Airport Offset User Waypoint

[PaulSS]

Hi all,

My searching has revealed nothing, so I either can't find it or the answer to my question is 'no'. What I would like to know is if a user waypoint can be created as an offset from a known point e.g. an airport. So, can I somehow, in flight, create a user waypoint by telling the machine to offset XXX degrees and YY NM from airport ABCD?

Thank you for your help.

 

[bleighty]

Is this so that it can line you up properly for an approach to a runway?

 

[russp]

Flight Plan Menu -> OBS mode?

 

[jnmeade]

Is this so that it can line you up properly for an approach to a runway?

Could be a location for a hold.

 

[Marc_J._Zeitlin]

My searching has revealed nothing, so I either can't find it or the answer to my question is 'no'. What I would like to know is if a user waypoint can be created as an offset from a known point e.g. an airport. So, can I somehow, in flight, create a user waypoint by telling the machine to offset XXX degrees and YY NM from airport ABCD?

No. The user guide is pretty clear in the "User Waypoint" section that you can only create User Waypoints using Lat/Long. There are no other choices. Of course, using Google Maps, Foreflight, or some other mapping software, one can easily determine the Lat/Long of anyplace on earth for input.

 

[PaulSS]

This is actually for a family member of mine who flies Air Tractor fire bombers. Some of the aircraft have been retrofitted with HDX and the fire spotters/airborne controllers usually give them instructions (fire location, hold location, etc) as a range and bearing from a local airport/airstrip. It's not to set up an approach to a runway.

As you can understand, this is done on the fly (literally) and not something that can be pre-planned with Lat/Lon on the ground. Neither can they realistically get a Lat/Lon or map pointer position in the air whilst bouncing around at low level. They could get somewhere close but if you've got several fire bombers in the area you need to be a bit more accurate when holding. Not all the aircraft have ADSB either.

I will look closely at the OBS mode, having never used it myself, but fear Marc's answer rings true. I have, of course, read the manual about User Waypoints but just wondered if others had invented a work-around.

Cheers.

 

[jnmeade]

I'm assuming there is no navradio or anything else.
Well, here's the easy way to do this, although it takes a little extra time.
You know the range and bearing from an airport or other fix. From your position, estimate a track that will intercept the desired radial and take you to a point between the airport and the fire. When you get to the bearing that dispatch gave you, turn outbound on that radial toward the fire and start watching distance. You get both of these data points from the nearest screen. I'm assuming the 'nearest' screen has an entry for the airport that dispatch use as the bearing reference. Keep you eye out so if your distance at bearing interception is too far from the airport then you'll have to turn in toward the airport, instead. Not very hard and can be done on the fly.
To be honest, it's how we used to fly an approach in actual in the early days of GPS. ATC would say fly inbound on the 123 radial. We'd fly on autopilot at an angle to the radial and when we hit it, we'd hit direct direct on the gps and in we'd fly. Easy peasy. Not exactly kosher, but......