A Alternate Technique to the Computation of A Navigation in FS

In the absence of any VFR chart, a alternative technique to compute a route may certainly be to use FS2002 instead of a chart like Encarta for example. We have a fine tutorial in French about such a technique: Une autre technique pour tracer une navigation dans FS. That tutorial is describing how to use FS2002 to build one' route. However, it is mostly related to the French technique of the VFR navigation, like described on that page. Also, instead of having translated that tutorial, we are justing giving some hints to how to use FS to plot a course as the English-speaking, and Anglo-Saxon flying pilots might not be accustomed to the French VFR navigation (which generally however is just a dead reckoning technique allowing for some basic similarities with what is flewn in other countries). The main idea, when using FS to plot a route, is to stay sufficiently close to the navigation plotting you would use in the real life world. Some of the following may be aided through the 'To Navigate Aboard a GA Plane' tutorial. Another method, is useable too, at the condition of making a sectional VFR chart through FS2002, like described in our tutorial 'How to Make VFR Charts Using FS2002'. All the advices given may reasonably be used into FSX, for example, with sufficient caution taken

Using FS2002 Alone

As far as using FS2002 to get a chart for your planned navigation is concerned, the 'View of the Chart' menu is nicely able to provide with a chart for the area flewn over during the navigation, and the plotting of the heading! How is that done? Just have a plane, through the airport choice, unto the departure terrain. Then, in the Aerial view have it in the Slew mode and FS figures displayed at the upper left of the screen. Once that done, save that flight. Get into the View of the Chart screen and unzoom twice. Have a screen capture and with a plotter measure the heading of the route between the departing, and the arrival terrain. That is giving a starting point. Then, back in FS, move your plane in the Slew mode, on that heading value, in direction of the arrival terrain (note: you will have set your plane to that heading through the item 'Heading' of the View of the Chart panel, allowing for a greater reliance). Generally that will not lead you to the terrain due to how FS is calculating the way the world is represented in the View of the Chart but at some false heading instead. Then estimate a correction and re-initialize the flight. Slew the plane again towards the terrain with that estimated corrected heading (note: like above, you will have set your plane to that heading through the item 'Heading' of the View of the Chart panel). And repeat that until you find the correct heading (note: same remark than just before). Once the heading obtained, make a last slew pass toward the destination terrain and at a relatively low speed as that is allowing FS to draw a red route all along your planned navigation. Once at the terrain, get into View of the Chart with the default zoom and copy-paste-reassemble as much times as needed the portions of the charts into a drawing software until you get the complete picture of the route. FS2002 thus has provided you with both a chart of the area navigated, and the course itself! Further, when slewing your plane along the route, it's following the terrain's height and at the end of the course giving thus the maximum terrain elevation along the navigation (whence you'll be able to calculate the altitude of the flight!). In case one needs to have multiple legs along a same navigation, several charts and routes will have to be obtained. As far as the copy-paste operations are concerned, that can vary according to what software you are using as a screen capture either is done through the 'Impécr Syst' key, or the Alt+'Impécr Syst' combination, depending on whether you want a desk, or a window-only capture. To get the job really over, you'll will then want to make a scale for the chart, which will allow for the following route plotting operations! The most simple way is to get that scale once for all as you will re-use it for further navigations. Back into the View of the Chart, at the default zoom, and sample a known distance, like a one between two ascertained geographical points, or two cities. Or, even better, you can too put a plane, with the VOR set and working to a nearby VOR as, in the Slew mode, the plane is set to the direct heading to that VOR. Just read then the distance in NM at the DME display and compute the scale! Once that scale computed, just save it like a picture file to be able to re-use it with any new chart you will set up from FS!

Thus, with such elements like a chart with a scale, your heading(s), a maximal altitude of the terrain along the route, and with your plane's average speed, you should be able to set up a navigation according to the practice current in your country in the real world! The main idea is to check for that practice and to set the possibilities that FS2002 provides in accordance with that, aiming to that your plotting of a VFR route is not that far from the real world practice!

Using FS2002-Made Sectional VFR Charts

We have a fine tutorial explaining how to make sectional VFRs through FS2002 at 'How to Make VFR Charts Using FS2002'. Such charts are allowing for another method still to compute one's road as those charts further are allowing to a more realistic flight as they provide for a better comparison between the chart and the landscape you are flying over!

Once such a sectional VFR chart drawn, it allows to directly find your waypoints. Function of possible VFR mandatory paths or of a possible fractioned route, just draw your route, like in the real world, on your chart (and possibly use a copy of it, should you envision to use that chart more than once). Then you'll need to scale the chart. Procede like: with the scale you will have tweak for use with the View of the Chart in FS, like described above, calculate, from the plane's symbol, a given distance (for example, some 25NM). For that, first make a screen capture of the view and into a graphical software, just paste your scale. At the 25NM mark, move the plane there and go back into FS. Passing in the 'Aerial View', you will now compare where is your plane in FS with the sectional VFR chart. Just paste the scale, that time, unto the chart and just manipulate it to reach the 25NM distance, which gives you the chart's scale. Easy! With that scale, further, you are now able to compute your waypoints using the chart directly and not in the View of the Chart like in the previous method. Another interest of such VFRs, on the other hand, is that they allow too to compute your heading as it looks like the Aerial View of FS2002 allows for a true geographical view. Use then a home-FS-made chart plotter with the sectional VFR to compute your heading(s). Such a plotter may be easily tweaked from, for example, a plane's heading indicator. The headings you are getting this way need to be corrected with the magnetic variation you will find along the route (check that value through our tutorial 'To Navigate Aboard a GA Plane'!). Thence, you are able now to calculate the true heading(s) of the route. The sole want however of that second alternate technique to compute your route is that it does not allow to the altitude encountered along the navigation. You will have to check those using FS' Slew mode. You will have to slew-follow the true heading(s) calculated as FS will eventually have displayed the maximal altitude found on the route! With that value, you will be able to compute in turn the altitude of your navigation. To fly a navigation with a FS-drawn sectional VFR chart is really allowing a more easy flight for as far checking your waypoints is concerned, with those becoming more obvious