teisco 10 Posted January 25 I see a "direct" button on the FMC and wonder if I can set it to fly direct to an airport rather than go through all the waypoints? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaveCT2003 2290 Posted January 25 3 hours ago, teisco said: I see a "direct" button on the FMC and wonder if I can set it to fly direct to an airport rather than go through all the waypoints? I was a Boeing guy who made the transition to Airbus, so I thought I'd share a little information with you on this. So, there actually is no FMC onboard any Airbuses, it's actually an FMGS. However in both Boeing (FMC) and Airbus (FMGS), the FMC/FMGS is a black box located down in the aviations bay. What I believe you mean is that you're seeing a DIR button on the MCDU, which is an input/output device that the pilots use to input data into the FMGS and read data back from the FMGS. This is called a CDU on Boeings. I'm not being coy, terminology is everything, especially when one has to search the forums, Internet or manuals for information, so I thought I'd help out by providing the terminology, that's all. The fixed DIR button is indeed used to command the aircraft Direct To a selected waypoint. If memory serves, you'll find this as a selectable item (LSK) on the Boeing CDUs, but on the Airbus and some other aircraft it's a fixed button. That's not the only difference though. On some Boeing you can enter a Direct To but if the aicraft is in heading mode it will stay on present commanded course. In the Airbus a Direct To will set the Autpilot back to the Nav Mode. I hope this is helpful. Best wishes my friend! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
