u/MD-80-87

Such a fun plane to fly. I was initially reluctant to read through the Aircraft AOM's in which the whole docs were written by a typewriter, but I am glad I did ! It was so worth it.

I found the Pressurisation section in paticular very interesting and when to use Turbocompressors and Engine Bleeds in tandem.

I made a full flight 3 crew role tutorial yesterday and a real 707 Flight Engineer said it was excellent like a training session. That really made my day :D

https://www.youtube.com/live/7f158IXTBPg?si=-qjP826v8QkhP04x

If a DC-8 comes to the sim one day...

After some extensive reading up on my United B707 AOM, I fired the Virtual Flight Engineer and decided to do everything myself, which I found rather rewarding !

My solo workload flight and systems explanations tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/live/7f158IXTBPg?si=4BRrkmTy0tX-LLFD

After some extensive reading up on my United B707 AOM, I fired the Virtual Flight Engineer and decided to do everything myself, which I found rather rewarding !

My solo workload flight and systems explanations tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/live/7f158IXTBPg?si=4BRrkmTy0tX-LLFD

After some extensive reading up on my United B707 AOM, I fired the Virtual Flight Engineer and decided to do everything myself, which I found rather rewarding !

My solo workload flight and systems explanations tutorial.

https://www.youtube.com/live/7f158IXTBPg?si=4BRrkmTy0tX-LLFD

Although long retired from passenger service, the 707 has stood the test of time and is still serving as military variants :)

Nice to see a classic back in the sim. Hopefully a DC-8 might join one day...

I'm enjoying the new 707 in MSFS! It has certainly been a while since I last operated her in fsx. No wonder when I went to start my engines I made a novice mistake by moving the start lever directly to idle as one would normally do in any other jet. The engine would not spool up.

Then I remembered (with the help of my 707 AOM) that the 707 uses a cam operated start lever with three positions: Cut Off, Start, and Idle. If the lever and the start switch aren't both in the proper position, ignition just doesn't happen.

I made a short video walking through the whole thing step by step since it's a bit fiddly to explain in text alone, if that's useful to anyone else who wants to fly the 707 without the Virtual Flight Engineer.

https://youtu.be/UpPegalSTxk

This is how you start the 707's engines as per the AOM

1.Start order is 3, 4, 2, 1 2.Ground start switch armed first 3. At 15% N2, 'lever to Start', this is when ignition and fuel valve both activate 4. At 40% N2, observe overhead starter switch goes to cut out 5. At 50% N2, 'lever to Idle'

You can then start rest of the engines of No. 3 instead of the ground cart. Its quite a cool process actually.

I'm enjoying the new 707 in MSFS! It has certainly been a while since I last operated her in fsx. No wonder when I went to start my engines I made a novice mistake by moving the start lever directly to idle as one would normally do in any other jet. The engine would not spool up.

Then I remembered (with the help of my 707 AOM) that the 707 uses a cam operated start lever with three positions: Cut Off, Start, and Idle. If the lever and the start switch aren't both in the proper position, ignition just doesn't happen.

I made a short video walking through the whole thing step by step since it's a bit fiddly to explain in text alone, if that's useful to anyone else who wants to fly the 707 without the Virtual Flight Engineer.

https://youtu.be/UpPegalSTxk

This is how you start the 707's engines as per the AOM

1.Start order is 3, 4, 2, 1 2.Ground start switch armed first 3. At 15% N2, 'lever to Start', this is when ignition and fuel valve both activate 4. At 40% N2, observe overhead starter switch goes to cut out 5. At 50% N2, 'lever to Idle'

You can then start rest of the engines of No. 3 instead of the ground cart. Its quite a cool process actually.

I'm enjoying the new 707 in MSFS! It has certainly been a while since I last operated her in fsx. No wonder when I went to start my engines I made a novice mistake by moving the start lever directly to idle as one would normally do in any other jet. The engine would not spool up.

Then I remembered (with the help of my 707 AOM) that the 707 uses a cam operated start lever with three positions: Cut Off, Start, and Idle. If the lever and the start switch aren't both in the proper position, ignition just doesn't happen.

I made a short video walking through the whole thing step by step, if that's useful to anyone else who wants to fly the 707 without the Virtual Flight Engineer.

https://youtu.be/UpPegalSTxk

This is how you start the 707's engines as per the AOM

1.Start order is 3, 4, 2, 1 2.Ground start switch armed first 3. At 15% N2, 'lever to Start', this is when ignition and fuel valve both activate 4. At 40% N2, observe overhead starter switch goes to cut out 5. At 50% N2, 'lever to Idle'

You can then start rest of the engines of No. 3 instead of the ground cart. Its quite a cool process actually.

Long term visitor. Loves nuts and seeds.

So the freeware DC-10 recently got a small update for stability. I tested it out and quite enjoyed starting up the DC-10 from cold and dark. Hopefully it will become more compatible with XP 12 soon. The systems are not study level but do have more depth in some areas to the legacy Just Flight DC-10.

I made a quick start tutorial based on the FCOM scan paths if anyone's interested in this addon.

https://youtu.be/RKnzgRdBchk?si=uAg4Pm_jf1xcgvry

Download link:

https://forums.x-plane.org/files/file/100803-in-progress-dc-10-for-x-plane/

So the freeware DC-10 recently got a small update for stability. I tested it out and quite enjoyed starting up the DC-10 from cold and dark. Hopefully it will become more compatible with XP 12 soon. The systems are not study level but do have more depth in some areas to the legacy Just Flight DC-10.

I made a quick start tutorial based on the FCOM scan paths if anyone's interested in this addon.

https://youtu.be/RKnzgRdBchk?si=uAg4Pm_jf1xcgvry

Download link:

https://forums.x-plane.org/files/file/100803-in-progress-dc-10-for-x-plane/

Here's a true story. Yesterday my dad walked into the room while I was mapping the Second Officer's panel flows from the FCOM onto the free X-Plane DC-10's FE panel. He was intrigued and asked "are you playing snakes and ladders?!"'

I told him it's the Second Officer's panel flow ... but on second thought, it really did look like a game of snakes and ladders!

Attached above is the diagram for reference -the actual scan path they took. If anyone's curious to see this flow in motion rather than just as a diagram, I mapped the whole thing into a video.

https://youtu.be/RKnzgRdBchk

I figured the visual scan path might help it click for people the way it did for me.

Here's a true story. Yesterday my dad walked into the room while I was mapping the Second Officer's panel flows from the FCOM onto the free X-Plane DC-10's FE panel. He was intrigued and asked "are you playing snakes and ladders?!"

I told him it's the Second Officer's panel flow — but on second thought, it really did look like a game of snakes and ladders!

Attached above is the diagram for reference — the actual scan path they took. If anyone's curious to see this flow in motion rather than just as a diagram, I mapped the whole thing (cold and dark through all 3 engines running) into a video — figured the visual scan path might help it click for people the way it did for me.

https://youtu.be/RKnzgRdBchk

The Second Officer's panel flow on the DC-10 is genuinely interesting once you see it laid out. Starting top left, descending through the electrics and hydraulics panel, cutting right across to the fuel panel, then up to pressurization, pneumatics, fire panel, and so on ... all while performing memory items and checks along the way.

A couple of checks stood out to me as particularly clever

Hydraulics: Pressurize Aux Pump 1, verify lower rudder centering (if deflected), then pressurize RMPs 2-3 and verify lower rudder centering. Finally, 1-3 while verifying the appropriate SO's annunciators and pressure rise.

Fuel: Latch on Pump 3 for each tank and verify 20 PSI, then unlatch. Latch the transfer pump, open the crossfeed for each tank, and verify 20 PSI again. If fuel is present in the AUX tank, latch AUX tank pumps and open the No. 3 crossfeed and verify around 15 PSI for tank 3.

Anyway, my dad still thinks it looks more like a board game than an aircraft system, and honestly at this point I can't unsee it either. Happy to answer any questions and delve into the DC-10 FCOM on the flow if anyone has any questions.

Here's a true story. Yesterday my dad walked into the room while I was mapping the Second Officer's panel flows from the FCOM onto the free X-Plane DC-10's FE panel.

He was intrigued and asked, "are you playing snakes and ladders?!"

I told him it's the Second Officer's panel flow ... but on second thought, it really did look like a game of snakes and ladders!

Attached above is the diagram for reference: these are the actual scan path they took.

If anyone's curious to see this flow in motion rather than just as a diagram, I mapped the whole thing and the flow into a video.

I figured the visual scan path might help it click for people the way it did for me.

https://youtu.be/RKnzgRdBchk

The Second Officer's panel flow on the DC-10 is genuinely interesting once you see it laid out. Starting top left, descending through the electrics and hydraulics panel, cutting right across to the fuel panel, then up to pressurization, pneumatics, fire panel, and so on ... all while performing memory items and checks along the way.

A couple of checks stood out to me as particularly clever

Hydraulics: Pressurize Aux Pump 1, verify lower rudder centering (if deflected), then pressurize RMPs 2-3 and verify lower rudder centering. Finally, 1-3 while verifying the appropriate SO's annunciators and pressure rise.

Fuel: Latch on Pump 3 for each tank and verify 20 PSI, then unlatch. Latch the transfer pump, open the crossfeed for each tank, and verify 20 PSI again. If fuel is present in the AUX tank, latch AUX tank pumps and open the No. 3 crossfeed and verify around 15 PSI for tank 3.

Anyway, my dad still thinks it looks more like a board game than an aircraft system, and honestly at this point I can't unsee it either. Happy to answer any questions and delve into the DC-10 FCOM on the flow if anyone has any questions.

I recently visited Frankfurt and noticed all the Lufthansa A320s were starting Engine 1 first on pushback. I looked into it and it seems Airbus changed their SOP at some point from Engine 2 first to Engine 1 first on the A320 family.

That got me curious about the A220, so I checked three different FCOMs and found the opposite is true there. It's strongly recommended to start Engine 2 first, to avoid

-Hydraulic pressure spikes

-FLAP SLOW / FLAP FAIL nuisance warnings

-Potential galley power load shedding & IFE issues

Made a video breaking this down with schematics and animations if anyone wants the visual explanation

https://youtu.be/VEebAVoOZNk

To understand why this was the case, I did some investigating into the A220's hydraulic system.

Basically, hydraulic System 2 powers both nosewheel steering and the slats. So if you're single-engine taxiing on Engine 1, System 2 is running on its electric backup pump only, and deploying the slats can starve pressure needed for nosewheel steering.

The FCOM recommendation is to keep the aircraft stationary while deploying flaps/slats in that scenario, to make sure there's enough power for steering.

The A220 never fails to surprise me the more I look into its systems :)

I recently visited Frankfurt and noticed all the Lufthansa A320s were starting Engine 1 first on pushback. I looked into it and it seems Airbus changed their SOP at some point from Engine 2 first to Engine 1 first on the A320 family.

That got me curious about the A220, so I checked three different FCOMs and found the opposite is true there. It's strongly recommended to start Engine 2 first, to avoid

-Hydraulic pressure spikes

-FLAP SLOW / FLAP FAIL nuisance warnings

-Potential galley power load shedding & IFE issues

Made a video breaking this down with schematics and animations if anyone wants the visual explanation

https://youtu.be/VEebAVoOZNk

To understand why this was the case, I did some investigating into the A220's hydraulic system.

Basically, hydraulic System 2 powers both nosewheel steering and the slats. So if you're single-engine taxiing on Engine 1, System 2 is running on its electric backup pump only, and deploying the slats can starve pressure needed for nosewheel steering.

The FCOM recommendation is to keep the aircraft stationary while deploying flaps/slats in that scenario, to make sure there's enough power for steering.

The A220 never fails to surprise me the more I look into its systems :)

With the Synaptic A220 set to release soon, I've been studying the FCOM and came across something I found really interesting and intriguing: the fuel system. I certainly didn't know this, so I'll share what I found.

There are so many ways the A220 transfers fuel in flight! Most are auto-managed, like Auto Crossfeed and Gravity Crossflow, but it also features true tank-to-tank transfer that is manually controlled.

The A220 can even transfer fuel back from the wing tanks to the center!

Fig1: Auto CrossFeed; Fig2: Fuel Control Panel with Manual Options; Fig3: Centre XFR

I put together a quick visual breakdown with the schematics if anyone wants to see how the overhead controls and synoptic pages behave for the different modes of fuel transfer

https://youtu.be/V-l8nBlOS_s?si=Xp2AVH-oXyG2JxCv

I found this unusual because, in my flight sim experience, the only passenger planes I know of that do this are the Concorde, Douglas DC-8, DC-10, and MD-11. I believe the tank-to-tank transfer on the MD-11 significantly increased the complexity and maintenance of its fuel system. This is probably why the 777 uses passive crossfeeding and boost pump manipulation for balancing.

The process is quite simple, actually: you turn the rotary selector to the tank you want to transfer fuel to. Only 180 kg is allowed to be transferred at any one time between wing tanks.

There are some quirks too, like when to use AUTO and ON in these transfers. I also found out that suction feed (motive flow) is the primary means of engine feed—not the AC boost pumps.

For anyone who has flown or studied the A220 in real life: what was the engineering rationale behind keeping active tank-to-tank transfer as well as simple crossfeeding?

Hi all, I have this french portico clock whose taper Pin is missing. As a result, the hands keep slipping. I tried a paper clip but it was too thick, so I'm looking to buy online but not sure what mm Diameter I need. Thanks.

OY-RUE - A classic MD-80 that wore a FIFA Livery in 2014 ! I have a diecast model of this aircraft too and adore both the aircraft and the livery.

I find flying this aircraft very rewarding especially when paired with FCOM Flows which has added a new layer of depth to my understanding of the aircraft.

Full tutorial here :)

https://www.youtube.com/live/seMVI0ZOzYM?si=bgX55lCiMUGUCOhU

Just trying out the new DC-10 freeware for X-Plane 11 in X-Plane 12 :)

My DC-10 Quickstart/FCOM tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/live/Y0It-Q4WwBU?si=WZYrIRzyukvehTOB

Download Link (May have been removed from the forum ?) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EtnpM9PQk3LiezSSR5BzMsd6ChKxChgI/view