Some Doubts in Nav. and Reg.

[Digo Pilot]

Hi everyone,

I don't know if is the correct forum to ask this kind of question, but I'll ask anyway :p

I'm studying to get my pilot license and also using Flight Simulator to help me get familiar with the aircraft, terms, instruments etc.

Today I planned a Flight in a single prop airplane and I got some doubts during the flight. If someone could help I'll appreciate so much.

1) I made a direct flight of 300nm long between two airports only using mag. hdg calculated before the flight. A flight made using only compass and ETA can be considered an IFR flight? Is it common flights like that or is adviced create instead a VFR plan flight using visual points to guide me throughout the flight?

2) Is there a way to compensate the wind during the flight? I didn't find any insturment that could give the force / direction wind information in the fs9 cessna 182. So I assumed that the wind compensation should be calculated before the flight at the planning flight phase based on informations provided by some meteorological issue like the wind forecast map.

Thanks in advance,
Rodrigo

PS.: Sorry about my english, I'm not a native english speaker.

[RWY AHEAD]

1) With a basic PPL everything you do will involve looking out of the window - VFR only. You can use the compass headings to assist you in navigation, but taking up a heading, burying your head in the panel for 300 miles then looking up and declaring "Ooo, we have arrived!" isn't going to work. :) Besides, looking at the view is what makes it all worthwhile! :ok:

2) Some aircraft do have whizz-bang avionics that will give you a wind direction and speed, but most, especially training aircraft do not. During your preflight planning as you rightly say you will account for the forecast winds to calculate a heading to fly.

Your instructor will have a preference for exactly where but it will involve some sort of position check at stages along your planned route. You'll compare where you think you should be to where you actually are and then correct accordingly. (Again, your instructor will teach you this.)

Good luck with your training. :ok:

[Genghis the Engineer]

Hi everyone,

I don't know if is the correct forum to ask this kind of question, but I'll ask anyway :p

I'm studying to get my pilot license and also using Flight Simulator to help me get familiar with the aircraft, terms, instruments etc.

Today I planned a Flight in a single prop airplane and I got some doubts during the flight. If someone could help I'll appreciate so much.

1) I made a direct flight of 300nm long between two airports only using mag. hdg calculated before the flight. A flight made using only compass and ETA can be considered an IFR flight? Is it common flights like that or is adviced create instead a VFR plan flight using visual points to guide me throughout the flight?

If conditions are VMC, it is VFR. You will not in the real world succeed in flying a long leg on compass alone - changes in wind and inaccuracies in your flying will necessitate regular checks against either radio navaids or ground features.

Personally, in a normal light aeroplane, I would aim for reference points every 50 miles or less.

2) Is there a way to compensate the wind during the flight? I didn't find any insturment that could give the force / direction wind information in the fs9 cessna 182.

There isn't in the Cessna, there are various ways to do wind vector calculations. For your PPL you'll almost certainly use something like an E6B flight computer, which you can buy online for a few tens of dollars.

Wind data is normally obtained from forecasts.

So I assumed that the wind compensation should be calculated before the flight at the planning flight phase based on informations provided by some meteorological issue like the wind forecast map.

Correct - find the books that are being used by PPL students where you live and they'll guide you through this process.

I would recommend getting some way into your real pilot training before spending too much time with a PC flight simulator, which will lead you into bad habits that will take a lot of expensive flying time to break.

And your English is much better than my Portugese.

G

[Whopity]

I'm studying to get my pilot license and also using Flight Simulator to help me get familiar with the aircraft, terms, instruments etc.
A Flighti Smulator really is of little use in the early stages of learning to fly and may even be detrimental. In any event you should not be practising things you have not been taught.

Whilst there is some basic instrument flying in the PPL syllabus, this is best conducted in an aeroplane. Probably the only use for a simulator is to learn how to use radio navigation aids which come much latter in the course. Again you need to be taught before you practice.

IFR and VFR are sets of rules; for the PPL you will only ever fly in accordance with the VFR.

[BackPacker]

IFR and VFR are sets of rules; for the PPL you will only ever fly in accordance with the VFR.

To clarify this a bit further:

VMC (visual meteological conditions) and IMC (instrument meteological conditions) are conditions of the atmosphere. The difference between them is dependent on a number of factors, but in general VMC means that you can look out the window to keep the plane upright and to navigate, while IMC means that you have to use the aircraft instruments.

When flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), amongst other things, you have to remain in VMC conditions. Only when flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) are you allowed to enter IMC conditions. (But most of the time an IFR flight will be in VMC conditions anyway; IFR has other advantages than just being able to enter IMC and for this reason people/airlines will fly IFR even in excellent VMC.)

To be allowed to operate under IFR rules you will need an Instrument Rating (IR), which is an add-on to your license. So the training for your initial license (PPL) will all be done in VMC, under VFR rules. But if you do get that IR add-on later on, you will be able to fly in IMC, under IFR rules, on just a PPL+IR.

A Flighti Smulator really is of little use in the early stages of learning to fly and may even be detrimental.

Agree. One of the problems with trying to learn to fly using MSFS is that the instrument panel takes up about 2/3 of your screen real estate, while the "real" world out there is hardly visible. This makes you focus on the instruments too much, instead of looking outside for visual clues/references. That not only teaches you how to keep the plane in its proper attitude in the wrong manner, but also neglects to teach you how to do visual navigation properly.

Furthermore, the flight model of MSFS isn't all that good, particularly when doing slow flight/stalls/spins and such.
So don't rely on MSFS (or X-Plane for that matter) too much. It's a game, most of all. If you want to use it, here are the things I think you can use it for:
- Procedures trainer: Working with checklists and such
- Anything related to radio navigation (ADF, VOR, DME, ILS) including tuning and identifying frequencies. (And if you use the "slew" mode instead of just flying around, you can position the aircraft easily in any location/altitude/attitude and see the effect on that on your instruments.)

But don't use it for:
- Basic flying skills such as flying straight and level, climbing, descending, turns and such, unless you have a very good setup with force feedback yoke and pedals, and a very good monitor setup (3 screens maybe).
- Circuit training (except for the procedures as mentioned earlier: There is certain rhythm to flying circuits in adjusting throttle, carb heat, flaps, trim and so forth, and this is something you can practice)
- Visual navigation, unless you have a very good add-on scenery of the area you fly in.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

To be allowed to operate under IFR rules you will need an Instrument Rating (IR)
Depends where you live. Not in the UK you don't - a basic PPL can fly IFR (provided they remain VMC).

Agree that a flight sim is probably of negative value until you get on to radio navigation.

[Digo Pilot]

Hi,

I appreciate all the answers. They were so much helpful.

Thanks.

Best Regards,
Rodrigo

[BackPacker]

Not in the UK you don't - a basic PPL can fly IFR (provided they remain VMC).

True. The UK is a bit odd in that respect. You can indeed fly IFR on a PPL, but in that case it's more a state of mind than anything else, since the IFR ruleset is more restrictive than the VFR ruleset, you're not allowed in IMC and you don't get any more/better access to controlled airspace than VFR anyway.

Additionally, of course, the UK (still) has the IMC rating, allowing you to fly IFR/IMC in certain classes of airspace.

But as the OP is from Brazil that's not all that relevant.