Persistent Beeping Noise and Glideslope Interception Issue on Final Approach

Pro Member First Officer
coolsan First Officer

So...
I'm 100nm out of Hawaii and as I'm about to start my descent this beeping sound starts and never stops. I even got to the gate and turned off the engines but it kept going.

Speed: 300kts @ FL320
100nm out of Hawaii on a heading of 234
Comm 1 is on 124.1
Nav 1 115.00
Transp 2625
ADF 0353.0

I was cleared for ILS app. to runway 4r.
I don't know if it's got something to do, but at first, I intercepted the localizer and hit the app. It flew me to runway heading and when I was 5nm out I made final adjustments for landing as I thought I was about to intercept the glideslope.....but nothing happened. I just kept on flying at 1500ft, which was the last alt. given to intercept the localizer.
Could the beeping sound have something to do with the plane not intercepting the glideslope?
What the hell's the plane beeping me for?

Answers 17 Answers

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Pro Member Chief Captain
RadarMan Chief Captain

I don't fly instruments very often, (almost never) but you are likely exceeding engine limits and hearing the associated warning.
A guess until someone comes along.

Radar

Pro Member First Officer
Riclo First Officer

Aloha Coolsan, Personnally the only time I heard a beeping while flying a "Big Boy" the sound came on every time I exceeded the 250 kt speed limit under 10,000 ft, were you exceeding the limit? Ric

Guest Guest

You don't say what aircraft you're flying, but I was wondering if you are hearing the Morse code signal for one of your Nav radios. The fact that it comes on 100 nm out was the clue-- that's about the range of VOR signals. And it stays on with the engines off is another clue.

Is it a steady, pulsing beep, or does it sound like Morse code?

You can turn off the audio for the Nav radios and the ADF-- they still function you don't hear the beep.

Regarding your ILS approach, you're not suppose to hit the Approach button until you are actually on the glide slope. Before that, just use the NAV, like you would with any VOR heading.

Ed

Pro Member First Officer
coolsan First Officer

I was flying on a 757. I tried turning off all of my radios and tuning to different frequencies but it didn't work.
I'm not completely sure, but I think I was not exceeding the 250kt limit.

the sound was beep beep then it stopped for about 8 seconds and then again beep beep. It sounded like the ils marker sounds, but that's not possible.

Pro Member Chief Captain
Manuel Agustin Clausse (Agus0404) Chief Captain

Sometimes, I hear the same beeps, but I don't know what exactly is that. It always happens to me when flying big jets, like I usually do.
This is a mystery that I want to resolve... 🙄

Pro Member First Officer
coolsan First Officer

I hope fire_emblem_master can shed some light on these dark ages Idea
as he usually flies big jets.

Pro Member First Officer
George (OrlandoGeorge) First Officer

Coolsan,

I was thinking the same thing that the Guest said about Nav radios but apparently you had checked off on that possibility. It will be interesting to see what Fire_Emblem_Master has to say on it. Big jets still honestly give me a lot of trouble. Even opertaing on VFR.

As my rank indicates I am new to F.Away & FS9. Of course I am still a newbie who is ramping up to IFR. Your post and question gives me a good idea of what issues there are to look forward to!

Pro Member Chief Captain
RadarMan Chief Captain
Pro Member Captain
David (The-GPS-Kid) Captain

Lot's of possible suggestions and any could be right....

Were you using a Freeware 757 ?

My thought was that your 'beeps' were almost certainly coming from the NAV Radio (or ADF) being tuned into a live frequency, but that there is a bug on the software you were flying, meaning that the WAV file (the sound file that FS2004 reads to play sounds) was 'looping' (or repeating)..

This doesn't happen much on FS2004 but it can happen... Incidentally, it happens a lot on MS Train Simulator where the 'Brake Release' sound loops forever, even when you are in a station and the brakes are on!

So there you go - sounds very much like an 'Erroneous WAV file loop' to use the techie term !

Pro Member First Officer
coolsan First Officer

Yes, the 757 is freeware.
I flew into a different airport yesterday and even though my radios were turned off it beeped again. My guess is that as soon as NAV or ADF detect a signal they start beeping, even though they shouldn't because they were off.
I guess it's a glitch on that particular piece of freeware.

Pro Member Chief Captain
Alex (Fire_Emblem_Master) Chief Captain

Well, in the event it was a speed warning, you wouldnt hear it when you are at the gate with the engines off...if it was a NAV/COM Radio, you wouldnt hear it because you hopefully have all the battery/generator swithches off. It is possible as a lot of you have suggested that there is a WAV loop going on, it happens on a 757 i have, it just plays the flap sound over and over and over. my last, and most improbable theory is that it could be a trim warning. As in, if you maybe forgot to turn off the autopilot, and after you landed, it ran the trim all the way up and there was an alert sound for that. I would doubt that, but most likely, its a wav loop glitch

Pro Member First Officer
Paiute First Officer

I was going to suggest that the beeps were from the stall warning--but if you heard them at the gate that eliminates the stall warning. I just flew the C-130 and let the speed get too slow. The stall warning gave off a series of beeps until I got the speed back up.

I have never opened a door in flight, but is there an "open door" warning on any aircraft?? How about the flaps on a jet--they have leading edge and trailing edge flaps. Is there a warning when flaps are not set properly?? But again, if you heard the beeps at the gate it's probably not any of those. 😕

Pro Member First Officer
leadfoot First Officer

If you were closer to the airport I would think that you are hearing the approach markers-- you have three at every ILS equipped rnwy outer, middle, and inner marker, all lined up with the rnwy. I don't know the exact distance from the rnwy they are-( imagine that) but they give you an idea how far from the end of the rnwy you are. I know when I cross the inner marker I'm usually less than 1000' from the approach end of rnwy. I'll check it out.

Pro Member Chief Captain
Alex (Fire_Emblem_Master) Chief Captain

It's not a open door warning, there isnt one in FS. I would say that its either a glitch, or as i suggested before, it could be a trim warning.

Pro Member First Officer
coolsan First Officer

At first the idea of it being a glitch seemed ok, but now it's happening on two different planes. It only happens on add-on aircraft. It's also strange that I can hear the beep even when on spot plane view.....I just don't know what's going on
On the second one (MD83) it stopped when I turned off nav1, so my only guess is that there is a glitch on the 757 and that's why it kept going on and on, or I turned on something by accident.
As far as I understand the ils marker sounds are off by default, how can I switch them on?

Pro Member Chief Captain
Alex (Fire_Emblem_Master) Chief Captain

After doing a tad of research, i've formulated the following theory.

The sounds in the game interact with a .DLL file, this is why when you push the throttle forward, you hear the engines roar up. My guess is, the way the sound interacts with the .DLL file is messed up. In a 757 I have, sometimes the flaps/gear dont stop making their noise either.

Pro Member Captain
Ian Stephens (ianstephens) Captain
Ian Stephens is an expert on this topic. Read his bio here.

Hello fellow pilot,

The scenario you've described appears to be a common issue that many virtual aviators encounter, particularly when approaching the crucial moments of a flight. This could potentially be attributed to a couple of factors.

First, the beeping sound is commonly associated with an aircraft warning system, the Master Caution or Master Warning (system-wide alerts for major or minor issues respectively). This sound is triggered when there's an issue with your aircraft's systems, like engine failure, electrical problems, or, in your case, potentially an autopilot issue.

To further elucidate, the autopilot may have failed to capture the glideslope, resulting in the aircraft maintaining the last given altitude. This usually happens when the aircraft is not appropriately aligned with the runway or is at the wrong altitude when attempting to intercept the glideslope.

In terms of the altitude, typically you should be around 2000-3000ft above ground level (AGL) at the initial approach fix (IAF). If the altitude is incorrect, the glideslope may not be intercepted properly, resulting in your aircraft failing to descend along it. This is one potential cause of the incessant beeping - it could be alerting you to the fact that the aircraft is not following the approach path as it should.

Secondly, the beeping could also be attributed to the overspeed warning. Although the specifics of this warning vary between different aircraft, generally, it triggers when the aircraft exceeds a safe or designated speed. With your speed at 300kts at FL320, it's possible that the aircraft was exceeding its maximum operating speed upon descent, thus causing the warning.

Now, let's tackle these issues one by one.

  • To avoid the issue with the autopilot, ensure that the aircraft is correctly positioned for the approach, both laterally and vertically. This means you should be lined up with the runway's extended centerline and at the right altitude for the approach phase. Also, ensure that the localizer frequency is set correctly, and the navigation source is set to NAV and not GPS, unless you are flying an RNAV approach.
  • To ensure you don't get an overspeed warning, try reducing your speed to below 250 knots when you're below 10,000 feet. This is not only a rule in real-world aviation, but it also helps in better managing the descent and approach phase of the flight.

Remember, flying is a skill that requires continuous learning. I'm glad to see you seeking help here and expanding your knowledge. With practice and patience, you'll have a better handle on these situations in the future.

Do note that while my advice pertains to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, the principles of approach and descent, aircraft warning systems, and autopilot usage remain generally the same across all platforms, including the newer Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 release) and X-Plane 12.

Happy landings,

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