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80 CHAPTER 7. NAVIGATION, AUTOPILOTS, AND FLYING ON INSTRUMENTS
is, lit up after you pushed the button), then the autopilot will abandon your vertical mode when
the glideslope engages. This will also happen with the localizer control. If the localizer is armed,
the autopilot will abandon your heading mode when the localizer engages. This is referred to as
“capturing” the localizer or glideslope.
The key thing to realize is that the vertical speed, flight level change, and heading modes are all
modes that command the plane the moment they are engaged. Altitude, glideslope, and localizer,
on the other hand, are all armed (in standby) until one of the modes above intercepts the altitude,
glideslope, localizer, or GPS course.
An exception to the above rule is altitude. If you hit the altitude button, the autopilot will be
set to the current altitude. This is not the way a smart pilot flies, though. A smart pilot with a
good airplane, a good autopilot, and good planning will dial in the assigned altitude long before he
or she gets there (including the initial altitude before take off) and then use vertical speed, flight
level change, or even pitch sync to reach that altitude.
Here is how the system in a real plane would be used (and thus how the system in X-Plane is
best used):
1. While on the ground, short of the runway, the you are told to maintain, say, 3,000 feet. You
are given a runway heading and is cleared for takeoff.
2. You enter 3,000 feet into the ALTITUDE window and a runway heading (for instance, 290)
into the HEADING window.
3. You take off.
4. In the initial climb, around maybe 500 feet, you set the flight director to AUTO. The autopilot
notes the plane’s current pitch and roll and holds the plane steady.
5. You hit the HDG button, and the plane follows the initial runway heading.
6. You hit either the V/S, FLCH, or SPD button. The autopilot automatically notes the
current vertical velocity or airspeed, and the plane flies at that airspeed or vertical velocity
until it gets to 3,000 feet, where it levels off.
7. You are given a new heading and altitude by ATC.
8. You dial the new heading into the window, dial the new altitude into its window, and then
hit V/S, FLCH, or SPD to let the plane zoom to the new altitude.
9. You are cleared to the plane’s destination or some other fix. You enter those coordinates into
the GPS and the HSI source is set to GPS (since the autopilot follows the HSI). You hit the
LOC button. The autopilot will then follow the HSI needle deflection laterally as it climbs
to the new altitude.
Do this, and you can get where you are going.
7.3.2.3 Pitch Sync with the Pitch Sync Joystick Button
You can assign a joystick button to the pitch sync (PTCH) control. When pressed, this button
will make the autopilot match its settings to whatever you are doing as you fly the plane. Then,
when you release the pitch-sync joystick button, the autopilot servos will take hold of the yoke and
maintain the vertical speed, altitude, airspeed, or pitch that you were just flying.