I am flying PMDG737 800-900 series with the CPFlight MCP. I am finding on final approaches that my AP cuts out in the last 1000 feet or so (before minimums) dessite having both NAV1 and NAV2 tuned to the ILS and both CMDs active and on a smooth descent captured on the glideslope. Anyone else experienced this?RG

Hello RG, Can you be more specific please? What exactly are you seeing on the PFD?Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/Animation1.gifCaution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

I have found that the APP light goes out on occasions but the A/c still flies the approach and flares nicely. Does the A/c still behave for you or does it completely mess up your approach?Ben (EGSS)Ryanair VA

Ben,The APP light always goes out when the A/P captures! The only reason why the buttons are lit is to tell the pilot he/she can deselect the respective mode manually. For A/P mode please check the FMA on the PFD. Not the MCP buttons.Cheers,

That explains it.Thanks Mats

The VOR and GS locks on the PFD remain on, but the APP light on the MCP is out and the CMD lights go out. Can't get them to stay on. The plane flies the approach for a while, but then seems to lose the track and I have to fly manually the last part in. Can't get the AP to stay reengaged.There is an error message on the FMC about a CRS error -- not sure what that means since the CRS is set manually for the ILS heading.There is another post on the forum from someone else who seems to be having exactly the same problem. It is a software issue. I tried flying without my hardware MCP and the problem still happens.

Are you sure??? Maybe thats right but seems strange since it is not the usual way Boeing MCPs work, and it is not the way it works on a 747/767/757. When an MCP mode is engaged, the light stays on, whether its in armed mode or captured. You tell whether you are armed or captured by the indicators on the PFD. If the light is off, the mode is off.Even so, you haven't explained why the AP is cutting out -- the CMD lights go off and the disengage alarm sounds.RG

Rg, The LIGHT goes out at G/S capture when G/S is ENGAGED. Am I sure? Well of course! The light goes out for good reason, it means that you cannot DE-SELECT the mode by pushing the APP button, to disengage you MUST hit TOGA, retune the Radios or disengage the A/P and turn off the F/Ds. Why not show us a screenshot of what you are seeing. Are you touching the controls on approach? A screenshot would help out greatly..http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90866.jpg Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/Animation1.gifCaution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

CMD light out == ** NO AUTOPILOT **Only the flight director (AFDS) will work ! Why might this happen ?Scenario 1 : Your MCP hardware for some wierd reason triggers the AP off..Scenario 2 : By accident you exert considerable force on the controls and the AFS (auto flight system) will revert to CWS (control wheel steering). In that case you should see CWS_R and CWS_P in the FMA.Scenario 3 : You press the electric trim button. Do you see FD announciated in the FMA ?Vangelis====================================== E. M. Vaos Precision Manuals Development Group www.precisionmanuals.com======================================

RG:I have spent a great deal of time flying the 747-400 (and earlier, the 767) in FS and I know what you mean about MCP lights staying ON ! But the 737 NG is a different game. And I am still getting familiar with it. It's difficult to change our visual "wiring" like this for different a/c and systems of logic.Good luck!Jonathan

Yes, and this is what makes so much fun -- learning new planes.RG

Indeed! But one needs time, focus, energy, and patience to do that. There's only so much one can devote to FS.Jonathan

I too came from the 767 to the NG. Took a little while and now I am learning the 744 which is more like the 767 once again ;-)Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/Animation1.gifCaution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)AMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | Maxtor 6Y080M0 SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 | Windows Xp Pro | Windows Xp Pro 64 |

Somehow, the 747-400 just...."makes sense" and it's easier to understand at an automated flight level.JS

It will be interesting to see how the new PMDG compares to the old PSS-747 for FS2002. It was a landmark for its time. They had beautiful graphics for the panels and it was one of the first implementations of an FMC for FS, even though it only had partial functionality, but it was programmed a long time ago now and I am sure the new plane will offer lots more realism.One of the things the PMDG737 does that is unique in FS9 is allow the overhead panel to easily be put on a secondary monitor. This did not work terribly well with the PSS panel, even in FS2002 which handles this capability much better than FS9. Hope PMDG can figure out how to allow more subpanels to move to secondary displays for the 747 in FS9. I like to keep my FMC, pedestal and overhead on secondary displays. Even the PFD and PND are sometimes nice to put there and just watch scenery on the main display.RG