ILS Support?

[Ashilta]

Ahoy team,

 

I've been doing a lot of work in the KA-50 recently, and someone suggested to me that we should try a couple of 'instrument approaches.' Now, as a RW pilot with some experience, I'm satisfied to say that I wouldn't consider flying a non-precision approach without some sort of guidance (a chart/plate for an NDB approach for those familiar with the expression), and so I'm left with the possibility of flying a precision approach.

 

The only type of precision approach modelled in DCS is the ILS, but does the KA-50 support flying an ILS approach, and if so, how is it to be configured?

 

Thanks,

Adam

[Raptor9]

The DCS Ka-50 does not support ILS approaches, unfortunately. Nor are there any native IFR approach plates for DCS. There are visual app/dep charts available, but those obviously don't provide the info you need. The only actual navaid receiver the Ka-50 has is the ADF receiver for the NDB beacons that are present around most of the airfields, mostly on the Russian side of the map.

 

On another note, you can use the ILS transmitter as a sort of NDB if the airport doesn't have actual NDB's. The R-800 radio can tune down as low as 100 MHz, so tune up the ILS freq on the R-800 radio and switch on ADF on the R-800 panel. The yellow RMI needle on the HSI will slave to the R-800 radio and will now point toward the ILS transmitter on the airfield. Not a precision approach by far, but it works in a pinch to get you in the airfield vicinity if you're inadvertent IMC.

 

The best approaches I've flown in the Ka-50 are GPS approaches I've set up myself. In my COIN campaign map, I developed a GPS approach for emergency IMC recovery into the FARP where the Ka-50's are based out of. It requires knowledge on how to edit, save, and load flight plan routes in the ABRIS. It's still technically a non-precision approach, but since you can assign altitude values to the waypoints, it allows you to step down in altitude as you go from one waypoint to the next.

 

To take it a step further, if you program the PVI with the approach, you can let the autopilot fly it for you. I've done this with the DH/DT switch on DT (Desired Track) and altitude hold channel engaged. The autopilot flew directly to the first waypoint (the holding fix) at altitude, and then turned on course to the IAF, and on down to the FAF, and the MDA waypoint; flying a perfect descent rate between the waypoint altitudes as well. Complete hands off approach until I got to the final waypoint at the Minimum Descent Altitude.