Operational Procedures Help!
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Join Date: Jun 2017
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Operational Procedures Help!
Hi! I'm currently taking up virtual flying in a flight sim, and want to be realistic as I can whilst also being very strapped for time during my day! I've tried to come up with a set procedure for my flights as shown below, but this is only based off of googling, observing FR24, and asking some people a few questions. Please keep in mind that I know that these might not be hard set procedures that happen every time, but I am going to be flying many different aircraft (737-A380) as many different airlines in this sim - and my question is that, would my procedures below be realistic? Maybe not super accurate for each individual airline and aircraft, but if it happend would anyone see it as odd or would it just seem normal?
Nav and Beacon Lights On
Pushback - during which start engine 1
Start Engine 2 immediately after
Set Flaps and Trim after both engines started (or just when one has started?)
Taxi Lights On
Taxi to runway with thrust of no more than 40%N1
Takeoff with rotation pitch of about 5 degrees
Then 5 second increase to 15 degree Angle of attack
At 1000AAL decrease thrust by about 5% whilst lowering the nose to 10 degrees
Accleerate to flap retraction speed
Then increase Angle of attack for 3000FPM (weight dependent)
At 10,000 landing lights off, decrease FPM to 2000, accelerate to 290
At 26,000ft decrease FPM to 1000
1000ft before climb altitude decrease FPM to 500
For descent;
⁃ Use 3* the number of thousand feet you want to lose + 1 extra mile for every -10 knots of tailwind
⁃ Descend at cruise mach (or a little below cruise mach?)
⁃ Until about 280 knots
⁃ Then maintain 280 down to 12000
⁃ At 12,000 decrease FPM to 500 in order to slow to 250
⁃ Maintain 250 until about 20 miles out
⁃ At that point slow to 220
⁃ Then to 180+first set of flaps about 15 miles out/base
⁃ Then slow to 160 when establishing on final + second set of flaps
⁃ Hold that until about 5 miles out
⁃ Then 3rd and 4th set of flaps, gear down - fully configured before 1000ft
⁃ Reverese thrust to 70 knots GS
⁃ Then idle engines and activate brakes
⁃ Exit at about 20 knots and disarm/retract flaps/spoilers whilst exiting
⁃ Switch off landing and strobe lights once past the hold short
⁃ Then taxi to stand, turn off both engines at stand if they have had 3 minutes cool down time
Apart from the question marks in brackets above I have a few more questions?
1.)In heavies, e.g quadjets like the 747,380 and 340, in what order are the engines started and should I be starting two or three at once? If not, what order and what is the interval between them, as a general rule of thumb?
2.) The flight sim I use doesn't have a complex FMC or anything along those lines yet, so descents are manually done. I usually descend anywhere from about 1500FPM to 2700FPM. Are these about right? Also, is it okay for me to be reguarly changing that just a little or would an airliner usually just maintain a constant FPM without changing that at all? I just keep recalculating acoording to that same rule at different altitudes to see if I am descending too fast or too slow and then alter as needed. Also, when descending at -2500FPM in the 380 etc, I feel like my downwards pitch is too excessive? Is it okay provided that my FPM is sensible?
3.) Doing flights around the world in many different aircraft as many different airlines, would it be totally unrealistic of me to never use single engine taxi in or out? I'm currently testing an alpha version of the sim so nobody is ever really around, so my taxi times in and out tend to be too quick for both.
4.) If doing a step climb, what FPM should I be doing it at?
5.) I don't have access to or time to look at plates for airports, but I know some have special SID's and STAR's. If I just look up the flight path of the equivalent real world flight in FlightRadar24 and imitate the best I can at the departure and arrival phases of flight, is that likely to be relatively realistic even if not completely?
Anybody who can legitimately and accurately answer any of these, please do so, it would be much appreciated! Thanks a bunch guys!
Nav and Beacon Lights On
Pushback - during which start engine 1
Start Engine 2 immediately after
Set Flaps and Trim after both engines started (or just when one has started?)
Taxi Lights On
Taxi to runway with thrust of no more than 40%N1
Takeoff with rotation pitch of about 5 degrees
Then 5 second increase to 15 degree Angle of attack
At 1000AAL decrease thrust by about 5% whilst lowering the nose to 10 degrees
Accleerate to flap retraction speed
Then increase Angle of attack for 3000FPM (weight dependent)
At 10,000 landing lights off, decrease FPM to 2000, accelerate to 290
At 26,000ft decrease FPM to 1000
1000ft before climb altitude decrease FPM to 500
For descent;
⁃ Use 3* the number of thousand feet you want to lose + 1 extra mile for every -10 knots of tailwind
⁃ Descend at cruise mach (or a little below cruise mach?)
⁃ Until about 280 knots
⁃ Then maintain 280 down to 12000
⁃ At 12,000 decrease FPM to 500 in order to slow to 250
⁃ Maintain 250 until about 20 miles out
⁃ At that point slow to 220
⁃ Then to 180+first set of flaps about 15 miles out/base
⁃ Then slow to 160 when establishing on final + second set of flaps
⁃ Hold that until about 5 miles out
⁃ Then 3rd and 4th set of flaps, gear down - fully configured before 1000ft
⁃ Reverese thrust to 70 knots GS
⁃ Then idle engines and activate brakes
⁃ Exit at about 20 knots and disarm/retract flaps/spoilers whilst exiting
⁃ Switch off landing and strobe lights once past the hold short
⁃ Then taxi to stand, turn off both engines at stand if they have had 3 minutes cool down time
Apart from the question marks in brackets above I have a few more questions?
1.)In heavies, e.g quadjets like the 747,380 and 340, in what order are the engines started and should I be starting two or three at once? If not, what order and what is the interval between them, as a general rule of thumb?
2.) The flight sim I use doesn't have a complex FMC or anything along those lines yet, so descents are manually done. I usually descend anywhere from about 1500FPM to 2700FPM. Are these about right? Also, is it okay for me to be reguarly changing that just a little or would an airliner usually just maintain a constant FPM without changing that at all? I just keep recalculating acoording to that same rule at different altitudes to see if I am descending too fast or too slow and then alter as needed. Also, when descending at -2500FPM in the 380 etc, I feel like my downwards pitch is too excessive? Is it okay provided that my FPM is sensible?
3.) Doing flights around the world in many different aircraft as many different airlines, would it be totally unrealistic of me to never use single engine taxi in or out? I'm currently testing an alpha version of the sim so nobody is ever really around, so my taxi times in and out tend to be too quick for both.
4.) If doing a step climb, what FPM should I be doing it at?
5.) I don't have access to or time to look at plates for airports, but I know some have special SID's and STAR's. If I just look up the flight path of the equivalent real world flight in FlightRadar24 and imitate the best I can at the departure and arrival phases of flight, is that likely to be relatively realistic even if not completely?
Anybody who can legitimately and accurately answer any of these, please do so, it would be much appreciated! Thanks a bunch guys!
Why stop the rotation at 5 degrees? On all the Boeings I know the procedure is to rotate straight to ~15 degrees. At that point you hold airspeed V2 to V2 +10 until you start the flap retraction. And there is a difference between pitch attitude and angle of attack. Most airliners don't show AoA so there is no way to reference it.
You don't normally climb in vertical speed mode, that has killed people. You have a target climb speed and climb thrust. Your rate of climb is whatever it is.
1. On a 747-400 you start 4 and 1 then 2 and 3 when 4 and 1 are stabilized. On a -8 wait 10 seconds after starting 4 before starting 1 and 10 seconds after starting 2 before starting 3.
2. Descents are the same as climbs, reduce the thrust and hold a target speed. That being said, unless ATC has assigned a hard speed, if you need to get down quicker increase the airspeed.
3. Single engine taxiing is normally a weight issue. Some airports forbid it.
4. Again, set climb thrust and hold your airspeed. Your rate of climb will be what it is.
5. Most airports that transport jets operate to have STARs and SIDs. All the FAA ones are available free online. How relatively real do you want your sim to be?
You don't normally climb in vertical speed mode, that has killed people. You have a target climb speed and climb thrust. Your rate of climb is whatever it is.
1. On a 747-400 you start 4 and 1 then 2 and 3 when 4 and 1 are stabilized. On a -8 wait 10 seconds after starting 4 before starting 1 and 10 seconds after starting 2 before starting 3.
2. Descents are the same as climbs, reduce the thrust and hold a target speed. That being said, unless ATC has assigned a hard speed, if you need to get down quicker increase the airspeed.
3. Single engine taxiing is normally a weight issue. Some airports forbid it.
4. Again, set climb thrust and hold your airspeed. Your rate of climb will be what it is.
5. Most airports that transport jets operate to have STARs and SIDs. All the FAA ones are available free online. How relatively real do you want your sim to be?
