How about i'll createa video and upload it to youtube.give me 2 hours...for some reason, now it won't even hold the speed i dailed in.anyway, i captured the whole takeoff phase along with the basic FMS prep. hope you cold shed some light into this.

Okhere's the youtube link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvvX2V4mKa8i hope im doing some of the stuff correctly. and i hope youwill be kind enough to tell me what im doing wrong

A screen shot would have saved both of us a lot of time.Before applying takeoff power, press the PROF, NAV then AUTOFLIGHT buttons... once above 400 AGL press AUTOFLIGHT again to engage A/P. The exact sequence varies, depending on if you want to stay in HDG or go to VNAV.. but the T/O CLAMP in white is the telltale indication that you don't have ATS.The story is told by your FMA.. your indications are always white, which means not controlling. You want magenta text if you want some or all automation.Have you tried the tutorial?

Several problems:1. There is no route; just 2 airports. Enter at least 1 waypoint and a departure runway.2. The plane stays in TO THRUST mode because you have not engaged any other vertical mode. Note that as you reach 10,000 ALT HOLD engages as the vertical mode, so TO THRUST reverts to xxx THRUST. Only then will pulling the speed knob have an effect on the thrust.3. Pushing the FMS SPD button has no effect because there is no vertical profile loaded.Try reading the manuals and doing the tutorials, then try again with the entire FCP displayed. Once you have a better understanding of the complex AFS on the MD11, you'll find that it does exactly what you want it to do (most of the time).Paul

Another option is to press PERF then go to THRUST page. Here you can manually select the thrust rating.As written above, if you want to fly manually but with autothrust, press Z twice (first to disconnect the autopilot, second to cancel the alert). Now you have SPEED with AP lateral/vertical modes boxed white and the caption in the FMA "AP OFF".Best regards,Robin.

whats with the attitude, Dan and paul ? not everyois as sucessful and smart as you are...god damn it.. i spent a lot of my money on this addon, and i came here for some suppot, not to be patronized by you people.

Sorry if Dan and I came across as patronizing. I can assure you that was not the intention. Have you read the documentation supplied with the product? If you have, then it's worth another reading. The MD11 is a complex aircraft, and I had to read everything multiple times before I got comfortable with the aircraft. It's easy for me to spot the errors because I'm just so used to the plane (although she does bite from time to time). It's all a matter of repetition and understanding, and once you spend some time in the cockpit, and some time in the manuals, it will be pretty easy for you too.Paul

No,i didn't read the 800+ pages. however, i did follow the tutorial supplied with the a/c

That's the problem. The tutorials are there to demonstrate a few things, not teach you all you need to know. It's a lot like typing an essay in a foreign language by having somebody sit beside you and telling you what buttons to push. Unless you have studied the language, you won't understand what's on the screen.The same is true here. The tutorial jsut translates the wealth of information that's in the manuals, but you still have to read the manuals before yu can fly. The tutorials tell you what buttons to push in a set scenario. Once that scenario changes, you need the information in the manuals to enable you to know how to handle the new situation.Paul

I have found that the tutorial flight only gives you the basic tools for dealing with standard situations. The real understanding comes only after a little additional background reading in the manuals has been completed. Then, the "oh, that's how it works" statements come, that was my experience so far.The MD-11 is a complex aircraft in the real world, and it takes a lot of time to get used to some of the "idiosyncracies" (particularly if you have spent some time with Boeing or Airbus systems) of the autoflight systems.Every time I experience something new, some different handling, I have checked out the manuals and this forum. All the advice here, particularly that from Dan and Paul, as well as the devs who regularly step in and help out, has been sound, friendly, and has normally dealt with the issue. I would never have thought of patronizing to describe their posts...That said, the manuals are the first port of call, particularly when they are as comprehensive as those supplied with this addon.A small thanks from me to the likes of Dan and Paul, for taking their time to offer advice and support :)Andrew

yes i very much in thank for their quick help.Anyway, when i egage AP + PROF engages CLIMB mode when it should. but what i want toaccomplish is manually flyng the aircraft, while the A/T only taking charge of thrust controlcan this be done ?

Hello Paul,if you are a customer of PMDG as we all are, you are entitled to ask for support as much as you want.But, you need to understand that although almost everybody here tries to be helpful and supportive regarding your questions, that PMDG has spend a great deal of time and effort to create the documentation for the MD-11 and that they expect you to actually read it and try finding a solution on your own, especially when it comes to the operation and handling of the aircraft. There is no need to read the whole manual (I did not either to be honest) but it takes hardly 30 minutes to look for the info you need to find an answer to you question.Now that we all solved the mistery you can hopefully enjoy the MD11.You wanted to know how old I am. I am on short final reaching 25. Normally you fly with full climb thrust until reaching your cruising altitude and maintain the proper speed through changing the pitch attitude.Regards

you're 25 ? don't get wrong, but i don't want to get help from a cluless 25 year old.

gtlos,Try reading page 133 of the FCOM, last paragraph. This will tell you all you need to know about how CLB THRUST works when flying manual.Jort Bijker

you're 25 ? don't get wrong, but i don't want to get help from a cluless 25 year old.

Suit yourself. I will try to remember that in the future :(