What do the numbers on the runway mean in the world map ?
Does runway 27 go in an east-west direction ?
Also I have a problem when landing at my destination runway
What I find is when you approach your destination runway - the problem I have is that the runway you are trying to land at is never directly below you - it is more often than not going in an east-west direction
I set my start runway, destination runway on the world map - undertake the flight following the horizon direction indicator to your destination - and then when I get to my destination - the runway is not directly below me
How do I get round this problem ?
What I find is that when I get close to my destination runway - I have to turn left - fly for a distance then turn clockwise - to try to get the runway directly below me - in order to land - all very awkward as the approach is not smooth - and I find myself trying to land very quickly due to being too high up - as a result of this
I am a beginner and fly the same plane as in the tutorials. I donât use any navigation aids, ATC direction etc - as I donât know how to do this
I just take off - fly at altitude - and just want an easy approach to my destination runway
Is it a case of choosing the correct runway for your destination - with the correct runway number - depending on the direction you are travelling?
For example if you are flying from Birmingham UK to London Heathrow UK - as you are flying SE - is it a case where by runway 90 might be easy to land at Heathrow - due to it being in an east west direction ?
Runway numbers regard to the magnetic heading of the runway. Runway 04 is 035-044 degrees magnetic, 27 is 265 to 274 magnetic etc.
When choosing runway, you look at the winds at the airport. You generally want to land with a headwind (your nose points into the wind). So if the wind is blowing FROM 210, youâll take the runway thatâs closest to that headwind. If for example you got a RWY 06/24, youâll take RWY24 to have a headwind component (and some crosswind).
For approach and line-up to RWY, thatâs what STAR and APPROACH is for when flying IFR, or a circuit when flying GA/VFR. A STAR/APP will line you up to the runway though means of your aircraft lateral systems (LNAV/HDG/VOR). When flying smaller (GA) aircraft you enter the pattern and than do a number of predefined turns to line up to the runway visually.
Direction of travel has nothing to do with runway allocation.
Thatâs it in the basics. Hoping a real pilot can chime in with more in-depth theorem
I donât have the weather on - so there are no winds
So if I am in a Cessna 152 - same plane as in tutorials- flying from say Birmingham to Heathrow - and say select to land at runway 27 at Heathrow - what steps do I need to do exactly to ensure I land at Heathrow runway 27 easily
Is there a setting somewhere where I need to check airport winds for my destination airport - even with the weather off ?
How do I check the winds at the destination airport on the world map ?
Do I need to use a navigation aid on the Cessna 152 - when flying from one airport to another - and how do I do this exactly
It depends whether youâre using the in-game ATC panel or manually tuning your COM radios, but to find runways in use you either tune the automated weather station at the airport and make a educated assumption using the reported wind direction (land and takeoff into the wind so you have the slowest possible ground speed for either, as said above), or dial in the ATIS, which specifically tells you the runways in use.
With in-game ATC, you need to pick from the list of airports as you get closer. With manually tuning, you need to have some sort of aeronautical chart that shows the correct frequencies. Lots of those can be found with Skyvector, or if you want some payware, Navigraph does an excellent job with all sorts of IFR and VFR charts.
Runway numbers are just magnetic headings without the ones digit (and usually rounded to the nearest 10s). So runway 28 is roughly 280° (or 275 to 284° in reality), Runway 13 is 130°, and so on. Add an âLâ or âRâ for left and right, respectively, when you have parallel runways. Some airports will have a âCâ for center when there are three parallels.
You can use all sorts of navaids like VOR, NDB, GPS, etc, but itâs also fair to use visual references (called pilotage) or set a heading and use a timer (called deduced or âdedâ reckoning). Again, charts come in handy for this, as well as knowledge of the winds aloft and how they affect your ground speed and wind correction angles.
If you want to fly the 152, I would start with these tutorials, 12 in total, I viewed them on the TV first when I got a few minutes to spare and you sharp get through them. I ran them on a second monitor so I could follow them easily on my PC. You get good info on flying and setting up your Sim controls.
Then move up to the Cessna 172 and you will learn auto-pilot basics and eventually teach you to get lined up with the runway every time.
I just need to know the exact steps for the Cessna 152 taking off from an airport and landing at say runway 27 of your destination - regardless of which direction you are flying in - say you are 15 km away from your destination - following the horizon destination marker - what steps you need to do exactly to ensure that runway 27 is directly below you - and you donât have to do the manoeuvres at the last minute when you can visually seen the runway in front of you - having to do a left turn and two right turns to quickly try and land
Is there a tutorial that exactly explains âhow to land at runway 27 or a specific runway number in a Cessna 152â having taken off from you starting airport
Thatâs what I need to know
I know there is a landing tutorial - but thatâs not what I want - itâs more how to land at a runway with a specific number designation like runway 27 - enabling an easy landing
Is there a directional aid I can use for the Cessna 152 - that for example puts markers or lines in the sky on your approach to say runway 27 - bit like your horizon marker for your destination - not sure if there is - or how I can get this to work
There is an option to set a âLanding pathâ which is a sort of avenue drawn for you in the sky that you can follow. Itâs set in âAssistance Optionsâ then âNavigation Aidsâ. Itâs a big help and changes colour if you go outside it.
No the landing path doesnât appear when 10km away, I think you have to be a bit closer than that (from memory as I havenât used it in ages). Itâs very useful to start with as it gives you a good idea what a 3% glide slope looks like.
You may find this guyâs tutorials more useful as he often uses a 152 - hereâs one on that plane. However he talks very fast so I slow him down to about 0.75 down with a Youtube browser extension.
You can google âVFR traffic patternâ to see diagrams of what the proceedure to get lined up with the runway looks like.
While it is primarily a look out the window and fly maneuver, you can use the directional gyro on the panel to help i.e. downwind for runway 27 will be a 90 degree heading (no wind), a left base will be heading 360 (or right base 180).
After a while, you will be able to easily visualize the runway on the DG (and therefore your heading relative to it) no matter which runway (number/direction) you will land on.
This aid is a set of boxes in the sky that you fly through to get you down to your runway. I am fairly certain that if you are following your airport (point of interest) marker on the horizon like you have been doing, the boxes will show up in plenty of time to get lined up with them. I know exactly what you are asking and hopefully this will help. Pleae let me/us know. Thanks. --Redeye
