Turns during cruising

[joei3316]

I've been playing flight simulator using PMDG 747. During long flights, I follow VOR to VOR routes which includes lots of turns. Sometimes these turns requires the plane to bank more than 20 degrees in order to stay on course.

Question is, when I am on a long flights in real life. I hardly notice any banks at all. seems like the plant just flies straight all the way to destination. How do pilots in real life deal with turns like that during cruise?

[Capt Claret]

Many, perhaps most, waypoints are fly-by not fly over, so the FMS determines how early to commence the turn, to intercept the required track, at a level of bank commensurate with the altitude and speed of the aircraft. So, more often than not, the aircraft actually flys slightly abeam the waypoint or in your example, the navaid.

[Dash8driver1312]

Not only that, the autopilots roll the aircraft pretty smoothly into and out of the turns. It tends not to be so noticeable when done gently.

A favourite trick of one of my old flight instructors on the Cessna during the instrument rating was to invite the student to close his/her eyes, roll sharply one way, wait 30 seconds, then very slowly roll to the same bank angle in the opposite direction. Every student without fail thought they were still banked in the original direction when challenged. This was to demonstrate how the body can be tricked.

[barit1]

Same can be demonstrated in the yaw axis when sitting in an office chair. Rotate smartly in one direction, then very slowly/smoothly bring to a stop and slowly change direction.

Add in the G-forces of a spiral, and you have the makings of the classic graveyard spiral -- a la JFK Jr.

[falconx]

Turn prior to the VOR?

[barit1]

Correct. See post #2.

[BARKINGMAD]

FMS logic reduces the AOB at higher altitudes, resulting in a relaxed turn which doesn't frighten the SLF looking out the window and more importantly the grumpy old phart in the left hand seat.

Ruined when ATC requests a heading of more than AOB in degrees and HDG mode used without any change to the "normal" bank selector.

Smoothies will reduce this to 15 or 10 degrees, and then might remember to reset it to normal before trying to capture the localiser off a heading, otherwise a beautiful series of futile and unsuccessful phugoids around the localiser results in red faces and maybe worse?

[bfisk]

Also, VOR-to-VOR routes aren't really being used much anymore. Most enroute navigation today is done by RNAV - area navigation. Sometimes long direct routings are given, so there isn't usually that much turning to do anyway.