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Basic Hints and TipsFor Microsoft Flight Simulator

Fly UK Virtual Airwayswww.flyuk.aero

Basic Hints and TipsFor Microsoft Flight Simulator

Basic Hints & Tips for Flight Simulator

© Copyright 2009 Fly UK Virtual Airways | www.flyuk.aero

Fly UK – Basic Hints & Tips for Flight

This hints and tips guide runs through the basics of flying in flight simulator. As a Fly UK pilot we expect you to have a basic knowledge of flying in flight simulator and therefore understand and practice everything mentioned in this guide. If you don’t understand anytanything mentioned in this document then don’t worry our Training Academy is here to help you.

At Fly UK we want to encourage a high standard of flying and this document has beenpilots understand the basics. Remember everyone is new at some point, we are not real world pilots and we do not undergo the in-depth real world training, the basics covered in this document may seem obvious to some of us now, but think back to when you started flight sim and didn’t know how to fly none other than direct GPS everywhere! Remember, everyone starts somewhere!

This document has been created for Fly UK Virtual Airways by Adam Hillier and all its content remains copyright of Fly UK Virtual Airways, please do not redistribute or upload this document to any other website without the prior permission from Fly UK.

PLEASE NOTE: This document has been created for optimal use with FS2004 (FS9)

Contents

Documentation Flight Simulator Settings Fuel & Payload Active Runway & Weather Weather & METARS QNH & Altimeter Flight Plans Flying a Flight Plan AIRACs Checklists Charts Understanding Charts Add-Ons Online Flying

Fly UK Training Academy

Remember, the Fly UK training academy is always on hand to offer help to anyone on a vast range of subjects! Visit the training department section of the website for more information. All of our instructors have a very good understanding of Flight Simulatoencountering.

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This hints and tips guide runs through the basics of flying in flight simulator. As a Fly UK pilot we expect you to have a basic knowledge of flying in flight simulator and therefore understand and practice everything

you don’t understand anything, have any questions or want to learn more about anything mentioned in this document then don’t worry our Training Academy is here to help you.

At Fly UK we want to encourage a high standard of flying and this document has been created to ensure all our pilots understand the basics. Remember everyone is new at some point, we are not real world pilots and we

depth real world training, the basics covered in this document may seem obvious to t think back to when you started flight sim and didn’t know how to fly none other than

direct GPS everywhere! Remember, everyone starts somewhere!

This document has been created for Fly UK Virtual Airways by Adam Hillier and all its content remains ht of Fly UK Virtual Airways, please do not redistribute or upload this document to any other website

without the prior permission from Fly UK.

This document has been created for optimal use with FS2004 (FS9)

Fly UK Training Academy – Helping you every step of the way!

Remember, the Fly UK training academy is always on hand to offer help to anyone on a vast range of subjects! Visit the training department section of the website for more information. All of our instructors have a very good understanding of Flight Simulator and will be able to help you with any problem you may be

2

This hints and tips guide runs through the basics of flying in flight simulator. As a Fly UK pilot we expect you to have a basic knowledge of flying in flight simulator and therefore understand and practice everything

to learn more about anything mentioned in this document then don’t worry our Training Academy is here to help you.

created to ensure all our pilots understand the basics. Remember everyone is new at some point, we are not real world pilots and we

depth real world training, the basics covered in this document may seem obvious to t think back to when you started flight sim and didn’t know how to fly none other than

This document has been created for Fly UK Virtual Airways by Adam Hillier and all its content remains ht of Fly UK Virtual Airways, please do not redistribute or upload this document to any other website

Helping you every step of the way!

Remember, the Fly UK training academy is always on hand to offer help to anyone on a vast range of subjects! Visit the training department section of the website for more information. All of our instructors have a very

r and will be able to help you with any problem you may be



Documentation

Help us to help you, please read alladd-on. Most payware and some freeware addreadme or a manual, it will contain vital information regarding the operations of the program/feature. The best advice we can offer on this, is to always read any enclosed documents before asking questions on forums or elsewhere. If you have read the documentation and still do not understand then please do not hesitate to ask for help, but we at least expect you to have tried to help yourself! Most manuals come in PDF format, so can easily be read using any PDF readersome in MS word format, please make sure you have all the relevant software required to read these important articles.

If you are struggling with anything flight simulator related, don’t fret!Google is your friend and will possibly answer anything you ask it, yes anything! So if for example you were stuck on how to fly a backcourse approach or you maybe wanted to know who won last night’s football, type it into Google and it will bring up a host of information, pretty good eh! On a more serious note, the internet is a fantastic place to source documentation for things, anything from general information to procedural operations can be found online. Fly UK itspilot resource documents. (PRD’s) These documents are in place to help you, and to answer any questions that you may have regarding general information.

Visit the following link for more infor

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=documents

Flight Simulator Settings

Some of the most basic errors most flight simmers come across are due to incorritself. There are a few fundamental things that you must remember to ‘tweak’ before flying.

When you load up flight simulator, it is important to make sure that ‘Pause on task switch’ is turned off, this means that if you minimise flight sim for whatever reason, it will still be running in the background. To do this you must click on Settings. Then at the top on the left hand column click on General, and then there will be a box which says ‘Pause on task switch’ make sure this box is

Another major problem that we encounter quite often is the small matter of ‘crash detection.’ Now this ca problem for a number of reasons. Firstly, flight simulator does not simulate this very well at all, and more often than not will say you have crashed when you actually haven’t, if you cough too hard on the monitor it will most likely say you have crashed. So the way round this is simply to turn ‘crash detection’ to off. To do this, once again go to your settings menu, and then click on ‘Realism…’ At the top on the right hand side, there will be an area entitled ‘Crashes and damage.’ Select the ‘Ignoproblem solved. Yes you will go through buildings and other aircraft, but at least you won’t have the problem of AI aircraft taxiing into you, or clipping a building when you are a mile away from it anymo

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the enclosed documentation when you buy or obtain a flight simulator on. Most payware and some freeware add-ons come with some form of documentation, whether it be a

readme or a manual, it will contain vital information regarding the operations of the program/feature. The best advice we can offer on this, is to always read any enclosed documents before asking questions on forums or elsewhere. If you have read the documentation and still do not understand then please do not hesitate to ask for help, but we at least expect you to have tried to help yourself! Most manuals come in PDF format, so can easily be read using any PDF reader, some readme’s come in the form of word/notepad documents and some in MS word format, please make sure you have all the relevant software required to read these

If you are struggling with anything flight simulator related, don’t fret! Contrary to popular belief (by many) your friend and will possibly answer anything you ask it, yes anything! So if for example you were

stuck on how to fly a backcourse approach or you maybe wanted to know who won last night’s football, type it into Google and it will bring up a host of information, pretty good eh! On a more serious note, the internet is a fantastic place to source documentation for things, anything from general information to procedural operations can be found online. Fly UK itself has a section on the website dedicated to documentation and pilot resource documents. (PRD’s) These documents are in place to help you, and to answer any questions that you may have regarding general information.

Visit the following link for more information regarding the Fly UK PRD’s.

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=documents

Some of the most basic errors most flight simmers come across are due to incorrect settings in flight simulator itself. There are a few fundamental things that you must remember to ‘tweak’ before flying.

When you load up flight simulator, it is important to make sure that ‘Pause on task switch’ is turned off, this means that if you minimise flight sim for whatever reason, it will still be running in the background. To do this

en at the top on the left hand column click on General, and then there will be a box which says ‘Pause on task switch’ make sure this box is un-ticked.

Another major problem that we encounter quite often is the small matter of ‘crash detection.’ Now this ca problem for a number of reasons. Firstly, flight simulator does not simulate this very well at all, and more often than not will say you have crashed when you actually haven’t, if you cough too hard on the monitor it

rashed. So the way round this is simply to turn ‘crash detection’ to off. To do this, once again go to your settings menu, and then click on ‘Realism…’ At the top on the right hand side, there will be an area entitled ‘Crashes and damage.’ Select the ‘Ignore crashes and damage’ option and then that is your problem solved. Yes you will go through buildings and other aircraft, but at least you won’t have the problem of AI aircraft taxiing into you, or clipping a building when you are a mile away from it anymo

3

the enclosed documentation when you buy or obtain a flight simulator form of documentation, whether it be a

readme or a manual, it will contain vital information regarding the operations of the program/feature. The best advice we can offer on this, is to always read any enclosed documents before asking questions on forums or elsewhere. If you have read the documentation and still do not understand then please do not hesitate to ask for help, but we at least expect you to have tried to help yourself! Most manuals come in PDF format, so

, some readme’s come in the form of word/notepad documents and some in MS word format, please make sure you have all the relevant software required to read these

Contrary to popular belief (by many) your friend and will possibly answer anything you ask it, yes anything! So if for example you were

stuck on how to fly a backcourse approach or you maybe wanted to know who won last night’s football, type it into Google and it will bring up a host of information, pretty good eh! On a more serious note, the internet is a fantastic place to source documentation for things, anything from general information to procedural

elf has a section on the website dedicated to documentation and pilot resource documents. (PRD’s) These documents are in place to help you, and to answer any questions that

ect settings in flight simulator itself. There are a few fundamental things that you must remember to ‘tweak’ before flying.

When you load up flight simulator, it is important to make sure that ‘Pause on task switch’ is turned off, this means that if you minimise flight sim for whatever reason, it will still be running in the background. To do this

en at the top on the left hand column click on General, and then there will be a

Another major problem that we encounter quite often is the small matter of ‘crash detection.’ Now this can be a problem for a number of reasons. Firstly, flight simulator does not simulate this very well at all, and more often than not will say you have crashed when you actually haven’t, if you cough too hard on the monitor it

rashed. So the way round this is simply to turn ‘crash detection’ to off. To do this, once again go to your settings menu, and then click on ‘Realism…’ At the top on the right hand side, there will

re crashes and damage’ option and then that is your problem solved. Yes you will go through buildings and other aircraft, but at least you won’t have the problem of AI aircraft taxiing into you, or clipping a building when you are a mile away from it anymore!



Fuel & Payload

This is another area that a lot of people seem to struggle with. Ultimately, the basic message for this section is do not fly with 100% fuel. If you fly with 100% and a sizeable payload, you simply will not take off in a reasonable distance and you certainly not climb at a reasonable rate. The trick with this one is to plan. There are a horde of fuel planners available on the net, notably avsim (planning a whole lot easier for you. Most payware aircraft come with their own fuel planners, so you should be able to load the correct fuel and still carry a good payload at the same time. To be on the safe side, I would always add an extra 5% on top of what the fuel plannplanners cannot fully determine exactly how much fuel you will, or will not use, so it is always better to carry slightly too much than not enough.

One other thing to take into account when flying, is aircraft is a very fine line between good and responsive handling and not so good handing and responses. If for example you have too much weight at the front of the aircraft, then rotation and climbihow much will depend on the weight, but the centre of gravity has been known in reality to be the cause for a number of air accidents a number of which were fatal. The main problem occurs when you have too much weight at the back of the aircraft. The reason why this is worse is because it will make the rotation response much quicker, therefore making a tail strike more likely. Also, providing you get in the air, the aircraft will be liable to stall due to the excess weight at the rear. payload is the CoG.

If we look at the diagram to the right, we can see a small black and white circle. This circle indicates the CoG. As you can see, the circle Is above the main gear quite near the leading edge of the wings. This is a good centre of gravity, as it puts most of the load over the main wheels, this means a) upon landing the weight will be placed on the main gear and also b) because the load if fairly evenly distributed, it won’t affect thetrimmed the plane will fly straight and level in a normal manner. If this black and white circle was at the front of the plane, that would mean the nose was too heavy and some of the weight would have to be distrirear, and also if the circle was at the rear, vice versa applies. As well as vertical misalignment, the CoG can also be unbalanced laterally, if the circle is off to one side, that means you have too much weight at one side, and once airbaircraft will naturally want to roll to that direction, as there is nothing (apart from the control surfaces) stopping it from doing so. If you make sure that the CoG is evenly distributed, and that the aircraft is in balance and not overweight, you will have a much more enjoyable flight experience, due to the fact that you won’t have to unnecessarily challenge the aircraft.

Active Runway & Weather

Firstly let’s consider how we refer to the wind direction / speed

If we were give the winds at 030/14 (said as “zero three zero at 14 knots”) this would equate to winds coming from the direction 030 degrees at 14 Knots. Be aware we do not refer to 000 degrees (for reasons of clarity when talking with ATC since we would be listening t

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This is another area that a lot of people seem to struggle with. Ultimately, the basic message for this section is fly with 100% fuel. If you fly with 100% and a sizeable payload, you simply will not take off in a

stance and you certainly not climb at a reasonable rate. The trick with this one is to plan. There are a horde of fuel planners available on the net, notably avsim (www.avsim.net) which should make fuel

ot easier for you. Most payware aircraft come with their own fuel planners, so you should be able to load the correct fuel and still carry a good payload at the same time. To be on the safe side, I would always add an extra 5% on top of what the fuel planners says, remember this is a simulation, and the fuel planners cannot fully determine exactly how much fuel you will, or will not use, so it is always better to carry slightly too much than not enough.

One other thing to take into account when flying, is the centre of gravity. (CoG) The centre of gravity in an aircraft is a very fine line between good and responsive handling and not so good handing and responses. If for example you have too much weight at the front of the aircraft, then rotation and climbing will be affected, how much will depend on the weight, but the centre of gravity has been known in reality to be the cause for a number of air accidents a number of which were fatal. The main problem occurs when you have too much

e aircraft. The reason why this is worse is because it will make the rotation response much quicker, therefore making a tail strike more likely. Also, providing you get in the air, the aircraft will be liable to stall due to the excess weight at the rear. So something to check when you look at your fuel and

If we look at the diagram to the right, we can see a small black and white circle. This circle indicates the CoG. As you can see, the circle Is above the main gear

ding edge of the wings. This is a good centre of gravity, as it puts most of the load over the main wheels, this means a) upon landing the weight will be placed on the main gear and also b) because the load if fairly evenly distributed, it won’t affect the flying characteristics of the plane. Once trimmed the plane will fly straight and level in a normal manner. If this black and white circle was at the front of the plane, that would mean the nose was too heavy and some of the weight would have to be distributed towards the rear, and also if the circle was at the rear, vice versa applies. As well as vertical misalignment, the CoG can also be unbalanced laterally, if the circle is off to one side, that means you have too much weight at one side, and once airborne the aircraft will naturally want to roll to that direction, as there is nothing (apart from the control surfaces) stopping it from doing so. If you make sure that the CoG is evenly distributed, and that the aircraft is in balance and not overweight, you will have a much more enjoyable flight experience, due to the fact that you won’t have to unnecessarily challenge the aircraft.

Active Runway & Weather

Firstly let’s consider how we refer to the wind direction / speed

030/14 (said as “zero three zero at 14 knots”) this would equate to winds coming from the direction 030 degrees at 14 Knots. Be aware we do not refer to 000 degrees (for reasons of clarity when talking with ATC since we would be listening to “ Winds zero zero zero at 14 knots”)

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This is another area that a lot of people seem to struggle with. Ultimately, the basic message for this section is fly with 100% fuel. If you fly with 100% and a sizeable payload, you simply will not take off in a

stance and you certainly not climb at a reasonable rate. The trick with this one is to plan. There ) which should make fuel

ot easier for you. Most payware aircraft come with their own fuel planners, so you should be able to load the correct fuel and still carry a good payload at the same time. To be on the safe side, I would

ers says, remember this is a simulation, and the fuel planners cannot fully determine exactly how much fuel you will, or will not use, so it is always better to carry

the centre of gravity. (CoG) The centre of gravity in an aircraft is a very fine line between good and responsive handling and not so good handing and responses. If for

ng will be affected, how much will depend on the weight, but the centre of gravity has been known in reality to be the cause for a number of air accidents a number of which were fatal. The main problem occurs when you have too much

e aircraft. The reason why this is worse is because it will make the rotation response much quicker, therefore making a tail strike more likely. Also, providing you get in the air, the aircraft will be

So something to check when you look at your fuel and

030/14 (said as “zero three zero at 14 knots”) this would equate to winds coming from the direction 030 degrees at 14 Knots. Be aware we do not refer to 000 degrees (for reasons of clarity

nots”) - we would call this



360 or sometimes DUE NORTH (which is actually the same but is now not open to the same level of misinterpretation.

The active runway at an airport will be dictated by the wind direction. All aircraft however large or small should always take off and land into the wind. Why? Well if we think about it, when a plane travels forward in relation to surrounding air, it creates thrust and thus lift. When standing still waiting to take off into a headwind, we are actually creating lift (not enough to take off generally) but certainly more than if the wind was behind us (tailwind) when we would have a negative lift function.. Therefore the stronger theyour indicated airspeed (IAS) will be the addition of your ground speed and the headwind component of the wind. So if a Cessna 172 has a rotation speed of 65knots (IAS). You will rotate when your airsreads 65knots, however if you have a 20knot headwind, your ground speed at slow… but that is the case.

If we took off with a 20knot tailwind, our groundspeed at take off would have to be 85wind we have to accelerate from rest to 45kno85knots. - at least twice the distance along the runway before becoming airborne. And consider the sbrakes etc

That was just a basic example of why you must always take off into the wind, it can drastically reduce your take off run, which will use less fuel and therefore make you more efficient,at night not worrying about Greenpeace knocking your door down and lynching you in the street! Another thing to take into account when choosing your departure runway is the 'preferred' runway at the airport you are departing / arriving . Each airport has a ‘preferred runway’ this means that when the winds are calm (specifically when the tail wind component is less than 5knots) you could depart from either runway, but the preferred runway should be used at all times if posauthority based on a number of aspects, such as noise abatement policies and also things like obstacles and possible NOTAMs. Preferred runways can be found in the documentation for the airport. However athe airports in the UK, the preferred runway points westerly.

Choosing The Active

Let’s have a look at a few examples of winds and active runways:

Let’s say, you are at Heathrow (EGLL) and the winds aremoderate winds, and will give you a headwind component of about 8 knots and a about 11 knots at about 60 degrees from your left if you choose either 27L or 27R, (which one of these it is, depends on the time of day / the day of the week

Ok another example. You are at Glasgow (EGPF) and the winds are 030/02. Once again this means that the winds are blowing from 030 at a speed of only 2knots. For the purposes othan 5Knots are considered as calm,

i.e. will not affect the aircraft during takeoff. Again, there are two runways at Glasgow, 05/23 remember what was said about preferred runwayswhen the tailwind component is less than 5knots, you should be opting to use runway 23. Even though you will have a slight tailwind with 030/02, it will not be enough to effect takeoff / landing performance (I am ignoring

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(which is actually the same but is now not open to the same level of mis

The active runway at an airport will be determined by a number of things, but first and foremodictated by the wind direction. All aircraft however large or small should always take off and land into the wind. Why? Well if we think about it, when a plane travels forward in relation to surrounding air, it creates

When standing still waiting to take off into a headwind, we are actually creating lift (not enough to take off generally) but certainly more than if the wind was behind us (tailwind) when we would have a negative lift function.. Therefore the stronger the wind is, the lower your take off ground speed will be, your indicated airspeed (IAS) will be the addition of your ground speed and the headwind component of the wind. So if a Cessna 172 has a rotation speed of 65knots (IAS). You will rotate when your airsreads 65knots, however if you have a 20knot headwind, your ground speed at rotation, will be 45knots,

tailwind, our groundspeed at take off would have to be 85knots. (thus into te to accelerate from rest to 45knots and with a tailwind we have to accelerate from rest to

at least twice the distance along the runway – indeed in most cases we would run out of runway before becoming airborne. And consider the stress on items such as tyres, airframe (from the bumps) and

That was just a basic example of why you must always take off into the wind, it can drastically reduce your take off run, which will use less fuel and therefore make you more efficient, which means you can sleep easier at night not worrying about Greenpeace knocking your door down and lynching you in the street! Another thing to take into account when choosing your departure runway is the 'preferred' runway at the airport you

ing / arriving . Each airport has a ‘preferred runway’ this means that when the winds are calm (specifically when the tail wind component is less than 5knots) you could depart from either runway, but the preferred runway should be used at all times if possible. The preferred runway is chosen by the airport authority based on a number of aspects, such as noise abatement policies and also things like obstacles and possible NOTAMs. Preferred runways can be found in the documentation for the airport. However athe airports in the UK, the preferred runway points westerly.

Let’s have a look at a few examples of winds and active runways:

Let’s say, you are at Heathrow (EGLL) and the winds are 210 degrees at a speed of 14 knots. Thmoderate winds, and will give you a headwind component of about 8 knots and a crosswind component of

ts at about 60 degrees from your left if you choose either 27L or 27R, (which one of these it is, / the day of the week – (these change to comply with the noise abatement policy.

Ok another example. You are at Glasgow (EGPF) and the winds are 030/02. Once again this means that the winds are blowing from 030 at a speed of only 2knots. For the purposes of take off and landings any wind less than 5Knots are considered as calm,

i.e. will not affect the aircraft during takeoff. Again, there are two runways at Glasgow, 05/23 remember what was said about preferred runways? Well Glasgow’s preferred runway is 23. This means that when the tailwind component is less than 5knots, you should be opting to use runway 23. Even though you will have a slight tailwind with 030/02, it will not be enough to effect takeoff / landing performance (I am ignoring

5

(which is actually the same but is now not open to the same level of mis-

by a number of things, but first and foremost, it will be dictated by the wind direction. All aircraft however large or small should always take off and land into the wind. Why? Well if we think about it, when a plane travels forward in relation to surrounding air, it creates

When standing still waiting to take off into a headwind, we are actually creating lift (not enough to take off generally) but certainly more than if the wind was behind us (tailwind) when we would

wind is, the lower your take off ground speed will be, your indicated airspeed (IAS) will be the addition of your ground speed and the headwind component of the wind. So if a Cessna 172 has a rotation speed of 65knots (IAS). You will rotate when your airspeed indicator

rotation, will be 45knots, seems

nots. (thus into the ts and with a tailwind we have to accelerate from rest to

indeed in most cases we would run out of runway tress on items such as tyres, airframe (from the bumps) and

That was just a basic example of why you must always take off into the wind, it can drastically reduce your which means you can sleep easier

at night not worrying about Greenpeace knocking your door down and lynching you in the street! Another thing to take into account when choosing your departure runway is the 'preferred' runway at the airport you

ing / arriving . Each airport has a ‘preferred runway’ this means that when the winds are calm (specifically when the tail wind component is less than 5knots) you could depart from either runway, but the

sible. The preferred runway is chosen by the airport authority based on a number of aspects, such as noise abatement policies and also things like obstacles and possible NOTAMs. Preferred runways can be found in the documentation for the airport. However at most of

210 degrees at a speed of 14 knots. These are light to crosswind component of

ts at about 60 degrees from your left if you choose either 27L or 27R, (which one of these it is, (these change to comply with the noise abatement policy.

Ok another example. You are at Glasgow (EGPF) and the winds are 030/02. Once again this means that the f take off and landings any wind less

i.e. will not affect the aircraft during takeoff. Again, there are two runways at Glasgow, 05/23 . You will d runway is 23. This means that

when the tailwind component is less than 5knots, you should be opting to use runway 23. Even though you will have a slight tailwind with 030/02, it will not be enough to effect takeoff / landing performance (I am ignoring



runway conditions - water / ice etc when I say that

Finally, one more example. You are inbound Croft soon to join the TIPOD1C arrival into Liverpool (EGGP) the surface winds are predicted to be 360/16. So this time, the winds ar16knots. Liverpool has a runway 09/27 set up. This means that you will have a zero headwind (and indeed tailwind) component whichever runway you chose to land on, Therefore we would once again be going for the preferred runway (27) because the tailwind component is less than 5knots

By now, you should be in a position to decide which runway to use when you depart or arrive at an airport. Always make sure you have the relevant airfield information before you decide, I.direction and any NOTAMs that may be in effect, and always try and find out what the preferred runway is, as stated earlier, a lot of the UK airports have Westerly preferential. So anything between the directions of 180 and 360 should be chosen if the tailwind component is less than 5knots, as this would be towards the westerly side of the compass.

Weather & METARS

The weather is one of the biggest causes for diversions of aircraft in the world, and also accounts for 12% of all total air crashes ever recorded. Sometimes it is not safe to land the aircraft at your destination airport due to adverse weather conditions, be this visibility, strong winds. snow or ice. The critical factor is being able to spot adverse conditions before you arrive, but how can you tell what is adverse and what isn’t. By knowing what to expect at your arrival airfield you can plan ahead and make the decision of diverting early if you have to. Each aircraft and operator have different standards at which an aircrcommand to decide on this at any given time in the flight. So know your aircraft's limits, and know your weather!

Right moving on. Let’s have a look at the weather itself now, and understanding how a MeteorologAerodrome Report or METAR works and also how to decode one. A METAR is a very easy way of getting a lot of information regarding an airfield's weather, to an aircraft.

At most airports the weather is available verbally on a comms channel known as ATISmost often get our weather as a METAR from the weather reporting system

There are a number of abbreviations that are used when decoding a METAR so it is important that you learn how to decode them or find a piece of software or websi

Let’s have a look at some METARs then and see if we can decode them.

EGNH 041250Z 15007KT 8000 BKN013 03/01 Q0994

Decoded: Blackpool, on the 4th Mayclouds are broken at 1300ft, the temperature is +3degrees and the dew point (temperature it will rain at) is +1degrees, the pressure or QNH is 994milibars.

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water / ice etc when I say that – but more of that later) .

Finally, one more example. You are inbound Croft soon to join the TIPOD1C arrival into Liverpool (EGGP) the surface winds are predicted to be 360/16. So this time, the winds are Due North and at a moderate speed of 16knots. Liverpool has a runway 09/27 set up. This means that you will have a zero headwind (and indeed tailwind) component whichever runway you chose to land on, Therefore we would once again be going for the

ed runway (27) because the tailwind component is less than 5knots

By now, you should be in a position to decide which runway to use when you depart or arrive at an airport. Always make sure you have the relevant airfield information before you decide, I.e. the wind speed and direction and any NOTAMs that may be in effect, and always try and find out what the preferred runway is, as stated earlier, a lot of the UK airports have Westerly preferential. So anything between the directions of 180

be chosen if the tailwind component is less than 5knots, as this would be towards the westerly

The weather is one of the biggest causes for diversions of aircraft in the world, and also accounts for 12% of all air crashes ever recorded. Sometimes it is not safe to land the aircraft at your destination airport due to

adverse weather conditions, be this visibility, strong winds. snow or ice. The critical factor is being able to spot rrive, but how can you tell what is adverse and what isn’t. By knowing what to

expect at your arrival airfield you can plan ahead and make the decision of diverting early if you have to. Each aircraft and operator have different standards at which an aircraft should divert, it is down to the pilot in command to decide on this at any given time in the flight. So know your aircraft's limits, and know your

Right moving on. Let’s have a look at the weather itself now, and understanding how a MeteorologAerodrome Report or METAR works and also how to decode one. A METAR is a very easy way of getting a lot of information regarding an airfield's weather, to an aircraft.

At most airports the weather is available verbally on a comms channel known as ATIS. In our simulator we most often get our weather as a METAR from the weather reporting system

There are a number of abbreviations that are used when decoding a METAR so it is important that you learn how to decode them or find a piece of software or website that can do it for you.

Let’s have a look at some METARs then and see if we can decode them.

EGNH 041250Z 15007KT 8000 BKN013 03/01 Q0994

May at 1250z, the winds are 150degrees at 7knots, visibility 8000m (8km) clouds are broken at 1300ft, the temperature is +3degrees and the dew point (temperature it will rain at) is +1degrees, the pressure or QNH is 994milibars.

6

Finally, one more example. You are inbound Croft soon to join the TIPOD1C arrival into Liverpool (EGGP) the e Due North and at a moderate speed of

16knots. Liverpool has a runway 09/27 set up. This means that you will have a zero headwind (and indeed tailwind) component whichever runway you chose to land on, Therefore we would once again be going for the

By now, you should be in a position to decide which runway to use when you depart or arrive at an airport. e. the wind speed and

direction and any NOTAMs that may be in effect, and always try and find out what the preferred runway is, as stated earlier, a lot of the UK airports have Westerly preferential. So anything between the directions of 180

be chosen if the tailwind component is less than 5knots, as this would be towards the westerly

The weather is one of the biggest causes for diversions of aircraft in the world, and also accounts for 12% of all air crashes ever recorded. Sometimes it is not safe to land the aircraft at your destination airport due to

adverse weather conditions, be this visibility, strong winds. snow or ice. The critical factor is being able to spot rrive, but how can you tell what is adverse and what isn’t. By knowing what to

expect at your arrival airfield you can plan ahead and make the decision of diverting early if you have to. Each aft should divert, it is down to the pilot in

command to decide on this at any given time in the flight. So know your aircraft's limits, and know your

Right moving on. Let’s have a look at the weather itself now, and understanding how a Meteorological Aerodrome Report or METAR works and also how to decode one. A METAR is a very easy way of getting a lot

. In our simulator we

There are a number of abbreviations that are used when decoding a METAR so it is important that you learn

at 1250z, the winds are 150degrees at 7knots, visibility 8000m (8km) clouds are broken at 1300ft, the temperature is +3degrees and the dew point (temperature it will rain at) is



EGPD 041250Z 33005KT 290V360 3800

Decoded: Aberdeen on the 4th May290degrees and 360degrees, visibility is 3800m (3.8km), there is light snow, clouds are broken at 500ft, temperature is +1degrees and the dew point is zero, the pressure or QNH is 991milibars. Temporary weather to be expected at with a visibility of 1400m (1.4km), moderate snow and clouds are broken at 400ft.

EGVN 041250Z 11007KT CAVOK 03/M01 Q0993 NOSI

Decoded: Brize Norton, 4th February at 1250z the winds are 110degrees at 7knots, ceiling and visibility OK, temperature +3degrees, dew point within the next 2 hours.

CAVOK abbreviation for Ceiling And Visibility Okayat any level, a visibility of 6 Statute Miles (10 km) or more and no significant weather.this will be amended to include towering cumulus.

Using these examples, this should give you a quick insight as to how a METAR sort of works, if you need more help on this, book a session on how to decode METARs with the training academy.

The table below, gives a brief summary of what each abbreviation m

Intensity Description

- (Light) MI (Shallow)

Moderate (no symbol) PR (Partial)

+ (Heavy) BC (Patches)

VC (Vicinity*) DR (Low drifting)

BL (Blowing)

SH (Showers)

TS (Thunderstorm)

FZ (Freezing**)

* Note: All phenomena are considered to be 'at the station' unless prefixed by VCthe area, but not affecting the airfield. Vicinity is defined as within 8 km of

(v1.0)


360 3800 -SN BKN005 01/00 Q0991 TEMPO 1400 SN BKN004

at 1250z the winds are 330degrees at 5knots but variable between 290degrees and 360degrees, visibility is 3800m (3.8km), there is light snow, clouds are broken at 500ft, temperature is +1degrees and the dew point is zero, the pressure or QNH is 991milibars. Temporary weather to be expected at with a visibility of 1400m (1.4km), moderate snow and clouds are broken at 400ft.

EGVN 041250Z 11007KT CAVOK 03/M01 Q0993 NOSIG

February at 1250z the winds are 110degrees at 7knots, ceiling and visibility OK, temperature +3degrees, dew point -1degrees, the pressure or QNH is 993milibars, no significant changes due

ation for Ceiling And Visibility Okay indicating no cloud below 5,000 feet and no cumulonimbus at any level, a visibility of 6 Statute Miles (10 km) or more and no significant weather. As of 5 November 2008 this will be amended to include towering cumulus.

Using these examples, this should give you a quick insight as to how a METAR sort of works, if you need more help on this, book a session on how to decode METARs with the training academy.

The table below, gives a brief summary of what each abbreviation means in a METAR.

Description Precipitation Obscuration

(Shallow) DZ (Drizzle) BR (Mist)

(Partial) RA (Rain) FG (Fog)

(Patches) SN (Snow) FU (Smoke)

(Low drifting) SG (Snow Grains) VA (Volcanic Ash)

(Blowing) IC (Ice Crystals) DU (Dust)

(Showers) PL (Ice Pellets) SA (Sand)

(Thunderstorm) GR (Hail) HZ (Haze)

(Freezing**) GS (Small Hail) PY (Spray)

UP (Unknown)

* Note: All phenomena are considered to be 'at the station' unless prefixed by VC = vicinity; thus VCFG is fog in the area, but not affecting the airfield. Vicinity is defined as within 8 km of the airfield.

7

SN BKN005 01/00 Q0991 TEMPO 1400 SN BKN004

at 1250z the winds are 330degrees at 5knots but variable between 290degrees and 360degrees, visibility is 3800m (3.8km), there is light snow, clouds are broken at 500ft, the temperature is +1degrees and the dew point is zero, the pressure or QNH is 991milibars. Temporary weather to be expected at with a visibility of 1400m (1.4km), moderate snow and clouds are broken at 400ft.

February at 1250z the winds are 110degrees at 7knots, ceiling and visibility OK, 1degrees, the pressure or QNH is 993milibars, no significant changes due

indicating no cloud below 5,000 feet and no cumulonimbus As of 5 November 2008

Using these examples, this should give you a quick insight as to how a METAR sort of works, if you need more

Other

PO (Well developed)

SQ (Squalls)

FC (Funnel Clouds)

SS (Sandstorm)

DS (Duststorm)

vicinity; thus VCFG is fog in



** Note: When used with FG, DZ and RA be wary and expect icing on surfaces and in the engines. Decarb heat should be used as necessary.

QNH & Altimeter

The QNH is a Q code pressure setting used to measure the barometric altimeter saltimeter to read the distance above the ‘mean sea level.’ QNH is to be set prior to departure and will be included in the airports ATIS and will also be issued on taxi clearance by ATC.

QNH must not to be confused with QFE.

Setting the altimeter with the QFE will mean that when the aircraft is on the ground, the altimeter will read as ‘zero feet’ whereas QNH setting will indicate the actual airport elevation (ASL) (above sea level).

A good way to remember which is which is to

QNH “Nautical Height” - Altitude above Sea Level.

QFE “Field Elevation” - Height above airfield.

Standard QNH in the UK is 1013 millibarsthe charts. You should again select local pressure on descending though the transition level. The transition level being the lowest possible flight level that can be flown without causing any danger between aircraft on regional and standard QNH’s.

Below is a table for determining the transition level from the transition altitude.

QNH

(in millibars)

Transition altitude (in feet)

3,000

1032-1050 FL25

1014-1032 FL30

996-1013 FL35

960-977 FL45

943-959 FL50

(v1.0)


** Note: When used with FG, DZ and RA be wary and expect icing on surfaces and in the engines. Decarb heat should be used as necessary.

The QNH is a Q code pressure setting used to measure the barometric altimeter setting which causes the altimeter to read the distance above the ‘mean sea level.’ QNH is to be set prior to departure and will be included in the airports ATIS and will also be issued on taxi clearance by ATC.

QNH must not to be confused with QFE.

ting the altimeter with the QFE will mean that when the aircraft is on the ground, the altimeter will read as ‘zero feet’ whereas QNH setting will indicate the actual airport elevation (ASL) (above sea level).

A good way to remember which is which is to get these two little phrases into your head.

Altitude above Sea Level.

Height above airfield.

millibars and this should be set on passing the transition altitude as shown on e charts. You should again select local pressure on descending though the transition level. The transition

level being the lowest possible flight level that can be flown without causing any danger between aircraft on

table for determining the transition level from the transition altitude.

Transition altitude (in feet)

4,000 5,000 6,000

FL35 FL45 FL55

FL40 FL50 FL60

FL45 FL55 FL65

FL55 FL65 FL75

FL60 FL70 FL80

INTENTIONALLY BLANK

8

** Note: When used with FG, DZ and RA be wary and expect icing on surfaces and in the engines. De-icing and

etting which causes the altimeter to read the distance above the ‘mean sea level.’ QNH is to be set prior to departure and will be

ting the altimeter with the QFE will mean that when the aircraft is on the ground, the altimeter will read as ‘zero feet’ whereas QNH setting will indicate the actual airport elevation (ASL) (above sea level).

get these two little phrases into your head.

and this should be set on passing the transition altitude as shown on e charts. You should again select local pressure on descending though the transition level. The transition

level being the lowest possible flight level that can be flown without causing any danger between aircraft on

18,000

FL175

FL170

FL185

FL195

FL200



The reason each altitude has its own transition level is for separation purposes. Also something to take into consideration, the lower the pressure low pressure, it is necessary to fly at a higher altitude in order to maintain separation from the ground.

The picture above shows the same altimeter on two different ground. The one of the left hand side, is set to 1026mb (30.25In) and the one on the right is set to standard pressure of 1013mb (29.92In). Note the difference in altitude, the one with the higher pressure isaircraft at a higher altitude than it actually is. When the pressure falls or rises dramatically it can sometimes create a difference of over 1,000ft between standard and local QNH. Be aware of this, especially in approaches involving high surrounding ground.

Remember: Always set standard QNH (1013Hp

Flight Plans

Quite possibly one of the most important things to think about when you set up your flight. Ok, so you want to go to Glasgow from Manchester, how do we get there?

First of all, we need a route. There are a number of ways to obtain this. You can either get the route from the flight manifest, which and be found in your ‘Bookings’ page, you can use ‘routefinder’, which is an acceptablebut not always accurate way to get routes, or if you are flying within the UK, you can use the NATS Standard Route Document. (SRD)

Routefinder: http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/NATS SRD: http://www.nats-uk.ead

Once you have your route, you are then good to go. So according to the SRD, the routing we would take from Manchester (EGCC) to Glasgow (EGPF) would be…

(v1.0)


The reason each altitude has its own transition level is for separation purposes. Also something to take into consideration, the lower the pressure in millibars, the higher your altimeter will think you are. So if there is a low pressure, it is necessary to fly at a higher altitude in order to maintain separation from the ground.

The picture above shows the same altimeter on two different pressure settings, The aircraft was sat on the ground. The one of the left hand side, is set to 1026mb (30.25In) and the one on the right is set to standard pressure of 1013mb (29.92In). Note the difference in altitude, the one with the higher pressure isaircraft at a higher altitude than it actually is. When the pressure falls or rises dramatically it can sometimes create a difference of over 1,000ft between standard and local QNH. Be aware of this, especially in approaches

Remember: Always set standard QNH (1013Hp - 29.92in HG) when passing the transition altitude!

Quite possibly one of the most important things to think about when you set up your flight. Ok, so you want to Manchester, how do we get there?

First of all, we need a route. There are a number of ways to obtain this. You can either get the route from the flight manifest, which and be found in your ‘Bookings’ page, you can use ‘routefinder’, which is an acceptablebut not always accurate way to get routes, or if you are flying within the UK, you can use the NATS Standard

http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/uk.ead-it.com/aip/current/srd/SRDDOC.pdf

Once you have your route, you are then good to go. So according to the SRD, the routing we would take from lasgow (EGPF) would be…

9

The reason each altitude has its own transition level is for separation purposes. Also something to take into in millibars, the higher your altimeter will think you are. So if there is a

low pressure, it is necessary to fly at a higher altitude in order to maintain separation from the ground.

pressure settings, The aircraft was sat on the ground. The one of the left hand side, is set to 1026mb (30.25In) and the one on the right is set to standard pressure of 1013mb (29.92In). Note the difference in altitude, the one with the higher pressure is showing the aircraft at a higher altitude than it actually is. When the pressure falls or rises dramatically it can sometimes create a difference of over 1,000ft between standard and local QNH. Be aware of this, especially in approaches

) when passing the transition altitude!

Quite possibly one of the most important things to think about when you set up your flight. Ok, so you want to

First of all, we need a route. There are a number of ways to obtain this. You can either get the route from the flight manifest, which and be found in your ‘Bookings’ page, you can use ‘routefinder’, which is an acceptablebut not always accurate way to get routes, or if you are flying within the UK, you can use the NATS Standard

Once you have your route, you are then good to go. So according to the SRD, the routing we would take from



POL N601 MARGO

What does this mean. Well POL (Pole Hill) our first declared waypoint which will be the last point in any given SID or Standard Instrument Departure if such a departure is appropriate. We will cover this more so incharts section. However, a SID is a preairports have SIDS, however the ones that do, have different ones for different runways. For arguments sake, we will say that runway 23R is at use at Manchester. Now we will be taking the POL5R (Pole Hill Five Romeo) departure. Which will take us all the way to POL. When we reach POL, we will then join an airway, these are very much like the motorways of the skies. to MARGO, via a few other waypoints on the way, more on that later. When we reach MARGO we will join a STAR or Standard Terminal Arrival to Glasgow. In this case it will be the LANAK1A (LANAK One Alpha) arrival into runway 23 at Glasgow.

The image to the right now, is what the flight plan would look like on the primary flight display (PFD) of an aircraft. This shot is taken from the PMDG 737 whilst on a flight from Manchester to Glasgow. The SID and STAR have already been put it. If you look closely you can see that after LANAK there are some more waypoints. These make up the STAR into Glasgow. Also if you look hard enough you can make out POL, that is the Pole Hill VOR. As stated before, after POL, you will join an airway. The N601, runs from POL to MARGO, however there are some intermittent aircraft FMC will put these in for you as long as you set it up right. There will be a tutorial regarding the737 FMC at the end of this document.

Flying A Flight Plan

Once you have your flight plan, it is just a case of setting the aircraft up, and flying! There are a number of ways you can do this. The easiest way is by using an FMC. Now many newcomersby the complexity of some of the payware aircraft, there is really nothing to worry about. Once you have learnt the process and done it a few times, it really is as easy as 1..2..3…

An alternative would be to use a standaloneroute in, like you would on a conventional FMC, and then couple it to the aircrafts heading hold. The aircraft will then follow the route that is in vasFMC GPS headings

There are now two versions of vasFMC, which one you choose to download and use is entirely up to you, however I think version 1.x is by far the easier version to use. All the help you need regarding vasFMC can be found on their website and forums. It is a very simple product to use and is completely free, so give it a try!vasFMC Website: http://vas-project.org/

(v1.0)


What does this mean. Well POL (Pole Hill) our first declared waypoint which will be the last point in any given SID or Standard Instrument Departure if such a departure is appropriate. We will cover this more so incharts section. However, a SID is a pre-determined route that an aircraft takes when leaving an airport. Not all airports have SIDS, however the ones that do, have different ones for different runways. For arguments sake,

s at use at Manchester. Now we will be taking the POL5R (Pole Hill Five Romeo) departure. Which will take us all the way to POL. When we reach POL, we will then join an airway, these are very much like the motorways of the skies. So at POL we will join the N601. This airway will take us all the way to MARGO, via a few other waypoints on the way, more on that later. When we reach MARGO we will join a STAR or Standard Terminal Arrival to Glasgow. In this case it will be the LANAK1A (LANAK One Alpha)

The image to the right now, is what the flight plan would look like on the primary flight display (PFD) of an aircraft. This shot is taken from the PMDG 737 whilst on a flight from Manchester to Glasgow. The SID and STAR

eady been put it. If you look closely you can see that after LANAK there are some more waypoints. These make up the STAR into Glasgow. Also if you look hard enough you can make out POL, that is the Pole Hill VOR. As stated before, after POL, you will join an airway. The N601, runs from POL to MARGO,

there are some intermittent waypoints along the way, they being NELSA, RIBEL and SHAPP. The aircraft FMC will put these in for you as long as you set it up right. There will be a tutorial regarding the737 FMC at the end of this document.

Once you have your flight plan, it is just a case of setting the aircraft up, and flying! There are a number of ways you can do this. The easiest way is by using an FMC. Now many newcomers to flight sim may be put off by the complexity of some of the payware aircraft, there is really nothing to worry about. Once you have learnt the process and done it a few times, it really is as easy as 1..2..3…

An alternative would be to use a standalone freeware add-on such as vasFMC, which allows you to put the route in, like you would on a conventional FMC, and then couple it to the aircrafts heading hold. The aircraft will then follow the route that is in vasFMC – in a similar manner to the smaller aircraft following the in built

There are now two versions of vasFMC, which one you choose to download and use is entirely up to you, however I think version 1.x is by far the easier version to use. All the help you need regarding vasFMC can be found on their website and forums. It is a very simple product to use and is completely free, so give it a try!

project.org/

10

What does this mean. Well POL (Pole Hill) our first declared waypoint which will be the last point in any given SID or Standard Instrument Departure if such a departure is appropriate. We will cover this more so in the

determined route that an aircraft takes when leaving an airport. Not all airports have SIDS, however the ones that do, have different ones for different runways. For arguments sake,

s at use at Manchester. Now we will be taking the POL5R (Pole Hill Five Romeo) departure. Which will take us all the way to POL. When we reach POL, we will then join an airway, these are

N601. This airway will take us all the way

waypoints along the way, they being NELSA, RIBEL and SHAPP. The aircraft FMC will put these in for you as long as you set it up right. There will be a tutorial regarding the PMDG

Once you have your flight plan, it is just a case of setting the aircraft up, and flying! There are a number of to flight sim may be put off

by the complexity of some of the payware aircraft, there is really nothing to worry about. Once you have learnt

on such as vasFMC, which allows you to put the route in, like you would on a conventional FMC, and then couple it to the aircrafts heading hold. The aircraft

rcraft following the in built

There are now two versions of vasFMC, which one you choose to download and use is entirely up to you, however I think version 1.x is by far the easier version to use. All the help you need regarding vasFMC can be found on their website and forums. It is a very simple product to use and is completely free, so give it a try!



Of course it is perfectly possible to plan & fly a route using aircraft using charts & manual control / autopilot / combination of the two. This type of flying is certainly challenging – but very satisfying and courses covering all aspects of flight planning are aacademy.

Things to take into account when flying your chosen flight plan.

Weather Forecasts: For a number of reasons. Firstly, the temperature and wind can affect the fuel consumption of the aircraft, so more may need to be addebe off-loaded, it will depend on whether you have a headwind or a tailwind and also as to what magnitude the wind is. Choose your alternatives carefully when you know there will be rough weather ahead.

En-route Alternatives: Choose a number of airports that are suitable to your aircraft type along the route. It is always handy to have a number of airfields you can go into along the way, then if anything does go wrong you can simple route directly to the most

Traffic Levels: Are you flying into or out of a busy TMA, for example the London TMA? If you are departing, then expect to remain at a low level until you are clear of other traffic in the area. If ybe requested to fly a holding pattern, so make sure you have enough fuel to hold and indeed you know how to insert into a holding pattern and how to fly the pattern accurately. The number of pilots who don’t take holding into account when adding fuel is unnecessarily high!

Altitudes and Flight Levels: Some airways have upper and lower FL limits, so make sure the FL you fly is suitable for the airway you are on.

AIRACs

AIRAC files contain all the navigation and terminal date requiredupdated every 28days and their principle task is to regulate the AIP documents with up to date navigation information. (Magnetic drift causes relative angles to change between nav aids). The FS AIRAC files are available from Navigraph. This is a payware service and you need credits in order to download the current cycle. Navigraph: http://www.navigraph.com/www/default.asp

Each cycle costs 20 credits, and can be for nearly all the payware aircraft in circulation, and also for the popular standalone programs, such as vasFMC and FSNav.

Checklists

Checklists are a valuable source of information for aand make sure that the correct things are done at specific times. At Fly UK, we have our own checklists, these can be found in the In-flight Services menu and the resources centre.

Fly UK IFS: http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=inflight_services

(v1.0)


Of course it is perfectly possible to plan & fly a route using the navigation instruments in the cockpit and fly the aircraft using charts & manual control / autopilot / combination of the two. This type of flying is certainly

but very satisfying and courses covering all aspects of flight planning are available via the training

Things to take into account when flying your chosen flight plan.

: For a number of reasons. Firstly, the temperature and wind can affect the fuel consumption of the aircraft, so more may need to be added prior to departure, or indeed some may need to

loaded, it will depend on whether you have a headwind or a tailwind and also as to what magnitude the wind is. Choose your alternatives carefully when you know there will be rough weather ahead.

: Choose a number of airports that are suitable to your aircraft type along the route. It is always handy to have a number of airfields you can go into along the way, then if anything does go wrong you can simple route directly to the most suitable, which may not be necessarily the closest one!

Are you flying into or out of a busy TMA, for example the London TMA? If you are departing, then expect to remain at a low level until you are clear of other traffic in the area. If you are inbound you may be requested to fly a holding pattern, so make sure you have enough fuel to hold and indeed you know how to insert into a holding pattern and how to fly the pattern accurately. The number of pilots who don’t take

when adding fuel is unnecessarily high!

: Some airways have upper and lower FL limits, so make sure the FL you fly is

AIRAC files contain all the navigation and terminal date required for a successful flight. The AIRACs are updated every 28days and their principle task is to regulate the AIP documents with up to date navigation information. (Magnetic drift causes relative angles to change between nav aids). The FS AIRAC files are

lable from Navigraph. This is a payware service and you need credits in order to download the current http://www.navigraph.com/www/default.asp

Each cycle costs 20 credits, and can be downloaded as many times as you wish. Navigraph create AIRAC files for nearly all the payware aircraft in circulation, and also for the popular standalone programs, such as vasFMC

Checklists are a valuable source of information for any pilot, both real or virtual. They are in place as protocol and make sure that the correct things are done at specific times. At Fly UK, we have our own checklists, these

flight Services menu and the resources centre.

http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=inflight_services

11

the navigation instruments in the cockpit and fly the aircraft using charts & manual control / autopilot / combination of the two. This type of flying is certainly

vailable via the training

: For a number of reasons. Firstly, the temperature and wind can affect the fuel d prior to departure, or indeed some may need to

loaded, it will depend on whether you have a headwind or a tailwind and also as to what magnitude the wind is. Choose your alternatives carefully when you know there will be rough weather ahead.

: Choose a number of airports that are suitable to your aircraft type along the route. It is always handy to have a number of airfields you can go into along the way, then if anything does go wrong you

suitable, which may not be necessarily the closest one!

Are you flying into or out of a busy TMA, for example the London TMA? If you are departing, ou are inbound you may

be requested to fly a holding pattern, so make sure you have enough fuel to hold and indeed you know how to insert into a holding pattern and how to fly the pattern accurately. The number of pilots who don’t take

: Some airways have upper and lower FL limits, so make sure the FL you fly is

for a successful flight. The AIRACs are updated every 28days and their principle task is to regulate the AIP documents with up to date navigation information. (Magnetic drift causes relative angles to change between nav aids). The FS AIRAC files are

lable from Navigraph. This is a payware service and you need credits in order to download the current

downloaded as many times as you wish. Navigraph create AIRAC files for nearly all the payware aircraft in circulation, and also for the popular standalone programs, such as vasFMC

ny pilot, both real or virtual. They are in place as protocol and make sure that the correct things are done at specific times. At Fly UK, we have our own checklists, these



Resources Centre: http://www.flyuk.aero/en/ind

Alternatively, you can download checklists off the web, primarily from Avsim or other flight simulator related websites. Once again, most checklists come in PDF format, so make sure your browser has the PDF plugensure that you have a compatible PDF viewer on your PC, Adobe Acrobat being the best of these.

Charts

Another essential must have for flying. No one would get anywhere without charts. Charts provide the information needed to get around airports and alcharts and are very easy to understand once you have done it a few times.

IVAO UK: http://ivao.co.uk/charts/aip.html

Once you have clicked on here, there will be another link which says ‘UK AIP Charts’ click on this and you will be taken to the airport specific charts page. This is the page where you can find all the charts you need for your journey. Please note these only include charts from the UK.

For all links to other countries and their charts, go to this link:

Understanding Charts

For the purposes of this session let us consider flying the return

Our route will be NGY N615

(for a jet aircraft flying between FL145 & FL245) and we will be expecting to use ROSUN1A STAR

For people who have never seen, read or understood charts before, it can all be a bit daunting.chart is actually very simple. Charts primarily use distances and radials as navigation points, which can all be done using basic radio navigation. If however you are not familiar with this, there is a very good tutorial on radio navigation on FS itself in the Learning Centre.

OK, we have planned our route and ascertained the wind at our departure airport, which will give us a good guide to our departing runway. When departing an airport, you may be required to fly a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) as part of your flight plan clearance. Most airports in the UK operate SID’s, but where no SID exists you will be given specific departure flight instructions by ATC.

If an airport uses SID's, then the first waypoint in your flightplan MUST be idThe FINAL waypoint on a SID will be the FIRST waypoint in the flightplan. It is this first waypoint that is used by the ATC controller to help decide on the SID to be flown.

We ascertain from the field ATIS that the rurequired to fly the SID named NGY 2H. If the wind had required us to depart on runway 05 we would use SID NGY 3J. Make sure you can understand how these statements are arrived at before moving

Below is the chart for the NGY2H departure…

(v1.0)


http://www.flyuk.aero/en/index.php?page=documents&type=checklists

Alternatively, you can download checklists off the web, primarily from Avsim or other flight simulator related websites. Once again, most checklists come in PDF format, so make sure your browser has the PDF plugensure that you have a compatible PDF viewer on your PC, Adobe Acrobat being the best of these.

Another essential must have for flying. No one would get anywhere without charts. Charts provide the information needed to get around airports and also fly procedures. SIDS and STARS and all documented on charts and are very easy to understand once you have done it a few times.

http://ivao.co.uk/charts/aip.html

ere will be another link which says ‘UK AIP Charts’ click on this and you will be taken to the airport specific charts page. This is the page where you can find all the charts you need for your journey. Please note these only include charts from the UK.

r all links to other countries and their charts, go to this link: http://www.navdata.at/php/charts/charts.php

For the purposes of this session let us consider flying the return leg of our last flight (EGPF


For people who have never seen, read or understood charts before, it can all be a bit daunting.chart is actually very simple. Charts primarily use distances and radials as navigation points, which can all be done using basic radio navigation. If however you are not familiar with this, there is a very good tutorial on

FS itself in the Learning Centre.

OK, we have planned our route and ascertained the wind at our departure airport, which will give us a good guide to our departing runway. When departing an airport, you may be required to fly a Standard Instrument

e (SID) as part of your flight plan clearance. Most airports in the UK operate SID’s, but where no SID exists you will be given specific departure flight instructions by ATC.

If an airport uses SID's, then the first waypoint in your flightplan MUST be identifiable as one of the SID charts. The FINAL waypoint on a SID will be the FIRST waypoint in the flightplan. It is this first waypoint that is used by the ATC controller to help decide on the SID to be flown.

We ascertain from the field ATIS that the runway in use is 23, thus we can see from the chart that we are required to fly the SID named NGY 2H. If the wind had required us to depart on runway 05 we would use SID NGY 3J. Make sure you can understand how these statements are arrived at before moving

Below is the chart for the NGY2H departure…

12

ex.php?page=documents&type=checklists

Alternatively, you can download checklists off the web, primarily from Avsim or other flight simulator related websites. Once again, most checklists come in PDF format, so make sure your browser has the PDF plug-in or ensure that you have a compatible PDF viewer on your PC, Adobe Acrobat being the best of these.

Another essential must have for flying. No one would get anywhere without charts. Charts provide the so fly procedures. SIDS and STARS and all documented on

ere will be another link which says ‘UK AIP Charts’ click on this and you will be taken to the airport specific charts page. This is the page where you can find all the charts you need for your

http://www.navdata.at/php/charts/charts.php

leg of our last flight (EGPF → EGCC)


For people who have never seen, read or understood charts before, it can all be a bit daunting. However, a chart is actually very simple. Charts primarily use distances and radials as navigation points, which can all be done using basic radio navigation. If however you are not familiar with this, there is a very good tutorial on

OK, we have planned our route and ascertained the wind at our departure airport, which will give us a good guide to our departing runway. When departing an airport, you may be required to fly a Standard Instrument

e (SID) as part of your flight plan clearance. Most airports in the UK operate SID’s, but where no SID

entifiable as one of the SID charts. The FINAL waypoint on a SID will be the FIRST waypoint in the flightplan. It is this first waypoint that is used by

nway in use is 23, thus we can see from the chart that we are required to fly the SID named NGY 2H. If the wind had required us to depart on runway 05 we would use SID NGY 3J. Make sure you can understand how these statements are arrived at before moving on.

R515R51520002000SFCSFC

R5152000SFC

P611P61122002200SFCSFC

P6112200SFC

D6014000SFC

R5042800SFC

D509 55000SFC

25NM

5530N

5530N

5600N5600N5600N

005 00W005 00W005 00W 004 30W 004 00W

ELBAN555717N 0043016WGOW R343.7/D5.4TRN R018.2/D39.7

PTH R237.2

XEXUS555526N 0042010WGOW R054.1/D4.9

NORBO553545N 0044543WTRN R007.0/D17.0

NEW GALLOWAYNGY 399

ngy

551039N 0041007W

GOWD12GOWD14

248°

GOW

R054

GOW R22

9

QDM 146°

PTH R237TR

N R

007

(187

°)

TRN

R01

2

6000(7.00%)

6000(7.00%)

5000

2000

6000

GLASGOWGOW 115.40D

(Ch 101X) gow

555214N 0042645W37'

PERTHPTH 110.40 pth

562633N 0032207W

PERTHPTH 110.40 pth

562633N 0032207W

NGY 3J

NGY 3J

4.74.7NGY 3J

5

NGY 2H 3J

32

NGY 3J11

NGY

3J24

NGY 2H

NGY 2H

0000NGY 2H

20

TURNBERRYTRN 117.50D

(Ch 122X) trn

551848N 0044702W600'

VAR

4.7°W - 2007

NAnnual Rate

of Change 0.17°E

TRANSITION ALTITUDE6000

AVERAGETRACK MILEAGE

TO NGY NDBNGY 2H 52NGY 3J 72

WARNINGDo not climb above 6000 until instructed by ATC.

NGY 2H Climb straight ahead to intercept GOW VOR R229. Cross GOW D12 5000 or above. Cross GOW D14 at 6000 then turn left N615, N57, N864.RWY 23 onto TRN VOR R007 to NORBO. At NORBO (TRN VOR R007 D17), turn left onto NGY NDB QDM 146° to cross NGY NDB at 6000.

OBSTACLE CLEARANCE - RWY 23: Maintain minimum 3.8% climb to 1200.

NGY 3J Climb straight ahead to intercept GOW VOR R054. Cross GOW D4.9 (XEXUS) 2000 or above then turn left onto track 248° N615, N57, N864.RWY 05 to ELBAN (TRN VOR R018), crossing ELBAN at 6000 (7%), to intercept PTH VOR R237. At TRN VOR R012 turn left onto TRN VOR R007 to NORBO. At NORBO (TRN VOR R007 D17), turn left onto NGY NDB QDM 146° to cross NGY NDB at 6000.

OBSTACLE CLEARANCE - RWY 05: Maintain minimum 4.5% climb to 1500.

GENERAL INFORMATION1 SIDs reflect Noise Preferential Routeings. See EGPF AD 2.21 for Noise Abatement Procedures.2 Initial climb straight ahead to 526 QNH (500 QFE).3 Climb gradients greater than 3.3% are required for obstacle clearance purposes, as indicated. In addition climb gradients greater than those necessary for obstacle clearance are required for ATC and airspace requirements as indicated.4 En-route cruising levels will be issued after take-off by 'Scottish Control'. Report callsign, SID designator, current altitude and cleared altitude on first contact with 'Scottish Control'.5 Maximum IAS 250KT below FL100 unless otherwise authorised.

39

4545

30

AREA MNM ALT 25NM

090°

180°

360°

270°

5 0 105 15NM

ATIS* 129.575 ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE INFORMATIONACC 124.825 SCOTTISH CONTROLTWR 118.800* GLASGOW TOWERRAD 119.100, 119.300*, 121.300* GLASGOW RADAR* See EGPF AD 2.18 for full details.

AERO INFO DATE 30 OCT 07

GLASGOWNEW GALLOWAY (Jet aircraft only)

CHANGE: CALLSIGN CORRECTED.

(17 Jan 08) AD 2-EGPF-6-1UK AIP

AMDT 1/08Civil Aviation Authority

STANDARD DEPARTURE CHART -INSTRUMENT (SID) - ICAO

DISTANCES IN NAUTICAL MILESBEARINGS, TRACKS AND RADIALS ARE MAGNETICALTITUDES AND ELEVATIONS ARE IN FEET



The NGY2H Departure

So, looking at the above chart; For runway 23 at Glasgow, it will be a westerly departure, so first of all we need to make sure we are look at the right departure. experienced, but they are simply just maps with directions on. When we have identified the SID we want, we will go ahead and fly it. Now most payware aircraft with FMC’s will fly the SID for you, without intervention, however if we don’t have an FMC we will have to do it all manually, which sounds quite scary, but really isn’t!

Ok, so let’s identify the NGY 2H, it should be labelled fairly clearly, but for those of you who can’t find it, there is a little number ‘20’ underneath the label. This number 20 is the distance from the start of the SID to the first waypoint, which in this case, is NORBO.

So the process of getting from runway 23 to New Galloway is as follows. You take off on runway 23, and climb on runway heading to 5000ft on the local QNH and follow the 229 outbound from the GOW VOR. This means that you will fly away from the GOW VOR on a heading of 229degrees. You need to tune the frequency on GOW into your NAV 1 radio in order for this work. All radials use radio navigation so it is important you can use the radio stack.

The GOW/D12 5000 means that when you are 12miles from the GOW VOR you need to be at 5000ft (local QNH). D = Distance in nautical miles. When you reach the point GOW/D14 means that at 14miles from GOW VOR you must beat least 6000ft. This means that you have to climb 1000ft in just 2miles. You may notice the small (7.00%) underneath the 6000, this is the climb gradientclimb gradient you need to achieve in order to reach D14 at 6000 is 7%, which is quite a steep climb.

The diagram on the right (up and right)Radials’ so don’t worry just yet!

Continuing our departure - , when we reach D14 (14 miles from Glasgow) we need to intercept another radial. This time we need to intercept the 007 inbound radial to TRN. intersection called NORBO. When we reach NORBO, we need to then intercept a QDM (Magnetic bearing to a station) of 146degrees on the New Galloway NDB station (tuned using the medium wave ADF receiver) on 399KHz (which of course we have already pretakeoff). This leg is 32miles and should take you direct to the NDB (non directional beacon) of NGY. (New Galloway). If under ATC control you should remain at 6000fGenerally this clearance will be given well before you reach the 6000ft level together with further directional instructions. If flying on UNICOM –effectively the ATC operator.)

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Fly UK Virtual Airways | www.flyuk.aero

So, looking at the above chart; For runway 23 at Glasgow, it will be a westerly departure, so first of all we need to make sure we are look at the right departure. These charts can be daunting to look at for the inexperienced, but they are simply just maps with directions on. When we have identified the SID we want, we will go ahead and fly it. Now most payware aircraft with FMC’s will fly the SID for you, without intervention, however if we don’t have an FMC we will have to do it all manually, which sounds quite scary,

Ok, so let’s identify the NGY 2H, it should be labelled fairly clearly, but for those of you who can’t find it, there tle number ‘20’ underneath the label. This number 20 is the distance from the start of the SID to the first

waypoint, which in this case, is NORBO.

So the process of getting from runway 23 to New Galloway is as follows. You take off on runway 23,

to 5000ft on the local outbound radial (fly away)

from the GOW VOR. This means that you will fly away from the GOW VOR on a heading of 229degrees. You need to tune the frequency on

er for this work. All radials use radio navigation so it is important you

means that when you are 12miles from the GOW VOR you need to be at

D = Distance in nautical miles. int GOW/D14 6000 this

means that at 14miles from GOW VOR you must be6000ft. This means that you have to climb

1000ft in just 2miles. You may notice the small (7.00%) is the climb gradient, this very much like you have on hills when you d

you need to achieve in order to reach D14 at 6000 is 7%, which is quite a steep climb.

(up and right), will be explained on the next page under the section ‘Understanding

, when we reach D14 (14 miles from Glasgow) we need to intercept another radial. This time we need to intercept the 007 inbound radial to TRN. (Turnberry VOR) This radial will take us to an intersection called NORBO. When we reach NORBO, we need to then intercept a QDM (Magnetic bearing to a station) of 146degrees on the New Galloway NDB station (tuned using the medium wave ADF receiver) on

z (which of course we have already pre-programmed when we were on the ground takeoff). This leg is 32miles and should take you direct to the NDB (non directional beacon) of NGY. (New Galloway). If under ATC control you should remain at 6000ft until you are instructed to climb further. Generally this clearance will be given well before you reach the 6000ft level together with further directional

you can give yourself clearance to a higher altitude (since yo

13

So, looking at the above chart; For runway 23 at Glasgow, it will be a westerly departure, so first of all we These charts can be daunting to look at for the in-

experienced, but they are simply just maps with directions on. When we have identified the SID we want, we will go ahead and fly it. Now most payware aircraft with FMC’s will fly the SID for you, without any intervention, however if we don’t have an FMC we will have to do it all manually, which sounds quite scary,

Ok, so let’s identify the NGY 2H, it should be labelled fairly clearly, but for those of you who can’t find it, there tle number ‘20’ underneath the label. This number 20 is the distance from the start of the SID to the first

n hills when you drive a car, the you need to achieve in order to reach D14 at 6000 is 7%, which is quite a steep climb.

on the next page under the section ‘Understanding

, when we reach D14 (14 miles from Glasgow) we need to intercept another radial. (Turnberry VOR) This radial will take us to an

intersection called NORBO. When we reach NORBO, we need to then intercept a QDM (Magnetic bearing to a station) of 146degrees on the New Galloway NDB station (tuned using the medium wave ADF receiver) on

programmed when we were on the ground – long before takeoff). This leg is 32miles and should take you direct to the NDB (non directional beacon) of NGY. (New

t until you are instructed to climb further. Generally this clearance will be given well before you reach the 6000ft level together with further directional

you can give yourself clearance to a higher altitude (since you are



Understanding Radials

Each aircraft is different, some have glass cockpits and some have the analogue instruments. The theory behind flying a radial is exactly the same! In the example above I have used the PFD from tglass cockpit) to show the theory behind this. green line running down the middle of the GOW VOR. This is the outbound (229) and inbound (or reciprocal) radial corresponding to 049 degrees.radial has a reciprocal heading. This heading is 049. I will explain more about this later, but let’s concentrate on the problem in hand. Ok so we now have our green lshow this line, we need to put 229 in the course selector on the autopilot or on the heading bug, wherever it may be located in your aircraft. On the PMDG it is located at the far left hand side of the MCP. When we have put the course in, it should look something like we have above. What we then need to do is set our heading bug or heading selector to read 229 also. This is so when we depart as soon as we converge on the line, we can turn the heading holdswitch on, and it will fly the radial straight and level. As you can see from the picture to the right, the green line behind our present position represents the 229 radial from GOW. The magenta line you can just see is the heading we have set our autopiThe white line on this diagram is the runway centreline, so you can see that the departure doesn’t take us off on runway heading.

You may also see, the two VOR information indicators I have brought up. VOR 1 and VOR 2. These two little bits offrequencies you have set in your NAV 1 and NAV 2 radio’s in your radio stack. Remember, as stated earlier, in order to fly a radial, you need to first put the VOR frequency in the NAV 1 radio stack! The DME from GOW is now approaching 12miles, the actual distance from it is 11.4miles, so we should think about what we need to do next. At this point, we should be at a minimum of 5000ft or just about to hit it, because when he reach 12dme we need to climb another 1000ft to 6000ftonto the new radial so we can hit NORBO. According to the chart, after GOW D14, we need to make a rate one turn, which is about 15degrees of bank, onto the heading of 187. Now you ask why 187, when007. This is because a VOR has 360 radials redial there is an inbound reciprocal When you fly towards a station you set the instrumentation to follow the RECIPROCAL course. Thus to fly inbound on the 007 radial we need to be on a heading of 007 + 180 = 187degrees We are actually intercepting the 187 inbound radial to TRN.heading past TRN, then we would be flying a 187 outbound radial, once we

In order to be ready for our next radial, we should plan early. But remember we still need to know how far away we are from GOW so we can plan our turn. What we do now is change the NAV 1 frequency to TRN, which is 117.50. But keep or put in, if you haven’t already, the GOW frequency 115.40 into NAV 2. This will then display the DME from GOW, but should now show TRN. We then need to turn our

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Each aircraft is different, some have glass cockpits and some have the analogue instruments. The theory behind flying a radial is exactly the same! In the example above I have used the PFD from t

to show the theory behind this. So let’s go through how to read it. If we look closely we will see a green line running down the middle of the GOW VOR. This is the outbound (229) and inbound (or reciprocal)

g to 049 degrees. This sounds quite complex but isn’t at all. Basically the outbound 229 radial has a reciprocal heading. This heading is 049. I will explain more about this later, but let’s concentrate on the problem in hand. Ok so we now have our green line, which shows us our radial from GOW. In order to show this line, we need to put 229 in the course selector on the autopilot or on the heading bug, wherever it may be located in your aircraft. On the PMDG it is located at the far left hand side of the

CP. When we have put the course in, it should look something like we have above. What we then need to do is set our heading bug or heading selector to read 229 also. This is so when we depart as soon as we converge on the line, we can turn the heading holdswitch on, and it will fly the radial straight and level. As you can see from the picture to the right, the green line behind our present position represents the 229 radial from GOW. The magenta line you can just see is the heading we have set our autopilot to fly. The white line on this diagram is the runway centreline, so you can see that the departure

take us off on runway heading.

You may also see, the two VOR information indicators I have brought up. VOR 1 and VOR 2. These two little bits of information correspond to the

NAV 1 and NAV 2 radio’s in your radio stack. Remember, as stated earlier, in order to fly a radial, you need to first put the VOR frequency in the NAV 1 radio stack! The DME from GOW is

proaching 12miles, the actual distance from it is 11.4miles, so we should think about what we need to do next. At this point, we should be at a minimum of 5000ft or just about to hit it, because when he reach 12dme we need to climb another 1000ft to 6000ft. What we should start doing now is preparing for our turn onto the new radial so we can hit NORBO. According to the chart, after GOW D14, we need to make a rate one turn, which is about 15degrees of bank, onto the heading of 187. Now you ask why 187, when007. This is because a VOR has 360 radials eminating FROM the station, as we said before redial there is an inbound reciprocal When you fly towards a station you set the instrumentation to follow the

. Thus to fly inbound on the 007 radial we need to be on a heading of 007 + 180 = 187degrees We are actually intercepting the 187 inbound radial to TRN. ** If we were to maintain our heading past TRN, then we would be flying a 187 outbound radial, once we passed overhead.

In order to be ready for our next radial, we should plan early. But remember we still need to know how far away we are from GOW so we can plan our turn. What we do now is change the NAV 1 frequency to TRN,

ut in, if you haven’t already, the GOW frequency 115.40 into NAV 2. This will then display the DME from GOW, but should now show TRN. We then need to turn our course

14

Each aircraft is different, some have glass cockpits and some have the analogue instruments. The theory behind flying a radial is exactly the same! In the example above I have used the PFD from the PMDG 737 (a

So let’s go through how to read it. If we look closely we will see a green line running down the middle of the GOW VOR. This is the outbound (229) and inbound (or reciprocal)

This sounds quite complex but isn’t at all. Basically the outbound 229 radial has a reciprocal heading. This heading is 049. I will explain more about this later, but let’s concentrate on

ine, which shows us our radial from GOW. In order to show this line, we need to put 229 in the course selector on the autopilot or on the heading bug, wherever it

information correspond to the NAV 1 and NAV 2 radio’s in your radio stack. Remember, as stated earlier, in

order to fly a radial, you need to first put the VOR frequency in the NAV 1 radio stack! The DME from GOW is proaching 12miles, the actual distance from it is 11.4miles, so we should think about what we need to

do next. At this point, we should be at a minimum of 5000ft or just about to hit it, because when he reach . What we should start doing now is preparing for our turn

onto the new radial so we can hit NORBO. According to the chart, after GOW D14, we need to make a rate one turn, which is about 15degrees of bank, onto the heading of 187. Now you ask why 187, when the radial shows

nating FROM the station, as we said before – for every outbound redial there is an inbound reciprocal When you fly towards a station you set the instrumentation to follow the

. Thus to fly inbound on the 007 radial we need to be on a heading of 007 + 180 = If we were to maintain our

passed overhead. **

In order to be ready for our next radial, we should plan early. But remember we still need to know how far away we are from GOW so we can plan our turn. What we do now is change the NAV 1 frequency to TRN,

ut in, if you haven’t already, the GOW frequency 115.40 into NAV 2. This will course selector onto



007 degrees. If you are flying a smaller aircraft without a PFD, you need toshowing, more on this later.

So moving on. Our new situation should look something like this. For this one, I have changed the range of the PFD to 40nm so we can see TRN itself, and I have also turned on the waypoint identification marks, so we can see NORBO. Remember though, we are flying all the way to TRN, only up until 17miles from it. You may notice that on the picture, the green line does not pass over NORBO, this is due to the magnetic variation in the compass, and so it is fine it you do not get it quite spot on. Ok so we turn at the 14 mile mark onto our new heading. Like I said, don’t worry about getting it spot on, but if you see yourself getting a bit far away from the place you are supposed to be, you need to react. The main aim of a SID is to simply take the aircraft on a set path from the airport avoiding important things like built up area’s and danger zones. Try to keep the flying as accurate as possible if you can, but there is an allowable degree of erthing on the chart is this. We leave GOW D14 on a heading of 187 and fly that until we hit NORBO, which is on the 007 from TRN and situated 17miles away. When we get to this point we then need to intercept a QDM. Now a QDM is different to a radial in the essence that it isn’t quite as accurate. NGY is an NDB not a VOR, so we have to use something called ADF. This stands for automatic direction finder, and what we will see next is how this works. In order to find the NDB we need to tune the needle, point towards the NDB. Now beware most NDB’s do not have DME, so you will not be able to see how

can fly it manually, with little or no trouble at all. Just remember to try and keep to what is on the charts. In these diagrams there are some minor deviations, but this is to be expected.

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007 degrees. If you are flying a smaller aircraft without a PFD, you need to make sure you have a ‘to flag’

So moving on. Our new situation should look something like this. For this one, I have changed the range of the PFD to 40nm so we can see TRN itself, and I have also turned on

ification marks, so we can see NORBO. Remember though, we are not flying all the way to TRN, only up until 17miles from it. You may notice that on the picture, the green line does not pass over NORBO, this is due to the magnetic variation in the compass,

nd so it is fine it you do not get it quite spot on. Ok so we turn at the 14 mile mark onto our new heading. Like I said, don’t worry about getting it spot on, but if you see yourself getting a bit far away from the place you are

o react. The main aim of a SID is to simply take the aircraft on a set path from the airport avoiding important things like built up area’s and danger zones. Try to keep the flying as accurate as possible if you can, but there is an allowable degree of erthing on the chart is this. We leave GOW D14 on a heading of 187 and fly that until we hit NORBO, which is on the 007 from TRN and situated 17miles away. When we get to this point we then need to intercept a QDM.

a radial in the essence that it isn’t quite as accurate. NGY is an NDB not a VOR, so we have to use something called ADF. This stands for automatic direction finder, and what we will see next is how this works. In order to find the NDB we need to tune the ADF to read 399.0, this will then make the ADF needle, point towards the NDB. Now beware most NDB’s do not have DME, so you will not be able to see how

far away you are. Ok so the picture on the left is our next stage. We have now put in the ADF and as you can see a blue arrow has come up. That blue arrow is pointing to NGY. So when we reach our turning point towards NGY, we just turn until the blue needle matches up with our heading bug. So we are now approaching our turning point at 17miles from TRN, we need to turn onto our heading of 146 degrees. Please note that this may not be your end heading, you need to end the SID directly over the NGY NDB, so it is permissible to change the heading towards this so you end up over it. For the next diagram I have puso you can see it. If you put the full route into your FMC, you will see the route and all the waypoints along the SID, so it will be much easier. I have omitted them from these diagrams for the sake of showing you that you

nually, with little or no trouble at all. Just remember to try and keep to what is on the charts. In these diagrams there are some minor deviations, but this is to be expected.

15

make sure you have a ‘to flag’

Try to keep the flying as accurate as possible if you can, but there is an allowable degree of error. So the next thing on the chart is this. We leave GOW D14 on a heading of 187 and fly that until we hit NORBO, which is on the 007 from TRN and situated 17miles away. When we get to this point we then need to intercept a QDM.

a radial in the essence that it isn’t quite as accurate. NGY is an NDB not a VOR, so we have to use something called ADF. This stands for automatic direction finder, and what we will see next is

ADF to read 399.0, this will then make the ADF needle, point towards the NDB. Now beware most NDB’s do not have DME, so you will not be able to see how

far away you are. Ok so the picture on the left is our next stage. We have now put in the ADF

can see a blue arrow has come up. That blue arrow is pointing to NGY. So when we reach our turning point towards NGY, we just turn until the blue needle matches up with our heading bug. So we are now approaching our turning point at 17miles from TRN, we

eed to turn onto our heading of 146 degrees. Please note that this may not be your end heading, you need to end the SID directly over the NGY NDB, so it is permissible to change the heading towards this so you end up over it. For the next diagram I have put NGY into the FMC so you can see it. If you put the full route into your FMC, you will see the route and all the waypoints along the SID, so it will be much easier. I have omitted them from these diagrams for the sake of showing you that you

nually, with little or no trouble at all. Just remember to try and keep to what is on the charts. In



So we move onto our final track now, the diagram to the right should show whatfinal leg looks like, after we have finished the turn inbound to NGY. You will see that the arrow and magenta line do not yet much up. However this leg is 32 miles long and so it is sometimes difficult to keep it perfectly straight for the whole duration. Ignore the blue dotted line on this image, that is just a direct path between Glasgow and NGY, I had to put it in for the sake of the demonstration. So we are now inbound to NGY, and you can see I have left the TRN radials (green dotted line) on there so you can compare it to the charts. We are now heading 147degrees inbound to NGY. When we reach NGY this will mean our SID is complete and we can now continue with our filed ATS flightplan.

Hopefully, you will now have a better understanding of charts anmanoeuvre.

If you are still in doubt, about how this works, then please book a session with training academy on how to read charts, they will then go through this with you.

Add-ons

There are hundreds of add-ons available for FS. These can be found in the forms or aircraft, scenery and other utilities. They come in the form of freesites to go to for these is www.avsim.comother type of add-ons available, are those that are the PMDG 737NG series. These you have to pay for. Most of them are always take a look at the reviews before parting with your cash.

A few links that may help you in regards to pay

PMDG - http://www.precisionmanuals.com/Wilco - http://www.wilcopub.com/Level D - www.leveldsim.com/Flight 1 - http://www.flight1.com/

As well as these sites, there are a number

SimMarket - http://secure.simmarket.com/defaultAerosoft - http://www.aerosoft.com/

(v1.0)


So we move onto our final track now, the diagram to the right should show what the final leg looks like, after we have finished the turn inbound to NGY. You will see that the arrow and magenta line do not yet much up. However this leg is 32 miles long and so it is sometimes difficult to keep it perfectly straight

ion. Ignore the blue dotted line on this image, that is just a direct path between Glasgow and NGY, I had to put it in for the sake of the demonstration. So we are now inbound to NGY, and you can see I have left the TRN radials (green dotted line) on

so you can compare it to the charts. We are now heading 147degrees inbound to NGY. When we reach NGY this will mean our SID is complete and we can now continue with our

Hopefully, you will now have a better understanding of charts and how they aid you in flying a procedural

If you are still in doubt, about how this works, then please book a session with training academy on how to read charts, they will then go through this with you.

vailable for FS. These can be found in the forms or aircraft, scenery and other free-ware, which as you can guess from the name, are free. One of the best

w.avsim.com. Here you can find a whole range of flight simulator addons available, are those that are pay-ware. These include things such as the Level D 767 or

the PMDG 737NG series. These you have to pay for. Most of them are worth the money, some aren’t, so always take a look at the reviews before parting with your cash.

A few links that may help you in regards to pay-ware are as follows:

http://www.precisionmanuals.com/http://www.wilcopub.com/

As well as these sites, there are a number of general payware sites that you may be interested in.

http://secure.simmarket.com/default-en.htmlhttp://www.aerosoft.com/

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d how they aid you in flying a procedural

If you are still in doubt, about how this works, then please book a session with training academy on how to

vailable for FS. These can be found in the forms or aircraft, scenery and other which as you can guess from the name, are free. One of the best

. Here you can find a whole range of flight simulator add-ons. The . These include things such as the Level D 767 or

worth the money, some aren’t, so

of general payware sites that you may be interested in.



Below are a couple of screen shots, to show you what sort of impact addto each image will be a brief description.

Scenery, needn’t cost you money. There are a whole host of freeware sites available out there. Below are a few sites you may be interested in for freeware scenery.

Avsim - http://www.avsim.netSimviation - www.simviation.comWalhalla - http://walhalla.mine.nu/fs2004.php

You will also find links to freeware and payware scenery on Fly UK flight manifests.

(v1.0)


a couple of screen shots, to show you what sort of impact add-ons can have on your flightsim. Next to each image will be a brief description.

Here is George Grimshaw’s Boston Logan (KBOS) scenery. Available on Avsim, and is in my opinion one of the best freeware sceneries available.

If you enjoy transatlantic trips or flying in the states, then this is certainly one for you!

Search Avsim for KBOS or Boston Logan V2.

Again, another freeware scenery. This time, Ben Gurion (LLBG) in Tel Aviv, Israel. This scenery is of a very high quality and really does make the airport more appealing to fly to.

Available on Avsim, search either LLBG, or Ben Gurion. Most of the better freeware sceneries are also compatible, with Aerosoft’s AES (payware.)

nery, needn’t cost you money. There are a whole host of freeware sites available out there. Below are a few sites you may be interested in for freeware scenery.

http://walhalla.mine.nu/fs2004.php

You will also find links to freeware and payware scenery on Fly UK flight manifests.

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ons can have on your flightsim. Next

Here is George Grimshaw’s Boston Logan (KBOS) scenery. Available on Avsim, and is in my opinion one

best freeware sceneries

If you enjoy transatlantic trips or flying in the states, then this is certainly one for you!

Search Avsim for KBOS or Boston

Again, another freeware scenery. This time, Ben Gurion (LLBG) in Tel

Israel. This scenery is of a very high quality and really does make the airport more appealing

Available on Avsim, search either LLBG, or Ben Gurion. Most of the better freeware sceneries are also compatible, with Aerosoft’s AES

nery, needn’t cost you money. There are a whole host of freeware sites available out there. Below are a



Online Flying

You can add a whole new dimension to your flight simulator experience here at Fly UK by carrying out your flight online on either of the IVAO or VATSIM networks. You will enter a whole new world with online flying and instead of flying with the same old computeraircraft flown by real people. Flying online adds another level of realism to your flight, while at the same time will give you the chance to meet like minded people from all over the world, as aftso get involved !

Contrary to popular belief, online flying really isn't that daunting. It is meant to add another dimension to your flight simulator experience in terms of realism but also in terms of fun and the way you enjwhen we say 'once you get started you will never look back.' If you are still not convinced, then our training academy will be more than happy to help you.

There are three ways you can get online:

IVAO

IVAO (International Virtual Aviation Organisation) is an online network providing a realistic aviation environment.

Pilot Client Used: IvApIVAO UK New Pilots Guide: Click Here

IVAO UK Division: http://gb.ivao.aeroIVAO HQ: http://www.ivao.aero

VATSIM

VATSIM (Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network) is an online network providing a realistic

Pilot Client Used: Squawk Box / FSINNVATSIM UK New Pilots Guide: Click Here

VATSIM UK Division: http://www.vatVATSIM HQ: http://www.vatsim.net

(v1.0)


add a whole new dimension to your flight simulator experience here at Fly UK by carrying out your flight online on either of the IVAO or VATSIM networks. You will enter a whole new world with online flying and instead of flying with the same old computer-generated AI traffic you'll suddenly be surrounded by other aircraft flown by real people. Flying online adds another level of realism to your flight, while at the same time will give you the chance to meet like minded people from all over the world, as after all, this is a shared hobby

Contrary to popular belief, online flying really isn't that daunting. It is meant to add another dimension to your flight simulator experience in terms of realism but also in terms of fun and the way you enjwhen we say 'once you get started you will never look back.' If you are still not convinced, then our training academy will be more than happy to help you.

There are three ways you can get online:

al Aviation Organisation) is an online network providing a realistic aviation

Click Here

http://gb.ivao.aero

VATSIM (Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network) is an online network providing a realistic

Squawk Box / FSINNClick Here

http://www.vatsim-uk.orghttp://www.vatsim.net

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add a whole new dimension to your flight simulator experience here at Fly UK by carrying out your flight online on either of the IVAO or VATSIM networks. You will enter a whole new world with online flying

enerated AI traffic you'll suddenly be surrounded by other aircraft flown by real people. Flying online adds another level of realism to your flight, while at the same time

er all, this is a shared hobby

Contrary to popular belief, online flying really isn't that daunting. It is meant to add another dimension to your flight simulator experience in terms of realism but also in terms of fun and the way you enjoy it, so believe us when we say 'once you get started you will never look back.' If you are still not convinced, then our training

al Aviation Organisation) is an online network providing a realistic aviation

VATSIM (Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network) is an online network providing a realistic aviation environment.



Fly UK Multiplayer (FSD)

Fly UK hosts its own 24/7 FSD server. The server can used by pilots at any time, however ATC is only available when we host events and training sessions.

Pilot Client Used: FSINNFly UK FSINN Setup Guide: Click Here

Server IP: flyuk.aero:6809Username: 111111Password: skyways

(v1.0)


Fly UK hosts its own 24/7 FSD server. The server can used by pilots at any time, however ATC is only available events and training sessions.

Click Here

INTENTIONALLY BLANK

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Fly UK hosts its own 24/7 FSD server. The server can used by pilots at any time, however ATC is only available

fly uk virtual airways...) which should make fuel ers says, remember this is a simulation, and the...

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