Route inputs not accepted?

[warbirds 555]

Setting up a real route in the Queen I find a couple sections of the route the fmc will not take in either column. 

 

Here is the actual flight details: 

 

MKK4 CLUTS R465 CIVIT R585 FLEXX 3200N/13500W 3500N/13000W ALCOA ZONSO OSVEE1

 

The FMC will not take 3200N or 13500N or 13500W or 3500W and the last one OSVEE1.

 

Should I just leave those out or?

 

This is the actual flight http://flightaware.com/live/flight/GTI4014

[Budbud 227]

Hi,

 

Did you try to enter N32W135 or N3200.0W13500.0 (both formats are accepted) for the waypoint 3200N/13500W and N35W130 (or N3500.0W13000.0) for the waypoint 3500N/13000W? (cf. FCOM 11.31.16)

As for the OSVEE1, it is not a waypoint but the STAR to be selected in the arrival/approach page.

[achutchison 26]

N42W135 is the normal way of doing it

[warbirds 555]

Thanks I haven't a clue as to what your suggesting. How am I supposed to know that the route as stated is not correct or that I have to use  different wording? How do I know that OSVEE1 is a star and where to put it?

 

This might be complex for me so is there a program that will figure or do all this for me?

[Captain Kevin 586]

Thanks I haven't a clue as to what your suggesting. How am I supposed to know that the route as stated is not correct or that I have to use  different wording? How do I know that OSVEE1 is a star and where to put it?

 

This might be complex for me so is there a program that will figure or do all this for me?

To answer the first question, check the FCOM. Romain did reference the section to check to figure this out. As for the STAR, generally, your VORs contain three letters and your intersections contain five. OSVEE has five letters, so if you see a number after that, it would be a STAR. It's an arrival procedure that would have you crossing OSVEE at some point.

 

It is a complex system if you're just starting out, but once you get the hang of working an FMC, you'd be hard pressed to want to fly anything without one.

[Budbud 227]

Waypoints in the flight plan with numbers following by the letters N, W, S or E are geographic coordinates in latitude/longitude. the wording is explained in the FCOM (the reference I gave you on my previous post.

As for the OSVEE1, usually groups of letters followed by a number and sometimes another letter are usually SID/STAR designations. SIDs and STARs are not entered on the leg or route pages but on the DEP/ARR pages.

 

They are always the first and last "words" or the route but are not always specified on the route, it depends on where you fly (e.g.: in France, they are never mentioned on the route of the flight plan).

The best to check whether a "word" is SID/STAR is to checks the charts or the origin and destination airports.

[warbirds 555]

Ok, thanks, lets see if I got some of this:

 

Sid and Stars are the first and last sections of the route. Sid at the beginning and Star at the end. Also they are put in the Departure/Arrival page (Sid for Dep. and Star for Arrival.

 

The numbers section still confuse me,

 

Quote "Did you try to enter N32W135 or N3200.0W13500.0 (both formats are accepted) for the waypoint 3200N/13500W and N35W130 (or N3500.0W13000.0) for the waypoint 3500N/13000W? (cf. FCOM 11.31.16)"

 

Why don't they just write it the correct way in the first place?

 

Thanks for the help,,,as you might have guessed this all is a bit new to me but a must if I am to fly the Queen properly. 

[Copper. 78]

Hang in there Paul. It takes a lot of time and effort to learn the intricacies of the fmc. Can I recommend you do exactly as Romain and Kevin have suggested... Read the Intro Doc, Tutorial and FCOM. If and when you find your answer and it still doesn't make sense, check YouTube for a tutorial and or search google, because undoubtedly someone has had the problem before you. We all learnt somehow, it's a slow and painful process.

[Budbud 227]

Paul, 

 

Actually this way to write lat/long waypoint - 3200N/13500W 3500N/13000W - is not something you would see in the route section of a flight plan and I don't know why flyaware shows the flight plans that way.

In a real flight plan, you would see 32N135W 35N130W and yes it is even more confusing because Boeing resquest the opposite format for the FMC...   

 

But with a bit of practice, you will get eventually comfortable with it. In the section of the FCOM I pointed to you, if you look a couple of pages before (from 11.31.12 and onward), you have a nice explanations of the formats of what they call unnamed waypoints (lat/long).

[warbirds 555]

Lol, yes it is a long road up this hill. 

 

I did the tutorial successfully several times now and that route's entries were simple compared to the one I am trying to use now. 

 

I will check out those pages in the manual but I seem to be one of those people that learn by seeing quicker and better than reading so I will try for some videos as well. If anyone has a link to a good video (fmc for dummies maybe?) about this please let me know.

[achutchison 26]

You will never stop learning new things about these computerized airplanes even as a real pilot! Thats the joy of it all.

[Copper. 78]

Lol, yes it is a long road up this hill. 

 

I did the tutorial successfully several times now and that route's entries were simple compared to the one I am trying to use now. 

 

I will check out those pages in the manual but I seem to be one of those people that learn by seeing quicker and better than reading so I will try for some videos as well. If anyone has a link to a good video (fmc for dummies maybe?) about this please let me know.

 

Aah good. In that case, I'll just get back in my shell then haha you've come to the right place then. Cheers

[warbirds 555]

Numbers are still messing me up. No matter how I write the numbers it will not take them. Following this example from previous reply:

"In a real flight plan, you would see 32N135W 35N130W"

 

Here is my fmc with number but will not accept.

[Morvious 43]

Paul,

 

Try N32W135 like Romain stated in post 2, it should work.

[warbirds 555]

Thanks, that worked..how do you clear a an entry if a mistake is made? I tried the clear button but did not clear what I selected.