So....bought the MD-11 today after months of debating....man am I happy I did. Read just enough in the manuals to get a general idea of how she acts...and wants....boy was I over confident.All went well surprisingly, up until time to capture the Loc at KLAX for 06R. Was told to maintain 4000 until established. Long story short....traffic departing at me, had to take the control...and hand fly her in. Did good, didn't damage anything...and got Her down.Anyone have any tips for capturing the Loc in this beast? As it is not as easy as the NGX.Thanks!!!!!!!!!My first flight with Her... ------> http://vataware.com/flight.cfm?id=9167104

Edited February 5, 201214 yr by William J.S.S

Welcome to the club!! Th eMD11 is a fantastic aircraft to fly, PMDG have done an amazing job with her.....the only tip I can give you is plan your speeds and angles of intercept well in advance to stay ahead of the aircraft....the configuration is like nothing you have seen before so be ready...I am normally flaps 15 or 28 by the time I am intercepting localiser....practice makes perfect!

Since you were hand flying did you tune the FMS NAV RAD page to the ILS/Course for 06R? Flying straight to 06R try approaching 06R at 2000 AGL @ 180 - 200 knots @ 10 miles out and see if you can pick up the ILS and glide slope then.Rod Storer

Edited February 5, 201214 yr by idahosurge

Ya...I had the FMS NAV RAD tuned. It was east operations and such we were all being sent out over the water in the KLAX slingshot move, and I was told to maintain 4000 until established. Do you think I was too high? I know that I am almost always lower in every approach that I made with the NGX, and I have only missed the Loc like 2 times out of hundreds of landings.Maybe she needs more love and care in getting her lined up with the Loc? Because I would have thought that being only maybe 10degrees off path would not matter, as it is a cone beacon. Well, thanks for the replies so far.....and it was the REDEYE2 after all...not one of the easiest approaches. And I must add, She hit every last ALT restriction on cue....beautiful VNAV ability in this bird.

I very strongly recommend you fly at least the first tutorial flight. The MD-11 does not have the Beoing philosophy for how things are done. As you have found, you can get her most of the way there with what you already know, but the bits you don't know yet, the bits you think should work the same but don't... will kill you.

Edited February 5, 201214 yr by Paul_Smith

So....bought the MD-11 today after months of debating....man am I happy I did. Read just enough in the manuals to get a general idea of how she acts...and wants....boy was I over confident.All went well surprisingly, up until time to capture the Loc at KLAX for 06R. Was told to maintain 4000 until established. Long story short....traffic departing at me, had to take the control...and hand fly her in. Did good, didn't damage anything...and got Her down.Anyone have any tips for capturing the Loc in this beast? As it is not as easy as the NGX.Thanks!!!!!!!!!My first flight with Her... ------> http://vataware.com/flight.cfm?id=9167104

I am finally flying it too after almost 2 years without a computer. Best add-on I ever bought

I love the NGX but this old girl keeps getting me back all the time. We don't see many MD-11 in Australia and I am lucky to live in Sydney where the only two fly in to. You could send any aircraft to Sydney while I'm spotting but they don't matter to me if an MD-11 is scheduled.

You'll have to plan WAY ahead in this plane. Once you get used to her, you'll be able to play with how you configure some, but stick to how they do it in the tutorial for a while. Small intercept angles to the loc will help with the capture.Side tip that I didn't know about until owning the MD-11 for almost a year: if you have to go-around, enter the highest altitude you climb to in the cruise alt field in the INIT pages. You'll have to do that to get V speeds for the next approach. It's in the manuals, but apparently I glossed over it for a LONG time, frustrated about not having speed for the next approach.

Thanks for the tip.And ya, I am finding i have to be way way closer to the intercept cone than with the NGX for it to capture. Lol, in the NGX you can almost capture it at 30*

Lol AAL sold their MD11s in 1998.

Ya, but I love the paint scheme....

Ya, but I love the paint scheme....

:wink:Can you take a screenshot of it? Like exterior, interior, etc.?

I hope you broke for coffee since that's one heck of a flight :)

If you want to be impressed with the verticle nav, try the ZIGGY into ONT landing West. Impressive.

I bought the full pmdg manuals for this. They are a worthwhile investment to get the most from this aircraft.Dave