SurClaro Flight Simulator Resources

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

hi everyone. does anyone know if it's possible to have a color gps window instead of a green-lined over black background one?

another little question. does anyone happen to know why the learjet 45 won't obey the autopilot? i mean, it obeys the HDG and the speed i think, but it'll keep climbing and climbing tho even i enter certain altittude. it happens only with this ship, with no other. i tried replacing its panel for the b737's one to see if it was my mistake, but it is not.
It's a problem of the ship itself. has anyone else experienced the same with the learjet 45? can it be fixed?

TJ33 · Joined: 02 Aug 2005 Posts: 149 Location: Phoenix

RE; Learjet: Make sure the GPS/NAV button is in GPS mode..

RE; GPS unit. I believe Sandel sells a neat updated GPS with color... No freebies that I know of...
I use a Sandel terrain radar. Can't fly Alaska without it... Gonna buy the GPS. Sandel stuff works very well and easy to install...

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

[quote="TJ33"]RE; Learjet: Make sure the GPS/NAV button is in GPS mode..

hmm.. i don't think the gps/nav button has anything to do here. this button can only change your readings, not your navigation. besides i set it to gps before taking off, until i'm getting ready for landing that i turn it to nav.. nope, it's not it. thanks anyway.

heeshung · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 549

On your GPS, there should be a "TERR" key, for Terrain. On the Garmin 500, it's right between the flight plan and procedure keys. By clicking that, you enable the GPS to show you how high the terrain is wherever you're flying. In your case, it also adds color to your GPS. Functional color.

As for the GPS/NAV key, it can also change the route the aircraft autopilot follows, not just the HDI indicator's readings. By switching the switch from NAV to GPS, you're telling the autopilot to follow whatever flight plan you have filed in the GPS.

I'm not sure as to why only your Learjet 45's autopilot malfunctions. It seems that you know what you're doing since you mentioned that all your other aircraft's autopilots work fine. Just make sure you entered the right vertical speed, right altitude (30,000 not 3,000), and make sure your autopilot master is set to CMD, and that your flight director is on.

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

hey, thanks for the answers. i didn't know that feature of the gps/nav button. tho i still think this is not the problem. the problem is the learjet won't stop climbing, tho even the altittud is set to 1000 and the vertical speed is in negative numbers. besides, it's the only plane i have this problem with.
i'll look for that terr key, thanks.

heeshung · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 549

That may be the problem. Some, or even most autopilots will not work until set ABOVE 1,000 feet. Try setting a higher cruise altitude.

Just curious, why would you set autopilot to 1,000 feet, unless your trip is only 5 nm long? The Learjet is certified up to 50,000 feet!

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

weird. most autopilots i've used so far would adopt even a height of 100feet, and even negative values. actually the autopilot MUST have this accuracy, to be used for landings, precisely. if your autopilot wouldn't respond under 1000 feet, you'd be mashed potatoe on a landing.
and i set it on 1000feet just to make sure that it was still climbing and climbing like crazy by itself, not cause i was planning to get somewhere.

and i couldn't find the TERR key. i'll try getting the plane you talk about, to see what it looks like, where is it and what it does. thanks!

flyrcoyle · Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 161

Although you probably have already checked these, there are a couple of other things you didn't mention checking. First, check your fuel distribution. I ran into a very similar problem with the 747 a couple of years ago, and finally discovered that the fuel was mostly in the rearward tanks. Another thing to check is the trim tabs. Again, a problem I ran into with a heavy, just don't remember which one at the moment. One last thing to check is the spoiler setting. If these are deployed, it can cause some weird things to happen when trying to take-off.

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

i'll try checking those too, thanks flyrcoyle!

heeshung · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 549

The altitude hold in the autopilot is NOT designed to land a plane. It's solely for use at cruise level. On the actual B737-300, it is impossible to engage the altitude hold until above 1,000 feet. The autopilot option to land a plane is usually referred to as ILS, a bit more complicated than the altitude hold, and is something completely different. ILS is possible in FS2004, and if you need help, there are countless threads about ILS on these forums, and a tutorial on http://www.surclaro.com/tutorials/FS2002_FS2004_ILS_Tutorial/ also.

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

sorry, i don't know how autopilot works on actual planes. all i know about planes i learnt from flight simulator. i think i know how the autopilot works on flight stimulator. unfortunately, i don't own a joystick, so i gotta (necessarily) turn the autopilot ON for my landings, otherwise i wouldn't get the accuracy i need just with the keypad. believe me, i tried.
and i think i mastered the ILS approach and landing pretty well by now, and not thanks the tutorials on SurClaro, which are the worst tutorials i've read to the date (and i've seen quite a few). lol. and then it's always funny to see how the moderators and their pimps get *beep* cause the supposed "noobies" ask some things once and again, and end up with even more doubts after reading these tutorials. lol. no wonder why.
and what do you mean "The autopilot option to land a plane is usually referred to as ILS"? what i always thought is that an ILS approach, is an approach assisted by instruments, from which you get the readings for an appropriate landing. but even so, you still must fly the plane yourself. i use autopilot here, cause microsoft gave me this chance and i don't own a joystick, so i have no choice. but according to what you say about the autopilot not working under 1000feet, i can't see how ILS can be an "autopilot option" here.

heeshung · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 549

An ILS is not when you set your autopilot for the runway heading and runway altitude and have that take you to the runway. The following is just a general overview on an ILS, and I don't expect you to fully understand and follow it. It's just for you to understand that what you're doing I doubt is a true ILS and for you to confirm what you are doing is NOT an ILS.

ILS require you to set your NAV radios firstly. Set your NAV1 radio to the ILS frequency of the runway you're about to land on. Make sure you're about 5-10nm away from the runway, or the ILS won't engage. By engaging the NAV1 radio and pressing the APPR button, you should intercept the ILS fairly quickly. Once you have intercepted the ILS, your autopilot should take you on the glideslope and localizer automatically. The ILS will take you to approximately the runway threshold, where you will still have to manually touch the plane down.

The ILS does probably what you're making the autopilot do with your altitude hold and heading hold, but the ILS is the proper way to do it, and explains why the Learjet's autopilot won't work below 1,000 feet.

EDIT: "Moderators and 'their pimps'" are here to help you, and it won't help if the "noobs" are laughing at them. Sure, many people have said that they don't understand the tutorial, so there have been posts about ILS that further clarify the procedure. A simple search of the forum would've definetely turned up some of those. How about: http://forums.surclaro.com/ftopic8579.html

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

Thanks for the explanation, but it was just a sign of you're understimating me. when i said i master ILS landing, i meant just that. there's no any misconception or misunderstanding on my part here. i know exactly what an ILS landing is, i wouldn't have even mentioned the acronym if it was otherwise. and what i do, and what i have done so far IS ILS landing. i take the ILS frequency of the runway from the landing chart, i enter it on the NAV1 radio, and see the little triangles on the artificial horizon, through which as a guidance, i land my plane.
all of this, still doesn't explain why i can count on every single aircraft's autopilot, at any altitude, at any speed, at any direction, except for the learjet's one.

And if the "moderators and their pimps" are here to help, they should start doing so instead of being bashing on and flaming and redirecting the "noobs" to usless tutorials. this is supposed to be a forum, not a tutorial database.
and we're here to talk, to debate, to ask, to answer. we can find some other moments in the day to read tutorials. the forum time is the forum time. and if they get *beep* of answering questions, no matter how silly or repetitive they are, regarding the field they love which is flying, they should be pleased to do so. to answer a question once or one million times, and do it with a smile on their faces. cause it's also a matter of setting the example. order and respect should arise from the very moderators.
being rude is the last thing i want, so sorry if i was a little harsh.

heeshung · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 549

I guess the Learjet's autopilot is just a little different. If you believe it should be the same, then the only possible way the autopilot could have changed is that you either modified or replaced the file somehow.

The tutorials are very easy to follow and straightfoward. The ILS tutorial happens to be in the default Learjet too! There have been questions brought up about the tutorial, and they are addressed at: http://forums.surclaro.com/ftopic1362.html

The forum is here to address issues and answer questions, but if the exact question has been answered already, then there's no point in re-typing the same exact answer. People will usually even give you the link to the topic where your question has been answered. Moderators and "pimps" are trying to help by directing you to the tutorials. They're there for a reason. Someone spent time making them, and they're there for you to use them. The ILS tutorial gives you step-by-step instructions; they couldn't be simpler. At least try reading them, and try following the steps and then posting the parts you don't understand and why you don't understand them. Don't just assume that the tutorials won't work because you didn't get an answer specifically catered to your exact situation.

I understand you're just trying to give constructive criticism, but, as I already mentioned above, there's no point in typing answers to one question multiple times. Otherwise, there would be 50+ threads about ILS with the same exact responses. The tutorials are there. Use them.

zerohens · Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 10

guess i'll just won't fly the Learjet.. oh well.. i'll stick to the boings and the embraers then. and again, ILS was not a problem, not this time at least. just wanted to know if someone else experienced what i did with the Learjet's autopilot. guess it's only me. thanks a lot heeshung, you were nice, see you around.