PSS 777 autothrottle speed hold

[Guest need4speed]

Hope some of you knowledgeable guys can help me here..I have just purchased the PSS 777 for FS2004 and am having a bit of trouble with getting the speed hold to work in the MCP. When I dial in a speed manually and then click on the autothrottle switch, I assume the pane should hold the speed dialled in. However, when i click on the autothrottle button, the throttles are opened and the N1 increases to the max value in the FMC (about 97%). This is a bit of pain and makes flying a 777 seem like flying a C152!Cheers in advance,James Ridout

[kevinh 409]

For the MSFS default aircraft speed hold is always a function of the autothrottle. In the real world, and on realistic add-ons like the PSS 777, this is not always the case. Sometimes speed is maintained by aircraft pitch, in which case the thrust will go to the rated limit or idle (or maybe somewhere in between!). This is what you are seeing.Typically in a climb, pitch will be used to maintain selected speed. In level flight, the A/T will maintain the selected speed. In descent, pitch will again maintain speed, unless VNAV PATH is engaged, in which case pitch will control the flight path, and the autothrottle will apply power to maintain speed.It all depends on the modes annunciated by the FMA (top part of the PFD). This will show you the A/T mode, the AP/FD lateral mode and the AP/FD vertical mode. If the A/T is annunciatng SPD, then it will be controlling airspeed. Otherwise the AP is in control of speed.You can force it to work like the default aircraft by using VS mode for climbs and descents, in which case the A/T will always be in SPD mode. However this is not safe operation in practice, especially for prolonged climbs.I suggest you try the tutorial flight PSS provide, and forget all about how Microsoft think an AP and A/T should work :)Kevin