I fly the Longitude on Xbox quite a bit, and below FL200 I use Vertical Speed mode just because I want to see the scenery a bit longer and control the rate of climb at a more leisurely pace. The Longitude has amazing pressurization which is how it can climb so quickly without too much passenger discomfort, but 7K feet per minute is for people in more of a hurry than me.
The plane takes off in, well, Take Off mode (full thrust) and you have to press either VS or FLC to put it in to Climb Mode, usually after 1000 or 1500 feet. I believe you are not supposed to leave it in TO mode for more than a few minutes or it ruins the engines over time. Pressing VS or FLC just changes modes, even if you are still hand flying - AP does not have to be on.
Here is my procedure, if it helps anyone else:
- Set initial altitude cleared by ATC
- Enter all the performance info and post the vSpeeds
- Line up and press the Auto Throttle button before take off (back of the throttle)
- You can pre-arm Heading or LNAV, and VNAV if desired
- Advance throttles all the way (or press TO / GA) and “TO” will annunciate armed
- Take off
- retract gear 400 feet AGL
- Once you are comfortably climbing the key is to press either VS or FLC to take the plane out of Take Off mode, VS or FLC puts it in Climb Mode, and Auto Throttle takes over.
- If you press VS (my preference at takeoff) then select a rate of climb
- When ready, press AP
As for the VNAV climb modes, I leave it in High Speed Climb, which seems to work best. Rate of climb is only slightly slower at high altitudes than Max Rate climb - with the benefit that the plane doesn’t slow down as much and then have to speed up again.