Flight Simulator X and Flight terms?

Question

I would really appreciate it if airline pilots would answer this or someone who is really into FSX. Ok first of all, what is the "Course" because I noticed that button and how is it different from the Heading. My next question deals with approaches. What is ILS and how does it work. In the GPS you can set up the approach. What is NDB (I don't know if thats right) and what are Vectors and GPS approaches. Could you also explain what VORs are? I know that is a lot of questions but that's why I came on Yahoo! Answers. Thanks.

Answer 1

Let's see if we can clarify this a bit more...

Course and heading can be different because wind and directional trim can cause the plane to side-slip. Let's give an example. Let's say you're flying due north, heading 000. However, there's a 5 knot wind coming from the east. Your COURSE will NOT be 000. It's be 359 or 358 or whatever depending on your airspeed, even if you have maintained trim and kept the plane heading 000 even in the crosswind. If you're navigating, you want the course, not just the heading, esp. when the wind is stronger than just a few knots.

ILS basically is a directional beacon that's pointing directly along the axis of the runway. You know the heading of the runway, so just fly perpendicular to the beam, then when you see the beam at 90 degrees, turn into it. If you get close enough, it'll even tell you how fast you have to descend in order to get to the end of the runway. Actually, that's not the best way to intercept the ILS. You're supposed to follow tower's instructions and approach charts. But the principle is the same. Just draw it in pencil, and imagine this beam, and you need to fly astride it.

As for NDB, GPS, VOR, etc., those are "beacons". Basically they are known markers for navigation. You don't exactly get signposts in the sky that says "Phoenix 50 miles". You get these beacons instead. When you plan to fly from one city to another, you note all the beacons in between, and you plan your flight speed, the path you'll take, then start measuring your path against the closest beacons at certain times based on elapsed time after takeoff and cruising. If you're at the predicting "angle" for the certain beacon, then you're on path.

Another example. Let's say you're calculated that if you're on proper heading, on speed, at 10 minutes after take off and assuming course 090, beacon "X" should be at 45 degrees off your starboard. If you're showing something OTHER than 45 degrees, then you are off your flight path. By using references from multiple beacons, you can use trigonometry to figure out how far you're off and correct your position and flight path.

GPS approach, well, just follow the GPS coordinates. :)

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Think about looking at the cockpit in any flight simulator aircraft, where all buttons are, then times that number by about 100, then you might have something close to a real cockpit. Even "glass cockpits" still have over 100 buttons to press, and then theres the actual flight control stick, on a flight sim the plane moves as quck as your computer will let it, in reality the wings might just snap off or crack and cause a bigger problem. Even proffesional pilots trained to fly one type of plane probably would struggle to fly a different type.

Answer 4

a HEADING is the way the nose of your your plane is pointing.
your COURSE is the direction the aircraft is traveling because of winds the heading and course are not always the same. ILS=intrument landing system. NDB=non directional beacon- a navigation station, enter its frequency and it will point to the station on an instument such as an ADF. VOR's are VHF(very high frequency) omnidirectional recievers.- a navigation station, enter its frequency and it display the aircrafts location along a compass radial relative to the Vor station. Its all pretty complex.good luck hope this helped

Answer 5

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Answer 6

The course is the entire flight path from take-off to landing which includes all - turns, heading and/or altitude changes.
NDB's are - Non-directional beacons. Most pilots use a combo of NDB's and VOR's as a navigational back-up when flying VFR.

Answer 7

Excuse me, Mr. comair... Why don't you take your own advice and don't answer questions you know nothing about...

"You can't be a VFR pilot".... VFR is Visual Flight Rules. ALL new pilots fly VFR before they are trained and rated to fly by instruments, therefore ALL pilots start out as VFR pilots.

"im a pilot ATP PPL" .... ATP is "Airline Transport Pilot" while PPL is "Private Pilots License". Since you can't hold two licenses at the same time, you can't be both!

You're busted, you POSER!

Answer 8

people do not answer stuff you do not know about

you cant be a VFR pilot...

a course- A course, in navigation, is the intended path of a vehicle over the surface of the Earth. For air travel, it is the intended flight path of an airplane or the direction of a line drawn on a chart representing the intended airplane path, expressed as the angle measured from a specific reference datum clockwise from 0° through 360° to the line.

ILS-Instrumental landing system precise navigation system for aircraft, used under instrument flight rules

The Instrument landing system (ILS) is a ground-based instrument approach system which provides precise guidance to an aircraft approaching a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), such as low ceilings or reduced visibility due to fog, rain, or blowing snow

An ILS consists of two independent sub-systems, one providing lateral guidance (Localizer), the other vertical guidance (Glideslope or Glide Path) to aircraft approaching a runway. Aircraft guidance is provided by the ILS receivers in the aircraft by

performing a modulation depth comparison


theres a lot more with ILS if you have AIM that is instant message me and ill explain it better my AIM screen name is [e-mail]
yea please IM me im running out of room

im a pilot ATP PPL

Answer 9

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