High cruise alt PFPX on short trips

[Driver170 42]

Jamie you don't support hearts do ya? Lol its set at OPT !

 

Kyle not sure about that advanced tab but i found another way i entered FL245 into the aircraft option under Altitude/FL Capping?

[jambo50 15]

Nope not a Hearts fan haha just a childhood nickname!

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

Kyle not sure about that advanced tab but i found another way i entered FL245 into the aircraft option under Altitude/FL Capping?

 

If it works for you, it works, but it's not the proper way to do it unless you want to cap the entire flight at FL245...

[Driver170 42]

It gave me Fl230 capping it at 245.

 

I'll try your way but couldn't see how to do it :(

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

I'll try your way but couldn't see how to do it

 

Example - a route through the North Atlantic Tracks:

NATs have an implicit FL restriction for the NAT segment (basically, you're allowed to ask for a climb, but based on the traffic load and required separation, you're usually not going to get it approved, so airlines just treat it as a constant Mach, constant altitude segment).

 

Using today's NAT A:

BALIX 61/20 62/30 62/40 61/50 SAVRY

 

...you would select BALIX and tell it MAX* (for altitude) and select a Mach number of your choice (usually close to whatever you're going to fly up to that point - based on leading/trailing aircraft spacing it might change anyway).  You would then select SAVRY and tell it OPT, and select ECON or a CI.

 

*Selecting MAX at the beginning of the NAT essentially puts you at OPT at about half way through.  This ends up being the most economical of all of the options (flying below OPT the whole time, flying at the OPT from the beginning and below OPT through the rest of the NAT, etc.).

[Driver170 42]

Thanks kyle also is there a need to know, rules of thumb, magic numbers etc for the 800?

 

Or just Learn how to use the FMC correctly and it does it all for you?

 

Garbage in = garbage out

[NM5K 1]

Vernon's right, the planner should decide the route is too short for the altitude to be attained and descended from, and reduce it or recommend a change.

 

In general this is true. But... It seems it is not perfect. And this likely apllies to the real thing, and

not just the sim. IE: SWA generally used to use FL 300 for HOU to DAL. And if you rig the FMC for the

flight, 300 is usually just about right on the money as far as the planner in the puter.

But.. the last several months they have generally been using FL320. And most times when I rig

the puter, it tells me I can't do it. But I just ignore it.. When flying it, you can actually reach 320 with room

to spare. I could probably go to 360+ if I really wanted to, and still cruise a tad before TOD.

The FMC warning goes away soon after takeoff when it decides I actually can make it after all..  :/

So the puter is probably on the conservative side. My rule of thumb is if they are using it in the real world,

it will probably work on the sim. And all my flights are using real world routes unless I'm running a BBJ

route that is off the path and not a usual airline route.  I generally try to go as high as I can get away with.

And the FMC is usually pretty close for general planning. 

 

 

 

 

 

[srcooke 52]

You can set the Short Trip Crz length as a percentage of flight in PFPX on a per aircraft basis, which will in turn reflect on the CRZ Altitude achieved.

[wolke85 150]

It gave me Fl230 capping it at 245.

 

I'll try your way but couldn't see how to do it :(

 

 

Example - a route through the North Atlantic Tracks:

NATs have an implicit FL restriction for the NAT segment (basically, you're allowed to ask for a climb, but based on the traffic load and required separation, you're usually not going to get it approved, so airlines just treat it as a constant Mach, constant altitude segment).

 

Using today's NAT A:

BALIX 61/20 62/30 62/40 61/50 SAVRY

 

...you would select BALIX and tell it MAX* (for altitude) and select a Mach number of your choice (usually close to whatever you're going to fly up to that point - based on leading/trailing aircraft spacing it might change anyway).  You would then select SAVRY and tell it OPT, and select ECON or a CI.

 

*Selecting MAX at the beginning of the NAT essentially puts you at OPT at about half way through.  This ends up being the most economical of all of the options (flying below OPT the whole time, flying at the OPT from the beginning and below OPT through the rest of the NAT, etc.).

 

A great resource - no kidding - as in fact it really helped me a lot:

Kyle's very own fantastic tutorial videos for PFPX kindly provided for free via YouTube.

Now i have to admit that i just hope that the specific "altitude-option" available via PFPX and as mentioned above, is being shown in the videos as well as i haven't watched them for quite a while i can't guarantee that, but anyways - the videos are always worth watching if interested in PFPX:

 

 

 

Thanks kyle also is there a need to know, rules of thumb, magic numbers etc for the 800?

 

Or just Learn how to use the FMC correctly and it does it all for you?

 

Garbage in = garbage out

 

Learning to use the FMC properly certainly is most essential!

But this does not mean that it does all for You - You are the captain of Your ship and You are in command and responsible!

Always keep that in mind and have a pleasent flight!

Cheers

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

A great resource - no kidding - as in fact it really helped me a lot:
Kyle's very own fantastic tutorial videos for PFPX kindly provided for free via YouTube.
Now i have to admit that i just hope that the specific "altitude-option" available via PFPX and as mentioned above, is being shown in the videos as well as i haven't watched them for quite a while i can't guarantee that, but anyways - the videos are always worth watching if interested in PFPX:

 

I don't recall going over the constant speed/altitude restrictions on the advanced tab in either of those, but I might have.  I should really spend some time adding tags to those videos to capture what I did and didn't cover.

 

Either way, thanks for the support, mention and link!

[wolke85 150]

 

 

I don't recall going over the constant speed/altitude restrictions on the advanced tab in either of those, but I might have.

 

Hi Kyle!

I am not sure either as pointed out - but with all the detailed explanations provided here above by Yours and Your great tutorial videos, flightplanning, i think, will now most likely work out properly for Vernon whenever using PFPX!

A great and informative thread again here really!

[jasoncardeira 30]

Yes i have this problem too. The altitude calculated by PFPX is way more than the maximum altitude calculated by the fmc for the trip and this has no sense. And if you use FS2CREW, you don't have time to do the checklists and all preparations between TOC and TOD. I have to use maximum altitude about 5000ft below than the alt calculated by PFPX. I suppose that in the real world you don't have TOD 5min or less after the TOC!

[srcooke 52]

I suppose that in the real world you don't have TOD 5min or less after the TOC!

 

 

Having been on flights myself where you pretty much reach CRZ and then start the descent  it shows that this does indeed happen.

 

As per my post above PFPX was modified for those that don't like the short CRZ period to make adjustments on the per aircraft basis:

 

- ADDED 'SHORT TRIP CRUISE LENGTH' FIELD TO AIRCRAFT EDITOR

 

[Vargveum 53]

 

 

I suppose that in the real world you don't have TOD 5min or less after the TOC!

 

Oh, but they do indeed  ^_^

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

I suppose that in the real world you don't have TOD 5min or less after the TOC!

 

As stated by the others, this most certainly does occur.