I created a two part video tutorial on the "Go Around" procedure for the 737NGX. I have just released it on my YouTube account (the links are below).

 

Part I is the ground school portion, done using a Power Point presentation type of format. This covers everything for the classroom instruction.

 

Part II is a video of flying the PMDG 737NGX on an ILS CAT III autopilot approach and then doing a go around at my Alert Height (AH) of 273'.

 

I'm flying into the Las Vegas airport, starting on the downwind leg. There are two items with the KEPEC THREE arrival I am flying that will require me to modify the two standard Boeing ILS procedures: (1) Because I have a speed restriction on one of the downwind waypoints, I have to fly my localizer intercept heading (the base leg) at flaps 15 vs the normal flaps 5 and (2) because this arrival turns me onto final 25 miles out, I have to intercept the localizer using VOR/LOC vs APP. When I get in closer to the airport, I switch over to APP mode and then I get my G/S arm annunication.

 

However, all of that being said, if you don't want to watch the downwind leg, the base leg and the initial localizer inbound leg, then you can just fast forward to the part where you see LAND3 in the PFD. From that point on, it doesn't take too long to get to the go around part.

 

Part I YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9apk-uwt3c

 

Part II YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy1vq04rhU4

 

I hope you enjoy the tutorials.

Wow great! I'm gonna go and watch it but I'm sure it's awesome and I'm thanking you right away!

Great...Thanks!

Thank you..perfectly what i was looking out for

Wow great! I'm gonna go and watch it but I'm sure it's awesome and I'm thanking you right away!

Same, thanks Ralph, keep em rollin.

Nice! It has been a while since I practiced a G/A. This might just motivate me to do it  B)

Hey Ralph, on the first video, from minute 14 to 17 you talk about "safe speeds" and "unsafe speeds". I think I didn't get it.

My understanding of maneuvering speeds, from what I've read on the FCOM is the following:

The red arrows on your presentation point at the green bugs which are "Flap maneuvering speeds" or "optimal" maneuvering speed for that flap setting. They provide best overspeed and underspeed protection, full maneuvering capability, 40º of bank and so on... But that doesn't mean you "can't" fly any slower than that, right?

The "minimum maneuvering speed" for the current flap setting is the top of the lower amber bar.
The "maximum maneuvering speed" is the bottom of the upper amber bar. If there is no upper amber band, then the "max. man. speed" gets overridden by the actual "maximum speed", or the bottom of the barber pole.

Any speed that's between the min. man. speed and the max. man speed, is safe to fly at. I understand it's "good practice" to fly at your flap maneuvering speed for each flap setting since those speeds are "optimal", but that doesn't mean you can't fly 5 knots faster than the top of the amber band and still be safe, right?

My question, is all of this correct? Did I misunderstand your presentation or anything?

Ralph,

  I rarely post in these forums even after being a member for many years but, I have to respond and say that I for one really enjoy your videos. Everytime I see that you have posted another one it almost feels like Christmas as a child, I for one would just like to thank you for the work and free education! 

 

 

D.Grech

Thank you Ralph. It's people like you that make this hobby both educational and great. ;-)

thank you

Hi Jamie

 

Yes, your post is correct, however, I do have some comments:

 

>But that doesn't mean you "can't" fly any slower than that, right?

 

Correct, you *can* fly slower but I don't know why you would want to. I've been calling the flaps "maneuvering speed" the minimum maneuvering speed but they are different as you pointed out. I would never think of flying at a given flap setting at less than the "maneuvering speed", so for many years, to my mind, it's also been the minimum maneuvering speed to me. Habits are hard to break. But you are correct in your statements.

 

To try and clarify my "unsafe zone" and "safe zone" regarding the speed tape:

 

I refer to those 'zones' as to when you should call for flaps 5 and flaps 1 and flaps up during the go around.

 

The aircraft takes a bigger performance hit on the go around vs a normal flaps 5 take off. Airspeed acceleration isn't as good, thus you may or may not have a vertical Speed Trend Vector green arrow. If you don't or its very small, you may want to hold off on selecting flaps 5 until the 5 bug is at or below your current speed. To select flaps 5 without a trend vector, above your current speed, would cost you some of your stall and bank protection. So, can you do that? Yes. Would you want to? No, not really.

 

If you have a descent green up arrow (the speed trend vector) and your 5 bug is across from it, then by all means call for flaps 5 (even though the 5 bug is technically in what I called the unsafe zone for flaps 5 selection).

 

>Any speed that's between the min. man. speed and the max. man speed, is safe to fly at. I understand it's "good practice"

>to fly at your flap maneuvering speed for each flap setting since those speeds are "optimal", but that doesn't mean you

>can't fly 5 knots faster than the top of the amber band and still be safe, right?

 

I personally agree with your paragraph above except for that last sentence. Again yes you can fly 5 kts faster than the top of the lower (I think you meant lower) amber band but I don't know any pilot who do that. That is just too slow and you've given away your stall margin and steep turn capability.

 

>I understand it's "good practice" to fly at your flap maneuvering speed for each flap setting since those speeds are "optimal".

Yes, and I get it that you understand this extremely important point and that's great.

 

To finish up: In training, the pilots are taught to fly very specific speeds. It's all about being at the right speed for a given flap setting. In jets, you have to fly very specific speeds. You really don't have a large range to play in as the FCOM would lead you to believe.

 

I hope this helps.

Ralph,

  I rarely post in these forums even after being a member for many years but, I have to respond and say that I for one really enjoy your videos. Everytime I see that you have posted another one it almost feels like Christmas as a child, I for one would just like to thank you for the work and free education! 

 

 

D.Grech

 

Thank you and the others for the kind words. As I said before, when I got my PMDG 737NGX last year, this forum helped me a lot to understand the plane, etc. (Kyle too, as I know you are lurking about lol).

 

I am glad that I can take some of my background in working in pilot training for Boeing and a couple of major airlines and apply some of that to how I fly my PMDG 737NGX.

 

I'm grateful that my video tutorials have been received so well. But its wonderful to read the posts from many of you to help me continue to learn the 737NGX. Matt brings his current line flying experiences to this forum and I always learn from him. Kyle has been on this aircraft a couple of years now so he brings his vast knowledge into play every now and then.

 

I do have to say I have been amazed at how detailed some of you flight simmers are. For example, I myself don't care about hand flying the plane that much and I don't care that much about the weather conditions. But many of you do and many of you non-pilots know a lot about the 737NGX and how to fly it properly. I remember a post Jamie made one time where he said he wasn't a pilot. Jamie, you and many others are more of a 737NGX pilot than you realize  :lol:

Ralph, thanks for the comprehensive answer. Think I got it now. I just had the "safe" and "unsafe" zones mixed up. You were talking about flap retraction schedules and I was talking about safe/unsafe speeds to fly at at a given "steady" configuration. And while the "theory" says you can fly above the top of the lower amber band, in practice you don't want to slow down below the flap maneuvering speed. That's how I've been doing it all these years on the sim as well.

 

I also took it as "good practice" to retract the flaps to the next higher position once you hit the lower green flap AND have positive acceleration (speed trend vector), so that once the flaps have retracted, you're already on the next green bug or higher. Just like I do on this video: http://youtu.be/UMAn9yjyAHs?t=36m51s (don't need to watch the previous 36 minutes...)

 

PS: Thanks for the compliment, haha

 

PS2: Jamie? That's a woman's name isn't it? hahaha, just call me James, that's the English version of my name.

GO Around vid does not work..........?

video link

 

That's not the correct link, but I can't seem to edit now: http://youtu.be/UMAn9yjyAHs?t=36m49s

Well, the video stops after about 11 mins

 

Ted