NavStar 99

For those who haven't had a chance to check out the details, NavStar 99 is quite truly everything it's cracked up to be and a little more too! There are only a few shortcomings, they are outlined below, but for the most part this program is an excellent addition to FS98 and should seriously be considered by anyone who wants to carry out their flight assignments with maximum realism. It's only available to FS98 users.

WHAT IT IS

Realize however, that this is only a tiny portion of what's at the pilot's fingertips with this program. There's also a Moving Map, and a new Horizontal Situation Indicator that doesn't sit awkwardly on your favorite flight simulator panel. Perhaps the friendliest aspect of the program is the way the FMS sits right on the main panel but is easily re-sizeable and is extremely easy to use. The moving map took me a few tries to get right, but eventually even that falls into place on your favorite panel with a bit of work.

Drouin, a native of Canada, includes a sample flight with NavStar 99 that takes you from Dorval International in Montreal to Lester B. Pearson in Toronto. It's a great flight for showing off the software but I wanted to test the FMS and moving map with something much larger to put the program through its paces. So the review you're about to read here takes into consideration three separate trials of NavStar 99. The first of three flights consisted of a lengthy trip between Toronto and Edmonton. The next was a relatively short hop from Edmonton to Calgary. And the third was a hair under 1000 miles from Vancouver to Denver.

I must admit when I first linked to the on-board computer for the first leg of this lengthy flight between Toronto and Edmonton, I thought the program had taken me off course. However, in all cases the FMS performed flawlessly. The reason why I thought I was off course soon became quickly obvious. The on-board computer takes into account wind correction, magnetic variation as well as all en-route navigation. I could quite conceivably, have taken off from Lester B. Pearson, and not have touched the controls until just seconds before touchdown. But if that sounds boring or tedious, nothing could be further from the truth. There's plenty to do and see with the on-board computer itself and the moving map keeps things interesting. You can set the range of the map so you can keep tabs of airports and cities that you are flying over. Also watch for VOR's, NDB's and various intersections. You never lose track of where you're going thanks to an excellent moving map. If that's not enough, why not check your fuel status, plan your approach, change your assigned route in the event of a thunderstorm...you name it, NavStar can do it. You can even take advantage of a superb "holding pattern" function built into the FMS that couldn't be easier to use. As far as I can see, there's no reason to believe the program can't perform flawlessly in any programmed flight anywhere in the FS98 world!

Upon powering up NavStar, the FMS automatically reads your location and you can use this to plan your first flight if you like. You can also choose from airports and navigational aids from around the world to select the departure and arrival airports and all flight aspects in between.

As a starting point, here is a shot of the main computer enlarged on my FS Panel so it's easier to see. Remember you can click and drag the FMS, its size can be enlarged or reduced until it's just the way you want it.

The DATA button simply displays geographical position and other information pertaining to your aircraft in the FS98 world. The author indicates that the window will be used further in a future version.

The NAV button is the most important window is the Navigation Window. Here you can keep track of how much time and distance remains until you arrive at your next waypoint. In this example, I'm travelling from Toronto (Lester B. Pearson) to the Wiarton VOR. I'm 75 miles and 20 minutes away from the marker if you read the information listed above. My next waypoint is listed below that (APN-Alpena, Michigan). If I were to hit the "NEXT" button on the FMS, I would be taken to page two of the display and the rest of the flight plan would appear.

Below the waypoint information is more navigational information including my XTK-"Cross Track Error", the BRG (Bearing) to the next waypoint, the DA (Drift Angle), the GS - Ground Speed, Headwind and Wind values. Everything you need, clean display, easy to access.

The specifics of the VNAV button took me a little while to figure out. This controls your plane's altitude. For each waypoint, you can specify a distance (in nautical miles) that you would like your aircraft to be, before (+) or after (-) a specific waypoint. Look at the screen capture for an example.

In this case, I've just started to turn towards Walla Walla and the plane (as I instructed it to) is automatically beginning its climb from FL330 to FL370. The value 304 is the positive rate of climb that it will take to reach the Walla Walls VOR at FL370. You can also set the rate of climb or descent so the aircraft does exactly what you want it to.

The DTO button allows you to select any waypoint so your aircraft heads directly towards it. As part of this function, you can also select a radial to follow if you like.

The LIST button is used to obtain a list of all waypoints surrounding your immediate position. It's very useful in mid-flight if you have to alter your route. I suppose it could also be used as a crude flight planner, but it might be tedious to set up a flight this way. Of course, the author promises to update airways in the next database upgrade that hopefully takes place fairly regularly. Anyone who can offer accurate information is encouraged to send in the information to the NavStar website.

The PREV and NEXT buttons are self-explanatory.

I love the FUEL functions related to this program. If you really enjoy accurate flight and fuel planning, then you will enjoy it even more after getting your hands on this. Pilots are encouraged to enter values for passengers, cargo, empty weight, alternate, hold and extra categories. Many of the values on the other pages are controlled automatically and cannot be changed.

In the above example, you can see how detailed the information really is. How much fuel has been used, the amount required to reach your destination, your landing weight and a ton of other information. It's obvious that a lot of effort went into this function. In my three test flights the information was totally accurate. It's another interesting aspect to keep you busy in mid-flight, especially on the long routes!

That brings us to the FPL Flight Plan Button. This is where you create, modify and delete your flight plans. The greatest part of this function is its ease of use. In mere minutes following installation, you'll discover how easy it is to plan your flights from takeoff to touchdown. Simply type in an identifying 3 or 4 letter code and watch the FMS search for the information. Sometimes, there are duplicate identifiers, so you have to use the PREV and NEXT button to find the one you are looking for. Very easy.

Once the waypoints are entered, you simply save your flight plan and you're ready to go! There's no complicated entering of co-ordinates, but then again, if that's what you would prefer, you can add your favorite waypoint through the database editor.

The PERF or Performance key is a bit of a "yawner". Not much exciting going on here, the author indicates it's going to be used in future versions. Still it's neat to check out the information for ETA and fuel purposes.

The TUNE button simply allows you to change radio frequencies through the FMS. An added bonus, but nothing too earth shattering here. You can store up to four frequencies for quick recall, which is kind of nice.

The MENU button is a key component for helping to set up your approach at the destination airport. Here you can enter a three dimensional approach to the appropriate runway, which of course, can be changed at the last second if, for some unforeseen circumstance, you are forced to. You also load and save your flight plans from this screen and there's a handy Reverse application to automatically reverse your flight plan.

Worth noting is the MSG or Message button that you may have noticed beside the number pad on the FMS. When conducting a change in the flight plan or altitude, you'll hear a little chirp and a flashing MSG on the FMS. That's when you hit the MSG button. It's simply a reminder that a change has been carried out as programmed.

The ENTER button is used to officially enter information into the FMS computer.

When all is said and done, this is an excellent, accurate product, and VERY easy to use.

Most of us have a pretty good idea how the standard Horizontal Situation Indicator works so there's no need to go into great detail with this. See this screen shot for a look at a standard approach, this one at Montreal's Dorval Airport.

I'm a bit low on the glidescope, but if I clicked on the HSI a couple of times, I get a handy Vertical Indicator which would help me get back on path.

WEAKNESSES

I think a bit more time should have been spent developing the manual so that some aspects of the FMS are a little easier to understand. It took me the third part of my Canadian flights before I really had mastered the on board VNAV function that controls the plane's altitude. I found the small section in the manual didn't really help me and so there was a bit of frustration getting the plane to the correct altitude. Once I figured it out, it was a snap to use.

Realize that you might want to consider some type of navigational planner, shareware or commercial, to help you program the waypoints into the FMS for long or moderately long flights. It's not imperative, and hopefully there will be no need to have such software if the Jet Route and Navigational databases proceed as promised. I use Navigator 6.0 by Colorado Technologies because of its ease of use and superb accuracy.

Regardless of instructions that were sent to me at the time I registered this project, I still found it a bit tedious trying to install the moving map onto my favorite panels. There are still some aircraft, which I simply gave up on because the map wouldn't show up. I have it figured out for the most part, replacing the letters "H S I" with "ND" in your panel folder of your favorite aircraft. But the map doesn't quite line-up with the values suggested, so you have to be prepared to fiddle with it until you get it right. As I mentioned, there were still times I couldn't get the map on the panel at all. If you use the default panels with FS98, it's a lot easier. Custom panel users should be prepared to spend a bit more time to figure it out. Make sure you save a copy of your old panel.cfg before attempting changes!

Quite honestly, I think the future success of this project depends on the authors promise to have upgraded databases for NavStar at the Internet site.

If there are updates with Jet Routes, SIDs and STARs, then this project knows almost no limits. You really can't get any closer the real thing can you? This is based on real-life navigation! It would be nice to see users contribute too.

As I mentioned above, there are even functions of the FMS that haven't even been fully explored. It sounds like the author is ready to devote significant future effort to keep NavStar growing! I hope so.

OVERALL

I have to admit the price was also a factor. I'm Canadian myself so it was nice not to have to shell out big bucks for this type of program on top of a rate of exchange that can be somewhat discouraging. If you're a registered user of GPS98 than you can even save more money!

If you have any questions whatsoever about what you have read here, please feel free to drop me a line. I'm more than happy to take time to answer your questions. Understand, I can only speak about NavStar, I haven't seriously experimented with any other FMS including EFIS98.

John Haley
jhaley@tbaytel.net