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Editing ILSes with a Text Editor

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Kai Malcolm edited this page Jan 28, 2021 · 1 revision

Setup

Required programs for this tutorial:

  • WED
  • Text/code editor (In this tutorial I am using Sublime Text 3, which is a free to use program)
  • GitHub Desktop

Before beginning to edit ILS approaches, clone the airports and navigation folder (folder's fork if you are new) anywhere on your computer. In the airports' folder, select the development branch in order to have the latest version of all airports.

Getting Started

Open the LOC.json and Glideslope.json files in your text/code editor. It would be easier if your program supports working in split-view if not don't worry then search for the airport’s ICAO (use command/ctrl + F). In this tutorial, I’ll be editing KEVV.

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Go in your standard web browser and search for ILS charts for your assigned airport. However if you aren't able to find any recent charts then feel free to ask on Discord in #navigation.

Each runway which is ILS equipped should have a chart. On the chart, look for these three things. In the picture below these have been highlighted.

  • Identifier
  • Frequency
  • Glideslope angle

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Compare this data with the files. It is already correct most of the time, but if it’s not the case, correct it. While this data isn’t used in Infinite Flight yet, it may come in the future. The fields you would need to edit are "identifier", "frequency" and "glideslope" Make sure the data is the same on both files.

As you can see the identifier is correct along with the frequency.

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The runway number will need to be changed if the airport has been edited to include the new runway numbers.

Once the Identifier, Frequency and Glideslope angle have been checked and or edited we will move on to changing the runway coordinates.

Runway Coordinates

The easiest way to do this would be to open up the airport's apt.dat data in your browser and look for the coordinates within the code. The picture below will show you where to find them.

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The coordinates then need to be copied and pasted into the correct places. (See Below)

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Keep the airport code open as we will need it for the airport elevation.

Elevation

The airport elevation is always located here within the code in feet. In this example the elevation is 420. Tutorial07

This will need to be copied into the elevation fields here.

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Runway Bearing

Once that is done we will now look at the the runway bearing. This can be found by clicking on the runway and locating the properties.

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However this is only the bearing for RWY 04. In order to calculate the bearing for RWY 22 I will +180 to the runway heading (38.03) to make 218.03. These will need to be inserted into the bearings in Both Glideslope.json and LOC.json. (See pic below)

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Glideslope

Now we move onto glideslope. In the earlier picture of the charts I highlighted where the glideslope angle was. This will be useful for this part of the tutorial.

But, before we continue, let’s have a look at the “glideslope” field. It is composed of two different things:

  • The glideslope angle (mostly 3.00)
  • The bearing without a dot

Replace the last six digits with the bearing but without a dot.

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Reception Range

This doesn't need to be changed for now. But for reference in the Glideslope.json it should be 10 and in the LOC.json should be 18.

Final Bits

Now, go ahead and save the files. Come back to GitHub Desktop and include a small text of your changes. If you do major changes, like removing or adding a runway, mention it there. Click on commit to master and hit sync. Now, create a pull request on GitHub to suggest your changes. In the description of your Pull Request, reference the issue number like this. That way, when the pull request is merged the relevant issue(s) will be automatically closed.

In this picture it shows the changes I have made to KEVV. These should be fairly similar to your own.

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On Discord, GitHub will post a message with your commit.

If your build passed, congratulations! You can now go ahead and close the issue on GitHub. Don’t forget to remove your assignment and all tags.

If your build failed, have a look at your code again. If you don’t find the issue by yourself, ask for help on Discord in the #navigation channel.

Checklist:

  • Latest version of apt.dat from development branch
  • Glideslope.json & LOC.json
  • ILS frequency and identifier
  • Elevation
  • Runway heading
  • Glideslope (with runway heading appended)
  • Coordinates

If you don't understand something or require assistance, feel free to ask on Discord. We'd be glad to help! :)

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