hud635jk 102 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Having been used to aircraft exclusively having an FMC (737, 747, MD-11, MD-82) I am somewhat reluctant to try this, so I'm going to ask a few things. Mainly, how easy or not, is it to manually compute things that normally an FMC does as: - V1-VR-V2 - Vapp - T/D - average rate of descent - fuel prediction (no winds - just the remaining fuel at my destination) Also, since I do not have an FMC, how easy/difficult would it be to import the waypoints in the INS? I have a lot of software that can export flightplans (FSBuild, FSCommander, Avlasoft's EFB) although I do not know if and what format could be imported. And with no FMC, what happens with speed and especially alitude constraints? How are these followed? In two words, I don't mind a few calculations here and there, but I don't want to have to use my scientific calculator (for trigonometry functions) literally every 2-3 minutes. In fact, if some empirical rules of thumb exist for some calculations (eg for T/D let's say 3NM for every 1000ft), that would be welcome. Also, does it include widescreen (16:9) 2D panels? PS: Am I right in thinking, that mastering this aircraft, could also act as an intermediate step for transition to the Concorde-X? They way I understand it, also there I have no FMC, and an INS with max of 9 waypoints (in fact, seeing pictures of the two aircraft's INSes, there are a lot of similarities - at least optically). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deputy Sheriffs mopperle 4162 Posted December 10, 2012 Deputy Sheriffs Share Posted December 10, 2012 Have you downloaded the manuals available on the product page? They might answer some questions. Or you visit the Simcheck Forum here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emi 5161 Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 PS: Am I right in thinking, that mastering this aircraft, could also act as an intermediate step for transition to the Concorde-X? They way I understand it, also there I have no FMC, and an INS with max of 9 waypoints (in fact, seeing pictures of the two aircraft's INSes, there are a lot of similarities - at least optically). definatly! The Concorde is indeed very difficould for persons who only have glasscockpit experience so it's a very good step to fly something older before the Concorde X. The A300 will be a great aircraft there and will for sure help you to master the even more advanced systems of the Concorde X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hud635jk 102 Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 Also, do we know whether the Simcheck A300 has an SDK, or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will269 15 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Hello, I simply love the A300. If you have rebuild, you can create complete flight plans, including Sid and star and load the entire plan into the INS pressing three buttons, then forget about it. As for the vertical profile (climb and descend) you are given your v speeds and approach speeds if you click the centre of the ias or you can calculate yourself. The A300 is an extremely efficient airframe, it slows down beautifully and you will find yourself doing approach speeds that rival a 737 but of course your payload is much bigger.. MCE has added a voice module for the MD11 and now for the A300 which means you can have the help of voice control via a virtual first officer and flight engineer if you wish, it helps no end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will269 15 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Instead of rebuild, it should be FSBUILD, hate the autocorrect in this phone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sampa 30 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Also, does it include widescreen (16:9) 2D panels? It certainly does have a wide 2D panel, and one of the best around for FSX. Creating flight plans isn't a problem, FS Build does a very good job, but you do need to rename them as explained in the docs. I normally fly with Radar Contact so I simply follow ATC instructions for climb and descent, however a quick rule of thumb is to multiply thousands of feet by 3 to get a quick and dirty descent point. For example, flying at 27,000' you would multiply 27 x 3 to give you a TOD at 81 miles. One page in the setup screen will give you weights and cruise speeds/levels if you don't feel like calculating these things. The A300 is one of the best FSX aircraft available, it really handles well with and without AP, and you will probably find yourself flying approaches from TOD to touchdown. I bought MCE for my A300 after seeing the video that Will269 posted, it really is worth getting but you can really enjoy this bird without it too. TTFN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Smith 8 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 If you hope to be able to fly the Concode at all well, then experience flying with steam guages will be very helpful to you. Glass cockpits are brilliant for some things, and if you take the PMDG 737 as an example, the entire flight can be programmed before you have left the ground. You don't need to fly the plane to your destination, you can just supervise the AP. Flying the A300 (and the Concorde) is very different. You actually have to do the flying your self. The INS system will help the AP get you to each waypoint, if you want it to, and that takes a lot of workload off your shoulders, but you are still responsible to tuning the radios to the various VORs, NDBs and DMEs to verify you are on track and in the right place. You are responsible for your speed and altitude, selecting your TOC and TOD, and any step climbs you want to do. And you are responsible for your fuel usage and distribution. The difference in the two flying styles is like when you went from flying the microlight by just pointing it at where you wanted to go next, to when you first tried to navigate using intruments in poor visibility. Very different styles with very different needs and skills, but both very enjoyable and both very realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hud635jk 102 Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 If you hope to be able to fly the Concode at all well, then experience flying with steam guages will be very helpful to you. I am now used to these, from the Leonardo Maddog and the Level-D 767. You are responsible for your speed and altitude, selecting your TOC and TOD, and any step climbs you want to do. And you are responsible for your fuel usage and distribution. I think I can handle TOC and TOD manually (I'm doing it anyway on the Extended since it is not calculated correctly). Flying the A300 (and the Concorde) is very different. You actually have to do the flying your self. The INS system will help the AP get you to each waypoint, if you want it to, and that takes a lot of workload off your shoulders, but you are still responsible to tuning the radios to the various VORs, NDBs and DMEs to verify you are on track and in the right place. But manual lateral navigation, I found it a lot of fuss about nothing. I will be waiting about the FMC upgrade of the Simcheck A300. According to posts of the developer in their forums, it should be very close now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.