PSS Airbus Help! (n00b style questions)

[Guest -dolbinau-]

hey,this is my first Advanced payware aircraft and boy am i impressed so far.I've got a couple of questions, and hope you can answer them!1.Sometimes when i slew and practise a landing, (or infact some other times), the Throttle is always FULL, and it cannot be changed, like its on auto-throttle, but i havn't set anything.2.Am i doing anything wrong on take off? (setting full power, ummm..not sure wats in airbus, but 2 notches of flaps, raise nose 10 Degrees)3.I'm quite a n00b regarding navigation, is it possible to add a GPS to the panel?4. How can i remove the "sink rate" sounds etc. "don't sink", its pretty annoying :(Thats all for now!p.s This aircraft was GREAT on fps, even though i'm only on a lower-end computer, i was very impressed!

[Guest vrandar]

1. I never use slew mode so I'm not sure abut that aspect, but if the autothrust is on as it will be by default once you start your takeoff roll then the computers will be controlling the engines, which is the normal way of doing things in the Airbus. This is not like one of the default aircraft where you control the level of thrust directly and you can have any thrust setting you want, with the Airbus most of the time after the thrust levers get pulled back to the CL gate on the pedestal they will stay there until you select reverse. The a/thr switch is on the FCU (flight control unit) on the glareshield below the autopilot ap1 and ap2 switches but I would not advise you to deactivate autothrust until you are very confident in handling the aircraft and know the systems inside out . it is not really designed to be flown with manual thrust.2. Thrust: With an Airbus you can have either TOGA (takeoff go around) thrust setting or flex thrust. The TOGA thrust is set by moving the thrust levers (using the keypad + key of course) up to the TOGA gate. Watch this happening on the lower pedestal with shift+4). Flex is where you move the levers only to the FLX MCT gate. TOGA thrust wears the engines out more and leads to higher maintenance costs but must be used if you are at a hot and high airport, if there is ice and snow or an otherwise cluttered runway or if the runway is short. Most times you can use flex which reduces the takeoff thrust by assuming a higher outside setting. The default teperature it assumes is 42 degrees C but you can change this on the MCDU. It must be no lower than the outside temperature and for most airlines is no higher than 60 on the A320.Flaps - Airbus flaps are not expressed in degrees like on a Boeing or other default aircraft but are flaps 1, 2, 3 and flaps full. You use flaps 1, 2 or 3 (mostly flaps 1 is fine which shows up as 1+F on the ECAM) and flaps 3 or flaps full for landing. Rotation - you mentioned raising the nose 10 degrees. This will not usually be sufficient for the aircraft to hold a speed of v2+10 which it needs to on initial climb in order. 10 degrees will mean you shoot through v2+10 (shown as a magenta triangle on the speed tape of the PFD) with the result that when the autopilot is activated you'll experience a sharp pitch up of the nose as the computers try to bring the speed back to V2+10. I usually find I need about 17 to 20 degrees (slightly more than in the real world Airbus by the way)3. GPS: You do not need to do this. The MCDU and the Navigation display give you all the information you need to navigate and are far better and more powerful than any FS GPS tool. To get the most from flying the Airbus you must learn how to use the MCDU properly.4. Sink rate: if you are in playback mode you will get the "sink rate" or "don't sink" callouts which are a bit annoying but I think it's just a quirk of the system. If you get the callout when you are on approach then this is because you are descending at an incorrect profile and the warning is therefore necessary to prevent a controlled flight into terrain.

[Guest bjornhall]

I'll give it a shot ... It's harder when not knowing if you refer to the A320, A330 or A340 tho' ... ;)1. I have seen alpha floor engage sometimes when slewing around, using 'instant replay' etc. Could that be it? If so, you need to deactivate the autothrottle to get out of the TOGA LOCK. It is described on page 34 of A330_A340_systems_manual.pdf and page 33 of A320Man_part5.pdf.2. Sounds fine to me, provided you use the + key to set full power. Raise nose 8 - 12 degrees on rotation (depending on model), and further up to 18 - 20 degrees after liftoff (depending on Airbus model, weight, flaps etc). If you time it right, you'll do it in one, smooth rotation, without any pause at 8 - 12 degrees, and that is how it should always be done. But, if you screw up by rotating at too low speed or too swiftly, you need to pause to avoid a tail strike. Rate should be 2 - 3 degrees per second, but don't try to time that while rotating; do it by feel, and check replay afterwards to see if you got the rate right. 1, 2, or 3 'notches of flaps' (i.e., CONF 1+F, 2 or 3) depending on lots of variables (runway length, model, weight, flaps, etc etc). 1+F provides some fuel savings, but at least on the A340, Airbus recommends 2 or 3 at heavier weights, even on long runways, to improve comfort and aft body clearance (reduce risk of tail strikes).3. You have a GPS already; it's in the FMGC ... ;) IMVHO, you might as well start learning to use it from the start, but if you insist on wanting the default GPS installed, I guess it's possible somehow ...4. The GPWS can be switched off using the GPWS SYS button on the overhead panel, pretty far aft on the left side. See page 89 in A330_A340_systems_manual.pdf or page 85 in A320Man_part5.pdf. In my experience, the 'don't sink' usually appears as a nuiscance warning when replaying a landing, or perhaps if you fly a very low traffic pattern after a go around, but if you get 'sink rate' warnings, you are doing something wrong, probably descending too steep while landing ... Hope this helps! :)Best,/Bj