11 Feb 04

Howdy

This is the 2nd edition of my tutorial. I added more content based on new
commands now available. Unfortunately these changes could not be simple
page insertion types so Im sorry about that. I have to reprint this whole thing
myself too.

One of the things Ive always disliked about document updates is that the
changes are never pointed out so you have to read the whole thing again. I have
taken care of this problem in this tutorial by marking all the changes so you
need only note the changes and read the new stuff. The changes are marked by
a black vertical bar in the margin. The bar shows which lines have been
changed or added. I like this feature, I hope you do too. Enjoy the tutorial and
dont forget to post your terminal procedures for others to enjoy also.


Regards, fellow virtual flyers.

Terry
1
Making SIDs, STARs and IAPs
For the PMDG 737NG 600/700/800/900
By
Terry Yingling
11 Feb 04




This is a tutorial I wrote for myself. Sometimes the best way
to learn something is to try and teach it. It works. This
tutorial is written for the beginner but hopefully have some
advanced stuff for the experts. I will take you through the
process of making Standard Instrument Departures (SID),
Standard Instrument Arrivals (STAR) and Instrument
Approach Procedures (IAP) as they apply to the PMDG
737NG, SU2 updated aircraft. Collectively SIDs, STARs
and IAPs are called procedures so when I say procedures I
am referring to any one or all of them. When you finish this
tutorial you should have the mental tools to create
procedures or modify them.


I. A few definitions

NAVAIDs A generic word that PMDG uses to refer to
radio navaids such as VORs, ADFs, DMEs, Localizers,
Intersections and Fixes, etc. These navaids are listed in the
AIRAC data the PMDG 737NG and the 767 PIC use.

FIXes Whenever you have to define a waypoint, or even a
missing radio navaid, it is called a FIX.

GATEs These are the aircraft parking positions at the
airport terminal.

KEYWORD These are words the FMC looks for and
reads that define a command and let it know what to do. In
the procedure command definitions below the keywords are
written in uppercase bold lettering in this tutorial.

[ ] Optional parts of a command are enclosed in brackets.
Do not include the brackets when writing procedures.


II. Commands, The Building Blocks

FIXES. Fixes are user defined waypoints. Wherever you
see the word NAVAID in one of the following eight
command definitions you can substitute the keyword FIX.
There are two ways to define fixes. Heres one way.

FIX NAME COLOCATED NAME RADIAL DISTANCE

This definition defines a point on the earth based on a
distance and direction from a navaid or fix. The first NAME
is generally a 5 letter, or less, fix name you make up. The
NAME RADIAL DISTANCE is the navaid ID code, the radial
number the fix is on and the distance from that navaid in
nautical miles. Radials can be used from fixes also so if you
use a fix just pretend it is a radio navaid.

Example: FIX DOPIE COLOCATED NRT 256 20

This means you are defining a fix called DOPIE which is on
the navaid NRT radial 256 and is 20 miles from NRT.

The second way to define a fix is:

FIX NAME LATLON N/S DEG MIN E/W DEG MIN

This fix definition defines a point on the earth based on a
latitude and longitude. NAME is the fix name ID. N/S and
E/W are north or south latitude and east or west longitude.
The DEG is a integer degrees and the MIN is decimal
minutes.

Example: FIX EAGER LATLON N 34 23.6 E 12 3.4

This means you are defining a fix called EAGER at Latitude
34 degrees, 23.6 minutes North by Longitude 12 degrees, 3.4
minutes East.

RNWS. This is simple. Just list the runways to be used at
the airport between the RNWS and ENDRNWS keywords.
Make sure though all runway numbers use two digits, like 05
and 09L.

Example: RNWS
RNW 19L
RNW 27
ENDRNWS

There are eight commands available to define a SID, STAR
or IAP route.


1. NAVAID [OVERFLY] NAME [ALT] [SPEED KTS]

NAME is a navaid ID or fix name. ALT is an optional
altitude and SPEED KTS is an optional airspeed in Kts. The
keyword OVERFLY is optional. If not used then this
command defaults to fly-by. Most NAVAIDs are fly-by but
you should consider using OVERFLY anytime you want to
insure the plane goes over a waypoint or when required by
the procedure.

Examples: NAVAID OVERFLY RUP SPEED 250
FIX THY 3500 SPEED 230

2
The first example simply means to fly-over navaid RUP
without altitude considerations at an airspeed of 250 Kts.
The second example means to fly-by fix THY but arrive
there at 3500 feet and 230 Kts.

Fly-by means that the plane will fly toward the navaid or fix
but turn just before reaching it so it can intercept the course
to the next navaid or fix. Fly-over means the plane will fly
over the navaid or fix before it turns to the next waypoint.


2. HDG VECTORS

This command simply tells the FMC to fly the plane on the
specified heading or track until the pilot executes a direct
to from the FMC. It is used to simulate getting ATC
vectors.

A few words about HDG. (This applies to all uses of HDG
in other commands below.) HDG can be one of four entries,
HDG degrees, KEEP HDG, TRK degrees and KEEP
TRK. The first two use a heading in degrees and refer to the
magnetic heading the plane will fly. The second two use
degrees also but refer to the ground track or course the plane
will follow.

Note: When using a HDG degrees or KEEP HDG the
planes course will be changed by the wind direction and
speed. Using TRK degrees or KEEP TRK will keep the
plane on a course and correct for the wind affects.

Examples: HDG 230 VECTORS
KEEP HDG VECTORS
TRK 134 VECTORS

In the first example the plane will fly a heading of 230 until
the pilot receives further instructions from ATC.

In the second example the plane will keep whatever heading
it already has until the pilot receives further instructions
from ATC.

The third example make the plane follow a ground track or
course of 134 degrees until the pilot receives further
instructions from ATC.

The use of vectors has a gotsha. The plane will fly the
heading or track until it runs out of fuel unless the pilot
enters a direct to on line one in the routes page of the FMC
and then executes it. There is no actual interaction with the
flight sim ATC.


3. HDG UNTIL ALT [SPEED KTS] or
KEEP HDG UNTIL ALT [SPEED KTS]

Where HDG is a heading or track and ALT is an altitude.
The SPEED KTS is an optional entry.

Example: HDG 210 UNTIL 3500 SPEED 230
KEEP HDG UNTIL 7000
The first example is a floating waypoint that is attained by
flying 210 degrees at 230 Kts and reaching 3500 feet
altitude.
The second floating waypoint example says to keep
whatever heading the plane already has and fly that heading
until reaching 7000 feet.

I might mention here that there is a limitation in the
command syntax which is that only AT altitude
restrictions are currently used in the commands. I fudge a
little here though. You could ignore altitude restrictions or
fudge like I do. For a restriction of between 3000 and 7000,
I would average the two altitudes and use AT 5000. I ignore
the AT and Above and the At and Below.


4. HDG UNTIL ALT NOT BEFORE DIST FROM
NAVAID [SPEED KTS]

Where HDG can be, as in 2 above, either a HDG XXX or
KEEP HDG or TRK or KEEP TRK. ALT is an altitude,
DIST is distance in NM from the navaid and NAVAID is a
navaid or fix name. The SPEED KTS is an optional
airspeed entry.

Examples: HDG 120 UNTIL 3000 NOT BEFORE 15
FROM FIX BIGGY SPEED 250

This defines a floating waypoint that is reached when flying
a heading of 120 degrees at 250 Kts, reaching 3000 feet and
the aircraft is 15 NM from user defined fix BIGGY.

Note: If the altitude is reached before the distance constraint
is reached the aircraft may continue to climb higher.


5. HDG UNTIL DIST FROM NAVAID [SPEED KTS]

Where HDG can be, as in 2 above. DIST is distance in NM
from the navaid and NAVAID is the navaid ID or a fix name.
The SPEED KTS is an optional airspeed.

Examples: HDG 20 UNTIL 25 FROM NAVAID FFU

This defines a waypoint that is reached when flying a
heading of 20 degrees and the aircraft is 25 NM from navaid
FFU.

There may be some confusion about the distance aspect so
have a look at this next chart.






3




Lets say the command for plane A is

HDG 360 UNTIL 10 FROM NAVAID SKN

Since the plane is further than 10 miles from SKN it will
first intercept the 10 mile line at point C, 10 miles before
reaching SKN. Now lets look at plane B which is inside the
10 mile radius.

HDG 270 UNTIL 10 FROM NAVAID SKN

With this command the plane will intercept the 10 mile limit
at point D after SKN. The lesson here is that if you want the
trigger point after a NAVAID/FIX and you are outside the
distance limit, go to the NAVAID/FIX first like so:

NAVAID SKN HDG 360 UNTIL 10 FROM NAVAID
SKN

When using this command the next action for plane A will
be triggered at point E.

Actually, in the above examples, to be more accurate, the
next waypoint is triggered when the plane gets to mile
from the intersection point or if turn anticipation is triggered.


6. HDG UNTIL RADIAL NUMBER TO/FROM NAVAID
[SPEED KTS]

Where, again, HDG can be either HDG degrees or KEEP
HDG or TRK degrees or KEEP TRK. NUMBER is the
radial number of the navaid or fix. SPEED KTS is an
optional airspeed entry. Use this command when you want
the plane to fly-over the radial intersection point.
Remember, as in all the commands, that the navaid does not
have to be a radio navaid, it can be a fix.

The TO or FROM keywords can be confusing. If you think
in terms of the real world definition of a radial you would
use the FROM keyword. For example:
HDG 345 UNTIL RADIAL 260 FROM NAVAID SGY

This makes the plane fly over the point where the flight path
of heading of 345 crosses over the 260 radial of SGY.

Keep in mind that the course of the plane MUST cross over
the radial specified or you will not get an intercept. If for
example you are Southeast of VOR ABC, heading North and
you write the command to cross the 270 radial, you will get
a leg of many thousand miles because you could not fly over
the 270 radial from your current location and heading.
















Another example would be if you used HDG 90 UNTIL
RADIAL 180 FROM NAVAID ABC. Lets presume your
previous waypoint was another NAVAID that happens to be
on the 270 radial of navaid ABC. It looks OK to use this







command however it could fail. Since HDG is used, the
wind is a factor. It is possible that a south wind could push
the plane far enough north to make the intercept fail. Using
TRK instead or better yet, using the command NAVAID
ABC would be a better solution.

The TO keyword is another option. Id guess its use just
depends on personal preference as the end result is the same
as using the FROM. For example the following two
commands produce the same radial intersection.

HDG 345 UNTIL RADIAL 90 TO NAVAID SGY
HDG 345 UNTIL RADIAL 270 FROM NAVAID SGY



4






Notice the radial number used with the TO keyword is the
reciprocal of the radial used with the FROM keyword. Use
whichever makes most sense to you.


7. HDG INTERCEPT RADIAL NUMBER TO/FROM
NAVAID [SPEED KTS]

Where again HDG can be either HDG degrees or KEEP
HDG or a track in degrees or KEEP TRK. NUMBER is
the radial number of the navaid or fix. The SPEED KTS is
an optional entry. Use this command when you want the
plane to fly-by or start turning toward the next waypoint just
before the radial intersection point is reached. The TO and
FROM keywords are used the same as the previous
command (6) above.

Examples: HDG 350 INTERCEPT RADIAL 90 FROM
NAVAID RTY

KEEP TRK INTERCEPT RADIAL 145 TO
NAVAID WWE SPEED 210

The first example defines a waypoint which is reached when
flying a heading of 350 degrees and the 90 degree radial of
navaid RTY is intercepted.

The second example defines a waypoint that is reached by
keeping the current track at 210 Kts and intercepting the 325
degree radial of navaid WWE. (That tricky TO keyword)


8. HOLD AT NAVAID NAME DIRECTION TURN
INBOUNDCOURSE NUMBER [ALT Ft] [SPEED
SPEED] [LEGDIST/LEGTIME NUMBER]

This command defines a holding pattern. The first NAME is
the navaid or fix name. The DIRECTION is LEFT or
RIGHT turns around the hold pattern. The second
NUMBER is the fix inbound heading. ALT Ft is an optional
altitude in feet. SPEED KTS is an optional airspeed.
LEGDIST/LEGTIME NUMBER is optional. The
NUMBER is either a distance in NM or a time in minutes
depending on the keyword. Use LEGDIST for a leg
distance and LEGTIME for a timed leg. If this keyword is
left blank the FMC will default to LEGTIME with one of
two time values depending on altitude. Above 14,000 feet,
1.5 minutes and if below 14,000 feet 1 minute.

For example:

HOLD AT NAVAID ROC RIGHT TURN
INBOUNDCOURSE 345 ALT 12000 SPEED 180
LEGDIST 5

This example creates a hold at navaid ROC which has an
inbound course of 345 degrees. The hold is flown with right
turns at 180 Kts at 12000 Ft with a leg distance of 5 NM.

HOLD AT NAVAID QRT LEFT TURN
INBOUNDCOURSE 145 LEGTIME 1

This example creates a hold at navaid QRT with an inbound
course of 145 degrees. The hold is flown with left turns and
with 1 minute legs.


III. The Basic Procedure File

There is one procedures file per airport. The procedures file
is composed of six sections. Most sections can be empty but
the keywords in bold lettering have to be there anyway
(except for the GATES section). Except for the comments
section type everything in uppercase letters. The general
layout is shown below.

// Airport ICAO code and name
// Author and date
// Whatever else you want

FIXES or CUSTOMFIXES
Fixes Defined
ENDFIXES or ENDCUSTOMFIXES

RNWS
Runways Used
ENDRNWS

SIDS
SID SID_Name SID_Commands Runway_Commands
Enroute_Transition_Commands
ENDSIDS


STARS
STAR STAR_Name STAR_Commands
Enroute_Transition_Commands Runways
ENDSTARS

APPROACHES
APPROACH Name Approach_Commands Runway
Missed_Approach_Commands Transition_Commands
ENDAPPROACHES

GATES
Gates List
ENDGATES
5

1. The first section is for optional comments and starts a line
with two slashes, //. Everything on that line after the
slashes is a comment and is ignored by the FMC. There is
no limit on the number of comment lines but dont go
overboard. This section can be omitted.

2. FIXES This section lists all the user defined fixes that
are used in the procedures. If a navaid is not in the AIRAC
database or the FMC finds a FIX keyword in the procedures
it then looks in this section so it can determine the fix
location. You have a choice of using FIX ENDFIXES or
CUSTOMFIXES ENDCUSTOMFIXES. Use whichever
you like. The ENDFIXES or ENDCUSTOMFIXES
keyword lets the FMC know that it has reached the end of
the fixes definitions. This section can be empty but only if
all navaids used in the procedures can be found in the
AIRAC database and there are no user defined fixes.

3. RNWS This section lists all the runways used in the
procedures at the airport. The ENDRNWS keyword lets the
FMC that it has reached the end of the runways definitions.
This section is required.

4. SIDS This section contains all the SIDs for the airport.
The ENDSIDS keyword lets the FMC that it has reached the
end of the SID definitions. This section can be empty if
there are no SIDs.

5. STARS This section contains all the STARs for the
airport. The ENDSTARS keyword lets the FMC that it has
reached the end of the STAR definitions. This section can
be empty if there are no STARs.

6. APPROACHES This section contains all the IAPs for
the airport. The ENDAPPROACHES keyword lets the
FMC know that it has reached the end of the IAP definitions.
This section can be empty if there are no IAPs.

7. GATES This section contains all the gate locations at
the airport. The ENDGATES keyword lets the FMC know
that it has reached the end of the gates definitions. This
section can be omitted if there are no gates.

Once a procedures file is created it must be saved as a text
file using the airports ICAO as the file name with .TXT
as the file extension. The file must be saved in the
/PMDG/SIDSTARS folder within your flight sim folder.

Examples: KLAX.TXT
EDDM.TXT


IV. Overview of Creating SIDs, STARs
and Approaches

The general steps are:

1. Type any comments you need. Dont forget the double
slashes.

2. Type the FIXES section keywords. For now this section
can be empty except for the two keywords. Fixes can be
defined after you try running the procedures thru the 737NG
FMC. If a navaid can not be found the FMC will give you
an error message telling you what navaid it could not find.
At this point you can then define that NAVAID as a fix
and add it in. On the other hand if you know you are going
to make up a fix for a procedure that you are making, you
can add it now. Once a fix is defined it is then used in a SID
or STAR using the keyword FIX.

It is also possible to use a fix in the definition of a collocated
fix. For example say you want to define a collocated fix
using another fix. If you do this make sure that the fix used
in the collocated definition is defined before the collocated
fix as shown below.

Example: FIXES
FIX XYZ LATLON N 44.0 23.3 E 12.0 45.9
FIX ABC COLLOCATED XYZ 233 23
ENDFIXES

3. List in the RNWS section all the runways the SIDs and
STARs will use.

Example: RNWS
RNW 27
RNW 09
ENDRNWS

4. Define all SIDs in the SIDS section. Define all the SIDs
by stringing together the appropriate commands that define
the route waypoints required. Each SID can be composed of
up to three parts. A common part, the runway transition
part and the enroute transitions part, in that order.

The common part starts with the keyword SID and the name
of the SID, then the commands that describe the legs of the
common part of the SID. The common part commands are
optional, but you must have the SID and SID_Name.

Next comes a required runway transitions part which starts
with keyword RNW followed by a listing of the runway(s)
used by the transition. This runway list is then followed by
the commands that describe the transition. You must have
at least one command in a runway transition. Id
recommend typing each runway transition on one line for
ease of reading.

NOTE: If there are no runway transitions in a SID the
layout of the common part and transition part is slightly
different. Essentially the common part becomes a runway
transition. Print the SID and SID_Name as usual but do
not follow that by the common part commands. Next put a
list of all the runways used by the SID and follow that by the
commands that make up the common part of the SID. (See
SIDs CIV5 and BAT2 below.)

The last section is for the optional enroute transitions with
each transition starting with the keyword TRANSITION.
6
This keyword is then followed by the commands that make
up the enroute transition. Id recommend typing each
enroute transition on one line also.

Hint: Do not duplicate any of the connecting waypoints
between the three sections of a SID. For example, you do
not need to have the first waypoint of the transition be the
same as the last waypoint of the common route.

Example:

SIDS
SID CIV6C HDG 250 UNTIL 700 NAVAID BUB07 1700
RNW 25L KEEP TRK UNTIL 800 NAVAID CIV
RNW 25R HDG 253 UNTIL 600
TRANSITION BLH NAVAID PKE NAVAID BLH
SID CIV5
RNW 01 NAVAID DOU
SID BAT2
RNW 19 RNW 21 NAVAID ERT
TRANSITION HAN NAVAID JJH NAVAID HAN
ENDSIDS

5. Define the STARs in the STARS section. Define all the
STARs by stringing together the appropriate commands that
define the route waypoints required. Each STAR can be
composed of up to three parts. A common part, the enroute
transitions part and a runway listing part.

The common part starts with the keyword STAR, the
STAR_Name and then the commands that describe the legs
of the common part of the STAR. The common part must
have at least one waypoint. Id recommend typing the
common part on one line for ease of reading.

Next comes the enroute transitions section. This starts with
the keyword TRANSITION, then the transition name and
finally the commands that describe the transition. Id
recommend typing each enroute transition on its own line
for ease of reading.

The last section is a listing of runways used in the STAR and
it is optional. This list is similar to the RNWS ENDRNWS
section in that it just lists all the runways being used. The
runways listed here will appear on the FMCs ARR PAGE
on the right side after the approaches list. Id recommend
typing all the runways on one line for ease of reading.

Note: If no runways are listed then the FMC will assume all
runways listed in the RNWS section are compatible with the
star.

Example:

STARS
STAR KOK3A NAVAID KOK NAVAID KERKY 7000
TRANSITION ERT NAVAID RTY FIX TRIAL
NAVAID OVERFLY ERT SPEED 250 NAVAID GHJ
NAVAID UIG 3000
RNW 02 RNW 07R
ENDSTARS
6. Define any IAPs. This is similar to defining a STAR.
The approach section is composed of, well, the approach
procedure and the missed approach procedure. The two
parts are separated by the runway number that the approach
is for. The runway number tells the FMC that the approach
is done and what follows is the missed approach procedure.

Example:

APPROACHES
APPROACH ILS23 NAVAID SDK NAVAID PAS RNW
23 KEEP HDG INTERCEPT RADIAL 90 FROM ABC
HOLD AT NAVAID SDF RIGHT TURN
INBOUNDCOURSE 120 ALT 4000 LEGDIST 5
APPROACH ILS05 NAVAID DFG FIX MAP RNW 05
TRANSITION NORTI FIX GABBY
ENDAPPROACHES

7. Define all gates. The GATES section is used so the pilot
can initialized the planes position when setting up the FMC.
This whole section is optional and may be omitted.

GATE NAME N/S DEG MIN E/W DEG MIN.

Where the NAME is the gate ID. N/S and E/W are north or
south latitude and east or west longitude. The DEG is
degrees and the MIN is decimal minutes.

Example:

GATES
GATE A1 N 47 27.2 E 8 33.7
GATE A2 N 47 27.3 E 8 33.7
ENDGATES

Thats about it for the rules. Lets put them into practice.
7
V. Making SIDs

Lets start making procedures. A procedure is created by
stringing together a series of commands. So lets get down
to business. I will illustrate each of the eight commands so
you can recognize them in a SID or STAR diagram. SIDs
first.

I will use the runway 32 departure for the example, a tricky
one. We get to use three different commands with this one.

The turn left at SRQ 0.9 DME lends itself to using:

HDG UNTIL DIST FROM NAVAID [SPEED KTS]

The intercept can use:

HDG INTERCEPT RADIAL NUMBER TO/FROM
NAVAID [SPEED KTS]

One way the complete SID can be written is as follows.

FIXES
ENDFIXES

RNWS
RNW 32
ENDRNWS

SIDS
SID SARASOTA1
RNW 32 KEEP HDG UNTIL 0.9 FROM NAVAID
SRQ HDG 250 INTERCEPT RADIAL 295 FROM
NAVAID SRQ HDG 295 VECTORS
ENDSIDS

STARS
ENDSTARS


This is one that is deceptively difficult to do accurately. A
few things to point out.

1. In the command HDG 250 INTERCEPT RADIAL 295
FROM NAVAID SRQ I use a heading of 250 degrees.
Where did I get that heading? Its not in the SID definition.
Well, I made it up. I just wanted to intercept the radial at
about 45 degrees so I used 250 degrees. 295 250 = 45
degree intercept angle. You could use some other angle.





2. Why did I use HDG 250 INTERCEPT RADIAL 295
FROM NAVAID SRQ instead of HDG 250 UNTIL
RADIAL 295 FROM NAVAID SRQ? Recall that one
command produces a fly-over and the other produces a fly-
by result. For this waypoint a fly-over would have put the
plane beyond the 295 radial when it turned to heading 295.
In this case the best approximation would be to use a fly-by
command so the plane would turn before it got to the actual
intersection point. This provides the best chance of getting
close to the 295 radial track needed.

3. There is no command to track outbound or inbound on a
radial so the next best thing is to do a track as I did with the
HDG VECTORS command. The problem is that it only
approximates the outbound course on the radial but, it is
good enough for simming. I used VECTORS because in
the SID Description for runway 32 it states to expect vectors
once you are outbound on radial 295. If you wanted to get
closer to actually tracking an outbound radial you would
create a couple of fixes on the radial to fly between. The
first fix about 2 miles from the intersection and on the radial
and the second maybe 15 miles out and also on the radial.
Adjust the distances to produce the desired result.
8









I will use the ELBA 5A departure on this chart. In the
description section you can see this SID has an additional
restriction right after takeoff, a not before. The HDG
UNTIL ALT NOT BEFORE DIST FROM NAVAID was
written for this sort of thing. So, this is how I would write
the SID.



SID ELBA5A
RNW 04L TRK 37 UNTIL 1000 NOT BEFORE 3 FROM
NAVAID PIS TRK 265
TRANSITION ELBA5A INTERCEPT RADIAL 355
FROM NAVAID NDBPIS NAVAID NDBPIS
NAVAID KAREL NAVAID ELB



You may have noticed that there are two navaids called PIS.
To differentiate the two I used NDBPIS for the NDB and
PIS for the VOR. When it comes to writing this SID you
may want to define one or the other navaid to avoid
NAVAID confusion.











This SID could be written as follows if I defined a fix.


FIXES
FIX NDBPIS N 43 35.353 E 10 17.825
ENDFIXES

SID ELBA5A
RNW 04L TRK 37 UNTIL 1000 NOT BEFORE 3 FROM
NAVAID PIS TRK 265
TRANSITION ELBA5A INTERCEPT RADIAL 355
FROM FIX NDBPIS FIX NDBPIS NAVAID KAREL
NAVAID ELB




The reciprocal runway, 22R would be added as follows and
since runway 22L has the same route as 22R Ill add that
too.



FIXES
FIX NDBPIS N 43 35.353 E 10 17.825
ENDFIXES

RNWS
RNW 04L
RNW 22L
RNW 22R
ENDRNWS

SID ELBA5A
RNW 04L TRK 37 UNTIL 1000 NOT BEFORE 3 FROM
NAVAID PIS TRK 265
TRANSITION ELBA5A FIX NDBPIS NAVAID KAREL
NAVAID ELB
SID ELBA5C
RNW 22L RNW 22R
TRANSITION ELBA5C FIX NDBPIS NAVAID KAREL
NAVAID ELB

STARS
ENDSTARS
9
Next is a SID that illustrates a problem in defining a
waypoint.

Lets do POL 5R. Upon examining the SID we see that
most waypoints are easy enough to do but there are two,
MCT D7 and MCT D8, that cause a problem. There is no
command to describe them. This means some FIXes have to
be made. The way that I handle this is to use a graphic flight
planner program to find the lat/long of those waypoints. I
can then create a couple of FIXes and away we go.

I happen to use an old program called NAV 3.1 by Ted
Wright. What is useful in this free program is that you can
right click and drag a line from point A to point B and have
the distance and course displayed to you. In the case for
MCT D7 it is a multi part process that Ill explain. MCT D8
is on a course line of 345 degrees to XUMAT. To get this
line shown on the NAV 3.1 screen map I click on XUMAT
and drag a line down far enough it is below the MCT D3
right turn. I then move the line left or right until a course of
165 degrees (reciprocal of 345 degrees) is shown. Then I
release the mouse key . This brings up a window that allows
me to create a waypoint, which I do. Why do this? Well, I
now have two waypoints I can use to make a course, or line,
on the map. I do this by adding the XUMAT and the user
created waypoint I just made to the flightplan. This causes
the flight planner to draw a line between the two waypoints.
Now I have the 345 degree course line drawn I can use as a
reference.

My next step is to find where MCT D7 is on the course line.
To do this I click on the navaid MCT and drag out the line
so the cursor is on the 345 degree course line. I move the
cursor up and down the line until the distance shows as 7
miles. Releasing the mouse key at this point brings up that
waypoint creation window again. This time I note the
LAT/Long of the waypoint. This is the LAT/LONG I use to
create a fix Ill call MCT7. I repeat the procedure to find the
MCT D8 waypoint and there you have it. If you prefer you
could also use the COLOCATED type fix by reading the
course when you have the cursor over the waypoint desired.
Here is the POL5R SID.

FIXES
FIX MCT7 LATLON N 53 24.46 W 2 26.13
FIX MCT8 LATLON N 53 25.78 W 2 26.99
ENDFIXES

RNWS
RNW 24R
ENDRNWS

SIDS
SID POL5R FIX MCT8 KEEP HDG INTERCEPT
RADIAL 221 FROM NAVAID POL TRK 41 UNTIL
16 FROM NAVAID POL KEEP TRK UNTIL 9 FROM
NAVAID POL 5000 NAVAID POL 5000
RNW 24R KEEP TRK UNTIL 757 KEEP TRK UNTIL
3 FROM NAVAID MCT KEEP HDG INTERCEPT
RADIAL 165 FROM NA

VAID XUMAT FIX MCT7 2500
ENDSIDS






STARS
ENDSTARS




















The fixes could also have been written as COLOCATED as
shown here if you prefer.

FIXES
FIX MCT7 COLOCATED MCT 296 7
FIX MCT8 COLOCATED MCT 303 8
ENDFIXES

One other thing. Notice in this command I used a real world
fix called XUMAT as a real world radio navaid. Perhaps a
little confusing. Real world fixes are different from radio
navaids but in this command language a fix and a radio
navaid are interchangeable as a NAVAID.

KEEP HDG INTERCEPT RADIAL 165 FROM
NAVAID XUMAT


This was a SID that used an outside program to get help. I
wanted to illustrate this to show that there is more than one
way to do the job when the command language does not do
what you need it to.

10
VI. Making STARs

Lets turn our attention to the STAR. I will use SWEED SIX STAR
at KCVG.






// KCVG - Cincinnati Northern Kent
// Created 9/9/2003 by Terry Yingling


FIXES
ENDFIXES


RNWS
RNW 36L
RNW 36R
RNW 27
RNW 09
RNW 18L
RNW 18R
ENDRNWS


SIDS
ENDSIDS


STARS
STAR SWEED6 NAVAID SWEED NAVAID COFCO NAVAID OBBAN 11000 NAVAID FLM NAVAID CVG
TRANSITION HNN NAVAID HNN NAVAID HIINZ
TRANSITION HVQ NAVAID HVQ NAVAID GARZO
TRANSITION HMV NAVAID HMV NAVAID PACKO NAVAID CHEDA NAVAID DRESR
TRANSITION VXV NAVAID VXV NAVAID ARTUR NAVAID CHEDA NAVAID DRESR
RNW 36R RNW 36L RNW 27 RNW 09 RNW 18L RNW 18R KEEP HDG VECTORS
ENDSTARS


These procedures were rather straight forward but there are a
few things to discuss. This is a tutorial after all.

1. To do the whole airport properly there actually would be
more procedures to add. Notice that I indent the runway and
enroute transitions. I just think it reads better that way when
there are a bunch of procedures.

2. A STARs landing route description (and a SIDs takeoff
description) can be very hard if not impossible to write
because of the lack of commands or that many require radar
vectors to a navaid or radial from the end of the STAR. This
is what happened here. The STAR has instructions to expect
vectors to the final approach course. One could fake the
radar vectors by developing a series of fixes simulating each
vector but that takes a lot of time and guesswork. In FS04 it
might be best to just hand fly the plane because the flight
sim ATC does not interact with the FMC.

3. Notice where the runway listing is, right after all the
TRANSITIONs.
11


The above chart is for a STAR called JULIAN FOUR.

This STAR is straight forward with only five waypoints. So,
by looking through the commands available we see that
NAVAID NAME ALT can describe each of the waypoints
except one. How do you handle that x intersection between
PDZ and ARNES? It is not a NAVAID so it looks like a fix
is in order. Recall that a fix can be defined as a Lat-Long
location and fortunately the coordinates of that x waypoint
are given so the fix would be written as:

FIX PDZ10 LATLON N 34 0.25 W 117 42.53

The fix name of PDZ10 I made up. The PDZ is the
PDZ navaid and the 10 is the distance from PDZ to the x
intersection.

Another way to define this same fix is:

FIX PDZ10 COLOCATED PDZ 285 10

With this knowledge we can write the STAR. Notice that I
had to complete the FIXES section. Without the FIXES
section the FMC would have shown an error with FIX
PDZ10. This is the complete procedure which would be
saved as KLAX.TXT. Note there is no RNW section in the
STAR. Its absence means that all runways listed in the
RNWS section are available for this STAR.


//Airport ICAO
//Date by Your Name

FIXES
FIX PDZ10 LATLON N 34 0.25 W 117 42.5.3
ENDFIXES

RNWS
RNW 06L
RNW 06R
RNW 24L
RNW 24R
ENDRNWS

SIDS
ENDSIDS

STARS
STAR JULIAN4 NAVAID JLI NAVAID AMIGO 16000
NAVAID PDZ FIX PDZ10 NAVAID ARNES 10000
ENDSTARS
12
VII. Making IAPs

Now we are at the termination of a flight, the approach. The
approach procedure is written much like the common route
of a STAR. To write the procedure just start at the IAF and
proceed down the slope to the runway and back up through
the missed approach. Lets get on to some examples.


The approach plate to the right is straight forward so this is
what it looks like in procedure talk.



APPROACHES
APPROACH ILS22 NAVAID OVERFLY SADDL
NAVAID OVERFLY BRIDL RNW 22 KEEP TRK
UNTIL 2000 NAVAID HYK 3000 HOLDAT
HYK RIGHT TURN INBOUNDCOURSE 304
HOLDTIME 1
ENDAPPROACHES


The thing to double check here is that you have the runway
number in there to denote the end of the approach and the
start of the missed approach procedure.

Also note that I put in altitude constraints.

Lastly, I used the keyword OVERFLY. This is probably
not necessary but it illustrates its use and insures the plane
is on course while going down hill.

















13
Now we have a more interesting procedure to try. Easily
seen are a couple of arcs but we know that the command
language does not have arcs, yet anyway. So how do we
do this one? As Ive said before, we fake it. Fortunately
the FIX creation command makes arcs rather easy to
simulate.

Using the command:

FIX NAME COLOCATED NAME RADIAL DISTANCE

it is easy though somewhat tedious to create arcs. You
know the navaid the arc is centered on. You know the
entry and exit radials and the distance the arc is from the
navaid. Thats the information you need to create an arc.
To make the arc you simply create a bunch of fixes along
the arc spaced about 10 degrees apart. You can use
something other than 10 degree if you desire though.
Here is what the FIXES section and the APPROACHES
section looks like for the plate to the right. Ill use 30
degrees here to keep the number of fixes created down.


FIXES
FIX ARC1 COLOCATED CHS 219 12
FIX ARC2 COLOCATED CHS 249 12
FIX ARC3 COLOCATED CHS 279 12
FIX ARC4 COLOCATED CHS 309 12
FIX ARC5 COLOCATED CHS 324 12
FIX ARC6 COLOCATED CHS 333 12
FIX ARC7 COLOCATED CHS 55 12
FIX ARC8 COLOCATED CHS 25 12
FIX ARC9 COLOCATED CHS 355 12
FIX ARC10 COLOCATED CHS 343 12
ENDFIXES

APPROACHES
APPROACH ILS15 KEEP HDG INTERCEPT RADIAL 333 FROM ICHS NAVAID OVERFLY ASHLY RNW 15 KEEP
TRK 500 KEEP HDG INTERCEPT RADIAL 55 FROM WANDO HOLDAT WANDO RIGHT TURN
INBOUNDCOURSE 235 ALT 2000 HOLDTIME 1
TRANSITION ARC219 FIX ARC1 FIX ARC2 FIX ARC3 FIX ARC4 FIX ARC5 FIX ARC6
TRANSITION ARC55 FIX ARC7 FIX ARC8 FIX ARC9 FIX ARC10 FIX ARC6 1600
ENDAPPROACHES

This example shows a common problem, the IAP has, in this
case, two transitions, the arcs. To identify the transitions I
called one ARC219 for the ILS to runway 15 using a right
turn in the arc and the other is ARC55 for the left turn arc.
The numbers are the radials. You can call them something
else if you want.

Also note that ARC6 is used twice, once in each transition. I
could have created another ARC fix but it would have just
been a duplicate location and that would have been just one
more unnecessary thing for the FMC to read in.

You probably noticed that there is a procedure turn in the
IAP. This is simple to do. Since the 737 FMC can not do
procedure turns, we ignore it by not including it in the IAP.

Instead of using ARCxx as the fix name you may want to
use the standard terminology of D radial A-Z where radial
is the radial in degrees and A-Z is the radius of the arc.
A = 1 mile, B = 2 miles Z = 26 miles. For example:

D34J (10 miles on radial 34)
D230Z (26 miles on radial 230)

For a radius greater than 26 miles it changes to a more
obscure method using the first two letters of the navaid ID,
the radius and then the sequence of fixes (A, B, C, D and so
on). For example:

JR31A (31 miles on radial 100 of JRT)
JR31B (31 miles on radial 110 of JRT)
JR31C (31 miles on radial 120 of JRT)

14
Here is an deceptive IAP so lets see what it looks like when its
described in 737 talk.

APPROACHES
APPROACH SPAR9 NAVAID SOLBA NAVAID BSN
NAVAID LARPO SPEED 220 NAVAID PON KEEP TRK
INTERCEPT RADIAL 358 FROM RBT KEEP TRK UNTIL
14 FROM RBT KEEP TRK INTERCEPT RADIAL 254
FROM NAVAID BT KEEP TRK UNTIL 27 FROM
NAVAID BT KEEP TRK INTERCEPT RADIAL 271
FROM NAVAID VVE KEEP TRK UNTIL 7.7 FROM
NAVAID VVE KEEP TRK UNTIL 4.2 FROM NAVAID
VVE RNW 09 KEEP TRK INTERCEPT RADIAL 303
FROM NAVAID OL KEEP TRK INTERCEPT RADIAL
110 FROM NAVAID EVX NAVAID EVX
ENDAPPROACHES

This one is really interesting to look at but not terribly
difficult to write except for the last three turns. The turns all
suffer from not starting the turn at the designated location.
The last left turn on to the final is particularly difficult to
duplicate. Heres the situation with the intercept command.
When the FMC receives an intercept command it extends
its current course line out until it intersects the designated
radial. Remember that the intercept command results in a
fly-by waypoint. So it then calculates the best location to
start the turn to intercept. This turn will always be before
reaching that intersection point. We do not know where that
turn will be nor can we designate when it will turn, only that
we want a turn, sometime.

The result of this is that, as written above, the FMC will
command a turn further out from BT 27 than desired. For
example, the last left turn on to the final. The plate says to
turn left at BT 27 but the problem is the intercept command
will not execute the turn at BT 27. The FMC will extend the
course line out from BT 27 until it intersects the 271 radial.
In this case the interception point is 13 miles away. Note
though that the plane will turn left before it reaches that
calculated intersection. This puts the turn farther out than
wanted. My way of fudging this particular turn is to make
the calculated intersection point closer to BT 27. If I
changed the command KEEP TRK INTERCEPT
RADIAL 271 FROM NAVAID VVE to TRK 210
INTERCEPT RADIAL 271 FROM NAVAID VVE the
interception point becomes 4.2 miles instead of 13. I made
the plane change to a course of 210 degrees before the
interception point was calculated. This moved the
interception point closer and produces a turn more like the
plate depicts. Where did I get the HDG 210 from? Trial
and error. I knew I wanted something between 254 and
about 154 degrees so I plugged in some headings until one
worked OK. Nothing fancy, just brute force method.

You could do the same for the other two intercepts but I
think those are close enough to be OK.















15
VIII. Troublesome Procedure Hints

The command grammar does not cover all possible
situations. When you run up against this sort of thing you
have to get creative. There are a few more things I can pass
along that may help for specific challenges.

Sometimes a left or right turn is specified but unfortunately
the procedure commands do not allow specifying turn
directions. How do I make the aircraft turn in the direction I
want? You do it by creating FIXes that cause the plane to
turn the way you want.






In this illustration I want the plane to fly over WATTR and
turn right to GOFFR. I need to create FIXes Wp2 and Wp3
to force the plane to turn right. To find the lat/long of these
two waypoints I use a graphic flight planner and create this
route in it. I then eyeball in the two FIXes where I think
they might work and then read the lat/long for each one.
Notice the FIXes are outside of the turn. I want them to be
fly-by waypoints so the turn will be as smooth as possible.
The actual position of the FIXes will be a trial and error
effort. They do not need to be exact. Determine the FIXes,
put them in your procedure and load the airport into the
FMC. Have a look at the route in the FMC display. When it
looks right you are done. The commands for the above
would be:

FIX OVERFLY WATTR FIX Wp2 FIX Wp3 FIX GOFFR




The FMC will insert disconnects if a turn is greater than
180 degrees, however, this same technique can be used to
create turns greater than 180 degrees. Here is a problem in a
SID where a turn of around 215 degrees is required. Again,
get that flight planner going and place 3 approximately
equally spaced FIXes just outside the desired flight path.
With proper location you should be able to get a turn that
closely approximates the SID illustration. It wont be long
before you will be able to easily guesstamate where to put
the FIXes.



For this example I would add the following four FIXes to the
FIXES section.

FIX MWEST LATLON N 46 14.31 E 14 25.72
FIX 1A LATLON N 46 14 E 14 22
FIX 2A LATLON N 46 12 E 14 20
FIX 3A LATLON N 46 10.5 E 14 23

Now the SID becomes:

SID ARLON2E
RNW 31 FIX OVERFLY MWEST FIX 1A
FIX 2A FIX 3A NAVAID MG

Again, by moving FIX 1A, 2A and 3A around you can tailor
the turn so it matches the chart illustration. Notice for
fixes 1A and 2A I only had to get lat/long
accuracy down to degrees and minutes. High
accuracy not needed.




STAR runway transitions are not implemented in the
grammar. Here again you must think outside the box. There
are two ways to get around this problem. The second
solution was suggested by Lee Hetherington. Use whichever
one you feel comfortable with.

1. Write a complete STAR for each runway transition. Each
STAR would take the route legs right up to the start of the
IAP enroute transition or basic IAP. You might call them:

STAR HEFER.24
STAR HEFER.25L
STAR HEFER.25R

2. Write the STAR and then use an IAP transition to tie the
STAR to the IAP. For STARs JACKS and HOPER an IAP
might look like this:

16
APPROACH ILS03
TRANSITION JACKS NAVAID ABC
TRANSITION HOPER NAVAID BDT

Another situation you may come up against is tracking a
radial. Since there is no command to track in or out a navaid
radial you will have to cheat angain. Here are a few ideas to
simulate this.

1. Create two fixes on the radial and have the plane fly over
them.

2. If tracking a radial out from VOR ABC define a fix and
use the NAVAID NAME command. Set the DISTANCE to
some distance that works for your situation:

FIX OUT234 COLOCATED ABC 234 20 (FIX defined)

NAVAID ABC FIX OUT234 (Commands)

3. A variation of 2 above would be to use:

HDG degrees INTERCEPT RADIAL 234 FROM ABC
FIX OUT234

The decision to use 2 or 3 above would be based on what
course the plane has prior to executing these commands.

Tracking in on a radial would just reverse the above
commands. For example:

Two above becomes:

FIX IN234 NAVAID ABC

Three becomes:

HDG degrees INTERCEPT RADIAL 234 FROM ABC
NAVAID ABC


IX. Troubleshooting Hints

Here are some hints about correcting errors that the FMC
yells at you when you are loading the airport procedures. In
general the FMC will tell you what word is involved in the
problem and the line number that problem is in. Some
examples follow.

ERR AT INTERCEPT, LINE 46 This probably means
that there was a syntax error in the command. Double check
that the whole command was typed in properly. Also, check
to see if there in another INTERCEPT in that line. The
error may be in the other INTERCEPT encountered in that
line 46.

ERR AT GTH, LINE 14 This means that the name of
GTH was found but the FMC doesnt know if its a
NAVAID or a FIX. This usually can be repaired by finding
the error, in this case, in line 14 of the procedures file and
typing in NAVAID or FIX in front of the GTH. If it was a
FIX then you also have to look in the FIXES section and see
why that FIX is in error or missing.

Err: rwy 14 unknown This is usually caused by a runway
being defined in the RNWS section that the FMC can not
find in its runway database. You fix this by deleting all
references to that runway and its reciprocal. IE RNW 14
and RNW 32. Delete in all sections that they appear in.

Err at 90, line 15 This message is telling you there is
some sort of error on line 15 and involves a 90. So go to
that line number and look for a 90. The mistake will be right
before that 90. Perhaps you left something out.

Err at SID, line 20 This is harder since it is telling you the
SID has a problem. Go look at line number 20. It may be
the runway number is missing or wrong.
For the next error lets say you have this fix defined.

FIX DFT latlon N 34 5.7 E 22 34

Err at latlon, line 6 You get this error. Whats wrong? It
looks good. But wait a minute that latlon is the problem.
It should be capitalized. Remember that keywords need to
be capitalized or you will get an error.

Err: SPZ unknown The problem is that that NAVAID
SPZ can not be found. Notice there is no line number
given. You will have to look for the name SPZ somewhere
in the procedures. When you find it recheck the spelling. If
spelling and syntax are OK then the NAVAID SPZ needs
to be made a FIX SPZ. Define the fix in the FIXES
section. Then in the procedures section(s) change all
references of NAVAID SPZ to FIX SPZ to clear the
error. Now, obviously the SPZ is an example. You would
use whatever navaid ID is needed.

INSRTD DISCON AFTER XXX - The FMC will insert a
disconnect under the following conditions. Check the
location of XXX and the next waypoint for these conditions.

1. When the plane is told to fly to a waypoint and then have
to turn more than 179 degrees to get to the next waypoint.

2. When the aircraft is told to go the same waypoint twice in
a row.

Examples: NAVAID ABC NAVAID ABC
NAVAID JFK HOLD AT NAVAID JFK
RIGHT TURN INBOUNDCOURSE 234

3. When you select a STAR or SID and the initial waypoint
of the STAR or last waypoint of the SID do not share the
same terminal or initial waypoint respectively.

4. When an intercept can not be executed because it is
invalid.

ERR AT APPROACH, LINE 95 This can be
missleading. Look at line 95 and if nothing looks bad look
at the previous approach. If, for example, the IAP on line 94
17
is missing the RNW XX it will produce this type errror
message for line 95.

Another source of troubleshooting info is the LEGS page of
the FMC. Every now and again you might find a leg that is
thousands of miles long. This is a hint that something went
wrong. Usually this is caused by an INTERSEPTION
command that could not intercept as asked to do. Suppose
you wanted to intercept the 90 radial and you are south west
of the navaid. You write the INTERCEPT command to use
a HDG of 360 degrees thinking it will intersect the 90 degree
radial. It doesnt. So what happens is that a course is drawn
that extends around the world until it does intersect and you
get a weird distance. Double checking that headings will
produce the desired intersection will cure this sort of
problem. Be careful when using KEEP HDG or KEEP
TRK prior to an intersection command. If not sure of the
direction the plane is heading at the time this command is
activated it could lead to errors.

The computer freezes after you select a SID/STAR and
transition or IAP. This problem may occur when using
VECTORS. This is an FMC problem I suspect may be
corrected in the future but for right now you need to be
aware of this potential problem when using VECTORS. The
computer will freeze when the NAVAID/FIX before a
VECTORS command is the same as the NAVAID/FIX after
a VECTORS command. This may occur when the first
command of a transition or IAP is a FIX that is the same as a
FIX prior to the VECTORS command in the common
section of a procedure. What happens is that the computer is
put into an endless loop. For example the following STAR
and IAP combination if selected would freeze the computer.

STAR WATS NAVAID ATV FIX ABC KEEP HDG
VECTORS

APPROACH ILS20 FIX ABC FIX DOP RNW 20



X. More good stuff

Many portions of a procedure are the same as portions of
another procedure so when writing procedures use the cut
and paste a lot to save typing time.

I recommend that you write with word wrap off . This helps
in the readability. It also helps to indent the transitions.

You probably wont but just to make sure, there is no need
to type anything in bold font. I only used it here to help
illustrate.

I find it faster to troubleshoot procedures directly from
FS04. I run the editor in the background. If I get an error
when a departure or arrival airport is loaded into the FMC I
can switch to the editor, load the airport, correct the error,
save the change, go back to FS04, clear the error message
and reload the airport in the FMC. Repeating as necessary
until no more errors.
This concludes the tutorial. If you discover any
errors let me know at 737NG@hotpop.com so I
can fix them. If you run up against a problem
writing a procedure not covered here let me know
and perhaps I can help plus use it as another
example for all to benefit from.

Good writing to all and please post your
procedures so others can have fun too.



Bye.

Terry