Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Standard Disclaimer
This manual is intended for recreational use in Microsoft Flight Simulation 2004 ONLY and may NOT be
used in any Real World Aviation application. The authors are not responsible for errors or omissions.
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
The Eaglesoft Development Group Garmin GNS 530 Manual is designed to quickly orient the
novice or experienced flight simulation pilot with an overview of the various controls of the
Garmin GNS 530available in the Liberty XL2 model.
Note: For Eaglesoft Development Group Product Support: Please Register and Login to our
Support Forums for product support at the following URL. http://www.eaglesoftdg.com/forum
Liberty XL2
Liberty XL2
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Introduction
The Eaglesoft GNS530 is designed around the generic Garmin 500 database provided with Flight
Simulator 9 in order to maximize the utility of these units within the simulator. Great care has
been taken however, to use vector graphic drawing instructions rather than fuzzy bitmaps as
much as possible in order to speed up the gauge itself, but more importantly to produce crisp,
clear displays. The result is that these gauges are 99% pure vector graphics.
To be perfectly honest, like most simmers I never paid much attention to the GPS bundled with
FS9, so until I actually got down to programming this version, I was truly not aware of the vast,
unrecognized possibilities that do exist, even within the generic GPS500 default gauge. With the
addition of the new capabilities that have been programmed, this ESDG representation is superb.
Because of this revelation, may I urge customers to stifle their yawns and actually spend some
time reading this manual and exploring all of the wonders to be revealed herein.
Section 1 - Takeoff Tour Key and Knob Functions
The Eaglesoft GNS530 is designed to make operation as simple as possible. The key and knob
descriptions on the following pages provide a general overview of the primary function(s) for
each key and knob. This Takeoff Tour section is intended to provide a brief overview of the
primary functions. Please refer to the detailed Reference sections for more information.
Left-hand Keys
and Knobs
Liberty XL2
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
The CDI key is used to toggle which navigation source (GPS) or (VLOC)
provides output to an external HSI or CDI.
The OBS key is used to select manual or automatic sequencing of
waypoints. Pressing the OBS key selects OBS mode, which will retain the
current active to waypoint as your navigation reference even after
passing the waypoint (i.e., prevents sequencing to the next waypoint).
Pressing the OBS key again will return to normal operation, with
automatic sequencing of waypoints. Whenever OBS mode is selected, a
SUSP message will appear, and you may set the desired course to/from
a waypoint using the external OBS selector knob.
The message key is used to view system messages and alert you to
important warnings and requirements. Press and hold the MSG key to
suspend all messages and alerts.
The flight plan key allows you to display the active flight plan page, as
well as access waypoint information or activate a specified leg. See the
detailed section for more information on flight plans.
The VNAV key will display a page of information useful for vertical
navigation
The procedures key allows you to select and remove approaches from
your flight plans. When using a flight plan, available approaches for your
arrival airport are offered automatically. Otherwise, you may select the
desired airport, then the desired procedure.
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Takeoff Tour Selecting COM and VLOC Frequencies
COM Radio
Turning On GNS530
Click on the
or
or
Liberty XL2
Liberty XL2
There are six Stand Alone Pages that are conveniently and directly accessible through single
button presses.
All of the page groups and pages are explained in detail in the following pages, in the order in
which they appear above.
10
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Takeoff Tour - Navigating the Page Groups and Pages
Navigation between
Page Groups and Group
Pages is accomplished
with the two knobs in
the lower right corner of
the GNS530. The large,
outer knob controls Page
Groups, and the smaller,
inner knob controls Group Pages. Clicking in the center of the small knob activates
the Cursor, so that changes to various parameters may be made.
The Page Bar (red arrow above) indicates which GROUP and which PAGE is
currently displayed (for example, NAV, WPT, or NRST), the number of screens
available within that group (indicated by rectangular page icons) and the
placement of the current screen within that group (indicated by the highlighted
icon). To select a different page within the group, rotate the small knob.
The pages within a page group are persistent. That is, if you switch to a different
page group, and then return to the group you were using, the GPS will display the
page that you were last looking at within that group.
Scrolling
11
Liberty XL2
Press and hold the CLR button to immediately display DEFAULT NAV 1 page, regardless of
which page is currently displayed.
12
Liberty XL2
The graphic CDI show your position at the center of the indicator, relative to the desired course
(the moving course deviation needle). As with a traditional mechanical CDI, when youre off
course simply steer toward the needle. The TO/FROM arrow in the center of the scale indicates
whether you are heading to (up arrow) or from (down arrow) the waypoint.
Directly above the CDI appears the active leg of your flight plan, or the direct-to destination
key. This will automatically sequence to the next leg of your flight plan as
when using the
you reach each interim waypoint. If no flight plan or direct-to destination has been selected, the
destination field will remain empty.
NOTE: The GNS530 always navigates TO a waypoint unless the OBS switch is set (preventing automatic
waypoint sequencing), or you have passed the last waypoint in your flight plan.
Note: on both Map Views there is a hidden mouse point in the upper left corner (click on Garmin)
that will toggle the color terrain map on/off, as you desire.
13
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Between the TO and FROM fields on the Active Leg Display, one of the following ICONS will be
displayed, based on the phase of the flight plan you are currently flying:
Direct-to a
Waypoint
Course to a
Waypoint
Left Procedure
Turn
Right Procedure
Turn
Vectors-ToFinal
DME Arc
Left
DME Arc
Right
Left-hand
Holding
Right-hand
Holding
At the corners of the Track Up NAV page youll find five fields, which display the data youll need
as your flight progresses. These fields display distance to destination (DIS), desired track (DTK),
bearing to destination (BRG), ground speed (GS), ground track (TRK), and estimated time en
route (ETE). In this representation of the GNS530, these are fixed fields. In the actual GNS530,
there are user-selectable alternate fields that may be displayed. If no flight plan or direct-to has
been selected, only speed, track data will be displayed. All other data types will be blank lines
on the Track Up NAV page until a destination is selected.
NAV2 - Map Page North Up View:
The second NAV page is the
Map North Up View, which
displays your present position
using an airplane symbol,
along with nearby airports,
navaids, user-defined
waypoints, airspace
boundaries, lakes, rivers, and
political boundaries.
In the lower left corner of the
MAP display is a scale
indicator, which is the Maps
zoom factor. This is set using
the RANGE key, as indicated
above.
14
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Because this MAP View and the other MAP View (Track Up) display the same information, the
symbols used will be described in this section only to conserve space. Different symbols are used
to distinguish between waypoint types. The identifiers for any on-screen waypoints can also be
displayed. Special-use and controlled airspace boundaries appear on the map, showing the
individual sectors in the case of Class B or Class C airspace. The following symbols are used to
depict the various airports and navaids on the map page(s).
Airport with hard surface runway(s): Primary runway shows relative
orientation; NS, EW, NE_SW, NW_SE.
Airport with soft surface runway(s) only
Private Airfields
Intersections
VOR
VORTAC
VOR/DME
TACAN
DME
NDB
Localizer
To the right of the MAP display is a DATA FIELDS information box. The data displayed is the
WPT name, the DTK (desired track), DIS (distance to waypoint) and GS (ground speed). The
DATA FIELDS information box is controlled by the
key.
Click this key to bring up a selection dialogue, which will allow you to selectively toggle the DATA
FIELDS display on or off. Turning the DATA FIELDS display off will of course enlarge the
viewable area of the MAP, but will also cause the map and aircraft symbol to automatically recenter the MAP display. If this option has been selected and the data fields are off, Data Fields
On? will appear as an option instead.
15
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
NAV3 - Departure Frequency Page:
There is a hidden mouse point in the upper right corner of the bezel to toggle this display from
local time to Zulu time. Click on the 530 text in the upper right corner.
16
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Section 3 Waypoint Page Group
The first section introduced the GNS530s main page groups, and the previous section described
the NAV Page Group. This section will cover the pages in the WPT (Waypoint) Page Group.
These pages provides information for the thousands of airports, VORs, NDBs, intersections,
runways, frequencies and procedures provided by Flight Simulator 9s extensive Jeppesen
database.
The WPT Page Group includes seven pages. While viewing any WPT page, rotate the small right
to select a different WPT page. The first four pages provide detailed information for
knob
the selected airport: location, runways, frequencies and approaches. The last three pages
provide information for intersections, NDBs, and VORs.
After a WPT page is selected, information for a waypoint may be viewed by entering the identifier
(or name) of the desired waypoint. Airports may be selected by identifier or city name. NDBs
and VORs may be selected by identifier.
Select Identifiers (Airport, Intersection, NDB, VOR)
To enter a waypoint identifier:
to activate the flashing
1) Select the desired WPT page and click the small right knob
cursor.
2) Rotate the small right knob to select the first character of the waypoints identifier. *
3) Rotate the large right knob to select the next character field.
4) Rotate the small right knob to select the desired character.
5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the identifier is selected, then press
6) To remove or cancel the flashing cursor, click the small right knob again.
TIP: To rapidly make a selection, after step 2 above, you may TYPE the entire identifier
using the keyboard, then skip to step 6 to complete the operation!
To enter a waypoint city location, follow the steps above, except use the large right knob to
move the flashing cursor to the CITY field on the APT Page.
Please note that the GNS530 uses ICAO identifiers for all airports. All U.S. airport identifiers that
contain only letters use the prefix K. For example, Los Angles International is KLAX under the
ICAO standard. Other airports, such as Otten Memorial (3VS) that contain numbers in the
identifier, do not require the K prefix. Many foreign countries use two letter prefixes.
Duplicate Waypoints
Once the identifier or facility location is entered, all four airport pages will display information for
the selected airport. As you enter an identifier or location name, the GNS530s Spell N Find
feature will scroll through the database, displaying those waypoints matching the characters you
have entered to that point. If duplicate entries exist for the entered facility location, additional
entries may be viewed by continuing to rotate the small right knob during the selection process.
If duplicate entries exist for an entered identifier, a duplicate waypoint page will appear once you
select the identifier by pressing
17
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
18
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
WPT3 Airport Frequencies
The airport frequency page displays radio frequencies
and frequency types for the selected airport. If the
selected airport has a localizer-based approach, the
localizer frequency(s) is also listed on this page. The
airport frequency page may be used to quickly select
and tune a COM or VLOC frequency.
As will all other pages, if the list is too long to fit the
screens display, a scroll bar will appear on the right
edge. To scroll through the list and tune to a desired
frequency on the list:
to place the selected frequency in the standby field of the COM or VLOC
Some listed frequencies may include designations for limited usage, as follows:
TX transmit only
RX receive only
PT part time
frequency
The following descriptions and abbreviations are use on the airport frequency page:
Type---
Frequency---
Arrival
Class B
Departure
Terminal
TRSA
ASOS
AWOS
Clearance
Gate
Helicopter
Pre-taxi Radar
Unicom Tower
Navigation frequencies:
ILS
LOC
19
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
WPT4 Airport Approach Page
The airport approach page shows the available approach
procedures for the selected airport. Where multiple
approach fixes (IAFs) and feeder routes are available,
that information may also be displayed. A map image
provides a layout diagram for each approach and
transition.
To scroll through the available approaches and
transitions:
Note in the picture above right that the map displays not only the IAF, but also the complete
procedure, including the MAP (Missed Approach Point) as well as the hold.
NOTE: Not all approaches in the database are approved for GPS use. As you select an approach,
a GPS designation to the right of the procedure name indicates the procedure can be flown
using the GPS receiver. Some procedures will not have this designation, meaning the GPS
receiver may be used for supplemental navigation guidance only. ILS approaches, for example,
must be flown by tuning the VLOC receiver to the proper frequency and coupling the VLOC
receiver to the external CDI (or HSI).
20
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
WPT5 Intersection Page
The intersection page displays the latitude, longitude,
and region for the selected intersection. This page also
displays the identifier, radial and distance from the
nearest VOR, VORTAC or VOR/DME. The following
descriptions and abbreviations are used:
Position -- RAD -- DIS --miles
Latitude/Longitude
Radial from nearest VOR in
degrees magnetic
Distance from nearest VOR, in nautical
Intersections may only be selected by identifier, using the same key/knob sequences as the other
pages already described.
NOTE: The VOR displayed on the intersection page is the nearest VOR, not necessarily the VOR
used to define the intersection.
WPT6 NDB Page
The NDB page displays the facility ID,
name, city, and region for the selected NDB.
This page also displays the frequency and
weather broadcast indication (if applicable).
Use the procedures described for the other
pages to select the NDB by ID. Rotating the
large knob will place the flashing cursor on
the frequency.
to send the highlighted
Press
frequency to the NDB receiver.
WPT7 VOR Page
The VOR page displays the VOR ID, Facility Name, City
and Region for the selected VOR. This page also displays
the frequency and weather broadcast indication (if
applicable).
Also, the Magnetic Variation in degrees is display on this
page.
Use the procedures described for the other pages to
select the NDB by ID. Rotating the large knob will place
to send
the flashing cursor on the frequency. Press
the highlighted frequency to the VLOC receiver.
21
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Section 4 - NRST Page Group
The previous sections have described the first three Page Groups: NAV and WPT. This third page
group (NRST) provides detailed information for the nine nearest airports, intersections, VORs, or
NDBs within 200 nm of your current position. In addition, the NRST pages will include the five
nearest Controlled Airspaces you may be in or near.
3) Press
to accept the selected waypoints identifier and press
a second time
(with Activate? highlighted) to begin navigating to the selected waypoint immediately.
NRST1 Airport Page
The nearest airport page displays the identifier, symbol, bearing and distance to the nine nearest
airports (within 200 nautical miles of your present position). For each airport listed, the nearest
airport page also indicates the best available approach, common traffic advisory frequency
(CTAF) and the longest runway.
Only the first five airports will be displayed on the screen.
to activate the flashing cursor. Use the large right knob to
1) Press the small right knob
scroll and highlight the desired airport.
key to send the selection to the WPT1 Airport page instantly. From
2) Press the
this page, you can obtain details of the airport, or scroll through WPT2, or WPT3 pages
for further information, or to select COM/VLOC frequencies as described on page 16 of
this manual.
22
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
23
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
NRST5 Airspaces Page
24
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
VLOC (VOR/Localizer/Glide Slope) Receiver
key.
When selecting a VOR or ILS approach, manual tuning of the VLOC receiver is not required.
Once the approach procedure is Loaded or Activated, the GNS530 will automatically place the
proper frequency in the standby field of the VLOC window. If you wish to use this frequency,
simply press the
CDI Key
key is used to couple the GPS or VLOC receiver to the external CDI (or HSI).
The GNS530s
When the external CDI (or HSI) is being driven by the GPS receiver, GPS will appear at the
key. When being driven by the VLOC
bottom left corner of the page, directly above the
receiver, VLOC will appear instead.
Note: The external CDI or HSI must to coupled to VLOC for Non GPS approaches.
25
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Section 5 - Standalone Pages
DTO Direct-to Page
The GNS530s direct-to function provides a
quick method of setting a course to a
destination waypoint. Once a direct-to is
activated, the GNS530 will establish a pointto-point course line (great circle) from your
present position to the selected direct-to
destination. Navigation data on the various
NAV pages will provide steering guidance
until the direct-to is cancelled or replaced by
a new destination.
To select a direct-to destination:
key. The select direct-to waypoint page will appear, with the waypoint
1) Press the
identifier field highlighted.
2) Use the small and large right knobs to enter the identifier of the desired destination
airport. Dont forget that you can also type the entry in from your keyboard!
3) Press
function.
If youre navigating to a waypoint and get off course, the direct-to function may also be used to
re-center the CDI (HSI) needle and proceed to the same waypoint.
To re-center the CDI (HSI) needle to the same destination waypoint:
1) Press the
key twice.
NOTE: If youre navigating an approach with the missed approach point (MAP) as the current
destination, re-centering the CDI (HIS) needle with the
key will cancel the approach.
26
Liberty XL2
Note: After you've turned the small knob to highlight the first letter, you can type
the facility name on your keyboard.
Selecting a Destination from the Active Flight Plan
If you're navigating an active flight plan, you can select
any waypoint contained in the flight plan as a direct-to
destination from the Select Direct-to Waypoint page. (See
Active Flight Plan Page below for more information on
flight plans.)
To select a direct-to destination from the active flight plan
button. The Select Direct-to
1. Press the
Waypoint page will appear, with the waypoint
identifier field highlighted.
2. Rotate the large right knob to highlight the flight plan (FPL) field.
3. Rotate the small right knob to display a window showing all waypoints in the active flight
plan.
4. Continue rotating the small right knob to scroll through the list and highlight the desired
waypoint.
button once to confirm the selected waypoint, and again to activate the
5. Press the
direct-to function.
27
Liberty XL2
28
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
You can select any leg within the active flight plan as
the active leg (the leg which will currently be used for
navigation guidance), using the
by the
button, followed
button.
You can review any approach on the Airport Approach page in the WPT page group. (For more
information, see the Waypoint Page Group section.)
29
Liberty XL2
To select an approach
1. Press the
button to display the Procedures page.
2. Rotate the large right knob to highlight Select Approach?
button.
and press the
A window will appear listing the available procedures.
4. Rotate the large right knob to highlight the desired transition waypoint and press the
button. (The Approach Vectors option assumes you will receive vectors to the
final course segment of the approach and will provide navigation guidance relative to the
final approach course.)
5. Rotate the large right knob to highlight Load? or Activate? and press the
ENT button. Load? will add the approach to the flight plan without
immediately using it for navigation guidance. This allows you to continue
navigating the original flight plan, but keeps the procedure available on the Active Flight
Plan page for quick activation when needed.
30
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Note: Not all approaches in the database are approved for GPS use. As you select an approach,
a GPS designation to the right of the procedure name indicates the procedure can be flown using
the GPS receiver. Some procedures will not have this designation, meaning the GPS receiver may
be used for supplemental navigation guidance only. ILS approaches, for example, must be flown
by tuning the external VOR/ILS receiver to the proper frequency and using the external CDI (or
HSI) for guidance.
If you're flying a GPS approach, or a nonprecision approach approved for GPS, and you plan on
using the aircraft's VOR 1 indicator to fly the approach, make sure the Nav/GPS switch on the
aircraft instrument panel is set to GPS. If, however, you want to fly the approach using data from
the Nav 1 radio, and plan to use the GPS only for situational awareness, then make sure the
Nav/GPS switch is set to NAV.
Once you select an approach, you may activate it for
navigation from the Procedures page. Activating the
approach overrides the en route portion of the active
flight plan, proceeding directly to the approach portion
(for a full approach, directly to the initial approach fix).
Activating the approach also initiates automatic CDI
scaling transition as the approach progresses.
To activate a previously loaded approach
button to display the Procedures
1. Press the
page.
2. Rotate the large knob to highlight Activate Approach?
3. Press the
button.
Another Procedures page option allows you to activate the final course segment of the approach.
This option assumes you will receive vectors to the final approach fix (FAF) and guides you to
intercept the final course, before reaching the FAF.
To activate the previously loaded approach, with vectors to final
1. Press the
button to display the Procedures page.
2. Rotate the large right knob to highlight Activate Vectors-To-Final?
3. Press the
button.
In many cases, it may be easiest to load the full approach while still some distance away, en
route to the destination airport. Later, if vectored to final, use the steps above to select Activate
Vectors-To-Finalwhich makes the inbound course to the FAF waypoint active. Otherwise,
activate the full approach using the Activate Approach? Option!
31
Liberty XL2
32
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Approaches with Procedure Turns
The GPS stores the procedure turn portion of an approach as one of the legs of the approach.
For this reason, the GPS requires no special operations from the pilotother than flying the
procedure turn itselfbeyond what is required for any other type of approach.
To fly the procedure turn
1. Within 30 nm of the destination airport, the GPS will switch from en route mode to
terminal mode (as indicated in the lower left corner of the screen), and the course
deviation indicator (CDI) scale will transition from a 5.0 to 1.0 nm full scale deflection.
2. Several miles prior to reaching the initial approach fix (IAF), you may wish to review the
approach sequence.
button to display the Active Flight Plan page.
Press the
Press the
button and Rotate the large right knob to review each segment
of the approach.
33
Liberty XL2
GARMIN GNS 530 GPS MANUAL
Missed Approaches
After you pass the MAP, you must execute a missed approach if the runway isn't in sight. As you
pass the MAP, the GPS will sequence to the first waypoint in the published missed approach, and
then to each missed approach waypoint in sequence, including taking you through the hold.
To the
right, the MAP has been passed and the GNS530 has sequenced to
the published missed approach procedure. The GNS530 will guide
the aircraft directly to the hold over the CGT VOR.
instructions.
The GPS will guide you through the published procedure to the holding pattern, and will
provide course guidance through the holding pattern, including a modified entry.
2. When leaving the holding pattern to refly the approach (or another approach), press the
button to Select Approach? or Activate Approach? as previously described.
-orUse the
button to select another destination.
34
Liberty XL2
35
Liberty XL2
36
Liberty XL2
When the approach is first selected, choose VECTORS from the transitions (TRANS)
window or
1. Load a full approach, including the IAF from the transitions window.
2. When cleared, press the PROC button and select Activate Vectors-To-Final?
or
1. Load the full approach.
2. On the Active Flight Plan page, highlight the desired leg of the approach, then press the
MENU button.
3. Press the ENT button to activate the leg.
The GPS has no way of knowing how ATC will vector you, just that you will intercept the final
approach course somewhere outside the FAF. Thus, with a vectors-to-final approach activated,
the Map page will display an extension of the final approach course in magenta (remember,
magenta is used to depict the active leg of the flight plan) and VTF will appear as part of the
active leg on the Default NAV page (as a reminder that the approach was activated with vectors
to final). The CDI needle will remain off center until you're established on the final approach
course, and the GPS will sequence to the next leg (FAF to MAP) as you cross the FAF.
Note that during the vectoring phase of a vectors-to-final approach, all of the information displayed in the
GPS data blocks (DTK, DIS, CTS, and so forth) references the FAF. The GPS doesn't know where you will
intercept the final approach course, just that you will eventually reach the FAF.
37
Liberty XL2
38