Hi AllAll the planes I have on my program use the default Auto Pilot system which works excellent with Radar Contact.I have been contemplating purchasing an aircraft which uses a Flight Management System and was wondering how this interacts with Radar Contact.Also if purchased is it possible to load a flight plan from FSNav into the FMS then Radar Contact.Tks. for any info.Kenny G.

Kenny,I use the PMDG737-700 exclusively with Radar Contact and Project Magenta. There is something you need to bear in mind. I haven't flown v3 in ages so bear with me.There is an option in RC3 to receive heading changes. You need to set this to zero otherwise RC will shout at you if you don't change heading when directed. This applies where you'll be leaving the aircraft unatended on a/p. RC cannot interact with non-standard autopilots and FMCs.And of course as you appraoch the destination airport you must feed heading changes into the a/p yourself. In all other respects RC3 works fine with 3rd party autopilots.I usually create my flight plans in FSNavigator and export them to FS2004 so RC3 can read them. I will then create a mirror plan with the Project Magenta CDU. Two lots of work unfortunately but unavoidable.What package are you contemplating?Cheers,

>Kenny,>>I use the PMDG737-700 exclusively with Radar Contact and>Project Magenta. There is something you need to bear in mind.>I haven't flown v3 in ages so bear with me.>>There is an option in RC3 to receive heading changes. You need>to set this to zero otherwise RC will shout at you if you>don't change heading when directed. This applies where you'll>be leaving the aircraft unatended on a/p. RC cannot interact>with non-standard autopilots and FMCs.>>And of course as you appraoch the destination airport you must>feed heading changes into the a/p yourself. In all other>respects RC3 works fine with 3rd party autopilots.>>I usually create my flight plans in FSNavigator and export>them to FS2004 so RC3 can read them. I will then create a>mirror plan with the Project Magenta CDU. Two lots of work>unfortunately but unavoidable.>>What package are you contemplating?>>Cheers,Tks. Ray for the replyI was thinking of purchasing Flight 1 ATR but after reading your reply I think I will stick to my present aircraft.Happy Simming:)Kenny G.

Kenny,<>Any particular reason my reply has put you off the ATR? As I said I fly with a non-standard autopilot on the PMDG737 and I have no problems at all with RC. It'd be a shame if you were put off flying an aircraft you really fancied because of my comments.So what's your current aircraft? I'm thinking of getting the Eaglesoft Citation X. I don't anticipate any problems with it and RC.Cheers,

Ray,I was following this interesting thread as I am flying PSS' aircrafts. If I am not attending online sessions I always have RCV31 running. Which settings in RC do you recommend in combination with an FMC (or MCDU) equipped aircraft?Thank you very much!Sam

Sam,On the Options screen there is a setting called Traffic Vs. You should keep that at Off if you plan on leaving the aircraft flying on a/p unattended. If you select a value other than Off you will occasionally be told to fly a different heading and because RC cannot control a non-FS autopilot it won't make the required heading change.Providing your flight plan in the FMC(CDU) matches the plan you have loaded into RC you won't need to make any other changes.The beauty of RC is that you will always get vectors to your destination airport - something not guaranteed with on-line flying, attractive though it is.Cheers,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply, Ray!I turned down the traffic slider to zero. Wouldn't you recommend to do the same with the heading deviation?Thank you very much!Sam

heading deviation is how sloppy you want to fly a heading before atc starts yelling at you. that is what all the deviations are. basically, how much atc nagging do you want. as you get better and better you can reduce those deviationsjd

Right! I understand, thanks a lot, Ray! :-)))

Sam,I'd love to take the credit for JD's reply but my conscience won't allow me :7Happy flying!

>Kenny,>><your reply I think I will stick to my present aircraft.>>>>Any particular reason my reply has put you off the ATR? As I>said I fly with a non-standard autopilot on the PMDG737 and I>have no problems at all with RC. It'd be a shame if you were>put off flying an aircraft you really fancied because of my>comments.>>So what's your current aircraft? I'm thinking of getting the>Eaglesoft Citation X. I don't anticipate any problems with it>and RC.>>Cheers,Sorry for the delay Ray: work comes before play:)It appeared that using your non-standard autopilot there was more work involved in setting up the Flight Plan with RC.The plane I currently fly is a Constallation L049A which is a mid 40's vintage, but flies like a dream.The Autopilot works perfectly with RC and FS2004.The good thing about this aircraft is it is easy on the FPS and it was free.If you want to check it out go to http://fsdzigns.com/index.htmlTake care:Kenny G.Kenny G.

So let me express my appreciation to both of you! :-)Thank you very much!Sam

Hi Kenny,<>I'm in the same boat so no problem.Yes, there is more work involved once you have an aircraft with a FMC(CDU) as they generally don't accept FS200x flight plans. But, if there's an aircraft out there that you really want (and there are some excellent examples) then please don't be put off getting them because of the need to generate two flight plans. It's a small price to pay IMHO. I wouldn't dream of giving up my PMDG737 and I anticipate I'll be getting the new PIC767 Mk 2 when it comes out.There are advantages to staying with relatively uncomplicated aircraft such as the classic Constellation you use and good frame rates is a big reason.It's a nice looking aircraft but a bit slow for this jet fan. If I told you I'll be buying one of the Concorde packages you'll probably understand where I'm coming from ;-)Cheers,

Isn't there a utility to export flight plans created in the FMCs?Also, isn't there a third part flight planner that can create them for export into FS and PMDG FMS? Thought I saw that. Might want to check their forum.One advantage of flying a high speed altitude jet where you must create the two flight plans is that the number of j-route waypoints needed is usually minimal as compared to flying under FL180. Maybe a few airports have complicated DPs and STARS that might require a few more but once enroute legs are long.I fly commuter grade so as yet do not have an FMC but Reality-XP has one on their to-do list especially for smaller airliners. (It probably will not work with the PMDG since I believe it is not a standard autopilot interface.)

Ronzie,Not sure if you're asking or telling :-) Each FMC is slightly different of course. As I use the Project Magenta CDU (as opposed to the PMDG one) I have to use that to create my flight plans but I actually enjoy doing this and would not use a import utility.I agree that a browse through the PMDG forum may hold the answer.Cheers,