I was flying my PMDG MD-11 today and flew into Portland, Oregon. The weather was poor, Cold and rainy with low visibility. Just now i was reading the Cold Weather operations chapter from the FCOM and came across this tidbit of information that clarified what occurred on the landing in Portland. Quote from PMDG MD-11 FCOM - pg 126."The aircraft should be flown to a positive touchdown on the runway.Be prepared to deploy the spoilers manually since automatic deployment may not occur, due to delayed wheel spin-up."I made the positive touchdown in the slight crosswind condition, Spoilers where armed, but did not deploy, I only noticed when i went to retract them after landing, I thought it was a one off bug and thought no more of it until I read that section of the FCOM. This really highlights the attention to detail PMDG include in their products that can easily pass under our noses unnoticed, I'm sure there are many more in this simulation. It is exciting to think what will be included in the NGx, and it will be fun finding them.

Super cool! I did not know that, but I only have about 85 hours in the MD-11. Thanks for the tip!Tim

Wow, I have 700 hours in the MD-11, and have never came across this. Very cool indeed. I only fly this beast to a few airports. Need to get around more :)

Wow, I have 700 hours in the MD-11, and have never came across this. Very cool indeed. I only fly this beast to a few airports. Need to get around more :)

Yes,I have experienced this,but was not aware of the reason.You learn something new every dayRon

What exactly is a 'positive touchdown' and how do you accomplish it in the MD-11?

Full names here please.A positive touchdown may mean different things to passengers than pilots. It is a firm landing, no float and no bounce. Just the thing for gusty conditions.How to do it: Adjust sink rate during flare. It is a little harder in a simulation but real world with peripheral vision helping the pilot has lots of clues as to sink rate and height above ground. Speed is the key.

What exactly is a 'positive touchdown' and how do you accomplish it in the MD-11?

I tended to have an issue in stiff crosswinds (both sim and RL) when trying to make a firm touch down. The problem being I tended to "drag" the aircraft in at a slower speed anticipating the aircraft will stop flying and allow for a firmer no bounce landing. The opposite was always true if I did the above. ie less control at the slower speed and a tendency for the xwind to have a more drastic effect since I still performed a substantial flare.The real trick is to peg a speed (know and master your aircraft!) that allows you to fly the a/c to the numbers with no flare (or less flare). That is, on short approach you've already achieved a pitch angle that allows a safe and firm touchdown on the mains. At least in practice this has been a successful mantra for me -- I haven't bent an aircraft yet--. :(