Today's entry focuses on the concepts introduced in the previous entry "The Theory of Managed Flight", but with a slightly more in-depth and different perspective.
In the previous entry I discussed various things like the purpose of the FMGC, the Vertical Profile and other tools real world pilots use to fly complex aircraft like the Boeing 737NG, or Airbus A320. These same concepts and procedures can also be used by virtualpilots as long as the aircraft addon they are using is designed to simulate these kinds of realistic procedures e.g. not the default planes FSX ships with.
THE FMC MONITORS THE PLANE, THE PILOT MONITORS THE FLIGHT
As discussed, the primary role of the FMC is to calculate the most efficient use of fuel taking into consideration things like distance between points, the vertical profile, weight of the aircraft, etc. It can calculate climb thrust, cruise speed and other variables to the exact decimal because it is a computer dealing with mathematics that translate to the aircraft itself.
Conversely, a pilot is a human being whose primary job is to manage all aspects of the flight and not just how fast, or how high the plane flies.
Management of the overall flight includes allocating the work load to other crew members, interacting with the flight attendants and passangers, and most importantly monitoring the FMC and other automated components to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly.
There is a misconception that after takeoff commercial airline pilots just "sit there" and let the autopilot and FMC fly the plane. This is false. They might not be physically flying the plane via the yoke/stick/pedals, but pilots never just "sit there" doing nothing.
They are constantly scanning the glareshield for traffic, they are constantly monitoring the airplanes various systems via the ECAM or EICAS, and most important they are usually coordinating with ATC and making adjustments to the overall flightplan generated by the FMC by using the MCP, or its equivalent...
And this where there is often a huge disparity between "flying" MSFS and flying a real aircraft.
VIRTUAL PILOTS: DON'T JUST SIT THERE!
After you have taken off from your departure airport and engaged the autopilot... Don't just sit there and let the FMC and autopilot fly the plane for you!
There is a misconception among beginners that once you learn how to program the FMC that it will do almost everything for you. The FMC and autopilot's job is to make flying the aircraft physically easier on the pilot (by constantly making small corrections humans can't) , but it should never be viewed as a substitute for a pilot and their skills. Even if the flight is error free, the FMC and autopilot are tools to help the pilot operate the plane, not replace the pilot.
Once you have taken off the key is to remain actively engaged and monitor your virtual flight just as a real pilot does.
The most obvious area where you are actively engaged from the start is if you use ATC. If you flile a flight plan using the built in Flight Planner, ATC will guide you to your cruise altitude and put you on an intercept course for your plotted route. If you don't use the default flight planner and ATC (due to its shortcomings discussed earlier), you still need to be actively engaged and monitoring your flight.
Some of the areas you need to actively monitor are:
V/S (Vertical Speed) - Some addons will "rocket", or "dive bomb" to the altitudes calculated by their FMCs when climbing, or descending. Your job is to keep a realistic and steady rate up, or down. Every situation will be different, but a good number to aim for is 1800FPS (Feet Per Second) using the V/S (level change) function on your MCP. You don't want to come crashing through your assigned altitude and then have to make a sudden adjustment to level off. Also, the FMC in most popular addons use a V/S of 1800 as the base rate when calculating the Vertical Profile. Therefore, you might as well use what it used to calculate the vertical profile to minimize errors like reaching altitudes too late, or too earlier.
IAS (Indicated Air Speed) - This might seem obvious, but where proper speed becomes incredibly important is when you are descending to the destination airport. You need to start slowing down, but you also need to take into account your target reference speed -- The speed calculated by the FMC where all your flaps and slats are fully extended and landing gear down -- For the final approach. This is important for both autoland and hand-flown ILS landings.
Real pilots never just let the FMC or autopilot control the descent speed. Again, ATC plays a big part in guiding them in, but even in FS, it is best to control all aspects of the descent including IAS (Knots), and V/S, so you are in complete control and can put your flaps and gears down on schedule without the worry of damaging them due to coming in too fast.
FMC Assigned Altitudes - This is another crucial aspect to managing the flight because altitude restrictions are sometimes calculated for reasons other than to conserve fuel.
For example, on the approach to KLAS (Las Vegas International) there are several way points on the CLARR2 STAR that level off at 13000 FT before they descend further for the ILS capture. The reason is because there are moutain ranges and other high altitude obstacles surrounding Las Vegas, and if you ignore these altitude restrictions "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" because you'll crash right into the side of a mountain, never to fly again!
The KLAS arrival is also a perfect illustration of how the virtual pilot needs to actively engaged at all times. Not only do they have to control their speed for the flap and landing gear schedule, but they have to be aware of at least two different altitude restrictions that exist on the final approach. The first one is the one regarding 13000FT. The second one is a restriction of 3800FT because of the rolling hills on the outskirts of Las Vegas that have houses and some tall office buildings that are in direct line with the final approach to runways 25L and 25R. So, the virtual pilot arriving at KLAS has to actively manage his/her descent in all respects via the MCP.
So, while FSX is just a game... It is a much more active game than one might initially think with regard to its simulation of computer controlled flight management. Virtual pilots need to realize what the FMC and autopilot are (tools), their primary function (to physically control the aircraft) and then the pilot's overall function within the entire process (to oversee and monitor it all).
