Heading confusion 737NG

[Guest ILS]

1. Taking off2. After take off and at around 1500ft I turn right (I'm on autopilot having "SPEED" angeaged, "HDG SEL" engaged and "CMD A" engaged3. Speed is 230 knots4. I turn HDG knob to 002 degrees. 737NG turns beautifully (good flight dynamics!).5. FS2004 red characters at the top of the screen tells me I'm flying HDG 002. Which is exactly what I dialed in on the HDG on the AP panel.6. Looking at the ND display however, it indicates I'm flying "TRAK 007 MAG". 7. I shut dowen FS2004. Launching it again, and and the PM 737NG does the same. I try with a few other sim crafts and there it's 002 degrees heading all the time on all displays.8. Why does the PrecisionManuals 737NG do this? (I have not chosen any winds etc).ILS

[Guest ilh]

It sounds like you might have some crosswind coming from your left. TRK = ground track, course over ground. HDG = direction your nose is aimed. The two will only be the same if there is no wind, you are flying directly into the wind, or you are flying directly with the wind. Any other time you will generally see some difference.You say you have not chosen any winds. Do you mean you have explicitly chosen to have zero winds or that you are using FS's default winds (which are generally NOT zero). Does Shift-Z show any winds XXX/YY? Does the ND show any winds?The ND shows both HDG and TRK simultaneously. If you are in a TRK-up mode, it will show heading as a small white triangle. In your example, it should be on 002, a bit left of straight up. Is it showing that?Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpg

[Guest tmetzinger]

>The ND shows both HDG and TRK simultaneously. If you are in a>TRK-up mode, it will show heading as a small white triangle. >In your example, it should be on 002, a bit left of straight>up. Is it showing that?Lee, is there a way to put the ND in HDG up mode while in MAP?

[Guest ilh]

Tim, not that I am aware of.Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpg

[Guest ILS]

Lee,1.I checked in FS2004 red character info at top of screen: "WIND 357 / 00 Mag" is what this says. 00 knots wind coming from 357 degress, right?2. I made the following test:HDG FS2004-info ND display shows000 360 005090 090 090180 180 175270 270 2703. What else can I check to identify my HDG-confusion..?ILS>It sounds like you might have some crosswind coming from your>left. TRK = ground track, course over ground. HDG =>direction your nose is aimed. The two will only be the same>if there is no wind, you are flying directly into the wind, or>you are flying directly with the wind. Any other time you>will generally see some difference.>>You say you have not chosen any winds. Do you mean you have>explicitly chosen to have zero winds or that you are using>FS's default winds (which are generally NOT zero). Does>Shift-Z show any winds XXX/YY? Does the ND show any winds?>>The ND shows both HDG and TRK simultaneously. If you are in a>TRK-up mode, it will show heading as a small white triangle. >In your example, it should be on 002, a bit left of straight>up. Is it showing that?>>Lee Hetherington (KBED)>http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpgXP 3.2GHzzzz

[Guest ilh]

OK, that seems to be conclusively zero wind.It is very odd that for everything except 000/360 it seems to be dead on. Let me know where you are doing this test (speed = 230kts, right?) and I'll see if I can reproduce as well.Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpg

[Guest ILS]

Lee, Airport: LBSFTaking off rwy 27Wind set in FS 360/00Temp -02CTaking off rwy 27, climb straight ahead to 7300 feet 29.92Speed 230Fuel 40/40/40%Gross wt around 127,800 lbsSet HDG to 270, FS showing 270, ND showing 270Set HDG to 000, FS showing 360, ND showing 005Set HDG to 090, FS showing 090, ND showing 090Set HDG to 180, FS showing 180, ND showing 175Looking at the ND after having selected 180 it feels a bit odd to see the dashed magenta track pointing slightly right...Hope this helps to reproduce and identify. ILS

[Guest ILS]

Lee, Testing again, I *am* seeing winds on the ND. As I climb above 5100 feet winds from 280 - 330 degrees and at around 10-15 knots are beginning to appear. They vary in direction and speed. Sorry for not being enough observant before. I was looking at the ND for winds when I was *below* 5100 feet were there were no winds.But were are these winds coming from?I see that in FS2004 I have FSUIPC 3.129. I have never done anything with that program and have not entered anything. Could this program induce winds like these? The direction of the wind seems to explain the degree of deviation reported in previous posts, right?ILS

[Guest ILS]

Lee,I pressed "CLEAR ALL WEATHER" in FSUIPC and that cleared the winds. So you were right - it was winds causing the "heading confusion". Thanks for your help.How come these winds came in here in the first place. I did not eneter any winds. And how come FS2004 weather menu reported 357/00 (no wind) when in fact there were winds appearing above 5100 feet?Dos FSUIPC enter it's own random winds as default and to be sure you have to clear it? ANd it can obviously clear winds, but where is the input data from? WIth FS2004 I have never eneterd any wind input.At least 737NG is navigating correctly now.ILS

[Guest ilh]

FS has different winds at different altitudes. You need to go into the Advanced weather settings and manipulate the different wind layers to get exactly what you want. I have found that to have the most control over winds, construct a wind layer that spans the altitude where you are testing. For example, to test fly at 10000, make a wind layer from 9000 to 11000 and set the wind in it the way you want. Otherwise, you'll see FS interpolating winds between different layers. FS's default "Fair Weather" has winds aloft. I don't remember if choosing the option that clears all weather really zeros out all the winds for all altitudes.I suspect you really did have winds with the 002 heading resulting in 007 track.Lee Hetherington (KBED)http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/betaimg.jpg

[Guest ILS]

Yes, I think your initial suspicion about winds was correct. I guess it's best to clear *all* winds while experimenting and getting to know the aircrfaft and its FMC. Then there will be no distracting data introducing confusion.Thanks for your help Lee.ILS

[Tabs 2,790]

ILS, just a few quick things I noticed reading through this thread:1. You always want to load the wing tanks first before putting any fuel into the center tank - 40/40/40 is not a valid fuel load for the NG.2. Are you using the plane's TOGA mode when you take off? 230 knots right after takeoff doesn't sound right to me - you should be climbing at V2+20 until acceleration height, at which point you'd engage LVL CHG or VNAV...