'll se how it turns out.

Great job again - cheers!

Thanks AGAIN for that superb tutorial. I've been flying sims for over 10 years and only now think I fully understand!

Thanks for the kind comments, simonnd, TNHUnter, much appreciated. I originally hit on the idea of using screenshots mainly because they made it a lot easier to explain how to set the various instruments. But it's clear that, happily, the pictures also give newer flyers a mind's eye picture of what an orthodox landing approach should 'look like'; which is probably half the battle. 

Glad you considered going back to the lessons, TNHunter. Personally I would never recommend ploughing through all of them (IMO the earlier ones are well done, the later ones less so) but they are still a useful resource. Worth trying 'Airline Transport Pilot, Lesson 1 - Jet Checkout', for instance, to learn more about orthodox takeoff and landing procedures.

I still find the 'ready-made' FS9 scenarios and historical flights fun for a change, too. 'Aerial Chauffeur' starts easy and builds up to quite difficult situations; 'European Airline Pilot' does much the same; and 'Reeve Aleutian Airlines' will stretch your flying and navigation skills to the limit, even if you substitute a more modern aeroplane for the DC3 Dakota, which you're allowed to do.

Hi webbyboy, welcome to Simviation!

The most probable solution is that you don't need one! Radio beams are narrow at source but widen at distance, and the air is a fluid medium; so any aeroplane will take its time lining up, particularly when it's a long way out (like 15 miles). If you look at the first few screenshots in the tute, you'll see that my 737 was by no means completely lined up at first. So first of all be patient, let the aeroplane get closer, and you'll probably find that it lines up perfectly closer in when the beam has narrowed down.

If that doesn't solve the problem, chances are that you're getting one or other of the settings wrong - too much flap, not enough power, not enough speed, or whatever - and the aeroplane is 'toppling' because it is getting close to stalling speed. Whichever aircraft you're flying, look it up in the Learning Centre Index (under its name, e.g. 'Boeing 737' is under 'B'), read the Flight Notes, and make sure that you are getting all the settings right.

If none of that works, glad to help further - but please say which aeroplane you're flying, whether there's any wind, what approach speeds and flap settings you're using, etc.; it'll make a 'diagnosis' easier.

Hi SysFail,

That glidepath will only show up on the GPS if the runway has ILS.

You don't need the glidepath on the GPS to know which way the runway is heading. You just need to know the runway numbers (You can find that out by contacting ATC or looking on your map).

The runway numbers are a rough guide to runway direction - you just add a '0' to the runway number E.G: Runway 1 = approx 10 degree's, Runway 18 = 180 approx 180 degree's.

Although if you want to get specific, the heading of the runway may not exactly match it's number.

E.G:
Runway 27 (for 270 degree's) can have a heading anywhere between 265 degree's & 275 degree's.

The heading for each runway number can be off by as much as 5 degrees either way.

If you want to know the heading or the runways available at any airport in FS9, just go into the map (zoom in) & click on the airport required:


Cheers,

TSC.

Hi SysFail,

Tuning the ILS freq into the Nav1 radio will not give you the 'little red hoops'. But to be honest, if you know how to use the VASI lights, you may find it just as easy to rely on them. Once you know the runway heading in advance (from the map), you will find it much easier to plan & execute your landings without the help of the 'hoops'.

Cheers,

TSC.

Quote:

Just like you said:
Quote:

I think your getting the 'hoops' & 'ILS' a bit mixed up - the 'hoops' have absolutely nothing to do with ILS approaches - they are just a learning aid put into FS9 by Microsoft. Nav only used them in his tutorial to let people see where the glideslope was in relation to the plane.

You can use the 'hoops' at any airport, but ILS can only be used at airports that have ILS systems.

Cheers,

TSC.

Ahh - confusion sorted, thanks Commoner. I've never used the 'hoops' as an aid so I just assumed that M$ had plonked them in for all airports.

Cheers,

TSC.

I'll post a tutorial in the next few days regarding non precision approaches and also one for noise abatement techniques.
Vololiberista

Interesting tutorial Nav. I shall study it when I've got a few spare hours! 

I guess I'm a VFR simmer at heart and enjoy flying (and landing) everything I can find from the seat of my pants! There was a time that I thought I would never be able to land a plane without crashing it. This was back in the days of Flight Unlimited 2 + 3 if anyone ever remembers them. I’ve always been too lazy or just too uninterested in learning all this ILS stuff to be bothered TBH and much preferred to crash and learn!

The thrill I had when I put my first Cessna down without breaking the undercarriage and almost on the runway was enormous! But only because I had learned it the hard way and I did it all by myself - No ILS, No tutorials or Red boxes in the sky!

I tried the red boxes in the sky several times in FS9 and I found them harder than just using my own judgement! I tended to concentrate too much on trying to keep within the boxes and was not concentrating on the real glide slope, which is my line of sight to the runway.

Through my own stubbornness to not want to learn tutorials or ILS or anything else which takes away the fun of hands on flying, I simply have no idea how to use ILS or IFR, Flight plans etc. For the most part I turn off ATC stick my Cyborg 3D Gold joystick in front of me and go VFR flying! I like to leave AI aircraft on though as it’s nice not to be alone, but I never bother to request clearance to land anywhere! A couple of times I’ve landed over the top of other aircraft about to take off! …Sod them; they shouldn’t have been there! This is my sky and my airport!  However, there is now no aeroplane big or small in the FS9 world that I can't take off and land safely using VFR in all (especially my latest passion) challenging weather!

I love putting those big birds down especially in strong xwinds it's just so much fun. But I suppose I should really learn how to use ILS since in the real world IFR is the only way to bring any bird down when the weather closes in and visibility is hopeless. The problem is that this is a sim and all I need to do is adjust the weather so I can see again! 

Red_Kite, I did the tutorial mainly because, not long ago, half the threads on here were of the 'I keep Crashing? How do I land?" variety. Therefore it's aimed squarely at beginners. And it seems to have achieved it's object, because there are a lot fewer such threads now.

I think everyone's objective should be first and foremost to ENJOY FS. So as long as you're happy just flying VFR and making your own weather, fine.

For myself, I found that after a bit, I got bored with that and began specialising in more challenging long-distance trips involving several legs and landing at all sorts of airports. I also found that using 'real weather' added interest because, whatever it serves up, you just have to deal with it somehow.

If you should ever get bored and feel the need of a new challenge, I recommend that you try the ready-made FS9 'Aerial Chauffeur' scenario. You don't have to use the default Cessna, you can substitute any aeroplane you like. Whoever set it up made sure that the weather is poor to start with, and gets worse as you go along; so that the conditions get steadily more challenging, trip by trip. I'll guarantee that if you DO try it, you'll find yourself using every nav-aid on the aeroplane before you've finished!

Hi Nav,

Thank you very much for taking the time out for us newbies and posting this guide for ILS approaches.

I'm a real newbie but I really hope you can help me...

However, I could cry, I really could.  I've followed this as best as I can yet my stupid plane(s) auto pilot don't align to the glide scope at the right time.  I've tried must be 70 times... Perhaps I'm just thick but here's what I do...

Set a flight plan from Shoreham to Gatwick (UK)

Click on the map and select gatwick and note the ILS freq (110.900) and the ILS heading (261) runway 26L.

Set the OBS on the VOR to 261 and select 110.900 on the radio stack and click to active (Hover the mouse over and it says 110.900 on active).

Click on the flight path indicator on the options menu.

Take off and reach 2000ft and click auto pilot then HDG, APP and ALT...  My plane then aligns to the glide scope path of the run way straight away (I seem to be parallel to the run way immediately even though I'm 18 miles away!).

Nav, I know I'm screwing up somewhere, but I don't know where!  Please help

(P.S. Just to give you a giggle, I'm struggling to do this in a Cessna!)

Thank you vololiberista!  I set the auto pilot 'App' as soon as I've taken off  Going by your post, that's probably premature, am I right?

Quote:


Yes it's premature because ILS frequencies are not unique to individual airports.  (that's one of the reasons one still has to check the audible morse ident!!!).

The glide slope is close to 3deg. which at a distance of 10nm would be intercepted at a height(NB not altitude!!) of 3000ft. The FS9 ATC usually vector you to intercept the localiser between 14-18nm So calculate in your mind where the glide slope would be in relation to the intercept height you have been given. But don't select the 'appr' button until the gauge has found the glide slope. I always wait until I see it move down as a confirmation.

When you fly something "larger" than a Cessna then your airspeed also becomes a factor so get into the habit of arriving on the localiser at no more than 180kts ias.
Buon volo.
Vololiberista

i do not know how to land using ILS..i tried using this guide like 10 times..still cant get the hang of it..please email me or something on how to land right..

Welcome to Simviation, ranger0125. Easier to help you if you give us a bit more information.

What are you flying? Have you done some of the lessons to learn basic flying? If you've been following the tute, what exactly goes wrong, and when?

i just dont understand it man..

vololiberista! nav! thank you ever so much!!!!! i just did it!!!!! w000t!!!!!! i used your table and everything volo! and nav..i didnt know where some intruments was..i looked at ur screenies..thank you sooooooo much!!


flying is sooooo much fun!

Quote:


That approach plate is my own one.. I have the full set of SIDS STARS parking, airport charts etc etc.
For other airports one can easily find most on the net.  Quite a lot of sim sites have a facility to download them  Simrader, Vatsim and Google of course. Frequently if you apgrade scenery for a particular airport and region charts will be included in the download.  If you fly in Italy then the ISD Project is stunning.
Boun voli,
Vololiberista

Hiya Nav,

Great tutorial, almost mastered ILS landings except I find the approach speed difficult to control (more practise, that's all!)

Just a quick question, I noticed that the APP and HDG are set early on in your tute.  Could this be done soon after departure, and would the AP line up at the correct point to intercept the glidescope despite the HDG setting?  If for example, I've got the HDG set to fly directly over the destination airport and runway, would the AP work out by using the APP heading that it'd have to approach the HDG at a different angle to intercept the ILS glidescope at the right alt and speed?

Hi alert5, welcome!

No, the tute only covers the landing phase, not the whole flight and approach. Also, ILS systems only have a range of about 30 miles.

Basically you should only start preparing for landing (and setting up the ILS) about thirty miles out, once the tower has told you which runway to use.

Tricky at first - but if you click the Map View on and enlarge it, you'll be able to see the runway layout and your position relative to it. Plot a course that will bring you in at an angle of about thirty degrees to the runway line, at say 15 miles out from the airport.

Then set the ILS frequency, and set the arrow on the 'VOR1' gauge to the runway heading. If you look at the first screenshot you'll see how it should look - the white arrow is the runway line, the shorter magenta line is the line of the runway. You can see that I'm approaching at about a 40-degree angle. Then press 'APP' and the autopilot will line you up from there (AND cancel the 'Heading Hold' for you at the right moment).

Sounds complicated, but after a bit of practice you get so you can use the gauge as a 'map'. Early on, it's not a bad idea actually to sketch things out on a bit of paper, if you're not sure of things.

Make sure, too, that you're well below the glideslope as you close in; the ILS won't capture the glideslope unless you're below it. 2,500 feet at not less than 15 miles out is a good start.

As for speed, the golden rule is to slow down early. And approach level -  no use starting a desperate dive at the last minute, you'll be travelling far too fast as you arrive. 220 knots is plenty fast enough once you're within 15 miles.

Just before you capture the glideslope (you'll see that magenta arrowhead on the gauge start moving down) slow to 180 knots, and put down five degrees of flap and the gear. Again, the A/P will cancel 'Altitude Hold' for you.

Once you're established on the slope, add more flap and slow to 140 knots once it's all down. Then just land!

Hope all that helps.

Sorry to be picky...but it's glide SLOPE...it's a vertical guidance of the ILS system

You seem to confuse it with LOCALIZER which is the lateral guidance signal.

IRL, most pilots lets the AP intercept the localizer and glideslope, granted in real life, it's much more smoother.

Quote:


Excellent, you've named your AP!

Perhaps I should be a little more forgiving with the AP lining up to the glidescope then.  Just that I'm really tense at this stage trying to remember everything and the AP is swaying like it's having a slow dance with it's glidescope girlfriend.

>>The A/P probably says the same sort of thing about YOUR flying, alert5.

Very good!  Sometimes it switches itself on automatically because it feels airsick when i fly manually.

I try and not to fly manually at all if i can help it.  i feel it's more realistic.  i can't imagine commercial airline pilots flying most of the trip manually.

Quote:

Yes this is the case in UK airspace.  Where an airfield has an ILS facility it is deemed to be used by ALL pilots.  Pilots can ask for a visual approach if the weather is VMC but would only be granted permission if the airport was not busy at the time..

I was on an Easyjet flight into Luton when P2 took over and nearly lost the a/c!!! It was his first time out of the 737 simulator!!!!!  P1 put it back onto the AP and we landed safely!!

ranger, with respect, you're going a mile outside the scope of the tute. I think you may be trying to 'run before you can walk'. You have to take FS step by step, it's no use talking about landing until you've learned the basics of flying and navigating.

Please go to 'Getting Started' in the FS Learning Centre - that will gve you basic information on flight planning, navigation etc. Look up anything you're not sure of in the Learning Centre Index, for more detail. And maybe try some of the Flying Lessons? No need to do them all, but many of them (particularly the early ones) are very good.

nav, i can take off, land, fly level, and easy..it just setting up the nav radio which is gettin me.

ILS freqs should ALWAYS go into NAV 1 on your radio stack. You also need to hit the "APPR" button on your AP command panel, and if you will also need to disable the ALT Hold function. You also need your Nav system to be in NAV mode, not GPS.

PS when you get good at flying ILS procedures download Kai Tak (the old airport of Hong Kong). You have to do a visual right turn to land "after" flying the glideslope!!!!!!!
It's actually easier to do in real life than on the sim!!!!
Vololiberista

Actually all the parts of a flight are nice, the best parts as you said, only the cruise is a little boring.

Nav, you are my hero!! That tutorial is outstanding...thanks for the work you put in on that!

Thanks fior the kind remarks, guys - glad you liked it.

Quote:


Conan, a peculiarity of the 737 is that the two gauges on the panel only show the levels of the auxiliary tanks, not the main one. From memory the aircraft had around 30% fuel left.

I also wouldn't want people to get the idea that a heavy load requires a super-fast approach speed. The 737 is nowhere near stalling at 140 knots, if it has plenty of flap down. Heavily-loaded, maybe approach at 145 knots, add a touch of extra power to stay on the glideslope, maybe use full flap late on to generate more low-speed lift to help with flaring.

Quote:


Don't forget that the tute is meant for beginners, rottydaddy. One of the problems with FS is that there is no 'flying lesson' that shows the instructor landing the aeroplane - so it's difficult for beginners to get a 'mind's eye' picture of what a proper approach should look like. Mostly, in my experience, they tend to get too low too early. Using the flightpath a couple of times can definitely help them in that area; especially when they first try manual approaches.

The runway heading (direction) can be found by the runway "name". E.G, runway 12 is at a heading of 115 - 124 degrees (I think). Runway 13 is a heading of 125-134, and so on. Someone will correct me if i'm wrong, but this is how I have been flying for a few years and works fine

You could also just use the GPS for a visual indication of where the runway is.

Edit:
Use the FS map and click on the runway to get the exact heading.

Nav,

First, I would just like to jump on the bandwagon and congratulate you on a fine tutorial.  It is with complete honesty that I say your approach to the topic was not only helpful, but also very professional in appearance.  Well done.

Moving on a bit, I have always been the type of person that likes to have some paper in front of me to read from; I do not do so well looking at a computer monitor for extensive reading and learning.  Because of that, I copied your tutorial (for personal use) and put it into a pamplet form on Word.  I was wondering if you (Nav) and the powers that be (SimV mods and admins) would like to check it out and perhaps have it available for download.  Just a thought, and yea or nay on that idea is fine with me.  As a note, I should point out that I made some tiny changes to reflect the difference between reading the tutorial as a pamphlet versus looking at it online.  Nothing significant was changed, merely a few cosmetic details.

Anyway, thanks again.  Really helpful guide.

All the best,
~Darrin