General question about the default GNS 530 GPS in FS2020

[DHenriques_]

Just a performance question where I need an answer please. I want to check if anyone else has this issue regardless of the plane involved.
Please read what follows carefully and let me know if you can replicate or have noticed this using the default GNS530 on your system.
Scenario;
Enter a VFR flight plan in the sim and select direct GPS.
You should get the default map screen and a magenta line with correct Course to track showing.
Take off and manually fly to the line, engage NAV and ALT either on or very near the magenta line.

What I am getting is ok for the ALT but the aircraft icon on the screen settles in parallel to the course line but off to the side.
Checking the CDI on the GPS screen that shows directly on course.

So the issue seems to be the aircraft icon not centering on the magenta line while all else seems normal.
I get this in both the Flysimware 414 and the Milviz 310.
Can anyone confirm after setting up a flight plan and flying it for a short while?
I've been told it is an Asobo issue if anyone can confirm that?

Thanks much,
DH

[Les Parson]

Just a performance question where I need an answer please. I want to check if anyone else has this issue regardless of the plane involved.
Please read what follows carefully and let me know if you can replicate or have noticed this using the default GNS530 on your system.
Scenario;
Enter a VFR flight plan in the sim and select direct GPS.
You should get the default map screen and a magenta line with correct Course to track showing.
Take off and manually fly to the line, engage NAV and ALT either on or very near the magenta line.

What I am getting is ok for the ALT but the aircraft icon on the screen settles in parallel to the course line but off to the side.
Checking the CDI on the GPS screen that shows directly on course.

So the issue seems to be the aircraft icon not centering on the magenta line while all else seems normal.
I get this in both the Flysimware 414 and the Milviz 310.
Can anyone confirm after setting up a flight plan and flying it for a short while?
I've been told it is an Asobo issue if anyone can confirm that?

Thanks much,
DH

I'm new to FS 2020 and just getting used to it from my usual P3DV5/A2A V35/. I am not experiencing the issue you experienced. Performing a VFR test flight the other day with the Milviz C310R G530/G430, everything seemed on track and centered on ther magenta line. Are you using the PMS50 Mod? If not, perhaps that is the difference. See link below:

https://flightsim.to/file/4700/gns530-mod

[DHenriques_]

Just a performance question where I need an answer please. I want to check if anyone else has this issue regardless of the plane involved.
Please read what follows carefully and let me know if you can replicate or have noticed this using the default GNS530 on your system.
Scenario;
Enter a VFR flight plan in the sim and select direct GPS.
You should get the default map screen and a magenta line with correct Course to track showing.
Take off and manually fly to the line, engage NAV and ALT either on or very near the magenta line.

What I am getting is ok for the ALT but the aircraft icon on the screen settles in parallel to the course line but off to the side.
Checking the CDI on the GPS screen that shows directly on course.

So the issue seems to be the aircraft icon not centering on the magenta line while all else seems normal.
I get this in both the Flysimware 414 and the Milviz 310.
Can anyone confirm after setting up a flight plan and flying it for a short while?
I've been told it is an Asobo issue if anyone can confirm that?

Thanks much,
DH

I'm new to FS 2020 and just getting used to it from my usual P3DV5/A2A V35/. I am not experiencing the issue you experienced. Performing a VFR test flight the other day with the Milviz C310R G530/G430, everything seemed on track and centered on ther magenta line. Are you using the PMS50 Mod? If not, perhaps that is the difference. See link below:

https://flightsim.to/file/4700/gns530-mod

No mod, just the default, and thank you for the reply.

[AKar]

Hi Dudley,

at least some autopilots in some versions of the previous generations of FS showed this behavior if there was any gyro drift present. They would establish a course parallel to the flight plan track but with a cross track error proportional to the gyro heading's error. Effectively, you could calibrate your directional gyro by making the aircraft follow the track precisely on GPS. Which would be kind of brilliant if that was how it worked in reality!

Not sure if that's what is going on but I instantly recalled that behavior when reading your description of the problem.

-Esa

[lonewulf47]

I severely doubt that this anomaly deals with gyro drift or similar issues. If a TDI shows zero deflection and the A/C symbol is off of the magenta line, it simply means that the magenta line (or, but very unlikely, the A/C symbol) is misplaced on the respective GPS map. I see this regularly when working with the default GPS'es. I use a program which allows me to transfer a flightplan into the correct \LocalState subfolder in .pln format and do all edits within this .pln file. The result is that sometimes there is not even a flightplan drawn on the GPS map display or sometimes only a rudimentary part of the flightplan. Changes within the active flightplan (done directly in the transferred .pln) are however followed properly by FD/AP, however no changes whatsoever are visible on the GPS map.

My conclusion on these findings is that MSFS (obviously) uses two different layers of flightplan information, one for FD/AP control and one for drawing. Those two layers are not properly synchronized. Whenever you edit the .pln in the \LocalState folder, the FD/AP commands will follow these edits, however they are not reflected on the GPS map. That's at least how I have seen it all these days. In fact not the only severe mishap (to say it politely) in the whole field of aerial navigation in MSFS. They had the chance to create from scratch a new and faultless aerial navigation setup in a new simulator and they blew it. Part of it is due to lack of knowledge and part of it due to pure arrogance in the sense of: "we are ASOBO/Microsoft and we know everything and not only everything but also everything better..." Sorry to say this with all bitterness. I'm working for more than two decades in the field of aeral navigation, coping with ARINC procedures and coding. So at least I have some ideas about these matters...

[DHenriques_]

I severely doubt that this anomaly deals with gyro drift or similar issues. If a TDI shows zero deflection and the A/C symbol is off of the magenta line, it simply means that the magenta line (or, but very unlikely, the A/C symbol) is misplaced on the respective GPS map. I see this regularly when working with the default GPS'es. I use a program which allows me to transfer a flightplan into the correct \LocalState subfolder in .pln format and do all edits within this .pln file. The result is that sometimes there is not even a flightplan drawn on the GPS map display or sometimes only a rudimentary part of the flightplan. Changes within the active flightplan (done directly in the transferred .pln) are however followed properly by FD/AP, however no changes whatsoever are visible on the GPS map.

My conclusion on these findings is that MSFS (obviously) uses two different layers of flightplan information, one for FD/AP control and one for drawing. Those two layers are not properly synchronized. Whenever you edit the .pln in the \LocalState folder, the FD/AP commands will follow these edits, however they are not reflected on the GPS map. That's at least how I have seen it all these days. In fact not the only severe mishap (to say it politely) in the whole field of aerial navigation in MSFS. They had the chance to create from scratch a new and faultless aerial navigation setup in a new simulator and they blew it. Part of it is due to lack of knowledge and part of it due to pure arrogance in the sense of: "we are ASOBO/Microsoft and we know everything and not only everything but also everything better..." Sorry to say this with all bitterness. I'm working for more than two decades in the field of aeral navigation, coping with ARINC procedures and coding. So at least I have some ideas about these matters...

This would concur with what I've been told. It looks like it is an Asobo issue affecting "some" add on planes.
For the Cessna 414 I've been considering getting the paid 750 Garmin but checking the developer's website all I'm seeing there is people with issues there as well.
I guess until Asobo fixes these things I'll just use VOR which is the way I used to navigate anyway.
Hell......I learned holding patterns using a Narco Superhomer ! LOL
D

[lonewulf47]

...
I guess until Asobo fixes these things I'll just use VOR which is the way I used to navigate anyway.
Hell......I learned holding patterns using a Narco Superhomer ! LOL
D

Yep, even if it sounds unbelievable, but VOR (and even NDB) navigation is still possible with the World's most advanced Flight Simulator... (at least that.... ) !! The flying dinosaurs will still find their way - won't they? ...

[DHenriques_]

...
I guess until Asobo fixes these things I'll just use VOR which is the way I used to navigate anyway.
Hell......I learned holding patterns using a Narco Superhomer ! LOL
D

Yep, even if it sounds unbelievable, but VOR (and even NDB) navigation is still possible with the World's most advanced Flight Simulator... (at least that.... ) !! The flying dinosaurs will still find their way - won't they? ...

I remember a friend of mine who applied once for a job with National Coast and Geodetic. They had an old P38 all decked out with expensive map making equipment and cameras. Then they told him the job was in South America. He was all set to go and happened to ask them about nav facilities down there in case he got lost . "No sweat" they said. "No VOR, but the place is loaded with low frequency stuff and the plane has a LF radio".
He turned down the job. LOL
The three most feared words in all of aviation seems to be "Radar service terminated". )))))
D

[Les Parson]

...
I guess until Asobo fixes these things I'll just use VOR which is the way I used to navigate anyway.
Hell......I learned holding patterns using a Narco Superhomer ! LOL
D

Yep, even if it sounds unbelievable, but VOR (and even NDB) navigation is still possible with the World's most advanced Flight Simulator... (at least that.... ) !! The flying dinosaurs will still find their way - won't they? ...

I remember a friend of mine who applied once for a job with National Coast and Geodetic. They had an old P38 all decked out with expensive map making equipment and cameras. Then they told him the job was in South America. He was all set to go and happened to ask them about nav facilities down there in case he got lost . "No sweat" they said. "No VOR, but the place is loaded with low frequency stuff and the plane has a LF radio".
He turned down the job. LOL
The three most feared words in all of aviation seems to be "Radar service terminated". )))))
D

or "Radar Contact Lost".

[lonewulf47]

...
The three most feared words in all of aviation seems to be "Radar service terminated". )))))
D

Definitely !!

[AKar]

I severely doubt that this anomaly deals with gyro drift or similar issues. [...]

Haha, good to learn they are not repeating the same issues but are coming up with entirely new ones! Indeed, I had that happening last, I think, either in FS9 or FSX with defaultish autopilot setups. I can't remember what the exact indications were, I just remember the behavior. My FS2020 is still pending installation for just a little while.

Too bad the Reality XP seems not to happen in MSFS anytime soon.

-Esa

[TreeTops]

Dudley, if you are looking into the GTN750 payware options, I would highly recommend the TDS version as it is based on the Garmin Trainer.
The PMS version does not have all the correct features and is decidedly slow moving between steps (like up to 3 seconds to accept a keypress). The one thing it has going for it is that it is based off Navigraph data and shows charts worldwide if you have the subscription.
I bought a 12 month subscription of the PMS version, used it for several days, then got the TDS version to compare and have used that one exclusively since.

[MarcE]

My PMS works without delay. With the 530 rework I had lags with the selection knobs but they were entirely gone when I got a new PC with a fast CPU. I didn't have the 750 on my old system (i7 6700k) so I can't compare but with my Ryzen 9 5900x I have no lags anymore anywhere using the GPS devices. They DO have some shortcomings in functionailty but in my opinion they are absolutely great for a flight simulator. All above the 530/430 rework is free and certainly worth the try.

https://github.com/pimarc/pms50-gns530

I don't use the TDS GTN but I wonder whether using the trainer will once again make us stuck with old navdata? I was blown away when I saw what PMS50 offered and decided I can totally deal with some missing features if I have the actual data in the device that I use in the sim as well.

[ryanbatc]

Too bad the Reality XP seems not to happen in MSFS anytime soon.

-Esa

Go with TDS GTN 750Xi - it's similar to what we had in P3D/FSX but better.

[ryanbatc]

I've been told it is an Asobo issue if anyone can confirm that?

Yes it is. But do not worry. Working Title is doing a major upgrade to all the stock Garmins. They've already done the G1000 NXi, and are nearing completion on the GNS and G3000. Once finished they will operate like the old RXP units. Oh, and this will be integrated into the base simulator eventually. All free.