Hello all,

Below is a post I made in the feelthere forum, but no luck with a reply as yet:

 

"Just purchased the ERJ a few days ago and having a blast with it! I understand that the ERJ is not VNAV capable, but it's my understanding that you can enter crossing restrictions in the FMS for guidance purposes only (correct me if I'm wrong). Exactly how is this accomplished. I did a flight from KMIA to MYNN and using a routing of SKIPS1.SKIPS BR53V RAJAY, it's customary in real life to get a crossing restriction at RAJAY for 11000/250 knots. How would I go about setting this up in the FMS, and what sort of guidance will the FMS and MFD provide? It also appears that the calculated AP (approach) speeds are a bit on the high side. I'm not a real-life ERJ driver, but are these speeds spot on? Thanks, and looking forward to your reply."

 

So far, I've figured out how to program the required crossing restriction into the FMS, and, just like the manual says, a TOD shows up on the MFD, as well as the indicators on the PFD. What is the best method once the TOD point has been reached in order to safely enable you to reach your crossing restriction? Is it better to use VS mode on the FGC and idle thrust? I tried using FLC, but even at idle thrust, since it only descends at 2000 fpm above 10000 ft, I seem to miss my restriction all the time. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

J.C.

FLC mode is hardwired to descend at ~2000fpm above 10,000 and ~1000 below that regardless of thrust setting; I believe that IRL it's rarely used on descent. But by using VS and managing the thrust manually you should be able to descend at 2500-2800 fpm above 10,000 without overspeeding in most conditions.