Metalhead ILS Approach HUD part 1

[Metalhead]

A simple flight using instruments for the landing. Mainly the HUD. (not meant to teach, not for real life)
I know I made a lot of mistakes… but learning.
Just wanted to share my achievements on Falcon4 BMS
part1

part2

part3 “just ending”

Regards Metalhead

[spooky]

Please put the gear down when you are on glide slope, your flaps will come down and you can go to a proper power setting without having to retard too much and be at such a slow power setting. Just a little advice.

[Metalhead]

I will try that, then in some new trainings I will try not to look to the HUD, only in the instruments…. Thanks for the advice.
Regards Metalhead

[spooky]

You welcome, you actually can look to the HUD, but one of the most important things about IFR is how solid your scan is. Your visual scan, they way you do it, wil ensure that you don’t focus on only one thing, but on different things like, airspeed, altitude, attitude, etc.

Also, are you comfi with a view so far back like that ? (just wondering because i am unable to fly like that )

[Metalhead]

@spooky:

You welcome, you actually can look to the HUD, but one of the most important things about IFR is how solid your scan is. Your visual scan, they way you do it, wil ensure that you don’t focus on only one thing, but on different things like, airspeed, altitude, attitude, etc.

Also, are you comfi with a view so far back like that ? (just wondering because i am unable to fly like that )

Actually, I was looking to the second monitor, which is close to my nose…. ( MFDE) lol I was scanning the instruments as you said… but I need to improve my skills on that too.
I have to get used of distance… I am not so confident yet…

[Pooky]

Hit sequencer on UFC. Helps to get wind speed and direction on DED.

[spooky]

I see, i see

For the scanning if it can help you … if i was you i would before the flight take a piece of paper, and for each instruments make a note as follows:

Airspeed indicator:

1. When speed increases without you having an input on power settings, what does it mean ?
2. When speed decreases, what does it mean ?

Attitude indicator:

1. Pitch up … what effect does it have on my airspeed?
2. Pitch down … what effect does it have on my airspeed ?

Etc etc … this basically can help you relate what you see on your instruments and adjust for it properly. Because what happens often is that for a decrease of airspeed you increase power but you don’t change the attitude. When you then correct for attitude, the airspeed is out of the window and you will during the whole flight spend your time chasing the airplane and have a hard time having a steady and smooth approach.

Me for example, it helped me a lot when i actually understood the real meaning of the answers to the questions above, my corrections got more appropriate after that.

For IFR, one key element is the prepare as much as you can, make your life easier as much as you can, prepare in advance for your approach (study it before the flight) and it will come with time, step by step things will come together.

[NIL]

@spooky:

I see, i see

For the scanning if it can help you … if i was you i would before the flight take a piece of paper, and for each instruments make a note as follows:

Airspeed indicator:

1. When speed increases without you having an input on power settings, what does it mean ?
2. When speed decreases, what does it mean ?

Attitude indicator:

1. Pitch up … what effect does it have on my airspeed?
2. Pitch down … what effect does it have on my airspeed ?

Etc etc … this basically can help you relate what you see on your instruments and adjust for it properly. Because what happens often is that for a decrease of airspeed you increase power but you don’t change the attitude. When you then correct for attitude, the airspeed is out of the window and you will during the whole flight spend your time chasing the airplane and have a hard time having a steady and smooth approach.

Me for example, it helped me a lot when i actually understood the real meaning of the answers to the questions above, my corrections got more appropriate after that.

For IFR, one key element is the prepare as much as you can, make your life easier as much as you can, prepare in advance for your approach (study it before the flight) and it will come with time, step by step things will come together.

Wise words my good friend - nice to read a post from you again…

Greetings

[spooky]

Thanks mate :), i learned it the expensive way.

Hope to have more time in the future.

[Shadow]

Good one Metal,

Great effort……

[Dee-Jay]

@spooky:

Please put the gear down when you are on glide slope, your flaps will come down and you can go to a proper power setting without having to retard too much and be at such a slow power setting. Just a little advice.

Military procedures are quite different from civilian one , especialy on jet ;)) there are “no” noise abattement procerures on fighter jets … IFAIK, it is better to be configured BEFORE capturing the glide slope to be properly stabilized at the begining of descent (easier than changing the conf during the final.)

A “good rule of thumb” (can differ a bit depending on a/c, country, airfield … etc …) is to be stabilised on axis at 15 - 12 Nm, speed reduction at 10Nm, gear down 2Nm before begining of descent. This is ths “standard” intercept geomerty for a classic GCA approach.

Otherwise … follow the charts, but still try to be configured before itercepting the glide. (same, do not start the descent if you are not on loc.) so … on the order: Localizer, then grear down, then glide slope. This is the “best” way to ensure an easy and stabilized final

[Metalhead]

The truth is…. congratulation for those who can use only the instruments for an IFR landing, this is very difficult. Nothing is so precise as the HUD…
I am keeping trying

[Dee-Jay]

@Metalhead:

The truth is…. congratulation for those who can use only the instruments for an IFR landing, this is very difficult. Nothing is so precise as the HUD…

Well, the real truth is the opposite, simply because there is more “travel” (hence, more precision) for the ADI’s ILS needles than the small needles on the HUD.

But you will probably agree with me later … keep practicing

[Frederf]

The ILS pattern in much more accurate than what normally feels good enough for a visual approach. If you line up any ILS indicators and then look out the window it will look perfect, but if you make an acceptable situation visually and then check ILS needles it won’t be. So precision of indicators isn’t too important in my opinion. The ease of use, better sense of situation, and the command steering cue can make the HUD more practical. But both (or all 3: ADI, HSI, HUD) work and I don’t have any discomfort using any of them.

The main challenge in flying a published ILS approach is all the crap you have to do before and after following the ILS beams. Actually keeping the needles centered between the FAF and the MAP is the easiest segment.

[Dee-Jay]

@Frederf:

TSo precision of indicators isn’t too important in my opinion.

(Maybe I am missing your point … I do not know if you are speaking about visual approach only)
The fact is that for a real IMC instruments approach, precision is mandatoy because if you are not within ILS winwows tolerance, you will have to abord your landin and go arround. (But I do not know what is the tolerance values for F-16 drivers)

[Frederf]

For FAA/NAS the PTS is 3/4 scale deflection. ATP mandatory missed approach is 1 dot deflection. Let’s be strict and say 1 dot deflection maximum. AFMAN 11-21v1 only mentions:

12.2.1.3.1. CAUTION: The ILS/LOC approach must be discontinued if the localizer course becomes unreliable, or any time full-scale deflection of the CDI occurs on final approach. Do not descend below localizer minimums if the aircraft is more than one dot (half scale) below or two dots (full scale) above the glide slope. If the glide slope is recaptured to within the above tolerance, descent may be continued to DA/DH.

9.3. Established on Course. Established on course is defined as being within half full-scale deflection for a VOR/TACAN/RNAV/GPS course, within ± 5° of the required bearing for an NDB and within full scale deflection for a LOC based course. Therefore, do not consider yourself “established on course” until you are within these limits.

ICAO definition of established are half scale instead of above in the case of an ILS.

If approach was designed according to TERPS then obstacle clearance is guaranteed to at least full scale deflection. Of course it would be very embarrassing to fly significant deflection from center considering how easy it is.

I’m saying that HUD cross might not be as accurate as other indications but it should be easy to stay inside ±1 dot “box” using the least accurate indicators in the F-16.

[spooky]

Hi Metalhead,

There are some good docs available online and Red Dog’s instrument procedures manual is very good too.

But, if you have any question about how to fly an approach or IFR in general feel free to PM me.

For the story:

2 weeks ago i was flying an ILS approach in IMC, and i had a little bit less than1 dot deflection at some point when i was trying to get on localizer, i got 1 dot for 15 sec ? to my defence i had a 29 kts crosswind … and next thing i know is the controller calling me back asking me to get back on track !! lol

[Metalhead]

On the next weeks, my new web-cam is about to come home… I will then try to set Free track again, and hoping it may make easy my life inside the cockpit. I will try not to use the MFDE for that, since I have a small monitor (both), and all the instruments I use to watch are small anyway. I am not willing to mess my settings… If I can make free track working good, I will no longer use MFDE…
I will take a look on the manuals and videos as well. Thank you all for the words… Nice to bring a good subject to talk about… (keep posting…)
Regards Metalhead

[Metalhead]

@Pooky:

Hit sequencer on UFC. Helps to get wind speed and direction on DED.

I need to understand how to read that… seems to be easy, but I confess I always get confused when I read that “info”.
Thank you.
Regards Metalhead

[spooky]

Yep, finally a nice thread and an interesting one (there are others too)

Just ask, and i and the others who have some real life experience will for sure love to share our feedbacks.

Although what i can say procedure wise, may at some times differ from what is done in the military (as my buddy Dee-Jay pointed out), but i will make sure i stay related to what is applicable for the F-16 … based on my limited knowledge about it.

But the advice about putting the gear down once you are on glide slope was more an advice to target how much more easier it is to fly the airplane at that point.

Simply because when you put the gear down and the flaps come down, the airplane will loose some airspeed, which you can regain without adding to much power by catching the glide slope with a pitch down attitude, this will minimize the playing around with power settings and attitude settings.

I always like to take advantage of some of the “natural” behaviours of the plane to actually reduce my workload.

@ Dee-Jay: here in Canada we don’t really put the gear down once on glide slope for noise abatement reduction purposes.

Canadian civilian pilot training is one of the best in the world because it is mainly derived from the military. We use sometimes the same books for studying and there are a lot of same ways of doing stuff. To the point where the Canadian civilian CPL is a real advantage for someone seeking a pilot job in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

We have Noise abatement reduction procedures for each airport when we do fly IFR, but the gear down on glide-slope is not part of it, the noise abatement procedures that we need to conform too, are mostly and almost exclusively related to departures with SID’s … but we have some for landing, but the one for landing do not concern power management due to aerodynamic configuration change, but rather an approach angle or a minimum altitude.

But true, in the future i will make sure that my IFR references are pertinent to the ops for F-16.