Learn how to navigate to an intersection using GPS in a flight simulator, activate the right leg, couple the autopilot and fix waypoint errors.
To navigate to an intersection using GPS in a flight simulator, enter the fix’s identifier as a Direct-To waypoint or place it in the flight plan, verify its location, and activate the correct leg. Select GPS/FMS as the navigation source, then track the displayed course manually or with the autopilot’s lateral navigation mode.
An intersection is a defined point in the navigation database, normally identified by a short name. It need not have a physical beacon or radio frequency, so you navigate to it through the GPS or FMS rather than tuning it like a VOR.
How do you fly to an intersection with GPS?
- Identify the correct fix. Enter its exact identifier and verify the displayed region, coordinates, distance and initial bearing. Similar identifiers and user-created waypoints can lead you to the wrong place. In FSX, you can also use the simulator map to check the intersection and nearby navaids.
- Choose Direct-To or a flight-plan leg. Use Direct-To for a one-off instruction such as “proceed direct” to the fix. Add the intersection to the route when it is part of an airway or you need navigation to continue beyond it.
- Enter and select the waypoint. On a panel-mounted GPS, open its Direct-To or flight-plan function and search for the identifier. On an FMS-equipped aircraft, insert it through the route or direct-intercept function. Button names vary between aircraft and simulators.
- Activate the correct leg. The intersection should become the active destination, normally shown by a magenta course line with distance and desired-track information. Merely displaying the fix on the map does not make it active.
- Select GPS or FMS guidance. Legacy aircraft may have a NAV/GPS source switch; glass cockpits normally use a CDI source selection, while airliners use their FMS and LNAV or managed navigation mode. Do not leave the source on VOR/LOC.
- Track the course. Manually, keep the course-deviation indicator centred and adjust heading for wind so ground track follows the desired track. Our explanation of heading, course, bearing and GPS track clarifies why these figures need not match.
- Check waypoint sequencing. As you cross the intersection, confirm that the next route leg activates. A standalone Direct-To may end at the fix without continuing along the original route.
Should I use Direct-To or add the intersection to the flight plan?
Choose the method according to what must happen before and after the intersection.
| Method | Use it when | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Direct-To | You receive a “proceed direct” instruction or only need the single fix | Creates guidance from your present position to the intersection, potentially bypassing earlier route legs |
| Insert in flight plan | The intersection is part of a planned route or airway | Preserves the route order and normally sequences to the following waypoint |
| Activate an existing leg | The fix is already in the route and you must join its inbound segment | Guides you to intercept the course between the previous waypoint and the intersection |
In FSX, the easiest way to create a multi-waypoint route is to build and load it through the built-in Flight Planner. Activating an existing leg is not the same as Direct-To: it preserves the intended inbound course rather than drawing a new line from the aircraft to the fix.
How do I make the autopilot follow the intersection?
The autopilot will follow the GPS course only when the waypoint leg is active, the correct navigation source is selected and the appropriate lateral mode has captured.
- Confirm that the GPS or FMS shows the intersection as the active waypoint.
- Select GPS rather than VLOC, NAV1 or NAV2 as the CDI source where the aircraft provides that choice.
- Use heading mode to establish a sensible intercept angle if you are well away from the magenta line.
- Arm or engage NAV, GPSS, LNAV or the aircraft’s equivalent lateral mode.
- Check the flight-mode annunciator. An armed mode is waiting to capture; it is not yet steering the aircraft.
Do not use approach mode merely because the intersection is near an airport. APR is intended for supported approach guidance, not ordinary en-route waypoint tracking. For legacy aircraft, our FSX GPS and NAV coupling checks cover the usual source-selection and leg-activation errors.
Why can’t the GPS find or track the intersection?
A missing or ignored intersection usually indicates a database, waypoint-selection or guidance-state problem.
- The identifier is absent: the aircraft and route planner may use different navigation-data cycles, or the intersection may have been renamed or removed.
- The wrong result was selected: verify location and distance rather than trusting the identifier alone.
- The leg is not active: a waypoint can appear in the route without being the point receiving guidance.
- The CDI source is wrong: a GPS route can be displayed while the instruments and autopilot remain connected to VOR or localiser guidance.
- OBS, SUSP or a route discontinuity is active: these states can stop automatic waypoint sequencing until corrected.
- The autopilot remains in heading mode: NAV or LNAV must capture before it will turn onto the GPS course.
- The aircraft has already passed the fix: reactivate the intended onward leg rather than commanding a sharp turn back unless that is genuinely required.
If the point is not a published database intersection but you have verified coordinates for it, create a user waypoint using the simulator’s supported method. Our guide to entering latitude and longitude into a flight simulator GPS explains that alternative. Do not replace a missing published fix with guessed coordinates.
What happens after crossing the intersection?
A flight plan should sequence automatically to the next waypoint, while a single Direct-To may leave the intersection as the final active point. Watch for the next leg turning magenta and confirm the new desired track before changing course.
If sequencing stops, check for SUSP or OBS mode, an unresolved discontinuity, or a procedure that expects pilot action. When following an airway or instrument procedure, activate the specified onward leg rather than selecting an unrelated Direct-To and unintentionally cutting across the route.