Help me get my head around ILS approach…
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For one, the runway number is the runway heading - 32 = HDG 320; 14 = HDG 140. So that’s your on-final course, as directed by ATC.
Oh! I see… So I’m supposed to add a zero in every number like … 108.3(32L) its crs is 320° nice. I think that should be a little bit more clarified in the manuals. So the number of the runway is its own heading when you add a zero at the end.
Another question I have is about the L anr R and what they mean… For 108.3(32L) what does the L here stands for?
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I would add that though charts might look intimidating, the basic concepts are quite simple, once you overcome the shock of initial contact with them.
I agree! But I also think the charts should include a seperate colum for the crs just to make it perfectly clear to new pilots!
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You will be pleased to hear that some forum members spend a lot of time doing training videos.
Please search on YouTube for such videos. Supanova has done excellent ones based on BMS 4.33. Krause did some excellent 4.32 videos of which some are still relevantFor ILS:
All terminology and charts are explained
These are perfect! I will give them a look
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Oh! I see… So I’m supposed to add a zero in every number like … 108.3(32L) its crs is 320° nice. I think that should be a little bit more clarified in the manuals. So the number of the runway is its own heading when you add a zero at the end.
I hope you read this quote from above that pointed out this is generally, but not exactly true:
Close but not always correct. A great example would be Kunsan which is 18/36 but in actuality is 176/356. Sometimes they are exact but several runways aren’t.
Another question I have is about the L anr R and what they mean… For 108.3(32L) what does the L here stands for?
You’ll sometimes see, for example, 32L and 32R. In this case there are 2 parallel runways at the airport and they are distinguished as either R (right) or L (left) since they are both the same heading. When you’re coming in for landing, if you’re landing on 32L, you want to land on the LEFT of the 2 runways on that heading. Also note that coming from the other side they are also the actual Left and Right, so 32L becomes 14R and 32R becomes 14L coming from the opposite direction.
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Oh! I see… So I’m supposed to add a zero in every number like … 108.3(32L) its crs is 320° nice. I think that should be a little bit more clarified in the manuals. So the number of the runway is its own heading when you add a zero at the end.
Another question I have is about the L anr R and what they mean… For 108.3(32L) what does the L here stands for?
Yes, that will get you in the ballpark with caveats as described elsewhere - L and R stand for Left and Right and indicates that there are two parallel runways on the field. 108.3 is the ILS freq for runway 32 L, etc.
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I agree! But I also think the charts should include a seperate colum for the crs just to make it perfectly clear to new pilots!
The BMS charts use a standard aviation layout. For real world examples search Google for “Jeppesen approach chart”. When you learn the format in BMS, you’re also learning the format for civil aviation, and vice versa.
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I agree! But I also think the charts should include a seperate colum for the crs just to make it perfectly clear to new pilots!
Please reread my post and you’ll notice it’s there
By the way, None of this is specific to BMS, it’s mostly aviation culture. -
+1, RD…for the OP: bear in mind that a lot of us here are RL pilots, so most of this stuff in familiar to us. For those that are new to BMS - read: new to flying - yes, there is a lot to learn to come up to “standard”. And in moving to doing instrument work you’re actually skipping a lot of training that some of us RL pilots have already been through - and you’re essentially trying to do that without a formal instructor. BMS is a complex sim, based on RL operation…so always keep that in mind, and walk before you run.
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lot’s of useful info already… I’d like to add this video:
I just like the way it’s made
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+1, RD…for the OP: bear in mind that a lot of us here are RL pilots, so most of this stuff in familiar to us. For those that are new to BMS - read: new to flying - yes, there is a lot to learn to come up to “standard”. And in moving to doing instrument work you’re actually skipping a lot of training that some of us RL pilots have already been through - and you’re essentially trying to do that without a formal instructor. BMS is a complex sim, based on RL operation…so always keep that in mind, and walk before you run.
This is the biggest hurdle for me to get my head around as an average bloke that loves mil sims, but have not been fortunate enough to go through the RL training. I assume just nav alone is a tonne of theory and practical exams conducted by seasoned professionals. But here we are going head first into the deep end all with the support of a [great] forum and youtube.
So for the average simmer who doesnt have RL experience, keep that in mind when youre struggling with a concept and keep practising. Its very rewarding once that light bulb moment clicks and you just ‘get it’… And besides, the other guys with RL experience are “cheating” in BMS compared to us average blokes
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This is the biggest hurdle for me to get my head around as an average bloke that loves mil sims, but have not been fortunate enough to go through the RL training. I assume just nav alone is a tonne of theory and practical exams conducted by seasoned professionals. But here we are going head first into the deep end all with the support of a [great] forum and youtube.
So for the average simmer who doesnt have RL experience, keep that in mind when youre struggling with a concept and keep practising. Its very rewarding once that light bulb moment clicks and you just ‘get it’… And besides, the other guys with RL experience are “cheating” in BMS compared to us average blokes
Actually, basic navigation itself is a lot of simple geometry…but using the “aids” to nav adds a whole new dimension. This is where progressing through a series of sims can be a fair replacement for formal RL training. Learning to fly and navigate in a Cessna in MFS, then stepping into a Viper in FAF, then studying BMS is a fair progression in leaning and understanding basic principles, IMO.
I got my Private Pilot Certificate in 1983, and have been at the Falcon series since about 1987…I think. And now that I’m finally getting around to BMS I find there are still things to learn. Be patient…you’ll get it.
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How different are the military approach plates?
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How different are the military approach plates?
Each nation uses a slightly different page layout. US military uses a format standardized with the US FAA, previously known as NOS now called NOCA or AeroNav. As a civilian light airplane pilot I use the same charts as a US military guy, albeit in digital format via a product called ForeFlight. You can find PDF versions here. Most US airlines now use an Electronic Flight Bag with digital plates. Most US airlines use Jeppesen plates that have something called a briefing strip across the top. IMO the briefing strip simply provides a more logical organization of the approach information.
FWIW the Luftwaffe published a small volume of local VFR traffic patterns for all airfields in Germany. The US did not. Guys in my squadron in Germany like to stop for gas at Luftwaffe bases and grab one.
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For one, the runway number is the runway heading - 32 = HDG 320; 14 = HDG 140. So that’s your on-final course, as directed by ATC.
nah, not that easy.
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nah, not that easy.
In the USA it is…actually. Runways are numbered to the first two digits of mag heading; and I’ve lived long enough to see the runways renumbered on my station because the mag var changed. Does that mean they are exact? Only to the first two digits as pointed out. MMV worldwide, but in principle - get to the initial, fly the needles.
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I think the rule is ±15 degrees. Runways are sometimes named in interesting ways. SJC had 3 runways, all parallel, two for Boeings and one for little squirts. The big ones were 30L and 30R while the shorty was named 29 to avoid the obvious mixup. Magnetic variation also changes over time and in bad cases what was named sensibly is many degrees different now. Runways not named as close as possible to their heading is hen’s teeth rare but it does happen.
If you’re flying a published approach you’ve got a copy of it in your lap. The final approach course is printed clearly on it and that’s the number you use. It is unpilotlike to do anything else. Bad habits are hard enough to avoid over time without them advocated for in the introduction to the subject.
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Remember: closer you get to the rwy smaller must be any correction you have to do. If you master that, it will be a piece of cake.
By the way, you want to kick your back to fly this procedure with a high performance aircraft
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I think the rule is ±15 degrees. Runways are sometimes named in interesting ways. SJC had 3 runways, all parallel, two for Boeings and one for little squirts. The big ones were 30L and 30R while the shorty was named 29 to avoid the obvious mixup. Magnetic variation also changes over time and in bad cases what was named sensibly is many degrees different now. Runways not named as close as possible to their heading is hen’s teeth rare but it does happen.
If you’re flying a published approach you’ve got a copy of it in your lap. The final approach course is printed clearly on it and that’s the number you use. It is unpilotlike to do anything else. Bad habits are hard enough to avoid over time without them advocated for in the introduction to the subject.
True…but you’ve still got the needles…I also recall reading - but never encountered - that they can be Left/Center/Right with the same number for three parallels as well.
At Willard airport in Champaign, Ill. they use the parallel taxiway as a departing runway to keep GA out of the way of the bigger traffic - which I’d heard during my college days but forgotten until I actually got cleared for departure from the ramp throat on switching to tower once on an X-C there…I had to confirm - “understand I am cleared to takeoff from the taxiway?”…“that’s affirm sir, have a nice flight”…narrowest “runway” I’d ever run down. Until College Park, MD…
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In the USA it is…actually. Runways are numbered to the first two digits of mag heading; and I’ve lived long enough to see the runways renumbered on my station because the mag var changed. Does that mean they are exact? Only to the first two digits as pointed out. MMV worldwide, but in principle - get to the initial, fly the needles.
oki, now i agree with you, it is clearer to me. i hope no harm done from my part.
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oki, now i agree with you, it is clearer to me. i hope no harm done from my part.
No harm at…all!