How to use the OBS Function in the Garmin 530 GPS in X Plane

This video explains uses for the OBS function in the Garmin 530 in X Plane. How to cross a fix on a desired bearing, how to intercept a specific heading to or from a waypoint, and direct to navigating with the OBS.

[@brochujd]

I'm a french xPlane user but I can read english a little bit. I am impressed with your teaching presentations. For months I'm trying approaches ILS and voilà your property explanation fix all. Tank you, very nice presentation. Je vais vous suivre si j'ai un problème.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Jean-Denis, Thank you glad to hear the videos help! Blessings, skip

[@RAzzleRah]

Just wanted to say that as someone relatively new to X-Plane your series of videos has been far and away the most helpful I've come across. Thank you so much for taking the time to put them together and for sharing them -- they've been invaluable. My experiences with X-Plane have been dramatically improved because of you. That and you seem like a genuinely nice person. So thanks, Skip.

[@WEHVideos]

Rah! Rah! Hi Rah Rah, Thanks so much I love to hear I'm helping and your feedback makes it all worth while!! Blessings, Skip

[@larrybraley9950]

I just want to say I am very impressed with your teaching presentations. I watched a lot of them lately because you present them so well and precise. I don't have to continually go back and re-watch them over and over again. It is easy to keep up on training procedures with your teaching methods. keep up the good work and God Bless.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Larry, Thanks so much, glad the videos help. Blessings, skip

[@jgarnold]

Another great video explaining another part of the navigation system. Thanks Skip, you obviously spend a lot of time putting these tutorials together for people you will never meet.

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks John glad you liked the video and thanks for watching. Yea I know I will never meet viewers but we share a common interest and with comments like yours I feel and have hundreds of friends :-) Blessings, skip

[@flyboy712]

VOR is pronounced V-O-R, not "Vor". Thanks for the helpful video!

[@WEHVideos]

Hi flyboy712, Yea I know, don't know why I did this in a couple videos guess it was just easier to say, not very bright :-( Otherwise I hope the video helped some, thanks for watching. Blessings, skip

[@flyboy712]

@@WEHVideos I liked the video, thanks! Weirdly, pilots pronounce OBS as "obs" instead of spelling it out. Go figure!

[@WEHVideos]

Hi flyboy712, Glad to hear that, thanks :-) Yea sometimes we just get mixed up and unfortunately no matter how many times we watch the videos we make looking for mistakes or omissions "stuff" just gets by us. I probably watch each video 10 to 20 times before I post it and then as soon as it's up I realize I've done something wrong but most the time it takes a viewer to bring something to my attention. Thanks again for watching! By the way, if you fly with X Plane 11 and are interested, X-Hanger has given me the rights to their Cessna 172N for X Plane, the airplane I use in most of my videos, and they have allowed me to give it away to anyone who would like to use it for following along in my videos. You can learn how to download it by watching the video in the link below: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o56yqXl4oMx4eKc Blessings, skip

[@evanparliament4527]

I just want to say a big thank you. Excellent narration and clear commentary. Well done.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Evan, Thanks so much glad you liked the video and thanks for watching. Blessings, skip

[@MrKurtay]

Another great inside video to navigation. OBS now means much more than before. Thank you Skip, taking them time to share this with us. Best wishes.

[@WEHVideos]

***** Thanks MrKurty, glad it helped. Blessings, Skip

[@calamityjane643]

Thank you I’m glad I found your tutorials I was starting to pull my hair, I have only had this sim a week and could not find any videos which explained how to activate the gps once it was set, everyone else seems to skip that part, which is a bit daft, in my mind, if your looking how to set something as a new user, you would also need to know how to activate it too. Once again thank you so much. Very informative.

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks Farmer Jane and thanks for watching glad to hear it helped :-) Blessings, skip

[@chrisoak4916]

Skip, you are still the best!!

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks chrisoak4916 really appreciate that and thanks for watching hope it helped :-) Blessings, skip

[@ksmith610]

I like your videos. I recently resumed flying lessons after 40 years, but because I take a couple medicines the FAA doesn't like, I can't get a medical certificate. So I bought X-Plane, a bunch of hardware (Saitek and CH) and a few Carenado planes and am having a great time. I will go up occasionally "for real" but hell, this is a LOT less expensive than the real thing. The Beech F33 Bonanza and the latest Baron are my favorites.

[@skel3110]

Hi Skip, as a newbie to XPlane your videos are a tremendous help, thanks for putting them together!

[@WEHVideos]

Hi skel3110, Thanks, glad the videos help and welcome to X Plane! Blessings, skip

[@channelrelax2861]

Thank you for the clear x-plaination . 🙏

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks Channel relax glad you liked the video hope it helped and thanks for watching. Blessings, skip

[@chuckpoole5369]

Nice! I've been doing a lot with navigation lately. This tutorial really nails it for me, thanks Skip. God Bless

[@WEHVideos]

chuck poole Glad it help Chuck! Blessings, Skip

[@Aloha96789]

One application for the OBS Key is holding patterns. The OBS Key is used to suspend waypoint sequencing and select the desired course along the waypoint side of the hold. For many approach operations, setting and resetting of waypoint sequencing is automatic. Holding patterns that are part of an approach automatically disable waypoint sequencing, then re-enable waypoint sequencing after one time around the holding pattern. A ‘SUSP’ annunciation appears directly above the OBSKey (Figure C-3) to indicate that automatic waypoint sequencing is temporarily suspended and course selection is not available. If more than one trip around the holding pattern is desired, press the OBS Key to again suspend waypoint sequencing. An example of this operation is an approach which begins with a holding pattern at the initial approach fix (IAF). See Section 6.2, Flying an Approach with a Hold for more information on the ‘SUSP’ annunciation and approaches with holding patterns. Watch this video starting at 47:00 for a great explanation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoW5pWd8bL1-hrM

[@leslielavender6122]

A great and informative set of videos. I have learnt a lot about the 530. I should now be able to fly my B1900D properly now in Xplane.

[@WEHVideos]

Leslie Lavender Hi Leslie, Thanks, glad they helped. Blessings, Skip

[@bartowsanta6313]

Thank you for posting these videos they have come in very handy in my transition from MS FSX to X-Plane.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Bartow, Thanks and welcome to X Plane!! Blessings, skip

[@rfresh1011]

I know this video is 5 years old, but I was taught/told that once you switch to OBS mode, while in CDI GPS mode, automatic way point switching does not happen. In your example, JEFNY is treated just like it's a VOR and you can set your 027 OBS course but once you pass that way point, nothing will automatically switch to the next way point if there is one. Can you clarify? UPDATE I found this in the Garmin 530 Pilot Guide: "The OBS key is used to select manual or automatic sequencing of waypoints. Pressing this key selects OBS mode, which retains 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 returns to normal operation, with automatic sequencing of waypoints. Whenever OBS mode is selected, you may set the desired course to/from a waypoint using the OBS Page, or an external OBS selector on your HSI or CDI." So what this means is this: If you see 'OBS' displayed when you push the OBS button, your active GPS way point is now behaving like a VOR. You can set via the CDI the inbound course (shown in magenta) and see the outbound course as the white line. Press the OBS button again and the 'OBS' legend is now blank, indicating you'll now get automatic GPS way point switching.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Ralph, I'm sorry to say I have not used GPS since making this video and was never an expert in it use. To be honest you know more about this than I do and your explanation makes sense. I knew there were other ways to use the OBS but never got past what I learned for making this video so I can only say thanks for this additional information on the use of the OBS and hope it help other who read this comment. Blessings, skip

[@rfresh1011]

@@WEHVideos No worries. I continued to research this question and kept finding the same answer as stated in my UPDATE. So I'm confident it's correct. I'm a pilot with a Commercial license, Instrument and Multi-engine ratings and flying a C-172 with a Garmin 530 GPS unit installed. I'm building a fully functional instrument panel with Garmin 430 and 530 GPS units in it to use to fly my Xplane 11. I want to learn the 430/530 at home flying Xplane then take what I've learned and go out and fly a real C-172. I'm flying out of the Los Angeles area.

[@WEHVideos]

OK Ralph I think you should take over my channel you certainly are more qualified than I will ever be :-) Good luck with your panel sounds like a great and useful project! Blessings, skip

[@briancollins6974]

You make great videos sir! Ive learnt so much from watching them, thanks to your way of explaining everything! Its made using X plane so much more enjoyable! Thank you!

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks Brian glad they help! Blessings, skip

[@wilga80]

Thank you. Very informative.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi William, Glad to hear it was helpful and thanks for watching :-) Blessings, skip

[@shrimpfarmer]

Thanks for making these videos, I know how much work goes into producing them. Very helpful. Happy new year.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi shrimpfarmer, Thanks glad they are helping and thanks for watching. Happy New Year to you also!! Blessings, skip

[@jeremykendrick8959]

Thanks for making that make sense! God bless

[@WEHVideos]

You welcome Jeremy glad to hear it helped and thanks for watching :-) God Bless, skip

[@Pinote45]

This is very good explanation. your the best. JP From Hemingford,QC,Canada

[@WEHVideos]

+Jean-Paul Lepage Thanks Jean-Paul, glad you like the video and thanks for watching. Blessings, skip

[@CMDmed6067]

Amazing instructions, thank you and keep up with the great videos.

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks Abdul and thanks for watching, hope the videos are helping you. Happy New Year!! Blessings, skip

[@cessnadreams8258]

Great video, great teacher. Thanks!

[@WEHVideos]

Thanks Cessna Dreams, and thanks for watching! Happy flying. Blessings, skip

[@sleepydrones1282]

Is the main purpose for obs direct flight s and when you don’t set up a ils or gps aproach

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Sleepy Sounds, It's to help you navigate from one point to another, it's kind of like using a VOR but it does not have the limitations of a VOR. You can program the Garmin to fly a course to or from any fix or waypoint you enter in the Garmin. Hope this helps. Blessings, skip

[@AdelHaiba78]

Thank you, is there a way to program a hold over a specific INT.?

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Adel, Sorry I don't know of a way but I'm no expert by a long shot on the Garmin maybe someone else can help you. Blessings, skip

[@AdelHaiba78]

@@WEHVideos No problem, I've learned a lot from you, thank you very much, regards.

[@wildgoobsid5]

If I owned a real baron 58 I would just have a Garmin G1000 retrofitted. Makes the G530 look sick.

[@JottyHB]

Thanks for this helpful video! Did You check out, if the Garmin in XP 11 beta behaves like the real world one? I can't prove it myself right now, because of lying in bed with a bad cold 🤧🤒

[@WEHVideos]

Hi JJTVism, Sorry to hear your under the weather. Since XP11 is still in BETA there is not much to say, I know it has a couple issues that need attention so we will just have to wait for the official release. Hope your feeling better. Blessings, skip

[@brentfranklin3557]

xplane 10 is incredible

[@WEHVideos]

Brent Franklin Hi Brent, Yes it is keep at it and let me know if you have any questions. Blessings, Skip

[@petermanly2748]

Hi Skip, just bought X Plane having trouble linking gps to auto pilot, do you have a video which covers this. Peter M

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Peter, Welcome to X Plane. Click the link below to see all my video categories, I hope you find what you need. kzbin.infoplaylists Blessings, skip

[@evanparliament4527]

Thanks Skip!!

[@WEHVideos]

Your welcome :-)

[@vinsavi]

what was the software showing gps and hsi? thanks

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Vin, I took a screen shots and but them together in PhotoShop. Blessings, skip

[@aviatortrucker6198]

I would really like the barren 58 if it was coupled with a better auto pilot. This thing is terrible. Whenever it makes a turn it will deviate from altitude and it does not hold its altitude the way the auto pilot on the Cessna 172 does. This would definitely be a bad aircraft to be flying in IFR as ATC would be pulling your hair out with your lack of altitude finesse.

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Aviator Tucker, I don't fly the 58 so I'm no expert on it's AP, however, the AP in the 58 is much different and there's more to do to get it to work correctly. Below is a link on using the AP and it shows the components for the 58. This is not a video on the 58 so there's not much about the 58 but it shows what I'm trying to explain. On the console below the throttle is where you turn on and decide what features of AP you want to use, there's and enunciator on the top of the control panel that shows what's being use. Without knowing what you have turned on check and make sure ALT is displayed in the enunciator on the control panel. You must activate ALT for it to work along with what you are using for AP (HDG, NAV, BC) Hope this helps, please let me know. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5mxm52qnbWFlZI Blessings, skip

[@yair1956]

.. it 2018 & we all or most of us running XP1, now. does LR fixed it, or you still need to go around the OBS issue, I'm I"m wondering if the Realty XP version of the G530 is behaving like the real one ????

[@WEHVideos]

Hi O Ben-Ad, I'm sorry to say I have never used a "real" G530 only the one in X Plane so I can not answer your question :-( Blessings, skip

[@yair1956]

@@WEHVideos Hello Skip, I'm not talking about RW G530. I see that you posted the Video on 2015, so I assumed you used XP10, I'm just wondering if the problem you mentioned has been fixed in XP11??

[@WEHVideos]

Hi O Ben-Ad, Sorry I don't remember what that problem was can you refresh my memory? Blessings, skip

[@bashardahabra]

@@WEHVideos He was referring to the issue that when in AP mode when on a heading and the OBS is selected upon intercepting the radial the AP does not switch to NAV mode automatically! I have actually tried that on the Garmin 530 Windows SIM and it does not either do the switch !

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Bashar, OK thanks. I still can't answer his question as I see he is talking about the "reality" version which have never used but it is my belief that this switching to a NAV radio is not done automatically it must be done manually just my guess I must add. Maybe someone else can answer this question. Blessings, skip

[@elgroxo]

Thanks!

[@WEHVideos]

Hi elgroxo, Your welcome and thanks for watching, hope it helped. Blessings, skip

[@WEHVideos]

Hay ksmith610, I accidentally deleted your comment while I was responding, please post it again. Sorry skip

[@WEHVideos]

+WEH Videos Hi ksmith610, For some reason I can not reply to your two new comments so I'm trying here refering to ;MP and RPMs. Yea, if you look close you'll find more mistakes. I got focused on the topic, the flight plan and the Garmin 530 and didn't pay any attention to other details. You may have noticed the gauges jumping around because the video was made from several videos spliced together. I just couldn't get everything I need done in one take so I had to make multiple videos and past them together. The other thing is I don't fly the Baron 58 to often or use the Garmin 530 for that matter in X Plane, I spend most my time in a Cessna 172 because that's what I fly in real life, I'm a life time student pilot :-) Thanks for watching, skip

[@jimmyknight1833]

Fix gps

[@WEHVideos]

Jimmy Knight Hi Jimmy, What do you mean "Fix gps"? Skip

[@holtmebane]

Are you a pilot?? NOBODY says "VOR' - you say "Vee Oh Ar".

[@WEHVideos]

Hi Holt, Yes I'm still a student pilot (covid lockdown victim) with over 60 hours in a Cessna 172N. I really can't say why I said VOR instead of saying each word just something I did without thinking. I think I did that in a couple videos and have been caught by others with this error. Sorry if it make me sound foolish I have since been saying V O R as I should. Hope you won't hold that against me and that you do get something from the videos :-) Blessings, skip