RC commands and 747-400x auto pilot

[Guest Ice9ine]

Hi people,I still new to this, however I am winning even if my recent ILS landing turned ugly on my final approach..(I'l remember to press LOC and APP BEFORE im almost on top of the runway...sigh lol)Having said that I have a qusetion, that I 'think' I may already know but I willask people who arent quite as amateur at this as me.Ok, So ive set my flight from Sydney to Melb in RC and also loaded up the preset flight in PMDG747-400x.I have noticed that RC will give me commands and directions throughout the flight that do not follow my flight path on auto pilot in 747-400.For example RC may say turn left heading 190 but my 747 is happy to keep following its path that doesnt turn. Or RC says 'Decend to 10,000 feet' while the 747 autopilot wants to stay at 15,000.I assume that for my flight and ILS landing to not end in disaster I really need to ignore the RC commands and directions and just let my auto pilot do its thing?If that is the case, I see RC almost useless with 747-400 whilst flying auto and ILS,apart from the cool background chatter and takeoff.Is this the case or am I missing something in the RC setup?p.s Often the RC commands are 'close' to the FP on 747 but definaltely not synced up perfectly by any means.Thanks in advance.Dave H.

[jetlag 65]

Hi people,I still new to this, however I am winning even if my recent ILS landing turned ugly on my final approach..(I'l remember to press LOC and APP BEFORE im almost on top of the runway...sigh lol)Having said that I have a qusetion, that I 'think' I may already know but I willask people who arent quite as amateur at this as me.Ok, So ive set my flight from Sydney to Melb in RC and also loaded up the preset flight in PMDG747-400x.I have noticed that RC will give me commands and directions throughout the flight that do not follow my flight path on auto pilot in 747-400.For example RC may say turn left heading 190 but my 747 is happy to keep following its path that doesnt turn. Or RC says 'Decend to 10,000 feet' while the 747 autopilot wants to stay at 15,000.I assume that for my flight and ILS landing to not end in disaster I really need to ignore the RC commands and directions and just let my auto pilot do its thing?If that is the case, I see RC almost useless with 747-400 whilst flying auto and ILS,apart from the cool background chatter and takeoff.Is this the case or am I missing something in the RC setup?p.s Often the RC commands are 'close' to the FP on 747 but definaltely not synced up perfectly by any means.Thanks in advance.Dave H.

I am fairly new too but I can tell you this much: ATC instructions always take precedence over your preset plan, or you'll get into serious trouble.Experts will no doubt elaborate.Cheers

[Ray Proudfoot 8,954]

Hi people,I still new to this, however I am winning even if my recent ILS landing turned ugly on my final approach..(I'l remember to press LOC and APP BEFORE im almost on top of the runway...sigh lol)Having said that I have a qusetion, that I 'think' I may already know but I willask people who arent quite as amateur at this as me.Ok, So ive set my flight from Sydney to Melb in RC and also loaded up the preset flight in PMDG747-400x.I have noticed that RC will give me commands and directions throughout the flight that do not follow my flight path on auto pilot in 747-400.For example RC may say turn left heading 190 but my 747 is happy to keep following its path that doesnt turn. Or RC says 'Decend to 10,000 feet' while the 747 autopilot wants to stay at 15,000.I assume that for my flight and ILS landing to not end in disaster I really need to ignore the RC commands and directions and just let my auto pilot do its thing?If that is the case, I see RC almost useless with 747-400 whilst flying auto and ILS,apart from the cool background chatter and takeoff.Is this the case or am I missing something in the RC setup?p.s Often the RC commands are 'close' to the FP on 747 but definaltely not synced up perfectly by any means.Thanks in advance.Dave H.

Hi Dave,Jetlag is spot on. ATC controllers aren't there to fit in with your plan. Your plan in the FMC/CDU must first of all match that loaded into RC. If you're being a different heading to fly than that in your CDU then they differ which is not a good start.Regarding changes of altitude, RC determines the best point to start you down so you will be at FL120 / 12000ft or FL110 / 11000ft 40 miles from your arrival airport. If you add a 40mile waypoint in your CDU with that altitude restriction you'll find the ToD isn't too far out but you must always start down when instructed and not when your CDU advises.Regarding your flight not ending in a disaster I would suggest the only way to ensure you land safely is to follow RC instructions.Remember that the CDU is there to assist you with ATC - it doesn't replace it. :( If you haven't flown the tutorial flights I suggest you try them.

[Guest Ice9ine]

Hi Dave,Jetlag is spot on. ATC controllers aren't there to fit in with your plan. Your plan in the FMC/CDU must first of all match that loaded into RC. If you're being a different heading to fly than that in your CDU then they differ which is not a good start.Regarding changes of altitude, RC determines the best point to start you down so you will be at FL120 / 12000ft or FL110 / 11000ft 40 miles from your arrival airport. If you add a 40mile waypoint in your CDU with that altitude restriction you'll find the ToD isn't too far out but you must always start down when instructed and not when your CDU advises.Regarding your flight not ending in a disaster I would suggest the only way to ensure you land safely is to follow RC instructions.Remember that the CDU is there to assist you with ATC - it doesn't replace it. :( If you haven't flown the tutorial flights I suggest you try them.

Thankyou both for your prompt replies and advise.You're both not wrong about getting into serious trouble if I ignore RC instructions. At one point I was warned about ignoring his commands three times and if I heard him correctly, Im sure he said ive been fined! lol...and I thought parking fines were bad!So thanks for the advice, it makes sense and I look forward to my next flight following these guidlines.Just one more quick thing, I assume that my ILS landing will still lock on etc if i stray off my 747 flight path to follow RC commands?Dave.

[jd 57]

Thankyou both for your prompt replies and advise.You're both not wrong about getting into serious trouble if I ignore RC instructions. At one point I was warned about ignoring his commands three times and if I heard him correctly, Im sure he said ive been fined! lol...and I thought parking fines were bad!So thanks for the advice, it makes sense and I look forward to my next flight following these guidlines.Just one more quick thing, I assume that my ILS landing will still lock on etc if i stray off my 747 flight path to follow RC commands?Dave.

if you are on final, rc isn't going to be giving you any vectors. he's not going to give you any vectors after he gives you the intercept heading.jd