Pretty sure I covered this somewhere, but:

There are three. One for each pilot (that operate independently). The information, however, is shared. If the Capt changes the route, the FO will see the same change on his.

 

 

They can be on different pages and work on different data at the same time (technically you could both be working on making changes to the same thing at the same time, but that would be a mess). In order to reduce duplication of effort, the information is common for the two systems.

 

 

There is a functioning secondary flight plan feature, yes.

Thanks bro

You are always there for me hehe

Hi,

 

I wondered - how many FMS are modelled in the 777? I see 3 in the screenshots, but I haven't seen any discussion about its operation or use. Is it modelled in the sim? What is it used for IRL?

 

Best regards,

Robin.

Technical the 777 only has 2 Flight Management Computers (FMCs). The CDU (control display unit) which is what I think you are referring to, are what the pilots input information into.

What does "DSP" mean, please?  Does this mean that the third FMC isn't fully functional?

 

Thanks, Kyle, for all your hard work!

Mike

 

Mike,

 

The third CDU is fully functional. (CDU vs. FMC is an important distinction - the FMCs are actually two separate computers located in the avionics bay - the CDU is just the controller and interface to them and several other computers) Under normal operation it cannot control the FMC (you won't see the < FMC prompt at 1L of the MENU page). What it normally does is control the various communication and intercom functions, acts as a backup for controlling the displays in the event of failure of the actual physical knobs in the cockpit, and in the case of the PMDG simulation you can access the PMDG OPTIONS and the FS ACTIONS menus from it.

 

In the event of a failure of one of the CDUs, the center CDU will gain the < FMC prompt and allow you to control it from there. If both of the actual FMCs in the avionics bay fail, there are a series of "alternate navigation" pages that become available on the CDU. This is all 100% modeled.

Mike,

 

The third CDU is fully functional. (CDU vs. FMC is an important distinction - the FMCs are actually two separate computers located in the avionics bay - the CDU is just the controller and interface to them and several other computers) Under normal operation it cannot control the FMC (you won't see the < FMC prompt at 1L of the MENU page). What it normally does is control the various communication and intercom functions, acts as a backup for controlling the displays in the event of failure of the actual physical knobs in the cockpit, and in the case of the PMDG simulation you can access the PMDG OPTIONS and the FS ACTIONS menus.

 

In the event of a failure of one of the CDUs, the center CDU will gain the < FMC prompt and allow you to control it from there. If both of the actual FMCs in the avionics bay fail, there are a series of "alternate navigation" pages that become available on the CDU. This is all 100% modeled.

Great to hear. Will be very handy to have DOOR opening etc on the central CDU while loading her up so we can use the other 2 CDU's for data entry into the FMC.

 

I heard Kyle mention above ACARS. I am not sure if he was referring to the real aircraft here or the PMDG product.

 

However, if he was referring to the PMDG 777, I assuming that the ACARS page is just a basic page with summary of OFF/OUT/IN/ON times along with total block times? (which saves me the hassle of writing such times down on the OFP/CFP so I can see what my TTL EET was).

Mike,

 

The third CDU is fully functional. (CDU vs. FMC is an important distinction - the FMCs are actually two separate computers located in the avionics bay - the CDU is just the controller and interface to them and several other computers) Under normal operation it cannot control the FMC (you won't see the < FMC prompt at 1L of the MENU page). What it normally does is control the various communication and intercom functions, acts as a backup for controlling the displays in the event of failure of the actual physical knobs in the cockpit, and in the case of the PMDG simulation you can access the PMDG OPTIONS and the FS ACTIONS menus from it.

 

In the event of a failure of one of the CDUs, the center CDU will gain the < FMC prompt and allow you to control it from there. If both of the actual FMCs in the avionics bay fail, there are a series of "alternate navigation" pages that become available on the CDU. This is all 100% modeled.

 

Thanks ryan. In normal operation i dun think we will be using the cdu? (centre)

Edited August 8, 201312 yr by Kailiang Seah

 

 

Thanks ryan. In normal operation i dun think we will be using the third fmc? 

 

There is no third FMC.

 

there is a third CDU though. You can use it at will.

There is no third FMC.

 

there is a third CDU though. You can use it at will.

Ya i notice that corrected 

Thanks ryan. In normal operation i dun think we will be using the third fmc? 

Hi Kailaing,

 

Read Ryan's post carefully. He specifically mentioned that in the T7 there are only two FMC's, and 3 CDU's. Be careful not to confuse the two. As Ryan mentioned, the FMC is the physical computer (avionic) plotted down in the avionics bay. The CDU is the hardware which the pilot interfaces with (screen + alphanumeric keyboard) to interact with numerous things which include the FMC.

 

I suppose the 3rd CDU, or central CDU, will come in most handy for ground connections, closing doors and/or configuring the numerous option that you want for your T7 flightdeck. The central CDU will only interact with one of the 2 FMC's if the other 2 CDU's happen to fail (which is highly rare unless you get a sledgehammer out and start swinging).

Mike,

 

The third CDU is fully functional. (CDU vs. FMC is an important distinction - the FMCs are actually two separate computers located in the avionics bay - the CDU is just the controller and interface to them and several other computers) Under normal operation it cannot control the FMC (you won't see the < FMC prompt at 1L of the MENU page). What it normally does is control the various communication and intercom functions, acts as a backup for controlling the displays in the event of failure of the actual physical knobs in the cockpit, and in the case of the PMDG simulation you can access the PMDG OPTIONS and the FS ACTIONS menus from it.

 

In the event of a failure of one of the CDUs, the center CDU will gain the < FMC prompt and allow you to control it from there. If both of the actual FMCs in the avionics bay fail, there are a series of "alternate navigation" pages that become available on the CDU. This is all 100% modeled.

 

Outstanding!!

 

Best regards,

Robin.

Hi Kailaing,

 

Read Ryan's post carefully. He specifically mentioned that in the T7 there are only two FMC's, and 3 CDU's. Be careful not to confuse the two. As Ryan mentioned, the FMC is the physical computer (avionic) plotted down in the avionics bay. The CDU is the hardware which the pilot interfaces with (screen + alphanumeric keyboard) to interact with numerous things which include the FMC.

 

I suppose the 3rd CDU, or central CDU, will come in most handy for ground connections, closing doors and/or configuring the numerous option that you want for your T7 flightdeck. The central CDU will only interact with one of the 2 FMC's if the other 2 CDU's happen to fail (which is highly rare unless you get a sledgehammer out and start swinging).

 Abit of confusion down there  thanks for clearing it up 

 

 

I heard Kyle mention above ACARS. I am not sure if he was referring to the real aircraft here or the PMDG product.

 

Real.  Not PMDG.

 

 

 

I suppose the 3rd CDU, or central CDU, will come in most handy for ground connections, closing doors and/or configuring the numerous option that you want for your T7 flightdeck.

 

And to control cabin comms and the DSP if you want to control it from there.

It is officially "PMDG 777-200LR/F", 777X is the actual name of Boeing's next-gen 777, we can't use that.

NICE! 

Hi Kyle,

 

Thank you for providing the info about the 3 CDUs. Kindly could you elaborate a bit more on the 3rd one (ACARS). It would be great if you can provide an example. It would also be nice if you can mention what typical information is reported. I am very interested in knowing this as I fly for virtual airlines but I do run FSX in full screen mode so I miss out on the data recorded on the ACARS utility used for the virtual airlines as I have to exit the full screen mode which I prefer not to do. So I can only view the details at the time I file the PIREP.

 

Forgive my ignorance as I am just a simulation pilot.

 

Cheers.

 

 

Mike,



The third CDU is fully functional. (CDU vs. FMC is an important distinction - the FMCs are actually two separate computers located in the avionics bay - the CDU is just the controller and interface to them and several other computers) Under normal operation it cannot control the FMC (you won't see the < FMC prompt at 1L of the MENU page). What it normally does is control the various communication and intercom functions, acts as a backup for controlling the displays in the event of failure of the actual physical knobs in the cockpit, and in the case of the PMDG simulation you can access the PMDG OPTIONS and the FS ACTIONS menus from it.

In the event of a failure of one of the CDUs, the center CDU will gain the < FMC prompt and allow you to control it from there. If both of the actual FMCs in the avionics bay fail, there are a series of "alternate navigation" pages that become available on the CDU. This is all 100% modeled.

 

Ryan,

 

Thanks for clarifying the difference between "FMC" and "CDU."  Looking at two respected Boeing sims, they both have the pop-up CDU labelled "FMC" (lame excuse for my previous confusion :smile:).  But the PMDG 737s for both FS9 & FSX have the correct label!

 

Is it therefore correct that the two FMC computers in the avionics bay each contain all of the FMC information (including that which has been input from the two CDUs) and thus provide redundancy?  Would the pilot be aware of which FMC was providing the information available on the CDUs, or if one fails?

 

The depth of realism that you and the beta testers have described is just incredible!  Can't wait to try this out.

 

Thanks again,

Mike

 

 

Thank you for providing the info about the 3 CDUs. Kindly could you elaborate a bit more on the 3rd one (ACARS). It would be great if you can provide an example. It would also be nice if you can mention what typical information is reported. I am very interested in knowing this as I fly for virtual airlines but I do run FSX in full screen mode so I miss out on the data recorded on the ACARS utility used for the virtual airlines as I have to exit the full screen mode which I prefer not to do. So I can only view the details at the time I file the PIREP.

 

I apologize in advance as the last two posts I addressed have apparently put me back in my "normal" mode, which is rather gruff...so, if this seems gruff, ignore me and just assume I'm in a bad mood  ^_^

 

Earlier,in post #26 (the first on the page), I clarified the ACARS function is only a feature on the real aircraft.  You're correct that ACARS would provide your OOOI (off out on in) times, but again, it's not modeled here because the function is primarily a communications platform between you and your airline ops, and other data.  Since there isn't a standard method out there to do this in the sim realm, there's no practical way to implement it.

 

As far as taking a look at your VA's program, you can always try an ALT+TAB to have a look at it without exiting full screen.  Some computers object to this more than others, so I'd take a look after the flight is complete.