question for pilots

[Guest]

Hello all,my question is about flying a SID. How can the marked informations on a SID chart be interpreted and how do you need to fly them.Let's say I load a user defined SID to the FMC and use VNAV and LNAV for departure and climb. Do I really need to fly (like the example pic below) those altitude restrictions? For example to level off at 5500 after take off and fly at 5500 to D15MDF and so on? Are they "at" or "at or above" altitudes anyway? If ATC gives me higher altitudes, what would the appropiate A/P mode be, since VNAV is related to the information in the flight plan?Do I need to change every single waypoint in my flight plan if ATC give me another alt?How do I need to take the climb instruction at the lower right corner of the picture below?So many questions and no answers yet. Hopefully there is someone with some answers. Any help is appreciated.If an explanation is to much for to post it here, I would be very happy about a tip what manual to buy.Thanks in advance.Regards and happy weekend

[Guest andrewluck]

I'll have a go.>>Altitude restrictionsNot entirely sure on this procedure. The text says climb to FL70 so that is how I would interpret it. >>If ATC gives me higher altitudes, what would the appropiate A/P mode be?I dial the new altitude in and use FL CH. This will put you into ALT HOLD at the new altitude.>>Do I need to change every single waypoint in my flight plan if ATC give me another alt?No. Just continue to use ALT HOLD until they clear you back onto you're flight plan, at which point you can reset the MCP altitude window and re-engage VNAV.Andrew Luck18 miles SW EGSH

[Guest]

Andrew,thank you very much for your helpful answers. Only one thing is left what I don't understand. The "CLIMB INSTRUCTION" at the lower right corner of the sample chart what says "Climb to FL70". Does it mean to level off at FL70 anyway and when yes, until where? And how about the other MEA, what has priority here?I checked already the introduction pages of the real Jeppesen approach charts, but I couldn't find something about this climb instruction.Anyway, thanks a lot for helping me out.Regards

[Guest andrewluck]

GerhardAn altitude restriction would remain in force until the end of the SID unless over-ridden by ATC. So, in this case I would set 7000 on the MCP and either use V/S or VNAV modes after takeoff. I'm puzzled by the apparent altitude restrictions on some legs though. Maybe they're part of other routes.Andrew Luck18 miles SW EGSH

[Guest]

Andrew,last night I got a chance to have a look to the Jeppesen pages again. They say, that the apparent altitude restrictions on legs are defined as MEA (Minimum Enroute Altitude).If I understand you right has the climb instruction at the lower right corner priority, means I need to fly at 7000 even the leg altitude restriction would allow higher.Thank you very much for your help.

[Guest]

To learn how to read charts, I would recommend acquiring an instrument flight manual, such as the one Jeppessen makes. I found a cheap one at a local FBO a while back. That really helps to understand the basics of instrument flying and how to interpret departure, arrival and approach charts. E-bay might have a few ones, I'd check in there first. The questions you ask are all covered there. As far as the proper use of the AP(MCP)and FMC, that is an entirely different subject. From my experience (by asking real life pilots and experimenting) I found that there is really no set way when to use the FMC and/or AP functions. I am sure airlines must have some sort of procedures on this to follow, but as I understand it, it is pretty much at the discretion of the pilots when to use which. I usually use the AP(MCP) functions up until a certain height or portion of a procedure, instead of programming the FMC and using it, since you could recieve conflicting ATC instructions(even though you could override it). Using the AP funtions on the MCP helps me remember assigned altitudes, headings and speeds when things get kind of fast(as in a departure on a high-traffic area). Usually I'll let the FMC take over once I am out of it and return to using the AP MCP commands when on the approach phase(there are some really cool things you can do with the MCP functions and EHSI). On the other hand, you could, I would imagine, start and end a flight entirely on FMC programmed commands, never tried it though. You could also restrict the vertical or horizontal part of the FMC navigation and control the rest with the MCP. As you can see, there is a lot of flexibilty and therefore a lot to it; learning how each part works would probably help a lot. Hope this helps,M.A.X.P.S.: Here is a link where you can find updated charts (NOAA) on the internet for the USA(wish they covered other areas too):http://edj.net/cgi-bin/echoplate.pl

[Guest andrewluck]

The FS98 Misc section of the library here has an excellent document on instrument procedures. Filename is flyingifr.zip.Andrew Luck18 miles SW EGSH

[Guest]

Gerhard!I looked up M