Flight from London Gatwick to London Heathrow

Can't help much, as I'm very much a beginner, but one thing does strike me. I'm pretty sure you should not be entering VOR information in the transponder. That's for your squawk code - given to you by ATC if you are flying IFR, or 1200 if VFR.

Are you trying to do this IFR?

Goose4343 wrote:

I'm struggling to build a flight and could really do with some help.

I'm flying in the Cessna Skylane 182R RG

I'm inputting all the settings for Heathrow into the radio stack before I set off.

In Comm1 I have 123.90. This works because the little ticker scrolls across the top of the screen about Heathrow.

In Nav1 I have 109.5. As the ticker advised me that runway 09R has an ILS of 109.5. ** THIS IS WHERE A PROBLEM ARISES BECAUSE THE MANUAL ADVISES TO GET SOME KIND OF MORSE CODE RETURNED ONCE YOU ENTER THIS FIGURE IN TO CONFIRM EVERYTHING IS WORKING BY ENTERING CTRL+1. AND I GET NOTHING ?? **

Have you made sure that on the radio stack, you have the radios (NAV1 etc) engaged i.e. the light beneath or above them is illuminated?

Goose4343 wrote:

In ADF I have 389.5. This is because and ADF transmitter on this frequency although I got this information from a tutorial. Not sure where I would get it myself?

Not necessarily needed, but it can probably be found on an approach plate.

Goose4343 wrote:

In the Transponder I have 113.6 which is the frequency of a big VOR transmitter near Heathrow. I GOT THIS INFO FROM THE FS98 BOOK, IS THIS THE RIGHT AREA TO ENTER THIS INFO CONSIDERING MY CESSNA DOES NOT HAVE A NAV2?

The transponder is a way of ATC being able to track your progress on a radar screen and consists of a 4 digit code, so no, a frequency shouldn't be entered here.

Also, make sure you have the NAV/GPS switch set to NAV and all of your radios turned on in the radio stack with the correct frequencies.

OK, I just did that flight. Here I must insert a disclaimer: The methods I used are complete nonsense, involve blatant cheating and would, if employed in real life, get you killed, arrested or shot down by the RAF. This was simply a bit of fun.

I killed the ATC window and took off from the active at Gatwick. During my climb to 4000 feet I figured that Heathrow was kinda north-west of Gatwick. I turned due north and realised that, by around 2000 ft, I could actually see Heathrow. Cool!

I was intending to land on 27L, but at about 15nm away from the airport I saw a 747 takeoff from 9R. As I surveyed the pretty gardens of Hampton court, I pondered the wisdom of trying to land my C172 on 27L with 747s taking off in the opposite direction.

Discretion being the better part of valour, I tuned in to the ATIS - 9L and 9R were the actives. I turned to left downwind for 9R. Ahead I could see about 6 aircraft on final. Oh dear. Well, here's where I figured that I should probably let Heathrow approach know I was there. Tuned the COMM1, and requested a full stop landing. Was told to "make straight in".

So a quick turn to base, then to final, and in the confusion I nearly forgot that it was necessary to descend in order to land. Oh well. Flap speeds? Descent rates? I don't need no stinkin' rules!

Got cleared to land as number 3, behing a Dash-8 and a 737. But then, a stroke of luck! Some idiot pilot (or, since it was AI traffic, we should say "some idiot AI subroutine") hung around too long on the runway, and the two aircraft ahead of me were told to go-around. But not me.

So I landed on 9R, got the hell off the runway and parked.

And all done without the benefit of VORs, ADFs or, indeed, basic common sense.

I don't suppose this is really any help, but if I don't tell the odd story my brain seizes up 😂

GREAT story LOL.

I actually managed to land at Heathrow on my first try but it was more by luck really. My heading was complete garbage but I followed the NM until it decreased and then saw the airport and landed.

I'm running FS98 and by the sound of the fun your having with other planes taking off and others waiting to land ahead of you I should jump to 2004 (although I'm waiting for FSX).

I've gone from someone who knew nothing about flying to someone who can fly a bit in a little under a month. Just got to figure out the radio etc and I'll be flying worlwide in my little Cessna Skylane 182R RG 🙂