I posted here before about that issue. To early descent.I was flying twice from ESSA to EPWA and back.Now, I was also watching three Just Planes videos for B737-800.The Descent according to my opinion in RC starts very early, too early.I do not know but it seems to start about 120nm before destination airport.Flying to ESSA, the descent starts just south off ESVB in realt time and that I presume is not so far away as 120nm ahead of the destination.In the next version I read that you can delay the descent but I think that is maybe a good idea if possible to reconfigure the descent distant to start later then it is now. How much later .. hmm .-. well ... If you take a flight between EPWA and ESSA here (http://www.pl-vacc.org/pol3/fp_new.php?d=main&language=en) , zoom the map the descent in RC starts just after PENOR. That is way to early.The descent should start just before the southern part of Gotland Island (to the right in the middle of the Baltic sea). That will be in the middle of PENOR and TRS.The same accors when I fly from EPGD to ESKN. EPGD is in the northern Poland (Gdansk) and ESKN is a Ryanair base in Sweden, south of Stockholm. When I am flying in real time (several times) the descent starts in most cases after

doug retired from memphis center. he knowswhen and where you are told to descend doesn't really matter what a video shows. controllers will descend you when they need you to descendif you don't like when you are told to descend, us the 3-pd option that is on the ack screen when you are told to do your initial descentif the co-pilot has the comms, you'll never see it, so turn that offif you have pilot auto-reply on, you'll never see it. but it's there. specifically for this very reasonmind you, you are on your own to make your crossing restriction. or you will pay a heavy price.i'm sure 3-pd is discusses at length in the manual, maybe crack the manual and see what else you need to know about itjd

>if you don't like when you are told to descend, us the 3-pd>option that is on the ack screen when you are told to do your>initial descentThanx, will try 3pd. I think I will use that as described in manuals. :)The issue here is that every time I fly, every time I get the descent clearence it is more or less exactly at the same distant from destination, no matter what airport, no matter how much traffic, no matter weather conditions, no matter what. The only slight difference is changing the FL couple of thousand feet lower. That is why I wonder if the descent stage begins (is programmed) XXnm from the destination. It just gives me that feeling. When I fly with 0%AI or 100%AI, doesnt matter :). But I have go the answer. ThanxThanx.

I think I am safe in stating that in the real world initial descent clearances are fairly fixed on the basis of arrival direction and destination distance. You are still in the enroute section which allows route deviations for weather but are still required to return to your original route (you can use direct-checkpoint to pick a later merge).At lower altitudes traffic density and weather would then play a part but generally I am observing fairly routine pattern arrivals at most airports which is what RC in this version has coded.