Need help with coroute in FMC of pdmg 744

[Guest bochen747]

Hi. I noticed a very perticular quirk in the PMDG 744's FMC coroutes.I used smithplanet.com very nice Standard Procedure's Guide and flew a great route using the KLAXKEDW.rte he provided on his website. However I CANNOT get the coroutes function to work at all in the FMC!!I have read the chapter on the PMDG FMC word for word, and it says on page 12 - 22 of "FMC USER'S MANUAL" (revision -26JUL05) :"Simulator/PMDG/FLIGHTPLANS directory. Entering ADLBNE001, for example into the 3R LSK will automatically load a flight between Adelaide and Brisbane" However when I do so it ALWAYS GIVES ME A ERROR. Either not in database error, or runway error, or always some other kind of error that should NOT be happenning! I have tried many of the 350 routes that are provided by default and they ALL result in the same kind of error! I do not believe this is my computer's problem or FSims 9.0 problem either. I have full legal version of PMDG so this is not the antipiracy problem. But why would such a huge oversight/mistake happen and be overlooked? Don't the developers even TEST their own software!!!! This is a little ridiculuos that NONE of the default routes work! I also spent a lot of time searching for previous discussions about this on this avsim.com forum and found it not helping very much. I noticed this kind of problem similair to mine has been brought up before but not fully answered and resolved. Does anyone really now whats going on here? Why does this error happen and how to resolve it ? I have used fsnavigator and fsbuild, and conversion programs that automatically convert .pln to .rte, and even used online sites that are very useful in providing routes in .rte (PMDG) format, but none of it works for the FMC of PMDG's 747-400!!! I have also tried updating the SID/STARS, and did all available updates on PMDG's Own website such as the recent 747 service update, and the once monthly Nav updates, etc.. And still to no avail. infact so far the only coroute/route/flightplan that actually works without a glitch is KLAXKEDW.rte that came with smithplanet.com's pmdg 747/fmc tutorial!! This is pathetic, can someone tell me whats going on here?? I'd like to have the capability of flying with full autopilot with the 747 to more than just from LAX to EDW!!!! Thanks in advance for any advice, insight, or hint.

[Guest bochen747]

One more thing,I noticed the runway input of the FMC isn't working either. in the manual it says:"RWY: The origin airport planned runway can be entered into 3L Valid entries are RWxxY, where xx is the runway number and Y is the runway designation of L, R or C as applicable."What do you know, THIS never works either!! it comes up and gives me an invalid error or something like "runway not in database" when I know as a fact that it IS IN THE DATABASE. I tried entering all the runways of DFW and NONE of them work using the RWxxY format. How can this be?? if anyone has a flightplan (.rte) specifically for PMDG's 747-400 that is can be used for full autopilot during the entire flight (CATIII onto specified runway) from "KLAX to KDFW" or "KLAS to KDFW" or"KIAH to KDFW" and is willing to share with me this would be great!! thanks

[Guest neilb]

Maybe your AIRAC is corrupt in some way?Have you tried reinstalling it from navdata.at?

[Guest bochen747]

No my AIRAC is not corrupt and I do have the navdata.atYou don't have the same problem(s)?DO you have a flightplan (that actually works) for any major airport to KDFW??

[ronzie 21]

Couple of questions:In loading prepared flightplans are you using (I have the 737NGs but I believe it is the same) INDEX - NAVDATA - FLIGHTPLANS to get the list of stored plans? If you LSK the one you want it will put it in the scratchpad. The go into RTE1 and LSK the COROUTE and it should load. I use FSB2.22 to prepare these with no problem.For the legal departure runway for PMDG INDEX - DEPARR - (ICAO CODE LSK DEP) should present a choice of runways in the database. Same for arrival.As already posted for your flight planner you might be using an out of synch database compared to the PMDG database. Within the last couple of years at some locations the magnetic variance has changed enough to cause renumbering of airport runways.BTW, the 001 (incrementing with each version) is added to the flightplan name code when saving from the FMC.Also in your example, ADLBNE001, I wonder if the four letter ICAO code is required for sourcedestination format ... not sure on my part.I believe the PMDG site has available database updates and if using FSB you can get their update from www.fsbuild.com which they reccommend.Now again I'm using the 737NGs but I would assume the FMC is very similar on the 747. (A real world 757 pilot who is qualified on others states that Boeing FMCs operate almost the same across their variants).

[Guest bochen747]

Thanks for the response ! However the PMDG 747 is not the same as 737.I don't have the 737 and never used the FMC in the 737 so I wouldn't know about it. But back to the 747 -->In the manual it states:"We regret that this version of the FMC does not currently have the ability to actively list all saved routes for easy display within the FMC itself. ..." So thats not an option for me. However I did try your suggestion of updating my files, and both with and without the 001 (increment) the flightplans/routes still have an error. (and no, I did not accidently include the ".rte" extension while inputting into the FMC!!) I'm pretty sure I am not doing anything wrong and this is a problem with the software add-on itself. If the developers are reading this I want them to know that this is just as wierd as it gets. BTW aren't any other users experiencing the same problems?? Why is everyone else ignoring this problem and keeping quite about it, or am I just the only one of the few having this kind of quirky problem. (and yes, I have tried a CLEAN install of MSFS 9.0, and reinstall of PMDG 744 and its revelant updates itself, my computer is fully capable of flying this sim/addon and I have no problems with the MS Flight sim or game itself except the FMC is screwed up BIG time) Why does the tutorial's KLAXKEDW.rte work perfectly and all the other routes in the default FLIGHTPLANS directory NEVER WORK AT ALL!!I followed Smith's tutorial step by step at http://smithplanet.com/fs2004/pmdg/and everything is fine. But whenever I attempt to load something into the FMC besides KLAXKEDW it won't work! Even ADLBNE001 doesn't work.Am I missing something here? Whats wrong? This is just TOO WIERD. I tried everything I could think of and for two days straight I can't get it to work at all. I'm seriously thinking its the developers problem, after all they DID come out with a faulty cold/dark scenario file that when used will mess up the autopilot in flight..... You would think such an egregiously flagrant blunder would have been caught BEFORE publishing...any help would be great!thanks

[Chaos81 110]

Two quick things. One if you are going to post on this forum, follow the forum rules. Two, drop the attitude. You won't get any help with it.Not sure why I'm actually helping you, but hey, I can't resist.That being said, two questions. One, did you actually install the flightplans? Two, did you try it with the original navdata installed with the QOTS? The few I tried worked for me, with the exception of a few fixes or airways not working. Which makes sense seeing as navdata can change over time.I even tried ADLBNE001 since you posted it, and it worked fine on my end. I'm seriously thinking it's a user problem.

[Guest bochen747]

Hasn't anyone else ever encountered this problem?? If yes, how did you resolve it? Is it an internal problem within the PMDG itself or was it simply a misunderstand of the correctly way to activate the FMC coroutes?If so could you provide information on how it is supposed to be done?I can hardly imagine if someone encounters this problem and doesn't get it solved. The whole addon would be next to useless if coroutes can't be successfully entered and activated via the 747 quirky if not down right stupid FMC. (not Boeing's 747 here, I couldn't imagine what the world would be like if real airplanes function this way)I understand in the real world almost nothings ever perfect the first time around. And human aren't perfect (myself included). But this is JUST PLAIN RIDICULOUS!!!! Whether its PMDG's fault, or my own stupidity (ignorance on my part), to exist in a universe like this (one in which either a ridicious stupid PMDG AND OR XNOR a equally if not more so ridiciously ignorance and retarded me (self) could exist) says something resounding about the world we live in doesn't it?!!!!! The point isn't who's right or who's wrong, its above and beyond that. The point is that always in the world SOMETHING is not right, whether it be religion, or wars, or perception of imperfection, still such a illusion does indeed exists does it not? Why the nightmare then?Nothing is ever as easy as it looks, and simple things ALWAYS get more complicated than heck. Tis the world of reality we are perceiving in... The law of doing being easy...I mean, the reason we simulate ANYTHING (whether it be flight simulator, or train simulator, or toilet simulator) is so that we can get the 'feel', the vicariously voyeurism of actually doing the real thing. It the nuances, the little things that make the most difference. Non pilots use flight simulators because to them its like being in another world, a moment in another life. Almost like 'empathy'. The point of playing anythings is for that illusive yet so real emotional experience. To ride the wave of 'happiness'/'experience' (for lack of better word). Emotions, that happenstance byproduct of physical survival and existence itself.introspection, self awares, consciousness and love and happiness are all extensions, modules of behaviour and environmental manipulation that evolved over the eons of time that help us creatures to better survive as individuals and extend on the whole as a united species. Everything we done, whether we admit it or not, stems from that basic truth. I can see how the problem is compound anally (not annually) with the fact that this is a flight simulator on a desktop. The PC itself is just a tool, a means to and end and not an end itself. Instead we have to deal with viruses, patches, upgrades, unstable Internet Browsers, Evil software giants, inefficient kernels, and just to be able to have the platform that can only at best potentially run the software that will give use the meaning that we are all looking for. (isn't computers supposed to make our lives easier not harder?, it seems like in general whenever we solve one problem we inavertly and inevitably create another). Technology and a exploding global population only exponentially exacerbates the already massive problem. Life conflicts life, inherently its a truth I think. just like the problem of DDT with the bald eagles or mercury concentration in fish, or growth hormone injections in cows that produce the milks drank by the mother who produces breast milk feed to the baby infant, PMDG being on top of the simulation food chain surely has to suffer somewhat from first, flight simulator 9.0 bugs and limitations itself, then the platform/OS the user (in my case XP) and then the restrictions of hardware itself.And finally the meaning and worth of simulation itself. Asking oneself is this the best vechile of entertainment for the fickle minded? Not to mention the stupid Boeing quirks itself that PMDG so faithfully replicated. heck, one more step high imagine if we are all in the Matrix and we just don't know it.Lets just take Flight sim's ridicous CD check and PMDG's anti piracy efforts as an example. If I pay close to 50US dollars for the game then I should be able to pay it without having to look for the darn CD everything and swapping discs and risk scratching damaging the surface. Microsoft always does this little ACCEPT DECLINE crap, like I;m going to pay for it and click decline and return the software! What with the world with disclaimers and crap like this!!Although there's nothing wrong with PMDG's verification methods it just reminds me of the inherent nature of life itself. Why do we have locks on all our doors, or passwords for our online accounts, or verification for anything? Basically goes to say the inherent selfish ways of man that so served him well during primitive times and yes even and perhaps especially during these times. Its like the football stadium effect. Competition. In order to get a better view the front row stands up, thus blocking the view of rows behind it, so they have to stand up too. And so on and so for like a self replicating virus or a uncontrolled chain reaction until everyone in the entire stadium is standing up. The end result is the no one is getting a better view than before when everyone was sitting down expect for the fact that energy is expended and time is wasted, and all for nothing. What I see is compounding problems, based on the inherent fact that humans do not trust other humans because deep down they do not even trust themselves to begin with. And so they know if they can't be trusted neither can anyone else.Like that Austianly guy who was hanged by the Singapore government last month. Tough choice, but when it comes down to it, if not stopped that guy could have sold then the drugs to hundreds of people and cost tens or hundreds of lives and forever damaged the lives of those families. So is it just an numbers game in the end? One hundred lives worth more than one? If ever live is priceless and irreplaceable then do we use our like TI-89 or maple/mathametica and try to solve it out?? Life conflicts life. That is the law of nature. Nature is ruthless, and we evolved from it, our problems are actually mother nature's very OWN problems, just an extension and exaggeration due to compounding effects of evolution. Society, and governments itself is now a machine that cannot be stopped. break the law and get caught doing it YOU will go to jail (depending on the offense of course) no amount of sympathy, mercy, or forgiveness can save you. Your freedoms ends at the boundary of another. Society is the problem of overpopulation, which exacerbates EVERY problem we already have any even those we don't currently have, making everything harder to solve and deal with. Government only gets MORE power, society only becomes MORE complexed, never the other way around. (study history and you will see it so very clearly)Once big government evolves none of us (its very citizens that it vows to care for and take care of) can disband it even if the majority wanted to!! But in the end what we are searching for, our inner needs never change, and by doing all this we get/are no closer than before, just like the football stadium effect example I used earlier.So what happens 40 years from now when all the worlds oil is gone, I can't quite imagine the Boeing and Airbus using fuel cells or hydrogen engines? Or 60 years from now will we need a cockpit? Public opinion would then surely accept pilotless airliners, and with that what's left to simulate? Romote controlled airliners anyone? Or maybe the NSA will have an override command or something of the sort. There will be virtual walls and boundaries that airplanes are hardwired NOT to fly into, (pentagon, whitehouse, skyscrapers etc). Airbus will become more popular with its hardwired safeties, and Boeing will go that direction even more too. (even cars will be programmed so it will be IMPOSSIBLE to crash or have collision accident no matter who is driving or what is done to the steering) takes the fun out of flying and driving if you ask me. Why not just load up orbitersim and download the star trek voyager spacecraft and warp to jupiter or something... Or 4 billions years from now when the sun turns into a red giant and all earth is scorched? Will their we a remnant trace of a Boeing Queen that once dominated the now atmosphere-less skies? Or 100 billion years from now when all the universe stands still, nucleus's themselves decay and break away, for what is left but an illusion that once existed of an company called PMDG who piggy backed on the success of a relative computer monopoly called Moft who attempted mediocrity to simulate a the sensation of freedom and of flight. There be nothing left, not even reminiscence or nostalgia itself. So in the end, or right now, all we seek is just that emotional aspect of what we are naturally inclined to like and to do.Darwin would say it suits survival model of life, I say there's no better alternative. Sorry for the ranting..

[Chaos81 110]

>The whole addon would be next to>useless if coroutes can't be successfully entered and>activated via the 747 quirky if not down right stupid FMCForgetting the rest of your post, how in the world is the whole addon next to useless if coroutes can't be entered? I've never once used the coroutes, well, except when I just tested it for you, and never will.I don't see how something like that can make it worthless.Ok, two more points. One, plan your own flight. You want to see it fly and land itself, plan the flight yourself, enter it into the FMC yourself, much more satisfaction that way. Two, FOLLOW THE RULES. I can tell you right now you won't get a response from PMDG, heck, they might even delete your post.Ok, it was three. How do you expect to use a KLASKDFW.rte file if there wasn't even one provided? Are you trying flightplans that are even in the directory?

[Guest shugmcgregor]

Dear Mike,I am experiencing the same problems with the FMC as stated by our irate friend. Although not nearly as apoleptic as he is, I am feeling slightly frustrated, any tips for us novices. I have followed all the great advice on the forum, but so far to no avail.Best WishesShug McGregor

[Chaos81 110]

What seems to be the problem? You can't get the coroutes to work at all, or you are getting errors?This is to both of you, you do have the flighplans installed don't you? They don't automatically install, you have to choose to install them.Can you try this file and see if it works. It's a flight from KLAX to KLAS that I use.I've got a couple things to do around the house. If you could try it out, post back and I'll respond in a little bit.