Ok... here we go...If you want to fly vor headings in the J41 are the frequencies available from the fmc or do you have to preplan the route to have a list?I know the J41 will have lateral navigation for waypoints btw, not worried about that.I don't mind either, but it's easier to plan and fly if you know before you jump in the cockpit and set off :( then panic :( .John Ellison

Ok... here we go...If you want to fly vor headings in the J41 are the frequencies available from the fmc or do you have to preplan the route to have a list?I know the J41 will have lateral navigation for waypoints btw, not worried about that.I don't mind either, but it's easier to plan and fly if you know before you jump in the cockpit and set off :( then panic :( .John Ellison

Good question... in the MD11 if I fly to a VOR is it actually tuning the radio and navigating that way or is it just flying to the known lat/lon of the VOR station? The FMC must know the lat/lon of the VOR to plot it on the nav display. Maybe the FMC uses both methods simultaneously as a cross check?edit: Oh maybe you mean can you get the VOR frequency from the FMC so that you can manually tune the Nav radio?

Ok... here we go...I know the J41 will have lateral navigation for waypoints btw,

And exactly becasue it has this RNAV capability you should be able to manually tune VORs with no need to have the frequencies written down..Apart from that it has absolutely classical HSI (possibly slewed to a VOR of your choice) so full VOR navigation must of course be available.

To be honest, I haven't been following the JS41 closely, but I'll start paying more attention to it now that it's popped up on my radarscope - I'm looking forward to a nice turboprop.

And exactly becasue it has this RNAV capability you should be able to manually tune VORs with no need to have the frequencies written down..

What it doesn't automatically tune the NAV for you?

If you want to fly vor headings in the J41 are the frequencies available from the fmc or do you have to preplan the route to have a list?

I've never flown the J41, but I've flown several of its comtemporaries, we've never had an FMS box or GPS avionics so it was VOR DME ( /A )navigation. But typically with the stage lengths of a turbo prop flight being an average of 200-300 miles, and the fact that you are usually going hub to outstation, back and forth all day long, day in and day out, week after week - after doing this for a few weeks, you end up learning and memorizing VOR frequencies, radials, and DME changeover points. So that the only time you end up referring to charts is if you're not familiar with the route or you just ask the other pilot who also knows all the frequencies, radials, etc.Once you get to cruise altitude for the turboprop - 16,000 to FL210/FL230 - you'll find that that altitude band is devoid of all traffic - all of the GA piston traffic is below 10,000ft (sometimes you'll get the brave soul at 12-13,000ft) the jets that you do see are in transit on the way up and down, but no one else is cruising at those altitudes, so our usual mode of navigation was to set up all the VORs / radials on the EHSI map screen, then pull out our eTrex hiking GPS and get the bearing to our destination and ask, "ABC Center, XYZ Flight 123 requesting (radar vector) 235 (get the heading from the eTrex) heading direct to destination" "Cleared to UVW airport via 235 heading direct UVW when able." And after several times of doing this, you also learn the radar vector "heading" you need to request, and you don't need the GPS. After you get your radar vector direct, you tune NAV1 to any DME source that is on the field - usually it is the ILS (you need to do this to do your vertical navigation.)For vertical navigation I use 5 miles a minute (ground speed) and either 1,000 or 2,000 ft/min descent rate - that allows you to determine when you need to start your descent. So if you're given cross XYZ vor at 7,000 and you're cruising at 16,000ft - then there's 9000ft to descend, I'll use a vertical speed of 2,000ft/min so it's 4.5 minutes needed to descend - multiply by 5 so I'll start the descent to 7,000 at 22.5 DME from the VOR. and then you just monitor your altitude and your DME, at 20 DME you should be at 15,000ft, at 15 DME at 13,000, 10 DME at 11,000, 5 DME at 9,000, etc...Anyways I hope this wasn't redundant or covered by another post in the form as there's a lot more PMDG experts on here than me.Steve W.

What it doesn't automatically tune the NAV for you?

The question (per my understanding) above was about ability to manually tune selected VORs. My reply was to that question.

Once you get to cruise altitude for the turboprop - 16,000 to FL210/FL230 - you'll find that that altitude band is devoid of all traffic - all of the GA piston traffic is below 10,000ft (sometimes you'll get the brave soul at 12-13,000ft) the jets that you do see are in transit on the way up and down, but no one else is cruising at those altitudes

Except turbo-pistons. I like to fly the C414 between 120-170 for the same reasons. Get better groundspeeds without having to mess with ATC above 180.

John,The FMS (not an FMC) is still in development -- best we can say right now is "wait and see".

The airplane is fully capable of FMS (GPS) based LNAV. If the autopilot is engaged, in the NAV mode, it will fly the FMS route just like a Boeing. Though the format is different, most of the functions of fancier FMS units are present in the GNS-XLS. Full LNAV, advisory VNAV, company routes, offset routes, holds, PBD/PB-PB/Lat/Long based waypoints, and even a feature called Pseudo-VORTACs.The EHSI can be displayed in "Arc" format, and will then display the FMS route, as well as VOR's. When you enter your route into the FMS, any Navaid (as opposed to intersections) will display frequency information for you.If the RMU's are placed in the correct mode, the FMS will autotune the NAV receivers. Similarly, you may manually tune the NAV radios from the FMS TUNE page by entering the station ID (or the frequency), through the RMU's, or the Clearance Delivery Unit (tertiary).Nick

The airplane is fully capable of FMS (GPS) based LNAV. If the autopilot is engaged, in the NAV mode, it will fly the FMS route just like a Boeing. Though the format is different, most of the functions of fancier FMS units are present in the GNS-XLS. Full LNAV, advisory VNAV, company routes, offset routes, holds, PBD/PB-PB/Lat/Long based waypoints, and even a feature called Pseudo-VORTACs.The EHSI can be displayed in "Arc" format, and will then display the FMS route, as well as VOR's. When you enter your route into the FMS, any Navaid (as opposed to intersections) will display frequency information for you.If the RMU's are placed in the correct mode, the FMS will autotune the NAV receivers. Similarly, you may manually tune the NAV radios from the FMS TUNE page by entering the station ID (or the frequency), through the RMU's, or the Clearance Delivery Unit (tertiary).

Or, we could say that. :(

Or, we could say that. :(

Did I spill the beans? I guess I should have been more clear, I was really only referring to the real airplane. The conversation seemed to be drifting toward real-world flying, so I went with it.I won't talk specifics about the PMDG bird, but I will say that everything looks good so far. Is that ambiguous enough? Do I have a future in politics? ;)Nick

Oh, I don't think you spilled any beans -- I gave an intentionally ambiguous answer because the FMS isn't finished yet. Your answer was better than I coulda given!

Oh, I don't think you spilled any beans -- I gave an intentionally ambiguous answer because the FMS isn't finished yet. Your answer was better than I coulda given!

FMS not finished yet? So the release is still weeks or even months away?

The airplane is fully capable of FMS (GPS) based LNAV. If the autopilot is engaged, in the NAV mode, it will fly the FMS route just like a Boeing. Though the format is different, most of the functions of fancier FMS units are present in the GNS-XLS. Full LNAV, advisory VNAV, company routes, offset routes, holds, PBD/PB-PB/Lat/Long based waypoints, and even a feature called Pseudo-VORTACs.The EHSI can be displayed in "Arc" format, and will then display the FMS route, as well as VOR's. When you enter your route into the FMS, any Navaid (as opposed to intersections) will display frequency information for you.If the RMU's are placed in the correct mode, the FMS will autotune the NAV receivers. Similarly, you may manually tune the NAV radios from the FMS TUNE page by entering the station ID (or the frequency), through the RMU's, or the Clearance Delivery Unit (tertiary).Nick

Cheers Nick, just wanted to clear the issue up a bit for my flight planning, although I totally agree with Steve W about the real world issues.Very much obliged :( John Ellison

FMS not finished yet? So the release is still weeks or even months away?

Remember somebody said septemberLmaire

Remember somebody said septemberLmaire

Yep, Sept 31st probably :( John Ellison