Need some help Options

[Silenthunter]

Hello,

I have questions and need some help from you MD gurus

Im just learning all this stuff on the Maddog, so sorry for the dumb questions

1) Do I have to program the flight computer for the AP to line up an ILS? The flight computer im still trying to learn all this stuff, im starting from scratch and know nothing about these... A tutorial for dummies somewhere? i tried the included PDF's but they seem to assume you already know something about these computers.

2) How do you auto deploy the thrust reversers? I can auto deploy the spoilers on touchdown but not the reversers. I found the control on the engine console, and the reversers deploy, but when i throttle up they retract. is there a key command that will deploy reversers and then i can rev the engines to augment stopping?

3)How do you get that 3d virtual cockpit where you can look around? i tried everything i can think of but i always get the standard locked in place view of the panel.

Thanks!

Rick

This post has been edited by Silenthunter: 13/09/2010, 1:44

[wims80]

I'm certainly not a guru, but i can try to answer your questions anyways

1: I'm pretty sure that you do not need to program the FMC to have the ap capture the localizer, BUT you should really always program the computer. Flying without the FMC is not really done very often at all in real life and I would consider this a more advanced way of flying that you shouldnt start doing until you got a fairly good idea about how to fly the plane using the flight managment computer. I thought the supplied tutorial document named "Tutorial ENG.pdf" was pretty straight forward and you shouldnt really need any computer skills to be able to complete the tutorial flight. Remember that the maddog is not an easy or light plane, if there's something you dont understand in the tutorial then read the section over again. If you dont understand it after reading it again then post about it on the forum, remember to explain exactly which parts you didnt understand and im sure somebody will help you out fairly quickly.

2: There's no automatic reverse thrusters, you have to either use them manually by pulling back the reverse thrust handles on the throttle or you can also press and fold the F2 button on your keyboard to use the reversers. Click F1 again when you want to turn them off again.

3: To switch to the virtual cockpit from the 2d panel you need to click the F9 button on your keyboard. To switch to the 2d panel again you press the F10 button. You need to have enabled the virtual cockpit in the load manager to be able to use it. There's only a virtual cockpit for certain configurations of the plane. I'm using the Maddog 2008 edition and it only has a virtual cockpit if i use the EFIS,FMS configuration of the cockpit. I think the 2010 version also contains a virtual cockpit for another configuration, but dont quote me on that! I'll attach a screenshot of the load manager to illustrate how to enable the VC.

Attached File(s)

 vc.PNG ( 74.79K ) Number of downloads: 62

 

[Olivier Moens]

Hi Rick,

as said above by Wims, no need of programming the FMC to use radio navigation equipement as ILS or VOR. But you have to tune the right frequency and set the right course on the NAV receiver. Also select the appropriate display on the HSI. You can also use the basic autopilot modes without programming any line in the FMC. But that's not the usual way to fly a liner.

In FS, the more you hold the reverser assigned key, the more throttle you get in reverse. Advancing the throttle handles turn the reversers off.

[VulcanB2]

Hi,

1) Do I have to program the flight computer for the AP to line up an ILS?

No. This is something that seems to have appeared around the time of the PMDG 747 release.

NO aircraft requires the FMS in order to use the basic modes of the autopilot, to tune the radios in order to use navigational aids, or to perform an ILS or autoland.

The flight computer im still trying to learn all this stuff, im starting from scratch and know nothing about these... A tutorial for dummies somewhere? i tried the included PDF's but they seem to assume you already know something about these computers.

There is a pre-flight flow required. I'll detail this in this thread but a seperate post. Different SOPs have you doing things slightly differently, but overall you shoud hit everything.

2) How do you auto deploy the thrust reversers? I can auto deploy the spoilers on touchdown but not the reversers. I found the control on the engine console, and the reversers deploy, but when i throttle up they retract. is there a key command that will deploy reversers and then i can rev the engines to augment stopping?

Press F2 to select reverse, wait for the blue reverse lights then press and hold F2 to apply full reverse. Select idle reverse before selecting forward thrust (note that FS does a rubbish job of modelling the effect of bucket reversers).

Best regards,
Robin.

[Silenthunter]

Thanks for the help! Im getting it down and having fun, I can do rudimentary waypoints etc now. Did a reinstall of FSX and now i got the 3d cockpit too

How many FPM is a "normal" descent for the MD? I mean what do they use in the airlines as a max?

I can do ILS landings fine manually, but still cant figure how to make the AP do them... Can someone give me a sequence of steps to do this?

When flying with the FMC a route, it take me to the airport but then im left to my own devices once there to figure my own lineup lol

Thanks for your help!

What a neat sim this is

Rick

[Jared]

The ECON descents I get will stabilize at 1700 feet down and will adjust as needed, but in short most airlines that I am aware of will keep it in VNAV if FMC equiped till 10,000.

Do what your doing now except after the intercept turn has been made and you on a intercept heading press "ILS" or if your still above the glide press "VOR/LOC" till your on or below the slope then press ILS.

This post has been edited by Jared: 16/09/2010, 2:44

[Olivier Moens]

Thanks for the help! Im getting it down and having fun, I can do rudimentary waypoints etc now. Did a reinstall of FSX and now i got the 3d cockpit too

How many FPM is a "normal" descent for the MD? I mean what do they use in the airlines as a max?

I can do ILS landings fine manually, but still cant figure how to make the AP do them... Can someone give me a sequence of steps to do this?

When flying with the FMC a route, it take me to the airport but then im left to my own devices once there to figure my own lineup lol

Thanks for your help!

What a neat sim this is

Rick

Be sure the FD's are - on at least the one on the selected AP side. Ap engaged in heading mode.
Always intercept the glide from below. Let's say stable 3000ft AAL at 15-16 NM from threshold.
intercept within 30° angle from the localizer, around 180-210 knt.
Select VOR/LOC first (LOC white on PFD), once established on LOC (LOC green on PFD), select ILS - this is the right way to do. Selecting ILS directly will work also but in all cases, you must be established on the localizer BEFORE intercepting the glide slope.

[Jared]

Thanks for the help! Im getting it down and having fun, I can do rudimentary waypoints etc now. Did a reinstall of FSX and now i got the 3d cockpit too

How many FPM is a "normal" descent for the MD? I mean what do they use in the airlines as a max?

I can do ILS landings fine manually, but still cant figure how to make the AP do them... Can someone give me a sequence of steps to do this?

When flying with the FMC a route, it take me to the airport but then im left to my own devices once there to figure my own lineup lol

Thanks for your help!

What a neat sim this is

Rick

Be sure the FD's are - on at least the one on the selected AP side. Ap engaged in heading mode.
Always intercept the glide from below. Let's say stable 3000ft AAL at 15-16 NM from threshold.
intercept within 30° angle from the localizer, around 180-210 knt.
Select VOR/LOC first (LOC white on PFD), once established on LOC (LOC green on PFD), select ILS - this is the right way to do. Selecting ILS directly will work also but in all cases, you must be established on the localizer BEFORE intercepting the glide slope.

I guess I am the exception to the last part because I try to fly the glide till loc interception, but it is true that the AP will not go to track the glide still it at least is capturing the loc.

[Olivier Moens]

Thanks for the help! Im getting it down and having fun, I can do rudimentary waypoints etc now. Did a reinstall of FSX and now i got the 3d cockpit too

How many FPM is a "normal" descent for the MD? I mean what do they use in the airlines as a max?

I can do ILS landings fine manually, but still cant figure how to make the AP do them... Can someone give me a sequence of steps to do this?

When flying with the FMC a route, it take me to the airport but then im left to my own devices once there to figure my own lineup lol

Thanks for your help!

What a neat sim this is

Rick

Be sure the FD's are - on at least the one on the selected AP side. Ap engaged in heading mode.
Always intercept the glide from below. Let's say stable 3000ft AAL at 15-16 NM from threshold.
intercept within 30° angle from the localizer, around 180-210 knt.
Select VOR/LOC first (LOC white on PFD), once established on LOC (LOC green on PFD), select ILS - this is the right way to do. Selecting ILS directly will work also but in all cases, you must be established on the localizer BEFORE intercepting the glide slope.

I guess I am the exception to the last part because I try to fly the glide till loc interception, but it is true that the AP will not go to track the glide still it at least is capturing the loc.

The localizer defines a safe descent corridor. Never try to fly the glide first in an airport lying in a deep valley, like LOWI or LSGS, you will fly directly into the mountain. This is why you have to capture the localizer first.

[Samuli]

Normally (airlines I know), you arm the mode according clearance. Generally (depending where and on the circumstances) ATC clears you for the ILS approach after giving you the final vector. But sometimes you will get clearance to establish on the localizer, later on cleared for the approach.

Depending on the situation you arm ILS ("cleared for the ILS approach rwyXX") or LOC ("cleared for the localizer rwyXX"). Even if you arm the ILS, the acft will not intercept GS until established on the LOC first.

But in no case (excepting you have visual contact with terrain and making visual appch) you start descend below the intermediate approach altitude before getting established on the LOC. Like Olivier says, in that case you are outside of the "safety corridor", and have no guarantee of terrain clearance.

[Silenthunter]

Thanks, i really appreciate the help here and will refer to it as i go.

I got it to do an ILS AP landing approach! I was below the GS and lined up and it locked on. then i tried it again another flight but was above the GS and slight off, and it did some weird stuff and had to land manually....But I seem to be getting it, but its still vodoo magic lol

Another Q: The Ap has "VOR LOC" and "ILS" whats the VOR LOC for? is it the precursor to using the ILS function? Does it do the initial adjustments to get you ready for the ILS?



This post has been edited by Silenthunter: 17/09/2010, 8:19

[Olivier Moens]

Thanks, i really appreciate the help here and will refer to it as i go.

I got it to do an ILS AP landing approach! I was below the GS and lined up and it locked on. then i tried it again another flight but was above the GS and slight off, and it did some weird stuff and had to land manually....But I seem to be getting it, but its still vodoo magic lol

Another Q: The Ap has "VOR LOC" and "ILS" whats the VOR LOC for? is it the precursor to using the ILS function? Does it do the initial adjustments to get you ready for the ILS?

The localizer is a lateral navigation aid, just like a VOR, but more precise. It is part of the ILS system, but it can also be found as standalone (Localizer approach). The ILS is a Localizer combined with with a Glide Slope . The glide slope gives you vertical navigation reference, while Localizer gives you the horizontal reference.
I suggest you to perform a search on wikipedia, I am sure you will find all what you need.

This post has been edited by Olivier Moens: 17/09/2010, 10:29

[Silenthunter]

Thanks Olivier, I read up on it and practicing and getting it pretty down. Im even using ATC now. Flew from SFO to Hawaii, had 300# fuel left. Seemed a little close lol.

The most irritating thing about ATC is how the sim sound "mutes" or lowers when they contact you. Anyone know how to fix this?

I have only plowed in once right after takeoff, and have no idea why. i just rotated like usual, gear up climb 15 degrees, and was pressing the stabilizer trim to keep the nose up so i could release the controls to engage AP. it just nosed right over with full up elevator and crashed. I am 100% positive i was trimming the stab the correct direction....

What about the normal average distance from the airport for glideslope track to kick in?

Whats the most fuel efficient altitude and speed for the MD? i know this varies with load but a ballpark...

How do you activate the little green arc on the map that corresponds with your descent rate? I get it sometimes and sometimes not. Im pretty 99% sure this ark is telling you when you will contact the ground at the current FPM descent, but dont know whats powering it or why.

This post has been edited by Silenthunter: 21/09/2010, 1:29

[Paul Edwards]

What about the normal average distance from the airport for glideslope track to kick in?

Most Glideslope signals/approaches are 3 degrees, so the 1 in 3 rule works here. For every nautical mile traveled there will be a 300ft descent, i.e. If an airfield is 600ft amsl and your incepting the ILS at 2100ft you can expect to capture the GS at 5nm. 2100-600(assuming you have set QNH, so you Altimeter is displaying height above sea level)=1500/300=5nm.
To work out your required VS once on the glide path, take your airspeed, divide by 2 and add a 0, i.e. IAS 140, halve 70 and 0=700fpm.

Regards


Paul

[wims80]

...

I have only plowed in once right after takeoff, and have no idea why. i just rotated like usual, gear up climb 15 degrees, and was pressing the stabilizer trim to keep the nose up so i could release the controls to engage AP. it just nosed right over with full up elevator and crashed. I am 100% positive i was trimming the stab the correct direction....

Dont touch the trim after departure, the trim has been set properly for departure before takeoff if you have completed the preflight the correct way. Just turn on the autopilot quickly If you find it hard to pan the view in the VC to be able to find the correct clickspot for the autopilot switch then I recommend using the 2d panel for departure (and for other high workload situations as well).

What about the normal average distance from the airport for glideslope track to kick in?

Paul explained this pretty good, but as a small addition I recommend always having the approach plate available. The approach plate will tell you which altitudes you need to be at to intercept the GS.

Whats the most fuel efficient altitude and speed for the MD? i know this varies with load but a ballpark...

I'm pretty sure you can see the optimal cruise altitude from the vnav page in the FMC before departure. I cant check it right now tho, as I'm currently having a flight myself. I'll double check after my flight to be sure.
EDIT: I just checked, you can see the optimal cruise level on the CRZ page of the CDU after you have filled out the PERF INIT and the RTE pages.

How do you activate the little green arc on the map that corresponds with your descent rate? I get it sometimes and sometimes not. Im pretty 99% sure this ark is telling you when you will contact the ground at the current FPM descent, but dont know whats powering it or why.

The arc will tell you where you will be laterally when you reach the armed altitude with your current vertical speed. If you do not arm an altitude you will not see the arc either.

This post has been edited by wims80: 22/09/2010, 18:04

[Silenthunter]

Once again thanks!

I got it how that arc works, neat tool.

Doing pretty well now, cant really think of anything else right now

[Silenthunter]

Ok so i cant figure the "battery charger" warn light out, and how to charge the batteries apparently. lol

Why when im at the gate and doing my preflight, and set that stab incidence preparing for TO, sometimes when i go to takeoff i get the audible warning, and then i look and the stab is off like 2 degrees...Like it moved by itself.

When im on final sometimes, and looking fine, i get the AUT G/O or something like that on the AP display, and the glidescope track never kicks in...Im pretty dead on with my approaches, just using small amounts of vert speed on the AP untill im right before the runway. The glidescope kick in is not happening...

You guys love my dumb questions

[Paul J]

Ok so i cant figure the "battery charger" warn light out, and how to charge the batteries apparently. lol

Why when im at the gate and doing my preflight, and set that stab incidence preparing for TO, sometimes when i go to takeoff i get the audible warning, and then i look and the stab is off like 2 degrees...Like it moved by itself.

When im on final sometimes, and looking fine, i get the AUT G/O or something like that on the AP display, and the glidescope track never kicks in...Im pretty dead on with my approaches, just using small amounts of vert speed on the AP untill im right before the runway. The glidescope kick in is not happening...

You guys love my dumb questions

They're not so dumb, Rick - but you wouldn't need to ask them if you would take the time to jump in the old Cessna 172, or a Beech twin, and spend just one evening practicing instrument approaches. 99% of your problems are procedural and lack of experience/subject knowledge, because we (old guys) know that 99% of all the LSH Maddog systems work ala the rea-world aircraft, and you are not giving yourself the opportunity to learn it.

For example, take instrument approaches - in the time it takes from batteries on to shutdown in an MD80 for just one circuit - you could fly five circuits in a Baron or the beautiful new Milviz Cessna 310. You can set yourself up at 3000 feet, nine or ten miles out, twenty-five degrees to the right or left of the runway heading, nav receivers tuned to the localizer frequency, and then save the flight: you can then run this flight as many times as you want. Practice without the a/p: practice with it, until you can nail the intercept; nail the approach speed; nail the touchdown point; nail the runway center-line; nail the flare. When you think "this is easy" - change the weather; do the same thing at dusk, or at night; pull the power on one side and do it all again. Then - move up to something like an Eaglesoft Citation. Plain ILS approaches are the same in all aircraft, but there's so much more to learn and so little time to manage a two-man flight deck - you become victim of "information overload"; - you miss important information - you forget a critical function. This is why you advance very, very slowly. Real-world MD-80 aircrew have several thousands of hours before they become Captain: they build up hundreds of hours in light twins, then Twin Otters, BN Islanders, DC-3's, etc., then into corporate jets, biz-jets, etc., getting heavier and faster and more complex, before they get a second-dicky seat in an '80.

Practice, practice, practice.

[Jared]

Ok so i cant figure the "battery charger" warn light out, and how to charge the batteries apparently. lol

Why when im at the gate and doing my preflight, and set that stab incidence preparing for TO, sometimes when i go to takeoff i get the audible warning, and then i look and the stab is off like 2 degrees...Like it moved by itself.

When im on final sometimes, and looking fine, i get the AUT G/O or something like that on the AP display, and the glidescope track never kicks in...Im pretty dead on with my approaches, just using small amounts of vert speed on the AP untill im right before the runway. The glidescope kick in is not happening...

You guys love my dumb questions

They're not so dumb, Rick - but you wouldn't need to ask them if you would take the time to jump in the old Cessna 172, or a Beech twin, and spend just one evening practicing instrument approaches. 99% of your problems are procedural and lack of experience/subject knowledge, because we (old guys) know that 99% of all the LSH Maddog systems work ala the rea-world aircraft, and you are not giving yourself the opportunity to learn it.

For example, take instrument approaches - in the time it takes from batteries on to shutdown in an MD80 for just one circuit - you could fly five circuits in a Baron or the beautiful new Milviz Cessna 310. You can set yourself up at 3000 feet, nine or ten miles out, twenty-five degrees to the right or left of the runway heading, nav receivers tuned to the localizer frequency, and then save the flight: you can then run this flight as many times as you want. Practice without the a/p: practice with it, until you can nail the intercept; nail the approach speed; nail the touchdown point; nail the runway center-line; nail the flare. When you think "this is easy" - change the weather; do the same thing at dusk, or at night; pull the power on one side and do it all again. Then - move up to something like an Eaglesoft Citation. Plain ILS approaches are the same in all aircraft, but there's so much more to learn and so little time to manage a two-man flight deck - you become victim of "information overload"; - you miss important information - you forget a critical function. This is why you advance very, very slowly. Real-world MD-80 aircrew have several thousands of hours before they become Captain: they build up hundreds of hours in light twins, then Twin Otters, BN Islanders, DC-3's, etc., then into corporate jets, biz-jets, etc., getting heavier and faster and more complex, before they get a second-dicky seat in an '80.

Practice, practice, practice.

Batteries are being charged when there is AC power on the buses, the Emergency power check goes as follows:

1. AC power has been established

2. move the Volts/Freq meter selector to Batt Volt and turn the emergency power switch to ON.

3. Look for at least 25 volts and observe the emergency power in use light is on.

4. Move the meter selector to Batt Amp and observe that the needle has moved to the right indicating the batteries are under load.

5. Turn the emergency power switch OFF and observe the in use light go off and the needle move to the left then back to center, assuming you didn't leave the switch on to long, the move to the left indicates the battery charger is operating.


I think there is a keyboard command that does that, as it has happened to me, I notice it mostly when I run the second part of my before start checklist


AUT G/O is Auto Go Around which should occur at 1500 AGL, if you disconnect the A/P and hand fly it will change to FD G/A, like I've said in another thread I will intercept just below or descend on the slope and the A/P will track both, BUT I'm not at 1500 AGL or lower try intercepting further out a good starting point is be established no later then 10 NM from the runway, short final, otherwise 15 NM is what most US controllers aim for unless they have high traffic flow then you might go back to 20 NMs.

This post has been edited by Jared: 25/09/2010, 15:40