question on auto piloting...

[razorseal 0]

I just got the 747/F and I wanna say how great this is! I thought falcon 4 was confusing!but here is my question... upgrading from the default 747 i'm very confused about the autopilot system in this plane... say I wanna go from Miami to Istanbul... in the default plane I just make a direct GPS and it takes me there... in the plane there is that lil switch that I click over to GPS and then press NAV on the autopilot and thats it... obviously in the PMDG this is much much more complicated... I went through all the tutorials, and know how to input the stuff in the FCM (#### I dont even know what I was inputting) and thats about it... and i'm not too sure on LNAV anf VNAV (i think thats what they were lol)so can someone tell me how to get from Miami intl to Istanbul/Yesilkoy airport (we'll use that as an example) please?I tried HA Airways but it sends me to WA, then through almost greenland and past turkey and back, so I just stick to direct GPS (I dont think thats what the airliners use eh?)thx! i'll be in here alot with questions about the PMDG 747 :(

[Tabs 2,790]

I find Falcon 4:AF infinitely more confusing than any airliner addon!What you want to do is grab the three released Type Rating Courses that Capt. Randazzo has written thus far. Those will at least get you started as far as understanding the systems and the FMC.

[lostmoon 0]

the fmc and automatics of the pmdg 747 is very complicated indeed. what i did when i first got her was read the whole manual then try what i learned on the sim itself.then, armed with what i knew (or didn't know), i would come to the forum to hone my questions.the key here is to read. read a lot on the lady, and search this forum for anything you may not be able to find.good luck.tomas

[Guest mhabers]

Hi Noname,Yeah, definitely apples and oranges when you are talking about default FS autopilot gps stuff and how the real world operates. Welcome to the (almost) real world :)There really aren't any short cuts. You'll have to learn the manual and practice practice practice...Step 1 -Learn how to program the FMC using the manual that came with your new plane.Step 2-Save your miami to istanbul flight for later. For now, start with something simple, say a flight that only has a couple of waypoints maybe 200 miles or less... Entering your waypoints into the FMC is a pretty straight forward process, you type in the name of the way point (using the FMC keys) and hit the button on the FMC that cooresponds to the next part of your route. Additionally, you'll need to tell the FMC where you are now... which airport, where your destination airport is, which SID or STAR you want to use, your flight level, fuel, weight, flaps settings, and more stuff that the manual covers. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to program a simple route in less than 10 minutes.I generally use FSNAV for my flight planning but there are others...Forget about using the built in FS planner or GPS garbage... they won't work on a real sim. If you go with a third party flight planner, make sure that it can export flight plans in a format that is supported by the PMDG747. Once you have created the flight plan and exported it, you can skip much of the manual programming of the FMC and simply load your flight plan into the computer. However, you will always want to know how to program the FMC manually...Just learning the FMC is a 50 page pdf that came with your plane. I don't think anyone is going to re-invent that material here for you to skim, it wouldn't do you much good. You'll want to learn it all. Frankly, the tutorials and the manual are all that I needed, but I have several other aircraft that use "real" fmc's so it's pretty standard stuff once you learn some of the basics. Welcome to the addiction.Good luckMark

[michal 44]

>Save your miami to istanbul flight for later. I agree with Mark. If you ever want to become proficient in this aircraft and get to enjoy it to the fullest you have to take it in small doses, tutorial by tutorial page by page of the manual, not rushing things and exploring available features - this requires that you do a lot of reading. 'Study' is the name of the game. Michael J.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/for...argo_hauler.gifhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-beta.jpg

[markadeane 272]

>I find Falcon 4:AF infinitely more confusing than any>airliner addon!>>What you want to do is grab the three released Type Rating>Courses that Capt. Randazzo has written thus far. Those will>at least get you started as far as understanding the systems>and the FMC.Totally. If both pilots 'ate the fish' in a 737/767/747 I'd have at least half a chance of coming out of it a hero. If I got sent off to war in an F-16 though, I'd be toast.

[razorseal 0]

thx for the replies guys! I already did the 3 step tutorial, and learned what I could from that for the FMC... i'll read the dedicated FMC manual tommorow...ok I'll do a close flight to 'figure' things out a bit... i'll also download the FSplanner u guys are talking about... so what do real life airlines use to navigate through water? there are VOR markers or something?i'm new to the 'advanced' concept of the game so bear with me if I ask very basic questions :)

[razorseal 0]

ay ay ay... FSNAV is 45 dollars... I just spent a good amount on the 747... is there anything free that I can use for now? :(

[Guest D17S]

We're just chattin' . . . Any LOMAC fans around? On-line (Hyperlobby) in an F-15, over the Crimea, against real Russians in their SU27s. In a head-to-head BVR gunfight, a Mig 29 will always carry the 'bullet' to be able to get off that first shot. Game on!The Lock-On guys get the jets right then go on to missle and radar dynamics. LOMAC vs F4 is like a PMDG vs . . . well, pretty much everything else. They really are the 'big dog' of military jet sims.http://lo-mac.com/

[michal 44]

>so what do real life airlines use to navigate through water?>there are VOR markers or something?These days it is primarily the GPS (which is imbedded in your FMC) or if everything else fails they have inertials (which you also have in this 744).Michael J.http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/for...argo_hauler.gifhttp://sales.hifisim.com/pub-download/asv6-banner-beta.jpg

[razorseal 0]

I see....so when I input all that info into the FCM, thats not the way its done in the real plane? also quick Q... when u guys use ur flight planning software, how do make it so that when u initiate contact with ATC, she knows about the IFR? will fsnav make it so that the ATC knows u have IFR?oh and another question :)I notice pretty much EVERYTHING is done with autopiots... from takeoff to landing... is this how its done in RL as well? many times have I had a harsh landing and said to myself '#### that pilot really landed this thing hard (most my flights are in 747) so ure telling me the autopilot did the landing? :( even the take off? :( :( B)

[Tabs 2,790]

>I see....>>so when I input all that info into the FCM, thats not the way>its done in the real plane? No - you're misunderstanding...Here's how it works:The FMC is fed primarily by a GPS system. The GPS is constantly feeding the FMC very accurate raw position data (lat/lon) from a network of satellites. The FMC's navigation database stores the lat/lon location of all the VORs, airspace fixes, airways, etc. The GPS lets the airplane know where it is in relation to all of those waypoints in the database. When you type a waypoint into the FMC, you're telling the plane to use its GPS and/or IRS units to find that spot in space that corresponds to the waypoint. The FMC is also constantly checking itself against VORs by triangulation whereever it can. (You can actually see the simulation doing this by pressing the POS button on the EFIS controls!)When you use the FMC to navigate say to a VOR, you're not really using the VOR in the sense that you would in a little Cessna or something, i.e. actually recieving the signal from the VOR and flying a radial course to the station. You're using the power of the GPS and FMC to navigate directly to that point is space where the VOR lies. You can tell it to fly a particular course to the waypoint, but just undnerstand that this is all happening within the plane's computers and not actually using the radios to navigate.Real 747 pilots ALWAYS have the route loaded in the FMC. It doesn't matter what type of waypoints you're flying over or anything like that, the FMC is capable of handling it all.>also quick Q... when u guys use ur flight planning software,>how do make it so that when u initiate contact with ATC, she>knows about the IFR? will fsnav make it so that the ATC knows>u have IFR?For now I'd just recommend not using ATC until you're more familar with how the plane works... that just adds another layer of potential problems. After you can fly a flight perfectly without any changes or deviations from the programmed flight path, then start worrying about ATC, weather, online flying etc...>oh and another question :)>>I notice pretty much EVERYTHING is done with autopiots... from>takeoff to landing... is this how its done in RL as well? many>times have I had a harsh landing and said to myself '#### that>pilot really landed this thing hard (most my flights are in>747) so ure telling me the autopilot did the landing? :( even>the take off? :( :( B)The takeoff is manual (there's no such thing as an automatic takeoff aside from the throttle being automated). Very very rarely will you see an automatic landing in the real world - they're only used in near zero visibility conditions on specially equipped runways. The vast majority of the real world airline flights I've been on have been handflown visual approaches. Even if you get an ILS, the pilot almost always takes over and lands manually at a preset height.

[razorseal 0]

yeah, I meant auto take off as in, to/ga mode... just does the throttle work for ya... then after 500msl its all autopilot...I did jerry smith's tutorial, and it def helped out... from start up to landing... now I need to get some kind of flight planner tool to aid me making flight plans... then i'm all set I think :D(and figure out landing manual lol)

[razorseal 0]

oh I forgot to ask... how do I go around the plane? I see I can walk around the upper deck... and same for the USAF 747...

[razorseal 0]

hmm, I messed something up and couldnt get ap land to work... so I landed it myself, much easier then I thought... (wonder how it compares to the real thing)u guys shouold try landing in falcon :Du'll always hear me comparing these things to real life, so if it annoys you, sorry :( lol