SubLogical

Thank you very much for the helpful responses.I'm still not quite sure though if the Appr can be armed above the GS and if it will then automatically lock on as you descend into it ... In my days of flying the default FS planes I would usually wait for the GS button to light up and then hit approach ... not having that available in the JS, it looks like you're advising me to keep my powder dry until I see the whites of the runway and then push the magic Appr button.As to the erratic behaviour of the altimiter on occasion I think that I'm answering my own question when I admit I was probably too high at the IAF and the AP was still controlling the descent to the ALT selected when I swooped into the GS ... maybe then it CAP'd ... found me too low and started to climb then descend again.I never mind going in by hand though if I can see the Rwy ... she is such a jewel to hand fly.Thanks again ... I'm going to take your advice and "do circuits" !!!Ken Park

What (or when) is the approved procedure for pressing the "Appr" button on an ILS landing ...1) Anytime during the approach2) Only after the Nav captures the ILS but before the GS is active3) Only after the GS become activeI am never quite certain exactly when I'm under the GS ( no instrument warning ?) until the bar starts moving. But I wonder if the "Appr" will still capture the GS as you descend under it if it is armed above it.I've managed to get into trouble on short final expecting the GS to handle the descent in only to see the altimeter rising and then falling erratically ... convincing me to panic, intervene and hand it in. It seems to me the JS kind of "dives in" at the last minute and maybe one should keep his fingers off the buttons and wait for it to happen! But there must be a more relaxing way to handle the GS? Ken Park

Michal,What do you make of the snagit I uploaded for the RNAV you mentioned for Rwy 27 into Duluth?Ken Park

Not really sure what Captain Bob means when he says the JS41 can't be used for "Approaches". I flew into Duluth (KDLH) Rwy 27 via the (Dayar) IAF DME ARC to the ILS ... all completely handled by the FMC. All I had to worry about was the speed and minimum altitudes. The ARC comes up on the FMC as an Approach option ... Ken Park

What a genuinely good discussion this has become ... mostly over my head but at the risk of sounding like a broken record I am flying the JS41 into airports that I think she may have been designed for ... small "feeder" stops where a compliment of 28 passengers might be a big day.So far I've been to the now famous Castlegar (CYCG), Medicine Hat (CYXH) , Dickinson (KDIK) and next Duluth (KDLH). Each of those airports show an RNAV (and forgive me for using the term STAR incorrectly) that I can't seem to bring up on the JS41 FMC although they show on the FSX GPS. Also, because I can't spend the remainder of my life searching out the latest and greatest charts and ATC online is not always online, I'm quite happy to pay for Jeppesen's old cast off SimCharts that show these RNAVs. They're a perfect match but as the FMC can't access the FSX db ( as far as I know ), they're unusable.I guess in a perfect world PMDG would offer users the option of either the FSX db or the more current Navigraph but I suspect that that may be easier said than done. In any event the subject has had a good airing from some very knowledgeable posters and for me that was a valuable learning curve ... I now understand the situation but I can't help but laugh thinking I'd rather make a graceful landing on a runway the doesn't exist anymore with the help of the Honeywell than stagger down onto a more current runway at the mercy of my own flying abilities with everyone on-line watching!!!Oh well, I'll be in Europe soon and they won't know me there ...Bring on the Dash 8 ...Many thanks to you all.Ken Park (Captain Troglodyte) :(

Now if the shelling has stopped and it's safe to crawl out from my foxhole I'd like to finish my thread. I'm flying around the Northern Hemisphere in the JS41 and avoiding the large airports as part of the trek. This is a voyage of discovery, fun and a break from the Virtual airline I also fly regular routes for. I've long ago left behind the Castlegar airport which prompted my concern over the lack of an RNAV in the JS41 FMC/Navigraph that exists in the FSX database. I was naive to ask ... I know better now!The farther I travel on my journey, the more I have to hand fly into the smaller airports because the STARS are not in the Navigraph database even though I see them in the FSX database, but I like using the FMC in the JS41 so I take what I can get. I also fly in the X-plane environment and if that makes me some kind of apostate as suggested by the obnoxious repsonses of a couple of seasoned forum members (judging by the number of posts they claim credit for) then I know where I'm not welcome. And for the last 25 years I thought that this was supposed to be a fun hobby! Some of the respondents to this thread have condemnded me for raising this issue in the JS41 forum and I think I was properly dressed down by either a Navigraph representative or an apologist for them. By the way I am a paying member of Navigraph ... not a free loader and as such a customer ... I don't know how you make your living, but to me a customer usually deserves some respect or he may become someone else's customer.But let's get back to why I raised this "shortcoming" (maybe only in my mind) in the JS41 forum ... contrary to the best advice of some ... to butt out ... and that is simply this ... it wasn't Navigraph's decision to deny users of the JS41 access to the FSX database ... that had to be a decision of PMDG. And I hasten to add that they must have had good reason for doing so or I can't for the life of me understand why it was done.While we fly in the FSX environment, I can't understand why we don't stick to it ... unless of course Navigraph and any other supplier can duplicate and/or improve on it.I rest my case and I'm sorry I posted in this forum.Thanks again to those who helped me and regrets to those who found me troublesome.Regards to all,Ken Park :(

Hi Dan,There is no reference to CYCG.txt in the SID/STARS file but the approach still existed ... see April 2006 chart submitted by vonmar in this thread. Also, I fly X-plane as well and their database is complete and current and free and it's in there.It may be that NavGraphics just aren't providing a complete database in this regard even though you pay for it. There is no doubt about the J41 FMC handling RNAVS ... here's an outdated one into KSEA.Ken

Thanks to all ... I'm enjoying the education ...The Jeppesen chart I uploaded is dated 28 Jan 05 and had I known the NavCanada RNAV chart had the LatLongs on it for the fixes I could have downloaded it and then inserted the co-ords for each fix into the J41 FMS computer as a waypoint ... but that's a bit of work to say the least. Here's the rub ... I pay for the Jeppesen charts and the airacs and neither showed me the fixes. I think at least the airac should ... CYCG is a small airport but is commercially serviced by Air Canada's "Jazz".I confused myself and everyone else on the airac I'm using ... a check in the PMDG file shows I'm up to 09-10. Anyway my errors still don't change anything ... those RNAV fixes should be in the airac.BTW the GNS manuals are superb and very instructive. Many thanks again for that link. It looks like a lot of the utilities that system provides have been omitted in the J41 version and I hope that they can included in part of a future upgrade. Great plane . Great forum. Great supportThanksKen

It looks as though the FMS was working fine but RNAV fixes in question weren't in the airac database. For those interested, it looks as though you can use the default FS GPS in conjunction with the JS41 FMC if you install a flight plan made by FS. The PMDG flight plan controls the AP and the FS GPS provides a reference map for the flight. I think I might be noticing that the main wheel brakes cease to work after you touch the toe brakes? I'm having a tough time stopping this girl with just the toe brakes.Thanks to all for your input.Ken

Much appreciated Dan ... I'm starting to get somewhere now ... great to have the forum help.Regards,Ken

Ernie can I trouble you to tell me where that file is likely to be found? Interestingly, I loaded an FSX flight plan into the Castlegar airport and tried to use the default GPS but couldn't get the AP to follow that ... however, the GPS proc showed the RNAV fixes when I selected that approach ... am I dealing with two different databases ...?Anyway for those pilots who haven't had a good workout lately you might want to try going into CYCG but leave your ego behind so you can find it again after the flight!!!!

Many thanks for that link Greg ... that's a good start. Ken Park

I have been unable to "add as waypoints" the RNAV fixes from a Jeppesen Chart which I have attached for viewing. These are EPLIT, RESDN, SPREA, and IPOV. I have the 0709 airac loaded but when I go to add these as a waypoint, I'm asked for their lat/longs. Other fixes shown on the V300 airway load without asking for the L/L's (these L/L's are shown on the enroute chart if you wanted them) and I'm wondering if I'm missing something, or the FMC is missing something or the airac is.These fixes load easily into the X-plane FMC so I gather it's possible.Also, is there a separate usage manual available for the J41 model of the FMC ... or is the AOM about all that's available.Many thanks,Ken Park

Hello all,Haven't got the words to tell you how thrilling I'm finding this bird is to fly ... if the instruments fail you (or you them) there's always flying her in by hand and I think she's easier than a 172.I have found that "locking on" to the flight plan with the FMC can be challenging but that may be my problem. For sure you have to load your flight plan before you start FS or you won't see iton the FMC list until you re-start. The call-outs are great and very helpful in a 3D environment ( the prop locks should only call out when both are locked ... I got it for one engine but not the other)I like to fly this girl from the Jump Seat and use the Zoom control and Hat on pan to get around the cockpit. I have Saitek equipment and would like to know how to program the throttle sliders below the detentto give you the reverse for the power levers. At the moment I have programmed the buttons below for F1 and F2 which works well but not as good as just pulling the levers down! For sure this plane has got some minor bugs ... but look at this way ... the PDMG guys are working on it and she is only going to get better ... let's get the bugs out of her and get on with the "InOps"!Congrats on a very timely simulation ... a lot of us have had enough long flights staring at the screen all afternoon ... it's in the takeoff and landings!!!I have the CTD problem on shutdown and have attached the details of the last error msg in the remote chance it may be of some help to the wizards who know what this stuff means!All the best,Ken :(