This is my biggest problem. The base sim is very badly letting down all of the add-ons. The worst part is they are mostly essential basics such as the ILS capture, USR/USER way points destroying flight plans, and the ever more annoying DIR to RWY bug. Its shameful this stuff still goes on, and this is not a simulator like this.
I’ve also noticed that even when importing from simbrief parts of the plan get chopped out, even on the A3NX.
IMHO add-ons are only going to get more expensive as dev’s just roll their own logic to over come the basic short comings. The only plane that actually works from start to finish as it should is the WTCJ4…
I’m not sure how true this is anymore, prominent developers have said the SDK is no longer an issue and that the MSFS team have been bending over backwards to make accommodations.
well fly the A32nx and you will see. I am talking from experience not conjecture. Also the SDK gives dev’s access to the sim, this does not mean those parts work right? Biggest case in point is the CRJ cant use the default flight planner, WT use sim brief, and the A32nx guys are making their own planner…so it is all very relevant.
There are many ILS Capture issues in some planes as well. ASOBO maybe bending over backwards, but they should be…and these things such as the SDK should of been done before launch, and as noted the basic issues such as the flight planner should never happen at all.
I only fly the DC-6 and it all seems to work, but it seems your experience is different on other aircraft.
I don’t think it’s entirely fair to say the SDK should of been finished before launch, it’s a collaborative effort between the game developers and add on developers and is something constantly being expanded upon.
That’s cool… I fly the DC6 too. But even then and PMDG say it themselves…you need to double tap the GPS/VLOC button at least twice to wake up the internal SIM to make sure it works… that’s because the underlying sim is a bit sketchy,
I am not having a pop, but these issues need fixing, defending the undependable and brushing it away wont give us a better sim. As for the SDK well I think its more because ASOBO had no idea what they were doing, but that’s my opinion.
Ultimately if they fix the USR/USER way points in your plans, and the AP so it does not trash your flight plan at the start of a STAR that will be 100% better, than what we have now.
The DC6 is amazing, all of its systems work amazingly but a lot of it is coded around the sim, Modern Airliners is where you really see the cracks.
Especially on the default 787 (even with the Heavy mod), can’t even use LNAV on it at all without going in circles, that part of the sim is pretty much unusable for now. I hope SU5 fixes it but considering none of the last updates fixed anything about it at all it’ll stay this way for the foreseeable future sadly.
I can really only fly ILS in the DC-6 if I keep it on GPS. It then captures the glideslope but you don’t see it.
That whole VLOC thing only worked with me like 1 out of 10 attempts. It’s very annoying you can’t trust this stuff. It’s always improvising when landing. I agree. The whole system surrounding the sim is haphazard and unfinished. And the biggest problem is that after almost a year I do not see any serious fixes. They’re constantly behind the curve, focusing on the graphics.
Try not using GPS on the options screen on the tablet. Then plug in the ILS on your nav1 and tune the OBS. I’ve never used the GPS on the DC6 and the ILS has never given me any problems.
Tried that too. That was my only successful attempt. But after that, on other airports, it failed just as hard. It just doesn’t lock on to the glideslope. And at some point - after so many landings where you try to chase that needle - you don’t want to try it anymore.
100% success if I keep it on GPS. Just activate the approach on the GPS, keep it on GPS, and it follows the glideslope when you switch to Approach. You just don’t see the horizontal needle moving in the airplane.
Do you ever record your flights? It’d be interesting to see what’s going on, esp in the case of not using GPS. Are you using the ils approach chart? Correct distance at the correct altitude where it says you should capture the glide slope?
If you look at the PMDG forum, you can see I’m not the only one.
I go by the book. The needles are moving. It sometimes locks on to the vertical one. The glideslope comes down. I switch to Approach. The airplane doesn’t respond and the needle just passes the middle and down…
Now, in GPS mode… it locks on to the vertical one. I switch to Approach. There is no horizontal needle. It nevertheless captures the glideslope and it starts descending. Perfect glideslope.
I don’t record no.
(Note that in both situations the Alt-Hold is switched on, and that I had one successful catpure once with the VLOC approach).
Maybe I can help out somewhat EmemPilot. I don’t fly the DC6 with GPS though, but I would suggest the following:
When on initial approach, first switch the Gyropilot all the way left to its most basic setting (Mode Gyropilot). If also leveled off at this point, make sure to enagage Altitude Hold. (about 3,000 feet AGL usually).
Make sure you press the silver button above that, because it needs wings level to reactivate the more advanced modes. Just always reset this, as a precaution.
Now as the plane is on Gyropilot, reset your GPS to VLOC (and tap twice as others suggest).
Then put the Gyropilot on localizer mode to intercept the LOC. Once intercepted, switch to Approach Mode. Make sure the Altitude Hold switch is still engaged, this is needed for the Gyropilot the follow the GS down.
Next, look out of your window and smile at that runway you’re now approaching.
(Final note: It is also possible to intercept the localizer in Approach Mode but to my understanding real world pilots back in those days prefered to first line up and only then follow it in due to terrain awareness and all).
Yep (I didn’t think you didn’t believe me… so if I sounded forceful, it’s just the way I write )
Well I tried several different moments. None of them seemed to work. I also kept clicking that GPS/VLOC button (double tapping), trying it in different stages. But it gets old pretty quickly if you have yet another needle to chase. This is all stuff you can’t be repeating when you’re trying to land. It either works or you’re in trouble.
I think your experience comes from not engaging the Altitude Hold mode when engaged in Approach Mode and following the GS in. I did this wrong the first times too as it felt rather contra-productive.
However, I watched Rob on YouTube and he expained how the ‘heading hold’ doesn’t exist (it’s a roll mode hold) but the altitude hold does exist. If you would change the barometric settings, the “Alt Hold” will climb or descent to re-maintain the preset altitude. So overall the vertical profile is just a tap more comprehensive than the lateral modes.
I think I did all that in that order. Several times. I also tried to start over. Switch it all back. Step by step, fly around and try again… it just refused. It’s either way too sensitive or something is broken somewhere. It seems also dependent on airport, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if it has something to do with the underlying navigational data.
Ah I have not experienced it myself and use the Navigraph Beta NavData in the sim. Maybe you might give that a go too. I believe its free to use, however I do have the basic Navigraph subscription which is only a few tenners a year.
