Are SIDS up to date?

[kiwis]

I've tried flights ex KIX (RBJJ) HKG (VHHH) now WLG (NZWN) using flight plans from SimBrief and other free services. All give a flight plan with a SID which isn't in MSFS?

 

Am I doing something wrong?

 

Looking at flying NZWN > NZCH via Sim Brief. The various flight plans ex NZWN using RNWY34 offer SID's KALE2P, POLA2P or POLA2R.

 

Using the A32NX FlyByWire model I'm getting DAMB09, ISNI4P, ISNI4T, KALE3P, NZWN2B, POLA5P,POLA4R, RUGDI5, WITB1A, WITB2B

 

I've tried on the default A320 as well, it's no different.

 

What's in the names, my SimBrief plan says using KALE2P and MSFS offers KALE3P... could I just use this instead?

 

Sorry new to this and I'm keen on setting flight plans in the MCDU so I can land and go again without exiting the Sim

[nagpaw]

What you're seeing is different versions ("revisions") of the same SID. IIRC SimBrief defaults to navigation data (called an AIRAC) from 2019 (you'll see that in the "AIRAC Cycle" portion of the New Flight Plan page.) Sometime after the release of that AIRAC the regulating authorities updated the SIDs you're trying to use.

 

For example, if the KALE2P was revised to change an altitude crossing restriction over a certain fix, it might be reissued as the KALE3P. The next revision might be the KALE4P.

 

So what you're seeing is SimBrief's navigation database being out of date for free users. If you want the latest AIRAC in SimBrief I think you'll need a Navigraph subscription.

 

Can you use the newer data? In our FS world, you sure can. What you have in the sim should match the currently published charts for the SIDs, so you'll need to reference those charts. Generally speaking the SID's end points won't change, so as long as you exit the SID at the same point as SimBrief's flight plan, you should be fine. (I see that the KALE2P joins the airway network at SABDA. As long as the KALE3P in the MSFS FMS also crosses SABDA, everything should work, although if the routing to SABDA changed, your fuel burn might be slightly off. It's not a perfect solution, but such are the nuances of flying in a simulated world!)

 

Hope that helps!

Edited October 3, 2020 by nagpaw
Rewrote last paragraph to more correctly answer the question.

[kiwis]

What you're seeing is different versions ("revisions") of the same SID. IIRC SimBrief defaults to navigation data (called an AIRAC) from 2019 (you'll see that in the "AIRAC Cycle" portion of the New Flight Plan page.) Sometime after the release of that AIRAC the regulating authorities updated the SIDs you're trying to use.

 

For example, if the KALE2P was revised to change an altitude crossing restriction over a certain fix, it might be reissued as the KALE3P. The next revision might be the KALE4P.

 

So what you're seeing is SimBrief's navigation database being out of date for free users. If you want the latest AIRAC in SimBrief I think you'll need a Navigraph subscription.

 

Can you use the newer data? In our FS world, you sure can. What you have in the sim should match the currently published charts for the SIDs, so you'll need to reference those charts. Generally speaking the SID's end points won't change, so as long as you exit the SID at the same point as SimBrief's flight plan, you should be fine. (I see that the KALE2P joins the airway network at SABDA. As long as the KALE3P in the MSFS FMS also crosses SABDA, everything should work, although if the routing to SABDA changed, your fuel burn might be slightly off. It's not a perfect solution, but such are the nuances of flying in a simulated world!)

 

Hope that helps!

 

That's an amazing help. Thank you.

 

When I went to arrival I had ILS 02 and ILS 02 N, when I selected the non N version my arrival path was a mess. When selecting N it looks clean.

 

Any idea what that's about?

[nagpaw]

It appears that there are currently two ILS procedures to that runway: the ILS 2 and the ILS 2N. The ILS 2N is for use only when a portion of the runway on the rollout end is closed, probably for construction. I don't see a change in the approach itself, just the minima, and then only for Category B aircraft, so I'm not certain why the descent path would go wonky.

 

Try comparing the fixes, courses, and altitudes between the ILS 2 and the ILS 2 N to make certain they're the same. Also try checking what the FMS flightplan wants to do between the last fix on the SID and the first fix on the ILS. Is there a Discontinuity or a direct track from one fix to the other?