Captain Carter bored of 747?

[Guest LAND3]

Hey could someone make an EXACTLY COROUTE or .rte / .rt flightplan/company route of the actual TRUE approach/flight thatVA19 (ITVV VIR 744 Captain Carter's flight in October 2000)and post it ???I've been trying to duplicate/emulate the exact flight percisely, and most importantly I wish to fly the approach to KSFO with the GOLDN4 STAR that they used. I realise the flight was in 2000 and our data is updated and some things may have changed, so does anyone already have a savedapproach that the VA19 did or at least as close to it as possible?I want to duplicate the last 30 minutes or so of flight of the VA19 from descent to approach to the right taxi and park to correct gate etc...any info would be much appreciated! Thanks

[markadeane 272]

OK, I can't just sit here and read this... :-)LAND3...POINT ONE: Add your name to your signatute - forum rulesPOINT TWO: Using the term 'gay' in a derogatory sense might be OK in your schoolyard but it's not OK here.POINT THREE: If you search the forum you'll find the VS19 flight plan has been posted a few times, try it outPOINT FOUR: Whether or not F/O Cullom engaged in litigation against Virgin Atlantic is hearsay and really is no-ones' business except his own. If you want to be part of this forum community going forward from here, you'd better lift your game, mate.

[Guest LAND3]

>OK, I can't just sit here and read this... :-)>>LAND3...>>POINT ONE: Add your name to your signatute - forum rules>>POINT TWO: Using the term 'gay' in a derogatory sense might be>OK in your schoolyard but it's not OK here.>>POINT THREE: If you search the forum you'll find the VS19>flight plan has been posted a few times, try it out>>POINT FOUR: Whether or not F/O Cullom engaged in litigation>against Virgin Atlantic is hearsay and really is no-ones'>business except his own. >>If you want to be part of this forum community going forward>from here, you'd better lift your game, mate.I have tried them, all of them. I enter them into the PMDG 744 FMC and they don't work! It always says NAV INVALID and I can't get a loc/appmuch less LAND3...... PMDG 744 works for everything else and I know how to fly it correctly, but the flightplans of VA19 posted on avsim don't work when I enter them into the PMDG 744-David

[markadeane 272]

David,The flight plan will get you from EGLL to KSFO, but you'll need to select the departure and arrival procedures yourself.Depart off Runway 27R - WOBN2F DepartureUse the GOLDN4 Arrival with a transition at ENI, you'll track right overhead SFO VOR, then vector yourself onto hdg 140, then 010 for a downwind then commencing a left hand base leg to intercept the Runway 28L ILS.

[VHOJT 177]

This post should be removed, or locked - I think many will find LAND3's unfounded speculation offensive.LAND3, this is no place for you to brainlessly speculate about someone of whom you have extermely little knowledge, bar what you may read in a forum or see on a DVD (in which he seemed like a pretty normal pilot to me with sunglasses on for the sun, and as for sitting out of view - you may notice that was because the camera is set for the person sitting in Carter's seat!)Mark is right - lift your game!RegardsRudy

[Guest LAND3]

Well its odd how no one has commented on my second issue in this thread.Namely, that the 744 is an increasingly aging flying machine especially when contrasted with the front runners of today. (787/A380,etc)After watching ITVV VIR 744 I realized just how much could change in 7 years. 7 years ago PMDG as we know it did not even exists (still working under FLY! I believe...) and 7 years ago we had flight simulator 98 which was no where NEAR what Flight Simulator X is today...Needless to say, a decade ago the Boeing 747-400 may have been top of the line and state of the art, but now its age really is beginning to show, in more ways than one.The whole purpose of aeroplanes is for transportation, to get people and goods from point A to point B. The epitome of perfection would be the Star Trek Transporter, the most primitive means would be walking, and we are somewhere in between the two extremes. To anyone else but a pilot or pilot wannabe, the airplane is nothing more than a tool. Nothing more than a means to and end. But like how a fine watch is more to a master craftsman than for keeping precise and accurate time, the Boeing 747-400 is more to the pilot who flies it than a 'transportation machine'. A pilot grows emotions and attachments to his/her aeroplane. And while evolutionary Darwinism will most perfectly explain the advantages of silly 'emotions', the real point I am trying to make here is considering the hard problem of consciousness and epiphenomenon qualia, and the non-reductive nature of awareness/experience; everything fun or interesting has it very own merit and meaning and value to existence beyond the more obvious functional values that economists and businessmen and bankers tend to assign to everything these days.Fly is fun. Its that simple. To a pilot, yes his JOB is to fly, that is his FUNCTION for the airline he works for, but deeper than all of that flying is its own reward, its own purpose and meaning, the holistic experience of it being greater than just any one sum of its parts.Having said that, my favorite plane is the 744, and its really pains me emotionally to see all the new 787 A380, flight by light, hard limits, composite, HUD, LCARS menu like FMC, etc etc etc....One day the 744 will be like the DC-8 is today, and we will no longer like to sim it anymore.... PMDG will surely come out with other stuff, but nostalgia and reminiscence is hard to let go....I knew all of this long before, but watching ITVV recently stirred everything back up and I was wondering if anyone else here felt the same way..?Will PMDG eventually make a 747-800 for FSXI?-David

[Qavion 19]

Personally, I've never thought of any civilian airliner as being state-of-the-art... They spend too long (many years) on the drawing boards and in flight testing to be the latest and greatest.The 744 was old before it arrived ;)"The whole purpose of aeroplanes is for transportation, to get people and goods from point A to point B. The epitome of perfection would be the Star Trek Transporter, the most primitive means would be walking, and we are somewhere in between the two extremes."OMG... walking is extreme??? I must be showing my age :( Cheers.Q>

[Guest LAND3]

>Personally, I've never thought of any civilian airliner as>being state-of-the-art... They spend too long (many years) on>the drawing boards and in flight testing to be the latest and>greatest.>>The 744 was old before it arrived ;)>>"The whole purpose of aeroplanes is for transportation, to get>people and goods from point A to point B. The epitome of>perfection would be the Star Trek Transporter, the most>primitive means would be walking, and we are somewhere in>between the two extremes.">>OMG... walking is extreme??? I must be showing my age :( >>>Cheers.>Q>>Personally, I've never thought of any civilian airliner as>being state-of-the-art... They spend too long (many years) on>the drawing boards and in flight testing to be the latest and>greatest.Good point. Much like how the computers on the space shuttle will always be slower than our desktop PC's because by the time NASA has certified them for spaceflight we have entered another digital era already... But I mean, kudos to PMDG for 100% fidelity and realism, but when your PMDG 744 DOS looking monochrome FMC has to blink for 2-3 seconds every time you hit "EXEC" and you know its because your much faster Desktop is emulating a much slower Motorola chip build 15+ years ago, it kind of really shows the age and even antiquity of the Boeing 747-400...We now are in the era of bleed-less engines, aircraft without APUs, no need for heavy hydraulics when fly by optics electrics can do the work better safer and more efficient, total glass interface like LCARS menu system on Star Trek Voyager, electronic Jeppersen Charts, electronic paperwork and manuals, video surveillance of the cabins, situational awareness provided by external cameras and vertical terrain mode, digital terminal representations, etc etc.... Head up displays, joysticks, qwerty keyboards, hotspots, integrated laptops, softkeys and soft-point&click intuitive lighting fast FMCs...It's not so much that the 744 is aging as the world of aviation is fastly leaving it BEHIND. With the dreamliner and A380 we are entering an NEW ERA of aviation that we have never seen before, and this milestone will occur and when it does we will embrace it and never look back. The 744 will not be joining us in this new leg of the journey, (even considering the 747-800, still it can't compare to the 787 and whats next to come) ...We are leaving behind the 'modern' jumbojet of the 1980/90 that we have all grown used to and love and the word 'modern' in airline aviation is know as we speak being retrofitted with flapless wings, state of the art technology, and a much needed and long overdue overhaul in processor capability and software utilization.

[Guest jaglover]

>But like how a fine watch is more to a master craftsman than>for keeping precise and accurate time, the Boeing 747-400 is>more to the pilot who flies it than a 'transportation>machine'. A pilot grows emotions and attachments to his/her>aeroplane. And while evolutionary Darwinism will most>perfectly explain the advantages of silly 'emotions', the real>point I am trying to make here is considering the hard problem>of consciousness and epiphenomenon qualia, and the>non-reductive nature of awareness/experience; everything fun>or interesting has it very own merit and meaning and value to>existence beyond the more obvious functional values that>economists and businessmen and bankers tend to assign to>everything these days.>>Fly is fun. Its that simple. To a pilot, yes his JOB is to>fly, that is his FUNCTION for the airline he works for, but>deeper than all of that flying is its own reward, its own>purpose and meaning, the holistic experience of it being>greater than just any one sum of its parts.>>I was wondering if anyone else>here felt the same way..?Well, Aristotle, I feel you're a wannabe philosopher struggling with reality. :-roll Mark

[markadeane 272]

The thing is, 'state-of-the-art' isn't always the most reliable in an in-service context. The Computers driving the FMCs in the 744 are something like the equivalent of a 286, but there is so much established data on the reliability of such processors that they are considered safer and more predictable.The enviable safety record of the 747-400 is testament to the fact that the flight-deck ergonomics and avionics - however 'primitive' they seem by modern standards - are excellently designed and allow the crew to do their job very effectively and with good situational awareness.Look at the flight decks of the latest existing Boeing airliners - the 737NG and the 777 - and you see that not a lot has changed in there since the 747-400 days anyway. The displays are very similar, the FMC software is not exactly light years ahead. Sure there are improvements, but those of us here who have tried out the available 737NG and 777 add-ons know that there isn't a huge leap in the technology.Plus, it goes without saying that the airframe itself is a triumph of design. The original 747 was designed without computer modelling and using some fairly dated design techniques, yet the airframe design has changed VERY little. It must work well then!:-)

[macpac22 0]

Well i cant really add anything in terms of the cockpit design as i dont have a clue about aircraft design :) The ITVV DVD is a gem for 747 fans like myself. Flying the PMDG model on FS9, the cockpit never feels cluttered. The design doesnt look aged in my opinion, my only comparison is from the ITVV A330 dvd where the cockpit looks steely and cold...again just my opinon. I remember jon saying on this forum that the long hours and staying in hotels and being away from the family can take its toll. I guess flying from London to San Fransico all the time i can see how a pilot might feel home sick.

[Guest mcalpinep]

Well said, his comments have no place in this forum.Phil McAlpine.

[jon b 2,050]

>I remember jon saying on this forum that the long hours and>staying in hotels and being away from the family can take its>toll.>Just Had the future Mrs B whos a CSS cabin service supervisor with Virgin work with me for my last 2 trip.So I`ve learnt to only thing worse than leaving her behind is having her come with me!I hadn`t heard about John C, sorry to hear about that,I flew with him a couple of times years ago.As has been mentioned Alan left Virgin and went flying the jumbo in the far East and now works on smaller Boeings back in the UK.Also Don Grange from the Cathay dvd also joined Virgin and then left,he now flies A320s for Easyjet.The Moral of the story is if you want to keep a 747-400 command don`t make a video!Personaly I`ve been on the 744 for 10 years and the future Mrs for 5 years,but at least I`m still not bored of the Aeroplane;-)rgdsJon

[Guest LAND3]

Jon,Wow! Your a real-life 747-400 pilot for 10 years? In that case I'd like to ask you a few questions and to clear a few things up.First, what in the world is 'the future Mrs B'?? Are you referring to a next gen aircraft or are you saying you are getting married??And what about when you said:"The Moral of the story is if you want to keep a 747-400 command don`t make a video!"Could you explain this bit in detail please? What does making a video have anything to do with losing interest in the Boeing 747-400, or are you implying that virgin disapproved of the fact that Alan allowed ITVV crew to make that video??Last, how real is the PMDG 744 compared to the real thing?If one can fly the PMDG 744 perfectly (at least for every aspect that IS modeled) could one do fairly well in a Level-D sim? If not by hand what if fully automated and fly by data?Thanks!Regards,-DavidEDIT: basically are you saying that a star that burns twice as bright last half as long? Maybe we human beings when so physiologically into something and so excited about something that the interest cannot hold and we end up not wanting it anymore altogether??

[jon b 2,050]

>Jon,>>Wow! Your a real-life 747-400 pilot for 10 years? >In that case I'd like to ask you a few questions and to >clear a few things up.>>First, what in the world is 'the future Mrs B'?? Are you>referring to a next gen aircraft or are you saying you are>getting married??Sadly I`m getting married>>And what about when you said:>>"The Moral of the story is if you want to keep a 747-400>command don`t make a video!">>Could you explain this bit in detail please? What does making>a video have anything to do with losing interest in the Boeing>747-400, or are you implying that virgin disapproved of the>fact that Alan allowed ITVV crew to make that video??No just a light hearted comment on the coincidence that both guys famous for their 747 DVDs no longer fly them.>>Last, how real is the PMDG 744 compared to the real thing?>If one can fly the PMDG 744 perfectly (at least for every>aspect that IS modeled) could one do fairly well in a Level-D>sim? If not by hand what if fully automated and fly by data?>The PMDG is a great simulation,armed with the skill to fly PMDG you could make a reasonable job in a level D sim,though maybe not with the hand flying aspect unless you have previous real world experience with large jets.Its just a case of getting used to the inertia,which is hard to feel on a PC sim.As for flying one for real? no amount of sim time will prepare you,you need real world airline time.I say that because most of your time as a 744 captain is spent dealing with very obscure things that don`t feature in sims,such as passengers with medical problems,weather,airport issues,CAA and FAA regulations,schedule and crew duty issues and very obscure tech issues,and having to keep up to date with the latest SOPs and procedures.The flying becomes a much smaller part of the operation.Cheers Jon