How do I fly an RNAV approach in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

To fly an RNAV approach in Microsoft Flight Simulator, load and verify the published procedure in the aircraft’s GPS or FMS, keep GPS/FMS as the navigation source, capture the final course from a valid intercept, and descend only with the guidance, altitude restrictions and minima actually shown for that procedure.

For anyone learning how to do an RNAV approach, the crucial habit is separating route planning from cockpit execution. An MSFS 2024 RNAV approach can look correct on the World Map yet contain the wrong transition, active leg or vertical guidance once loaded into the aircraft.

How to fly an RNAV approach in MSFS 2024

Use the MSFS 2024 World Map to plan the route, but use the aircraft’s GPS or FMS and flight-mode annunciator to verify and execute the approach.

A pasted route string may populate the en-route fixes, but it often omits the approach transition, procedure-specific altitudes and minima. If MSFS ATC changes the runway, do not assume that the cockpit flight plan has changed with it; recheck and, if necessary, reload the approach in the aircraft.

The cockpit procedure and flight-mode annunciator are authoritative for what the aircraft will execute. If that procedure does not match the published fixes, restrictions or minima you briefed, do not combine parts of the two versions.

What do LNAV, LNAV/VNAV, LPV and advisory +V mean?

The minima line and avionics annunciation determine the available guidance; the label RNAV or GPS alone does not promise an automatic descent.

Garmin-style systems usually call RNAV vertical guidance a glide path, abbreviated GP. An ILS uses a glideslope, abbreviated GS.

MSFS 2024 RNAV approach workflow

The reliable way to fly an RNAV approach is to verify each hand-off from the published procedure to the World Map, cockpit flight plan and autopilot.

1. Brief the complete procedure

   Identify the approach title, runway, transition or initial approach fix, final approach fix, crossing restrictions, final course, minima, missed approach point and missed route. Establish whether you will use LNAV, LP, LNAV/VNAV or LPV minima.

2. Set up the World Map

   Select an IFR route and the expected approach and transition. Treat this as planning input rather than proof that the aircraft has received a flyable procedure.

3. Load and inspect the cockpit procedure

   Load the approach through the GPS or FMS if it did not import correctly. Check every fix, altitude constraint and the missed approach. Our simulator GPS guide to route loading, active legs and source selection explains the underlying controls.

4. Resolve discontinuities and select the correct leg

   Remove unintended route breaks and duplicate fixes without deleting required procedure legs. Choose a named transition when joining through an initial approach fix; use vectors-to-final only when being positioned to intercept the inbound course.

   Do not press Activate Approach as a ritual. On some Garmin units it makes an earlier approach fix active and commands a turn back. Verify that the active leg points to a fix ahead of the aircraft before accepting it.

5. Set GPS or FMS as the navigation source

   In Garmin-equipped aircraft, the CDI should show GPS, not VLOC. In an airliner, confirm that the active lateral source is the FMS. Approaching a runway is not a reason to switch an RNAV procedure to a radio-navigation source.

6. Intercept the final course

   Use heading mode while receiving vectors, then arm or engage NAV, LNAV or the aircraft-specific FMS mode from a sensible intercept. Confirm lateral capture on the flight-mode annunciator instead of judging it only from the magenta line.

7. Arrive configured and below the vertical path

   Set the correct pressure, reduce speed and complete the required aircraft configuration before the final approach fix. Reach the published intercept altitude without violating restrictions. Joining from above is one of the most common reasons a valid glide path does not capture.

8. Arm the correct final approach mode

   For LPV or supported LNAV/VNAV guidance, arm APR, APPR, VNAV or the aircraft-specific equivalent at the point required by that avionics system. Confirm that GP or the applicable vertical mode changes from armed to active. For LNAV or LP, manage the descent with the permitted manual or autopilot vertical modes.

9. Apply the correct minima

   At DA, continue only with the required visual reference and a stable path; otherwise go around without levelling off. On an MDA approach, do not descend below MDA until the required visual reference exists, and do not continue beyond the missed approach point unless landing.

10. Fly the missed approach when required

    Apply go-around power, establish a safe climb and follow the published missed route. Garmin units may suspend automatic waypoint sequencing at the missed approach point, so check for SUSP and cancel it when appropriate for the missed approach.

Why does an LNAV-only RNAV approach stay level?

LNAV supplies lateral guidance only, so the autopilot can follow the final course while remaining in ALT, VS or another vertical mode.

Pressing APR cannot create a glide path that the procedure or installed avionics does not provide. Descend according to the published restrictions, keep MDA as a hard floor and retain awareness of the missed approach point.

Is “LNAV LOG” a real approach mode?

LNAV LOG is not a standard RNAV minima label or normal flight-mode annunciation.

Check whether the display actually says LNAV, LNAV+V, L/VNAV, LPV or LOC. If you meant the MSFS Navlog, that is only a route and waypoint summary; opening it does not activate LNAV, load an approach or provide vertical guidance.

Should I use NAV, LNAV or APR for an RNAV approach?

Use NAV, LNAV or the aircraft’s FMS lateral mode to follow the programmed route, and use approach or vertical modes only when that aircraft requires them for the available final guidance.

• LNAV or LP: use the supported lateral mode and manage the vertical profile separately.
• LNAV+V or LP+V: a supported system may show or couple to the advisory path, but the published MDA and restrictions still govern the approach.
• LNAV/VNAV or LPV: arm the mode specified for that avionics installation and confirm both lateral and vertical capture.
• Airliner FMS: use the aircraft’s managed lateral and vertical modes. Pressing APP may be unnecessary or incorrect for some airliner RNAV procedures.

APR is not a navigation-source selector, and its button light does not prove that a path has captured. The flight-mode annunciator is the final authority: if it still shows ALT, VS or another vertical mode with no glide-path mode armed or active, the aircraft will not descend on the RNAV path. Our NAV, GPS and approach-mode comparison covers this distinction in more detail.

Do Garmin aircraft and airliners fly RNAV the same way?

No; the procedure principles remain the same, but the controls and mode logic depend on the aircraft’s installed avionics.

• Garmin-equipped general aviation aircraft: typically use a GPS CDI source, NAV for lateral tracking and APR for a supported glide path. Exact labels and capture logic vary between Garmin generations.
• Airliners: load the procedure through the FMS or CDU and use managed lateral and vertical modes while monitoring the flight-mode annunciator. Do not copy a Garmin NAV-plus-APR sequence into an airliner.
• Older or simplified GPS units: may fly the lateral procedure correctly without supporting LPV, barometric VNAV or autopilot glide-path coupling.

This distinction matters when moving between an iFly 737 MAX and an MSFS Phenom 100. The 737 uses airliner FMS logic, while a Phenom 100 implementation may present Garmin-derived controls; in both cases, follow that specific aircraft’s mode annunciations rather than assuming a universal button sequence. For a concrete Garmin-based example, see our TBM 930 GPS, APR and glide-path workflow.

Why will the RNAV glide path not capture in MSFS?

If a correctly loaded procedure still will not capture, diagnose the guidance, avionics capability, navigation data, active modes and intercept geometry in that order.

1. Maintain a safe flight path

   Hold the cleared or published altitude and use heading mode if necessary while diagnosing the problem. Do not chase a descending indicator or make an unbriefed dive towards the path.

2. Confirm that vertical guidance exists

   Check the announced service level and minima. LNAV and LP are lateral-only; LNAV+V and LP+V are advisory; LNAV/VNAV and LPV provide published vertical guidance when supported.

3. Check aircraft-specific avionics support

   An GPS or FMS may draw the complete lateral route without modelling SBAS, barometric VNAV or autopilot glide-path coupling. Confirm that this aircraft and avionics package support the guidance you expect.

4. Verify the navigation data

   Use current, matching procedure data wherever possible. The World Map and an add-on FMS can use different database revisions, producing changed fixes, constraints or runway identifiers. Reload the complete procedure from one database rather than splicing together mismatched legs.

5. Recheck the source and active leg

   Confirm GPS or FMS rather than VLOC, ensure the inbound leg is active and remove unintended discontinuities. A direct-to command towards the wrong fix can bypass the leg on which vertical guidance becomes available.

6. Check the intercept geometry

   Be established on or converging with the final course before the final approach fix, at the published intercept altitude and below the path. Excessive intercept angles or joining after the capture point may prevent engagement.

7. Read the mode annunciations

   Look for the expected lateral mode active and the vertical approach mode armed, followed by a captured indication. APR illumination alone is insufficient. Airliners may use labels such as VNAV path or final approach mode rather than GP, so follow the aircraft-specific annunciations.

8. Reposition below the path

   If the aircraft is above the glide path, descend only as permitted by published restrictions. When a safe intercept cannot be restored, go around and reposition for another approach from the correct altitude; never force capture by diving through the path.

9. Choose the safe fallback

   If vertical guidance remains unavailable, continue as an LNAV-only approach only when that procedure, avionics and your briefing support it. Otherwise fly the missed approach.

Can you autoland an RNAV approach?

No; LPV or LNAV/VNAV guidance can provide lateral and vertical approach guidance, but that guidance alone does not mean the aircraft can flare, land and roll out automatically.

An RNAV autoland requires all of the following:

• Aircraft-specific capability: the simulated aircraft must explicitly support and model automatic landing from that type of RNAV guidance. Ordinary autopilot approach coupling is not enough.
• An eligible procedure and runway: the approach and runway must meet the requirements specified for that autoland system. An LPV designation by itself is not approval for every aircraft to autoland.
• Required equipment and configuration: the necessary autopilot channels, sensors, navigation performance and aircraft configuration must be available and within their limits.
• Correct mode annunciations: the aircraft must show its required landing, flare and rollout modes or their aircraft-specific equivalents at the prescribed stages.

Most Garmin-equipped GA autopilots can track an LPV glide path but still require the pilot to disconnect and land manually. Likewise, an airliner following LNAV/VNAV may descend accurately to DA without having any automatic flare capability.

If the required mode annunciations are absent, do not wait to see whether the aircraft will flare. Disconnect and land manually only when visual, stable and permitted at or above minima; otherwise go around.

Does an RNAV approach work like an ILS, and is RNP the same?

No; RNAV uses GPS/FMS guidance, an ILS uses a tuned localiser and glideslope, and RNP adds defined onboard performance monitoring and alerting requirements.

An ILS normally requires a radio-navigation source such as VLOC. RNAV keeps the source on GPS or FMS, may have an offset final course and may provide no vertical guidance at all. LPV can produce an ILS-like display, but it does not turn the procedure into an ILS or guarantee autoland.

RNP procedures are also flown through the FMS, but they may require specific containment accuracy, monitoring and aircraft capability. Our guide to RNP approach requirements and FMS guidance explains when the workflow differs from a basic RNAV approach.