Ibanezmatt13

Hi Jonathon. Thank you very much for your reply. The link you gave me is probably the best thing I've come across since I started flying the MD-11. Thank you very much. I will still continue to use my formulas because I believe it is always good to know them in case during flight I had to do some calculations but this program really does help. All the best. Matthew

Hi, I have recently purchased the MD-11 and I can say it is one stunning aircraft to fly. I have been using online fuel planning websites such as http://fuel.aerotexas.com/ to calculate my load fuel which I have then entered into the load manager to get the weight information. However, the thing that annoys me with these websites is you can't input your cargo weights. For example, I could be loading the aircraft with full cargo where the website gives me fuel calculations for 33% cargo; would my trip fuel be the same irrelevant of the cargo? My best hope is to either locate a proffesional fuel planning utility or do it myself. I found the following formula when searching the web earlier. Loading Fuel = (Fuel base amount + (Distance * Fuel Burn Factor)) I'm guessing here that Fuel burn factor is average burn rate which I believe in the MD-11 is 31.6. And I'm also guessing that Fuel Base Amount is landing fuel? If so, for an example flight from Manchester to Frankfurt, I would have the following information: Fuel Base Amount = 40,000LBS Distance = 570.3NM Fuel Burn Factor = 31.6 When using the formula I finish with a loading fuel of: 50,421.48lbs I must then calculate wind component adjustment. I find the average heading, let's call it 120. I get the wind information for my cruising altitude of lets say FL350. Imagine the wind direction is 270 and wind speed is 65knots. We use the following formula: Cos (Average heading - Wind Direction) * Wind Speed Now substitute the values. Cos (120 - 270) * 65 This gives me a wind component adjustment of: -56.3nm This basically means that I have a tailwind which is going to take 56.3 miles away from my air distance, which in turn saves me fuel. If the number was positive, I would have a headwind. I would then subtract this from my previous air distance of 570.3nm giving me 514nm. I would then recalculate my loading fuel using this distance. This fuel calculation looks pretty accurate. However, it doesn't have any other factors such as payload information. What I would really like to know is a formula that tells me how to calculate loading fuel using this fomula, wind component adjustment formula, and something that includes payload information. I hope this has also given you some help with manual fuel planning. Thanks in advance. Matthew

Hi, Thank you again for your feedback. I didn't realise that the checklists came with the aircraft itself so thank you very much for that information. Abd WR269, I have considered the Angle of Attack training package once before and for some reason I decided against it. Maybe I will have a more in depth look later. Thank you all. Matthew, happy flying :)

Hi, thanks for your reply. When you say 'flow checklists' does that mean the checklists such as the before start and after takeoff, etc? If so, are all of them in there and which book do I buy. Thanks Matthew

Hi, I have recently purchased the MD-11 and I am thinking of expanding the proffesionalism of my flying by purchasing one of the MD-11 manuals from PMDG. What I want is to be able to open the book and read through let's say the before takeoff checklist and the after takeoff checklist and all checklists like that. However, I have never purchased one of these books before and so I don't know which to go for and whether it will actually contain what I want. Could somebody please tell me if one of these books has the checklists I require and if so, which one. Many thanks in advance. Matthew

Hi, Thank you all for your feedback. I am running FSINN externally. I do this because I run with Windows 7 Ultimate to avoid issues. I always use REX; I never turn it off ever. I don't start it by going into the program because it gives me firewall issues. I start up FSX and the weather engine fires up automatically. I only have this issue with PMDG aircraft which corroborates my suspicions of it being a compatibility issue with PMDG and another program I am using. Just prior to posting this message, I was flying my Carenado Piper Archer II around Liverpool, UK when FSX just stopped and a message appeared saying: "Microsoft Flight Simulator X has stopped working, checking for solution." Now that is a new one for me. When I got the error message after the closing of FSX, it stated that REX was an issue; as was SimConnect. Now I don't fully understand what SimConnect is but both of these programs were stated. Hope that this information proves helpful. Thanks in advance. Matthew

Hi, I have been a PMDG customer for several years now and I have purchased the 747-400X, the NGX and the MD-11, and will only be purchasing the upcoming Dash 8, 747 version 2 and 777 if this problem is resolved. I was taking part in Vatsim's cross the pond event a few days ago. Everything had been going well until 6 hours into the flight, I was made to force close FSX after a major freeze; even the audio froze and continued to sound. I have had this identical issue with the NGX but somehow I fixed it, however, I can't remember how. One other thing I have noticed is that if I leave the frozen FSX for 7-10 minutes, the freeze stops and FSX continues from the point at which it froze. This isn't always the case though I believe I may have been a little impatient during the event as I started to press keys while it was frozen only to discover that 'a fatal error has occured.' So the things to remember are: It only happens with PMDG products. It can be resolved after 10 minutes of waiting. Many people also have the same issue. I run other programs such as REX Extreme and FSINN. Thoguh even when these are disabled I experience the same issue. Please get back to me on this one. Thanks in advance. Matthew

Thanks guys, didn't realise it was so simple. Much appreciated. Matthew :)

Hi,I have been reading the PMDG MD-11 Advanced tutorial in readiness for participating in Vatsim's Cross the Pond event tomorrow. In the tutorial PDF it states that I should turn on ignition A because it is an even numbered flight. What is the significance of this even numbered flight? Does that mean ignition B is required for an odd numbered flight, and what would that be. I am rather confused.Please somebody tell me what this means.Many thanks in advanceMatthew

Thank you very much for your feedback. So, do I set the Selcal I have been given on the event page into squawkbox and then when I hear the bell do I start speaking? What I can't understand is this. Do I turn off my radio or something because I thought that Selcal was used so that I don't have to listen to the constant noise of HF radio. And then i suppose when ATC selcal me, I turn my radio back on or do I keep it on the whole time?CheersMatthew

Hi,I am going to be taking part in Vatsim's Cross the Pond event 2012 event which will take place on the 31st March. On the website where flight bookings are made there is an option for Selcal. Now I gathered that this meant selective calling (after a brief Google) but I don't quite know how to set it up. I know that it is primarily used so that the pilot doesn't have to listen to the noise of the HF radio when going across the Atlantic but I don't know how to set it up and what it does.I will be flying the PMDG MD-11; any ideas regarding how I set it up with this aircraft?CheersMatthew

Hi,Thank you very much for your early reply. Last night I completed a flight successfully in the MD-11. The only thing that was getting at me was the fact that if I was on Vatsim and they told me to descend to be level before such a waypoint or be level in 30 miles, I just wondered whether the MD-11 had that extra degree of accuracy. However, I thank you for your feedback and I'll follow that tutorial flight as well. I believe there is also an advanced tutorial pdf that can be downloaded from PMDG's website; am I right?Also, I didn't think the cost index was simulated in FSX. Is it?Have a great day.Matthew :)

Hi,I have just purchased the MD-11 aircraft and I am experiencing some minor but rather frustrating issues. When I am nearing the end of the cruise and about to start the descent I arm the descent profile for a lower altitude in readiness for the profile descent. At top of descent it begins descending as expected. In other aircraft such as the NGX when I turn off prof it will show a marker on the ND of where I will level at my imputed altitude with my current vertical speed. So basically I want to be able to decide where I want to end up depending upon my v/s.In the MD-11, I can alter my vertical speed, but I have absolutely no idea when I am going to reach that level becuase there is no marker showing me this on the map.I hope somebody can understand what I am trying to say and please help me before the Cross the Pond event on Saturday!Many thanks in advance.Matthew :(

Hi, I have recently started flying as a member on Vatsim. I expected to be pretty rubbish at it because it is so professional, but despite this I can manage to do a good flight without any major mishaps :) Every time I request pushback on Vatsim they ask for your stand number. Now I've seen videos on the internet where people can see the stand number right in front of them. My FSX has basic scenery because my dad won't let me buy any scenery packages. Can anybody help me with this and show me where I can get stand numbers to appear on my FSX. Oh and I am based in the UK, if that has anything to do with it :D ThanksMatt