Would you be so kind as to report that to support.pmdg.com?
These functions are now taken over by the tablet, but should stay available on the CDU of course.
Mathijs Kok
PMDG
@TheFalconOne Thanks for your quick reply. I found an older resolution on the PMDG forum headed " Negative slope entry".
It seems the 737 will be updated to this new format in due course.
So on TAKEOFF REF page when inputting runway slope enter D for downslope and U for upslope. Followed by /D for dry and /W for wet.
So D0.2/W for example on Runway 25L in Jinnah (OPKC) in rain. Inputting a -0.2 for the downlope will not be accepted and bring up āInvalid Entryā on FMC.
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Another data point on fuel burnā¦ I flew LGAV (Athens) to WSSS (Singapore) to test out the 77W on complex payware (Athens was a bit of a slideshow on T/O, Singapore was pretty much perfect!)
Anyway. I did the first half the flight at 1x and the last 4 hrs of cruise to TOD at 4x - fuel burn remained on plan so I am totally perplexed as to what is causing this - seemingly in only some parts of the world.
Live weather and the Progress page showed correct temps.
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Question for PMDG 777 experts about ways to load Fuel, Cargo and PAX
In the PMDG tutorial and many Youtube tutorials, the basic steps for loading the plane are:
- On the Tablet, Request Data from SImbrief
- On the FMC, Route Request, then:
Set Payload
Set Fuel
This seems to load the plane instantly, as the plane suddenly drops a bit.
However, on the Tablet in the Ground Operations app, Automated Ground Ops section, you can choose Turn Type and enter Fuel amount. This seems to automatically connect ground equipment and shows a progress bar for each service loading.
My question is, does the Automated Ground Ops load the Fuel, Cargo and PAX amounts specified in the SimBrief OFP? Or from the FMC > FS Actions > Fuel, PAX, Cargo pages?
I tried it once, and it seemed to load a random amount of stuff that did not match Simbrief at allā¦ so itās a bit confusing. Perhaps I did things in the wrong order. Iād like to use the feature and watch the progress, but also want to follow the Simbrief OFPā¦
Also, when I used the Automated Ground Ops Turn feature, it loaded fuel but the Fuel Density (on the FMC > Menu > FS Actions > Fuel page) was empty. Are we supposed to leave it blank, or take a guess and fill it in?
Also, in one YT video about the PMDG 777 Universal Flight Tablet, A330 Driver mentions that using the Automated Ground Ops, things like Potable Water and Laveratory Services will affect the Zero Fuel Weight - however, there is no explanation anywhere about how to manage this, or if you then need to recalculate Simbrief.
I like the depth of these features, but the documentation doesnāt say much at all.
I am working on a more extended manual on the Ground Operations parts.
Search in our forum for a lot of discussion on the Simbrief import issues.
Mathijs Kok
PMDG
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Great - thank you. But in general terms, does it work like this:
If you import a SimBrief OFP to the Tablet, then Request OFP on the FMCā¦ does that then populate the FS Actions > Fuel, Pax, Cargoā¦ and then that can be used for the āsimulationā of Automated Ground Ops on the tablet?
Or, is it a choice - Load items from Simbrief OR use Automated Ground Ops?
One thing that might be useful or make it clear, would be a simple toggle option on the Tablet > Automated Ground Ops page:
Source: SimBrief, or FMC FS Actions
Iām just trying to understand if SimBrief and Ground Ops are intended to work together, or intended to be separate?
Thanks again.
This might be a weird question, but how to plan the FMC without a Destination? Some airports arenāt in the database so I cannot just put in the ICAO codes. However, I do want to insert enroute waypoints, is there a way to do it? I also couldnāt figure it out in the 737 FMC, perhaps I was missing something?
To which airports are you flying a plane as large as the 777 that are not in the database? If there are major airports of that nature, it might be worth raising those with Navigraph, since they supply the navdata (*).
(*) Yes, I know the navdata cannot yet be updated on the 777, but the mechanism is in place to do it via the tablet once the final bugs are worked out.
Well, you raised a perfectly valid point, so I guess I was not flying to airports frequented by T7 IRL, but also there are custom made airports, closed down airports to name a few. Quite a lot in the sim lack navdata, but I cannot speak of Navigraph since I donāt subscribe to them. Even the EFBās performance calculator has those airports and runways in the database, but not for the FMC. Anyway I was just wanting to learn about the possibility of programming a route without destination.
Navigraph does not make the database and is not allowed to change anything.
Simmers often think that airliners canāt fly without everything being planned and inserted into the systems. But they are still aircraft with controls and can be navigated, just as I do in my 1950 Cub. Just use a chart, plan a route, and do a circuit.
A few weeks back, I had dinner with a 744 FO, and we discussed what to do if a navigation system fails or is unreliable. He told me pilots love that. Thatās when they get to fly the aircraft, make decisions, and show they are the coolest dudes on the planet. The average simmer (and I exaggerate wildly here), closes the sim and starts to write on his favorite forum about the the bug he found.
If you can point out the airport on a chart and the runway can handle your plane, you should be able to land there.
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We published a poll about our 777 for PC and Xbox/Cloud and invite you to share your input. We are very interested in Xbox and Cloud customers as it is difficult for us to gather information from them (Microsoft does not share customer data for those).
You will find links to the poll here. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
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I completed the poll - thanks for posting it.
My general feedback is this: the plane modeling is great, and I learn a bit more each time I use it. The memory optimization seems to be really good, given how large and complex the 777 is, flight has been very smooth.
There are 5 areas that I find need better explanation or fixing:
- Navdata updates via the tablet (I believe PMDG is working on a fix)
- Fuel burn still seems to be unpredictable (I hope PMDG is working on a fix)
- It would be nice if Automated Ground Ops on the Tablet would load the plane using the values from the Simbrief OFP - and/or if it can do this, make it clearer in the documentation, because I havenāt figured out how to do this.
- Since PMDG planes do not communicate with MSFS about the flight plan or ATC, we canāt use native ATC unless we try to duplicate the flight plan in the World Map before loading in. I wonder if and hope PMDG will be able to communicate with ATC in MSFS 2024 (since MSFS ATC will incrementally improve over timeā¦).
- If not, provide some more detailed documentation about what datalink / CPDLC services work on Xbox? Obviously VATSIM and IVAO donāt work on Xbox, but some functions in the COM page do work, like ATIS.
A wishlist item would be: an ability to file a flight plan and get clearances (including oceanic) virtually via CPDLC would be very cool if possibleā¦ I understand this would require hooking in to a virtual ATC on the back end and who knows if MSFS is even considering CPDLC.
In terms of User Interface, I usually fly with all of the MSFS Instrument Tooltips off, but when trying to learn the systems in a complex plane, I sometimes turn Instrument Tooltips on so I can see the name and/or current values of any given button. However - and maybe itās just me - in the 777 no values are shown in the tooltip, just the button name. Some instruments like the clock have many buttons and it would be very helpful to have a bit more documenation about it.
Finally, PMDG states that, āā¦ we have created a simulation that to the largest degree possible, does not use any default functionalityā¦ā and I worry about that strategy creating additional limitations in the future, especially on Xbox. Some other complex aircraft available on Xbox can communicate with the native flight planning, native ATC (all of which is improving over time). Since we have no access to 3rd party services like this, the limitations are more consequential, in my opinion.
Thanks.
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Thatās a good point, and Iāve done quite a lot of VOR to VOR flights in the tubeliners. However, what if I need to fly to a waypoint instead of a radio navaid (eg. because the VOR gap is too much)? That doesnāt seem probable without a flight plan to me.
Most VOR are also waypoints that you can put into the FMC/LEGS. The most simplistic flightplan would be VOR 1 - VOR 2. You can insert your custom waypoints by using one of these points as reference and adding/distracting a distance. Like 30 NM after FUN VOR would enter as āFUN/30ā. That is when flying on a track (line between 2 points). When you need to define a bearing, like 110Ā°, you type āFUN110/30ā.
Just keep in mind that VORs are disappearing fast and are hardly usable as a navigation means in some parts of the world.
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Is there any reason for the GPWS triggering āTERRAIN TERRAINā during RNAV approach ~ 700 ft AGL? Landing gear was down and Flaps 30.
I completed the online poll generally super pleased with the aircraft except the internal sounds in the flightdeck.
There is a relationship between wind noise and engines sounds and the wind noise dominates by a very long way. On the ground and low altitude seems ok but the higher you go the more the wind dominates and at cruise its uncomfortable with headsets on. Would prefer sound sliders to fix this, the MSFS sound sliders have no effect on the wind noise, Iāve tried them all no luck. There are also threads on the PMDG forums so I know Iām not alone and Iām aware its probably realistic to real life 777 flightdeck but Iām also not wearing a headset to nurf sounds like real life pilots do, Iām wearing a headset to play games with high quality sound
Thats how it is in real life. Itās not about being higher or not but the speed at which the wind hits the windshield. ~900 Kph is big number.
Even as a passenger you can notice the difference between sitting in the front rows vs in the back during cruise.
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Not to mention the engines are wayyyy behind you; the sound from the engines should be negligible when youāre in motion, especially compared to the wind noise. Even on the ground youāre pretty well insulated from the engine sound.
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