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PMDG 737 NGX

From Cold and Dark to Shutdown Checklist

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2 Revision History | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

Revision History

5 September 2011 First version

11 September 2011 Table of contents added

Fuel figures corrected (contingency fuel calculation was incorrect)

Preflight procedure content added

16 September 2011 Minor corrections

Before start, pushback, engine start, before taxi, taxi, and before takeoff

procedures added

3 October 2011 Several minor corrections for spelling, grammar, clarification, etc.

Changes made to use VNAV for departure

Verified tutorial works with AIRAC 1110

Content added through shutdown checklist

ContentsRevision History ................................................................................................................................................. 2

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

Airplane and Route ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Payload and Zero Fuel Weight ....................................................................................................................... 6

Fuel Planning ................................................................................................................................................. 6

Preflight Preparations ........................................................................................................................................ 8

Electrical Power Up ......................................................................................................................................... 14Preliminary Preflight Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 23

Preliminary Preflight Procedures Crew Change or Maintenance ............................................................. 26

CDU Preflight Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 31

Preflight Procedure.......................................................................................................................................... 49

Overhead Panel ........................................................................................................................................... 49

Lights Test .................................................................................................................................................... 69

EFIS Control Panel ........................................................................................................................................ 70

Mode Control Panel ..................................................................................................................................... 77

Oxygen and Flight Instruments ................................................................................................................... 79

Preflight Checklist ........................................................................................................................................ 97

Before Start Procedure .................................................................................................................................... 99

Before Start Checklist ................................................................................................................................ 111

Pushback ........................................................................................................................................................ 112

Engine Start ................................................................................................................................................... 115

Engine Start Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 116

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Revision History 3

Before Taxi Procedure ................................................................................................................................... 121

Before Taxi Checklist ................................................................................................................................. 127

Taxi................................................................................................................................................................. 128

Before Takeoff Procedure ............................................................................................................................. 130

Before Takeoff Checklist ............................................................................................................................ 130

Takeoff and Climb .......................................................................................................................................... 132

Takeoff Roll and Rotation .......................................................................................................................... 134

Climb to 1,500 AGL ................................................................................................................................... 138

Acceleration and Flaps Retraction ............................................................................................................. 139

Transition to Enroute Climb ...................................................................................................................... 140

After Takeoff Checklist .............................................................................................................................. 143

Climb .............................................................................................................................................................. 144

Turns and the Yaw Damper ....................................................................................................................... 144

Airspeed ..................................................................................................................................................... 145

The Effect of Wind ..................................................................................................................................... 147

Terrain and the Vertical Situation Display ................................................................................................. 149

Going Direct ............................................................................................................................................... 150

Climb Speed ............................................................................................................................................... 152

Climb using Level Change or V/S ............................................................................................................... 154

Crossing 10,000 ........................................................................................................................................ 156

Climb to Cruise Level ................................................................................................................................. 157

IAS/MACH Changeover .............................................................................................................................. 160

Leveling off ................................................................................................................................................ 161

Cruise Flight ................................................................................................................................................... 163

Progress pages ........................................................................................................................................... 163

Step Climb .................................................................................................................................................. 164

Wind .......................................................................................................................................................... 166

Failures ...................................................................................................................................................... 169

Failure Example Engine Overheat ........................................................................................................... 171

Descent Planning ........................................................................................................................................... 175

Descent Checklist ....................................................................................................................................... 182

Descent .......................................................................................................................................................... 183

Approach Checklist .................................................................................................................................... 185

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4 Revision History | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

Approach ....................................................................................................................................................... 186

Landing Checklist ....................................................................................................................................... 190

Landing .......................................................................................................................................................... 191

Shutdown....................................................................................................................................................... 193

Shutdown Checklist ................................................................................................................................... 196

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Introduction 5

IntroductionThis tutorial is intended for those who are new to the NGX and who are still learning how to correctly

prepare the aircraft for flight and how to fly the airplane. Almost all of the information on these pages can

be found in the documentation that PMDG has supplied with the NGX. The main difference is that this

document is organized such that it follows the sequence of events you would go through while doing your

preflight preparations, taking off, flying, and landing the airplane.

Much as I like the extensive documentation that comes with the NGX, if I sit down and try to read it cover

to cover, I find myself very quickly going cross-eyed and with a strong urge to get up and do something else.

I much prefer reading about each airplane system when Im actually doing something with that system.

That is how this tutorial is structured, and I hope you find it useful.

I should point out that Im not a real-world pilot. I have done the research and I hope I got it mostly right,

but there is bound to be some inaccuracies here and there. Feel free to contact me via the forum or via my

email address,[email protected], if you think something needs to be corrected.

The real Boeing 737-800 is always flown by at least two pilots, and the responsibilities of each pilot are

clearly defined in Boeing documents and airline-specific standard operating procedures. Since you will be

flying the NGX alone, I have modified the real-world procedures in some places to allow for a more logical

single-pilot flow.

This document has been tested with PMDG 737NGX build 1.00.2987 and with AIRAC versions 1108, 1109,

and 1110.

Airplane and Route

Todays flight takes us from Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) to Los Angeles

International Airport (KLAX). We will be flying the PMDG 737-800NGX with winglets in the PMDG House

livery1.

The route that we have been given by the dispatch office is JCT7 JCT EWM BXK TNP SEAVU22. The

JUNCTION SEVEN SID takes us from Houston west to the Junction VOR (JCT). From there we continue west

across Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and into California where we join the SEAVU2 STAR into KLAX at the

Twentynine Palms VOR (TNP). Dispatch has informed us that the most economical altitude for todays flight

is FL380.

The weather in Los Angeles is expected to be fine when we arrive. However, if we cannot land at KLAX for

some reason we should plan to divert to San Diego Intl, approximately 95 nm south-east of Los Angeles.

You can download a .kml file showing the route in Google Earthhere.

1You can of course use a different livery if you wish. However, the liveries that you download from the PMDG website

come with different equipment settings. If you use a different livery you may find that the instructions and

screenshots in this document differ slightly from what you will see in FSX.2 This is a real-world route obtained from theflightware.comwebsite.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://stickleback.dk/docs/AUG11/KIAHKLAX.kmlhttp://stickleback.dk/docs/AUG11/KIAHKLAX.kmlhttp://stickleback.dk/docs/AUG11/KIAHKLAX.kmlhttp://www.flightaware.com/http://www.flightaware.com/http://www.flightaware.com/http://www.flightaware.com/http://stickleback.dk/docs/AUG11/KIAHKLAX.kmlmailto:[email protected]

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6 Introduction | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

Payload and Zero Fuel Weight

We are carrying a total of 130 adult passengers, 11 children, and 4 infants. Eleven of twelve first class seats

are occupied; the remaining 130 passengers and the four infants are in coach.

We have 5,034 lbs of cargo, which includes baggage as well as a small amount of other cargo types. The

cargo is distributed with 2,411 lbs in the forward cargo hold, and 2,623 lbs in the aft cargo hold.

This gives us a zero fuel weight of 121,010 lbs for todays flight. The load factor is 61.4%.

Fuel Planning

There are many different tools available for calculating how much fuel you should carry on your flight. I like

the fuel planner included invroute premiumsince I use vroute a lot to find routes. Vroute takes real-world

winds into account, so the fuel consumption predicted is fairly accurate; however, vroute tends to

exaggerate the amount of diversion and reserve fuel that you need.

Another option is to use the freewareFUELPLAN2

website. It produces very realistic-looking load sheets and

fuel plans. Unfortunately it uses fixed payloads, and Ive found that it significantly overestimates the

amount of fuel required, at least for the 737-800.

For todays flight we will be using the following fuel figures (using output generated by FUELPLAN2

that has

been edited with fuel figures obtained from vroute):

=====================================================================

Houston to Los Angeles // B738 // 1195.3 NM

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Departing : George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH)

Arriving : Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX)Equipment : Boeing 737-800

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Description Fuel (LBS) Fuel (LBS) Hours:Mins

--------------------- ---------- ---------- --------- -----------

Estimated Fuel Usage:.............. 17080 03:30

Reserves

Final reserve 2560

Diversion 2240

Contingency 854

Total reserves:................... 5654 01:28

---------- ----------

Fuel On Board:..................... 22734 04:46

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Rule: FAR Domestic | Basis: time | Load Factor: 61.4133

---------------------------------------------------------------------

FUELPLAN Copyright 2008-2010 by Garen .AT. AeroTexas .DOT. com

We need a total of 22,734 lbs fuel for todays flight. This figure includes

17,080 lbs that includes fuel for taxi at KIAH and the fuel required to get to KLAX and land there.

2,560 lbs final reserve fuel, enough to hold at 1,500 above destination airfield elevation for 30

minutes. This amount of fuel should always be remaining in the tanks when we land the airplane.
http://www.vroute.net/http://www.vroute.net/http://www.vroute.net/http://fuel.aerotexas.com/http://fuel.aerotexas.com/http://fuel.aerotexas.com/http://fuel.aerotexas.com/http://fuel.aerotexas.com/http://fuel.aerotexas.com/http://www.vroute.net/

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Introduction 7

2,240 lbs for the eventuality that we will have to divert to KSAN after flying a missed approach at

KLAX

5% of trip fuel to account for stronger than expected headwinds and other variations. For simplicity

Ive used 854 lbs here, which is 5% of taxi + trip fuel.

Since no destination alternate airport is required for todays flight we could actually load less fuel and still

be within legal limits. Instead of the 2,240 lbs diversion fuel we could add another 15 minutes of holding

fuel, which is 1,280 lbs. However, I like to have some extra margin to compensate for the inaccuracies of

the tools that we have available to us.

The above fuel estimate does not take into consideration any significant delays we might encounter when

arriving at KLAX. If you have to hold and then divert to KSAN after flying a missed approach, you could end

up using fuel from your final reserve, which in the real world is not a good thing. If you think that you might

be delayed flying online for a VATSIM or IVAO event, for example you should carry additional fuel.

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8 Preflight Preparations | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

Preflight PreparationsIn this section we will begin preparing for our flight by loading the NGX in FSX with the payload and fuel

that we discussed above. We will also load the cold and dark panel state that comes with the NGX. We will

be using the NGX Control Display Unit (CDU) for these tasks, but obviously functions such as loading

passengers on the plane are not present in the real-world CDU. PMDG implemented these functions in the

CDU so you do not have to access the FSX menu system during setup.

From the FREE FLIGHT screen in FSX, begin by making the following selections:

Current Aircraft: Boeing 737-800NGX PMDG House Winglets

Current Location: George Bush Intercontinental/KIAH, GATE E 16

Current Weather: Fair Weather weather theme

Current Time: I suggest you set the local time to 9am, this will ensure that we have daylight for the

duration of the flight.

Press the FLY NOW button and wait for the scenery and airplane to load. Dont touch anything until the

PMDG initialization process (countdown in green bar at the top of your screen) has completed.

Let us begin the preflight preparations by loading the cold and dark panel state. Press Shift-3 to load a 2D

popup of the Control Display Unit (CDU):

The CDU has a screen and a keypad that can be used to display and enter information into the Flight

Management Computer (FMC)3. The last (bottom) line of the screen is known as the scratchpad where

various information and error messages can be displayed, and where information that you enter using the

CDU keypad is shown.

3The NGX has two flight management computers FMCs that are located in the avionics bay, somewhere beneath

the cockpit floor. The CDUs are the pilot interfaces to the FMCs.

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Preflight Preparations 9

During the preflight preparations you may see messages displayed in the scratchpad relating to single and

dual FMC operation. You can clear these messages by pressing the CLR key in the lower-right corner of the

keypad.

On both sides of the CDU screen you will find a vertical row of buttons called Line Select Keys (LSKs). Pushthe fourth LSK from the top on the right side of the CDU screen (referred to as LSK4 RIGHT), next to the

PMDG SETUP> menu item:

Now press LSK2 RIGHT next to the PANEL STATE LOAD> prompt. What you see on the next screen may differ

from what I have, depending on how your system is configured:

Locate the

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The

prompt, followed by LSK1 LEFT at the

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The fuel automatically gets distributed correctly when loaded through the CDU, with the wing tankscompletely filled and the remaining fuel in the center fuel tank, which is about 20% full. (The center tank is

generally filled last and fuel in this tank is used first to minimize wing bending in flight).

Now we need to enter the passenger and cargo loads that dispatch gave us. Press LSK6 LEFT next to the

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Press LSK6 LEFT next to the

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Still on the forward overhead panel, moving aft and to the right, you will find two PROBE HEAT switches

located just forward from a row of WINDOW HEAT switches:

With these two switches in the ON position the airplanes pitot tubes and angle-of-attack sensors are

electrically heated. These probes can become very hot when on the ground, so they are usually turned offduring the after landing checks and not turned on again until the airplane is ready to taxi. Left-click on these

switches to move them to the OFF position6.

At this point we are ready to begin the process of powering up the airplane.

6If you like you can save your own version of the cold and dark panel state at this point, with the selections that we

have made so far. From the PMDG SETUP menu select LSK 1 RIGHT next to the PANEL STATE SAVE> prompt and use the

CDU keypad to name your new panel state. Press LSK 1 LEFT to copy the name from the scratchpad to the line ofdashes, and then press the EXEC button to save.

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14 Electrical Power Up | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

Electrical Power UpThe airplane would normally be powered up when the flight crew arrives, but in our case we are starting

from a completely cold and dark flight deck. The procedure that you follow in this case can be found in the

Supplementary Procedures section of FCOMv1, starting on page SP.6.1.

BATTERY switch ................................................................................................ Guard closed

The BATTERY switch is located on the forward overhead panel, near the top (aft) of the panel and left of

center:

The NGX comes with one or two 24-volt NiCd batteries7. Each battery is capable of providing DC and AC

power to important equipment for at least 30 minutes if all other power sources are lost8.

Position the mouse over the switch guard (the mouse cursor will turn into a gray hand when over the

guard; over the switch itself the hand will be white) and click on the guard to close it and turn the battery

on.

STANDBY POWER switch .................................................................................. Guard closed

The STANDBY POWER switch is located forward overhead below and to the right of the BATTERY switch:

7The default equipment list for the PMDG 737-800WL House livery has two batteries.

8

FCOMv2 has a list of the equipment that is working when the battery is the only source of electrical power, startingon page 6.20.19.

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Electrical Power Up 15

The electrical equipment in the 737 is connected to electrical buses that are in turn connected to the

various electrical sources (battery, engine generators, APU generator, and ground power). Connecting a

power source to a bus powers the electrical equipment that receives its power from that particular bus.

You began the process of connecting electrical buses to power sources by closing the guard over thebattery bus. This made DC power available to a few consumers, with the visible result that the overhead

panel began to light up.

Close the guard over the STANDBY POWER switch; doing this locks the switch below the guard in the AUTO

position. This in turn connects the DC and AC standby buses to the battery (the DC power supplied by the

battery is converted to AC by an inverter) and powers equipment connected to these buses.

At this point I suggest that you take a look at the AC and DC metering panel on the forward overhead panel:

The metering panel is divided into a left side that shows DC volts and amperes, and a right side that shows

AC volts, amps, and frequency. Below the metering panel there are two rotary knobs, a DC and an AC

source selector. Turning the DC rotary to its different positions in turn should confirm that the battery and

standby buses are the only ones powered at this point9.

On the AC side you can see that the AC standby bus is currently powered with 117v at 400Hz. By turning

the AC rotary to the other positions, you can see that ground power is available but that none of the

generators are providing power (since the engines and APU are not running).

Next we perform a couple of safety checks to ensure that we get no unexpected movements of flaps or

flight controls when power is established (this could endanger ground personnel working around the

airplane):

9For some reason the DC current draw reads 0 with ground power available (i.e. connected by ground crew to the

external power receptacle) but not yet connected to the buses. If you remove ground power at this point, the DC

current draw will read around negative 38 amps. Presumably this is because the battery charger operatesindependently of ground power selections made on the overhead.

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ALTERNATE FLAPS master switch .................................................................... Guard closed

This switch is located in the upper (aft) left corner of the forward overhead panel:

The alternate flaps system is an electrical backup to the main hydraulically powered flaps extend and

retract system. With the guard closed this switch will be in the OFF position. This should already be the case

with the cold and dark panel state that we loaded, but you should verify it nonetheless.

Windshield WIPER selector(s) ....................................................................................... PARK

These switches are located near the forward center of the forward overhead panel:

Verify that these switches are in the PARK position (should already be the case). Using the wipers on a dry

windshield will cause scratching, so we dont want them to operate when power is established.

ELECTRIC HYDRAULIC PUMPS switches ....................................................................... OFF

These switches are located near the middle and right of center on the forward overhead panel:

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The NGX has three hydraulic systems. The two main systems, A and B, have both engine-driven and electric

pumps that provide hydraulic pressure to operate systems such as flight controls and landing gear10

. There

is also a standby hydraulic system powered by an electric pump that can provide hydraulic pressure to

essential systems in the event that system A and/or B is lost.

You should confirm that the switches labeled ELEC2 and ELEC1 are both in the off position, so the hydraulic

systems wont begin to pressurize when we bring ground power or the APU on line. (The ENG1 and ENG2

pumps have been left in the ON position by the previous crew or maintenance staff, but that doesnt

matter since the engines wont be running at this point).

LANDING GEAR lever ........................................................................................................ DN

The LANDING GEAR lever is located on the center forward panel.

Confirm that the LANDING GEAR lever is in the DN position, that the three green landing gear indicatorlights are illuminated, and that the red indicator lights are extinguished.

At this point we are ready to put external power on the buses. Start by going back to the AC and DC

metering panel and turn the AC rotary to the GRD PWR position. Confirm that the external power supply is

providing us with 115 volts at 400Hz (small variations are acceptable):

10FCOMv2 has a full list of systems that require hydraulic power to operate, starting on page 13.20.1

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Move down (forward) on the panel and confirm that the GRD POWER AVAILABLE indicator is illuminated:

GRD PWR switch ................................................................................................................ ON

This switch is located just below the GRD POWER AVAILABLE light.

Connect the ground power supply to the electrical buses by left-clicking the GRD PWR switch. Confirm that

the four TRANSFER BUS OFF and SOURCE OFF indicator lights located below (forward) of the GRD PWR

switch on the forward overhead panel are now extinguished:

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We wont turn on the APU until we get closer to our departure time, but since we will eventually need it to

provide air pressure for engine start we will go ahead and do a few more safety checks at this time.

To begin with, confirm that the three red engine and APU fire switches on the aft electronic panel (just aft

of the engine start levers) are pushed in:

With the panel state that we loaded these switches will be in the correct position already, but you should

check anyway.

The following tests should only be performed after alerting the ground crew. The reason is that there is an

APU fire warning horn in the main wheel well that will sound, and we do not really need assistance from

fire fighters at this point.

OVERHEAT DETECTOR switches ........................................................................... NORMAL

There are two of these switches, located near the fire switches on the aft electronic panel:

Each engine has two overheat/fire detection loops, A and B, that must agree that an overheat or fire

condition exists before an alert is triggered. However, you can choose to operate with only one loop active

by moving either of these switches to the A (switch to the left) or B (switch to the right) position. For

normal operation these switches should be set to NORMAL (switch centered).

TEST switch ............................................................................................ Hold to FAULT/INOP

This switch is located near the #1 engine fire switch, on the aft electronic panel:

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You can hold the switch to the left by left-clicking it, then moving the mouse away before releasing the

mouse button. Now you need to look around the flight deck for a number of indications:

The left and right yellow MASTER CAUTION lights on the glareshield panel should be illuminated, and

OVHT/DET should be annunciated on the left system annunciator panel:

(You may have more annunciations visible on the annunciator panel at this point. This is not important

just verify that the OVHT/DET annunciation is present).

On the aft electronic panel the FAULT and APU DET INOP lights should be illuminated:

Confirm these indications, and then cancel the test by clicking on the TEST switch again.

TEST switch .............................................................................................. Hold to OVHT/FIRE

Same switch as above, but this time right click the switch and move the mouse away before releasing the

mouse button to hold the switch in the OVHT/FIRE position. This time you should hear the fire bell, and you

should look around in the cockpit for various indications:

The left and right FIRE WARN lights on the glareshield panel should be illuminated.

The left and right yellow MASTER CAUTION lights on the glareshield panel should be illuminated

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OVHT/DET should be annunciated on the left system annunciator panel

Push the red master FIRE WARN light to silence the bell and verify that both master FIRE WARN lights are

extinguished. Next, go back to the aft electronic panel and verify that the engine no. 1, APU, and engine

no. 2 fire switches stay illuminated, and that the ENG 1 OVERHEAT, WHEEL WELL11

, and ENG 2 OVERHEAT

lights are also illuminated:

Cancel the test by clicking on the TEST switch again.

EXTINGUISHER TEST switch ...................................................................................... Check

This switch is located near the #2 engine fire switch, on the aft electronic panel:

The engine fire extinguishing system in the NGX comprises two extinguisher bottles that can be discharged

into either engine (both bottles could be fired into the right engine, for example, by pulling up the no. 2

engine fire switch and rotating the handle first to one side and then to the other, after which the engine

fire extinguishing system would be depleted). The APU has its own fire extinguisher bottle.

11

The WHEEL WELL light only illuminates during this test when AC power is available. If you perform the test onbattery power only, it will remain extinguished.

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Move the EXTINGUISHER TEST switch first to the 1 position, by left-clicking the switch and verify that the

three green extinguisher test lights each corresponding to an extinguisher bottle - are illuminated:

Repeat the test for the 2 position, by right-clicking the switch.

This completes the process of powering up the airplane from the cold and dark state. An aircrew would notnormally have to go through this procedure, but would instead follow the procedures beginning on the

next page of this tutorial.

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Preliminary Preflight Procedure 23

Preliminary Preflight ProcedureThis procedure can be found in the Normal Procedures section of FCOMv1, starting on page NP.21.1

IRS mode selectors .......................................................................................... OFF, then NAV

The IRS mode selectors are located on the aft overhead panel:

The NGX has two independent inertial reference systems (IRSs) that provide attitude, heading, acceleration,

vertical speed, ground speed, track, position and wind data information to various other airplane systems.

Each of these IRSs comprises three sets of laser gyros and accelerometers. The IRSs provides the NGX with a

navigation capability that is completely independent of radio navigation aids on the ground or on satellites

(although GPS and various forms of VOR/DME updating increases the accuracy of navigation considerably).

Before the IRSs can be used for navigation they must be initialized with the airplanes present position and

go through an alignment phase. By default the IRS alignment time in the NGX is set to 30 seconds, however

in the real 737 NG this time will vary between five and seventeen minutes, depending on the latitude of the

airplane location12

.

Starting from a cold and dark state, the IRS mode selectors will be in the OFF position. Use the mouse

wheel or right-click on the selectors to move them to the NAV position (dont stop in the ALIGN position)

The ON DC lights above the IRS mode selectors should illuminate briefly after you place the selectors in

NAV:

The ON DC lights will then be replaced with ALIGN lights:

12

You can simulate realistic IRS alignment times by pressing the MENU key on the CDU, then selecting PMDG SETUP(LSK4 RIGHT), OPTIONS (LSK2 LEFT), SIMULATION (LSK1 LEFT), IRS OPTIONS (LSK5 LEFT), and REALISTIC (LSK1 LEFT)

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24 Preliminary Preflight Procedure | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

It is important that the airplane not be moved while the IRSs are aligning. If this occurs, you will have to

redo the alignment by switching the IRS to OFF, wait until the ALIGN lights extinguish, then switch them to

NAV once more.

(If by accident you move either selector to the ATT position, move it back to OFF and wait approximately 30

seconds until the light extinguishes. Then move it to NAV).

While the IRSs are aligning you should enter the airplanes current position into the control display unit(CDU). If the alignment period expires without a current position entered into the CDU, the ALIGN lights will

begin to flash to alert you of the problem (the same happens if there is a problem with the position entry

for example if the origin airport in your flight plan does not agree with the position that you have entered).

If the position entered in the CDU is acceptable, the IRSs will automatically switch to NAV mode once

alignment completes. The ALIGN lights will then extinguish.

We will perform the position entry in a moment. First we will complete a few other actions on the aft

overhead panel:

VOICE RECORDER switch .................................................................................... As needed

This switch is not installed in the NGX.

OXYGEN PRESSURE ................................................................................................. Verified

The crew oxygen pressure indicator and the passenger oxygen switch are located on the aft overhead

panel, a little right of center:

Crew oxygen is supplied from an oxygen cylinder. The CREW OXYGEN indicator on the aft overhead shows

the current pressure in this oxygen cylinder.

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Passenger oxygen is supplied by chemical generators. The passenger oxygen masks can be deployed

manually by opening the guarded PASS OXYGEN switch on the aft overhead, or automatically when the

cabin altitude reaches 14,000. Passenger oxygen begins flowing when an oxygen mask is being pulled

down, and continues to flow for approximately 12 minutes.

HYDRAULIC QUANTITY ............................................................................................. Verified

Begin by pressing the SYS MFD switch on the center forward panel:

The hydraulic fluid quantity in % of capacity can now be found on the lower display unit (DU):

A RF (refill) indication will be shown to the right of the numbers if the hydraulic quantity for either system

drops below 76%.

ENGINE OIL QUANTITY ............................................................................................. Verified

Press the ENG MFD switch on the center forward panel:

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The engine oil in % of capacity can now be found on the lower DU:

If the oil quantity is low, the digits will be displayed black on a white background.

Preliminary Preflight Procedures Crew Change or MaintenanceThe rest of the items in the Preliminary Preflight Procedure are normally only carried out after a crew

change of after maintenance has been performed on the airplane.

Maintenance documents ................................................................................................ Check

Not applicable.

FLIGHT DECK ACCESS SYSTEM switch .......................................................... Guard closed

This switch is not installed in the NGX.

Emergency equipment ................................................................................................... Check

Not applicable.

PSEU light ................................................................................................. Verify extinguished

The Proximity Switch Electronic Unit (PSEU) light is located on the aft overhead, near the IRS mode

selectors:

The PSEU monitors the warning systems for takeoff configuration, landing configuration, landing gear, and

air/ground sensing. The PSEU light will come on if a fault is detected in one of these systems or if there is a

fault with the PSEU itself. The PSEU light is inhibited in flight.

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GPS light ................................................................................................... Verify extinguished

The GPS light is located on the aft overhead, above the IRS mode selectors:

This light will illuminate if both GPS sensor units have failed. It will also illuminate when one of the system

annunciator panels are pushed if a single GPS sensor has failed.

ILS light ...................................................................................................... Verify extinguished

This light is not installed in the NGX.

GLS light .................................................................................................... Verify extinguished

This light is not installed in the NGX.

SERVICE INTERPHONE switch ....................................................................................... OFF

This switch is located on the aft overhead panel, above and to the right of the IRS mode selectors.

The service interphone system lets flight crew and cabin crew talk to each other. If this switch is placed in

the ON position, jacks externally on the aircraft are added to the system, so ground staff connected to any

of these jacks can use the service interphone. In the OFF position these external jacks are disabled.

Flight crew can still talk to cabin crew over the service interphone with this switch set to OFF.

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(The pilots can communicate privately over a different system, the flight interphone system. The ground

crew can also use the flight interphone by plugging into a jack near the external power receptacle.)

ENGINE PANEL ................................................................................................................. Set

The engine panel is located on the aft overhead panel.

The REVERSER lights must be extinguished. If illuminated, these lights indicate that one or more problems

have occurred with the reversers.

The ENGINE CONTROL lights next to the EEC switches must be extinguished. If lit, these lights indicate a

fault in the engine control system.

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The two EEC switches below the plastic covers must be in the ON position. The electronic engine control

(EEC) system receives inputs from various sensors on the airplane and engines, and it computes and sets

the desired N1 accordingly, simplifying the process of setting thrust. The EEC system also collects data for

maintenance use.

The plastic covers over each of these switches can be lifted by a right mouse click. Left-clicking after lifting

the cover toggles the EEC switches off.

Oxygen panel ...................................................................................................................... Set

We already covered this item above when we checked the oxygen quantity, so there is nothing further to

do here.

Landing gear indicator lights ......................................................................... Verify illuminated

These lights are located on the aft overhead panel, below the oxygen panel.

Flight recorder switch .......................................................................................... Guard closed

This switch is located on the right-hand side of the aft overhead.

Our only action here is to verify that the guard is closed, holding the switch below in the NORMAL position.

This will ensure that the flight recorder is operating in flight. (On the ground the flight recorder is only

operating when the engines are running, so the OFF light next to the switch will be illuminated when you

perform your preflight procedures).

Circuit breakers (P6 panel) ............................................................................................ Check

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The individual circuit breakers are not functional in the NGX; however the P6 panel behind the FOs seat is

very nicely rendered, so turn around and take a look at it at this point.

Manual gear extension access door .............................................................................. Closed

The manual gear extension access door is located on the floor, aft and to the left of the FOs seat. It cannot

actually be opened in the NGX, so you can skip this item.

Circuit breakers (control stand, P18 panel) .................................................................... Check

The P18 panel is behind the Captains seat, also very nicely modeled but non-functional.

I have been unable to locate any circuit breakers on the control stand.

Parking brake .......................................................................................................... As needed

The parking brake lever and warning light are located on the control stand.

On the real airplane, the parking brakes are set by depressing the Captains or the FOs brake pedals fully,

then pulling the lever. In the NGX you can simply pull the lever.

Since the wheels are chocked, setting the parking brake at this point is only required if you want to check

the brake wear indicators during the external inspection. The brake wear indicators are pins that extendthrough the brake housing. As the brakes are worn down, these pins extend less and less - when the pins

are flush with the brake housing, the brakes need replacement.

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | CDU Preflight Procedure 31

CDU Preflight Procedure

Initial Data ........................................................................................................................... Set

At this point we can begin programming the flight management computer. Open the CDU again by pressing

Shift-3, press the MENU key on the CDU keypad to open the top menu, and then display the IDENT page by

selecting

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32 CDU Preflight Procedure | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

this or not this tutorial will work fine with AIRAC 1108. If you use real-world charts for your flights, you

may want to purchase an upgrade once in a while; upgrading every 28 days usually isnt necessary14

.

After verifying the information on the IDENT page, press LSK6 right at the POS INIT> prompt to continue to

the next page in the setup sequence:

Begin by verifying the time and date displayed toward the bottom-left on the CDU display (in this case

1521z on August 28, which is 9:21am local time in Houston). In the real 737-800 the time information is

supplied by the GPS receiver, in the NGX you will see the time and date set in FSX.

(If the aircraft is not receiving a valid GPS time, the time will be 0000.0z when the FMC is powered up, and

the time must be set manually. You can see this in action if you fail both GPS receivers before establishing

electrical power to the airplane).

Use the CDU keypad to enter KIAH in the scratchpad, and then press LSK2 LEFT to move the content of the

scratchpad to the REF AIRPORT line. You should now have:

14

If you use an out-of-date AIRAC, you will get the same error message that is shown on the real 737. In the real worldthis is a no-go situation. With the NGX you can simply clear the error and continue.

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We now have two position entries in the top half of the CDU display: The last position that was computed

by the FMC before the airplane was shut down, and a reference position of the KIAH airport. Normally we

would also enter the gate number to get a third line showing the gate position, but the data for KIAH that

we have available does not include our current gate, E16.

To enter the airplanes actual position press the NEXT PAGE key on the CDU keypad to display the POS REF

page:

The FMC uses position input from the IRSs, the GPS sensors, and radio navigation receivers to calculate the

airplanes position at any given time. This calculated value will be shown on the first line of the CDU, below

the FMC POS label, once we complete the initialization procedure15

.

15

It takes a little time before GPS updates appear on this page. If you find a blank page, just wait a bit until theposition information appears.

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At the moment the POS REF page only shows position data from the two GPS sensors on the airplane. Copy

one of them to the scratchpad using LSK4 LEFT or LSK5 LEFT.

Now press PREV PAGE on the CDU keypad to go back to the POS INIT page, and use LSK4 RIGHT to move the

GPS position from the scratchpad to the row of small squares below the SET IRS POS label.

If you do not get any errors at this point the position entry has been accepted. The SET IRS POS line will

disappear from the POS REF screen once the IRSs complete their alignment

Navigation Data .................................................................................................................. Set

Press LSK6 right next to the ROUTE> prompt to display the first RTE page:

On this screen you should fill in the ORIGIN and DEST fields (note that KIAH is already in the scratchpad,

ready to be copied to ORIGIN using LSK1 LEFT). You can also fill in the number of your flight in the FLT NO.

field. Dont put anything in the RUNWAY field that appears after you fill in the ORIGIN field.

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The CO ROUTE field can be used by the pilots to load a pre-defined company specific route that has been

previously stored in the FMCs navigation database. In FSX you can use this field to load routes that you

have previously exported from flight planning software or from a route database16

.

You should now have:

In the top-right corner of the CDU screen there is a 1/2 indicating that we are currently viewing the first

of two RTE pages that are in the FMC. Press the NEXT PAGE key to display the second RTE page:

16In this tutorial we will be entering the route manually. However, if you want to use routes exported from flight

planning software in PMDGs .rte format, you should first save your flight plan to the PMDG\FLIGHTPLANS\NGX folder

or the PMDG\FLIGHTPLANS folder located below your main FSX folder. You can now load the route by typing its name

(without the .rte extension) into the scratchpad and transferring it to the CO ROUTE field. You can also browse flight

plans stored in these folders by pressing LSK2 LEFT without anything in the scratchpad. Note that the NGX cannot useroutes created in FSX own flight planner.

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This is where we can enter our flight plan which, as you may recall, was JCT7 JCT EWM BXK TNP SEAVU2. If

we strip away our SID and STAR (JCT7 and SEAVU2) we are left with a string of route waypoints JCT EWM

BXK TNP that we will enter on this screen.

Begin by entering JCT in the scratchpad, then transfer to the line below TO using LSK1 RIGHT:

Now enter the remaining waypoints EWM, BXK, and TNP - in the same fashion, below JCT. You should

now have:

Next we should enter our SID (JCT7) and STAR (SEAVU2). We should also enter our departure runway at this

time. Todays flight will be departing from runway 09.

Begin by pressing the DEP/ARR key:

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Next press LSK1 LEFT next to the

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Now press the DEP/ARR key again, and then select LSK2 RIGHT to display the first of seven KLAX ARRIVALS

pages:

Press the NEXT PAGE key twice and select the SEAVU2 arrival from the list using LSK3 LEFT. At this point you

should have:

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In the left column, below the SEAVU2 arrival, we have the option of selecting the TNP transition. Since that

is the last enroute waypoint in our flight plan, select TNP using LSK2 LEFT.

We will not be selecting an approach into KLAX until we get closer to our destination. Press the RTE key on

the CDU keypad to return to the RTE pages, followed by NEXT PAGE to display the second of three RTE

pages currently in the FMC:

At this point we are done programming the FMC with our SID, route, and STAR17

. Activate the route in the

FMC by pressing LSK6 RIGHT next to the ACTIVATE> prompt followed by the EXEC button:

17In this example the choice of SID and STAR to fly was easy since it was given in the real-world flight plan that we

used. This will not always be the case, particularly when flying outside North America. If you are interested in worked

examples using real-world charts I suggest you take a look at one of the following:EKCH-ENGM,YSCH-YPAD,KSEA-

KLAX, orLOWI-UUDD. The first two are fairly basic, KSEA-KLAX is a more advanced example, and LOWI-UUDD dealswith issues that arise when flying into Russia or other parts of the world that use metric flight levels and QFE.
http://forum.avsim.net/topic/345047-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-examplehttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345047-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-examplehttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345047-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-examplehttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345272-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345272-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345272-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345450-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iiihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345450-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iiihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345450-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iiihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345450-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iiihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/346305-sids-stars-and-transitions-worked-example-iv/http://forum.avsim.net/topic/346305-sids-stars-and-transitions-worked-example-iv/http://forum.avsim.net/topic/346305-sids-stars-and-transitions-worked-example-iv/http://forum.avsim.net/topic/346305-sids-stars-and-transitions-worked-example-iv/http://forum.avsim.net/topic/345450-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iiihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345450-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iiihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345272-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example-iihttp://forum.avsim.net/topic/345047-sids-stars-and-approach-transitions-worked-example

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The ACTIVATE> prompt in the lower right corner of the CDU display has now been replaced by a PERF INIT>

prompt. Press LSK6 RIGHT to proceed to the PERF INIT page:

There are several fields on this page that we need to complete:

Starting on the left side, we should enter the zero fuel weight that we got from dispatch - 121,010 lbs - inthe ZFW field. Round to the nearest hundred lbs, and then enter the rounded value as 121.0 using the CDU

keypad and press LSK3 LEFT to transfer from the scratchpad to the ZFW field.18

19

18The NGX CDU has a convenient feature that you will not find in the real airplane: Instead of entering the ZFW using

the CDU keypad, you can press LSK3 LEFT to transfer the actual zero fuel weight to the scratchpad, then press LSK3 LEFT

again to update the ZFW field.19

Be careful not to enter the zero fuel weight into the gross weight (GW) field. Normally this type of error would becaught before causing problems, but there have been real-world accidents because the pilots made this mistake.

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The 23.0 figure on the PLAN/FUEL line is the total amount of fuel in the tanks according to the FMC20

. If

fueling was still ongoing we would enter the planned amount of fuel on board on this line. In our case we

can leave this field as is.

On the RESERVES line we should enter the final reserve fuel from our fuel plan, 2,560 lbs. Use the CDUkeypad to enter the rounded value 2.6 into the scratchpad, then press LSK4 LEFT to transfer this value to the

small squares. The FMC calculates our expected landing fuel continuously during the flight, and it will

display a USING RSV FUEL warning message in the CDU scratchpad if it determines at any point during our

flight that our expected landing fuel will drop below the value in the RESERVES field.

The COST INDEX is a figure that represents the relative weighting between fuel costs on one hand and the

hourly costs associated with keeping the airplane running (crew wages, maintenance costs, etc). It can take

any value between 0 (maximum fuel savings) and 500 (disregard fuel costs and get to the destination as

quickly as possible). The pilots will be using whatever cost index the airline tells them to use in our case

we will use the value 20.

Moving to the right column of the CDU display and enter FL380 as our cruise flight level (type 380 into the

CDU scratchpad, then press LSK1 RIGHT to update the TRIP/CRZ ALT field).

At this point you should have the following:

If you are using weather software with FSX that gives you average cruise wind direction and speed, you can

enter that information on the CRZ WIND line. If your forecast shows average winds at FL360 from 320 at

37 knots, for example, you would enter 320/37 in the scratchpad then use LSK2 RIGHT to update the CRZ

WIND field.

20You may have a slightly different value. We actually loaded 22,734 lbs so we would expect to see 22,7 here, but I

have noticed that the fuel figure reported on this page sometimes differs from the amount of fuel actually loaded by a

few hundred pounds. Im not sure how to account for this difference but you should be aware of it when planninghow much fuel to load for your flight.

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The FMC calculations of fuel use, arrival time, etc. are based on the assumption that the outside air

temperature (OAT) drops at a standard rate as altitude increases (ISA = International Standard

Atmosphere). At FL380 the OAT is expected to be -56C. If your weather forecast shows a different value,

you can improve the accuracy of the FMC calculations by entering one of two values:

1. The expected deviation from ISA temperature at top of climb. E.g. if you expect the OAT to be 2C

below the ISA temperature you should press the +/- key on the CDU followed by the number 2 to

enter -2 in the CDU scratchpad, then press LSK RIGHT 3 to transfer to the ISA DEV line.

2. If your weather forecast gives an expected temperature at top of climb instead of a deviation from

ISA, you can enter the temperature on the T/C OAT line. E.g. if you expect an OAT of -58C at top of

climb, press the+/- key on the CDU keypad followed by 58 to enter -58 in the CDU scratchpad, the

press LSK RIGHT 4 to transfer to the T/C OAT line.

These wind and temperature entries are optional. In our case we will leave them at the default values.

The transition altitude is 18,000 in the United States. If you have changed the default transition altitude in

the PMDG options, be sure to enter the correct value here.

At this point we are done with the PERF INIT page. Double check with the dispatch documents that the ZFW

and GW are correct, and verify that you have the correct amount of fuel on board. Then press the EXEC

button to update the FMC with the information you have entered, and press LSK6 RIGHT to proceed to the

N1 LIMIT page.

The airplane is equipped with two CFM56-7 engines which under normal circumstances can produce up to

26,300 pounds of thrust. This is frequently more than is required for takeoff (e.g. with a long runway, a light

aircraft, and some headwind), and since engine wear increases at higher thrust settings, airlines typically

require pilots to use reduced thrust settings for takeoffs whenever possible. There are two different ways

of accomplishing that:

1. Using afixed takeoff derate. This is done by selecting either TO-1 (LSK3 LEFT - 24K pounds of thrust)

or TO-2 (LSK4 LEFT 22K pounds of thrust).

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2. Using an assumed temperature. The electronic engine controller limits the maximum thrust

depending on the outside air temperature to avoid exceeding engine limitations. As OAT increases

the maximum allowable thrust decreases. This can be exploited to reduce thrust during takeoff by

telling the EEC to use a higher OAT than the temperature that is actually measured by the sensors.

You can experiment with these two methods of reducing thrust by changing the values in the left CDU

column and observe the effect on the N1 value in the upper right corner. For example, typing 40 in the

scratchpad and pressing LSK1 LEFT tells the EEC to limit thrust during takeoff as if the outside temperature

was 40C instead of the 15C that is measured by the OAT sensor:

As you can see, entering an assumed temperature of 40C limits the amount of thrust the EEC will set

during takeoff to 94.8% N1, down from the 98.9% N1 thrust setting that would normally be used at 15C21

.

Using a fixed 22K derate instead of an assumed temperature yields a thrust reduction to 92.5% N1:

21You may see small variations from the figures in this document.

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Although the two methods of reducing thrust achieve basically the same thing, there is a difference in the

event of an engine failure during takeoff. With only a single engine running the thrust will be asymmetrical,

which will cause a tendency for the plane to roll and yaw into the dead engine. The plane has to be

travelling fast enough during takeoff that this roll and yaw can be countered using rudder and ailerons, or

the plane could roll inverted.

If an engine failure occurs during a reduced thrust takeoff based on an assumed temperature, the takeoff

speed calculations guarantee that we will have sufficient rudder authority to counter the asymmetric thrust

with maximum power on the remaining engine. If the engine failure occurs during a reduced thrust takeoff

using a fixed derate, however, the power on the remaining engine must not be advanced beyond the

maximum derated thrust

It is possible to combine the two thrust reduction methods, by applying an assumed temperature on top of

a fixed takeoff derate. Also note that it is possible to bump takeoff power up to 27,300 pounds of thrust.

This setting might be appropriate when taking off from a high-altitude airport on a hot day at high grossweight.

A number of factors are used in the calculation of reduced thrust settings, including aircraft weight, outside

temperature, airport altitude, runway length, humidity, air pressure, runway dry/wet/contaminated, etc.

An airline will provide its pilots with the necessary tables to determine the correct thrust settings to use

when taking off from a given runway, but unfortunately most of us do not have access to this type of

information. Instead you can try guessing what settings to use FCOMv1 has some tables that can help you

determine the maximum assumed temperature for a given set of conditions or you can just use full thrust

settings for takeoff.

Runway 09 at KIAH is long, so for our flight we will be using the TO-2 derate in combination with an

assumed temperature of 34C:22

22I calculated these values using a payware tool calledTOPCAT(Take-off and Landing Performance Calculation Tool).

There is also a freeware tool out there called UTOPIA that may be useful (check the AVSIM file library). I have nopersonal experience using it, though.
http://www.topcatsim.com/http://www.topcatsim.com/http://www.topcatsim.com/http://www.topcatsim.com/

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If you want to use a fixed derate, you must select TO-1 or TO-2 before entering an assumed temperature.

Note that with the thrust reduction selections made as above, the FMC automatically selected a reduced

climb thrust setting, CLB-1. This is to avoid a situation where a thrust increase would otherwise occur when

the airplane transitions from takeoff thrust to climb thrust. Selecting CLB-1 gives around 10% reduction ofclimb thrust, CLB-2 would reduce climb thrust by approximately 20%. Reduced climb thrust settings are

gradually removed as the airplane gains altitude.

Now press LSK6 RIGHT next to the TAKEOFF> prompt to display the first of two TAKEOFF REF pages:

There are two values we need to enter on this page: The flaps setting we will be using for takeoff, and the

center of gravity from the load sheet.

Takeoff flaps setting can be flaps 1, 5, 10, 15, or 25 depending on aircraft weight and other performance-

related considerations, with higher flap settings typically reserved for shorter runways or high outside

temperatures. We will be using flaps 5 for this takeoff.

Just as with the zero fuel weight, instead of entering the center of gravity manually at LSK3 LEFT you can use

a shortcut: Press LSK3 left twice, once to place the CG value in the scratchpad, and again to transfer it to

the CG line. At this point you should have:

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Note that the FMC has calculated a pitch trim setting of 5.19 to be used for takeoff.

The FMC has also calculated takeoff V speeds, based on the selected runway, assumed temperature,

current gross weight, and flap setting:

If you have addon tools that calculate takeoff V speeds, you should compare with the FMC-calculatedspeeds and make sure they agree (or that you understand any differences). You can then enter the V

speeds you want to use at LSK1 right, LSK2 right, and LSK3 right. In our case we will simply use the speeds

calculated by the FMC, so just press each LSK in turn to update with the calculated V speeds. You should

now have:

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Press the NEXT PAGE key to display the TAKEOFF REF 2/2 page:

The most important task on this page is to verify that the ACCELL HT, EO ACCELL HT, and REDUCTION

entries are what we need:

The ACCEL HT is the height at which the airplane will begin to accelerate to climb speed from theV2+20 knots used right after takeoff. Flap retraction occurs above this height.

EO ACCEL height is the same as above, except this is the height where acceleration should begin in

the case of an engine failure (EO = engine out).

REDUCTION is the height at which the autothrottles will reduce from takeoff power to the climb

power setting.

The default values are fine for our takeoff from KIAH. At some airports you may be required to use a higher

ACCEL HTtypically 3,000 for noise abatement reasons.

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You can also enter runway wind direction and speed and runway slope on this page. Note that if you

change any of these values, you will get a TAKEOFF SPEEDS DELETED message in the CDU scratchpad,

alerting you that the CDU has recalculated the V speeds, and that you will need to go back and confirm

them on the previous TAKEOFF REF page.

At this point we are done with the CDU preflight procedure, and we are ready to proceed to the remaining

preflight setup tasks.

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October 3, 2011 Tom Risager | Preflight Procedure 49

Preflight ProcedureThe tasks in this section are divided between the captain and the first officer, and each pilots duties differ

depending on which of the two is the pilot flying on this leg. Exactly who does what also depends on

company procedures, but you can see how Boeing splits the two pilots duties in FCOMv1, on pages

NP.11.5-7. These setup tasks are carried out from memory by each crew member, and the crew then

verifies that everything has been done correctly by reading from a checklist.

In our case this split of duties isnt relevant, so well simply start in the top (aft) left corner of the overhead

and work our way down and across the front panel, until we complete the process at the aft electronics

panel.

In a lot of cases we are verifying that a certain light is extinguished. This can make some lights hard to

identify; if you would like to see what a light looks like when illuminated, you can use the LIGHTS test

switch located on the forward panel:

Right-click on the switch to turn all lights on. When you are done with this switch, click it again to return all

lights to their normal states.

Overhead Panel

We begin with the flight control panel on the overhead:

Flight control panel ......................................................................................................... Check

Verify that the guards are closed over the two FLT CONTROL A and B switches, and that the LOW

PRESSURE lights are illuminated:

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50 Preflight Procedure | October 3, 2011 Tom Risager

With these switches in the guarded A ON / B ON position, hydraulic power is used to move ailerons,

elevators, and rudder according to pilot or autopilot inputs. The LOW PRESSURE lights should be

illuminated at this point since the engine and electric hydraulic A and B pumps are not currently running.

If one of the main A or B hydraulic systems should fail, the associated FLT CONTROL switch can by moved tothe OFF position after opening the guard, thereby isolating the flight control surfaces from the failed

hydraulic system. Ailerons, elevators, and rudder can still be controlled through the remaining hydraulic

system.

In the event of a complete failure of both the A and B hydraulic systems, the ailerons and elevators can be

operated through a mechanical backup system. The rudder requires hydraulic power, which is provided by

the standby hydraulic system. The FLT CONTROL switches can be used to manually switch the rudder to

standby hydraulic power, by moving the switches to the STBY RUD position.

Next, verify that the guards over the SPOILER switches are closed:

In the guarded ON position hydraulic pressure from the A and B systems is used to raise the four flight

spoiler panels on each wing to increase drag and reduce lift, and to assist the ailerons in providing roll

control. The A and B hydraulic systems are each connected to spoiler panels on both wings, so spoiler

operation does not become asymmetrical if one of the hydraulic systems should fail.

The OFF position is only used for maintenance purposes.

Move the YAW DAMPER switch to ON and verify that the YAW DAMPER light extinguishes:

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The yaw damper uses rudder inputs to prevent Dutch rolls a very unpleasant, repetitive yawing and

rolling motion of the airplane and to ensure that turns are coordinated without the pilot having to

provide manual rudder input during turns.

The yaw damper requires inputs from the inertial reference system, so if you move the yaw damper to theON position before the IRSs are aligned, the YAW DAMPER light will remain illuminated until alignment has

completed.

Verify that the three STANDBY HYD lights are extinguished:

If any of these are illuminated there is a fault:

The LOW QUANTITY light indicates low hydraulic fluid quantity in the standby hydraulic system.

An illuminated LOW PRESSURE light indicates that the standby hydraulic system has been activated

(automatically or manually), but that the output pressure of the standby hydraulic pump is low.

The STBY RUD ON light comes on when the standby system is powering the rudder.

Verify that the guard is closed over the ALTERNATE FLAPS master switch, and that the ALTERNATE FLAPS

position switch is set to OFF:

The leading edge flaps and slats and the trailing edge flaps are normally extended and retracted using

hydraulic power provided by the B system. If the B hydraulic system fails, flaps and slats can still be

extended through a combination of standby hydraulic and electric power, by opening the guard and moving

the master switch to the ARM position, and then holding the position switch to DOWN.

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(The trailing edge flaps can be retracted again by holding the position switch UP, however the leading edge

flaps and slats will remain extended).

Complete the setup procedures on the Flight Control panel by verifying that the following lights are

extinguished:

FEEL DIFF PRESS

SPEED TRIM FAIL

MACH TRIM FAIL

AUTO SLAT FAIL

Because the flight controls are hydraulically powered during normal operation, there is no inherent

feedback to the pilot that lets him or her know how much force is required to overcome the aerodynamic

forces on the flight control surfaces. Instead there is an artificial feel system on the pitch axis that works

by providing resistance on the control column proportional to the amount of hydraulic power required to

move the elevators similar in concept to a force feedback joystick. If the FEEL DIFF PRESS light is

illuminated it indicates a failure in this system.23

The speed trim system is an automatic trim that attempts to maintain neutral control column forces during

takeoff when the airplane is flying at the speed corresponding to the takeoff trim setting. The idea is that

there should be significant resistance to pitch inputs made by the pilot (lowering or raising the nose) that

would cause the speed to deviate from the calculated takeoff speed. An illuminated SPEED TRIM FAIL light

indicates a failure in this system.

As airspeed increases the lifting force on the airplane will begin to move aft due to a phenomenon called

Mach tuck, with the result that the nose of the airplane will tend to pitch downward. Mach trim

automatically begins to operate when the speed exceeds M .615 to counteract this tendency. An

illuminated MACH TRIM FAIL light indicates a failure in this system.

The autoslat system operates to protect against stalls during takeoffs and landings. If flaps 1, 2, or 5 are

selected and the airplane approaches a stall condition, the leading edge slats are automatically driven to

the fully extended position to prevent the stall. If the AUTO SLAT FAIL light is illuminated it indicates a fault

in this system.

23Unfortunately you do not get artificial feel in FSX not even with a force feedback joystick.

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Navigation Panel ................................................................................................................. Set

Now we move forward on the overhead to check the navigation sub-panel. Begin by verifying that the VHF

NAV transfer switch is in the NORMAL position:

There are two VHF NAV receivers in the airplane. Normally information from NAV 1 (e.g. a tuned ILS or

VOR) is displayed on the Captains instruments, while NAV 2 is used on the first officers side. If one of

these NAV receivers fails, the remaining receiver can drive instruments on both sides of the flight deck by

moving this switch left or right as appropriate.

Next verify that the IRS transfer switch is in the NORMAL position:

In the NORMAL position the flight instruments on the left and right sides of the cockpit receive attitude and

heading information from the left and right IRS respectively. In case of a single IRS failure this switch can be

used to connect instruments on the failed side to the remaining IRS.

Finally verify that the FMC transfer switch is in the NORMAL position:

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With two flight management computers installed and the FMC transfer switch in the NORMAL position, the

left FMC is in control while the right FMC is in a backup mode. In this backup mode, the right FMC remains

synchronized with the left FMC, but it is otherwise inactive - both CDUs are under control of the left FMC.

Moving the FMC transfer switch left or right causes the system to revert to a mode where only the left or

right FMC is being used.

DISPLAYS panel................................................................................................................. Set

Moving further down on the overhead panel, verify that the SOURCE selector is in the AUTO position, and

that the CONTROL PANEL switch is in the NORMAL position.

The NGX has two display electronic units (DEUs) that are responsible for collecting information from the

airplanes systems and sensors, and for presenting that information in a format that humans can

understand on the six display units (DUs) in the flight deck. During normal operation, with the display

SOURCE selector in the AUTO position, DEU1 supplies information to the captains inboard and outboard

DUs and the upper DU in the middle, while DEU2 supplies information to the lower DU and the FOs

inboard and outboard DUs. Moving the display SOURCE selector to ALL ON 1 or ALL ON 2 allows all six DUs

to be driven from the selected DEU.

Each pilot can control what information is displayed on their display units by making selections on the

EFIS control panel:

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With the CONTROL PANEL switch on the displays panel in the NORMAL position, selections on the left EFIS

control panel controls what is being displayed on the captains DUs, and selections on the right EFIS control

panel controls the FOs DUs. In the BOTH ON 1 / BOTH ON 2 positions, DUs on both sides are controlled by

the selected EFIS control panel.

Fuel panel ........................................................................................................................... Set

Begin by verifying that the ENG VALVE CLOSED and SPAR VALVE CLOSED lights are all illuminated dim:

Each engine has two fuel shutoff valves, a spar valve located at the point where the engine is attached to

the wing, and an engine valve located on the engine itself. These valves are closed with the engine start

lever in the CUTOFF position (or if the engine fire handle has been pulled).

If the valves are in transit, opening or closing, the lights will be brightly illuminated:

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The screenshot above shows the ENG VALVE and SPAR VALVE lights immediately after moving the left

engine start lever to the idle detent. A few seconds later the valves complete opening and the lights

extinguish.

At this point the lights for both engines should be illuminated dim to indicate that all four fuel cutoff valvesare closed.

Next verify that the FILTER BYPASS lights are extinguished:

Fuel passes through fuel filters in each engine before entering the combustion chambers. If a filter should

become blocked by contaminants, fuel automatically bypasses the filter and the FILTER BYPASS light

illuminates to indicate this condition.

Verify that the fuel CROSS FEED selector is in the closed (vertical) position, and that the associated VALVE

OPEN light is extinguished:

During normal operation, with no fuel in the center tank, the left and right engines are pressure fed with

fuel from the left and right wing tanks respectively, and the left and right sides of the fuel system are

isolated from each other. Opening the CROSS FEED selector allows an engine to receive fuel from the

opposite wing tank.

For example, to have engine no. 1 feed from the right wing tank you would open the CROSS FEED valve and

turn off the no. 1 forward and aft fuel pumps, keeping the no.2 forward and aft fuel pumps on. In the

configuration the fuel pumps on the right side of the aircraft would pressure feed both engines.

Next verify that all the FUEL PUMP switches are in the OFF position.

The amber left and right center tank pump LOW PRESSURE lights should be extinguished

The amber no. 1 and 2 forward and aft wing tank pump LOW PRESSURE lights should be illuminated

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The LOW PRESSURE lights indicate that the sensors that monitor fuel pump output read an abnormally low

pressure. In our case this is expected because the pumps are OFF; in flight and with the fuel pumps ON, an

illuminated LOW PRESSURE light could indicate a fuel pump failure or fuel exhaustion.

The center fuel pump LOW PRESSURE warning lights only come on if the pumps are ON and low pressure is

sensed. We frequently fly with these pumps in the OFF position, and we dont want amber warning lights

on the overhead in this situation.

Electrical panel ................................................................................................................... Set

Moving aft and to the right on the overhead we come back to the electrical subpanel. Begin by verifying

that the BAT DISCHARGE, TR UNIT, and ELEC lights are extinguished:

At this point we are running on external power, and the battery should not be discharging. If that was the

case, the BAT DISCHARGE light would be illuminated.

The airplane has three transformer rectifier units, TR1, TR2, and TR3 that convert 115v AC to 28v DC power.

A failure in any of these would cause the TR UNIT light to illuminate.

The ELEC light is illuminated if there is a fault detected in the DC system or in the standby power system.

Moving forward on the overhead panel, verify that the CAB/UTIL and IFE/PASS switches are in the ON

position:

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With the CAB/UTIL switch in the ON position, power is provided to the galley as well as various cabin

systems, such as recirculation fans, lavatory water heaters, etch. With the IFE/PASS SEAT switch in the ON

position, power is provided to in-flight entertainment systems, electronic equipment and power outlets in

the passenger seats, etc.

Verify that the STANDBY POWER OFF light is extinguished:

If illuminated, this light would indicate that either the AC standby, DC standby, or battery buses were

unpowered. That should not be the case at this point, so we expect this light to be extinguished.

Next we should verify that the generator drive DISCONNECT are guarded and that the associated DRIVE

lights are illuminated:

Electrical power is produced by AC generators connected to each engine via a drive mechanism. Generator

and drive is an integrated unit (and IDG) with its own oil system for cooling and lubrication. The DRIVE

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amber light is illuminated when a low oil pressure is sensed in an IDG. With the engines not running we

expect these lights to be on.

It is possible to disconnect the generator drive from the engine in the event of a generator drive

malfunction, by opening the guard and moving the DISCONNECT switch below. Note that oncedisconnected, the IDG can only be reconnected on the ground, by maintenance. At this point the guards

should be closed.

Now move further forward and verify that the guard over the BUS TRANS

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