ON ALL FLIGHTS....I'll be having a normal flight and everything seems to be going smooth until on descent the FMC will continuesly say "DRAG REQUIRED" and "OVERSPEED DISCONNECT (whenever it says OVERSPEED DISCONNECT it will disconnect VNAV)" thus screwing up my entireapproach. I know these problems I'm experiencing probably have to do with not putting in wind conditions on the forecasts page on the FMC. But how am I supposed to know what the winds are going to be at specific altitudes, that I will pass on descent to put in ahead of time? The only winds that the FMC provides are the current wind conditions for the altitude that you are currently at on the PROGRESS page. And how do I find out what the wind condition is for the destination airport so I can put it in the 'ISA DEV /QNH' column on the forecasts page?thanx,brandon glass

As already has been discussed many times, DEScent is the toughest aspect of flying this aircraft in the rw and in this sim. You must understand that just because the A/P is engaged, it does not mean that you the pilot are not in control. The FMC will make no attempt to keep the descent target speed, it is it's job to stay on the path if in VNAV PATH ignoring speed. It's your job as PIC to monitor and respond as situations arise. If you are going too fast use the speed-brakes. That's what they are for. Don't let certain folks preach to you about how only poor pilots use them for mistakes because that's simply not true. Every single rl flight I have been on with the NG has used them coming down. You will never know the exact wind componate. Even in rl they don't know exactly and as weather is dynamic it's a best guess senario there too! If you have a headwind in FS, chances are you will have one coming down BUT if you have active sky or meteo then this can change direction according to how often it updates. Have you tried using VNAV SPD for descents at all? It can be selected prior or during descents and although it will ignore the path for speed, it will not deviate too much and is a lot like LVL CH in descent. It will still honor restrictions and the like. The DRAG REQURIED message means you are over 10 knots the descent target. You can simply ignore it while above 10000' since VNAV will not disconnect unless you reach VMO/MMO (the red warning bricks on the PFD spd tape) but below 10000' you do not have that luxury. Once you hit 15 knots past descent under 10' (default is 240/10000 for a 10 knot buffer of 250 knot restriction) VNAV will revert either to LVL CH or CWS. So if you must, temporarly level off by engaging ALT HOLD to get the speed under control then resume VNAV. 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 |

thanks randy, so when YOU personally ususally do a descent, you never input wind conditions to the forecasts page? I understand where your comin from though on everything els you have said for the most part. Its just that this is a problem EVERYTIME, i ALWAYS get disconnected on VNAV during a descent which messes up the rate i need to descend so i can capture a glideslope before i get too close to a runway to not be able to because im too high (DESCENT PATH OR SPD).thanks.brandon glass

What I have done is to review my CURRENT wind in the criuse phase and input to the forecasts page. I know the general direction and know the wind is less at different altitudes so just make some best guesses, works pretty good. I would also look at your route. Can you try your same route without wind and see if there is still an issue with overspeed? I don't overspeed, if anything it is a bit slow at times depending but mostly when i do not bother with wind input. Do you have some restrictions going on that are at extreme angles? 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 |

Brandon,if you own Active Sky 2004 (don't know if FSMeteo can do it as well) you get best wind information by loading your flightplan into the programme. It then gives you a weather overview along the entire route, including winds aloft. Print it and keep it to use it for the DES forecast. Same as in real life, works pretty nice.Regards,Markus

ill take your advice, thanksbrandon glass

Markus, dont have either products but will have to look into them!thanks,brandon glass