ND - Navigation Display

The ND is the main instrument for navigation. It displays the route programmed in the FS2002 GPS system, the navaids and airports located around the aircraft, and also includes a TCAS system that shows all the other aircrafts flying around, with potential alerts if they are too close.
The ND has 5 display modes: LS, VOR, NAV, ARC and PLAN.

Layout

Description of the different pars of the ND:

  • The main part of this instrument is composed of the navigation display itself, located in the center. Just like on the PFD, the green diamond shows the actual track, and the blue or magenta triangle shows the heading selected or managed on the FCU.
  • On the top left corner, the ground speed (GS) and the True Air Speed (TAS) are displayed in knots. The wind direction and speed (in knots) are shown just below, with an arrow displaying the wind direction.
  • The information shown on the top right part depends on the mode selected on the EFIS control panel (see details below).
  • On the bottom left corner, the navigation chrono is displayed. It is controled by the CHRONO button located on the glareshield panel.
  • Below the Chrono, the selected navaid information is displayed on the left for navaid 1, on the right for navaid 2. Navaid 1 and 2 can display VOR1, VOR2 or ADF information depending on the selection switches of the EFIS control panel. VOR1 is represented by a white thin arrow, VOR2 with a white thick arrow and ADF with a green arrow. For each navaid selected, the type is displayed with the frequency or the name (if available), and the DME measurement is green, if available.
  • As soon as a glideslope signal is received, a vertical scale appears on the right of the ND to show the glideslope deviation.

Navaid and Airport Display

The ND shows all the airports and navaids around the aircraft, depending on the range and on the visibility buttons located on the EFIS control panel. They are shown with various symbols, with their name, and the frequency is displayed if the corresponding option is selected on the MCDU. For airports, the frequency displayed here is the ATIS frequency, if available.

Airport

VOR

NDB (with its frequency)

Intersection

If an ILS frequency is set, a dashed line is drawn on the ND to show the ILS course and to help for establishing on the localizer.

Route display

The route programmed in the GPS system is shown on the ND, with all its waypoints. The departure waypoint is shown with a magenta square, and the arrival waypoint (the last) is shown with a magenta circle.
If the Heading is managed on the FCU (which means the auto-pilot will follow the route programmed), the route is displayed in green. Otherwise, it is drawn is yellow.

Navigation

The main part is the center part. Depending on the selected mode, the display will change and various elements may be visible or not.

LS mode (Rose)

This mode is dedicated to ILS aproach and landing. It displays the ILS course and localizer deviation. In the top right corner, the name and course of the selected ILS are displayed.
On this picture, the aircraft is close from landing, and not aligned on the localizer yet. The ILS course of IPZ is 258°. As the ILS signal is received, the vertical scale is displayed on the right to show the glideslope deviation.

VOR mode (Rose)

This mode is designed for optimal VOR/ADF usage. The top right corner contains the closest VOR station information: type, frequency, course and name.
On this image, NAV1 is set on the ILS frequency, so VOR1 needle shows the direction of the runway. NAV2 is set on PXR, which is at 6.1 NM of the aircraft.

NAV mode (Rose)

Used for navigation, it shows all the necessary information is rose mode. The top right corner contains information about the next waypoint of the route: name, bearing, distance and ETA (estimated time of arrival).

ARC mode (Arc)

This mode is similar to the NAV mode, the only difference is the Arc representation. This is the most common mode used by the pilots during the flight.
On this image, navaid 1 is OFF, this is why "----" is displayed in place of the navaid1 name, and NAV2 is set on AGU frequency, located 6.6 NM away from the aircraft. The aircraft is following the route displayed in green, heading to the next waypoint MMAS, which should be reached at 15:51 local time. There is no wind.
You can see another aircraft flying very close to us (around 7 miles distance) at an altitude 3000 feet below us (no danger).

PLAN mode

This mode is specific to the route visualization. Only the programmed route is displayed with all the waypoints. The waypoints shown in the center of the display is the waypoint selected on the MCDU. By selecting the next waypoint on the MCDU, you can visualize the whole route, waypoint by waypoint. This display is NORTH-oriented.

TCAS

The ND shows information about all the aircrafts flying around you. Each aircraft is represented by a diamond, and the numbers show the altitude difference (in hundreds of feet). For example, +50 indicates the aircraft is flying 5000 feet above your current altitude.
In normal situation, the aircrafts are drawn in grey. If an aircraft is too close from you, it is displayed in orange to indicate a collision danger. If it is VERY close from you, a TRAFFIC alert is triggered, you will hear it...

Aircrafts in normal situation: the distance and altitude separation are correct.

Danger of potential collision: this aircraft is close and the altitude difference is only 500 feet !!

Click the thumbnail images below to see some images of the TCAS in action !!

Continue to the EFIS CP page