I have two quick questions, I am no expert pilot of the MD-11 but...I notice if you are flying manual and you bank it past(I think 30Degrees if I remember right) and then let go of the controls the MD-11 will rebank itself back to a reasonable banking degree. Is this a feature of the real MD-11? Is this real in any other plane because I can't ever remember the PMDG 747 doing this.Next, on landing what lights are supposed to be on because like in this video youtube it looks like the runway turnoff lights are on.

Taylor

I have two quick questions, I am no expert pilot of the MD-11 but...I notice if you are flying manual and you bank it past(I think 30Degrees if I remember right) and then let go of the controls the MD-11 will rebank itself back to a reasonable banking degree. Is this a feature of the real MD-11? Is this real in any other plane because I can't ever remember the PMDG 747 doing this.Next, on landing what lights are supposed to be on because like in this video youtube it looks like the runway turnoff lights are on.

Taylor

Do you mena by landing lights (approach lights)? If so there aren't any as the rwy starts directly behind the beach. As sson as the camera pans towards the rwy it is hidden by buildings and therefore one can't see any edge lights.Vololiberista

Do you mena by landing lights (approach lights)? If so there aren't any as the rwy starts directly behind the beach. As sson as the camera pans towards the rwy it is hidden by buildings and therefore one can't see any edge lights.Vololiberista

No I am talking about the MD-11 itself. It looks like the pilot has the landing lights and also the runway turnoff lights.Taylor

I notice if you are flying manual and you bank it past(I think 30Degrees if I remember right) and then let go of the controls the MD-11 will rebank itself back to a reasonable banking degree.

You have the Roll Control Wheel Steering (RCWS) option enabled. It can be disabled in the options menu, or by moving both AFS switches to the OFF position. Note that this will also disable LSAS.Paul

You have the Roll Control Wheel Steering (RCWS) option enabled. It can be disabled in the options menu, or by moving both AFS switches to the OFF position. Note that this will also disable LSAS.Paul

A note about RCWS on the MD11, pretty much every pilot that used it hated it and almost all airlines had the option disabled.Rob

A note about RCWS on the MD11, pretty much every pilot that used it hated it and almost all airlines had the option disabled.Rob

Why should somebody hate it? It prevents from overbanking (but you still can if you need it) and is maintaining the present bank angle. Flying a turn in the real MD-11 is just fine, no special behaviour, you get used to that very very quickly. After a short time, you will not notice RCWS anymore at all.I never have heard anybody complaining about that.Tom

No I am talking about the MD-11 itself. It looks like the pilot has the landing lights and also the runway turnoff lights.Taylor

Yes, they are all on during landing+ take off, correct!During Taxi it is common to have the nose(taxi) + turnoff lights on, not the landing lights.

Why should somebody hate it? It prevents from overbanking (but you still can if you need it) and is maintaining the present bank angle. Flying a turn in the real MD-11 is just fine, no special behaviour, you get used to that very very quickly. After a short time, you will not notice RCWS anymore at all.I never have heard anybody complaining about that.Tom

Have a read of this http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/375127-md-1...l-steering.html but anyway I've known for quite a while that a lot of flight crew where unhappy with the system, there is another forum out there (forgot the name) mainly just fedex guys using it, they where all complaining about it, FEDEX has disabled it on all MD11 aircraft.Rob

Have a read of this http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/375127-md-1...l-steering.html but anyway I've known for quite a while that a lot of flight crew where unhappy with the system, there is another forum out there (forgot the name) mainly just fedex guys using it, they where all complaining about it, FEDEX has disabled it on all MD11 aircraft.Rob

Thanks for the link! I can't see any negative thing about RCWS, except that you have to you a extreme (3lbs!!:-)) higher force to move the yoke. That is true, but it fits the size of the plane, IMO.Other people are not competent to answer the question, since they were not using it, i.e. FEDEX didn't install it at all. Another guy was flying the MD-11 for a few weeks, what a waste:-)Clearly the major reason to not buy this, were the extra cost, right?Some guys were putting the AFS switches to off, that is against the FCOM in non abnormal situations, I wonder that he got away with that:-)You can fly the MD-11 very well above 200ft without Auto Pilot, believe me.RGDS

i personally disable RCWS, because IMO, if a wing engine goes out, its hard to tell just how much rudder to use (you know the "use enough rudder to keep the yoke level" technique). Sure you could just use the slip indicator but meh...

i personally disable RCWS, because IMO, if a wing engine goes out, its hard to tell just how much rudder to use (you know the "use enough rudder to keep the yoke level" technique). Sure you could just use the slip indicator but meh...

I dont understand your point...can you please explain it to me?Thanks!

ok, when an engine fails, of course you already know about the yawing forces created by the operating engine, which causes the aircraft to basically fly 'sideways', which significantly increases drag, also, you are trying to maintain wings level or trying to stop the plane from turning so you use aileron, which could be enough to raise the wing spoilers, and as you know spoilers cause drag making matters worse. Now on 1 engine, you obviously want to reduce drag so you do this by using enough rudder to bring the nose as straight with the flight path of the aircraft as possible. Using too little rudder will cause drag and in order to maintain heading you probably will use ailerons, which as said earlier might cause the wing spoilers to raise. Using too much rudder basically has the same effect. So a general rule of thumb to follow is to use enough rudder to keep the yoke level or almost level. Now with RCWS enabled, if you have a wing engine out, its hard to really tell just how much rudder to use because it will always maintain whatever bank angle you put the plane in. Unlike the real aircraft or even in the Virtual cockpit you can just look down on the yoke and see if its level or not, i fly 2d so i cant really tell.Hope its clear now