Originally Posted by
skycowboy
K, so what the heck does "flying green data" mean? Is it just raw nav stuff?
Exactly...just like in a GA airplane. You manually tune the radio, twist in a course, and you are presented with a virtual RMI on the PFD (Primary Flight Display on a CRT or LCD screen). You may have to ID it the old-fashioned way, or the station ID may be presented in text format on the PFD (usually if the station has an associated DME).
The GS is presented on one side of the PFD.
Normally you fly white needles (or magaenta or whatever color depending on the airplane) which means the FMS auto-tunes whatever navaids it wants and utilizes the data it recieves to track a pre-programmed route. It also uses GPS so if either GPS or VOR/DME was unavailable hopefully you would have a backup. The FMS is normally coupled to the AP.