When flying a successfully entered flight plan in autopilot I descend correctly on reaching the T/D point to the pre entered approach height and then speed is reduced per the FMC control and after correctly lowering flaps and undercarriage the MD-11 makes a perfect auto landing.If however I decide to descend to approach height before the T/D point, how do I do it?There is no FLCH button as on the 747-400X and if I obtain my approach height by entering (say) -1500 in the V/S window although I come down to approach height I don't appear to get any speed reduction on approaching the airfield. I seem to carry on at cruise speed with the expected catastrophic result!Anyone any ideas what I am doing wrong or not doing?

When flying a successfully entered flight plan in autopilot I descend correctly on reaching the T/D point to the pre entered approach height and then speed is reduced per the FMC control and after correctly lowering flaps and undercarriage the MD-11 makes a perfect auto landing.If however I decide to descend to approach height before the T/D point, how do I do it?There is no FLCH button as on the 747-400X and if I obtain my approach height by entering (say) -1500 in the V/S window although I come down to approach height I don't appear to get any speed reduction on approaching the airfield. I seem to carry on at cruise speed with the expected catastrophic result!Anyone any ideas what I am doing wrong or not doing?

The equivalent of FLCH is Idle Clamp I have it assigned to my hardware but if your using clickspots I think you need to right click (pull) the Alt knob like on the Airbus A3XXRob

The procedure for commencing an early descent is to:-Select a lower altitude on the MCP-Turn the V/S wheel to the desired initial ROD.-After the aircraft has departed cruise altitude and is at least 300ft below, re-select PROF.-The aircraft will maintain the current ROD until it intercepts the profile, at which point it will continue an idle descent.Hope this helps!Regards,Martin Neep

Thanks for your help. Will try your suggestion as soon as I can.John

The procedure for commencing an early descent is to:-Select a lower altitude on the MCP-Turn the V/S wheel to the desired initial ROD.-After the aircraft has departed cruise altitude and is at least 300ft below, re-select PROF.-The aircraft will maintain the current ROD until it intercepts the profile, at which point it will continue an idle descent.Hope this helps!Regards,Martin Neep

Hi MartinHave successfully tried your suggestion. I think I failed to hit the PROF at the correct time.Anyway all is well. Many thanks for your help.Kind regardsJohn Spilsbury