CptSpeaking

Did you have the autobrakes on max? This causes a sudden decel when the plane lands, making the nose appear to slam down if nothing is done to prevent it. You can help this by holding some back pressure after touching down, if that was in fact the cause...

Generally, you want to take off with the least amount of flaps as is allowed by speed/weight/runway restrictions. Remember, flaps will (up to a point) decrease your takeoff roll, but will also decrease your climb performance. So, if you can take off with less flaps, you're less likely to hit cumulo-granite at the far end should it be there :)That said, I believe most companies have a recommended flap setting for *all* takeoffs.In the real world, companies give their crews charts for each runway at each airport the airline services. That chart specifies a flap setting, and gives maximum weights you can depart with at a given temperature. Called a runway analysis...here is an example I Googled for a Gulfstream departing runway 34 in Zurich... http://www.flygp.se/images/airport_analysis_large.jpgYou can see, the G5 is not weight restricted departing 34 in Zurich unless it is a wet runway with a 10 knot tailwind and +35C, conditions not likely to ever be encountered. These charts also give V-speeds for each condition.

Oh, and there is also the SDF approach. Just as an LDA is the off-set version of the ILS, the SDF is the (sometimes) off-set version of a LOC approach. Sorta...slight differences in precision, but I'll leave that for you to Google; and btw those are very simplified and not totally accurate descriptions of LDAs and SDFs :)

Operationally, I don't believe there is any difference from an IGS and an LDA, except that the IGS does not guide you to the airport itself. Instead, it gives you a localizer and glideslope to (in this case) the checkerboard, at which point you turn a short final towards the airport.Whether off-airport guidance is a criteria for an IGS approach all the time, I dunno...all i know is that it's a ton-o-fun to fly :)

Okay here's a quick summary...The altitude you read on the guage when it's set to the current altimeter setting is INDICATED altitude. PRESSURE altitude is what the instrument reads when it is set to standard pressure (29.92/1013.2). To make the conversion if the pressure is not standard, you have to do a little math. Remember that 1" of pressure is 1000 feet. If the indicated altitude is 300 and the baro is 30.02, simply subtract 29.92, getting .1. So, .1" is equal to 100 feet. Subtract that from your indicated altitude to get a pressure altitude of 200 ft.Converting PRESSURE altitude to DENSITY altitude requires a bit more math, and honestly, I've only ever done it with a flight computer (E6B or CR3). Basically, you're correcting pressure altitude for non-standard temperature, so if the temp is higher than standard, your density altitude goes up and performance goes down. If the temp is less than ISA, density altitude decreases and performance increases.Important to remember is that density and density altitude are different. In other words, higher density is a lower density altitude. It's all in the terms...Here is a great little Density altitude calculator...http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_da_em.htmAnd also, to augment my crude explanations, Wiki!!! :)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density_altitudeMost performance charts I've seen are in Pressure altitude, not density...thats the only reason why I asked the question, as it makes a significant difference...

Paul, I think he's referring to the aural disengage warning. That's the only thing I can think of to do with the autopilot that's annoying enough to want to get rid of, and persistent enough to be annoying (if you don't know how to cancel it).

The first click turns the autopilot off, the second cancels the annunciation.

Guys if the charts are in DENSITY altitude, there should be no correction for non-ISA. Remember, you have to correct PRESSURE altitude for non-standard temp, which is how you get density altitude. If the charts are already in density, there is no conversion to be made. You just have to do the math at each departure location using the airport elevation, barometric pressure, and temperature.This is only true if the charts are in fact density altitude and not pressure altitude...Bryan?Great work!

I totally agree with you regarding efficiency. What I'm talking about is real world operations though. ATC (including FS ATC) has absolutely no idea whatsoever where your calculated/ideal TOD is. Sometimes you'll be lucky and get a pilot's discretion descent, which in effect lets you fly the ideal path, but more times than not, this doesn't happen, so you'd rather make it a smooth descent. Remember, turbines burn MUCH more gas down low, so you'd rather not descend from up high (lower FF, higher TAS) really fast, only to have to fly level down low (higher FF, lower TAS). You'd rather be up high as long as possible, but if you have to descend before your ideal TOD, do it at a lower VS in order to stay higher longer. I'd dial in FL190 in the MCP, then set a VS somewhere between 1500-2500 FPM depending on how far from the airport I am. If you're doing it without the ATC, use VNAV so you get an idle descent from the calculated TOD. As TotalBeginner has mentioned, the most efficient descent is at idle, so if you're your own ATC, why not do that!?Another consideration I didn't mention earlier that deals with the 3-1 rule is the effect of temp (read: altitude) on your true air speed. Up high, you're going much faster at the same indicated speed, so you'd need a higher VS in order to maintain a certain descent path. As you descend, your TAS drops off, so you'll need to reduce your descent rate to keep the same angle. The same consideration is made for wind...a huge headwind, descend at a slower VS, a huge tailwind, higher VS. Like I said, it ends up being a lot of guess and check that isn't much of an exact science.Jonathan

From my experience in the real world, FLCH descents are rarely used unless you have to drop it like it's hot. Because of turbulence, wind changes with altitude, etc., airplanes tend to "chase" a speed, resulting in some (auto)pilot induced oscillations. VS descents are less prone to this and therefore used more. In the sim, this isn't as prevalent, so it's not a bad idea to use FLCH for descents.Another reason - FLCH will give you the highest rate of descent for your current airspeed, since it commands idle thrust. Most times, you reall don't want this, as it will get you to your altitude much earlier than desired, causing you to have to level off at a lower altitude, burning more gas. The goal is a constant descent to the airport, and although the ideal is to do it from idle at altitude, a slower VS descent with a little power is better than making lots of steep step-downs.A good rule of thumb is to keep your altitude at a third of your distance from destination (Cruising @ FL390? Start your descent 115-120NM away). By keeping an eye on this ratio as you descend, you can adjust the VS accordingly. Really, it's more of a guess and check thing anyway.Now, all that said, I'd take a VNAV path descent anyday if possible, especially when there are altitude constraints involved, but when that isn't possible, the 3-1 rule with guess and check works great.Jonathan

Irrelevant to the thread...good information though for those that hadn't figured that out!I've experienced the same thing guys...it worked on my very first flight in the airplane but hasn't since. I'll definitely try that work-around, thanks! Did you have to uncheck it and close the menu, then go back in to re-check it, or did two clicks in succession then clicking ok do the trick?Jonathan Bullock

I landed on 21 @ Charlottesville last weekend for real! Granted, it was a 182, not a 340, and I had a student, not an examiner, but still random :DJonathan

EVAC panel can be reached in the virtual cockpit. The FS2Crew tutorial even mentions that you can't get to it from the 2D, but you can in the virtual. Not sure why it was designed this way, but it was...and I agree, great bird!Jonathan

Just ran into this same issue several times now with the FS9 MD11...including twice on the same flight after it failed the first time!I'm using the FS2Crew Cold and Dark saved panel state, and sometimes it has been running at 4x sim rate when it reached the TOD and blew by it, sometimes 1x.Anybody else in the FS9 version have issues with this?Jonathan

Just a quick observation, lest anybody get confused...The first link is for the FSX PMDG MD-11 only...the second link is for FS9 and FSX, however it's for the Overland model, not PMDG.Probably noted by most, but might save some confusion for others who don't notice without downloading :)Jonathan