Hello guys,Im not sure it's completely realistic (please rectify my way of thought of it is), but i kind of like to manually take up the plane to about 4000 and activate Profile navigain once im level.The thing is, when i press autopilot during roll the i get T/O thrust also during the initial climb. my question is if it's possible to only allow the Autopilot to maintain a certain speed and not take over the NAV nor climb phase of the departure ?Thanks in advance.Paul Glinston

Hi Paul,Just engage autothrottle and not LNAV and VNAV.Cheers, Richard

Hello Paul.Which aircraft are you flying? 737, 747 or MD11?Do as Richard suggested and only activate the Autothrottle. Thrust should decrease automatically when you reach the acceleration height set in the FMC/FMS.In the 747 you also need to reduce your flap setting to 5 degrees to trigger CLIMB mode. And yes, its realistic to hand fly the plane. However it is often SOP to engage the autopilot early because it reduces workload and is much more precise than any human pilot.Especially in an area of dense traffic you normally want as little workload as possible so you do not overshoot any altitude restrictions and stay ahead of the game.Regards

god i'm such a dufus.. I'm referring toth md-11..

So i tried doing so with the MD-11 during the take off phase of the flight ... i pushed the auto flight panel and i was not able to move the aircraft... it just locked the heading and altitude...any idea how to make this thing work ? pleasePaul

If I understand, you'd like to fly the plane manually, and let the AT control the speed? If so, Just press AUTOFLIGHT as you line up, depart normally, then at ACCEL ALT, press FMS SPD. That will allow the AT to follow the speed profile in the FMS, but leave you in full control of the path. Do not engage profile though, because if there are intermediate level offs, the thrust will be reduced in anticipation of the level segment.Paul

thanks alot.What about the approach phase of the flight ? how do i disengage the autopilot while still letting it control the speed until 1000agl

thanks alot.What about the approach phase of the flight ? how do i disengage the autopilot while still letting it control the speed until 1000agl

Hit the autopilot disconnect button on your keyboard/stick/yoke twice ( Z key is standard AFAIK). This will turn off PROF and NAV but leave the A/T engaged.If you want to disconnect the A/T press the corresponding key command (Shift+R standard AFAIK). I am sure this is somewhere in the manual :(

I am obviously doing something wrong but i dont know why....So after reaching IAF i disonnect the autopilot by hitting the yellow knob on the yoke... the speed is maintained by the autopilot according to the speed i dailed on the MCP.I disconnect A/T (pressing the 2 knowbs on the throttle ) at 1000 AGL but for some reason i can't seem to have control over the speed... it idles at ~0.90 of N1 when actually it idles at ~0.20 n1 on the groundand when i reach flaring point it seems as the throttles are being advanced for some reason... what am i dong wrong Thank you so much for your helpPaul

Hey Paul.You should operate the A/T disconnect twice to deactivate it properly, however I think the second push is only to silence the alert. Screenshots would be helpful at this point. Have you by any chance activated TO/GA mode by pressing the big white button on the Number 2 thrust lever? I hope you do not mind the question, but is this the first sophisticated simulated aircraft you fly? Despite all their differences I find modern airliners are all very similar when it comes to basic handling.Have a nice weekend! *Looks out of the window and curses the cold rainy weather over northern Germany*Regards

I've been a regular pmdg 747-400 pilot up until now, so the md-11 's systems are a bit unfamiliar to me.I've been flying the 747-400 quite professionally without any hiccups.I did disengage the A/T by pressing the 2 little knobs on the levers.I hope you dont mind the question, but how old are you, sir ?tnx

i have 2 issues please1) will the climb mode initiate after i pass a certain altitude, retract all the flaps or both ? Let me get more specific : departing from LSGG... on the FMC is defaults to enter CLIMB MODE 1500 feet above airport elev. but de facto, it doesnt happen... during take off i press AP once so A/T will control the thrust durign the take off roll, but the mode doesnt change even 1500 ft above airport altitude...why ?2) i use the load manager to input pax and cargo data, and i load the md-11 in fs2004 and it shows up as i like, but as soon as i use the "load panel state" the fuel/pax/cargo confiruation is changedwhat can i do to resolve this issuethank yo so much ,Paul Glinston

1) See AOM FMS.10.27: Your thrust reduction to climb altitude is set on the takeoff initialization page.2) FS9 limitation. One workaround is to save a flight with the desired panel state then you won't have to load the panel state after setting the loads. Note that fuel is dependent on the saved flight, the load manager doesn't change it in this case; however, you can always change fuel with aircraft loaded by using the pmdg menu.Hope it helps.

Hi Dan,Well, the FMS does calculate the altitude in which it's suppose to switch to climb mode, but it doesnt happen... it just stays at t/o mode

A screen shot would be helpful.