New pilot question: Navigation

Hey folks,

Just starting to learn the A-10C and plugging through the training mission. I was going through the navigation mission and at one point they mention setting the course 270 on the HSI for WP-4. Where do you get the set course information for a waypoint?

Hey folks,Where do you get the set course information for a waypoint?

Generally speaking you really don't have to worry about it. The course information is already programmed in your CDU as it links waypoints together. 95% of the time, you don't have to touch the course set knob of your HSI. It's only there in case you decided you want to arrive at waypoint with a specific heading. The mission tells you to turn the course knob just so that you learn something about the HSI but it's not something you are required to do in practice.

Other than that, literally speaking of "setting the course 270 on the HSI for WP-4" could mean:

watch your HSI (that compass with many fancy needles) and turn until you point 270

always on HSI you can rotate the knob next to it until a needle points to 270. It is not necessary, it only helps you to remind your direction, although it has its reason for more advanced navigations

By default the CDI deflection is not tied to couse setting. There are several modes, TO-TO TO-FROM and FROM. I think the default is TO-TO which deflects the CDI appropriately regardless of CRS knob (although that will orient the picture helpfully).

I think there is a CDU page where you can monitor your XTE heads up.

Sorry guys I think you misunderstood. I know I generally dont worry about it but sometimes I want to have the correct approach vector to a WP set as IP. In the navigation tutorial the guy said "we know that our course is supposed to be 270" and my first question back at the instructor was "Yeah? how do I know that?" I looked through the CDU pages I had available as well as the HUD and could not see anything to tell me that the course to WP4 was 270. So I feel like I am missing something.

More than likely "we know that" is code for "this is something you covered in brief and is on the printed paper lineup card strapped to your leg" but it can be looked up in the jet electronically.

It depends if you're in the mission or flight plan waypoint pool. Defaults atttributes are TO TO for flight plan and TO FROM otherwise (including the defaults to apply to newly created flight plans, confusing yet?).

Provided you are in a default flight plan waypoint the mode is TO TO which controls CDI by the course from the previous waypoint in said flight plan. You can look up what the course setting is or course to set on the ATTRIB page. It will say "HSI SET AT CRS: XXX.X" or "DIAL HSI TO CRS: XXX.X" respectively. So read the number off this page to learn the course to the current FP waypoint from the previous (what is considered previous can be changed but defaults to the obvious).

Ignore the rest of the settings on the ATTRIB page as they set the default preferences for new waypoints/flight plans as they will be created in the future and don't change any that currently exist.

Now if you want to dictate what the course is you have to change the mode to TO FROM for that waypoint-in-flight-plan's attributes which is in the FPMENU, inside the flight plan, and attributes for that particular instance of that waypoint in that particular flight plan.

If you're not in the FP waypoint pool, just using the waypoint directly then it defaults to TO FROM so just crank the CRS knob. You can also specify a particular FROM PT for a bare waypoint manually if you want to define the from direction that way.

There is also a digital representation of cross track error available on the SYS>INS>POS page (not to be confused with the more easily found POS INFO page, took me a while to find it!).