Hey gents, quick question regarding the speed controller on the approach phase in the md-11...I was inbound KONT yesterday and noticed something I normally havent and now that im playing with it some more it is happening each time. About 7 miles out and established on the LOC/GS and i am controlling my own speed through the speed select window. my VAPP was 145 and my VREF was 139. I turn the knob to 139 and pull, and in the display it still has 143 in magenta. It doesnt matter what i do, it won't accept my command for lower speeds. I have the printed manuals and have poured through them this morning, im sure its my misunderstanding of the AP but I cant find a reason why it would do this. How do i get my speeds to "white speeds" and have full control?

It has been awhile since I was in that manual, but I think it prefers Vapp since Vref is not normally your target until over the fence. Watch what it does on full authority autoland and I expect you'll see what I thinking.

Even if it does prefer Vapp Dan, shouldn't pulling the speed knob cancel FMS SPD? Vref shouldn't be in the yellow band, so at the least, the plane should maintain Vref. I'm interested to see the answer to this one.Paul

Thats what i thought as well. "Pulling" the SPD CMD knob should cancel FMS SPD and give me full authority under "white speeds" but it is maintaining magenta spd. I did find this, however it isnt much help...

Speed modesPushing the speed knob will hold the current airspeed, pulling it will fly the selected speed in the window, and pressing the FMS button will blank the window and allow the FMS to command speed.FMS speed targetsThe MD-11 is unique in a couple of respects with regard to FMS speed targets and restrictions. All speed targets are treated as AT OR BELOW, which means that you could end up crossing at a lower speed than what you'd entered in for a particular waypoint if the FMS deems it necessary. The FMS is smart and if you tell it to descend steeply and decelerate at the same time, the deceleration will get moved backwards along the route to account for the decent that's required later on. Don't be alarmed if you see this propagation of lower speeds up into waypoints you didn't set restrictions for, it's just the airplane helping you manage your energy.Speed control during approachBoeing pilots will be used to exercising manual control over the aircraft's speed during approach by using the MCP speed window. This is NOT how the MD-11 is designed. It is completely normal for the MD-11 to land with the speed window closed and under full FMS control.The FMS calculates approach speed on the basis of a few rules during the approach sequence, each distance listed is the point during the approach where these speed reductions must occur by, but they can occur earlier if calculations demand it. * 15 to 11 miles - Slats +20. * 7 miles - Dial-a-flap +20 * 6 miles - Flaps 28 +5 * 5 miles - landing flaps +5 The aircraft will automatically decelerate to these speeds provided you have the aircraft configured correctly as far as flap settings. You will see a hollow magenta circle on the speed tape indicating that it's time to deploy the next flap setting.

Again, anyone with ideas, im about a hour out of DFW.

Hi allI have two question about how to get the maximum realism of the MD11, I mean, what is the best configuration of the simulator settings to fly this bird with the maximum realism? as well as if the use of weather addons like REX or Active sky are more realistic than the default in terms of phisicsthanksAsier

Kill the ATS and go manual. :(

Kill the ATS and go manual. :(

Don't be ridiculous. You mean you actually want me to fly the plane? I'll leave that cowboy stuff to the test pilots. :( Paul

I always let the FMS control the speed as I deploy flaps, so I haven't experienced this yet. This is a stab in the dark but have you tried changing it from policy descent page to econ descent page through the PMDG options menu. I noticed that the pilots in the Martinair video were controlling the speed during approach via the FCP but their descent page was ECON and not policy (airline option).