Please can anyone advise me what to set the cost index to and reserves?Please can anyone tell me how to adjust the trim on the throttle panel view?How do i switch the Baro switch over if req'd(i am flying a tutorial by Geezer Guide thats why all the questions)and it tells me to select Baro,FPV on and HPA...None of which will operate by left or right clicking the mouse?The engines are running at this point..should they be?...is that why i cannot change the switch settings?What the Hell are PAX?It says PAYLOAD is 150 PAX+3000kg bags..?? IS it people?How can i find out/work out what the transition level is and whats it mean?I can carry out autolands very well now when needed but i would like to ask anyone if they can tell me what times do i press certain buttons...I Tune the ILS VOR in BOTH Nav Radios.I press VOR LOC when i get near to the Airport.I then press the APP ButtonThen i press the CMDB Auto pilot button.Single channel lights up in window.It works a treat but when do i press the VOR LOC and APP buttons...am i correct in saying i prees VOR LOC nearing the airport and when the glideslope is captured i then select APP or do i press the buttons straight after each other...i got this info from doing the training flight in the manual but pressed the VOR LOC button and straight away the APP button...is this correct in real lfe or is it the way i think it should be stated above?Sorry for all these questions but this plane is the best ever and i wanted to know as much as i can about the workings of it even though i have read the book and visited the 737.org web site.Once agin sorry if thses questions appear to be silly.Kind Regards Paul Teasdale

I'll try to answer some of them."What the Hell are PAX?"<-- These are the people you work for, the Passengers."Please can anyone advise me what to set the cost index to and reserves?"<--My VA uses 65 for the CI and 4 for the reserves."How can i find out/work out what the transition level is and whats it mean?"<--Transition level in the USA is 18000 for Europe I believe it is on the Aerodrome chart(I'm not sure)"I can carry out autolands very well now when needed but i would like to ask anyone if they can tell me what times do i press certain buttons...I Tune the ILS VOR in BOTH Nav Radios.I press VOR LOC when i get near to the Airport.I then press the APP ButtonThen i press the CMDB Auto pilot button.Single channel lights up in window." The LOC button should be pressed when on an intercept heading to the final approach coarse. It will then become active and eventually turn you on to the final approach coarse. The APP should be pressed after the glide slope becomes active and you are one Tick below the glide slope. It will then start your descent. Once you are established and stable on the ILS you then press the CMDB to select an autoland. "Please can anyone tell me how to adjust the trim on the throttle panel view?"<-- The best way to adjust the trim is to have your joystick/yoke programed with trim up and down. You can do it manually by pressing the numlock key and then using the 7 and 1 on the keypad to trim up and down.

Thankyou ever so much jeremy.Yoi have answered the questions perfecly by the sound of it...I had some idea about the points raised but wanted to be 100% sure.By the way on another note is the Flight yoke and rudder pedals by Ch products really good in flight sim..??I have fancied then for ages but not yet bought them...id like to try them out to see if i like them...are they good for steerinf the aircraft on the tarmac using the heel brakes...its a shame they dont do any that are force feedback..I now use a Saitek 3D Force joystick which is brilliant!Once again many thanksPaul

In Europe the transition altitude is on the charts, but transition level is usually given by ATC.

The transition altitude is when you switch to/from standard pressure. Anything about this is referred to as a "Flight Level" instead of just altitude. Only Instrument flights are allowed above the transition level. Why? Think about a 747 flying from LAX to JFK. Would he constantly want to adjust his altimeter? No- That means the plane would be climbing and descending the entire flight. The altimeter setting is only important when you are close to the ground- so you know (in a feet thousand, or even hundreds of feet) how close you are. There is no ground above 18,000 so everybody just goes by 29.92 inches or mercury, or 1013 hecopascals in other parts of the world. This means everybody is on the same page.Cost index, to put it simply, is how economical you want the flight to be. The lower the number, the quicker the flight, but more fuel burn. For max performance, choose 0. In real life, I don't think any airline would want you to do that. From what I've read, it seems 50-75 is what most people use. I think the number goes higher than 100 however, but I could be wrong.Robert, or anyone who knows for sure feel free to correct me so I don't give any bad advice (my wife says I have a habit of that :)

Isn't the FAA's reserve minimum 4.5 (4500 lbs)?Thought I read that some where. http://deephousepage.com/smilies/nixweiss.gif

PAX = Self Loading Cargo ;-)

Reserves are not a set amount as each flight is different unless you fly the same given route. You are required to have enough res fuel for an alternate and holding for a certain time frame but do not quote me on how long. Single CH remains until passing 1500 RA when the second A/P kicks in as the ILS confidence check is performed. You can push the second A/P when G/S is active which will place it in an Armed state until the above happens. SINGLE CH is then replaced with CMD. Pushing the APP button will arm both LOC and G/S..... Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/southparkcartmad.gif[h3]PMDG 747![/h3]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)ASUS KV8 DLX | AMD 3200 64 | 1 GIG PC 3200 DDR | GIGABYTE 5700 ULTRA | ViewSonic VP192b 19" |

For U.S. Domestic operations with the 737NG, minimum FAA reserves are set by FAR 121.639 and consist of:1) Fuel to fly and land at the most distant alternate airport required for the airport to which the flight was dispatched, and2) Fuel to fly for an additional 45 minutes at normal cruising fuel consumption,For flag or supplemental operations outside the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, the required fuel reserves are a bit more complicated and are covered in FAR 121.645. (Link here: http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_G...1?OpenDocument)Hope this helps,Don S.

Let me clarrify on the reserves for my VA. Our dispatchers give us all the information we need on our flight release. Here is what is on my flight from KCLT to KEWR in a 738.CLT EWR 10.140 FL370 800 800 <--7 As you can see they have figured in 1. the amount that will be used 2. The amount needed to get to the ALT. 3. RSV (this is normally right around 4.0 4. Holding amount for high congestion areas. 5. Extra Fuel. 6. Taxi fuel 7. The minimum allowable fuel.If you use the 737 Fuel calculator that is available on AVSIM it asks you for the same information and then once completed will load the fuel for you.

Some more info regarding CI;50-75 is a pretty slow flight. Capt. Bulfer recommends 35 as a ballpark figure for the NG. I know Scandinavian Airlines used to fly their NGs with CI 36. Someone mentioned Braathens used 26 or 28?The Smiths FMC can use CI figures from 0 to 500.Hope it helps,

Thanxs Guys for all the info...You guys are really helpfull to newbies like my so many thanxs once again TO YOU ALL.Special thanxs to CVRM regarding the "Single CH remains until passing 1500 RA when the second A/P kicks in as the ILS confidence check is performed. You can push the second A/P when G/S is active which will place it in an Armed state until the above happens. SINGLE CH is then replaced with CMD. Pushing the APP button will arm both LOC and G/S....." question..now i understand it more...cheers mate.And Mats for the cost index info...Cheers.And Christian Holmes for the transition altitude info.Best Regards Paul Teasdale

Okay, maybe I'm confused or maybe the 767 works opposite the 737. My understanding is the cost index is an economizer. In other words the lower the cost index the more economical the flight. A cost index of 100 implies no ecomomizing.Now, if this is correct one would assume that a lower index would be a slower flight since you would be operating more economically. Any clarifications on this?

I don't think that is the case- effectively, max. performance is CI 0. There is supposed to be a MUST READ book on FMCs (which I haven't read :) ) that goes into cost index in great depth. Anybody know what book I'm talking about? Maybe I'll pick up for myself for Christmas.Look what I just stumbled upon (thanks Google!) It's for Airbus, but I think the concept is identicalhttp://www.iata.org/NR/ContentConnector/CS...ex_Material.pdfAnd I found the book- It's not cheap, but probably worth a look it you want to learn more.http://www.simw.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=d...details&pid=752

Based on reading the Airbus Cost Index link above my assumptions are correct:Cost Index = 0: Minimum fuel consumption, Maximum time (Slower)Cost Index = 99 or 999: Maximum fuel consumption, Minimum time (Faster).Gentlemen, rethink your cost index setting. Lower is slower, higher is faster.