• Hi folks,

    I'm wondering how I can learn about the navigational aspects that are available in AF2. I'm aware of the ILS, but wondering if there is more. I mainly like to fly the A320 and B737.

    I've recently read on how to use a VOR, but that's about it.

    I'm fairly acquainted in the use of ILS on sims, and wondering if anyone else feels that the ILS brings the plane in slightly too high? It's hard without altitude call outs, but I'm quite sure it brings in too high.

  • The baron is the best equipped aircraft when it comes to rnav. You can use VOR 1 and VOR 2 (although the OBS is stuck to 90deg so you can only fly the 090 and 270 radials) and ADF AND DME!

    I wrote a step by step guide to using the baron in IMC during a simple flight in the 'Challenge Added' thread.

    The A320 and B737 do not show VOR2 or DME and it is impossible to see which ADF freq the B737 making flying using NDBs challenging.

    Unfortunately the ILS goes lives at about 3.0nm DME and so I have developed my own standard approach procedure which invokes flying into an airport overhead using a NDB until the ILS goes live. I then fly overhead the airport and when I pass overhead (the vor needle swing indicates that you are overhead). I turn 210deg to the right or left and re-intercept the localiser at an angle of 30deg. I then fly the localiser outbound to a pre-determined point (usually taken from the SkyVector approach charts) and turn 210deg again and re-intercept the localiser at the altitude specified in the RW approach chart. Knowing when you at the turning point is difficult but can be done by using a local NBD or by timing the outbound leg (using speed over distance equations) using the clock on the instrument panel. All altitudes for all stages of the approach and the distances of turning points are taken from an approach chart. This procedure means that you load the ILS early in the approach and can still fly a full instrument approach from 10-20 nm out.

    Using this method and using NDBs, I have flown a full IFR flight from Montery to Sacremento in the B737 without using the map once and including a standard instrument departure from Montery Regional. I have also done a similar flight from Montery to Livermore and recommend that as a route to practice rnav. Also salinas is a could airport to fly to using RNAV as it VOR 2 is permanently set to Salinas VOR and Rwy 32 has a NDB on the centreline at 12DME.

    All of the airports I have mentioned have NBDs on the centreline to a runway and so are great for rnav. There are other airports with NDBs on runway centrelines. Overloaded posted a great thread detailing where all of the active NDBs are on the map.

    Hope that helps!

    Gary