Hi JD,Can't wait for your next version to come out!! I use your product for every flight.When I fly from Winnipeg (CYWG) to Regina (CYQR)with this flight plan - CYWG FAREN YDR J504 VLN CYQR or this flight plan - CYWG VLR J500 VLN CYQR, I am having a slight problem when the winds in Regina request a landing on runway 31. The problem is this: I fly from either VLR vor or YDR vor to VLN vor. VLN is to the NorthWest of Regina about 16nm. I am flying from East to West, when I am landing on runway 31 in Regina it makes no sense to fly all the way to waypoint VLN then turn around so I can land on runway 31. I like to use VLN as a waypoint because there is still considerable distance from either VLR or YDR to VLN, so it makes sense to include it in the flight plan. You can't contact approach or Approach does not contact you until you are a certain number of nm's from VLN.When I fly from either VLR or YDR waypoint I like to take a short cut from VLR or YDR to my 20 nm runway extension using the PMDG. So at about 80nm from VLN I will turn left to my runway extension. No sense flying all the way to VLN. I will be well into my landing before approach or ATC will contact me, at this point I have to try and select my instrument approach (loc BC) for runway 31, while at the same time try and land the plane. If I was able to contact ATC or Approach on my own well in advance before reaching VLN, I could set myself up better. Instead we have to wait a certain number of nm's before any contact to request a runway.I do have Notams selected for my arrival but it does not help.So my request for version 4 is to be able to contact Approach or ATC on our own to request an approach sooner.This will also help for people who want to use the FMC to decend. Although like you said ATC has a higher priority over the FMC. So these people who want to fly by the numbers have to select the Notam box for the arrival airport to fool Radar Contact so it leaves us alone. I think you can see something might have to be done in this area.JD, try these flightplans to see what I am trying to say. You may have another suggestion for me to try with these flight plans.Thanks for your time.VincentCYQR

the problem, is all the waypoints you are putting inside the 40 mile radius of the arrival airport. take them out. rc isn't going to fly them anyway. but is is adding up each leg length. when that total amount of distance is less than 40, that is when you are swithched to approach.in v4, i am changing that. the trigger to contact approach is 40 miles direct to the arrival airport. but for now, take them out, and put the last checkpoint as close to the arrival airport as possiblejd

Vincent,I second that, I would love to practise VNAV descents, butat present I can't seem to make it happen, as RC seems touse a step down descent starting too far away from theairport environment.On all flights I have been on in the Real World theyseem to do one descent which takes them down to the correctAltitude to capture the Localiser and G/S. Maybe I'm wrongas I'm not up front flying the aeroplane.Perhaps a real world airline pilot can start a thread onwhen VNAV is used and how to use it correctly, because for the life of me I can't see a reason why itsavailable on the FMC if crews don't use it?

Thanks for the replies,With the new features JD plans to put in version 4 will help us out a lot in these areas. Good luck JD and thanks for the hard work.VincentCYQR

These folks took the words right out of my mouth about VNAV and RC. Any improvement would be helpful- for now though it's very difficult to fly VNAV on the FMC like in real life.Thanks,Richard