I'm not overly familiar with this display, not having seen it in action in flight....Can someone tell me when the PLAN centre should skip to the next active waypoint?For example, in the following screenshot, I have just passed XMC and NRE has become my active waypoint. Should there be a gradual transition, or a sudden jump?http://members.ozemail.com.au/~b744er/737/Plan.gifOf interest, perhaps... Prior to IRS Alignment on our latest LCD display-equipped 747-400ER's, the aircraft symbol is shown as a small white circle with an X inside it.http://members.ozemail.com.au/~b744er/744e...BeforeAlign.jpgThanks.Cheers.Ian.

Gents:To the best of my knowldege, it does not update automatically. The only way to change it it with the STEP prompt.I don't believe you're really supposed to fly using PLAN. Like Ryan said, it's real purpose is to visually checking the waypoints you've entered in the FMC.I know that on several flights using PIC, the PLAN function saved my butt from many "bad" airways. (Many of PICs airways have errors in them; specifically in the Caribbean; and, BTW, whose NAV Data does PMDG use? PICs!! So my guess is that PMDG has the same prob... beware.)James

"Is the PLAN view even supposed to update with aircraft position/passing waypoints etc?? I thought the whole purpose of it was just to check the route to see if it's correct etc, which you do using the FMC "STEP" prompt..."This is why I asked, Ryan.I imagine, with my limited knowledge of inflight FMC ops, that the Legs page updates itself as soon as each waypoint has passed (i.e. you can't look back at waypoints you've passed over). If the Legs {CTR} prompt (set by the STEP key) was previously over the active waypoint and you transitioned to the next active waypoint, the CTR prompt would no longer match ND Plan centre (if it was still centered on the old one). I'd imagine this would generate some kind of data mismatch if the Plan didn't transition within a certain time frame(???).Anyway, I'll ask around and see what the general consensus is ;-)Cheers.Ian.

"To the best of my knowldege, it does not update automatically. The only way to change it it with the STEP prompt."A 747-400ER pilot tells me that his ND PLAN screen did jump immediately to the new active waypoint on the LEGS page (He was video taping it at the time).I'd say it would be the same for the 737NG... otherwise the STEP function would not operate properly. How would you get the PLAN to centre on the new active waypoint, other than by cycling through every waypoint in the route?Cheers.Ian.P.S. I was talking to some 737 pilots last week, but they weren't able to tell me what would happen.

The MAP mode is a *Moving MAP* whereas the PLAN MODE is simply for reviewing a route and what you cannot see in map mode and is used during PRE FLIGHT. "I'd say it would be the same for the 737NG... otherwise the STEP function would not operate properly. How would you get the PLAN to centre on the new active waypoint, other than by cycling through every waypoint in the route? This is simple, first, you really don't use it during flight and second, WAYPOINTS are removed from the LEGS page as they are passed so if you switch to PLAN MODE the CTR PROMPT will always show on the next waypoint on the route, this of course if you do not move the prompt.EDIT: as to if THIS bird is correct by not removing the waypoints on the PLAN MODE display, that I am not sure, your logic is sound but really would have to have a pilot check this in flight which like I said not used ;).[h5]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smith[/h5][h6]The Next Great one? PMDG's 737NG is here![/h6][h3]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"[/h3] [h5]AMD XP 2200 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ][i] K7S5A MB[/i] |GF3 64 MEG @ 215/545|WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"[/h5]

" The MAP mode is a *Moving MAP* whereas the PLAN MODE is simply for reviewing a route and what you cannot see in map mode and is used during PRE FLIGHT. "Unfortunately, Randy, real pilots do not live in a perfect world. They do not always know which runway they are going to land on before they take off.The PLAN page is required in flight when this happens. I haven't seen an FMC with more than 2 Route pages, so if you are arriving at an airport with more than two runways, you can't "plan" for every eventuality. Also, on our 744's we have Company Routes so long (over 120 waypoints) we can't even fit all the regular waypoints(i.e. no departure and arrival waypoints) onto the LEGS pages . Obviously some inflight "welding" on the PLAN page will have to be done (in this case, it may take some time to do.... and you may have the PLAN page in view when you fly over an active waypoint).BTW, I apologize if you are a real pilot and I'm teaching you to suck eggs here :-)Cheers.Ian.

They do not always know which runway they are going to land on before they take off.The PLAN page is required in flight when this happens. Ian ;) I would say that for most every flight a pilot does not know for sure what runway they will arrive at but this tends to happen more towards the latter half of flight in crz when most waypoints have been removed and no longer clutter up the ND. In such cases there is simply no need to review your route segment sequence, which is the only reason for plan mode, at least on the NG. Upon T/D your route will not be so cluttered on the map display and most important, the range will no longer obstruct the view, good enough to view your approach legs etc just fine...[h5]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smith[/h5][h6]The Next Great one? PMDG's 737NG is here![/h6][h3]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"[/h3] [h5]AMD XP 2200 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ][i] K7S5A MB[/i] |GF3 64 MEG @ 215/545|WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"[/h5]

"I'll ask my dad when I go over to my parents place tomorrow if he ever uses it in flight on the real 767..."Thanks, Ryan.Perhaps you could ask him in particular if he steps though each waypoint (whilst viewing the PLAN) after he has made any route modifications inflight.Of course, as Randy says, a 737NG is not a 767 and operating procedures may be different. For example, an EHSI is smaller than an ND, so may require more than one page to view all the waypoints (i.e. it will be necessary to use a lower range scale and several pages).My original message, however, was not asking what was done by the pilot, it was what was done by the aircraft (which is more important to me, the maintenance engineer). I bought the sim to help me understand the aircraft, not the pilot. If a wheel falls off the airplane and the pilot doesn't see it, that is not my concern. I still have to fix the airplane (I don't have to fix the pilot). :-)Cheers.Ian.

Ian, I spent some time looking over what I have and could not pin that question down if the page updates corresponding to the CTR PROMPT on the legs page. My CBTS only mention plan mode for Pre flight, there is no mention of en route usage so maybe a real world pilot will take a peek for us.I do enjoy this type of discussion Ian, thank you. [h5]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smith[/h5][h6]The Next Great one? PMDG's 737NG is here![/h6][h3]" A little learning is a dangerous thing"[/h3] [h5]AMD XP 2200 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ][i] K7S5A MB[/i] |GF3 64 MEG @ 215/545|WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"[/h5]

"...there is no mention of en route usage so maybe a real world pilot will take a peek for us."So far, it seems to be the case re usage in flight, Randy (apparently it's too labour intensive to select PLAN and scroll through all the entries... understandable on a short haul aircraft. One pilot says he just compares the Route page with his paper charts). I've had one pilot report, however, that the PLAN page centre does jump when the LEGS page lines automatically scroll upwards when passing the old active waypoint. It may or may not have been different on the 737 Classic???Anyway, I'll keep asking around to see if I get any variations to this :-)Cheers.Ian.