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Persian Gulf beacon mod


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I haven't looked into this myself, but the behaviour of the LOC/GP bars is part of the F-18 avionics and core sim ILS simulation (ICLS is simulated as a regular ILS, just with different frequencies), so there isn't really anything to do about that without digging deep into the various luas.

 

The ICLS GP angle is also fixed at 3.5°; this seems to be set in BeaconTypes.lua. For the carriers (Stennis & Tarawa), the ICLS GP angle is defined in the "GT.ICLS_Glideslope_position"-array, but there is no such setting that I can find for use in the beacons.lua.

 

As for the GP coverage, I don't know what the specs for the ICLS are, but if it is anything like civilian ILS in the sim, it should give coverage in a ±8° azimut sector, up to 1,75xGPA and down to 0,45xGPA above the horizontal plane (so with a 3° GPA (=glide path angle), you would have coverage up to 5,25°, and down to 1,35°).

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  • 2 weeks later...
I haven't looked into this myself, but the behaviour of the LOC/GP bars is part of the F-18 avionics and core sim ILS simulation (ICLS is simulated as a regular ILS, just with different frequencies), so there isn't really anything to do about that without digging deep into the various luas.

 

The ICLS GP angle is also fixed at 3.5°; this seems to be set in BeaconTypes.lua. For the carriers (Stennis & Tarawa), the ICLS GP angle is defined in the "GT.ICLS_Glideslope_position"-array, but there is no such setting that I can find for use in the beacons.lua.

 

As for the GP coverage, I don't know what the specs for the ICLS are, but if it is anything like civilian ILS in the sim, it should give coverage in a ±8° azimut sector, up to 1,75xGPA and down to 0,45xGPA above the horizontal plane (so with a 3° GPA (=glide path angle), you would have coverage up to 5,25°, and down to 1,35°).

 

The last two updates .2115 and .21235 have overwritten the modified “Beacon.lua” file with the DCS standard beacon file.

No real problem, the mod file can easily be restored.

 

The glide path slope bar is simply not working, it has no function as an ILS GP indicator.

It first appears when less than 5 nm miles close to the RWY although entering the 3 deg ILS GP sector more than 10 miles before.

The GP slope bar stays with constant distance always a little above the velocity vector and doesn’t move even when rough altitude changes are made.

It moves down or up as the velocity vector moves up or down as it would be coupled to the velocity vector. This doesn't make sense.

 

The localizer bar is working as it should be for ILS RWY heading.

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The GP slope bar stays with constant distance always a little above the velocity vector and doesn’t move even when rough altitude changes are made.

It moves down or up as the velocity vector moves up or down as it would be coupled to the velocity vector. This doesn't make sense.

 

 

Now that definitely doesn't sound right. I'll look into it after work. It was working fine last time I checked, but that was a few updates ago, so things may have changed since then.

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Now that definitely doesn't sound right. I'll look into it after work. It was working fine last time I checked, but that was a few updates ago, so things may have changed since then.

 

I'm looking forward to your findings. I still hoping that I'm doing something wrong because I truly love the mod ILS capabilities for the Hornet.

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I did a quick test at Jebel Ali. Constant speed/altitude (377kt/2000ft).

 

 

 

1. Where the GP bar first appears. 6,9NM out

2. On GP, 6NM out. This corresponds quite well with the theoretical value (3° GPA @ 6NM slant range = 1908ft above THR, 3,5° GPA @ 6NM = 2226ft)

3. The GP bar drops lower as the range decreases.

4-5. Maximum deflection down

 

 

So it seems to be working here.

 

 

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=193779&stc=1&d=1536588512

testing.thumb.png.4578cb857c43d283b1f0a7d2e8b1c833.png

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I did a quick test at Jebel Ali. Constant speed/altitude (377kt/2000ft).

 

 

 

1. Where the GP bar first appears. 6,9NM out

2. On GP, 6NM out. This corresponds quite well with the theoretical value (3° GPA @ 6NM slant range = 1908ft above THR, 3,5° GPA @ 6NM = 2226ft)

3. The GP bar drops lower as the range decreases.

4-5. Maximum deflection down

 

So it seems to be working here.

 

 

Yes, looks good.

 

I'll repeat your test at DUBAI with an 12L approach at two constant altitudes:

 

1. constant 2000 ft: bar appears 6 nm before threshold and moves down, as has been shown clearly

 

2. constant 3200 ft: bar should appear 10 nm before threshold and should move down constantly while approaching.

 

As ILS standard the glide slope bar is usable to the distance of at least 10 nm.

And it often has been certified for an extended service which exceedds 10 nm.

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I did a quick test at Jebel Ali. Constant speed/altitude (377kt/2000ft).

 

 

 

1. Where the GP bar first appears. 6,9NM out

2. On GP, 6NM out. This corresponds quite well with the theoretical value (3° GPA @ 6NM slant range = 1908ft above THR, 3,5° GPA @ 6NM = 2226ft)

3. The GP bar drops lower as the range decreases.

4-5. Maximum deflection down

 

So it seems to be working here.

 

Everything is fine now, the ICLS/ILS mod is working well.

I did an ILS approach to RWY 12L at Dubai Intl.

 

According to the JEPP ILS chart for RWY 12L the final glide path approach segment begins 5.9 nm before threshold, at the final approach point (FAP).

In the sim the glide slope bar appears 6.1 nm before threshold, perfect.

 

The entry ALT of 2000 ft is mandatory at the FAP.

Flying this altitude constantly the glide slope bar moves continuously down as becoming closer to the RWY - checked.

 

According to the ILS chart the localizer (ILS DME 110.1, IDBL) can be received at a distance of at least 12.1 nm.

In the sim the localizer bar can be received long before, namely at a distance of about 20 nm or so - checked.

 

I was misled in my early findings that the glide path coverage should also be to a distance of 10 nm,

which could be but at some airports but is not always standard.

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Why I have 2* 84X on the MAP now? Should that be? One @Khasab, the other @SiriIsland.

 

as drPhibes has already explained its 84X and 84Y, they are different channels.

 

TACANs double the number of channels by having an X and Y bands.

This allows more TACANs to be used without repeating channels too close to each other.

 

Most civilian systems use X channel spacing. The plane transmits on 1025 MHz and the ground Station replies on 962 MHz.

 

In a Y channel system the plane transmits on 1025 MHz and the ground Station replies on 1088 Mhz.

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Khasab is 84X @ 113.70 MHz, and Sirri is 84Y @ 113.75 MHz

 

I rechecked this:

In the AV-8B they are both 84X. I am getting no signal in Y. And if I receive both signals, my TACAN signal is moving on the MFD. Depends on how close I am to each of them.

That's the behavior. Maybe it's different in the F/A-18C? I will check that later.

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Could you think about making such a list for the new Syria map ?

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Could you think about making such a list for the new Syria map ?

 

+1!

 - "Don't be John Wayne in the Break if you´re going to be Jerry Lewis on the Ball".

About carrier ops: "The younger pilots are still quite capable of holding their heads forward against the forces. The older ones have been doing this too long and know better; sore necks make for poor sleep.'

 

PC: I7 4790K 4.6ghz | 32GB RAM | Zotac GTX 1080Ti 11Gb DDR5x | Water cooler NZXT AIO Kraken x53 | 3.5TB (x4 SSD´s) | Valve Index| Andre´s JeatSeat.

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Unfortunately I haven't kept this mod up to date, so it may not represent the current status of the PG map that well.

 

I have been tinkering a bit with it, adding regular ILS to a few airfields which ED has omitted; Ras Al Kaimah and/or Al Ain(can't remember which one, if not both), and Al Bateen. Al Bateen is a bit of an odd case since ED has added the 3d model for the localizer array, but the placement is wrong (rotated 180°), and no entry for the airport is present in the beacon file. It seems a bit half baked ATM.

Eventually I'll update the public mod with these changes (and new ICLS beacons where needed), and then go on to the Syria map.


Edited by drPhibes
typo.
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Unfortunately I haven't kept this mod up to date, so it may not represent the current status of the PG map that well.

 

I have been tinkering a bit with it, adding regular ILS to a few airfields which ED has omitted; Ras Al Kaimah and/or Al Bateen (can't remember which one, if not both), and Al Bateen. Al Bateen is a bit of an odd case since ED has added the 3d model for the localizer array, but the placement is wrong (rotated 180°), and no entry for the airport is present in the beacon file. It seems a bit half baked ATM.

Eventually I'll update the public mod with these changes (and new ICLS beacons where needed), and then go on to the Syria map.

 

Thank you.

 - "Don't be John Wayne in the Break if you´re going to be Jerry Lewis on the Ball".

About carrier ops: "The younger pilots are still quite capable of holding their heads forward against the forces. The older ones have been doing this too long and know better; sore necks make for poor sleep.'

 

PC: I7 4790K 4.6ghz | 32GB RAM | Zotac GTX 1080Ti 11Gb DDR5x | Water cooler NZXT AIO Kraken x53 | 3.5TB (x4 SSD´s) | Valve Index| Andre´s JeatSeat.

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Here's a small behind the scenes peek into how I make new beacons. I made a spreadsheet which simplifies the process a lot, so it basically boils down to a bit of Google Earth and mission editor work:

 

1. Find an airport that should have ILS, but doesn't in DCS. For the PG map this is quite easy since I have been involved in ILS deliveries to most of the airports in question. An other method is to just check the AIPs for the airports (which is needed anyways, in order to get the correct frequncy and ident, unless you have this info from other sources).

2. Google earth surveying: I find the location of the localizer (LOC) and glide path (GP) antennas and reference their position to the thresholds and centerline of the runway. Google earth coordinates aren't necessarily 1:1 with DCS, so this is the best way I have found of semi-accurately placing the beacons. The positions are noted in collumn B and D in the spreadsheet.

3. I check AIP AD 2.19 to find the LOC frequency and IDs of the navaids. DCS handles the LOC/GP frequency pairing, so there's no need to check the GP freq. in Annex 10. The results are noted in collumn F/G.

4. Collumn H is just a note of where the GP is located in relation to the runway.

5. Collumn I-O: DCS mission editor surveying. I find the points specified in col. B/D in the mission editor, and note down the coordinates in both X/Y metric (I/J) and decimal degrees (L/M), and the elevation in meters (K). N is the runway heading in degrees, referenced to true north, and it ranges from -180° to +180°. So N, E, S and W would be 0, 90, 180, -90. The reason why there are both metric X/Y and lat/lon coordinates is that one defines the placement of the navaid, and one defines the placement of the mission editor/F10 map symbology. Collumn O defines an offset in the localizer coverage symbology, so that it emanates from the opposite runway end.

6. Beacon ID (col. P) is taken from the beacons.lua entries for the airport in question. If no navaids exist at the airport, just chose the next available number. Beacon number (col. Q) is the next available beacon number for the given beacon ID. DisplayName is just used in the LUA to keep stuff organized.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=247654&stc=1&d=1600353455

 

 

When I finish filling out these various parameters, I go on to sheet 2 of the spreadsheet, where I generate the lua code using 'concat', pre-defined strings and the values from sheet 1:

attachment.php?attachmentid=247655&stc=1&d=1600353455

spreadsheet.thumb.PNG.4aea22967232db118ae4ee76cfa03d1f.PNG

spreadsheet2.PNG.8a1d5fbb0aa5786fdbd72d08187c772f.PNG


Edited by drPhibes
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Can you explain how you obtain the offset value a bit more?

 

 

The "chartOffsetX =" parameter moves the ILS coverage sector illustration so that the sectors for opposite runway ends don't overlap. It makes things a bit tidier in the F10 map / ME, but it doesn't affect the simulated signals in any way. Note that it's only really relevant for the localizer, since the GP coverage sector isn't shown.

 

 

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=247794&stc=1&d=1600530096

1815895851_chartOffsetXillustration.thumb.PNG.9b7f158850907882070164ead362e68e.PNG

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  • 3 months later...

Many thanks!

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