How do I maximize power for take-off at high altitude? When the airport is over 12000' (for instance), what extra steps need to be taken i setting up the FMC - I feel I am missing something. Even with a very long runway, I barely make it off the tarmac in time, and climb is very slow. (I know it will be, but what do real-world pilots do to maximize power at these altitudes? Can I set N1 at a higher limit???).At the moment I apply thrust with parking brakes on and push throttles to max as I release them. I do get airborne in time, but would like to increase thrust available for climbing. Or, if this scenario is close to how it would be in the real-world, then fine..Thanks,Martin

Don't use de-rates or assumed temps. I don't think you're going to get any airline that's going to give you a command to use anything other than TO/GA thrust to get out of there (like MCT - maxc cont. thrust). It's all in takeoff planning. Hot and high means you're not going to pack the plane. You leave passengers, bags and cargo behind.What I mean by that is, if you're hot and high, you run the numbers through a takeoff planner (or on a chart) to see if you can get out at the planned weight using no de-rate or assumed temp (essentially full takeoff thrust). If you can't, your max thrust is a frozen variable, since we would have to use full TO/GA to get out at this weight if the runway were long enough, but it's not. From there, you reduce your weight by deboarding passengers, bags and cargo.The FMC, though a powerful tool, isn't going to magically fix everything.

Hi,I can't think of any aircraft where special procedures apply for a "hot and high" departure as far as the FMS is concerned, but in terms of flying the aircraft, a couple of things need careful consideration:* Density altitude* Aircraft performanceSome aircraft are not certified for departure above 8000 or 9000 ft AMSL, so you restrict the type you can fly into (and out of) an airport above this altitude immediately.Other limitations are things like available thrust. High OAT will mean high EGT, and you may become EGT or even N2/N3 limited due to the engine having to work harder. This all reduces your payload, if you are permitted to fly at all.You'll find that FLEX TO will not be permitted as it will only further reduce what engine performance you have left.Another thing to consider is that relative ground speed will be higher, so you may become tyre speed limited (e.g. 180 kts ground speed). This is part of the determination for whether the aircraft can fly there at all.Stopping will be harder on the brakes, both during a normal landing and during a rejected takeoff as the relative speed is higher, so more energy to lose. Reverse thrust will be less effective, as will drag from spoiler deployment (I know it is primarily to dump lift). Overall drag will be lower on the aircraft so the brakes have to work that much harder.It is accurate to fly a certain 767 into/out of El Alto if you want a challenge (set OAT to be +30°C! Fairly typical for a summers day). I highly recommend the Latin VFR scenery for it. Good luck! It would seem the 747-400 can't make it there. A good place to take the 737 NGX when it is released!Best regards,Robin.

Your rated takeoff thrust is all you are going to get for takeoff. As stated above, the field conditions are going to drive your max weight and performance numbers. Also your takeoff thrust will be limited by 5 minutes or 10 minutes if you lose an engine. At that point you will use max climb thrust or max continuous engine out. I have in the past used MCT(max continuous thrust) during a climb in order to meet a ATC climb restriction, but once the restriction was met, i went back to max climb thrust. Depending on the FMC/aircraft, you may be able to change your climb profile. Most airplanes have a set speed schedule. When i flew dc10s, we climbed at 330 up to mach change over(28 to 29) and .82 up to cruise altitude. When heavy we would step climb to 2000ft above our optimum altitude til 2000ft below until we reached cruise. At heavy weights, you will get lower climb performance. Now days i fly G5s and 550s and i can make FL40/41 regardless of my takeoff weight ;)

The only a/c that can successfully take off from hot and high fields is the VC10. Try SLLP at 13,312ft.A fully laden Super VC10 at 151,953kg can get off easily by using a short field take-off and no over rotation. Keep the initial climb to 500fpm until the a/c accelerates. don't retract the flaps too early. The stick shaker will operate even so!!vololiberista

Okay I just tried taking off in the 747-8i fully loaded from SLLP and that did not go well at all. This is what makes flight simulator so great though.

Thanks for all the replies. No, I doubted there was much I could do re. settings in the FMC, and I certainly do not de-rate and so forth. I will try to fly as light as possible... (I have flown from Leh (VILH) in the real world (10682') and noticed procedures there - empty seats, noticeably long T.O. roll etc. Interesting).For information, I have been flying between ZUJZ and ZUBD (I think both airports missing in FS9, I have them both from 3rd. party addons). The latter is at 14219', so it's quite challenging - even though the runway is over 18000' long...M.

Okay I just tried taking off in the 747-8i fully loaded from SLLP and that did not go well at all. This is what makes flight simulator so great though.

Well, The 747 on a hot day even at sea level takes its time!!!! One of the design requisites for the VC10 was hot and high performance.vololiberista

I read somwhere that certain flights from hot and high locations took if with very low fuel, then made a quick stop at a lower location to get more fuel for the second (much longer) leg

Yes, the less fuel, the easier the take-off. I select just as much fuel as I need for these flights..M.

I really do recommend downloading the relevant airports (see http://www.freewarescenery.com/fs2004/china.html) and flying ZUJZ-ZUBD-ZUNZ. The scenery (with GE Pro & FSGenesis mesh) is spectacular - after over 10 years with FS, I never cease to be overawed by some of the landscapes it throws at you. The 'flying by hand' descent and landing at ZUNZ is just wonderful... (and the take-off at over 14000' at ZUBD went just fine - PMDG 737-700).M.

Out of curiousity, I loaded info in TOPCAT....departing from SLLP to KMIA in the MD-11F. Cargo load was 50K, with 70K fuel (I didnt try to figure out what the actual fuel load would need to be, I just made one up). The response on the takeoff page was "Pressure altitude exceeds 10000ft". Does this mean the MD11 is simply not allowed to safely depart from an airport above that altitude?

I read somwhere that certain flights from hot and high locations took if with very low fuel, then made a quick stop at a lower location to get more fuel for the second (much longer) leg

Correct, if you look at AAL 922 it routes KMIA-SLLP-SLVR-KMIA. SLVR is at 1200ft and only about 340nm from SLLP.http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL922

I tried to land the NGX at Lukla a few weeks ago - did not end well ;)

I tried to land the NGX at Lukla a few weeks ago - did not end well ;)

Does this mean the aircraft is delayed for another 3 years so a new replacement prototype can be made?:) :D