When I use RNAV I sometimes find airports where the approach is either offset to one side or another or is coming in at an angle of some kind. Laguardia is one of those where coming in to runway… uh… forgot which runway now, but it comes in at an angle instead of straight approach. Also Orcas Island (one of my favs) has that too where the RNAV approach to runway 16 comes in at an angle.
Just curious, which developer entity handles that? Is it the airport developer or something internal to MSFS?
Did you check the approach plates for the approaches in question to make sure they aren’t offset in real life? For example, at Laguardia:
Move to User Support Hub ATC, Traffic & NAVAIDs that is more appropriate for community support.
You should also check out LDA approaches.
I also checked KORS (new one for me!) and the RNAV rwy 16 is offset 30 degrees.
Thank you! Non flyer here so didn’t think about the official charts and can see that the sim RNAV follows the chart correctly.
I guess I’m confused about the path of the landing guides vs RNAV which, if you follow the landing guides will bring you straight in. Probably something I need to read up on… RNAV vs Sim landing guides and why they’re (sometimes) different
Some approaches are offset because of the terrain, others because ILS antenna placement isn’t possible in perfect alignment with the approach end.
That is correct. The RNAV runway 16 approach at KORS is indeed offset by 30 degrees and is marked as such on the approach chart.
So more or less, in real life, I’d follow that path and then make a lilttle left just before the runway?
In other words, to do it correctly, is that the idea?
One technique is to set your heading bug on the CDI to the magnetic runway heading, then estimate when to start your turn based on approach speed and turn rate performance.
Not gonna lie, @ImpulseCello286, I’m kind of excited for you! You get to learn all about approach charts, procedures, etc. I remember those days and it’s pretty awesome when everything starts to click and varying concepts get put together. To this day, I still “sight read” approach charts for fun, just to find something novel or see where my knowledge and proficiency gaps are.
At 30° offset, the RNAV Rwy 16 at ORS is on the very edge of the allowable offset for a straight-in approach to a runway. Any more offset and instead of it being designated specifically for Rwy 16, it would get a letter designation like RNAV-A, which means it is no longer a “straight-in” but is a circle to land approach, which can be used to land on any runway that’s not excluded in the chart notes.
Note that circling to land to a different runway is also allowable from most straight-in approaches, using the “circling” minima, which are usually higher. This means you would need to break out of the clouds and get a visual on the runway environment, usually a bit to a lot higher up than you would with a straight-in, then maneuver to land while keeping the runway environment in sight and staying within a certain radius, based on your approach speed.
So that approach at ORS, being on the very edge of things for a straight-in, is not entirely unusual, but it’s also not as common as approaches that are more aligned with the runway. As @CasualClick said, keep in mind your speed and turn rate as you turn final, and based on the published minimums, know that a 172 might be as low as 305’ above the runway when you break out and begin your maneuver to land, with the runway out the left window at your eleven o’clock and coming up fast!
KORS in the Marketplace is pretty nice. It’s not fancy but I think they did a pretty good job of modeling and giving that little airport a nice feel. As someone mentioned below, that runway comes up awfully quick!
