OnCourse Software

Flight from EDDV Hannover to LSZA Lugano using photo scenery.

On ILS approach I've just flown at 3000' through two mountain tops. It wouldn't have taken much for the contoller to guide me around them and still bring me back on course.

Comments please? Log attached.

Many thanks.

John

There are no logs.

PF3 does not know the terrain, just airport elevations.
So I'd recommend setting the FAF altitude (on the SIDs/STARs page) to a suitable value (6000 feet?).
Or enable the STAR feature, so you can fly a published approach. This does not have to be a real STAR, but could be something else, e.g. an ILS transition.

Thanks for the tip Dave. Problem was not being familiar with the terrain I didn't know I would have a problem until I got there.

I should have reacted quicker and flown round them. It would have been fairly easy to do as that would then have led me into the valley the runway is in anyway. I could have done a manual landing then or still have switched the ILS back on.

Never mind.

Thanks for the quick response.

John

JohnY wrote:

Thanks for the tip Dave. Problem was not being familiar with the terrain I didn't know I would have a problem until I got there.

I should have reacted quicker and flown round them. It would have been fairly easy to do as that would then have led me into the valley the runway is in anyway. I could have done a manual landing then or still have switched the ILS back on.

Never mind.

Thanks for the quick response.

John

Nevertheless please attach your logs so we can see exactly what kind of flight you were trying out. We can then check if there was a bug or not and also check the charts for approaches, minimum safe altitudes and FAP altitude. Putting those into PF3 and your fpl "should" ensure you don't scratch any paint.

Also as Thomas and Vololiberista mentioned above, when in unfamiliar or challenging terrain areas, flying a published procedure (departure, arrival, approach) is probably the best way to stay safe. Adjusting the FAF altitude for the airport will help but may not be enough to avoid mountains or other obstructions around the airport.

I attached the log to my original post Voliberista and Thomas.

John

JohnY wrote:

I attached the log to my original post Voliberista and Thomas.

I don't see it. Perhaps it was rejected due to file extension or size? I suggest creating a zip archive.

Sorry. You're right. I got the file but forgot to zip it.

Never mind I've come to the conclusion that I wasn't a good enough pilot on this occasion and should have taken control of the aircraft by flying manually to get round them. I could have remained on the same altitude pattern and the direction variation wouldn't have been too great to recover the approach to the valley.

I placed too much reliance on 'ATC' and auto pilot.

John

Obviously only the real local ATC know the terrain. Even so there have been many instances of real aircraft doing cfit in poor visability. So what happened to you happens in real life except that you survived to make a cup of tea!
Check the charts for minimum safe altitude. It looks a bit like a pie chart and quite often as well you will see large numbers like so.
25 over certain areas. In this case indicating MSA of 2,500ft. Usually the charts will give the MSA as an altitude ie. QNH but check if it indicates height (=above ground level). Also feed PF3 with the FAF altitude so ATC won't descend you below that.

Now, you're getting technical! But thanks for the advice Voloberista.

John