Long Haul Tutorial for PMDG 747-400 PAX (EGLL to KLAX)

From PMDG Ops

Introduction to PMDG 747-400 PAX Long Haul Tutorial

I decided to write this tutorial as I never really found a single flight tutorial which covered all the aspects of planning and flying this aircraft long haul in the detail that I wanted. This is in no way a slight on other efforts, there are a number of other very good tutorials out there that are very detailed, but this here is for the “average everyday” with little knowledge of aviation or the operation of a 744 (Boeing 747-400). The tutorial explains how things are done, when they are done, and (perhaps most importantly) why they are done. I’ve attempted to give an understanding of the interactions with the Despatch Office, Ground Crew and Air Traffic Control (ATC) to make the experience as close to real life as I can, and educate those who are not totally familiar with operating procedures.

The tutorial aim is to compliment already existing tutorials on the PMDG (Precision Manuals Development Group) website, whilst also complimenting the manual and building on it as a lot of this tutorial goes beyond the PMDG manual (the Flight Management Computer holds is an example). If you haven’t already done so, I would recommend downloading and printing the PMDG tutorials and running through them as they are an excellent insight to this simulation and 744 operations, and the experience doing those will better equip you for this flight we are about to do.

The tutorial starts at Heathrow London and is a real world British Airways flight of number BA0283. The flight is from London Heathrow (airport code EGLL) to Los Angeles International (airport code KLAX), departing gate D10 at approximately 11:55 on the 25th April 2006 at Heathrow, with an expected arrival time 14:55 on the 25th April 2006 at Los Angeles, with an approximate flight time of 11 hours making it a long day flight. This flight is a real flight number, real date and time and with the actual airline that operates it, however the gate is fictitious (due to limitations of the Heathrow standard scenery), and with simulation speed variability and omission of adverse weather, the 11 hours will go considerably quicker so don’t panic!

What is Covered

The tutorial takes you through the following stages:

Flight Planning and Fuel Planning Preparation - Here we will go through the flight plan, understand what it is telling us, plan our fuel loads, plan our alternative airports and plan our step climbs. This will involve calculating various values and also covers aspects of planning which in the real world are required but the fidelity of the simulation makes replicating them difficult.

The Walk Around - A quick look at a walk around.

The Pre-Flight Preparation - A detailed walkthrough of pre-flight preparation, showing APU start, FMC programming, MCP setting, PFD setting, radio setup, flight plan setup, SID setup, take off data setup, performance data setup and a look at the various systems on the aircraft including pneumatics, hydraulics, air conditioning and presurisation and various other EICAS functions.

The Takeoff - A detailed look at the take off for the 747-400, what to look for, what to do and how to do it..

The Autoflight Systems - A look at various automatic flight controls on the way, HDG SEL, VNAV, LNAV, V/S, and other controls.. (a planned look at the automatics and avionics in detail is planned).

Fuel Management - In flight fuel management, TANK/ENG and imbalances in the fuel distributions.

The Descent - A look at the descent procedures, and detailed walkthrough of a descent into Los Angeles.

In Flight Holds - A detailed look at a HOLD pattern and the FMC programming to go with it.

Approach - A detailed walkthrough of the approach and various aspects of the automatics and flight systems, along with a detailed look at STARS.

Landing - A detailed walkthrough of a landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

Shutdown - A walkthrough of the various shutdown procedures for the aircraft.

Downloading

There is a lot covered here, and I am unable to upload a full copy of the tutorial, but it can be downloaded here..

PMDG 747-400 PAX Long Haul Tutorial

I hope that you enjoy it, and if there are any comments feel free to e-mail them to me on craig_read@hotmail.com, thank you.