Table of Contents Introduction Abbreviations Abbreviation s System Overview Overview of MCDU Initialization Entering and Modifying Flight Plan Manually Create a Company Route Generating a Flight Plan with SkyVector Creating a Flight Plan with other Tools Direct To Intercept Route after own Navigation Holding Approach and Landing Go-Around Create New Flight Plan after Landing Appendix Flight Phases Pseudo Waypoints Missing Features Common Error Messages
Table of Contents Introduction Abbreviations Abbreviation s System Overview Overview of MCDU Initialization Entering and Modifying Flight Plan Manually Create a Company Route Generating a Flight Plan with SkyVector Creating a Flight Plan with other Tools Direct To Intercept Route after own Navigation Holding Approach and Landing Go-Around Create New Flight Plan after Landing Appendix Flight Phases Pseudo Waypoints Missing Features Common Error Messages
Introduction This (unofficial) manual provides a basic introduction into the use of the MCDU (Multipurpose Control and Display Unit) of the JARDesign a320 X-Plane flight simulator plugin. MCDU represents the major device with which the pilot interacts with the FMGC (Flight Management and Guidance Computer). In the flight simulator world these terms are often used interchangeably. Sometimes you may also hear the term FMC which means Flight Management Computer. This is in fact the same (or similar) device as the FMGC but from Boeing. Having provided the most basic introduction I’m now going to skip any descriptions of abbreviations as this impairs the readability of the text. Please have a look at the Abbreviations Abbreviations section section in order to clarify the abbreviations used in this document. The manual starts with a quick introduction in how the MCDU works in relation to a variety of other systems on the a320. It then continues with an overview on the MCDU as this is the major covered in this manual. The next sections will then cover specific activities a pilot will typically perform: - Initializ Initializatio ation n of of FMGC FMGC to prepare prepare the flight flight - Performi Performing ng typical typical activities activities during during flight flight - Approa Approach ch and Landin Landing g Finally the appendix will contain some useful descriptions like a collection of error messages, known missing features and a document change tracking table. It is assumed that the reader of this manual has a basic understanding on how to use X-Plane and how to fly the JARDesign a320 aircraft. The manual has been written with the following setup: - X-Pla X-Plane ne versio version n 10.45 10.45 - Airbus Airbus a320 from JARDesig JARDesign n version version V2.6R1 V2.6R1 - AirFMC iPad app app has has been used to generate the (most) (most) screenshots screenshots of the MCDU MCDU The examples used in this manual represent situations around Zurich airport (LSZH). Consequently you will find waypoints from this area. The examples however no not necessarily represent realistic scenarios. In case you have comments, suggestions or if you found mistakes, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’m happy to further improve this manual:
[email protected] Complementary and useful information about how to use the FMGC can be found here: ● Brad Cathey published various useful Youtube movies: https://www.youtube.com/user/b https://www.you tube.com/user/breadwild/fee readwild/feed d ● The original original Smiths Smiths Thales pilot’s guide guide (703 pages) found found on the JARDesign JARDesign page: page: http://airbus320neo.com/docs
Abbreviations Abbreviation
Explanation
EFOB
Estimated fuel on board
A/C
Aircraft
ND
Navigation Display
BLOCK
Refers to block fuel which is the amount of fuel loaded when the aircraft is at ramp. Sometimes also called ramp fuel. It includes all fuel including the one used for taxi, contingency, etc.
FMGC
Flight Management and Guidance Computer
MCDU
Multipurpose Control and Display Unit
ZFW
Zero Fuel Weight
ZFWCG
Zero Fuel Weight Center of Gravity
FCU
Flight Control Unit
AP
Autopilot
FD
Flight Director
A/THR
Auto Throttle
EFIS
Electronic Flight Information System
FADEC
Full Authority Digital Engine Control
System Overview The FMGC is quite a complex system which interfaces with many other aircraft systems. The following picture provides a simplified overview on how these system are interconnected with each other. You will notice that most of these devices are redundant.
Simplified System Overview The FCU is a short-term interface which allows the pilot to select the engagement of the AP, FD and A/THR. It also allows the selection of the guidance mode (managed or guided) and manual flight parameters. The MCDU is the long-term interface between the pilots and the FMGC. It allows the pilot to do all the flight route planning, performance calculation, fuel consumption and much more. The Thrust Levers allow the pilot to select the thrust if A/THR is deselected or the thrust ratings in case A/THR is selected. The Thrust Levers data is fed into the FADEC which is a computer controlling and steering the engines (this is the computer which made the flight engineer obsolete). The Displays (together with the EFIS) are the visual interface which display data from the FMGC to the pilots. Finally the heart of the system is the FMGC itself. This is the actual computer doing all the processing, control, input and output, etc.
Overview of MCDU The MCDU is the device with which the pilot interacts with the FMGC. Compared to modern display and data entry devices, the FMGC looks quite old fashioned and its use can be described as quite quirky, especially for someone unfamiliar with these kinds of devices. The MCDU is basically a device with a small display at the top. On each side of the screen there are six line select keys (1-6R and 1-6L) which allow the pilot to select a certain line on the screen. Below the screen there are set of page keys. They are used in order to select the different pages (functions) of the MCDU/FMGC. Further below are the slew keys (arrows) and the alphanumeric keys used to write stuff into the scratchpad field which is actually the last line of the display. In order to enter data into the MCDU the following steps are performed: ● Use the alphanumeric keys to write into the scratchpad ● Select the appropriate line select key to add the data into the appropriate position on the display ● Pressing the CLR key once allows deleting the last character on the scratchpad ● Pressing the CLR key three times quickly deletes the whole scratchpad ● CLR is also used to delete error messages that are displayed on the scratchpad The page keys allow access to the different pages, i.e. functions of the MCDU/FMGC. The following table provides an overview of the different pages: DIR, presents the DIR TO page used for initiating a direct flight to a waypoint. It shows the following information: ● Flight plan waypoints (in case the flight plan is already defined) ● Time and distance when waypoint is reached
DIR page showing two available waypoints PROG, presents the progress page used for showing the progress of the flight. It shows the following information: ● At the top you find the flight phase, here PRF which means Pre Flight ● CRZ: planned flight level ● OPT: optimal flight level ● REC MAX: maximum flight level ● VDEV: vertical deviation compared to the calculated vertical descent ● BRG/DIST: bearing and distance of next waypoint ● TO: next waypoint ● PREDECTIVE and REQUIRED ACCUR ESTIMATED: provides information on GPS reliability
PROG page showing pre flight phase
PERF, presents the performance page showing the following flight performance data: ● V1: speed after which take-off should not be aborted ● VR: rotation speed ● V2: save take-off speed with one engine out ● TRANS ALT: transition altitude ● THR RED/ACC: thrust reduction and acceleration altitude ● FLP RETR: speed at which flaps should be retracted ● SLT RETR: speed at which the slats should be retracted ● CLEAN: clean speed, i.e. when there should be no flaps or slats ● RW: should define used runway ● TO SHIFT: take-off shift, is used for intersection take-off to update take-off performance, it indicates the number of meters which the runway available is shortened ● FLAPS/THS: flaps and horizontal stabilizer setting ● TO-FLX TO: Flex take-off temperature used to decrease engine wear ● ENG OUT ACC: engine out acceleration altitude
PERF page showing takeoff configuration
INIT, presents the initialization page used to initialize the FMGC at the beginning of each flight. It shows: ● CO RTE: company route ● ALTN/CO RTE: alternate ● FROM/TO: departure and destination ● FLT NBR: flight number ● LAT and LON: position of A/C ● COST INDEX: cost index ● CRZ FL: cruise flight level ● TROPO: altitude of tropopause Use → to move to INIT B page. It shows: ● TAXI: tons of fuel planned for taxying ● TRIP/TIME: tons of fuel and time required for trip to destination ● RTE RSV/%: tons of route reserve in absolute and %, can not be modified ● ALTN/TIME: amount of fuel and time required to go to alternate ● FINAL/TIME: ? ● EXTRA/TIME ○ amount of fuel and time extra (BLOCK - (TAXI+TRIP+RSV+ALTN+FINAL) ○ magenta number means lack of fuel and thus requires refueling ● ZFWCG/ZFW: zero fuel weight center of gravity and zero fuel weight ● BLOCK: amount of block fuel ● TOW: take-off weight ● LW: landing weight
Empty INIT page
INIT B page
DATA, presents the data page used to….
DATA page
AC STATUS page with DATA page F-PLN, presents the flight plan page, used to enter and modify the flight plan. When the flight plan is set up it contains a sequence of waypoints which build up the flight path. ● For every waypoint, the following information is shown: ○ Time until next waypoint ○ Speed and altitude restriction ○ whether there is an airway or a direct to the next waypoint ○ Bearing (BRG) to next waypoint ○ Distance to next waypoint ● Waypoints in brackets like (T/C) are virtual waypoints
F-PLN page showing the flight plan
When selecting a waypoint (R-1), the following information is displayed: ● EFOB ● EXTRA ● SPD LIM ● SPD CSTR ● UTC CSTR ● ALT CSTR Waypoint Info RAD NAV, presents the radio navigation page used for setting and viewing frequencies
RAD NAV page showing the current settings
FUEL PRED, presents the fuel prediction page used for showing fuel predictions based on the flight plan
FUEL PRED page MCDU MENU, allows the checking and editing of various settings, most of which are self explanatory: ● FMGS ● NAV DATA ● SHOW PROF ON/OFF ● WINTIPS-NEO/WINGTIPS-CLASSIC ● SOUND VOLUME One page 2: ● CAMERA SHAKE ON/OFF ● NORMAL MAP ON/OFF ● DARK/LIGHT COCKPIT MCDU MENU page Notes: ● INIT B page is only available until engines are running ● More information on FLEX temperature can be found here
Initialization The initialization is the step where the FMGC is prepared for the flight. This is done after the preliminary cockpit preparation is completed, the A/C has power (through ground power or APU) and the ADIRS have been initialized. ● ●
Select DATA page, AC Status Check the following ○ Engine correct? ○ AIRAC correct?
Is A/C status correct? ●
Select the INIT page ○ You will find an empty INIT page
Empty INIT page ●
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The following fields are required to be set ○ FROM/TO: LSZH/LSGG (defines departure and destination airports using ICAO codes) ○ COST INDEX: 40 (define the cost index used to calculate A/C performance) ○ CRZ FL: 210 (enter 0-390 digits) ○ Select ALIGN IRS The following fields are optional ○ CO RTE: company route, used to load predefined flight plans. In Jardesign a320 this works as follows: ■ Save flight plan in the FlightPlans directory of your Jardesign a320 plugin ■ Name it for example like LSZHLSGG.txt for a flight plan going from LSZH to LSGG ■ Check appendix for flight plan
INIT page with basic settings
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format ■ You can now load this flight plan by using setting LSZHLSGG as your CO RTE ■ then the flight plan was loaded you will get ICAO F-PLN READING OK FLT NBR: SWR1099
INIT page after loading company route ●
Select INIT B page → ○ Select ZFWCG / ZFW to confirm, or set manually ○ Select BLOCK to confirm or set manually
INIT B page with ZFWCG and ZFW selected ●
Select ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
PERF page Select V1 Select VR Select V2 Select or set FLAPS/THS Select or set TO-FLX TO
PERF settings for takeoff ● ●
Select F-PLN page Define flight plan manually (if not used CO RTE) as described in “Entering and Modifying Flight Plan Manually”
F-PLN page with the company route loaded
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Enter SID ○ Use the slew keys to scroll to the departure and select the departure with the appropriate line select key ○ Select DEPARTURE ○ Select the runway from which you are going to take-off (ATIS or ATC will tell you) ○ Select the SID you are going to use and don’t forget to use the slew keys to scroll down in order to get the full list ○ If available you can chose a transition ○ Select F-PLN to check the waypoints that will be inserted ○ After that you can select INSERT (or ERASE to cancel) in order to insert the selection you made into the flight plan ○ Check if your departure has been added correctly
Available runways for LSZH
Selected Departure with RWY, SID and TRANS in yellow
New waypoint to be reviewed
Updated flight plan with the F-PLN DISC
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Enter STAR (usually you would do this during flight, while preparing the approach) ○ Use the slew keys to scroll to the arrival and select the arrival with the appropriate line select key ○ Select ARRIVAL ○ Select the approach on which you are going to use for landing (ATIS or ATC will tell you) ○ Select the STAR you are going to use and don’t forget to use the slew keys to scroll down in order to get the full list ○ If available you can chose a transition ○ Select F-PLN to check the waypoints that will be inserted ○ After that you can select INSERT (or ERASE to cancel) in order to insert the selection you made into the flight plan ○ Check if your departure has been added correctly
Available STARs for ILS05 approach
BENO1N approach selected
Waypoints to be reviewed before being inserted
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Check flight plan on ND ○ Select PLAN on ND Rose ○ Select appropriate zoom factor ○ Scroll through your flight plan using ↑↓ and validate ○ Manually add and remove waypoints if required
Configuration for checking the flight plan ●
Optionally you can check the FUEL PRED page
FUEL PRED page Notes: ● More information on the cost index ● Changing SID after runway change ● Changing STAR during flight ● You should compare the LAT/LON with your airport chart to assure correct working GPS Error messages: ○ CRZ FL Error: In case you have not enough distance between departure and arrival in order to reach the defined flight level, you may get an CRZ FL Error. In that case, either first complete your flight plan before entering the CRZ FL or adjust your flight level accordingly. ○ CO-RTE FILE NOT FOUND: Your company route or file name is not correct, i.e. there is no file matching the CO RTE you specified ○ “waypoint not found” Notable deviations: ○ Cost Index is not properly modeled with this A/C plugin ○ It is not unlikely that the FMGC makes some mistakes in modeling the flight plan. Reviewing and correcting the flight plan is therefore a critical preflight check
Entering and Modifying Flight Plan Manually The following manual flight plan modifications are described ● Enter direct to waypoint ● Enter airway from on waypoint ● Delete waypoint ● Remove F-PLN DISCONTINUITY ● Change constraints ● Change restrictions of waypoints F-PLN page ● Insert directly ○ Enter waypoint ULMES into scratchpad ○ Select the left line select key for the waypoint after which you want to insert the waypoint ○ Select INSERT
Empty flight plan with only departure and destination
Confirm entry by selecting INSERT
Flight plan with new waypoint inserted F-PLN page ● Insert waypoint via airway from existing waypoint ○ Use the left line select key for the waypoint for which you want to define the next waypoint or airway ○ Select AIRWAYS (if you want to define the airway) ○ Enter airway into scratchpad ○ Select VIA ○ Enter waypoint into scratchpad ○ Select TO ○ Select F-PLN to review ○ Select INSERT to insert the new waypoint/airway
Enter an airways after waypoint ROTOS
Entered airway (VIA) and next waypoint (TO)
BADEP and ULMES both on Z669 have been inserted F-PLN page ● Delete waypoint ○ Press CLR ○ Select line of waypoint you want to delete, here ULMES ○ Select F-PLN to review ○ Select INSERT
CLR on scratchpad, select to delete a waypoint
Review flight plan with removed waypoint
F-PLN page ● Remove F-PLN DISCONTINUITY ○ Press CRL ○ Select line of F-PLN DISC… ○ Select INSERT
CLR on scratchpad, select to F-PLN DISC…
Review and INSERT F-PLN page ● Modify restrictions of existing waypoint ○ Select R line select key of waypoint you want to modify in order to go into vertical revision (VERT REV) ○ Change one or multiple of the following restrictions: ■ SPD CSTR ■ UTC CSTR ■ ALT CSTR
Vertical revision page
Notes ● F-PLN DISCONTINUITY is… ● To remove the ones after the DEP and ARR, you need to add a SID and a STAR
Create a Company Route The CO RTE feature allows you to load an already predefined flight plan which you may have downloaded or prepared outside of your flight sim. Flightplans which you want to load into your FMGC are stored in the FlightPlans directory of your aircraft plugin. JARDesign has already placed a lot of example routes which can be loaded or modified.There is one example called LSZHLSGG.txt. This file contains the route from Zurich to Geneva and the content looks as follows: LSZH SID VEBIT T50 ROTOS UZ669 ULMES STAR LSGG This follows the following format:
SID STAR
ICAO code of departure airport, here LSZH
SID
This is a placeholder for the Standard Instrument Departure which you will enter manually into the FMGC after having received the IFR clearance.
The route is a sequence of waypoints with either an airway or with a DCT in between. DCT means direct and is used when you don’t enter or have an airway between two waypoints and as a consequence fly “direct” to the next waypoint.
STAR
This is a placeholder for the Standard Arrival Route which you will enter manually into in the FMGC after having received the arrival clearance during the arrival preparation inflight.
ICAO code of destination airport, here LSGG
There are multiple ways to generate such a flight plan: ● Manually, be just following the proper format explained above ● Let a flight planner do the work and copy the route into a text file ● Hopefully we will soon see flight planning tools that can generate JARDesign compliant flight planes directly (maybe there are some and I just don’t know…)
Generating a Flight Plan with SkyVector On the SkyVector webpage (www.skyvector.com) one can nicely drag and drop a route. This is a quick and convenient ways as it nicely visualizes the route on a proper aeronautical chart. Once having created the route with SkyVector you can easily copy the route from the route field paste it into a text file. With this step you have just created the section of the JARDesign flight plan and you only need to add SID at the beginning and add STAR at the end.
SkyVector route from Geneva to Zurich
SkyVector route extended to complete the flight plan Once this flight plan is created you can load it as explained in FMGC Initialization chapter of this document. If you get CO-RTE FILE NOT FOUND you mixed up something with the file name. When the fight plan was loaded properly you should get a message ICAO F-PLN READING OK. Now go to F-PLN page to verify if this is actually true (as a good pilot you always need to verify stuff).
Creating a Flight Plan with other Tools In the same way as with SkyVector you can use about any tool to simplify generating your flight plan: ● Simbrief (www.simbrief.com), a highly recommended tool by the way, will allow you to select a predefined route which you then can also copy-paste into your file ● On RouteFinder (www.rfinder.asalink.net) you can also lookup and copy-paste routes
Direct To During flight it is not uncommon that ATC does allow the pilot to skip one or the other way point. This can be done to avoid traffic or to provide a more direct and thus faster route. F-PLN ● In your flight plan you see the following waypoints, VENAT being the next one ● If you want to go directly to BANKO you need to go the DIR page and proceed as follows
Flight plan with VENAT as the next waypoint DIR ● ● ● ●
Select the waypoint to which you want to go directly Select BANKO The FMGC will display the time, when this waypoint will be reached and distance to it You can now select INSERT and the FMGC will change the flight plan in order to directly go to BANKO
DIR page showing the available waypoints for a direct
BANKO with its time and distance
Intercept Route after own Navigation In case you switched from NAV to HDG mode and flew a flight path different than configured in the flight plan, you may want to get back to let the A/C continue following the flight plan. This will be necessary in case ATC requested you to follow vectors or in case you just manually flew around bad weather. I was not able to determine the proper rule for intercepting the route. There are however three ways on how to intercept the route. 1. When disengaging HDG mode, the A/C will fly back to the route and intercepted the route properly without any intervention. I’m not sure if this the default behavior or if this only happens when some parameters (like being close enough to a waypoint, etc.) are given. 2. A more manual method is to fly a track back to a leg of your route and before intercepting, disengage the HDG mode. This will cause a switch back to NAV mode and following the flight plan. 3. Probably the easiest and safest method however is to make use of the Direct To feature within the DIR page in order to select a waypoint in front of you. This will fly the A/C directly to this waypoint and from then continue following the route. Of course this requires NAV mode being engaged.
Holding A holding can only be defined on a waypoint which has not yet been visited. You typically define a hold for the waypoint that is right in front of you. ● ● ●
Change into F-PLN page Select the waypoint on which you want to hold (usually your next one) There are two ways to configure a HOLD ○ Manually selecting ■ INB CRS: inbound course ■ TURN: turn direction: R (default) or L ■ TIME/DIST: duration/distance of one holding leg ○ automatic ■ COMPUTED Flight plan with waypoint GIPOL
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After having entered the required fields using the manual or automated way the FMC calculates: ○ UTC: defines when the HOLD must be left in order to meet fuel policy defined in FUEL PRED page ○ FUEL: displays the EFOB (Estimated Fuel on Board) when leaving the HOLD at the corresponding time If you agree with these settings, select F-PLN in order to go back GIPOL selected for the HOLD
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The flight plan will now display the flight plan extended with the defined HOLD R (i.e. a right hand holding) ● To exit the HOLD select IMM EXIT and the A/C will leave the hold immediately in order to continue flying to the next waypoint following the hold
Updated flight plan with HOLD and IMM EXIT
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The ND display will display the HOLD graphically The example on the right shows the A/C leaving a HOLD that has been defined at the waypoint BREGO
Navigation display visualizing the HOLD Notes: ● If you have not enough fuel on board to meet the FUEL PRED policy, you will not be able to enter a HOLD, you will receive the “Incorrect last exit” error message ● You can only define a HOLD for a waypoint in your flight plan which you have not yet visited and which is “in front of you” ● Deviations ○ Above UTC FUEL it should mention LAST EXIT ○ When exiting a HOLD you should have a chance to confirm the exit before the exit will actually be executed
Approach and Landing Preparing the approach includes selecting the approach phase and defining the settings for the approach airport. PERF ● APPR PHASE ● Confirm ○ QNH: set barometer ○ TEMP: temperature ○ MAG WIND: magnetic heading of wind / wind speed in knots ● Check approach speed settings
PERF page enabling APPR PHASE activation ●
After having activated the approach phase, APPR is indicated on the PROG page
PERF page showing APPR phase activated Notes: ● APPR PHASE should automatically activated at the DECEL pseudo waypoint
Go-Around If you decide to do a go-around (you were not able to stabilize the approach, you have traffic on the runway, ATC requests you to do so or whatever other reason you may have), you will move your throttle to TO/GA, retract the gears and the flaps. As you have selected the approach mode, the FMGC will switch automatically into go around phase. Setting TO/GA during approach phase will set the go-around phase. After initiating the go-around, the FMGC will switch to the go around phase as seen on the PROG page. The engines will apply takeoff/go-around power and will automatically climb to the preselected go-around altitude. PROG ● The PRGP page will show the settings applicable during go around
PROG showing GO AROUND phase ●
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The Navigation Display shows the missed approach route (in blue) until to the missed approach fix Unfortunately the AP does not follow this route automatically so that you have to fly it manually or use the HDG mode to follow the route
Create New Flight Plan after Landing If you want to create a new flight plan after landing in order to continue you flight, you need to shutdown the engine and finish the parking checklist. After that you can start from scratch again with the INIT page and the FMGC will correctly track your flight phases.
Appendix Flight Phases FMGC distinguishes between different flight phases. They are displayed at the top of the PROG or PERF page and are named as follows: ○ PREFLIGHT: displayed as PRF, anytime before take-off is preflight ○ TAKE-OFF: displayed as ○ CLIMB: displayed as CLB ○ CRUISE: displayed as CRZ, set after reaching specified flight level ○ DESCENT: displayed as DES, set after descending ○ APPROACH: displayed as APPR ○ GO-AROUND: after moving the throttle to TO/GA during landing ○ DONE: after touching down
Pseudo Waypoints Pseudo waypoints are waypoints generated by the FMGC and inserted into the flight plan to indicate a vertical navigation event: ● (S/C): step climb ● (S/D): step descent ● (SPD): ● (SPD LIM) ● (SPD LIM) ● (DECEL): deceleration point ● (T/C): top of climb ● (T/D): top of descent ● (INTERCEPT)
Missing Features The following features are not implemented in the JARDesign FMGC: ● Missed approach procedure ● Entering waypoints through latitude and longitude ● INIT page ○ Not alternate destination (should be added to the INIT page) ○ Temperature for CRZ FL ● Flightplan discontinuity ● F-PLN ○ Constraints are not taken over into flight plan automatically, can be added manually
Common Error Messages ● ●
CRZ FL Error: length of route is too short to reach the flight level. This usually happens when the flight plan is not yet created. Incorrect last exit: this happens when you want to program a HOLD and you have no fuel left to remain in a hold
