Hi guys,I'm having a little trouble working out the PMDG 737 FMC and was wondering if you could help me... Well, when I add waypoints to the route I do it accordingly with the ATC instructions, correct?(VOR and airways, etc.). do I need to add the destination airport, and ILS, OM, MM and IM as well???Also, I've notice that you can select SID and STAR procedure in the DEPP/APP screen. But every time I add those I get a "ROUTE DISCONTINUITY" on the RTE screen, and the PFD shows this discontinuity as well... so I'm very confused... when approaching the airport, should I proceed directly to the fix marking the start of the STAR procedure and just leave the original route I logged on the RTE screen at the begining of the flight???Thanks and reagards,Lucas.

There should be no doubt about the capabilities of the PMDG 737NG FMC. It's very well done. My first suggestion is that you read the FMC part of the included documentation completely. Second, send me an e-mail to [email protected], include a valid return e-mail address, and I'll send you a link to download Tim Metzinger's wonderful tutorial for the PMDG 737NG. Go through the tutorial, allow yourself a couple of days to do it, and you will be very profecient with the aircraft, including programming the FMC.

>Hi guys,>I'm having a little trouble working out the PMDG 737 FMC and>was wondering if you could help me... >Well, when I add waypoints to the route I do it accordingly>with the ATC instructions, correct?(VOR and airways, etc.). do>I need to add the destination airport, and ILS, OM, MM and IM>as well???When building a RTE you need a few things for it to be activated, since you should know where you are planing on going enter the DEP and ARR plus ONE wpt inbetween. If ATC desires to VECTOR you the you can use HDG SEL/LVL CH or manual flight then resume the plan after departure manually intercepting the LNAV PATH. You could MODify your DEP somewhat with the FMC but since you are not an FMC expert it might be to much workload on DEPARTURE so try the above for now. >Also, I've notice that you can select SID and STAR procedure>in the DEPP/APP screen. But every time I add those I get a>"ROUTE DISCONTINUITY" on the RTE screen, and the PFD shows>this discontinuity as well... so I'm very confused... when>approaching the airport, should I proceed directly to the fix>marking the start of the STAR procedure and just leave the>original route I logged on the RTE screen at the begining of>the flight???>>Thanks and reagards,>Lucas. >[/b]In RL you PLAN on a certain procedure, one perhaps that is mostly used but this can and does vary according to weather etc. So whatever you program remeber that it is planned only, most likely ATC will VECTOR you because of traffic etc. Your goal is to be at the FAF (Final approach fix) at a set altitude that is abtained from the RWY APP PLATE which depending on the type of app will tell you at what altitude and final app heading you need to be at to capture the G/S (Glide Slope) and the localizer (LOC).ROUTE DISCONTINUITIES happen because the FMC does not always know how you are going to intercept the arr. On selection of an APP you need to connect the path manually by line selecting a WPT between the last WPT orginally on your path on the ARR. Sometimes there is a common WPT that will connect sometimes there is not. This is where charts come in handy. AT other times, is is best to simply go V/S and HDG SEL using the descending deviation bar on the navigation display as guidence for the proper V/S till the FAF. The great thing in the 737 is that the pilot has many options to get this done. Going other modes (out of VNAV/LNAV) is realistic too on such an automated bird as the NG since the workload can get too much and plus you do not want to be in a heads down position in the terminal area. There is much more to all this which will come in time and pratice. [h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]AMD 64 4000+|ASUS K8V DELUXE|SAPPHIRE ATI X800XT PE|MUNCHKIN 3200|80 gig SATA|DELL 1905FP 19" LCD|TRACKir PRO|PFC JEPPESEN MOONEY YOKE|CH PRO PEDALS|