Did you decrease the ALT setting? Otherwise it won’t descend at the TOD
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Negative @meh1951 . That’s activating Approach MODE. There is also activating the Approach that is loaded into the FMS. That’s his confusion. The word Activate Approach is used for both.
And just in case you don’t know, pushing the APPR button will not activate the approach in the FMS.
I comfortable using ILS approach, with or without VNAV.
I am fairly comfortable with LPV or LNAV+V approaches.
I am mostly ok with Visual approaches, with or without VNAV.
Yesterday I faced a new challenge… a GPS approach…
After being given a GPS approach and cleared to the transition point by ATC I dialled it up and activated it in the Procedures page. I could see on the Flightplan page that altitude restrictions were enabled on the way down to the FAF at 1500ft, so I dialled my Alt to below 1500 and selected VNV.
Everything went just fine with the aircraft descending when required at various points during the approach procedure. I did not know what to expect beyond the FAF but in accordance with previous experience I pressed the APR button just prior to the FAF. I have no idea if that was the correct thing to do but it all went pear-shaped when I did that, it seemed to switch to LOC1 which was tuned to a VOR beacon miles from the airport, so after a few tries at panic button pressing resulting in VNV and the AP being disconnected I gave up and just continued flying a manual visual approach. Great fun 
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lol, it can be fun at times when it all goes pear shaped.
I was just glad that it was not night time or low visibility. The airfield had limited lighting and no PAPI.
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LOL!
Reading this thread almost convinces me that I will probably need 100% co-pilot (navigator) assistance just to operate the NXi, while I focus 100% on flying the plane. Note that I said “almost”.
This sounds like a bug to me. What was the approach? Stock data or Navigraph?
KTTS The Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), Florida. Stock Data. GPS 15 Approach via EARTH transition.
IIRC Nav-1 was still selected to the MLB VOR at the time as it was also a waypoint on my low-level flight plan en-route KFLL to KTTS, as generated by the World map pre-flight. I only had the VOR dialled up as a cross reference as the flight was carried out in GPS NAV mode.
To be honest I would have to fly that approach again a few times to give an accurate account of what happens, because on the occasion I reported I managed to get into an undignified mess and I am not sure exactly now what steps I took after initially selecting APR.
IRL it would have been a buttock clenching experience
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I’ve had several of those.
Landing at Provincetown on Cape Cod I got the flight plan messed up at the last minute to some place in Russia. Correcting that I think the AP pushed itself to the turning and vertical path extremes to make the approach but it nailed it.
Then landing at Ithica at night it was turning to the approach and the airport vanished. Turns out it was a mountain. There is a reason for the warning on visual approaches.
Another landing I hit the final altitude way too soon in a hilly spot.
KTTS is fun, especially if you have the VAB/SpaceX addon.
I’d say that’s correct on my confusion. What is the difference there?
The difference is between an approach procedure loaded into the FMS, and the actual approach triggered with the APPR command to capture the GS down to the runway.
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That was my intent
Thank you
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The terminology is VERY confusing! Most of the time we see the Garmin and the autopilot as one “box”. The FMS has the flight plan and our location and feeds the autopilot how to steer the aircraft.
However, the FMS and autopilot are two independent “boxes”. It IS possible to use the FMS to fly a complete flight without using the autopilot. It is possible to fly an approach without an autopilot.
“Activating the approach” in the FMS ensures the correct “map” is displayed. When APPR is pressed in the autopilot, it will steer the aircraft according to the activated approach map in the FMS if the aircraft is in a proper location.
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In aircraft with the “six-pack” steam gauges, a pilot has to constantly scan the gauges constantly to insure the aircraft was flying correctly. One of the many things I’ve learned using the Garmin are all the items I need to scan in the FMS during flight. Otherwise I find myself flying to a different state!
One of the key items is verifying the device that is providing the navigation information to the FMS. Most of the time we have the GPS (magenta) coupled to the FMS. The FMS can display other radios like localizers, VORs, and NDBs. The bearings to two of these radios can be displayed using the PFD. In total, bearing information for three radios, GPS, NAV1, NAV2, or NDB, can be displayed. Any of these three radios can become the navigation source for the FMS and autopilot. When I first started using the Garmin, I would often dial in two nearby VORs along my route and maybe a NDB. During the flight, I would use CDI to check on the bearing and distance to one of the VORs, not realizing I had changed the navigation source and am no longer using the GPS. This is why the autopilot would switch off NAV whenever the navigation source was manually changed. “ROLL” would be displayed in the PDF to alert the pilot to either re-enable NAV or to change the navigation source. Since I wasn’t scanning the FMS properly, I wouldn’t see the “ROLL” until I was significantly off course. So I enabled NAV on the autopilot… After a few minutes I noticed I was flying towards the VOR and not following the magenta line. I had to change the navigation source back to GPS and again enable NAV. This was VERY frustrating! And honestly discouraging. Like many complex things in MSFS, there is a steep learning curve. The learning can be part of the enjoyment or part of the frustration of MSFS.
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So I just had an approach work out nicely. Still not sure if I did it correctly.
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I was heading to a waypoint intersecting the strait approach to a runway following VNAV path. I had set the altitude manually to 1200 feel AGL. The procedure was a visual approach that had been loaded mid flight. I also deleted the airport waypoint just so I didn’t get messed up with that adding to the mix.
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About 30 seconds before getting to the waypoint I used the PROC button and picked Activate Vector to Final from the menu.
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At this point VNAV stopped a little high but I guess that’s because I activated final with plenty to spare for the VNAV profile. The line to the runway went magenta and the AP followed. Usually this is where things go bad! One thing that usually goes unexpected for me is activating the Straight leg on the approach.
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VNAV worked down to the final altitude test and then I took over and manually flew the remainder.
Should I use an APPR command (or APR button) at any point? I have no IFR training, so I’m sure that is part of my problem. I’m just doing the visual procs.
** edit **
Just read this and it was a huge help.
NXI Visual Approaches: STRGHT vs FINAL - Phenom Pilots
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I finally get the NXi visual approaches! 
It’s just all a bunch of options and we choose how to execute it.
I had been waiting too long and expecting them to sequence. I had actually been working too hard at it.
I appreciate everyone’s help. Between that and some additional reading it sunk in. I also appreciate the job WT has done on this. That’s a complex system to emulate.
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Great news, that is my plan too. I want to know everything about it.
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Join the club. Easier is usually better…
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I just scratched the surface. lol. I’ve done a few low visibility approaches that would have been illegal in VFR. It’s quite disorienting when you can’t see the horizon but suddenly see the airport lights pop up in the windshield.
I’m Jealous of @Bishop398. He gets to work on the code and test fly it.
Yep plus 10 characters