Questions for LDS 767 Users

[jwenham 1]

I have recently bought the Level D 767 and I am very impressed with all it has to offer and all I have to learn. I have been going thru the Golden Gate tutorial and I have a few questions for someone.1) Will I need to buy some sort of flight planning software or can I use the FSX planner some how?2) Going thru the tutorial it had no interaction with ATC what so ever. Does this aircraft not need ATC due to the FMC? If so how?3) Do I always need to do SID and STAR methods for departure and arrival? If so how does ATC interact with it and at what point and how do I get that kind of info?I am new to all this and am a little confused. I also have the Super80 (not the pro version) and although it does not have a FMC so to speak it does have ACARS and a flight management system but nothing like the LDS 767. I really want to learn it the right way but the manual is written in a way a new user will struggle. 4) How did you go about mastering it and what would you advise to do to learn it. Thanks for you help and advise,Jim W

[Paul_Yorks 97]

1) You can't use the FSX planner with the 767. FSBuild is a great payware planner, but you can also use simroutes.com, where you can plan and download in 767 format, for free2) ATC is recommended off for the tutorial just to ease the learning curve. You can fly with it off, since the FMC will guide you so that the whole flight is automated, or turn it on for realism and learn e.g. how different approaches to altitude changes can be used in the 7673) No, you don't have to have them, though they add to realism. FSX ATC will need them to be programmed into the FSX planner if ATC is going to follow them. Perhaps something to worry about when you're more familiar with her4) Practice lots. Read the manual. Do the tutorials - there are a couple - over and over. Search the LD forums, where all these questions are answered and 100s more. It will come eventually. Take the view that the journey is the fun part, not the arrival, and you'll enjoy the learning process. And once mastered, I found I could get e.g. the PMDG 747 up and running with barely a glance at the manual, which is really satisfying.Good luck.

[jwenham 1]

>1) You can't use the FSX planner with the 767. FSBuild is a>great payware planner, but you can also use simroutes.com,>where you can plan and download in 767 format, for free>>>3) No, you don't have to have them, though they add to>realism. FSX ATC will need them to be programmed into the FSX>planner if ATC is going to follow them. Perhaps something to>worry about when you're more familiar with her>Thanks for the reply Paul. I still am a little unclear that if it doesnt use the FSX planner then how can or does the FSX planner get programmed for the SID and STAR navigations?I will take your advise on the learning process and chew it off one bite at a time.And I thought I accomplished something when I got past the panel initialization error after I installed it!:-lol

[Peter Clark 21]

When you use a planner like fsbuild and build and export a flight plan to both FSX and LDS/PMDG, it will include the waypoints of the SID/STAR in the export so FS's ATC can handle it. FS's planner/ATC can't read/write to LDS/PMDG FMC plans, so you need to get the flight plan into both systems independently.With FS's ATC generally you will not end up using a STAR because you'll start getting vectored for the approach before you go through more than one or two waypoints in the STAR. I haven't tried FS's ATC with a DP recently, but as I recall the generic IFR clearance is "fly runway heading", so if you have a quick turn in the procedure before being handed off to departure and receiving the "resume own nav" things tended to get real wierd since it would start trying to vector you back to a previous waypoint which the FMC had already sequenced.For now I'd suggest getting used to enroute operations and once you're comfortable with them start adding procedures when dealing with ATC. Without ATC, play with them all you want.

[jwenham 1]

Peter, thanks for the info. I am more worried about how the approaches are handled in the 767 than I am the take off with no ATC. If I understand, until I get some sort of planning app I will more or less have to squeeze in on my approach and hope for the best? If I run AIsmooth would it keep others out of my way even though FSX ATC has no idea where I am going? I use UT for my AI and dont have it set very high, but it could be a problem at busier airports like KORD or KATL and such. Can I plan a flight in fsx and then manually load in into the FMC?Thanks, Jim W

[Peter Clark 21]

Well, remember the STAR and approach procedure are different things. The STAR desends you down and gets you into the general airport area, the approch procedure (ILS, GPS, NDB, etc) are what sequence you into a runway (although some stars have transitions to specific runways, generally they just get you to within about 30NM of the primary airport they serve and ATC vectors you to the approach from there). If you get a planning app like fsbuild, you will export the plan to both FS and the LD aircraft. You then load that plan in FS's route thingie and get an IFR clearance. In LDS you load that route into the FMS using the company route line. Since the plans match FS's ATC will know how to deal with you. That having been said, I've been vectored into other aircraft on an approach by FS's ATC, so I never count on it for separation. Thankfully they modeled TCAS into this beastie.Have you looked on the LD owners forum about this? It's pretty FAQ over there...

[jwenham 1]

Thanks Peter! I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with this beast. I will hit the books some more and get some more knowledge about this bird and go from there. It seems like you really already need to know alot about navigation and such to get this going properly but I dont give up that easy.Thanks for the info!

[Peter Clark 21]

No worries. Some background in IFR procedures would be useful, but it's nothing that can't be learned along the way. Start basic and work your way up into the advanced stuff. Set up a flight plan in FS, manually enter those waypoints and the ILS/whatever in the LDS FMS, ignore SID/STAR and once you're good with that you can always add in SIDs and then STARs later. Think of it as building blocks, with enroute and basic IAPs first, then stick on the STAR, then stick on the DP. It'll make sense once you've done it a few times.Course, over a thousand hours IRL doing this stuff helps too ;) No, not in a 76....

[Peter Clark 21]

(duplicate for some reason?)

[brucek 38]

Hi Jim,Almost every user of a "glass" heavy jet has asked this set of questions at some time. In short, the tutorial has you program the FMC (a must for using this aircraft so that lesson is really important), then letting the FMC dictate the flight according to it's programmed SID (DP), STAR amd Approach, along with it's enroute structure.However, when you use ATC you let them take over the flight planning. You must still be able to program the intended flight into the FMC as in te tutorial, but now you have to be able to make changes to the FMC in accordance with ATC's instructions. This takes a long time to be comfortable with, and only by programming and programming the FMC will you learn.So, maybe fly the tutorial several times, then try ATC, but don't get too disheartened if you need to quit the flight and do more learning on how to re-program the FMC.Good luck, if you ever have questions then post again. I would also recommend the Level D forums as many experts and real B75/76 pilots are there too.Bruce.

[Guest SuperFortress]

I would also recommend the video tutorial from these guys:http://www.flyaoamedia.com/level-d-767-300...aining-dvd.htmlI have their video tutorial for the PMDG 747 and I found it to be a fantastic product. I'm pretty confident that their 767 video is just as great. I definitely learned a lot from it as well as the countless other videos you can find on Youtube.

[DShutt 14]

The Level-D forum is at http://www.leveldsim.com/forumsDaryl ShuttleworthLevel-D SimulationsSupport & Documentation

[bobbyjoh 11]

Jim,Really good questions. I only fly the LDS 767 on RW flight all over North American and to Europe.I plan all my flight with FSBuild, and as others have said I export them to the LDS767 and to FSX. That will give you the route for the 767 FMS.I am on the Radar Contact beta develop team. When you use the FSBuild export to FSX you get the .pln format, which is used by Radar Contact.You should also really study the instrument procedures to better understand why things work the way they do. When you want real world procedures these programs will help you get there.Good luck and read the manuals.BobKDFW