Yes ... pause doesn't work ... Y (slew) does ... I'm sorry ... I didn't realize I was in the 777 forum <s>  ... I'm using the 737-800 to do this visual approach.  The turn radius is just fine ... but the descent is steep ... hard to keep her at Vref prior to threshold.  The scenery, on the other hand is fantastic!  I'm using FTX Global and the mountains are breath-taking.

 

On another note, I had to do a check ride with my VA ... it was the Parkway Visual for 13L at JFK ... that approach is very fun as well if you haven't tried it ... here is a link to the real thing ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EQ9-m-nuPI.

 

To make it totally realistic download the trial version of JFK from FSDreamTeam ... it gives you five minutes of time ... which is just enough to get the bird down and enjoy all of the great graphics.

 

 

On another note, I had to do a check ride with my VA...

 

Hehe, I had to practice that SOB for a while and do a fair number of approaches before I submitted the pirep...and even then, my first one was rejected because I was too high at the threshold.

Finally nailed it though   :good:

For me the third time was the charm ... first time the descent rate was over 400 fpm ... the second time I landed more than 4,000 ft. from the threshold ... then, after adopting a tip from Tabs (of PMDG fame) I nailed it as well.

 

Always looking for great visual approaches to work with ... LOWI is next.

Press CTRL + K to disable all the controllers, then press Y to enter Slew mode, now there is no possibility of your joystick or pedals sending you half way across the country by you bumping your sticks. Reverse the above when coming back out of slew mode.

 

 

I have 2 pc's both doing same, loads saved panel state, but inits the countdown evry time, even if already in the air????

 

Bob,

 

Our aircraft are a very, very complex system of things that need to be configured correctly for things to work properly. If all of this was a basic, default sim function, then I don't think our countdown would be necessary. The fact is, though, that we're asking a sim to do more than it was built to do, which requires us to run the initialization function any time our aircraft is loaded to ensure everything is set properly.

 

I'm sorry you see this as a terrible inconvenience, but I think hitting the 'Y' key and sitting in slew mode for a few seconds after reloading a flight isn't too much to ask.

 

 

I will gladly use the Y key...

 

Maybe I should read the history in this thread but I'm not; I've loaded a 777 trip while enroute on almost every trip and have never had to use the slew.  However, I am careful when I save to the flight to ensure the aircraft is not in a position that makes the  load/initialization  process difficult.  For example, do not save/load a flight that is within a couple of minutes of the next fix and if you are close to a fix it helps to save in HDG SEL mode rather than LNAV. 

 

There's no need to do anything hoky-poky if you choose the place to save with the load process in mind.

One more thing I can't let go for the assistance of potential and new 777 buyers...

 

All of the great documentation for this beauty and NO WHERE does it say that this initialization can cause a free fall in flight when you reload a saved mid flight flight and the method  (slew key "Y") to prevent it. 

 

So, if it is so well known, why are there so many posts on internet about it wasting tons of customer's time trying to figure it out because prior pmdg aircraft did not do this... so one would think this is not correct.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Still VERY HAPPY with this purchase...

 

Bob Higgins, flight DSIM, programmer, and model airplane and boat enthusiast!  who loves technical challenges....

No need to overdramatise. The sim won't free fall if you don't use the slew mode. There only might be a problem if your saved flight was not in level flight and/or you were close to terrain. The slew key trick was mentioned here because the thread starter found it worked for them when they made a save on approach and they wanted to share that discovery.

 

I don't know what you mean about this being so well known and so many posts about it. There are lots posts about OOMs and using flight save to recover from that of course, but few that I've noticed about problems caused by the initialisation phase. There is no widespread demand for a solution which PMDG need to document.

 

I suggest you re-read the opening post to understand the context of this thread before getting worried about something you think PMDG has missed.

Kevin, don't provide Bob Higgins a platform.