Where do I start

[Guest RangerJack]

Ok, on Ray's assurance that I would get plenty of help around here, I purchased the product. First question is: Other than the 3(+1) install files, the SU1 Full and the current SID/STARS database, what other files/data should I have? What about these FMC updates. Then so you can see how new I am to this...Will somebody please explain the SIDS/STAR stuff from the basics.Thank you,Mike "Ranger" Stinchfield

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Hi Mike,I'm still feeling my way around this stuff too. But I can try and help you a little. Maybe someone lese can give a better explantion of the SID/STARS than me. I know it stands for Standard Instument Departure/Standard Terminal Arrival Route. To me it means the use of commonly used routes of departing and arriving at airports. But I just looked it up on google and found a pretty detailed explantion here...http://www.flightsimaviation.com/index.php...iontheory&ch=13http://www.flightsimaviation.com/index.php...iontheory&ch=14The other thing you will need is the AIRAC data. Get it at http://www.navdata.at/ I didn't know just what that acronym stood for and have been curious so I looked it up on google. AIRAC stands for Aeronautical Information Regulation And Control. Oh boy. :) The AIRAC data gets installed to here...C:Program FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator 9FMCWPNavDataYou may need to create thet folder first to point the AIRAC installer where to install the files to.To get started with the PMDG 737 you can do what I did and try out Fred Clausen's flight tutorial. It's in Avsim library and the filename is pmdg_737ng_flight_tutorial.zip. I did find a couple of directions in there to be missing/omitted(sorry Fred), but overall it is real good and got me going.Hope that helps Mike,Jim Richards

[Guest RangerJack]

Jim,Great help, thanks. That will give me a start for today.Mike

[Guest tmetzinger]

I'd recommend that once you get the AIRAC navdata installed so that your FMC can manage routes, that you work through Fred's tutorial mentioned earlier.I'd recommend leaving the SIDS and STARS alone for a little while until you've mastered the basic operations. There will be plenty of things to get used to.I'm going to be writing an advanced tutorial for SIDS/STARS in the near (September) future. It will cover how to add and modify these procedures, and how to work with ATC instructions and deal with things like reroutings and vectors.

[Guest OneTinSoldier]

Awesome Tim! I anticipate the arrival of that tutorial. :DJim Richards

[Guest klucznik]

Thank you Jim for your info. I too am a beginner with the 737NG and although I use PS1.3 on occasion I find each FMC, on each add-on that has it, is slightly different. Thanks for the reference to Fred Clausen's tutorial. A quick read of it indicates that the tutorial will be of great help. I do have a question: Did you choose ...FS9FMCWPDATA because of some FS9 requirement or could you have chosen any folder to store your data? Just wondering. Now it is time to get bold and go through Fred's tutorial.Thanks again. Regards Hi 737NG users,

[crvm 0]

No, the FMCWP/NAVDATA folder location is required. This is true for FS2002 and FS9. I will assume the the aircraft's FMC looks for the navdata info as regards to the location, not the simulator... [h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/196432/winglets_lg.jpg [h3] AMD XP 2200 |MUNCHKIN 512 DDR RAM |ECS[/b ][i] K7S5A MB[/i] |GF2 MX 32 MEG and still runs GOOD!|WIN XP PRO |MITSUBISHI DIAMOND PLUS 91 19"[/h3]

[Guest RangerJack]

Ok gents, I spent the last 2 days with the tutorial and manual. Here is what I have come up against:1. It took me a while (and I still do not know for sure)to realize the APU has started. Is there a sound for this? Eventually I noticed the guage movement (APU exhaust temp) and hit the APU generator switches anyway. Now are those switches for the generators supposed to stick to on or are they supposed to flip back? The only reason I think I started the APU is because the engine start procedure worked fine for me.2. Believe it or not the whole flight until landing went off without a hitch besides the fact I had to reactivate the flight plan for some reason after take off, I noticed this when VNAV and LNAV would not engage.3. In landing I found things quite difficult (Fred did say this comes with practice:-)) I captured the glideslope (came in from below) and kept it until about the 5 degree flap point. Then all the sudden the plane lost the GS and started an incredibly strong acceleration and slight climb. I know that is not enough info but all I did was follow the instructions exactly. Anyone know what might of happened?I will try to run through it again tonight.Thanks,Mike "Ranger" Stinchfield

[Guest tmetzinger]

>>1. It took me a while (and I still do not know for sure)to>realize the APU has started. Is there a sound for this? >Eventually I noticed the guage movement (APU exhaust temp) and>hit the APU generator switches anyway. Now are those switches>for the generators supposed to stick to on or are they>supposed to flip back? The only reason I think I started the>APU is because the engine start procedure worked fine for me.The way you know the APU is running is when the APU GEN lights come on. You'll see the EGT go up and stabilize as the APU lights off, but that's about it. The external power, APU and Engine gen switches ARE "return to center" momentary contacts. That's because what you're actually doing when you use them is changing the position of much bigger relays elsewhere in the aircraft.>2. Believe it or not the whole flight until landing went off>without a hitch besides the fact I had to reactivate the>flight plan for some reason after take off, I noticed this>when VNAV and LNAV would not engage.This sounds like you may have forgotten to ACTIVATE or EXEC the flight plan, or you changed aircraft/liveries in there somewhere. Anytime you change the aircraft, livery, you wipe out and cold start the FMC.>3. In landing I found things quite difficult (Fred did say>this comes with practice:-)) I captured the glideslope (came>in from below) and kept it until about the 5 degree flap>point. Then all the sudden the plane lost the GS and started>an incredibly strong acceleration and slight climb. I know>that is not enough info but all I did was follow the>instructions exactly. Anyone know what might of happened?It's possible you clicked on the TOGA button (the upper left screw on the MCP).What I try to do on ILS approaches is have the airplane stable at the final approach speed Vref +20 knots, and 10 degrees of flap, after I am on the localizer but before I intercept the glideslope. Then as the glideslope indicator starts to come down, I drop the gear, set the autothrottles back to VRef, and then extend the remainder of the flap as speed permits. This way you've got very little to do on the last 4 miles of the approach except for looking out for the runway.

[Guest Ray CYYZ]

Good to see you don't hate me yet Mike :-lol1) The switches are toggles and will spring back to center position. The APU is in the tail, so you are not going to hear it in the cockpit. The APU provides not only power, but bleed air to spin the engines fast enough to start them. No bleed air, no engine start.2) I wonder whether you activated your flight plan but forgot to press the EXEC button on the FMC keypad.3) Landing falls in the catagory of juggling eggs. In the real world, you would have a First Officer helping you out. Since we don't have that option, you have a pretty insane amount of work to get done in record time. A few common things that we forget:a) Tune Nav radios (BOTH!) to the ILS for the runway:( On the FMC Approach page, choose and lock flaps/Vref choice. (if you can't find it, hit Init Ref button, then the ;)You want to be stable at flaps with gear down so you can have a smooth ride. Feel free to start earlier as you are not paying for fuel until you find yourself not forgetting things, then you can speed things up, coming in faster with less flaps and dumping your gear as you start down the glideslope.Ray

[Guest RangerJack]

Ray and Tim,Thanks for the great advice gentlemen. I will print these notes and try the tutorial again. Ray was right about the help:DThanks again,Mike

[Guest klucznik]

Thanks RandyRegards

[Guest RangerJack]

Gents,Wow, except for the fact I forgot to enter my landing speed, everything went off without a hitch that time. I noticed it at the last minute and by the time I changed it the plane attempted but could not adjust so I missed the landing. I am very glad I took Ray's advice and bought this. So here are some more questions.1. For further practice, does anyone have a shorter route than Fred's tutorial? I am not up to speed with creating a route although I do understand what a SID/STARS is now. However, what resources would I need to start creating routes like Fred did where you don't have to punch in every waypoint? Do I have to get the approach charts to know all these SID/STARS? I see in the forum talk about FSBuild, do you recommend this product?2. What does a plane do on a real short route? Say LA to Las Vegas, or LAX to KSAN? Do they even use SID's and STARS?3. What would I do in case of a missed approach? I take it from the approach chart it is dependant on the airport, but how would you use the FMC to get back in the approach? Or would you use the FMC at all for this?4. Where are the flightplans I create saved? And how do I "load" saved plans?That is enough I guess:DThanks all,Mike "Ranger" Stinchfield"Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor"

[Guest RangerJack]

One more thing,Fred says to empty the center tank, or rather set it to 0 in the tutorial. I keep getting an INSUFFICIENT FUEL message in the FMC when I do (which makes sense). So I end up leaving 50% in the center tank. Am I missing something? Fred?Mike

[Guest Ray CYYZ]

Hmm, haven't tried his tutorial but it is not a problem to leave more fuel in the tanks, just remember that this changes the weight of the plane which will affect any reference speeds that he may have noted. (V1,Vr,V2,Vref)When you get that message, the FMC is telling you that the the fuel (minus what you have in reserves) is not enough to reach the destination. This is not always the case, and you can get this error popping during entering of the flight plan prior to setting the cruise altitude as the plane burns fuel poorly at lower altitudes.Addicted yet? :-lolRay