FS2002 Autopilot

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Mastering the Flight Simulator 2002 Autopilot

Getting started
Before we get to the specifics, let us bring up some general concepts first so that we know we are “starting on the same page”. Firstly, most  of you are aware of the general Approach Pattern used at most airports. In previous versions of MSFS, there have been some fairly enlightening handbooks that went into some detail on flying in the real world. At some airports, it probably varies a bit—even in terminology—but generally the Approach Pattern has 5 legs:

The legs are generally described as A) Downwind, B) Base, C) Final, D) Upwind, and E) Crosswind. These are probably the names most widely used. For the purposes of this article, we will be primarily concerned with A, B, and C. We won’t get much into the remaining 2 legs, D and E, which are of concern when using a Touch and Go landing or executing a Missed Approach. (NOTE: Although this was indeed our original intent, in the example flight we took to document and further explain the procedures, we ran into the situation of needing to do a Go Around procedure. Therefore, we modified our procedures to include a brief section on Legs D and E.)

But the simplified view above which Microsoft supplied in their manuals probably needs some further enhancement as follows:





In the graphic Auto Pilot Approach Pattern, the pattern has been extended much further out from the end of the runway. In addition, the Localizer/Glideslope has also been graphically represented as well as the Outer and Inner Markers. Note that the Outer Marker is usually located at the outer end of the Localizer/Glideslope graphic on the GPS. And finally notice that we have further subdivided the Final leg into 2 parts—Final and Short Final. The significance will be apparent shortly. It is this extended version of the pattern to which we will be referring from here on out.

Also be aware that at many airports, due to local conditions such as mountains or avoiding the patterns of other nearby airports, the Approach Pattern is totally reversed. In this document, it is depicted as being “North” of an “East/West” runway and using left hand turns. A reversed pattern would be “South” of an “East/West” runway and using right hand turns. Also, it might be important to note that ATC (Air Traffic Control) may instruct you to enter a Left Pattern or Right Pattern. They are referring to the direction of the turns. The example above and below are the standard and most widely used Left Pattern. What may be particularly confusing is that, if you were to be approaching this runway from 15-20 nautical miles east, then the place to enter a Left Hand Pattern would appear to be to the RIGHT side of the runway:

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