Hello everyone, This info will only be of interest to those simmers who like me do not carry out the proper procedures before flight, for example, for years now, through laziness, I started a flight with PMDG 737 - 600/700ng or MD11 at runway threshhold with engines running, loaded fuel, programmed the FMC did a quick check, took off and landed. I was quite happy with this arrangement until recently I was watching the Air Canada 777 DVD and noticed how interesting the cold and dark startup was. I then decided to give it a try and now i have the 737-600/700 in various liveries saved in FS at different airport gates in cold and dark situ. On the 14 June I was at EGPF Glasgow gate 7 with 737-600/700 in ATA livery and cold and dark. I carried out the startup procedures to APU, loaded the FMC to the last waypoint in the SID, pushed back, started engines and taxied to runway 05, took off and while enroute completed the routing and arrival at ESSA Stockholm/Arlanda, distance 768 miles. I found doing this added further enjoyment and honed my skills that were hitherto lying dormant. I strongly advise those doing the wrong procedures to change to the correct procedures and improve their pleasure. The correct procedures were put in place by PMDG for this very purpose. I regret not doing this from day one. richard welsh.

Hello everyone, This info will only be of interest to those simmers who like me do not carry out the proper procedures before flight, for example, for years now, through laziness, I started a flight with PMDG 737 - 600/700ng or MD11 at runway threshhold with engines running, loaded fuel, programmed the FMC did a quick check, took off and landed. I was quite happy with this arrangement until recently I was watching the Air Canada 777 DVD and noticed how interesting the cold and dark startup was. I then decided to give it a try and now i have the 737-600/700 in various liveries saved in FS at different airport gates in cold and dark situ. On the 14 June I was at EGPF Glasgow gate 7 with 737-600/700 in ATA livery and cold and dark. I carried out the startup procedures to APU, loaded the FMC to the last waypoint in the SID, pushed back, started engines and taxied to runway 05, took off and while enroute completed the routing and arrival at ESSA Stockholm/Arlanda, distance 768 miles. I found doing this added further enjoyment and honed my skills that were hitherto lying dormant. I strongly advise those doing the wrong procedures to change to the correct procedures and improve their pleasure. The correct procedures were put in place by PMDG for this very purpose. I regret not doing this from day one. richard welsh.

Well said. I agree 100%. In going through the complete cockpit setup from cold and dard to shutting it down for the night is the most realistic and most satisfactory way to fly these planes.

My favorite part of the whole flight is all the preflight planning, and getting the cockpit ready for take off.

Agreed 100%I never fly without my real world charts either.

But that's the funny part of the simulation. If you just want to fly the aircraft, use the default FS aircrafts. Since I begun to use the PMDG airplanes, I always start from Cold and Dark, parked at the gate.I have the PMDG 747-400X/-400FX and I printed the checklist and the Takeoff, Cruise and Fuel Planning and the Landing manuals that come along with the aircraft. That make things a lot more realistic, because in that manual you can find Vspeeds reference, like V1, Vr and V2, you can make the fuel calculation, see Vref speed (landing speed) and some other stuff. You just need some patience 'cause there's a lot of things to calculate and check. But it's still funny.I also look for some navigational chart in the internet to check SIDs, STARs and Approaches.

Hi richard, yes that's the way to go and is quite appropriate for the first flight of the day. When you have the cold and dark procedures down pat, try setting up an 'in transit' set-up. Parked at the gate, park brake on, APU/Ground power, cockpit powered up. Then set the fuel as per flight plan and entere the route etc in the FMC, set up the radios. If you are on-line or using Radar Contact, about 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time (ETD) get you airways clearance, enter the departure procedure into the FMC. The at ETD, close the doors, request push back and start and away you go. :( Neil Bradley

Regarding procedures the following real world pilots b737 series aircraft site link article might be of interest:http://www.b737.org.uk/nnp.htm