Arrival ATIS r/w and Approach r/w

[Guest kloker]

When I am less than 60nm from the destination airport, I check Arrival ATIS to get the landing runway. However, just about every time, Approach wants me to use another runway, which means reprogramming the FMC, and selecting new approach plates, etc. I'm wondering why the runways do not match more often.Here's something very cool I learned: Instead of scrolling thru pages of options in the prompter to try and read the runway or taxiway you want, you can just ask for it, without selecting the prompter number. Woah! Who knew? Probably just another part of the manual I haven't read.What a sweet program. Now, if I can just get my wife to understand voice recognition.keith

[zfehr 1]

From my observations the program doesn't look at weather areas so it is responding to the weather where you are flying when ATIS reports runway usage. By the time you get to the airport the weather can change enough to cause a different runway/approach to be assigned. Fortunately you can ask for your desired runway/approach but you usually have to do this on first contact with approach. As the program advances we hopefully will see recognition of weather areas, although when really flying what you see is what you get, not always what you heard or read :)Zane

[Guest kloker]

My mistake. If you do not select from the menu prompts, it doesn't know that you have actually chosen that task, although permission or clearance has been given. Too bad. keith

[zfehr 1]

I have flown quite a bit without the prompter and have usually been able to get approach/runway selections without having to access the options menu from within prompter box. Remember if the prompt text turns blue it only means that your call sign was recognized, if you get a response confirming your request you shouldn't have any problems. If there is a situation where you are getting a confirmation from ATC and then the program won't let you do something or stops advancing let us know :).Zane

[Guest kloker]

Zane,As well as I can remember: I'm flying out of KBWI. ATIS says we're using r/w 33R (it's short.) I want 28. Ground gives me 33L, and gives taxi instructions. That's good, but I still want 28. I look at the menu to check the syntax, clear the menu using 0 (zero). I ask for 28. I'm told to taxi to 28 and I get taxi instructions. The prompter text, however, now says to taxi to 33L. Uh oh.I went to 28 and somehow got the tower to clear me for takeoff, but things got weird. It's as though the program was expecting me to taxi to 33L, and although I got takeoff clearance, it was still waiting for the taxi. Then I got wrong way vectors which I ignored (maybe that's the problem; it was circling me around to where I was would have been off of 33L, maybe) and eventually I just bailed out. Too bad for the passengers. Incidentally, my first waypoint is 56nm away.Also, but not related to this problem, it seems like it takes too long to be handed off to Departure.I may have been too impatient, and eventually everything would have gotten back in synch. I haven't flown enough with it to get a feel for it, but your being able to do so without the prompter is encouraging.I'll try to duplicate the flight, and pay closer attention. keith