On the way back to the land side...

That's the first honest laugh out loud I think I have ever had on this forum. HAHAHAH XD

What exactly is a RNP approach? It appears to be some sort of combo RNAV/non-precision approach, but could someone elaborate?

You might want to check out the wikipedia article on RNP, it explains the basics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Required_navigation_performance

I have a question of my own, what do the VATSIM controllers call you? Do they say PMDG738, or is there some clever callsign like "Precision"?

I havent flown any flights with the PMDG callsign, but since there was no explanation of what designator the pmdg callsign uses in the remark section of the flight plan im assuming that ATC just called him 'Papa Mike Delta Golf 7 3 7'

She handled the RNAV profile descent into KLAS extremely well - we're getting close on the VNAV folks...I had a 23 knot crosswind for 25L and I want to emphasize again how awesome the collimated and conformal HGS is for this - it makes it DEAD SIMPLE to land the plane in such conditions - you just put the FPV on the runway, get the 3 degree slope line aligned and you fly a perfect approach any condition - it's amazing.

You should apply for a job at Southwest or AA, Ryan. Seems like you could walk right into the cockpit and do a flight from start to finish, lol. :(

I havent flown any flights with the PMDG callsign, but since there was no explanation of what designator the pmdg callsign uses in the remark section of the flight plan im assuming that ATC just called him 'Papa Mike Delta Golf 7 3 7'

I recall a while back Ryan said to watch for Precision 73_ (either 6,7,8, or 9). I assume that's what he is using but it could have changed I suppose.

You might want to check out the wikipedia article on RNP, it explains the basics http://en.wikipedia....ion_performanceI havent flown any flights with the PMDG callsign, but since there was no explanation of what designator the pmdg callsign uses in the remark section of the flight plan im assuming that ATC just called him 'Papa Mike Delta Golf 7 3 7'

His callsign was PMDG738, but ATC called him "Precision 7 3 7".

His callsign was PMDG738, but ATC called him "Precision 7 3 7".

Just out of curiosity, where does it say that/how do you know? I can't find it on vataware (I'm not challenging your credibility, I am just wondering how you found that)Thanks

Ryan,What kind of scenery are you using, MegaScenery or something?

Just out of curiosity, where does it say that/how do you know? I can't find it on vataware (I'm not challenging your credibility, I am just wondering how you found that)Thanks

He was in the airspace at KLAS while I was flying the flight so he actually heard it. (I was alternating unconciously between saying "seven three eight" and "seven thirty-eight" btw - I meant to pretty much always say seven thirty-eight)Callsign for these test flights will always be PMDG 736/737/738/739, but the first part is said "Precision" on the radio, not "PMDG" or "Papa Mike Delta Golf" or anything like that.

Ryan,What kind of scenery are you using, MegaScenery or something?

Just UTX, GEX and FSDT KLAS for this particular flight today. REX textures, ASE weather.

What exactly is a RNP approach? It appears to be some sort of combo RNAV/non-precision approach, but could someone elaborate?

My read on RNP/RNAV, is that instead of following a glideslope, you follow step down heights (using VNAV) on final approach, with lateral guidance from LNAV (as opposed to a localizer). I think it is possible to "pretend" you are doing such approaches with current addon aircraft and Navigraph coded RNAV approaches, but the problem here is the way VNAV is coded in the present state in Flight simulator aircraft systems. VNAV will allow you to descend to the step heights, but it most likely will acquire that height too early, which causes the aircraft to level off and use additional thrust. And then it adjusts to the next step height, and the process continues, which is not very efficient or realistic.I figure that the NGX will allow for proper RNP style VNAV approaches where the aircraft will follow a constant slope to the runway threshold (or missed approach point) without leveling off at each height constraint. And the NGX will have deviation markers on the PFD similar to what we see with ILS approaches (like the ILS's localizer/glideslope scales), which will be a first for Flight Simulator and will allow us to practice RNP approaches as they are intended in the real world. This is a complex concept, but that's my take on it.

Ok here's the basics:RNAV (aRea NAVigation) is navigation that is completely generated by the plane's onboard computers. It does not use ground-based radio navaids as the fundamental source of the information (ie "raw data"), the plane is following a fully computer generated path.RNP is essentially RNAV with self error-checking and tolerances added to the equation. RNP is not just an approach type - this is the first major point. Very important to note this here because you're going to see RNP indications and navigation performance scales during all phases of flight if you have the RNP options enabled in the NGX FMC. There's two numbers you'll see a lot of - they're always there on the ND below the aircraft symbol - RNP (required navigation performance) and ANP (actual navigation performance). Both of these numbers will change throughout a flight - RNP is set according to the "containment" standards that have been set by the aviation authorities - cruise airways have a bigger containment tolerance than approach segments for instance. ANP is the airplane's self-error checking on how accurate its knowlege of its own position is. This system is seriously complicated and the NGX is the first addon to realistically model it.An "RNP approach" is a type of RNAV approach (written "RNAV (RNP)" on charts) that requires an aircraft with equipment capable of producing the required RNP/ANP combo to fly the approach and a crew trained to fly such approaches. This *is* a precision approach because of this requirement - you get very precise guidance in both the lateral and vertical dimensions and you know that you're within the tolerances because of the ANP readout. The charts are going to show you a "DA" decision altitude (as opposed to a "DH" decision height on an ILS) just like you'd get on an ILS. An RNP approach does not require curved radius to fix segments even though this is what most simmers think of when they hear "RNP approach." RNP does refer only to the aforementioned requirements for flying the approach.

Very interesting... Weren't aware of the details regarding that... I'm excited to learn, that the PMDG can fly such an approach, the way it's supposed to be flown... As real as it gets! :DThanks alot for the extended explanation!

Thanks for the explanation Ryan! Great update and great video!Best regards,Robin.

He was in the airspace at KLAS while I was flying the flight so he actually heard it. (I was alternating unconciously between saying "seven three eight" and "seven thirty-eight" btw - I meant to pretty much always say seven thirty-eight)Callsign for these test flights will always be PMDG 736/737/738/739, but the first part is said "Precision" on the radio, not "PMDG" or "Papa Mike Delta Golf" or anything like that.

You just gave away something that i've been waiting to hear! Careful though, people may start quoting a certain part of this post

You just gave away something that i've been waiting to hear! Careful though, people may start quoting a certain part of this post

I know the part ;) Actually i didn't want to be the first one who quotes this "numbers" But i like those "different" callsigns :(

I think the next time we see Ryan online some of use should log into Vatsim at his arrival airport and get him to do a few go around's if ya know what I mean.