Hi all,I just flew on a Ryanair -800, window seat just behind the wing and did notice alot of spoiler movement tied to the outboard ailerons, which looked really cool! Lots of little and quick spoiler deviations on a bumpy departure out of stansted.A question if I may:In LNAV/VNAV and HDG mode I cannot get the spoilers to be used in course changes. Somewhat connected, is there anyway to control the aircraft's bank angle in LNAV/VNAV through the FMC ? The bank angle selector doesnt seem to work in LNAV/VNAV mode, but operates fine in HDG mode.Many thanks in advance.mcbootus

On the real aircraft, the spoiler will operate with the upgoing outboard aileron at a certain threshold to assist roll rate and counter adverse yaw effects) but I don't think this is modelled with the PMDG sim.As I understand it, the FMC computes its own bank angle limits according to speed and altitude.Cheers

Hi,The connection between spoilers and aileron is implemented in the PMDG NG. It may not be as sensitive as in the real one though.No you can't alter the bank angle when in FMC flight. Cheers,

I Know that there is a control knob with the heading select knob that has something to do with bank angle, is that only for HDG or is it even modeled in 737NG?Andras

This restricts the bank angle when flying using HDG on the MCP. You can alter it - the hover spots are further out than the HDG adjust spots - a bit more tricky to find!

Okay thanxs, I have played with but always reset it because as a wise man once said "If it aint broke dont fix it" or as I like to say "If it aint broke dont break it" :-)!!Andras

"This restricts the bank angle when flying using HDG on the MCP."...and in VOR mode ;-)Spoiler lift during turns varies depending on which spoiler it is. Some lift more than others. At 30 degrees control wheel movement, the most a spoiler will lift is only 10.5 degrees. It requires about 70 degrees of control wheel movement to lift the spoilers to their max roll control height of 38degrees (again, some don't go this high).I believe spoiler lift begins at about 11 degrees control wheel movement, but, for reasons unknown to me, the spoiler doesn't return to its stowed position until 5 (+/-3) degrees. Don't expect big spoiler angles with small turns.Cheers.Ian R.

From a video I have seen of a departure with a right turn, It appears that the outboard-inner 2 spoiler panels on the -400 begin to operate very quickly, infact they were more noticable than the actual aileron by a long way. Is it different for the -300 to -500's as for the NG's in terms of when they begin to operate? I'm guesisng it is because of the number of spoiler panels on the wings is totally different - making my post pretty damn pointless! Off topic but: I am intreqeed if anybody knows any of this stuff for the older -300 to -500 series as I am currently modelling them and wanting to make them as accurate as possible in terms of basically everything! If any of you guys who know lots about them wanna help feel free to email me at [email protected]...

"I'm guesisng it is because of the number of spoiler panels on the wings is totally different - making my post pretty damn pointless!"LOL.... It may be the same on the NG's, Andy, I'm no expert... I'm just telling you what's written in our company NG maintenance manuals. I do recall seeing panels lift on other types of aircraft when you could swear you haven't seen the aileron move (But then I may have been looking at the locked outboard ailerons on larger Boeings... The inboards may have been moving and I didn't notice them).It may be a case of aileron/spoiler relative movement. On the NG (say an -800), the aileron only goes upwards 20 degrees(max) with the wheel at full turn. If the spoilers are starting to lift at only 11 degrees of control wheel movement, I don't think you're going to see much aileron movement before the spoilers start lifting.Hope this helps.Cheers.Ian

Thanks Ian, Makes sense now! just a quick q, how many degrees is full control wheel movement if you know please? I'm guessing it's around 80-100? Doesn't matter if you don't know, it's just out of interest:P

According to the manual, control wheel movement is 107.5 degrees left and right, Andy, but I can't tell you if the ailerons stop moving before this angle is reached. This is the angle at which the control wheel mechanism hits its physical stops.Cheers.Ian.

Ok thanks a lot Ian!