Re: I'm about to give up

[tburnett]

Last chance....This is too frustrating to be a pastime...


I still cannot navigate from one airport to another, even 40 miles apart. I
posted a few things earlier about this and there was no real answers. I
thought, ok...I'll buy a book. I bought a copy of FS98 Inside Moves...which was


totally useless on navigation.


I open the Bendix stack radio. I look in the world menu. Say I am at Little
Rock Arkansas airport, and I want to fly to pine bluff, ar. I look up the
number for Pine bluff 110.45 (or whatever it is) and I make that the number in
Nav 1. I pull for Ident...occasionally I will get a morse code signal...most of


the time nothing. I make sure The DME is set to Nav 1. I make sure the DME on
the Cessna's panel (upper right area is set to Nav 1).


Occasionlly I will get a needle in the OBS thing..but I don't have a clue what
to do. I read somewhere to adjust the OBS till the needle is centered, and that


is the direction I fly or something...I have clicked one at a time for 360
degrees and nothing moved! ....



I'm gonna shelf this dang thing if I can't nav...what fun is it if I can't fly
from state to state? I can't even fly city to city...


Don't give up just yet, it is frustrating to learn, but once you do the
pleasure you will get from it will be worth the pain. What I suggest is go to
your local general aviation airport and visit the flightshop. Purchase a chart
for your area and surrounding states. Also purchase a book on instrument
flying, a very simple book (you will find there are many, but I always got the
thinnest ones as they were the easiest to understand).

After you have read the book a little, sit down with the chart and pick out
your airport and a destination airport that is within 75 miles, set your Nav1
to the destination frequency, but do not center the needle. Using the chart,
get a good idea of the direction or radial from the VOR to your destination.
After you take off just watch the needle move and try turning different
directions on purpose to watch what the needle does. The purpose of this
exercise is not to get to the destination, but get a feel for using the needle.


The easiest way to really learn to navigate is to use the ADF indicator - you
just turn in the direction that the needle is pointing and keep turning until
the needle is centered and then straighten up.

It just takes perseverance and a lot of playing around with it. Hope this helps
a little.

[muttly]

Last chance....This is too frustrating to be a pastime...


I still cannot navigate from one airport to another, even 40 miles apart. I
posted a few things earlier about this and there was no real answers. I
thought, ok...I'll buy a book. I bought a copy of FS98 Inside Moves...which was


totally useless on navigation.


I open the Bendix stack radio. I look in the world menu. Say I am at Little
Rock Arkansas airport, and I want to fly to pine bluff, ar. I look up the
number for Pine bluff 110.45 (or whatever it is) and I make that the number in
Nav 1. I pull for Ident...occasionally I will get a morse code signal...most of


the time nothing. I make sure The DME is set to Nav 1. I make sure the DME on
the Cessna's panel (upper right area is set to Nav 1).


Occasionlly I will get a needle in the OBS thing..but I don't have a clue what
to do. I read somewhere to adjust the OBS till the needle is centered, and that


is the direction I fly or something...I have clicked one at a time for 360
degrees and nothing moved! ....



I'm gonna shelf this dang thing if I can't nav...what fun is it if I can't fly
from state to state? I can't even fly city to city...





Take a deep breath and relax a bit. I am no "expert"at navigation,but
you might wanna download FS Navigator. As it does make it a little easier to
fly. Myself,I fly at altitudes and speeds that make NDB/VOR navigation all but
useless and usually just set the ILS frequencies and call it good and fly by
point to point using GPS. At FL800@Mach 3 the world goes by at about 30 miles a
minute so to try and navigate with VOR and NDB I would be so busy setting
frequencies that I would fly right by my destination.

The persons to ask and get help from are Christophert(aka Snoopy) and
AlistairMonk. These are the guru's of low and slow stick and rudder flyin and
know what they are doin. I go to them when I try to take out one of the old
crates that I have for a spin around the neighborhood and get lost.

Mutt.

[enged]

Hello, Terry,
Don't give up quite yet! Navigation is one of MSFS's finest features once
you get the hang of it. Here's an exercise I use regularly to practice. It
takes only a few minutes, but master it and you can fly anywhere using
waypoint-to-waypoint information gleaned from the Airport/Facility Directory.
First, check out page 12 of the FS98 Pilot's Guide to see our flight plan.

1. Start at Meigs rwy 36 in the fixed-gear Cessna.
2. Click on Avionics Master to bring its instrument stack into view.
3. Set the radio (upper left) to 135.4 (KORD, Chicago O'Hare).
4. Set the ILS (upper right) to 111.10 (KORD rwy 27L).
5. Set the VOR (directly below) to 113.9 (ORD).
6. Set the NBD (directly below) to 350 (Deana).

Note, the radio setting will bring ORD ATIS information streaming across the
top of your screen. Among other things, it'll confirm that rwy 27L has ILS
111.10.
Also, when you enter NDB 350, its gauge will jump to a WNW direction. Deana
is on the far side of the airport, but it's the only KORD navigational
information you'll gain from Meigs. At this point, neither the ILS nor VOR will
register anything.

7. Take off, climb and maintain a 36 heading until you're clear of Chicago's
skyscrapers. You'll notice the NDB needle point increasingly westward.
8. Once well clear of Sears Tower, make a climbing left turn until the NDB
needle is straight up. Now you're heading directly toward Deana (and KORD).
Reach and maintain perhaps 2500 ft.
9. Before long, the VOR needle will twitch, its lower end to the left.
Adjust its knob (-) until its needle points straight up. This will show the
course to ORD VOR, a heading of about 290.
10. Modify your course slightly to 290 and you'll see this needle stay more
or less staight up.

In general, to keep it there head slightly in the direction of its deviation
until it starts to swing back. With some practice you'll be able to anticipate
this.
Now both VOR and NDB will be pointing more or less vertical. You're on your
way to KORD and, before long, the ILS will come active.

11. The ILS comes alive likely showing you're a bit too low and to the left.
Maintain your course and climb until the one needle is horizontal. Then adjust
trim/power to keep it there with a gentle descent.
12. By now, KORD and rwy 27L are in view! Continue your current course until
you intercept the radial (that is, until the other ILS needle comes vertical).

13. Adjust course, power and trim gently to come on down on the beam.

All in good fun. -- Dennis S, FSEngEd@aol.com