Yes it does work - when it feels like it. The Comet SFS & A/P will run off NAV1 & NAV2 as selected.
It uses the standard FS flight director & I've never been that convinced about it. Land (crash?) the default 737 using flight director + ILS and you will have a similar experience. I did anyway. :think:
I never use the flight director because it does seem a bit hit and miss. I think with ILS, you have to engage the correct mode before you intercept either beam to get the best indications out of it.
And most important - To get Flight Director info from the ILS on the Comet, even if the A/P is disengaged you still have to pull the GLIDE button 'ON'.
One further question I have regarding Smith's Flight System and ILS I forgot to try it on the Comet but assume it operates in the same way as Ricks' Viscounts.
When either selecting SFS to 1 or 2 to intercept the ILS the OBS does not turn and yet when the selector is neutral the OBS is moveable!!
Find that when on ILS approach the OBS is ideal but when flying an aircraft with SFS fitted you cannot dial in a heading.
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
Could be I'm misunderstanding, but I don't recognize that behaviour Nigel, not in the Comet or Viscount.
The only odd thing I can think of with the SFS is that it will hold a separate Course for NAV1 & NAV2, so if you switch the SFS between NAV1 & NAV2 the course may change for each one. But it can always be altered.
The Comet & Viscount SFS are similar, if not identical, units. But the gauges have been developed independantly & there are bound to be some minor differences.
As I understand it on both David's and my systems, the topmost point of the Beam Compass card represents the selected radial, and should match the numerical radial on the Bearing Selector. With the SFS selector switch at Radio1 the Nav1 selected radial is shown. With the SFS switch OFF the card will continue to show the last Nav1 radial selected, and indeed can be altered by either the Bearing selector or the Beam Compass lamp mouse area, but no deviation signals will show.
Selecting Radio2 on the SFS selector will cause the card to intantly jump to the last selected Nav2 Radial, which can be adjusted the same way. ;-)
Don't understand what you're driving at when you say you can't dial in a heading Nigel? :think: The heading index on the Beam Compass enables a preselected heading to be entered prior to engaging the heading button on the AP.
Regarding the above post by Ravilamir (hope I spelled that right!), I cannot see the pitch reference for the glide path that he referenced to the number 3 in his illustration. I have flown two ILS's with the new panel and it has not appeared...at least I sure couldn't find it. I had no problems with the glide path indicator in the previous version of the Comet, nor do I with the VC9.
Another minor (and probably niggling) item: in the VC when the mouse is held over the OAT, all the tool tip says is "Outside Air Temperature Gauge". It would be nice if the tool tip displayed the actual temperature, as the gauge is pretty small and unreadable (at least for me). I like to know the temperature in order to do TAS calculations.
Many thanks for the upgrade to what was already a magnificent package!
Regards,
Scott
KJMS (or thereabouts)
"...now let's get this thing on the hump - we've got some flyin' to do!" Major Kong
You spelled it right! Ravilamir is just a contraption of some of my names as my full name is very long (my mother being of noble origins gave all her children 6 names).
I agree with you that the Pitch Director barely moves but it is just a minor thing on what is a magnificent panel.
Find that when on ILS approach the OBS is ideal but when flying an aircraft with SFS fitted you cannot dial in a heading.
DM and Frazer
Re the above comment I made, found what it was. I had made a keystoke to select OBS (O) then use the plus and minus to select the heading. When as per the quote above the key stroke was selected I could not dial the heading using the plus or minus however, on using the knob it works.
Hope that explains the remark clearly.
Regards Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.
