My bad! I'm still at a loss on how to fly coordinate based waypoints in such a beast though, if anybody's got an idea on how this is handled in real life I'd greatly appreciate it!

You will have to learn Radio Navigation witch is the basics of IFR navigation & something that an IRL pilot have to know for his IFR rating. The majority of all IFR equipped airplanes in the world, don't have FMC's. And on those that have..what do you do when it fails? you revert to radio navigation. As said before, you will have to fly a normal Airway, SID/STAR & locate the waypoint by radio aids.I'm sure it will be thoroughly explained in the training Navigation Simulator included in the DC-9 :(, go to http://www.coolsky.n...-news&Itemid=50 and read about it. I promise you, that learning radio navigation & mastering it, is very rewarding & a lot of fun.Guys have you seen the new wing pictures? http://www.mcphatstu...&id=27474#28126 (scroll down) :( .

Nav basics: you don't need a gps to fly in solid overcast: http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/andhttp://skyvector.com/ :(

Nav basics: you don't need a gps to fly in solid overcast: http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/andhttp://skyvector.com/ :(

It pains me to think most (>90%?) serious simmers have no idea how to use the basics, but can throw routes into an FMC and say "I hand flew the VOR/DME Arc".

I always thought that FMC (or other INS or GPS based navaids) was mandatory in modern airspaces for IFR flight. I don't understand how I'm supposed to fly this approach in the DC9 without some kind of FMC/INS/GPS:https://www.ippc.no/...NGM_4-25_en.pdf

No... you can still fly on airways using VOR navigation.lol Zach.... I was on vatsim once and the controller told the pilot expect a visual approach and pilot responded, "we can't do that it's not in our FMC"*siiiigh*

Edited February 18, 201214 yr by ryanbatcund

No... you can still fly on airways using VOR navigation.lol Zach.... I was on vatsim once and the controller told the pilot expect a visual approach and pilot responded, "we can't do that it's not in our FMC"*siiiigh*

:( I hope anyone else on frequency didn't let him get away with that! I think a lot of FMC users are missing out on the fun stuff. Hand flying a hard approach with "steam gauges" only and an archaic FMC (or none at all) is fun. That's why this DC-9 will get my purchase when released.

It pains me to think most (>90%?) serious simmers have no idea how to use the basics, but can throw routes into an FMC and say "I hand flew the VOR/DME Arc".

+1If you can't show proficiency in IFR radio navigation the airlines will never let you near an FMC.

Edited February 18, 201214 yr by Rodd

If that's what they want out of their simming experience then who are you to say otherwise? This is why I stay away from online flying. Too many self righteous people taking this stuff waaay too serious. How about you fly the way you want to fly, and let others do the same.

 

If that's what they want out of their simming experience then who are you to say otherwise? This is why I stay away from online flying. Too many self righteous people taking this stuff waaay too serious. How about you fly the way you want to fly, and let others do the same.

Thanks for adding to the discussion, Aaron. Without your contributions, we'd have nothing interesting to talk about.

Indeed. As much as I love laughing and pointing at those that I feel superior to, I prefer to just live and let live. At any rate, carry on.

:( I hope anyone else on frequency didn't let him get away with that!I think a lot of FMC users are missing out on the fun stuff. Hand flying a hard approach with "steam gauges" only and an archaic FMC (or none at all) is fun. That's why this DC-9 will get my purchase when released.

Indeed. As much as I love laughing and pointing at those that I feel superior to, I prefer to just live and let live. At any rate, carry on.

So saying "learning something outside of the FMC button mashing is fun" is somehow insinuating we're superior?! Because that's not the message I was trying to convey.

Too many self righteous people taking this stuff waaay too serious. How about you fly the way you want to fly, and let others do the same.

That... What a load. So we should let people, as a community, go about thinking there's no other way to fly a given approach than to use the FMC? That would be a diservice, as that person's options for enjoying the sim will be very limited.You started all of this self-righteous talk. Not me.

Edited February 18, 201214 yr by ZachLW

+1If you can't show proficiency in IFR radio navigation the airlines will never let you near an FMC.

Couldn't have said it better.

Just for interest, check out this quote from the summer 2011 edition of Delta's "9-Iron" electronic newletter for their DC-9 crews:

As we all know too well, flying the DC-9 presents many challenges in today’s airspace which islargely geared towards the glass cockpit. While we don’t benefit from some of the automationthat the other fleets possess, we do have the best tool any cockpit can have…a professional, welltrained pilot crew. The old saying, “You have to fly a DC-9 all the way to the gate” has neverbeen truer than it is today. With the “Mighty 9” flying off into the sunset in the next couple ofyears, it is very important for us all to keep up the extra effort that is required to fly this greatmachine right up through the last day.

I personally like the challenge of flying the classic jets in modern airspace, even if it's only simulated (which is simpler and more predictable than the real thing.) Looks like some of the real-world crews do to, at least in theory :)Dutch

It pains me to think most (>90%?) serious simmers have no idea how to use the basics, but can throw routes into an FMC and say "I hand flew the VOR/DME Arc".

Ahhh, yes, the "PMDG syndrome"

Anybody have an ETA for this release?? I. WANT. IT. NOW!Paul

"I think a lot of FMC users are missing out on the fun stuff. Hand flying a hard approach with "steam gauges" only and an archaic FMC (or none at all) is fun. That's why this DC-9 will get my purchase when released."Same here, Zach! I just finished an hour - twenty from CYYJ to CYVR, via Whatcom and Pitt Meadows in the Carenado 172N, with two VORs, NO glideslope, NO autopilot, an ADF, a plan and a watch - at night, with Aussie Weather - 400' base, topping at 9k' - and no I didn't use Plan G, or any other box of tricks. I do it 'cos I like it, Aaron. Try it sometime, in an old clunker - you might enjoy it too!