Bit of a noob question here regarding the G3000 and RNAV approaches: Is vertical guidance available on an RNAV approach? I tend to always manually control my rate of descent but it gets irritating when the passengers start screaming because I’ve popped out the clouds short of the runway. Is there a way to have the G3000 control the rate of decent, similar to an ILS approach?
Are you talking about APR and VNV?
That will get you to the ground with no hiccups. And, the passengers will clap when you land.
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Yeah clapping’s what I want. So I use APR when shooting the ILS approach and that works perfectly. For RNAV approaches, I’ve tried arming the APR but although it follows the correct course to the runway, it doesn’t initiate the descent. Will VNV initiate the decent when flying an RNAV approach?
EDIT: Right, I got it after a little practice. Arming APR and VNV = lots of clapping.
Thanks mate.
Stock G3000 provides no VNAV. Working Title G3000, soon to be the official replacement to stock, only has Advisory VNAV for now.
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I’m getting vertical guidance for some airports when arming VNV, such as KNBC. Is that not the same as VNAV?
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Outside of a loaded and activated precision approach, Advisory should indicate if your descent rate at current speed is sufficient to get you to the next waypoint’s altitude restriction. It’s still a manual process to calculate the rate. The AP is not providing primary vertical guidance, the pilot is.
But when flying into KNBC with APR and VNV armed, the aircraft initiated its own descent and descended down to the threshold. I’m trying to think if something else could have been going on. I didn’t have the ILS localizer tuned so I don’t think I inadvertently grabbed the ILS approach.
Did your flight plan have explicit altitude restrictions entered at each waypoint? If it didn’t, it can’t be VNAV.
I am in agreement with you Stevo. I landed using VNV & APR a couple of times and all went well. Just like an ILS should perform. But, I am not well versed in ILS landings yet.
I have mostly flown VFR’ish using the FP and controlling the descent using VS at either 1800 feet (long distance) or 800-900 feet 3 degree glide at final.
@CasualClick no, I did not have altitudes in my flight plan, so not vnav as you say. Still happy though to have vertical guidance on the way down without ILS. It’s not at all airports though, I’ve tried a couple of other RNAV approaches where automatic descent did not kick in. Still trying to work out exactly what’s going on.
RNAV has many different approach types, just like radio-based approaches have many types (ILS, LOC, VOR). In the US, WAAS enables an “LPV” RNAV approach, which is ILS-like and has a glidepath. Others include LNAV/VNAV (lateral and vertical based on a VNAV descent), or LNAV only.
Check the actual approach procedure document/“plate” of which approach you’re flying to verify which RNAV approach type it is, and you’ll probably have your answer. Whether using an FAA or Jeppesen chart, it will tell you if it’s LPV, LP, LNAV/VNAV, VNAV, etc.
Some mods give VNAV support, but it’s widely not available in MSFS yet. And LPV approaches are hit-or-miss in my experience (many don’t give you the glidepath until 1 mile out instead of, say, 5-6). ILS is still the most reliable in MSFS IMO.
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