B737 Flight Training — Articles / Posts — Flaps 2 Approach

In past posts, I’ve documented some of the functionality of the Flight Management Computer (FMC) as displayed by the Central Control Unit (CDU). Following on with this theme, let’s look at four navigation data functions the FMC is capable of: Reference Nav Data, Nav Options, Nav Status and Nav Frequency Changes.

Before continuing, the FMC/CDU is controlled by the avionics suite you are using; whether it is ProSim737, Sim Avionics or whatever. Each avionics suite provides differing functionality; therefore, if something does not operate as indicated, it maybe a limiting factor of the avionics suite in use.

Note: This post follows standard terminology. lsk3R means line select key 3 right.

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A: REFERENCE NAV DATA

Occasionally, you will need to cross check information and the frequency of a specific navaid.

The Reference Nav Data display is part of the Nav Data page and can be assessed by the INDEX page:

INIT REF / INDEX / NAV DATA (lsk1R)

The screen will show three available options: Enter WPT Ident, Navaid Ident and Airport Ident.

Example: Type HB into the navaid Ident. Two pages will be displayed showing all the HB Idents from the navigation database. Selection of the appropriate navaid (HB) will present a further page displaying the following information: Navaid WPT, Airport and Ident code, Latitude, Longitude, Frequency, Elevation and magnetic variance.

NOTE: If you cannot identify the ident by name use the Longitude and Latitude coordinates.

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B: NAV OPTIONS & NAV STATUS

Following on from the Reference Nav Data page are: Nav Options and Nav Status.

Nav Options and Nav Status can be assessed two ways:

1: INIT REF/ INDEX / NAVDATA (lsk1R) / NAV OPTIONS (lsl6R)

2: PROG (progress) / NAV STATUS (lsk6R) (use when in flight)

Two consecutive pages are available: Nav Options and Nav Status. By default, Nav Status (page 2/2) is displayed. Use the PREV and NEXT PAGE keys to cycle between the two pages.

Nav Status - page 1/2

This page provides you with a list of the closest navaids including frequencies. It also indicates the currently set identifier and frequency for NAV 1 and NAV 2 (as set on the NAV 1/2 radio).

Nav Options - page 2/2

This page can be used to inhibit a particular waypoint or station. By inhibiting a navaid, it will not be able to be used by the CDU to calculate a navigation solution. By default all navaid types are activated. At crew discretion, two VOR and two DME stations can be inhibited. When you inhibit a navaid it will be removed from page 1/2 and not be visible in the Nav Status page list. The inhibited navaid will be reset when you reset the CDU.

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C: FREQUENCY CHANGE - ALTERING THE THE CDU

In usual practice, crew will alter the navigation, communication, ADF and transponder frequency on the actual panel located in the central pedestal. However, often you may need to cross check frequencies, dial in a third frequency for positional awareness, or use a frequency from an avionics module not present in the pedestal or that is malfunctioning.

The alter Nav Data screen can be assessed by:

MENU / MAINT (lsk6R) / COM/NAV (lsk3L)

This will display a page showing all idents and frequencies currently being used.

COM 1, COM 2, NAV 1, NAV 2, ADF 1, ADF 2 AND EXPR

To alter a frequency, type into the scratch pad the frequency of the navaid and upload to the appropriate line. To upload, select and press the key to the left or right of the nominated radio. Changing a frequency in the CDU will also cause a corresponding change in the frequency of the selected radio (in the center pedestal).

Flow Route

When you work through the above four functions of the CDU, you will note that the INDEX function is always available. This allows you to easily develop a flow route as you move between the various pages. Once you know how the flow route operates, you will discover that the CDU is very much like a book with several hundred pages of information that is easily accessible via a few select menu keys.

As with all my posts, if you discover a discrepancy please contact me so it can be rectified.

BELOW: Montage of images from the CDU showing various pages displayed within the Reference Nav Data. CDU is manufactured by Flight Deck Solutions (FDS). Click image to see larger.

Montage of images from the CDU showing various pages displayed within the Reference Nav Data. CDU is manufactured by Flight Deck Solutions (FDS)

“In the later part of the evening and occasionally into the wee hours of the morning, a hearty group of individuals - most of them seemingly rational, grown men and women with professional daytime jobs - sit perched in front of computer monitors with sweaty palms tightly clenching flight yokes. Distant cries of "Honey, come to bed" have long since fallen on deaf ears as, with razor-sharp concentration, these virtual airmen skilfully guide their chosen aircraft down glide paths to airports across the world. The late night silence is shattered by screeches of virtual rubber on the runway immediately followed by the deafening whine of reverse engine thrusters and finally a sign of relief from the flight deck - also known, in many instances as a desk! “

Why do we enjoy flight simulator?

Is it the technical challenge learning integrated computer generated management systems, or the enjoyment of landing a virtual jetliner on a runway in limited visibility and a crosswind. Perhaps it’s the perception of travelling to far flung locations that you probably would never visit, or maybe it’s the enjoyment received from constructing something from nothing (a flight deck).

Which Aircraft Today - Basic Airmanship

There are many people very happy messing about with whatever they are flying. Some will be using home computers and a joystick, others small generic style flight decks – all will have, to some degree, a level of airmanship.

Whatever level, every individual will require at some point instruction in “how to fly” and "how to use the various avionics and instrumentation" - more so in B737 than a Cessna 172.

Flight Training –Remove Automation

A high-end simulator is a substantial investment both in time and funds. Therefore, to obtain the best “Bang for Buck” as the Americans say, it’s more satisfying to accomplish a flight the correct way rather than the wrong way. The B737 has numerous interfacing flight management systems and it’s important to understand what these systems do and how they interact with each other in certain phases of flight.

Flying the B737 in auto pilot mode is not difficult; the Flight Management System (FMS) does most of calculations and work for you and if you use autoland - well what else is there to do but watch. But flying this way can be counterintuitive as you don’t really have full control of the aircraft; to fully appreciate the aircraft for what it is, you must deactivate the auto pilot and other automation and fly “hands on”.

Once the automation is deactivated, task levels multiply as several layers of information present themselves; information that must be assimilated quickly to enable correct decisions to made. There's little room for second guessing and you must have a good working knowledge of how the various flight controls and systems interact with each other. Add to this, inclement "virtual" weather, limited visibility, navigational challenges, landing approaches, charts, STARS, NDBS, VORS and a crosswind, and you'll find you have a lot to do in a relatively short space of time; if you want to land your virtual airliner in one piece. And, this is not mentioning your pet dog nuzzling your leg wanting immediate attention or your girlfriend querying why the dirty dinner dishes haven't be washed!!

books contain a lot of information, however, they rely on the reader already having a good understanding of the 737 systems

Technical Publications

A lot of information is readily obtainable from technical publications, on-line sources, and from the content of forums. There are several excellent texts available that go into depth regarding the technical aspects of the B737 and cover off on a lot of the topics a real and virtual pilot may need to know (I will be looking at a few of them in future posts). But, for the most part these texts are technical in nature and are do not include the "how to" of flight training.

One very good source of information is the B737 Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM).

Tutorials - PMDG

Two “how to” tutorials written by Tom Metzinger and Fred Clausen are in circulation. These tutorials deal with the Precision Manuals Development Group (PMDG) B737 NG. These tutorials provide an excellent basis to learning how to fly the B737 and what you need to do during certain phases of flight. Two further tutorials are available for the 737 NGX, however, they are not freely obtainable unless you have purchased the PMDG B737 NG or NGX software package.

That Nagging Feeling……Correct or incorrect ?

Despite the books, tutorials and manuals, there's always that nagging feeling that something has not been covered, is incorrect, or has been misunderstood. We all have heard the saying “there are several ways to skin a cat”; flying is no different. A B737 line instructor informed me that there is "a huge amount of technique allowed when flying the B737". "There are certainly wrong ways to do things; but, there is often no single right way to do something". Often the method selected is not at the discretion of the pilot flying, but more the decision of airline management, company policies and ATC.

Visit any FS forum and you will quickly realize that many virtual flyers do things differently. So where does this leave the individual who wants to learn the correct way?

Short of enrolling into a real flight class, which is time consuming, very expensive and a little “over the top” for a hobby, the next option is to investigate various on-line training schools. To my knowledge, there aren’t many formal style training classes available that provide training in the B737.

Angle of Attack Flight Training (AoA)

Angle of Attack has developed a reasonably priced and thorough training program that incorporates ground, line and flight training for a number of differing aircraft types. Only recently has AoA completed their B737 ground and flight training video presentations, in what amounts to many hours of valuable training.

Much of the training material is presented in video format which can either be downloaded to your computer, mobile device or viewed on-line. The content of the videos is very high resolution, well structured, professionally narrated, easy to follow, and most importantly – interesting and informative.

HD Video, Tutorials, Flows & Checklists for all B737 Systems

AoA have followed the real-world aviation industry standard by providing a lot of system training using "flows". A flow is a animated diagram showing step by step the correct method of doing something. In many instances a .pdf document can be downloaded to provide a "memory jogger" for you to replicate the flow when in the simulator.

Many of the training videos build upon knowledge already gained from texts such as the Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM), and the use of video as opposed to only reading, provides a differing method of education which helps you to develop a greater understanding.

Video flight tutorials which take you through from pushback to shutdown and demonstrate the correct procedure for conducting a flight.

AoA only provides training for the B737 NGX, however, much of the material is backwards compatible with the B737 NG series airframes. The video training utilises the 737 NGX model produced by Precision Manuals Development Group (PMDG) and does not use a real aircraft.

Despite these two shortcomings (NGX & not a real aircraft), the training offered is exceptional, one of a kind, and in my opinion reasonably priced.