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P3D v2 How exactly does NAV/GPS button work?

lionheart

lionheart

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Hey all,

Can someone that knows about this 'system' explain it to me in laymens terms 'exactly' how this works?

Right now, I have a plane that has a button for GPS mode and one for NAV mode, and its buggy. It would be nice to know 'exactly' whats going on in the sim so I know what to tell it to do.

Would it be that GPS mode is the system that flies along a flight plan, and NAV mode steers along a VOR course?


Many thanks,


Bill
 
Hi Bill,

From the Flight Sim Help --> Learning Center drop down there is this:

The Nav/GPS Switch

Flight Simulator aircraft featuring the GPS 500 (as well as the Bell 206B JetRanger III and the Extra 300S) have a Nav/GPS switch on the instrument panel:

When the switch is in the Nav position, the aircraft's VOR 1 indicator (or HSI) and autopilot/flight director use data from the Nav 1 radio.

When the switch is in the GPS position, the aircraft's VOR 1 indicator (or HSI) and autopilot/flight director use data from the GPS receiver.

Note: To couple the GPS to the Nav 1 receiver (or HSI) and/or to the autopilot/flight director in order to follow the course in the GPS, set the Nav/GPS switch to GPS. Note that the GPS only provides lateral guidance to the Nav 1 indicator (or HSI) and the autopilot/flight director. You cannot fly an ILS or land automatically using the GPS as the sole source of navigational data.

That might give you some initial guidance (though you may already be aware).

Cheers,

Bob
 
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It's a good thing you're not designing a VC10 then! That doesn't have GPS at all. It has a NAV switch but that locks the INS to the autopilot. Fortunately it also has a HDG switch, but............... in the sim they are one and the same because inertial navigation systems are in effect hdg changes (in the sim). Getting the switches to work independently was fun not! You should have though a separate loc/vor switch
 
And note that when that switch is in the GPS position, you must set the autopilot to NAV/VOR/Range mode (all the same setting in different AP's) before it will follow the GPS. That's because in that mode it's following the VOR1 Indicator, as described in that SDK snippet above.
 
This might not be helpful but in the real world the NAV/GPS switch does not exist and is for the sim only. Would be nice if there was a code to replace this switch to allow auto switching...Can this be done?
 
Who says there's no NAV/GPS switch? The CDI button on a Garmin 530/430 behaves exactly like this switch does, as example. :)
 
I posted this because years ago i was told it does not exist from the panel if using the default gps.

Not sure where my brain was when i posted that statement. I only meant as a separate switch on the panel would be fake.

Actually i did write an auto switch code...In my latest GPS upgrade the GPS mode will switch to nav once your within 15 nautical miles of your flight plan. And yes the CDI on a GPS is the NAV/GPS switch..
 
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