32 minutes ago, martinboehme said:

The reason that you can't find SIDBY on the route in your FMC is likely that, when you programmed the ILS 28R approach in the FMC (using the DEP / ARR button), you didn't select the SIDBY transition. You do this in the section of the DEP / ARR page labeled "TRANS". See here for more information.

I did the route again (from a .flt MSFS file I saved). The reason I can't find SIDBY is because it isn't available (see below). However, it is available in other approaches none of which are ILS. Does this mean, I cannot do ILS 28R per ATC?

5 hours ago, The_Flying_Potato said:

Any reason you can't just type the waypoint  into the CDU and got 'direct' to it?

I did it. Thank you.

52 minutes ago, anavsun said:

I did the route again (from a .flt MSFS file I saved). The reason I can't find SIDBY is because it isn't available (see below). However, it is available in other approaches none of which are ILS. Does this mean, I cannot do ILS 28R per ATC?

Hm... it looks as if, on that first picture, the SIDBY transition is beyond the end of the page. Do I understand correctly that, when you press "NEXT PAGE" at this point, you get the picture on the right? I would have expected the SIDBY transition to be listed there, but it's possible that it doesn't list it explicitly because SIDBY is a waypoint on the EDDYY transition.

In this case, what you could do is simply to select the EDDYY transition, then go to the legs page and delete the EDDYY waypoint. It's been a long time since I've flown the 737, but IIRC, you can do this in two ways: 1) press the CLR button, the press the LSK (line select key) next to EDDYY, or 2) press the LSK next to SIDBY, then press the LSK next to EDDYY to "overwrite" EDDYY with SIDBY.

Who said you have go to SIDBY?

'Vectors to' suggests you have to break out of the presumed plan and  fly elsewhere. Doing so is one of the fun bits of controlled 'someone else tells you where to go' simming.

25 minutes ago, The_Flying_Potato said:

Who said you have go to SIDBY?

The builtin ATC cleared @anavsun direct SIDBY, so they wanted to know how to follow that clearance.

But agreed that in this case, it would be more realistic to simply pretend that ATC had given vectors (and make up appropriate vectors oneself).

4 hours ago, martinboehme said:

t looks as if, on that first picture, the SIDBY transition is beyond the end of the page. Do I understand correctly that, when you press "NEXT PAGE" at this point, you get the picture on the right?

Yes, the NEXT PAGE is the picture on the right. The NEXT PAGE does not list SIGBY as a transition.

As suggested by @The_Flying_Potato in reply (see above in the previous page) to my post here, I later inserted SIGBY by pressing the DEP ARR button on the FMC. The new SIGBY entry replaced what was previously listed as VECTOR in the line.

I have not re-flown the new revised route with the inserted SIGBY waypoint yet. But when I do, I am hoping the FMC will take me from BGGLO to SIDBY to CEPIN and finally to ILS 28R.

Edited January 29, 20251 yr by anavsun

5 hours ago, anavsun said:

I have not re-flown the new revised route with the inserted SIGBY waypoint yet. But when I do, I am hoping the FMC will take me from BGGLO to SIDBY to CEPIN and finally to ILS 28R.

That sounds like it should work, though you'll have to make about a 150 degree turn at SIDBY. Usually, a controller would not clear you for more than a 120 degree turn at the IAF.

Note the MSA - you shouldn't descend below 4500 feet before you're established on the leg from SIDBY to CEPIN.

Let us know how you get along!

 

17 hours ago, martinboehme said:

That sounds like it should work, though you'll have to make about a 150 degree turn at SIDBY. Usually, a controller would not clear you for more than a 120 degree turn at the IAF.

Note the MSA - you shouldn't descend below 4500 feet before you're established on the leg from SIDBY to CEPIN.

Let us know how you get along!

 

@martinboehme What should I do when I get a "Reset MCP Altitude" alert on the FMC?  The PMDG tutorial instruction is to set the altitude to 3000 ft. I don't understand.  How is that even done?  The tutorial does not specify how to set the altitude to 3000 ft (see below).  Do I press the V/S button on the MCP?   Looking at the FMC is the altitude restriction for SIDBY 4147 ft?

Also, after passing the BGGLO waypoint, with LNAV on, the aircraft veers towards the SIDBY waypoint (the waypoint ATC cleared me for "vector") which took me further away from the airport and did not make sense to me (I need to re-do this and double-check to confirm).


 

Edited January 30, 20251 yr by anavsun

8 hours ago, anavsun said:

@martinboehme What should I do when I get a "Reset MCP Altitude" alert on the FMC?

This is the FMC's way of telling you that it thinks you should start your descent.

8 hours ago, anavsun said:

The PMDG tutorial instruction is to set the altitude to 3000 ft. I don't understand.  How is that even done? The tutorial does not specify how to set the altitude to 3000 ft (see below).

You do this using the autopilot's altitude knob. (The tutorial refers to the "MCP" -- that's the "mode control panel" for the autopilot.)

If you're going to SIDBY, I'd recommend setting the altitude to 4500 feet however (see discussion of the MSA above), then descending further to 3000 feet once you're established on the leg from SIDBY to CEPIN.

8 hours ago, anavsun said:

Do I press the V/S button on the MCP?

If I remember correctly, then if you're in VNAV mode, the aircraft should start descending automatically once it reaches the computed top-of-descent.

8 hours ago, anavsun said:

Looking at the FMC is the altitude restriction for SIDBY 4147 ft?

Not quite -- the 4147 feet is the actual altitude the FMC is computing you'll cross SIDBY at. (An altitude displayed in a large font is an altitude restriction; an altitude displayed in a small font is the computed altitude the FMC thinks you'll cross the waypoint at).

8 hours ago, anavsun said:

Also, after passing the BGGLO waypoint, with LNAV on, the aircraft veers towards the SIDBY waypoint (the waypoint ATC cleared me for "vector") which took me further away from the airport and did not make sense to me (I need to re-do this and double-check to confirm).

The aircraft is following the route you've set up in the FMC -- note how SIDBY follows directly after BGGLO. It looks as if you've deleted part of the BDEGA4 arrival -- which is fine, a controller might take you off the arrival in real life if traffic is light and they don't need you following the complete arrival. However, if you wanted to fly the full arrival, you should set up the route so that SIDBY follows after BRIXX (the last waypoint on the arrival).

Happy to continue answering questions here, but I'd also recommend watching some tutorials on YouTube, as that will give you a much more complete picture of how a full flight progresses, rather than piecing together individual bits. Here are some popular channels on the 737:

 

 

 

7 hours ago, martinboehme said:

This is the FMC's way of telling you that it thinks you should start your descent.

I'm a little confused by the "Reset MCP Altitude" alert. Since I'm in VNAV mode, why do I need to manually intervene.  Shouldn't that be automatically done in VNAV mode?
 

7 hours ago, martinboehme said:

Not quite -- the 4147 feet is the actual altitude the FMC is computing you'll cross SIDBY at. (An altitude displayed in a large font is an altitude restriction; an altitude displayed in a small font is the computed altitude the FMC thinks you'll cross the waypoint at).

I didn't know this. This is great info. Thank you.

7 hours ago, martinboehme said:

The aircraft is following the route you've set up in the FMC -- note how SIDBY follows directly after BGGLO. It looks as if you've deleted part of the BDEGA4 arrival -- which is fine, a controller might take you off the arrival in real life if traffic is light and they don't need you following the complete arrival. However, if you wanted to fly the full arrival, you should set up the route so that SIDBY follows after BRIXX (the last waypoint on the arrival).

It seems to me that the root cause of the problem is because I had last minute instructions (vector) from the ATC. Also, the fact that I am approaching from the north and landing on a runway that is facing in a more or less the same northward direction (which involves a steep U-turn).

Two solutions I am thinking off (not realistic I'm guessing):
1) Simply replace the VECTOR procedure and instead select a transition during the route planning phase eg. select the DUMBA transition, and
2) To avoid the sever U-Turn prior to the approach from the north to 28R, create a phantom waypoint that will replace the severe U-turn with a wider turn (add a waypoint above or below the initial approach fix so that the aircraft does not have to do a 180 degree turn).

I need to check out the links you provided also. Thank you for those. There's a reason why they call this plane study-level. 🙂

7 hours ago, martinboehme said:

Happy to continue answering questions here, but I'd also recommend watching some tutorials on YouTube, as that will give you a much more complete picture of how a full flight progresses, rather than piecing together individual bits.

I found this incredible YouTube video as well which follows the same route described in the PMDG tutorial. It shows what is probably the best sim flightdeck for the 737 in YouTube. Like in the tutorial the pilot in the video has a last-minute change in the route also:

 

4 hours ago, anavsun said:

I'm a little confused by the "Reset MCP Altitude" alert. Since I'm in VNAV mode, why do I need to manually intervene.  Shouldn't that be automatically done in VNAV mode?

The aircraft can't know whether ATC has cleared you to descend and, if so, to what level. You obviously wouldn't want the aircraft to start descending without a clearance, so you need to dial in a lower altitude to "allow" VNAV to descend.

4 hours ago, anavsun said:

Two solutions I am thinking off (not realistic I'm guessing):
1) Simply replace the VECTOR procedure and instead select a transition during the route planning phase eg. select the DUMBA transition, and

Coming from KPDX, you'd essentially make a U-turn at DUMBA too, though?

4 hours ago, anavsun said:

2) To avoid the sever U-Turn prior to the approach from the north to 28R, create a phantom waypoint that will replace the severe U-turn with a wider turn (add a waypoint above or below the initial approach fix so that the aircraft does not have to do a 180 degree turn).

That's a possibility -- you could create that waypoint as a "PBD" (place-bearing-distance) waypoint. If you don't know how that works, an Internet search for the term should find some resources.

If you want to replicate what happens in real life, there's a third option: After BRIXX, go into heading mode and self-vector yourself onto final (eyeballing the vectors on the navigation display). This replicates the fact that, in real life, ATC would be giving you vectors-to-final.

On 1/28/2025 at 9:58 PM, anavsun said:

I'll fly the route again.

You don't have to fly the route you can simply sit on the ground and program it into the FMC and then see what kind of arrival options you have.