GPS Approaches

[Ben Drinkin]

Anyone have any tips or tutorials for how to do it

[Drawyah]

First of all, it's call an ILS or Instrument Landing System. There are a few good tutorials out there, here is the one I personally used a little while back!
https://youtu.be/2vcjENPiaWg

[Ben Drinkin]

Originally posted by Drawyah:

First of all, it's call an ILS or Instrument Landing System. There are a few good tutorials out there, here is the one I personally used a little while back!
https://youtu.be/2vcjENPiaWg

The default GPS Systems have an option to input an approach...and I'm going to assume that can be used to bring you right up to the runway. I use ILS frequencies all the time to line up with the runway.

[Sora]

I've only done a handful of GPS approaches, but what I do is fly near the airport, setup an approach, switch nav to gps, tell the gps to enter a specific approach, and let it fly me into a line up with the runway, activate final approach and i disable hold altitude, and slowly begin a decent at my own discretion based on distance from the airport..

I've never looked up a tutorial on how to do it.. so I probably am doing it wrong :P

[SteveFSX/P3D]

I'm just learning this in an FSX training book so no expert. It depends on the equipment in the aircraft, and approach plate/chart for the approach.

So the training lesson I done recently was with the default Mooney/GPS on an RNAV approach - using LNAV without any VNAV component. They can be mixed as others have said with ILS and VOR.

The GPS will track the waypoints on the charted approach, but for this type of approach you have to descend the aircraft by stepping it down to charted heights at certain GPS fix points. So the chart is crucial in doing these approaches.

So the enroute part of your flight should typically finish at one of the IAF fixes shown on the RNAV runway arrival chart. Depending on the direction of arrival your approach might need a procedure turn to line up with the final approach (if not it says No Pt on the chart) The chart usually shows arrival heights minimums from various directions.

The heights and direction from each fix are all shown on the chart - and so is the procedure turn. If the height shown in the descent profile has a line under it, that means that is your minimum height when reaching that point - you can be a bit above but not below. Ideally you arrive at the fix at the height.

The point marked FAF on the chart is the final approach fix where you typically descend to your minimum allowed (no runway in sight) height. The distance to the runway from the FAF is shown below the profile on the chart.

The missed approach point altitude is usually a bit higher than an ILS approach - and is usually located at a waypoint or a charted distance from a waypoint, and possibly a time from a fixed point (not sure about that but features in other approaches) You find the minimum height you can descend to before sighting the runway in a table on the chart. It can differ for different types of equipment and aircraft performance. For example if also using DME you can go lower.

One of the things I never realised is that when you activate an approach in the GPS you are actually activating approach sensitivity mode on the GPS so it can better follow the procedure turn and so on with more accuracy. For normal enroute flight that mode is too sensitive and jittery. Obviously you get the approach depending on the wind direction, but I always wondered why approaches had to be separately activated, and not just added to the flight plan.

The whole chart thing is a very interesting thing to learn - especially trying them manually in bad weather. You follow the instructions correctly and you will magically pop out of the clouds with the runway straight ahead. It adds a real-world touch to the sim, with the chart being a guide that will keep you alive between invisible mountains. That must be a different type of pressure in the real world.

Any pilots/experienced simmers are welcome to put me right on the details here as I might have picked some of this up wrong.

I'm in the process of learning Approaching from this ...

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator-Pilots-Training/dp/0764588222/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1478137049&sr=8-11&keywords=Fsx

Approach chart basics ...

http://sunairexpress.com/images/How_to_Read_Approach_Plates.pdf

Get them here for USA and Canada..

https://www.fltplan.com/AwMainToApproachPlates.exe?CRN10=1&CARRYUNAME=PILOT&MODE=SEARCH&end=end

[Thogmar]

Originally posted by Drawyah:

First of all, it's call an ILS or Instrument Landing System. There are a few good tutorials out there, here is the one I personally used a little while back!
https://youtu.be/2vcjENPiaWg

Almost, not quite. OP asked about GPS approaches, which don't have altitude guidance like an ILS approach. ILS approaches are more precise, but pilots should practice all kinds of navigation and approaches.