Help me get my head around ILS approach…
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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.
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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!