Hello!

 

Two things are a little complicated when flying the 747:

 

1.) Setting minimums by klick and drag.

It's often very hard to set them correctly and it takes a significant amount of time.

It would be better if you could set minimums just like on the NGX by just using the mouse wheel. Simple and effective.

I know that this is on purpose, but it just doesn't make sense: In 500 flights with the NGX I didn't change the DH a single time by accident.

 

2.) Pushback radius is veeeeeeery large and pushback degrees are limited to 90°.

I'm unable to push back from narrow gates as the turn radius is so huge and I'm unable to push back with more than 90 degrees angle.

It would be nice to do a pushback with only 60m. 76m are often too much.

 

Best regards!

Edited June 25, 20187 yr by asdfgh

2 hours ago, asdfgh said:

1.) Setting minimums by klick and drag.

I recall this being discussed during testing, the 777 has a simulation option to either "roll or drag" the mins and baros but it also has different options on the real aircraft.  This is the only method for the 744.  The thing is, there are far fewer complaints on this than you probably expect there to be.  I guess a number of folks will never like this but it's not hard to get used to.  I usually overshoot the target a little in the fast slew mode but setting the number never takes more than a few moments, and I always try to preset it during my pre-descent flows when there is no hurry.

Regarding pushback.... get GSX.

You in fact can use the mouse the wheel to do the minimums - I've been doing it that way since the 744 came out.

On the CDU, go to:

PMDG SETUP - AIRCRAFT - EQUIPMENT, then go to Page 20.  Under MINIMUMS AND BARO KNOBS, change the setting to ROTARY.

And yes, GSX is probably the only way to go get better pushbacks - not sure why the PMDG radius is so large.

 

I could be wrong, but I think the default pushback is set to push the plane either half the length of the plane or the full length of the plane before starting the turn. The PMDG pushback menu certainly allows you to push in a straight line farther than that, but not less than that.

1. There's a simulation option for doing exactly that - check the intro manual.

2. Limitation of the sim's built-in pushback mechanisms unfortunately.

16 hours ago, VHOJT said:

You in fact can use the mouse the wheel to do the minimums - I've been doing it that way since the 744 came out.

On the CDU, go to:

PMDG SETUP - AIRCRAFT - EQUIPMENT, then go to Page 20.  Under MINIMUMS AND BARO KNOBS, change the setting to ROTARY.

And yes, GSX is probably the only way to go get better pushbacks - not sure why the PMDG radius is so large.

 

Dang... I spent 10 min looking in the Introduction so I could provide the page reference and I missed it.  Still looking, is this in the Introduction?  Oh yeah there it is: Page 87.  Facepalm.

Ryan... welcome back!! Out for the summer?

Edited June 26, 20187 yr by downscc

Thank you all for your answers!

On 6/26/2018 at 6:00 AM, Tabs said:

Limitation of the sim's built-in pushback mechanisms unfortunately

Recently I was wondering about P3D's built-in pushback mechanisms as I saw someone using Majestic Dash 8's FMS pushback feature and that pushback was super narrowly!

Like you would have taxiied that aircraft around a sharp turn but just the other way round.

 

I'm sure when MJC can do it, PMDG can do it even better!

1 hour ago, asdfgh said:

Recently I was wondering about P3D's built-in pushback mechanisms as I saw someone using Majestic Dash 8's FMS pushback feature and that pushback was super narrowly!

Not really a fair comparison since you're talking about a much smaller plane. If the default pushback feature pushes the plane in a straight line for the length of the plane before initiating the turn, that distance is going to vary based on the size of the plane, so a smaller plane is going to start the turn much sooner than a larger plane.

I believe even the turn radius depends on the distance nose wheel/ main wheels, not sure though. But the initial straight push is this distance...

When pushing back the Dash 8, it's possible to perform a turn right from where you remove your chocks.

You don't even need to push straight for the distance of nose gear/main gear.

 

Check this vid:

 

Really can't believe what I just watched. I flew the Q400 and to see him push the condition levers all the way up before starting was cringeworthy!

Start/Feather is the correct position and then only once you get 8% N2. Dear oh dear.....

Who needs a push feature in the Q400? Just release the brakes with hardware throttles at idle and it will taxi backwards 😂

 

(i know, i know)...

 

On 7/10/2018 at 12:00 AM, asdfgh said:

it's possible to perform a turn right from where you remove your chocks.

My 2 cents' worth:

In the real world, you would almost never start turning a 747 straight away. You would normally clear most of the parking area before turning. This way, there would be less chance of colliding with aerobridges, mobile steps, aircraft on the next gate, light poles and lines of parked cargo equipment. Taxiways also provide a wider space for the turn. To get a sharp turn in a small amount of space, initially you may reach the nose gear turn angle limit for towing (65 degrees). Also, the larger the steering angle, the more strain there will be on the main gear. More than 20 degrees of nose gear angle forces the body gear steering to activate. This helps alleviate the twisting forces on the main gear during sharp turns.

Anyway, it's not something I would recommend for a beginner tug driver. Pushing an aircraft is a little like reverse parking a very long trailer/caravan

On 9/16/2018 at 4:20 AM, MarkJHarris said:

Really can't believe what I just watched. I flew the Q400 and to see him push the condition levers all the way up before starting was cringeworthy!

Start/Feather is the correct position and then only once you get 8% N2. Dear oh dear.....

Not everyone here has had the benefit of a Q400 type-rating!  Remember he's just having fun

Edited September 17, 20187 yr by VHOJT