Need help with some FMC issues

[Guest Dr-Foo]

I'm thoroughly enjoying the 744, to say the least. Invariably, however, questions arise to which the AOM doesn't seem to give a clear answer or seems to be wrong (?). So many nuances and complexities, but I'm trying to be patient and have fun.(1) First: How do I start a flight in a cold/dark cockpit? Is there an option somewhere that I missed in FS9's set up maze that lets me control that feature? I opened a new flight at LAX's gate, but then everything gets turned on for me. (Knowing my luck, I'll probably come across it 5 mins after posting, LOL!)(2) With everything on, I opened up the FMC, updated the last known position with the new GPS position. At 4R LSK (I think) was the set GPS position, but at 5R, it said "set IRS position". I downselected from 4R to the scratchpad and then clicked on the 5R LSK to upselect but nothing happens. Is it okay to just leave it as it is? If the cockpit comes on alive and pre-set, should I just leave the "set IRS position" alone? The GPS position is entered in the FMC right above it.(3) If I am not going to use one of the coroutes, but one of my own I plan to build from scratch, do I just leave that blank and go on to the RTE page and enter my own? Or do I have to enter something there? Does the flight plan get saved somehow into the flight plan folder (do I give it my own route name in the coroute line?...entering anything else than what's in the PMGD's folder just gives the "not in database" message).(4) According to the manual, the valid entry for an orgin/destination runway is "RWxxY". So, I entered "RW25R" (w/o quotes), but got "not in database"(??). I got it entered by entering just "25R". Are there other nuances in which FMC set up/initialization/flight plan building isn't as the manual suggests? Where can I find this list so I don't get frustrated? (please, someone with mastery of PMDG's 744 develop a tutorial on how to build a flight plan from FMC initialization to completion. The manual is good but just describes, it doesn't teach, or "tutor", especially when things don't go as expected, as in the runway entry example, or as in the example below)(5) I was entering the via/to data on the RTE 1 page when I made a mistake on entering a "to" point but didn't give the "via" route, so the "via" defaulted to saying "direct" when it was supposed to be "J189". Now, I could not figure out how to erase "J189" on the left LSK side. I entered J189 in the scratch pad and tried upselecting but didn't have any success. What's the correct way to deal with this?THanks for your attention. Sorry this post was long. I found a free moment to email several things at once, partly because I want to get helped through these issues so I can succeed at setting up the FMC and doing my own flight plan entry (again, where/how does the flight plane get saved once the flight is over, when I select "save flight?" when leaving the sim?).Thanks in advance for your patience and help.Cheers,Dr. Foo

[Guest jgreth123]

Hi there Dr. Foo,>(1) First: How do I start a flight in a cold/dark cockpit? Is>there an option somewhere that I missed in FS9's set up maze>that lets me control that feature? I opened a new flight at>LAX's gate, but then everything gets turned on for me.>(Knowing my luck, I'll probably come across it 5 mins after>posting, LOL!)Go to the PMDG menu, under Panel State, select Load Panel State and you should see a "PMDG 747-400 Cold and Dark KPAE.sav" option. Select it and click OK.>(2) With everything on, I opened up the FMC, updated the last>known position with the new GPS position. At 4R LSK (I think)>was the set GPS position, but at 5R, it said "set IRS>position". I downselected from 4R to the scratchpad and then>clicked on the 5R LSK to upselect but nothing happens. Is it>okay to just leave it as it is? If the cockpit comes on alive>and pre-set, should I just leave the "set IRS position" alone?>The GPS position is entered in the FMC right above it.The reason it's asking you to enter it again is because your last known position is too far from your current position, so it just asks for confirmation. Simply hit the CLR button and re-select the GPS pos into the scratchpad and hit LSK 5R again.>(3) If I am not going to use one of the coroutes, but one of>my own I plan to build from scratch, do I just leave that>blank and go on to the RTE page and enter my own? Or do I have>to enter something there? Does the flight plan get saved>somehow into the flight plan folder (do I give it my own route>name in the coroute line?...entering anything else than what's>in the PMGD's folder just gives the "not in database">message).You leave it blank if you aren't going to load an existing route.>(4) According to the manual, the valid entry for an>orgin/destination runway is "RWxxY". So, I entered "RW25R">(w/o quotes), but got "not in database"(??). I got it entered>by entering just "25R". Are there other nuances in which FMC>set up/initialization/flight plan building isn't as the manual>suggests? Where can I find this list so I don't get>frustrated? (please, someone with mastery of PMDG's 744>develop a tutorial on how to build a flight plan from FMC>initialization to completion. The manual is good but just>describes, it doesn't teach, or "tutor", especially when>things don't go as expected, as in the runway entry example,>or as in the example below)Go to the DEP/ARR page instead and select the runway from the list :) Much easier that way.>(5) I was entering the via/to data on the RTE 1 page when I>made a mistake on entering a "to" point but didn't give the>"via" route, so the "via" defaulted to saying "direct" when it>was supposed to be "J189". Now, I could not figure out how to>erase "J189" on the left LSK side. I entered J189 in the>scratch pad and tried upselecting but didn't have any success.>What's the correct way to deal with this?Just type in J189 in the scratchpad and replace the DIRECT with it.>THanks for your attention. Sorry this post was long. I found a>free moment to email several things at once, partly because I>want to get helped through these issues so I can succeed at>setting up the FMC and doing my own flight plan entry (again,>where/how does the flight plane get saved once the flight is>over, when I select "save flight?" when leaving the sim?).The flightplan gets saved from the FMC itself. Once you have the route in, just click the LSK key next to the 'RTE COPY' option under the RTE page. The file should be named 'KSEAKATLXXX' where 'XXX' is the number of the route saved for KSEA to KATL. Next time you want to pull up a route, you would enter 'KSEAKATL001' ( of course, you change the ICAO's as necessary ) in the scratchpad and click the LSK key for 'CO ROUTE'. That's all there is to it!Hope that helps.

[Guest Dr-Foo]

Hey Jeff, thanks a lot for your quick reply. I'll give those suggestions a try and let you know how successful it was!Cheers from KEUG,Dr. Foo

[Guest Dr-Foo]

>Go to the PMDG menu, under Panel State, select Load Panel>State and you should see a "PMDG 747-400 Cold and Dark>KPAE.sav" option. Select it and click OK.Hi, just a follow up to your instruction noted above (I'll be giving your suggestions a try tonight when I get home from work): It looks like this'll set me up cold/dark at Paine Field (that's KPAE, right?). But what if I want to start up cold/dark at VHHH instead, or any other airport? Is my best bet to just load up at VHHH, for example, turn off everything, then save the panel state at VHHH for future use? Unless I'm missing something when turning FS9 on and selecting PMDG's 744, I don't see an option for setting up at any airport cold/dark; whether being set up on the active runway or at the gate, the 744 starts up hot/lighted.Thanks!Dr. Foo

[Guest jgreth123]

Dr. Foo, Simply load your plane at any airport. Once there, THEN go to the menu and load the Panel State ( note, you aren't loading the flight, just the panel state -- which is the cold & dark aspect ). I hope this helps.

[Guest Dr-Foo]

Great! It worked fine; thanks so much for your help. Got the cold/dark panel and set up the flight in the FMC.Flight was kinda sloppy but I made it to KSEA from KLAX.Couple things noted: I lost lateral track right after taking off. Not sure if it was because I couldn't get LNAV armed before take off. I did have VNAV armed, though. But LNAV button didn't light up and when I hit TO/GA and powered up, the 744 just flew straight and up to about 5800 fet and kept heading as if going to PHNL, LOL! Couldn't seem to get TO/GA turned off.Also, I noticed that altitude didn't adjust from what the FMC set for each leg of the way (i.e., before/after cruise level), so I had to keep ajusting using altitude knob then punched "flight level change" (a couple times used V/S). PDF said I was in VNAV ALT mode most of the time, and couldn't figure out how to get back to VNAV PATH. Pressing SPD or THR didn't do anything it appeared...no activation lights came on like with LNAV/VNAV. In any event, the only point at which the plane automatically changed altitude/speed was at the TOD. I just had to keep looking at the legs in the FMC to get the next altitude and then put it in the heading window. Got any best practices tips on this (i.e., how to get the FMC, i.e., me, to better manage the actual changes in flight level)?A couple times during flight, I got a high-pitched "horn"-like sound come on but with no warning light on the glarshield panel on either. Wasn't the "whoop-whoop" alarm that tells you you're in deep kimchee. Any idea what that was for?Can't wait until some tutorials come out. It'd be great if there were 3 module levels with various scenarios/situations in each: a set of beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level tutorials.All in all, it was a fun beginner's adventure, but I'm hoping to get more "professional" at it in time. I'd really like to get a "copilot" and better weather/sky scenery, too. I don't know about the "copilot", but isn't ASV recommended to replace default clouds, weather and sky?Cheers, and have a great weeked.Dr. Foo

[Check_Airman 3]

The horn indicates you're approaching the MCP altitude.Paul