Help on GPS - Latitude and Longitude

A

Al Siz

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Jul 6, 2022
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NovicePilot
Hi Guys, hope I am in the right forum for my question.

How to mark the airfield latitude and longitude where I took off from.
Explain, as a new private pilot student using I've using the X-PLANE flight simulator with the Cessna 172, I would like to know if there is a way that I can mark in my GPS or instrument the latitude and longitude that way I know how to find my airfield, the reason for this question is that when I am using the simulator taking off is no problem, neither is flying for a while, my problem is finding the airfield or airport where I originally took off and when I finally find it then I can't never center to the air strip.

Please forgive my ignorance but I am very new to this just started couple days ago.
 
I'm afraid you're not giving us enough information to be helpful.

What kind of GPS equipment are you using in X-Plane? Are you flying a real Cessna 172 as part of being a student pilot, or is this sim time a precursor to real flying?
 
Most GPS units have a "go to" function where you enter the airport by pressing on the map or entering the airport ID. No lat/long required.
 
Airplane GPS’s have thousands of airports pre-programmed in, so you don’t need lat/long.
You just need the four-letter code for the airport. It probably starts with a "K". Something like "KSFO" for San Francisco.
 
Should function the same in XP as it does IRL.
 
TCABM said:
Should function the same in XP as it does IRL.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I've been trying to get the GPS to work on the X-Plane but I have not been successful I am very new to this that I am looking all avenue to understand it.
Thanks again for your reply
 
TCABM said:
Should function the same in XP as it does IRL.
Click to expand...
TCABM said:
Should function the same in XP as it does IRL.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I've been trying to hard to get the GPS to work on the X-Plane with no good luck and I am looking all avenue to understand it.
Thanks again for your reply
 
This seems a bit more xplane related so you might have better luck on their dedicated forums.
 
As a related suggestion, do you use Garmin Pilot or ForeFlight? If so, at least w/ GP, you can configure XP to send a GPS signal to it and have the GPS experience be more similar to an actual flight.
 
Download ForeFlight on your iPhone or iPad. X-Plane talks to it. I believe it will be free for that kind of use.
 
WADR, as a budding pilot you should be learning navigational skills, not how to follow magenta lines. Turn off that GPS and try some dead reckoning and some pilotage. The windows are not just to let light into the airplane.
 
Look it up in the directory and write down the lat/long.
 
Screenshot 2022-07-09 101822.png
The national airspace system has predetermined waypoints already programmed into the GPS aviation database. included are airports like KTGI or 7W4, VORs like Brooke BRV, Cape Charles CCV, or Cassanova CSN, VOR intersections like GRUBY or JAMIE, and VFR waypoints like VPACE and VPAXI and there are others as well. Most of these can be identified on a sectional chart or an online version like SkyVector. To use these in a GPS simply tell the GPS to go there using the appropriate identifier with the direct-to function, or put them as a waypoint in a multi leg route using the route function.
 
Last edited:
Rgbeard said:
I'm afraid you're not giving us enough information to be helpful.

What kind of GPS equipment are you using in X-Plane? Are you flying a real Cessna 172 as part of being a student pilot, or is this sim time a precursor to real flying?
Click to expand...
Default GPS on the X-PLANE 10 is the 430 with the Cessna 172SP which I finally got it work, now I know how to enter the FPL(Flight Plan) and Set it up with the Autopilot with no problem but the GPS never takes me to the entered flight plan it just keeps going off course, I need to investigate more with GPS and Autopilot. Thanks again.
 
Al Siz said:
Default GPS on the X-PLANE 10 is the 430 with the Cessna 172SP which I finally got it work, now I know how to enter the FPL(Flight Plan) and Set it up with the Autopilot with no problem but the GPS never takes me to the entered flight plan it just keeps going off course, I need to investigate more with GPS and Autopilot. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

this seems a bit too much for a VFR not-yet-flying student to be doing, IMO.
 
Al Siz said:
Default GPS on the X-PLANE 10 is the 430 with the Cessna 172SP which I finally got it work, now I know how to enter the FPL(Flight Plan) and Set it up with the Autopilot with no problem but the GPS never takes me to the entered flight plan it just keeps going off course, I need to investigate more with GPS and Autopilot. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
First I'd suggest updating to X-Plane 11.55, the current released version.
Here's a Primer on X-Plane that might help... it includes info on Autopilot operation.
Wayne
 
Al Siz said:
Hi Guys, hope I am in the right forum for my question.

How to mark the airfield latitude and longitude where I took off from.
Explain, as a new private pilot student using I've using the X-PLANE flight simulator with the Cessna 172, I would like to know if there is a way that I can mark in my GPS or instrument the latitude and longitude that way I know how to find my airfield, the reason for this question is that when I am using the simulator taking off is no problem, neither is flying for a while, my problem is finding the airfield or airport where I originally took off and when I finally find it then I can't never center to the air strip.

Please forgive my ignorance but I am very new to this just started couple days ago.
Click to expand...

Now maybe I figured out why some people put the departure airport in the RNAV as a user waypoint for no apparent reason.
 
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