Radar Contact with payware aircraft

[Guest SwissMD11]

Hello all,I love flying the PSS 777 and various other payware aircrafts with FMCs. Now, with Radar Contact running, how can I make the copilot take over the controls and fly the route and follow necessary instructions from ATC. Should I just have the AP on or should I have LNAV or VNAV on ?Or heading hold ??Please help me out.Thanks. :)

[ronzie 21]

The generic answer is that the co-pilot can only control aircraft that follow the standard FS aircraft control SDK as the defaults do. The co-pilot works through autopilot heading and altitude control. You would not use VNAV or LNAV. Some sophisticated payware do not allow the SDK conventions. See RC manual page 131. If you have not purchased yet you can download the manual from jdtllc.com to check things out.In version 4 of RC you will not be handed deviation during the stable enroute phase at cruise altitude unless you are off course and you would be naggged if not at plan cruise altitude as assigned by ATC (it might be corrected for airway direction/altitude rules). You could turn the aircraft over to LNAV and VNAV once this is achieved but VNAV must not enter descent at FMC TOD (the FS plan and your avionics plan must be in synch) and the co-pilot during this phase could handle the comms. I recommend VNAV be disabled and you run MCP altitude. If you have an FMC display at cruise (or other phases at times) you adjust your autothrottle speed to follow the FMC guidance to maintain a cost index (a subject outside of RC that regards flight efficiency). You fly the departure up to cruise with whatever method you choose to follow ATC instructions. This is usually accomplished via MCP control (autopilot control) of heading, speed, and available methods of altitude control (LVLCH coupled with V/S and altitude entry). At top of descent as issued by ATC, not your FMC, you again take over for the descent and approach phase. Keep in mind that RC has a feature that will pause FS just before descent during the enroute portion. You add-on weather, models, etc, must be able to handle this FS pause. You can therefore take breaks during long legs and using the pause feature resume flying when convenient.