Best way to practice VNAV landings / VFR?

[787WannabePilot 12]

Is it to setup a flight where your origin and destination is the same? (If that is even possible)

 

Or, should I just save at a point in my next flight and practice by reloading it?

[downscc 1,327]

Is it to setup a flight where your origin and destination is the same? (If that is even possible)

 

Or, should I just save at a point in my next flight and practice by reloading it?

You can do either.  An origin and same destination is fine, but it's best to add at least one fix to provide an " enroute" segment for the FMS logic.  For VFR practice, I wil do just this and hand fly locat patterns. Take off, climbing left turn for crosswind, level off and turn downwind at about 1000 AGL then hand fly a "Navy" base, which instead of a base leg an arc is flown from downwind to final. Takes quite a bit of practice not only to learn the aircraft handling but also to get the hang of finding the runway LOL.  Keep your speeds low for the local pattern work, maybe just above flap speed around 210-220 KIAS.

[787WannabePilot 12]

You can do either.  An origin and same destination is fine, but it's best to add at least one fix to provide an " enroute" segment for the FMS logic.  For VFR practice, I wil do just this and hand fly locat patterns. Take off, climbing left turn for crosswind, level off and turn downwind at about 1000 AGL then hand fly a "Navy" base, which instead of a base leg an arc is flown from downwind to final. Takes quite a bit of practice not only to learn the aircraft handling but also to get the hang of finding the runway LOL.  Keep your speeds low for the local pattern work, maybe just above flap speed around 210-220 KIAS.

 

I will try it both. Thanks.

 

Should I select a STARs for the VNAV approach? And just trim it down? 

[rfresh737 36]

What is it exactly you're trying to accomplish? Your title doesn't make any sense to me at all. You want to practice VNAV landings -- you mean hand flying the approach and landing? Or flying a coupled VNAV approach? What kind of approach do you want to transition to? ILS? Non-precision? Maybe we're getting all mixed up with the terminology...do you mean RNAV approach?

[787WannabePilot 12]

What is it exactly you're trying to accomplish? Your title doesn't make any sense to me at all. You want to practice VNAV landings -- you mean hand flying the approach and landing? Or flying a coupled VNAV approach? What kind of approach do you want to transition to? ILS? Non-precision? Maybe we're getting all mixed up with the terminology...do you mean RNAV approach?

 

You're right, I meant RNAV but typed VNAV.

 

RNAV approach and VFR.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

Maybe we're getting all mixed up with the terminology...

 

Yeah, this is why I get so bent out of shape when people use "ILS landing."

 

The ILS approach and the landing (by hand or autoland) are separate discussions, and the use of 'landing' with the approach attached to it perpetuates the misconception seen here.

 

I'm assuming he means RNAV approach to a landing (manually, in the case of RNAV - at least for now).

[787WannabePilot 12]

Yeah, this is why I get so bent out of shape when people use "ILS landing."

 

The ILS approach and the landing (by hand or autoland) are separate discussions, and the use of 'landing' with the approach attached to it perpetuates the misconception seen here.

 

I'm assuming he means RNAV approach to a landing (manually, in the case of RNAV - at least for now).

 

Understood.

 

I am muddling through the attached manuals, but they are dry for a person who has no background. They also don't really explain things in depth, just go through the motions.

 

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/media/FAA-H-8083-3B.pdf

 

I did find that, which may help. Would that be a good reference?

[Slayer 190]

I have this program, it is exactly what you are looking for but it is a payware:

 

http://www.fsipanel.com/

 

It's got direct support for the PMDGs, you can setup SID STAR , failures or anything really quickly and then refly it as many times as you want. It tunes your radios and will line you up or put you in the procedure. It will also grade your landings and give a report. There are a bunch of youtube videos on it, it's worth a look.

[whoispankaj 51]

Try fsipanel as mentioned above..

[Jetstream96 20]

Understood.

 

I am muddling through the attached manuals, but they are dry for a person who has no background. They also don't really explain things in depth, just go through the motions.

 

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/media/FAA-H-8083-3B.pdf

 

I did find that, which may help. Would that be a good reference?

 

If you are not familiar with single-engine aircrafts or basic VFR flying, that book would definitely be very helpful. When I was new to FSX I learned a lot of piloting skills from that book. There is another book which focuses on IFR flying, e.g. ILS/RNAV approaches. (see "Instrument Flying Handbook" in here: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/ )

 

However most of the topics in those books are for smaller planes, like C172 or Piper PA-44. Although the basic principles are the same for flying the NGX, there are quite a few differences. This is when FCOM and FCTM come in handy. There are sections in FCTM describing how to fly traffic patterns, RNAV approaches, etc.

 

To sum up: You can use FAA manuals for learning basic piloting skills and FCTM for NGX-specific knowledge.

[scandinavian13 5,192]

 

 

https://www.faa.gov/...A-H-8083-3B.pdf
 
I did find that, which may help. Would that be a good reference?

 

This would definitely help you to grasp the basic concepts of flying, without which, complex aircraft like the NGX would be a longer struggle to learn.

 

Back when I was getting started in Flight Sim, I had the "luxury" of being forced to use the default aircraft and real, paper charts from my neighbor that had just expired. At the time, I really wanted to jump into something bigger and more "fun," but it ended up helping me a lot by forcing me to start out with the fundamentals before trying to tackle complex aircraft. That way, I had a better base to understand what, exactly, was going on with this complex contraption. If nothing else, it made the instrument rating a breeze when I started to work on it at my local airport.

 

At the same time, it isn't a bad thing to try and learn the NGX without this, as long as you take initiative and learn some of the fundamentals in parallel (as you are doing in finding other sources of information like the AFH). In this endeavor, the IFH would also help you understand routing and why the FMC's RTE and DEP/ARR pages work the way they do.

 

The FCOMs themselves aren't the best read. They're highly technical, and often repetitive (particularly in the 777, where they have repeated sections for each engine type), which makes them good reference material, and not necessarily a good read. The tutorials should be all you need to get started, and the FCTM can supplement that would good Boeing approved procedures/techniques.