FSX GPS: how do I open it, load a route and use the autopilot?

In FSX and FSX: Steam Edition, press Shift+3 to open the standard GPS 500, then load a flight plan or use Direct-to and follow the magenta active leg. For autopilot tracking, select GPS on the NAV/GPS switch, intercept the route, and engage the autopilot's NAV mode.

What is the FSX GPS key, and what if it is not visible?

The default FSX GPS key is Shift+3 on many stock aircraft. The shortcut can be reassigned, and aircraft developers are free to use a different panel arrangement, so it is not universal.

You can also open it through Views > Instrument Panel > GPS. Press Alt first if the FSX menu bar is hidden.

If the GPS is not visible after using both methods, check the following:

• No GPS entry appears in the menu: that aircraft may not have the standard GPS gauge installed in its panel.
• The window opens but the display is dark: switch on the battery, alternator or generator, and avionics master.
• The controls look completely different: the aircraft probably uses a custom GPS, FMS or integrated glass cockpit.
• The aircraft has a Garmin-style PFD and MFD: use the controls and flight-plan workflow for the FSX G1000 instead of looking for the GPS 500 popup.

What do the main FSX GPS buttons do?

The GPS 500 supplied with FSX is a simplified simulation, but its essential controls follow familiar Garmin terminology.

• FPL: opens the active flight plan and waypoint list.
• Direct-to: creates immediate guidance to an airport, VOR, NDB or intersection.
• PROC: opens the procedures stored for the destination, including available approaches.
• RNG: changes the map range.
• CRSR: activates the cursor so a field or character can be edited.
• ENT: confirms the highlighted choice.
• CLR: cancels an entry or returns to the preceding page.
• OBS: lets you select a course to a waypoint but can stop normal automatic leg sequencing while active.

The right-hand inner and outer knob hotspots are used to move between fields and change characters. These hotspots can feel awkward with a mouse; watch the pointer symbol and turn one position at a time.

How do I load and follow an FSX flight plan?

The easiest method is to create or open the route in FSX's Flight Planner before departure. Our guide to creating and loading a route with the built-in Flight Planner covers the IFR and VFR planning screens.

1. Load the plan into the active flight. Saving a .PLN file alone does not guarantee that the GPS is using it.
2. Open the GPS and press FPL. Confirm that the departure, destination and expected intermediate waypoints appear in the correct order.
3. Check the active leg. The active route segment is shown in magenta. It should lead towards the waypoint you intend to fly next.
4. Select a useful map range. Zoom out to check the full route, then zoom in before turns, arrivals and approaches.
5. Follow the lateral guidance. When hand-flying, turn to centre the course-deviation indication rather than simply matching the heading bug.

DTK is the desired track along the active leg, TRK is the aeroplane's actual track over the ground, and BRG points directly towards the waypoint. Wind and an off-course position can make all three differ from the aircraft's heading.

If the GPS reaches a waypoint but does not advance to the next leg, check whether OBS mode is active. Return to normal leg mode unless you deliberately want to hold a selected course.

Where is the NAV button, and how do I make the autopilot follow GPS?

The NAV button is normally on the aircraft's autopilot panel, not on the GPS unit. The separate NAV/GPS source selector tells the instruments and autopilot which navigation signal to follow.

1. Select GPS. Move the cockpit's NAV/GPS switch to GPS. Aircraft with custom avionics may instead use a CDI or navigation-source selector on the display.
2. Confirm the active leg. The magenta line should run ahead of the aircraft, not back towards a waypoint already passed.
3. Establish an intercept. Use HDG mode or hand-fly towards the route at a moderate angle. The autopilot may not capture a distant line or an extreme intercept cleanly.
4. Engage the autopilot and NAV mode. Once captured, the aeroplane should turn to track the active GPS leg.
5. Monitor the result. If it turns the wrong way, disconnect NAV mode and recheck the selected source, active waypoint and route position.

GPS and NAV mode provide lateral steering only. They do not automatically manage altitude, airspeed, power or a descent profile. A mistake we see constantly is leaving HDG mode engaged and expecting the aircraft to follow the magenta route.

How do I fly Direct-to an airport or waypoint?

Direct-to bypasses the normal route legs and creates immediate guidance towards the selected facility or fix.

1. Press the Direct-to key, usually marked with a D and arrow symbol.
2. Activate the cursor and use the right-hand knob hotspots to enter the identifier.
3. Check the displayed name and location. For example, entering KTEX should identify Telluride Regional Airport; verifying the name prevents selection of a similarly coded facility.
4. Press ENT to accept the waypoint, then confirm activation when prompted.

Direct-to does not necessarily erase the stored flight plan, but it changes the active guidance and may bypass intervening legs. Check the FPL page afterwards to see what the GPS will sequence next. For more detailed editing, use our instructions for entering and changing FSX GPS waypoints.

Can the FSX GPS fly an approach?

The default GPS can load and sequence approaches contained in FSX's navigation database, but it does not provide modern WAAS LPV vertical guidance.

While still on the normal en-route portion of the flight, choose Load first. This adds the procedure without immediately abandoning the active en-route leg. Choose Activate only when cleared and positioned to join the approach; activating it too early can send the aircraft towards an unwanted initial approach fix.

For an ILS, the GPS can help with sequencing to the intercept, but the final localiser and glideslope come from NAV1. Tune the ILS, identify it, change the source from GPS to NAV and use APR mode when properly established. Our full FSX GPS and autopilot approach procedure explains that handover and the limits of vertical guidance.

FSX's built-in navigation data reflects its release era and is not modernised merely by using FSX: Steam Edition. Present-day charts may contain renamed fixes, changed runway numbers or procedures that the simulator does not recognise.

Why is the FSX GPS route missing or wrong?

Is FSNavigator for FSX the same as the built-in GPS?

FSNavigator is not part of FSX and is not another name for the standard GPS. It is separate legacy flight-planning and moving-map software associated with earlier Microsoft Flight Simulator versions; its installation, controls and compatibility are unrelated to the GPS 500 opened with Shift+3.

If an old aircraft package refers to FSNavigator, do not expect the FSX FPL, PROC or NAV/GPS instructions above to operate it. Use the stock Flight Planner and GPS unless that package includes its own specific documentation and compatible gauges.

The stock GPS also uses fixed English abbreviations. Text such as Ja, gerne or si/sí is not a NAV or GPS command; if it appears in the simulator, it belongs to mission text, a translation or a custom add-on rather than the default GPS 500.