PMDG Boeing 747-400 Type Rating Course [lesson 1] by Thamer Alahaimer

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 1

PMDG 747-400 Type Rating Course Introduction

What is the PMDG Type Course?: This type course is designed to help you learn and explore various aspects of the PMDG 747-400 that you might not otherwise have discovered after reading the supplied documentation. Please note that this type course will assume that you have read the documentation we supplied with the airplane. This course will also assume that you have printed the Chapter 5 Normal Procedures checklists, and the Flight Use Checklist to use and follow during the type course. The entire type course will consist of several lessons broken into pieces. These pieces will roughly reconstruct the entire type rating maneuver evaluation conducted for certification in the 747-400 type aircraft. Please note that this type course is written very generally for the learning and interest of our flight simulator customers and does not reflect the actual operating procedure of any specific carrier or training techniques taught by any specific training facility. This type course may contain errors and omissions which we may correct from time to time at our discretion. Additionally it stands to reason that no aspects of this course should be used for any purpose other than the enjoyment of our PMDG 747-400/400F simulation products. Lesson Plan Overview: The PMDG Type Course will begin at KBFI, where you will learn to power up the PMDG 747 from a parked and de-powered state. You will be taken through programming of the FMC for a flight from Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, (KBFI) to Moses Lake, Washington (KMWH) where you will learn to conduct various visual and instrument approaches in order to improve your proficiency with the PMDG 747-400. Along the way some lessons may require repetition in order to help you learn specific tasks. To help with this repetition process, we will provide specific saved flights that you should load and run in order to ensure that your experience matches the teaching materials for the course. Please remember at all times that in the complex field of aviation there are many different regulatory bodies, corporate policies and personal operating procedures that vary from others, and sometimes they even conflict with one another. Do not be intimidated by different techniques, as it is always valuable to expand your skills as a pilot but we recommend that you use the techniques we teach in this course at least initially until your grain comfort with the airplane. Our hope is that upon completion of this Type Course, you will have gained sufficient experience with the operation of the PMDG 747-400 to dramatically increase your enjoyment of this simulation. It has been our experience that many customers never take the time to really learn the depths of this simulation and subsequently miss out on the true simulation value and learning experience of this product. We hope that this type course will help you to experience just how complex this PMDG 747-400 simulation truly is!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 2 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

PMDG 747-400 Type Rating Course Lesson One: Startup Lesson One Overview: For this exercise, the airplane is parked at KBFI and is de-powered. 84,000lbs of fuel has been preloaded and the task for this lesson is to power up, program the FMC, start the airplane and prepare for taxi. The purpose of this lesson is to prepare you for Lesson 2, which will commence the flight training process.

What you will need: The following items are needed in order for you to gain the most benefit from this course: • • •

You must have a copy of the Type Course source files. (You should have them if you are reading this!) You should print ALL of Chapter 5: Normal Procedures and keep it nearby for reference. (Hint: Windows START menu, ALL PROGRAMS, then PMDG Simulations, PMDG 747400 Operating Manuals.) You will also need to print the CHECKLIST located in the PMDG Simulations, PMDG 747-400 menu as well.

You will find it most helpful to print this Lesson Plan before commencing. Additionally, we find that it is helpful if you keep your checklists nearby in printed format as you will reference them continually during your first few starts. You can use any PMDG 747-400/400F livery for the purpose of this course as it may suite your taste. The images within the documentation will be from the new PMDG 747-400F.

Installing This Type Course Lesson: The ZIP file that contains the lesson plan should be unzipped to your main Flight Simulator directory. We have structured the zip file so that all of the required files will be appropriately placed in the correct directories for you provided that you have “use directories” selected in WinZip. If you have problems, just copy the following files to the correct locations: PMDG-744-TRC-Lesson 1.sav

-> <Flight Sim Root Directory>\PMDG\747400\PanelState\

PMDG-744-TRC-Lesson 1.FLT

-> <Flight Sim Root Directory>\Flights\PMDG\

PMDG-744-TRC-Lesson 1.WX

-> <Flight Sim Root Directory>\Flights\PMDG\

Let’s Set up your Hardware: On the flight deck of a modern airliner there are a few buttons that are always underneath your finger tips in order to facilitate simplicity of use. (Autopilot Disconnect and TOGA, for example can be accessed easily because they are located literally at your finger tips while you are controlling the airplane.) We have found that most customers have joysticks with multiple buttons on them, so for this reason we want to walk you through setting up these buttons so that you can use them naturally as you would if flying the real airplane. Unfortunately, we cannot possibly give you instructions on how to map every button on every joystick that might possibly be in use, so instead we will show you how to map a specific key command to these functions within our simulation. It is our hope that you will take the time to

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 3

then map these keystrokes to your hardware following your joystick manufacturers instructions. Taking a few moments to do this will dramatically enhance your flight experience when we get in to flying complex approach procedures with the 747-400 in later Type Course lessons. Instructions: • Run Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. • Load the PMDG 747-400 and enter the simulator. • Pull down the PMDG menu, then select GENERAL and KEYBOARD COMMANDS. • In the “Command Category” drop down menu, select “MCP” • Scroll down to item number 55 “MCP Set TOGA” and enter a key command such as CTRL+Z • Move the item number 56 “MCP Abort TO/Discon AT” and enter a key command such as CTRL+X • Note: These are the key commands that I use on my setup- and they do not conflict with any other key commands that I have established on my rig. You may need to establish your own settings…) • •

Now, in the “Command Category” drop down menu, select “YOKE” For “Yoke – Press AP Discon” enter the Z key.

Now, you simply need to map each of these three key commands to a different button on your hardware, and you’ll have the Autopilot Disconnect, TOGA button and A/T disconnect buttons at your fingertips just like the pro’s! (If you map these key combinations to your joystick’s buttons, pressing the button will trigger the key command as if you had typed it in yourself. When our simulation sees these key commands it will respond appropriately! If you absolutely cannot figure out how to map a key combination to your joystick buttons, you can type these key commands in yourself and have the same effect…..) Knocking on the Doors: Using the same PMDG menu, GENERAL, KEYBOARD COMMANDS menu, you can also select key combinations to control every door on the PMDG 747-400. Additionally, you can use the cargo specific drop-down menu tab to assign keys to animate cargo loaders and open the nose/side cargo doors on the PMDG 747-400F. While not entirely necessary, having the entry doors open or closed will enhance your realism. One area that generates many questions is the operation of certain doors on the airplane that require electricity in order to operate. If you have the PMDG 747-400F installed, then you should note that it is imperative that you have the electrical system on the airplane correctly powered in order to operate the upper deck emergency access doors, the main deck nose and left side cargo door, and the lower lobe right side cargo doors. For the lower lobe cargo doors and the upper deck emergency escape doors to operate, the Ground Handling bus must be powered for the doors to operate. The Ground Handling Bus requires power for either EXT1 or APU1to be AVAIL or ON, with fewer than 3 engines operating. (Yes, this is how the bus operates!) For the main deck cargo doors to operate , you must power to the Ground Service bus in order for the doors to operate. The Ground Service Bus requires that you have EXT2 or APU2 showing AVAIL in order to operate these doors. (Note: You must see AVAIL illuminated on the switch.)

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 4 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

PART ONE: POWER UP and FIRST OFFICER PREFLIGHT: Start Flight Simulator 2004 and use the SELECT FLIGHT option to load PMDG-744-TC-Lesson from within the PMDG folder. Your aircraft will appear sitting on the ramp in front of a hangar at Boeing King Country Field in Seattle, Washington. The airplane is completely de-powered. Note: Go into the PMDG menu, then GENERAL, OPTIONS, then select VARIOUS. De-select “Ground/Air Power Available, as we are going to simulate a power up using the APU as your primary source of power while on the ground. You have just entered the flight deck and stowed your gear. Now it is time to bring this magnificent machine to life! For the purpose of this lesson, it is assumed that you are able to read and follow the “Expanded Procedures” checklist. This section of the lesson will give you some notes and hints about what you are doing, but you should follow the checklist line by line, just as you would do during your training on the real airplane! Bring on the Power!: Commence with page 5-3. Turn the battery switch ON. You will notice that most of the cockpit remains dark except for a few critical items. The lights within the switches on the Electrical Control Panel illuminate, showing you that you have battery power applied to the Electrical Control Panel. Next, in following with the checklist, move the Standby Power selector to AUTO. You will notice that your PFD/ND and upper EICAS screens come alive, although there isn’t much information displayed aside from yellow warning flags and other messages letting you know that the airplane isn’t functional. Currently the airplane is operating only on DC power provided by the batteries. Following the checklist, ensure that all four Hydraulic Demand Pump selectors are set to OFF (the rotary knobs…) You are doing this because you are about to apply AC power to the airplane. Since the #2 and #3 Hydraulic Demand pumps are powered by AC electrical power, you want to ensure that those pumps are OFF before power is brought online. Why? To ensure that you do not have inadvertent movement of any flight control or movable surfaces outside the airplane that might endanger ground and maintenance personnel! As you continue with the checklist, you’ll notice that we do not have External Power available, so you should follow the note: “If no EXT Power Available” and turn the INBD CRT SELECTOR to the EICAS setting as displayed in this image:

Did you notice the change? The information that would normally be displayed on your Lower EICAS screen is now displayed on your NAV display. Why is this important? Well, in your current power configuration, there is no power source to bring the lower EICAS display alive. As such, you are re-routing the information to your NAV display in order to allow you to check various systems on the airplane without AC power having yet been applied. In this case, bring up the STATus page and you can monitor when the APU vital signs during the start!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 5

Continue follow your checklist through the process of ensuring that your gear/flaps are correctly positioned and safe and that your APU bleed switch is OFF. Now, rotate the APU START switch to ON, then START. The switch will return to the ON position automatically. Uh oh- What Happened to the PFD/ND? The APU starter requires a significant amount of electricity to turn the APU turbine during the start. As such, the system stops providing power to the APU Standby Bus briefly so that all available power can be concentrated on the APU start. This causes the PFD/ND to go blank briefly. You can expect to see the screens come alive again after just a few seconds and you’ll be able to continue monitoring the APU start on the STATus page. After a short time, you’ll notice APU RPM and EGT stabilize, and the APU RUNNING status message appears on the upper EICAS:

Follow the checklist to bring your APU Generators online. When the first generator activates, you will hear the avionics cooling fans come alive in the cockpit, and the remaining portions of the overhead panel will light up with their associated annunciator lights, signaling that the airplane is fully powered!

Inertia Isn’t Foolproof: At the very bottom of page 5-3, you will notice instructions to set up the IRS units on the airplane. This is an area of the manual where we goofed, and gave you the wrong instructions. The correct instructions should read: IRS SELECTORS ………………………………………………………….………………OFF, then NAV Switches are spring loaded to the NAV position. IRS Align time will display on NAV display.

We generally recommend that you can set your INBOARD CRT switch back to norm at this time, since your lower EICAS display is now full powered. On the NAV display, you will notice this information in the upper left hand corner:

This tells you that your Left, Center and Right IRS units are in the ALIGNment mode and it is expected to take another 7 minutes until they are completely ready to work. Now, lets continue moving down the checklist! You will notice that as you are checking some specific areas, the header on the checklist appears in bold type. ELECTRICAL PANEL on the

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 6 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

top of page 5-4 for example, is designed to make it clear to you that the following checklist items are located on the electrical control panel and/or are related to the electrical control panel. For the following portions of the checklist, I want you to go through each item on the checklist, line by line. I will include some notes on each section under the same headers below: ELECTRICAL PANEL: This section is mostly self explanatory. You are ensuring that the system is properly set up and ready to operate. You may have noticed that your BUS TIE switches and your GEN CONT switches (the ones that control the generators) were already in their ON position. This is normal, as you rarely operate those switches unless it is your intention to deselect the associated system. For the most part the airplane would just as soon have you leave the switches on and allow it to control the bus ties and generators…. But you should check these switches to ensure that a previous crew hasn’t left them OFF…. There might be a reason for it! At the end of this section you will conduct a short test on the standby power system. What you are checking is to ensure that the batteries on the airplane are capable of serving as an emergency source of power to the DC system on the airplane. By moving the switch to the BAT position, you are telling the airplane to power the standby power system from the batteries, thus triggering the BAT DISCH and BAT DISCH APU messages! You are watching to ensure you do not get an OFF light on the battery switch as this could signify a problem with the battery! HYDRAULIC PANEL: You will notice that on each of these system checks, you should bring up the correct page on the lower EICAS. This is a good practice to get into, and it helps to build your familiarity with each system! After checking the switch positions on the hydraulic control panel, you move to the top of the center column on the overhead panel. The Emergency Lights Switch should have been selected OFF by the previous crew (in 2D cockpit you may need to move the panel switcher in order to see/use this switch…) Hint- by simply throwing this guard closed (right click) it forces the switch underneath to the ARMED position…. Next- comes fire control! FIRE CONTROL PANEL: At this point of the preflight, you are just making sure that all of the switches are in their closed/locked position and that there are no lights illuminated. If you find a handle out of place or a discharge light illuminated, I generally recommend getting maintenance involved. Fire bottles are expensive and if you accidentally blow one off while parked- it is a sure way to cancel your outbound segment! Keep following your checklist! FUEL PANEL: As mentioned earlier, you should see approximately 84,000lbs of fuel pre-loaded on the airplane for this flight training exercise. You can see the fuel total quantity located at the top of the lower EICAS fuel page display. At PMDG we have configured this simulator to automatically distribute your fuel as required in order to ensure that the airplane is properly loaded. In this instance, you should see fuel of approximately 21,000lbs in each tank although you will notice that the APU is burning fuel from MAIN2…So that value will decrement slowly! Follow the instructions listed here to ensure that the fuel pump indications are correct! ANTI ICE PANEL:

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 7

You may wonder why you are turning on the WINDOW HEAT switches now? The windows on modern airliners are constructed of layers of lexan with an electrically excitable Indium layer between the layers of lexan. When electricity is applied to the indium, it generates heat which helps the window to maintain it’s strength and flexibility. If the window is cold it becomes more brittle and may not stand up to the impact of a bird or other foreign object at flight speeds.. So turn them on now, and let those windows be warm! Keep following your checklist! PNEUMATICS PANEL: This system check is primarily designed to ensure that the air conditioning and pressurization system is set up correctly for normal operation. You will note here that you bring the APU bleed switch to the ON position. When you do this, you are providing high pressure pneumatic air from the APU to the bleed pressure ducts on the airplane in order to power the air conditioning and pneumatic systems. (You’ll hear the air conditioning system come alive inside the cockpit!) LIGHTING PANEL: The recommendations here are guidelines that are generally used at most airlines around the world. As you reach the last two items of this section of the preflight, you will notice that you are instructed to bring up the STATus page on the lower EICAS display. You are also instructed to check/erase all of the caution and warning messages that might be displayed on the Upper EICAS. Why? Now that you have finished the preflight for most of the systems on the airplane, it is assumed that any remaining advisory messages you find here will be “known” to the crew. By clearing this list, any new messages that appear will be more easily spotted, because they will be filling in a clear, black area of the upper EICAS, rather than appearing in a long list of cautions and advisories! You can cancel these messages using the CANC button at the bottom of the EICAS mode control panel:

Going With the Flow: You may have noticed that you traveled through the overhead panel in a very logical fashion. You started at the top left, worked your way to the bottom of the left hand column, then proceeded to the top of the center column, worked your way down, then the top of the right column before finishing. This is called a Work Flow, or “Flow” for short. Flows are a simple way to assist you in remembering all of the logical steps in the process of the preflight for the cockpit. Flows work through a process of repetition of logical patterns. If you enter the cockpit and preflight using this established flow EVERY TIME, you will make very few mistakes because you will rapidly gain familiarity with the look/feel of every switch position and light that is illuminated on the overhead panel during your preflight. Soon any out of place switch or incorrectly illuminated indicator will appear very obvious to you as you progress through your flow.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 8 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

Flows will also take you to different locations in the cockpit, as we are about to see at the conclusion of the LIGHTING PANEL section in the checklist, for after setting up the aircraft light configurations correctly, you are headed down to the center pedestal, home of the FMC/CDU and various other systems that still need to be checked!

FLOWING TO THE CENTER CONSOLE: If you follow the Normal Procedures checklist diligently, you will find that after setting up your aircraft lighting controls, the next item on the list is the FMC. After making a few preliminary entries to the FMC, you will complete your preflight flow down the center console by setting up your radios and other flight critical items located on the Center Pedestal. THE FMC IS ON A PEDESTAL: There is a reason why the FMC is placed adjacent to your kneecap, within easy reach and even easier view: It’s the central part of the airplane’s brain, and your ability to understand and use the FMC is critical to your success!

When you first approach the FMC/CDU, you will be looking at the main MENU screen. Since we’ve taken our time to work through some training objectives on the overhead panel, you will notice that there is a prompt on the MENU screen, down on the scratchpad line of the display:

The “ENTER IRS POSITION” prompt is an indication to you that the IRS is seeking your input to determine it’s current position in order to facilitate navigation. Consider this prompt just a normal part of your FMC/CDU preflight- so hit CLR, and move on! In this case, “moving on” means selecting <FMC to bring up the first page of the FMC interface.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 9

Now, as we go through this, pay close attention to the checklist that we have provided! You will notice that the checklist is asking you for information in a logical pattern the follows what the FMC/CDU wants to know about your flight: Note: For the purpose of this tutorial, I am essentially going to take you through the setup steps with some background information to help you understand what you are telling the FMC/CDU. I STRONGLY encourage you to read Chapter 12 FMC Operating Manual in order to learn more about all of the information displayed on each FMC/CDU page. Without taking the time to do this, you will be missing out on much of the information that the FMC can provide!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 10 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

The IDENT page:

Since you are following your Normal Procedures checklist, you should check over the information on this page for accuracy. If your navdata is out of date, you can pull the most current navdata from www.navdata.at and the most current SID/STAR files from www.planepath.com. When you have finished verifying your IDENT information, press the Line Select Key adjacent to POS INIT> to go to the next logical page in the FMC/CDU initialization process. You will notice that your checklist follows the same order: POS INIT page:

Following your checklist, enter your REFerence AIRPORT ICAO code: KBFI. This tells the Flight Management System that the airplane is currently located at Boeing Field in Washington and displays the airportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reference location Lat/Lon on the adjacent line of the display as follows:

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 11

Now, take a moment to notice the subtle difference between the airport’s reference location data and the “LAST POS” display at Line Select Key 1R, and the GPS rendered position at Line Select Key 4R. Notice that the airport reference location is different? This will be true ANY time the aircraft is not located precisely on the airport reference location, meaning- the airport reference location is not always your best bet when trying to tell the Flight Management System the precise location of the airplane! In all cases, I encourage that you use the current GPS position as reported at LSK 4R, as the GPS is a very reliable position fixing tool! Now, in accordance with our checklist, we need to tell the FMS which position datum to hand to the inertial navigation system to assist with it’s alignment process. To do this, you down select the GPS POS by pressing the 4R LSK one time, then up-select this information to the 5R LSK which contains the prompt boxes and is titled SET IRS POS. When you do this, you will get one of two reactions from the airplane: 1) The Airplane will re-prompt you to SET IRS POSITION. If you see this prompt a second time immediately, it should be an indication to you that the airplane was moved between the time it was shut down and the time it was powered up. (ie: The ramp crew moved the airplane!) The airplane is insisting that you double check your position datum and resend it to the IRS to confirm that you are aware that the airplane may have moved. Why? The system wants to be certain that if you are in the habit of selecting LAST POS information that you should know that the airplane may have moved and that position data is no longer valid! (Our airplane is GPS equipped, so we recommend using GPS POS in all instances!) 2) The airplane will accept your first input and continue with the IRS alignment process using that position datum. If your preflight has taken as long as it’s taken me to write these notes, you should see the PFD/ND pop to life immediately upon entering the position datum! If you have entered this information before the IRS’s are aligned then you should expect to see blank displays until those IRS countdown timers finally reach their limits! Continue with your checklist by checking that the displayed UTC is correct, then press the 6R LSK to move to the ROUTE portion of the preflight!

For our flight setup, you will use the following route and flight plan data: ORIGIN: KBFI DEST: KMWH RUNWAY: 13R FLT NO: PMDG1

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 12 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

Once you have this information entered appropriately, press the NEXT PAGE key to enter the route of flight. Our flight plan for today will be as follows: KBFI DCT NORMY J12 BLUIT J70 EPH DCT KMWH To enter this flight plan is very easy, if you recognize how to enter routes into the FMC/CDU! Start by typing NORMY into the scratch pad, the up-select this entry to the 1R LSK. Your screen will now appear as follows:

Notice that since you entered NORMY under the TO heading, it assumes that you want to proceed DIRECT to NORMY. If you compare this to our flight plan, we are in good shape! Reading our flight plan, we are to join J12 at NORMY and follow it until reaching BLUIT intersection. Type J12 into the scratch pad, then up-select J12 to the 2L LSK (under the VIA heading, indicating that we are going to travel VIA J12 after passing NORMY.) Next, enter BLUIT into the scratch pad and up select to the 2R LSK, indicating that this is the exit fix we will use to leave J12. Use the same process of entering J70 (to 3L LSK) and EPH (to 3R LSK) to complete our routing and your display will look like this:

You have now entered your routing from KBFI to KMWH following the route we have planned, and you are ready to activate this within the FMS. To activate the route, press the 6R LSK adjacent to the ACTIVATE> prompt on the FMC/CDU. This will illuminate the EXEC key and display an <ERASE prompt at 6L, just in case you do not want to proceed!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 13

In this case, we do wish to EXECute the flight plan, so pressing the EXEC key will make the flight plan active in the Flight Management System. The FMC/CDU display screen will blank for a few moments while the (very old processor) FMS calculates the routing and prepares to display the results of it’s work for you. In the world of simming, we are frequently interrupted by real life, so it is always a good idea to save a copy of your route in case you want to quickly reload the route using the COROUTE prompt on the ROUTE 1 page. To save a copy of the route, simply press the <RTE COPY prompt that is now displayed on the ACT RTE 1 page. (Did you notice that the RTE 1 page is now called the ACT RTE 1 page? That is because RTE 1 was ACTivated- and is now the ACTive route!) If you press the <RTE COPY prompt, the FMC/CDU will display the name of the route as it was saved for you in your FS9\PMDG\FLIGHTPLANS directory. To load this route with a single click, just enter the prompted name to the CO ROUTE LSK on the RTE 1 page during preflight!

Continuing to follow our checklist, it is time to enter a departure airport SID. (We have already entered our departure runway!) Press the DEP ARR key, and you will be presented with the available Standard Instrument Departures for KBFI. (In the case of the default PMDG SID/STAR database, there are no SIDs for KBFI. In the real world there is a single SID that calls for a climb on runway heading to 2000’…) Since there are no SIDs in the default database, continue to follow your checklist, and press the ROUTE> prompt that is displayed on the lower right 6R LSK. Had we entered a Standard Instrument Departure for this flight, we would now re-EXECute the route to make the SID active in the flight plan. In this case, we do not need to, so we can continue with the checklist by displaying the NAV/RAD page of the FMC/CDU.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 14 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

On the NAV RADIO page, we want to ensure that all radios appear and there is nothing unusual displayed on the page that might indicate a radio failure. Since most of the navigation radio tuning on the 747-400 is handled automatically, there is little to do here other than a cursory review of what is displayed. Note: Some airports with complex departure procedures will cause you to want to tune the radios and set various radials as required for the departure. The process for this is covered in the manual, and will be addressed again in a later lesson. The last item called for at this stage of the FMC/CDU setup is to display the PERF INIT page before continuing on with your center pedestal preflight.

Once this page is displayed, you should continue your preflight cockpit checks using your Normal Procedures checklist to go through CENTER CONSOLE RADIOS and TRANSPONDER. The transponder is pretty familiar to most simmers, but a couple of notes here to ensure you can operate the TCAS system effectively: Move the XPDR knob to the left to the TEST position first! This will display all appropriate TCAS test symbology on your PFD and ND, and announce aurally that the system is working correctly (or not.) When done with the TCAS test, you can place the switch in TA/RA and you will receive traffic and resolution advisories once airborne. You have now concluded the initial aircraft power up and the First Officerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Preflight duties. Take a short break, then continue on with the Captains duties!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 15

PART TWO: CAPTAIN’S FLIGHT DECK PREFLIGHT: The captain’s preflight starts on the Autopilot Mode Control Panel by turning both flight director switches ON. When this is done, you will see FD displayed above both attitude indicators, and TO/GA displayed in the ROLL and PITCH mode display areas of the Flight Mode Annunciator at the top of the PFD.

Follow the rest of the AUTOPILOT MODE CONTROL PANEL items on your checklist, setting the MCP HDG bug to 131 degrees, and the initial climb altitude to 2000 feet.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

1 - 16 PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup

CAPTAINS FMC-CDU PREFLIGHT: If you conducted your preflight on the Captain’s FMC/CDU you should be on the PERF INIT page. You can reach the POS INIT page easily by pressing the <INDEX prompt, then selecting the <POS prompt. Most of what you are doing here is to review the accuracy of the work already performed by your First Officer, and to independently verify that all is well with the data being used by the FMCCDU. You can reach the ROUTE page by using the ROUTE> prompt, or by pressing the RTE key on the face of the FMC-CDU. To review your route of flight, use the NEXT PAGE key to scroll down! Next, you will follow your checklist by pressing the INITI REF key, then the <INDEX prompt at 6L, followed by selecting <APPROACH from the list presented to you. It is VERY important to ensure that the FLAP/SPD selection on this page is blank, or you may wind up accidentally telling the FMC-CDU to use improper speeds that could affect the safety of our flight. Send the FMC-CDU back to the PERF INIT page, and continue with your checklist! CENTER CONSOLE: Most of the preflight duties listed under CENTER CONSOLE are straight forward. You might wonder why you should set the flap handle to match the flap position indicated on the upper EICAS display, however! In some rare instances, maintenance may extend the flaps for a routine inspection or other work, and in rare instances the flap handle and the flaps themselves can wind up out of synch. Since we are getting ready to fully activate the airplane, we do NOT want the flaps to start moving unless we intend them to, as it may cause damage to the airplane, ground equipment, or worse still, maintenance personnel! (Although- they should have red-tagged your flap handle with instructions not to touch it!) If the flaps are displayed in a position other than UP on your upper EICAS, and the flap handle does not match that position, then simply move the flap handle until it matches the position displayed on your upper EICAS display. The remainder of the CAPTAINS COCKPIT PREFLIGHT checks are very simple to follow: Just conduct each item on the checklist until you reach the black horizontal line under NAVIGATION DISPLAY. This is a “natural cut” that indicates you have reached the bottom of the preflight duties!

PART THREE: FINAL COCKPIT PREPARATION: So you have followed the checklist closely, your airplane is entirely prepared and the preflight portions of your checks are now complete! Before we continue on, lets just add a few thoughts to ensure you understand the importance of a good preflight! You should enter the cockpit and approach the airplane with the exact same procedure for EVERY flight, whether you haven’t flown the airplane yet- or whether you have just flown the airplane into an intermediate destination and are flying right back out again. Careful, deliberate review of every switch in the cockpit can be accomplished using the above procedures in concert with the Normal checklist…. In no time at all you will find it takes you less than 3 minutes to have the entire cockpit prepared, and you’ll be on to the next task!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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For now, however- you are all set up and ready for the last few checks before departure! The first tasks to accomplish are back inside the FMC-CDU, so pull out your Normal Procedures checklist and start just below the horizontal line on page 5-10.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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FINAL COCKPIT PREPARATION: As you follow your checklist, you will notice that you are going to spend a small amount of effort double checking some things that are critical to the safety of your flight. First, you are going to verify that your fuel load is correct, then you will verify your route of flight and finally your departure runway and SID. There are a few ways that you can verify your route of flight, depending on your own attention to detail and/or your airline policy. The simplest way to verify your route is to press the RTE key on the FMC-CDU, then use the NEXT PAGE key to scroll down and compare what you see to your flight plan. In this example you will see the route you are flying VIA (at the top of the display) and which fix you are flying that route TO. A more detailed rendition of your flight plan can be found by pressing the LEGS key. Although not obvious on this very short flight, the LEGS pages are very different from the RTE pages in that the LEGS pages shows every fix along your route of flight, where as the RTE pages only show you the fixes at the start and finish of your travel along a particular route. To think of this more simply, consider giving directions to someone that includes the phrase, “take Highway 50 to Pennsylvania Ave, then take Pennsylvania Ave to 15th Street.” This description uses the road name and the intersection name in order to describe where you should drive. If you looked at this set of instructions on the LEGS page, it would tell you the name of every intersection between each of your turning points! The LEGS page is just a more detailed rendition of the RTE pages! Once you have finished verifying your route of flight, press the INIT REF key to take you back to the PERF INIT page of the FMC-CDU as described in your checklist. On this page, you are seeing information critical to the performance of the airplane during your flight.

Since you are basically ready for departure, the airplane has been loaded and you need to verify/validate the weight and loading information for your airplane. Press the GR WT DUAL 1L LSK to verify your aircraft’s gross weight. This will tell the FMC-CDU to populate data about your flight. For our flight today, we are going to tell the system that we want 15,000lbs to serve as our “alert fuel level,” so enter 15.0 and up-select it to the 4L LSK. This will cause the FMC-CDU to alert us if it is determined that we are going to land with less than 15,000lbs of fuel remaining on the airplane. We can adjust this number however we need, and I recommend that you should read

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

PMDG 747-400/400F TRC 1: Startup 1 - 19

the FMC-CDU section of the manuals in order to gain some tips on how it can serve as a useful tool to you! For the cost index on our flight, enter 124 and up-select it to the 5L LSK. For cruise altitude, enter 210 and up select to the 1R LSK. 21,000 feet will be our cruising altitude for the short flight to Moses Lake. When you have finished entering the information on this page, you will notice the THRUST LIMIT> prompt at the lower right side of the display. Press this prompt to continue on with your checklist. For our flight today, we will not be entering an assumed temperature for departure, but we will be using a thrust derate takeoff. Given that our airplane only weights 550,000lbs (which is VERY light for a 747-400!) we aren’t going to run the engines at their highest power settings because it is not efficient to do so when it isn’t needed. Instead we are going to select the 15% derate, and thus have a “normal” rate of acceleration into the takeoff and save some money on fuel and engine wear and tear! At heavy weights or on very short runways we obviously want to use higher thrust ratings, but if you don’t NEED all the excess power, don’t use it. We will give some examples of various takeoff thrust ratings in a later lesson… For our climb-out, we need to reach FL210 on a very short flight, so lets select CLB-1 as the preferred climb thrust in order to ensure we get there quickly!

Now, use the TAKEOFF> prompt to move to the TAKEOFF page. Enter and up-select 10 to the 1L LSK because we want to use FLAPS 10 for departure. Then verify that the runway condition entry (WET/DRY) matches the outside conditions. Next, press the 1R/2R/3R LSKs to confirm your V1, Vr, V2 speeds and transmit them to the PFD for your use. Now here is a hint to help you with your flying: Press the 4R LSK next to CG. This will bring up the proper trim setting for your takeoff, making it easy to correctly select your pitch trim for a balanced takeoff given your current loading and configuration!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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If you look down at your trim gauge, you can adjust the trim until it matches the trim setting calculated by the Flight Management System. Regrettably, the trim gauge is far easier to read in the Virtual Cockpit than it is in the 2D cockpit. (Sorry….) Once you have confirmed and verified all of the entries on the TAKEOFF REF page in accordance with your checklist, press the VNAV key to bring up the VNAV CLB page. Set the transition altitude and speed/transition or spd/restrictions as required. In this case, we are flying in US airspace, so the FMC is automatically set for 250knots below 10,000’ and a barometric transition altitude of 18000. (Note- large aircraft like the 747-400 will always be authorized by ATC to fly at speeds faster than 250 knots while below 10,000 feet if requested by the crew, as the clean maneuvering speed is the minimum speed at which the airplane should be operated with the flaps UP. At this point, you should reach up to the Autopilot Mode Control Panel, and enter your V2 speed into the IAS/MACH window. (Note: There is some debate whether V2 or V2+10 is appropriate for use here. The airline that we originally consulted with for the writing of our manual uses V2+10 under the theory that this speed is reached very quickly and eliminates the tendency of some crews to slow the airplane down in the climb if the airplane accelerates beyond V2 during rotation and initial climb. It has been our experience that most airlines use V2, as this is the correct speed for initial climb-out in the event of an engine failure. Neither answer is wrong- just pick one that suits you and use it….V2 (150 knots) or V2+10 (160knots) will serve you equally well!) Follow your checklist instructions to set up your fuel pumps and crossfeed valves. If you aren’t certain which tanks contain fuel, pull up your lower EICAS FUEL display, and it will be easy to determine! You are now ready to perform the crew checklist “BEFORE START CHECKLIST” which you should have printed before starting this exercise! (The crew checklist is also known as flight checklist, and is normally stored in a small holder above the glare shield within easy reach of both pilots. This checklist serves primarily to verify that all required tasks that are part of the pilots normal “flow” have been correctly accomplished!)

LETS GET THIS CITY BLOCK STARTED! Since we are parked adjacent to the hangar, there is no need for a pushback. We can pick up our Normal Procedures Checklist on page 6-11, and begin the PUSHBACK AND START procedures while deftly skipping over those related to the pushback process… When you reach up and set the Hydraulic Demand Pump 4 Selector to AUX, you are providing auxiliary hydraulic pressure to the brake system. Even though we aren’t pushing back, it’s a good idea to have this switch correctly set correctly.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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You will also set the other three Demand Pump selectors to AUTO, and you should see the associated PRESS and SYSTEM lights extinguish, indicating that the airplane’s hydraulic systems are now fully powered using the pneumatic/electrically driven demand pumps. Turning the beacon on is a universal signal to everyone around the airplane that you are preparing to start an engine and/or push the airplane back. Don’t forget this important sign, as ground personnel are trained to look to the airplane’s beacon to determine if it is safe to approach the engine hazard zones by foot or in vehicles. The results of not giving them good warning can be disastrous! (Note: We only model OFF/ON for the beacons due to some limitations of MSFS…. In the real airplane, you’d select BOTH) Following your checklist, you will not set ONE pack control selector ON and TWO will be turned OFF. This is done in order to preserve pneumatic bleed air pressure for turning the engines during the start process. If insufficient pressure is available, it dramatically increases the time it takes to spool an engine to proper speed, and increases the chances that the engine will start incorrectly and/or hot start! When selecting which pack to leave ON, it is entirely your choice but it is important to know that the left pack provides somewhat greater air conditioning capability to the flight deck- so conventional wisdom says you should leave PACK 1 on NORM, and turn off packs 2/3….. Just a suggestion. ☺ Now you will make one final aircraft status check before starting the airplane and heading off on our way: Press the RECALL switch on the EFIS control panel. You should see ONLY the >ENG X SHUTDOWN advisory messages displayed in amber. There should be no other amber colored messages, and possibly a few white memos, as pictured here:

If you see ANY amber caution messages other than the four engine shutdown messages, then you MUST investigate and resolve them before you commence with the engine start. Extra messages mean either: 1) You missed a checklist item and the airplane is not ready for starting. 2) Something on the airplane has broken during your pre-flight checks and may need maintenance review before the flight departs! If your upper EICAS looks like the one in the picture, congratulations! You are ready! Bring up the lower EICAS ENGine display, then press the CANCel button to clear those amber messages and return the advisory area of your upper EICAS to a blank display. You do this in order to ensure that any extraneous messages that appear during the start are immediately obvious to you and not buried in a clutter of extraneous messages.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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YOU ARE NOW READY TO START! As you prepare to get started, take a quick glance at your lower EICAS ECS display page. You want to ensure that you have sufficient duct pressure available to rotate the engines during the start. If you have 19psi, then you are in good position for a start. If you need more pressure, simply de-select the left pack, and pressure should increase approximately 3PSI. If you still have insufficient PSI, you should quickly review that you have turned off all air conditioning packs, then adjust your engine start strategy in order to ensure a safe engine start. You can do this by closing the left or right isolation valves in order to boost pressure slightly on one side of the airplane, then start one or two engines on that side of the airplane as PSI allows, for example.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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Your lower EICAS ECS display should look similar to this right now:

For the purpose of this start simulation it is important to note that each engine type on the 747400 has a slightly different set of limitations on the start process. For the GE powered airplane, you should start engines 1 and 4 simultaneously, then start engines 2 and 3 simultaneously. You could, if you husband your duct pressure, start all 4 engines simultaneously, but this is rather dangerous and places significant strain on the engines during their slow motoring for the start. The Rolls Royce powered airplane can have itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engines started in pairs on each wing, similarly to the GE, but all four engines should not be started at the same time in any circumstance. On the Pratt powered airplane, each engine should be started individually. (These recommendations are based upon the manufacturers information.) For this start we will be using AUTOSTART because this is the most common application of engine start used by the worlds airlines. (Manual Starts are covered in your Normal Procedures Checklist, you can try them later if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like!) Follow your checklist starting at the bold title: AUTOSTART IN USE. Place the engine #2 and #3 engine fuel control switches to the RUN position.

When these switches are placed in the RUN position, you will notice that a series of system advisories are displayed on the Upper EICAS caution/warning area. As the engines motor up to idle speed during the start, these messages will begin to disappear as various sub systems come online. To commence the start of engines two and three, reach up to the overhead panel and pull the #2 and #3 engine start switches and ensure that you see the white starter indication light illuminate in the center of each switch.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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Once you have activated the starters, you should begin watching the upper and lower EICAS screens to monitor engine start trends. The most important piece of information you will monitor during the start is EGT. If EGT exceeds itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maximum value, the EGT figure will turn red, indicating an over-temperature condition that is dangerous for the engine. As the engines begin to motor, you will notice that a magenta caret appears on the starting engines EGT displays.

You will also notice that the lower EICAS display automatically switches to the lower ENGine display page in order to facilitate your ability to monitor the engine start. During an Autostart, there is very little for you to accomplish other than to monitor the start to ensure that all progresses normally. A normal autostart will see N2 rotation steadily increase at a rate greater than 1% per second. (If you see engine rotation lower than 1% per second, then abort the start!) As N2 rotation approaches 50%, you will hear both engine start switches snap back to their OFF position. You should visually verify that the starter lights have extinguished in the #2 and #3 switches. You will also notice that the magenta start indications on the EICAS display are removed and the engines will motor rapidly to a neutral RPM of approximately 62% of N2. EGTs should settle into the low 300s and N1 RPM will be approximately 25%. Once these two engines have reached these approximate parameters, that are considered to be stable and you should commence starting engines #1 and #4 using the same process. You should note that during the engine start process, most all advisories and messages that you might see on the upper EICAS will be blanked from the display in order to keep it from becoming cluttered with information that is not related to the engine start. After the engine starters have disengaged, you may find that various messages might appear, indicating a problem, failure or inoperative system on the airplane. Any amber caution messages that appear at the conclusion of any engine start should be reviewed and diagnosed! For example, immediately after engine #4 stabilizes, you should see the upper EICAS message HYD PRESS DEM 4 appear.

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY

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This message appears because the #4 hydraulic demand selector switch is set to the AUX position (as it was set correctly during preflight in order to provide us with brake pressure!). With the #4 engine running, it is important that you remember to set the switch to AUTO in order to ensure adequate pressurization of the #4 system. Don’t move the switch yet, however- as I am just using this message to demonstrate for you that the airplane will do a good job of telling you if anything is not correctly set or out of place! If you see a message displayed on the upper EICAS- pull out your ABNORMAL checklists and trouble shoot that message….. Seeing the HYD PRESS DEM 4 message immediately after starting is normal, and as you follow your NORMAL PROCEDURES checklist beginning on page 5-13 under the AFTER START title, you’ll quickly resolve this as part of your normal flows. First, select the APU switch to OFF. With all four engines running, there is no need to run the APU on the 747-400. There is no action required other than to select the APU switch OFF, because the APU generators were deselected automatically by the electrical power source preferencing logic used by the airplane to determine the correct power sources. Additionally, the APU bleed switch can be left in the ON position without any harm coming to the APU or the airplane. After selecting the APU switch to OFF, you will notice that the APU will continue to run for approximately 1 minute before shutting down. This is normal as the APU is running itself in a “cool down” mode to reduce it’s overall operating temperatures before shutting down. Keep following the checklist and select the #4 Hydraulic Demand Selector to AUTO. (This should clear up your upper EICAS caution list!) If the weather outside your airplane includes temperatures lower than 10C AND there is visible moisture (fog, rain, snow, or significant water on the ground) then you should activate the engine anti-ice capability of your engines. Selecting the Nacelle Anti Ice switches to ON will hot bleed air to be ducted into the leading edge of the engine nacelle and ductwork to keep the inlet surfaces free from the accumulation of ice and precipitation buildup. If you activate these switches and the temperature is greater than 12C, you will receive a message advising you that engine NAI is not appropriate for the current temperature conditions. If the temperature is appropriate for NAI use, then you will see green NAI indications appear on the upper EICAS engine display to indicate the operation of the Nacelle Anti Ice.

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If required, you can now turn the aft cargo heat on using the appropriate overhead panel switch. Aft cargo heat is generally only used when transporting temperature sensitive cargo such as vegetation, flowers, animals or liquids in the Aft cargo area. Your load master and paperwork should advise you when such perishables are being carried. Moving along with your checklist, ensure that both the Left and Right isolation switches are OPEN, and select all three air conditioning packs to AUTO. Next, move your flap handle to the position desired for takeoff. (in this case, flaps 10.), then run the AFTER START/TAXI CHECKLIST. You are now ready to taxi!

PMDG TYPE COURSE LESSON 2: Taxi and Takeoff Techniques Coming Soon!

For use with PMDG 747-400/400F ONLY