Guys, is there a way to save properly flt situation at holding short (after the start up and taxi) and practice the take off job for a few times?I tried to save the flight and Panel state, but unfortunately when I load them I get some mess on the ND, maybe some other problems as well, anyway it is not authentic, and different from the one when I saved it.Wonderful tutorial but hard to start it all over each time for merely the take off part, which is the most dynamic and requires more repetitions for confident contlrol and management.Thanks.

For takeoff training I'd suggest Part 2 of Cpt. Randazzo's Type Rating Course. He explains takeoff, and especially rotation + early climbout phase in much more detail than I do. Included you'll also find a situation file with the aircraft ready at the runway for T/O practice. Nevertheless you should be able to save and reload your own situation file. Works without any problems for me (I'm using 744F Version 1.01).RegardsHolger

>Lawrence ->>This is really strange because the HDG REF switch has no>consequence on navigation whatsoever. The plane should just>continue on it's predefined track. In your case, it seems that>the flight reset occured due to a crash of some kind.>>Things to check:>- Current flightlevel 350?>- Fuel configuration ok, e.g. no engine in danger of running>dry?>- AFDS modes LNAV + VNAV engaged?>- Nav Display + FMC legs show no waypoint problems?>>All I can think of at the moment. You should also try>DISABLING crash detection in the realism menu. Let me know how>it works!>>Holger. Hello HolgerI tried the flight again and this time it worked perfect for me. I can only think that I caused the problem in some way, and because I was not monitoring the flight all the time I missed the problem when it occured.I have to say that the flight was a dream to complete, and now I have the basics I can broaden my horizons with more flights.Can you tell my which flightplanner you used for the flight?RegardsLawrence (Laurie) SkelmersdaleUK

>For takeoff training I'd suggest Part 2 of Cpt. Randazzo's>Type Rating Course. He explains takeoff, and especially>rotation + early climbout phase in much more detail than I do.>Included you'll also find a situation file with the aircraft>ready at the runway for T/O practice. Nevertheless you should>be able to save and reload your own situation file. Works>without any problems for me (I'm using 744F Version 1.01).>>Regards>HolgerThanks Holger,I'll try again to follow the start up and will taxi to hold short position. At that point I'll save the flight. Question:1.Do I need to save the panel in PMDG menu after saving the flight?2.Next time before launching FS9 and loading my saved situation do I need to use PMDG fuel loader like in the tuturial?3. Do I need to reload FMC flight plan when I get in the cockpit? If so, how to do it properly (I hope someone less busy than Holger can answer this question, sorry :) )?I need all this to fly properly all parts of your tutorial, Holger. Part 2 of Cpt. Randazzo's TRC is another aspect of my learning. Many thanks.Dirk.

Very very nice work !Some stuff was absolutely interesting (the order of A/P engagement: some airline put L for Captain flying and R for F/O; some others want the C a/P engaged as first and so on...).Maybe the flight would have been more "realistic" with a weather add-on to provide "real-word" (even if offline) conditions (variable winds aloft, which make any flight different from another!).Just one small correction: the KSFO METAR should not have shown a CAVOK, because this is not used in the US (they'll use something as 10SM CLR).And one question: you say to engage the A/P as soon as you are airborne: most Airlines SOPs of which I'm aware call for A/P engagement in CMD mode not before at least 400 or even higher (1000 or 1200 )feet above ground; they add that you may engage any AP mode without having it in command just to provide correct FD inofrmations and to fly manually the plane at least to the lowest (as per airline SOP) AP engagement altitude. Are you sure Lufthansa calls for an almost immediate AP engagement as soon as the plane is airborne ?Thumbs up for the GREAT WORK !Best regards

How I wish Holger could find some time for tutorial#2! Let it be the same route but VARIOUS weather conditions along the route, or at least inclement at destination. Or also someone else could take it over on his own or in cooperation with Holger.Thank you again, Holger.

Dirk -Regarding your questions:1. Nope - automatically done2. Nope - fuel state is saved with the situation3. Nope - should load correctly:-)I'd suggest however that you place your 747 at some convenient long runway, just prepare her for takeoff (flaps, brakes RTO, trim, weights, thrust, V-speeds) and save the situation, ignoring any route or FMC programming aspects.As for your suggestions regarding a 2nd version of the turoial... Well, let's wait for FSX and some other neat PMDG products in the pipeline ;-)Holger.

Enrico -thank you for the compliments and suggestions. I guess I'll have to update the destination METAR, didn't know that CAVOK was a european term.You're absolutely right about A/P engagement altitude: Definitely not below 200 feet AGL for safety reasons; from there it's the flying crewmember's decision. Once again, in the tutorial this is primarily a high-workload phase simplification for unexperienced pilots: By the time they have established a stable climb attitude and reach for the A/P knob, the aircraft will MOST LIKELY have passed 200' on the radio altimeter - hence my statement "as soon as airborne".Holger

Thanks again, Holger, for your tutorial and your answers.Dirk.

Holger,CAVOK is mainly a non-US term, but it used throughout the world.Regarding A/P engagement, I have a couple of Airline SOPs that state "A/P engagement after takeoff shoul not be made before 1000 feet AGL and must not be made below 400 ft AGL". So even the 200 ft seems a little bit early. Do you have a reliable source regarding Lufthansa SOPs ?Thanks and thumbs up for your excellent work !

Holger,Had an absolutely fantastic time flying your tutorial. it was a dream to read and to follow the instructions. Fantastic !Unfortunately, after about ten hours, upon landing Microsoft decided to insert another landing aircraft about 20 feet (or so it seemed) in front of my nose. I had to go around and being totally inexperienced did not succeed in getting the beast back on track before the fuel ran out.Oh well....Thanks for a beautiful experience.Martin

Holger,I just downloaded this beautiful tutorial and can't wait to get started. I don't loaded ALL files exactly where instructed but can't get the tutorial to come up in the FS "saved flights" selector. HELP!!!!Bob AdamsKSNA

Bob -Can you confirm that you copied both .FLT and .WX files?Can you confirm that you searched for "LH 454 Tutorial Flight" in the "Select a flight" -> "My saved flights" section of FS9?Additionally, you can try copying these two files into flightsPMDG. They should show up under "Select a flight" -> "PMDG" then. The other files (FMC plan, panel state) must stay where they belong ;-) Let me know if it works!Enrico -Just to let you know... I've looked it up: it's 250 feet above the ground. Seems quite reasonable to me, considering that the A/P most propably won't command a sudden nose-dive into the ground, especially with the flight director engaged.Martin -Thank you for your comment! Funny little incidents like this one really brighten our all-day Flightsim routine, don't they? ;-) When finished with cursing, you might want to give it another try if you can find some time...Cheers guys,Holger.

Man, I have been flying choppers and left this forum (PMDG) for a while and came back to check if the sound files were ready for 747 and found this nugget.I have printed it and going to give it a twirl. Thanks Holger.Manny

Congratulations on this tutorial, it's absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!!I'm new to PDMG and I'm trying to make this tutorial flight, but I can