Hello all. I am wondering about how to program a descent profile into the FMC. I have been through Metzinger's tutorial, as well as tried to find it in the manual, but must have missed it. I keep getting the famous "drag required" message on descent, and can't figure out how to get rid of it.I know that in the FMC you can enter winds on descent, but I have no clue how to figure that out. I also have Active Sky 2K4 which gives winds aloft, but what do I use? How do I decide on accurate winds and other information to enter into the FMC so that I no longer get that message?Thanks for the help.Wayne TheurerTraining MangerVirtual Continental Airlineswww.vcair.com

Hi Wayne,On your first question :You'll find lots in this forum if you search on drag required.In a nutshell : Above airport speed limit (usually 10000) VNAV PTH allows for speeds as high as a few knots below Vmo. The idea is that VNAV follows the path (and does not necessarily adhere to target speed). The pilot should take care of speed management.Another story in VNAV SPD, where the speed target is followed... not the path...So the drag message is in real life often triggered, and from what I undrestand often ignored above ASL... If you want to get rid of it, extend your airbrakes, it will disappear on its own when speed within tolerance.cheersanthonyAnthony MertonPrecision Manuals Developmenthttp://www.precisionmanuals.com

Thanks for the quick response Anthony.What I found in the PMDG manual (I am at work and don't have the manual in front of me) was something in regards to entering winds aloft information in the FMC so that the descent path and speeds can be calculated correctly, but the manual doesn't tell which winds and altitudes to use. That's what I am trying to get at. I have used the airbrakes and gotten rid of the drag required alert, but I guess I was wondering about entering winds aloft information. Any thoughts?Wayne

Howdy,I use ActiveSky to get my winds information at the destination airport and enter those winds in the decent's forcast page. The three alts I usually pick are FL260, FL180 and 8000.

Thanks Steven. A great help...I will try those alts.Wayne