GTN 750 and airways

[Vince R]

On a recent IFR flight to KISP, I got cleared “direct BRIGS, V139, SARDI, CCC, KISP”.

Normally, I find it easiest to type this into ForeFlight and send it to the panel via the FS510 in my GTN 750. It’s pretty much just enter the clearance verbatim, then “send to panel”. But this time, I figured I’d enter the new route right on the GTN.

Of course, you can’t just add V139 as a waypoint in a flight plan on the 750...you need to choose a VOR and select the entry/exit points on the airway. In this case, that means looking at the chart to find that SIE is where V139 connects since SIE isn’t mentioned in the clearance. I guess if you were flying V139 using the VOR, this wouldn’t be too bad since you’d need the VOR tuned to SIE anyway, but in a GPS world, this extra step is just an annoyance

So the question is whether there’s a better way to enter a flight plan containing a leg on an airway on the GTN 750?

 

[denverpilot]

You don’t need a VOR to enter a Victor Airway on the GTN, just a valid intersection on the airway.

Since BRIGS is a valid intersection along V139, you should be able to enter BRIGS on the GTN (since you didn’t say where you came from, it could be the first thing in your flightplan from present position if that was an air pickup of IFR, or you could do an “Insert Before/Insert After to get BRIGS in there, of course...) and then “Add Airway” immediately, right there on that waypoint page, just like you see on the side of a VOR page used as a waypoint, and then select SARDI as the exit point from the airway. (Or wherever you want to get off...)

You probably already know this last part but the exit points are listed in alphabetical order, not the order they are along the airway.

It’ll then pull in all the intervening waypoints along the airway and you hit “Load” to suck all of that back into the Flight Plan page for review and it’ll be navigating by all of that then.

 

[Vince R]

Yes- thanks...I thought I tried this and didn’t see “Load Airway” unless I had the VOR in the flight plan. But I just tried it on the GTN Trainer app and it works exactly as you say.

Thanks - definitely pilot error in this case.

 

[denverpilot]

Yes- thanks...I thought I tried this and didn’t see “Load Airway” unless I had the VOR in the flight plan. But I just tried it on the GTN Trainer app and it works exactly as you say.

Thanks - definitely pilot error in this case.

No big deal. There’s a lot of stuff to memorize about all the features in the GTNs, and now they’re adding real VNAV in a soonish future software update... for those driving certain autopilots with them.

On the Victor Airway thing, the gotcha is if ATC issues a clearance from an assigned heading to intercept one... then it’s kinda a mad scramble to find the closest entry waypoint along the airway for the GTN. There’s no “Vectors to Airway” feature yet. Ha.

 

[Lon33]

On the Victor Airway thing, the gotcha is if ATC issues a clearance from an assigned heading to intercept one... then it’s kinda a mad scramble to find the closest entry waypoint along the airway for the GTN. There’s no “Vectors to Airway” feature yet. Ha.

Yes, it is a mad scramble, even with a G1000 or Cirrus Perspective which don't have "Vectors to Airway" features either. I've received a heading-to-intercept-airway instruction as part of an instrument departure clearance, but I was of course on the ground and had time to figure out how to do it. How often does ATC give heading-to-intercept-airway instructions while enroute?

 

[denverpilot]

Yes, it is a mad scramble, even with a G1000 or Cirrus Perspective which don't have "Vectors to Airway" features either. I've received a heading-to-intercept-airway instruction as part of an instrument departure clearance, but I was of course on the ground and had time to figure out how to do it. How often does ATC give heading-to-intercept-airway instructions while enroute?

I’ve only ever seen it on departures after radar vectors took me off of the cleared route, but I suppose it could happen if you were a pop up.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a clearance given with a Victor Airway in it to a pop up, though.

Mainly it’s a “fly runway heading, climb and maintain 7000, cleared for takeoff” last second change in clearance while you’re literally sitting on the runway, and then a vector back to the filed course, kind of “problem”.