2

CONTENTS
CONTENTS
PREFACE
1.0OVERVIEW
1.1WAYPOINTLISTS
1.2BUILDINGSIDSandSTARS
1.3OFFICIALCHARTS
1.4ONLINEFLIGHTPLANNING
1.5CHOOSINGYOURPROCEDURES
1.6PUTTINGITALLTOGETHER
2.0HARDWAREINTERFACE
2.1MCDUSCREEN
2.2SCRATCHPAD
2.3FUNCTIONKEYS
2.4INIT
2.5PREV/NEXT
2.6CLR
2.7DIRECTTO
2.8EXEC
2.9PLUS/MINUS(+/)
2.10AIRP/VOR/NDB/FIX/(LATLON)
2.11RADIO
2.12SELECTORKNOB
2.13DATAENTRYKEYS
3.0MCDUPAGES
3.1INDEX
3.2STATUS
3.3DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL
3.4SID/STAREDIT
3.5ADDRTEWPTS

3.6MCDUWARNINGSFOREDITING
3.7ROUTEEDIT
3.8AUTOPILOT
3.9FLTPLAN
3.10LOAD
3.11SAVE
3.12RADIO1andRADIO2
4.0TYPICALUSAGE
4.1DEMO
4.2AMPLIFIEDCHECKLIST
4.3FLTPLANREVIEW
4.4WAYPOINTSELECTORKNOB
4.5FLIGHTPLANCHANGES
4.6EDITINGSCENARIOS
4.7ROUTEENDPOINTS
4.8ADDING/EDITINGWAYPOINTS
4.9LIMITATIONS
4.10EDITING:ADDINGWAYPOINTS
4.11EDITING:AIRP,VOR,NDB&FIX
4.12EDITING:LAT/LON
4.13EDITING:ALLTYPES:
4.14ADDINGVS.EDITING
5.0HELPFULTIPSANDADVICE
5.1SPECIALNOTE
5.2TIPSandADVICE
5.3WHYISASIDORSTARNOTAVAILABLE?
5.3TUTORIALVIDEOS

PREFACE

WhilethiscustomFMSisasomewhatuniquedesignasidefromthefarmoredetailedandcapable
MCDU'sfoundintoday'smodernairliners,itwillprovideanewchallengebeyondthatofferedbystock
XPlaneaircraftandinstrumentation.Itisprimarilyaninterfacetoadd,createandeditthe
componentsofanynormalflightplan,andshouldtakeusersnewtocomplexflightplanningonestep
closertothesortsofvirtualhardwareonemightfindinamoredetailedandauthentic,studylevel
airlinerFMSsimulation.

IMPORTANT
:itisstillpossibletousethebasicXPlaneFMSasidefromthecustomFMS.Youcan
switchbetweenthesetwobyclickingonthebuttoninthetopleftcornerofthePopupFMS.Thisway
the'hardcore'simmerswillbeabletoenjoythecustomFMSwhilethecasualsimmerswhoarenotso
familiarwithalltheproceduresandinstrumentscanusethedefaultone.Also,besuretoviewthe
specialnoteinSection5ifthereareanyquestionsorconcernsregardingproceduresthatyoumay
choosetoload.ManyuserswillneverhaveanyreasontoquestionwhattheyhaveloadedintoaSID
orSTARprocedurewaypointlist.Buttherearemany,manyvariationsonproceduresthroughoutthe
world,andthereissimplynowaytotesteveryproceduretovalidateitsusewiththisFMS.
Fortunately,theFMScontainsaratherpowerfulwaypointeditorthatcanbeusedonSIDsand
STARs,aswellasyourROUTEorloadedFLTPLAN.Thisshouldhelp99%ofusersresolveany
situationthatmaybeencounteredthatisnotastheymightexpect.

1.0OVERVIEW
Thinkofaflightplanasalistofgeographicallocations,orwaypoints,definedbylatitude,longitude
andaltitude.Inmoderncommercialaviation,theflightplanisnormallycomposedofthreeprimary
elements:theSID,theROUTEandtheSTAR.ASIDislikearampleadinguptoasuperhighway,a
ROUTEislikeahighwayinthesky,andaSTARisyour"offramp"onceyou'vereachedyour
destination.SIDisanacronymthatstandsforStandardInstrumentDeparture.STARstandsfor
StandardTerminalArrivalRoute.

1.1WAYPOINTLISTS
TheXCraftsE175FMSusesthreeseparateliststobuildaflightplan(FLTPLAN),whichpertainto
thethreeprimaryelementsofatypicalflight.ThesearetheSIDprocedurewaypointlist,theROUTE
waypointlist,andtheSTARprocedurewaypointlist.

Allthreearesimplylistsofwaypointscorrespondingtoastandardinstrumentdeparturefroman
airport,thewaypointsthatwe'veplannedtoflyfromoneairporttoanother,andfinallythewaypointlist
forourstandardterminalarrivalrouteprocedure.

1.2BUILDINGSIDSandSTARS
TheSIDandSTARarebuiltusingdepartureandtransitionfortheSID,andtheSTARisassembled
fromFINALapproachandapproachtransition,and/oraSTARarrival,alldependingonthemanner
appropriateforagivenairport.

1.3OFFICIALCHARTS
Toprepareforone'sflight,oneusesvariousofficialchartstoplantheirroute,aswellasdeparture
andapproachdocumentationfortheirairportoforiginandtheirdestination.Thechartswillgiveyoua
meanstoidentifyalistofwaypointsthatyouwillmanuallyenterintotheMCDUusingtheADDRTE
WPTSpage.Awordofcautionhere.Readingandunderstandingdepartureandarrivalchartsis
essentialtosuccessfullyusinganyFMSthatprovidesdepartureandarrivalproceduresfacilities.Itis
veryeasytocomposeacombinationofwaypointsthatmakenologicalsensewhencombinedwith
yourplannedflightroute.UnderstandinghowSIDsandROUTEsandSTARslinktogetheris
essential,andyoushouldexpecttohavetolearnhowtoemploythispublishedinformationasyou
learntousethecustomMCDUprovidedwiththiscustomFMS.

1.4ONLINEFLIGHTPLANNING
Analternativetomanuallyenteredwaypointswouldbetouseanonlineflightplannertochooseyour
routewaypoints.Thesefacilitiesgiveyoutheabilitytodownloadyourrouteasa.fmsfilethatXPlane
willunderstand.Oncedownload,youmanuallyplacetheseinyourXPlane/output/FlightPlansfolder.

1.5CHOOSINGYOURPROCEDURES
Thedepartureandapproachdocumentsyouusewillhelpfamiliarizeyouwithwhatisavailable.You
chooseadepartureSIDbasedonthewindsandwhatyouknowtobetheactiverunwayforyour
airportoforigin.ThisissubjecttoATCdirection,naturally.

Similarly,youselectaSTARforyourdestinationor"ARRIVAL"airport.Thisselectionisyourbest
guessduringtheplanningphase.YoucanrequestaSTARonarrival,butit'suptoATCtoclearyour
selection.

YoucanalsoresearchyourSIDsandSTARsonlineat

http://www.airnav.com/
.Usersoutsidethe
UnitedStatesmaywishtovisit
http://www.eurocontrol.int/articles/aisonline
instead.

1.6PUTTINGITALLTOGETHER
Afteryou'vecompletedselectingyourproceduresandyourroute,youthenhavealloftheelementsof
aflightplan.Allthatremainsistocombinethesethreelistsintoonesothatyoucanexecuteyour
plan.

NotethatiftheendpointsofyourSID,ROUTEandSTARarewithin3milesofeachother,theEXEC
functionoftheMCDUwillmergeyourROUTEendpoint(s)asneededwiththeappropriateSIDand/or
STARwaypoint.Thisisbecauseleglengthsshorterthan3milesareimpractical.

2.0HARDWAREINTERFACE
2.1MCDUSCREEN
ThemainbodyoftheMCDU(MultipurposeControlDisplayUnit)issimilartomostthatyoumayhave
alreadybeenexposedto,includingtherathersimpleMCDUusedbythestockXPlaneFMS
instrument.

Thereisanupperscreenwithsixbuttonsoneachside,andtheseareidentifiedasL1toL6onthe
left,andR1toR6ontheright.

Avideoscreencapableofdisplayingvariouscolortextdatalaysinbetweenthesebuttons,andupto
14rowsoftextaredisplayedon17uniquedatapagesinadditiontotheINDEXpage.Additional
displaypagesforlistsofwaypointsorloadableflightplansareprovidedwhentheentrycounts
exceed9or10perpage,dependingonthedatabeingdisplayed.

2.2SCRATCHPAD
ThebottomrowofthisdisplaywillshowtheSCRATCHPAD,butonlywhenitisavailable.Alldatato
beenteredfirstappearshere,priortobeing"injected"intovariousdatafieldsusingthebuttonson
eithersideoftheMDCUscreen.

JustabovetheSCRATCHPADisasystemmessagearea.Thisprovidesinstantfeedbackonboth
successfuldataentryorfunctionselection,aswellasanumberofwarningswhenappropriate.Pay
attentiontothisareawhenenteringdatatoavoidunexpectedresults.

2.3FUNCTIONKEYS
Belowthescreenaretworowsofspecialfunctionkeys.

2.4INIT
InitializestheXPlanenavigationdatabaseandresetsthewaypointcountertozero.Usewithcare.
ThisfunctionisonlyavailableontheMDCUandFLTPLANpages.Useinflightcouldseeyour
aircraftturnforthedepartureairportwhenanewflightplanisloaded.SeeSection5.0.

10

2.5PREV/NEXT
Atpresent,theseareonlyforpagingthroughlistsofdatawhensuchlistsaregreaterthan9or10
itemsperpage,dependingonwhat'sbeingdisplayed.Ifawaypointdetailpageiscreatedforthe
activeflightplanatsomepoint,thesewillalsoperformawaypointlistnavigationfunction.

2.6CLR
ThisbuttonisonlyfunctionalontheSID,ROUTEandSTAREDITpages.Itsusedtoclearthelist
entriessothatyoucanreenterdataorotherneed,asthesituationdictates.Thereisnoundo
function.Oncethelistisgone,itsgonepermanently,andanyandalldataneeded,ifany,would
needtobereloaded.

2.7DIRECTTO
Thisisthearrowpointingtotheright.PerformstheDIRECTTOfunctionwhenviewinganactiveflight
plan(FLTPLAN).

2.8EXEC
IfthereisdatainanycombinationofSID,ROUTEorSTARwaypointlists,thelistsaremergedintoa
FLTPLANandloadedintotheXPlanenavigationdatabase.NotethattheendsoftheROUTEwill
bemergedwiththeendsoftheSIDorSTARifthesepointsarewithinapproximately3milesofeach
other.ThisfunctionisonlyavailableontheMDCUandFLTPLANpages.

2.9PLUS/MINUS(+/)
Thiskeywillchangethesignofnumericdataonthescratchpad.ThisisonlyavailableontheROUTE
WAYPOINTpageatpresent,andwillalsobeavailableoneditingpagesinthefuture.Itisonlyuseful
inenteringLAT/LONdata.NotethatyoucanalsoenteraWESTlongitudeoraSOUTHlatitudeby
beginningyourentrywithaminussign(hyphen).

2.10AIRP/VOR/NDB/FIX/(LATLON)
ThesefivebuttonsareonlyactiveontheNEWROUTEWPTandEDITWAYPOINTpages.These
arethefivepossibletypesofwaypointtostore.

11

2.11RADIO
Thisbuttonisashortcuttotheradiopagesothatyoucanquicklydigitallyenterafrequencyand
manageactivefrequencies,transponderandIDENT.Thisiscurrentlytheonlywaytoenter8.33khz
radiochannels.NOTE:Ifyouareeditinganything,it'slost.Therearenoexitchecksforeither
addinganewwaypointoreditinganexistingwaypoints.Thetheoryhereisthatifyouneedtheradio
page,youneeditimmediatelyinordertohandleanATCdirective.

2.12SELECTORKNOB

OntherealERJ175,thisisusedtotuneradios.InthisERJstylizedMCDU,it'susedasaselector
spinnerandpushbutton.Whendisplayinglistsofdata,rotationstorightwilladvanceahighlightdown

12

thepage,rotationstotheleftwillmovethehighlightupthepage.Pressing(clicking)thesmaller
centerknobselectstheitemthatiscurrentlyhighlighted.

2.13DATAENTRYKEYS
Generallyselfexplanatory.Fullalphabet,numberszerothroughnine,adecimalkeyandaminus()
key.TheleftarrowkeyisthebackspacekeyfortheSCRATCHPAD,andDELwilldeleteanything
enteredintheSCRATCHPAD.

13

3.0MCDUPAGES
3.1INDEX
Thisisthemainpagethatroutesyoutomostoftheotherpagesdirectly.Onthispageyouseeuseof
arrowspointingatkeys.Whenyouseearrowspointingawayfromthedataandtowardsakey,that
keyisactiveandwilldosomethingforyou.Ifyouseearrowspointinginwards,atthedatascreen,
thenSCRATCHPADdatacanbe"injected"atthatentrypoint.

3.2STATUS
Generalinformationaboutthelocationoftheaircraft,thesettingoftheautopilotandloadedROUTE,
SIDandSTARwaypointlists.TheOATkeywillchangethedisplayfromCelsiustoFahrenheit,if
desired.Nootherfunctionality.

14

3.3DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL
SelectanairportbyenteringtheICAOcodeintheSCRATCHPADandtheninsertitwithbuttonL4.
Onceyou'veenteredavalidairport,youmustthenselectarunwaywithbuttonR3.Youthen
continuetotheSID/STARprocedureelementselectionpageswithbuttonsR4andR5,andfor
STARsonly,R6.

Thereisanorderofselectiontobefollowed:

DEPARTURE

ARRIVAL

1.

Runway

1.

Runway

2.

SID

2.

ARRIVAL(STARorTRANSITIONwithSTAR)

3.

SIDTransition

3.

ApproachTransition(APPTR)

4.

FINALApproach

SIDtransitionsandSTARarrivalscanbeselectedindependently.SIDtransitionsandSTARarrivals
canbeselectedindependently.

Youcanreselectanyoftheprocedureelementsifyouchangeyourmindormakeamistake.Since
SIDtransitionsandSTARapproachtransitionsaredependentonthestandarddeparturesandfinal
approachtypes,reselectingeitherthestandarddepartureorfinalapproachwillcleartheprevious
dependentprocedureelementselectionforaSIDtransitionorSTARapproachtransition.

Youcanreselectanyoftheprocedureelementsifyouchangeyourmindormakeamistake.Since
SIDtransitionsandSTARapproachtransitionsaredependentonthestandarddeparturesandfinal
approachtypes,reselectingeitherthestandarddepartureorfinalapproachwillcleartheprevious
dependentprocedureelementselectionforaSIDtransitionorSTARapproachtransition.

Ifyouneedtoclearyourentriesinfulltoreselect,youcanstartoverbyreenteringtheairportICAO
codeinthescratchpadandinsertitwithbuttonL4.

15

16

3.4SID/STAREDIT
ThesepagesprovidealistofthewaypointsgeneratedfromtheXPlaneGNS430datafilesprovided
byLaminarresearchoryourcustomdatafiles.Thiswillbewhereyouaccesstheindividual
waypointstoselectthemforediting.

Rotatetheknobasneededtohighlightthedesiredrowbyhoveringthemouseoneithersideofthe
knobtoaccessthemanipulatorpopups,andclickasneededtomovetheknob.

UsethePREV/NEXTbuttonstoadvancethroughpages.Thelastrowwillrotatetothefirstandvice
versa.Likewisefornavigatingthepages.Notethatthesepagesareonlyaccessiblevia
DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL.TheyarenotdisplayedontheMCDUINDEXpage.Clickingonthecenter
oftheknobwillallowyoutoeditthewaypointselected.

17

3.5ADDRTEWPTS
ThispageallowsyoutomanuallyaddROUTEwaypointseithertoanewplanortoonethatyou've
loaded.Seesection4.8formoreinformationonAddingandEditingwaypoints.

Chooseyourfixtypeusingthewaypointtypebuttons,enteranID....OR....enteralatitudeand
longitude.Entriesaregreenwhentheloadedinformationisbeingdisplayed.Entriesturnyellow
whendataneedstobesaved.ThedefaultwaypointtypewhenselectingthispageisFIX,butafter
that,thelastwaypointtypeusedpersiststothenextblankentry.

Lat/Lonentryissegregatedfromfixentry.Youcan'tenterafixwheninLat/Lonmode,andyoucan't
enteraLat/Lonwhenyou'reenteringdataforanairport,VOR,NDBorFIX.

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3.6MCDUWARNINGSFOREDITING
Ifyoutrytosaveincompletedata,youwillbewarnedthatyourdataisincomplete.

Ifyoutrytoleavethispagewithunsaveddata,youwillbewarnedthatyourentrieshaven'tbeen
saved.

Ifyou'veenteredlessthantwowaypoints,thesystemwillwarnthatarouterequirestwowaypoints.

Asecondattempttonavigateawayfromthispagefollowingawarningoverridethewarningandyou
willlosedata.Iflessthantwowaypointshavebeenenteredandyouleaveanyway,youlose
everything,evenyourfirstsavedwaypoint.

3.7ROUTEEDIT
SeethesectiononAddingandEditingwaypoints.ThispageoperatesinamannersimilartotheSID
andSTAREDITpagesyouvisitwhenbuildingaSIDorSTAR.Thispagewillshoweitherwaypoints
youloadedfromanexternalfile,orwaypointsaddedmanually.

19

3.8AUTOPILOT
Hereyoucanquicklyentervaluesmuchlargerormuchsmallerthanarecurrentlyselectedbyusing
thedigitalkeypadtoenternumericinformationintotheSCRATCHPAD,andtheninjectingitwhere
needed,usingbuttonsL1throughL4ontheleft.Onlyfieldsthatarecoloredmagentacanbe
changedusingthispage.

Theminussign()onlyworksfortheVERTICALVELOCITYselectioninthefirstfield.Anywhereelse
intheSCRATCHPADentry,andyouwillbeinformedofyourmisdeedwhenyoutrytoinjectthedata
containingit.

Therestofthedatadisplayedisprovidedtogiveyouarepeaterofvariouscurrentaircraftflightdata
andautopilotfunctionstatusindicationsasyoumakeyourautopilotentries.Notethatthisdoesnot
replacethetopshelfautopilotcontrols.Eithercanbeusedatanytime.

20

3.9FLTPLAN
ThisshowstheflightplanafterEXEChasbeenpressedandyourwaypointpackagemergedand
injectedintotheXPlanenavigationdatabase.ThefirstandlastwaypointwillalwaysbeaLAT/LON
waypointastheseareactuallytheLAT/LONpositionsoftheselectedrunways'thresholds.

ThebrightmagentahighlightwilladvanceastheFMSnegotiatesitswaythroughtheflightplan.You
canhighlightanyfieldthatislaterintheroutethancurrentlydisplayed.Whensuchfieldsare
highlighted,DIRECTTObecomesavailableforthatwaypoint.Youcannotnavigateyourselection
backto"used"waypoints.Thecenterbuttonoftheknobcanbeusedtoselectavailablewaypoints
forediting,justasintheSID.

UseofDIRECTTOwillupdatetheflightplanasXPlanereplacesyourcurrentwaypointdestination
withaLAT/LONcoordinate,whichwillprecedethewaypointtheyouhavechosentoflytodirectly.

21

3.10LOAD
ThisgivesyoualistofthefilesinyourXPlane/output/FlightPlansdirectory.Manypagesofentries
arepossible.

NOTE:
Thewidthofthepageonlypermitsjustsomanycharacterstodisplay.Youget
28characters
forflightplanfilenames.IfanyfilesarefoundbytheFMSthathavenameslongerthanthis,not
includingthefileextension,theyarenotincludedinthelist.Afilenamed
FMS_File_Loader_Report.txtiscreatedeverytimeyougointothispage,anditcontainsalistofthe
.fmsfilesthathavebeenrejected.

22

3.11SAVE
Replace"ENTERAFILENAME"withthetextofyourchoice,upto28characters.Itthefilename
alreadyexists,you'llgetawarningwhenyoutrytosave.Repeatthesavecommand(buttonR6)if
youwanttooverride.

3.12RADIO1andRADIO2
RADIO1givesyoucontroloftheCOMM1,COMM2,NAV1andNAV2radiofrequencies,aswellas
thetransponderfunctions.Thisisrelativelystraightforward.Enterthefirstthreedigits,thedecimal
point,andthenhowevermanyfurtherdigitsareneededtocompletetheentry.121.5,forexample,
becomes121.500.Onceentered,thebuttonsnexttothearrowspointingupanddownwillswapthe
radiofrequencyenteredintostandbywiththefrequencythatisactive.

23

Youcanonlyenteran8.33khzradiofrequencyusingtheFMSinterface,youcantdoitusingthe
radiopanels.

Youcanswapbetweentheactiveandstandbyfrequenciesusingtheappropriatebutton.Youcan
alsoenterthetranspondercodeandIDENT.Aswithotherpages,digitaldataisenteredtothe
SCRATCHPADandinjectedusingtheappropriateleftorrightscreenbuttons.

TheRADIO2pagegivesyouaccesstotheADFfunctions.ItisonlyavailablefromtheRADIO1
page.

24

4.0TYPICALUSAGE

4.1DEMO
Seethe
...EmbraerE175/Documents/Demoflight
folderforasampleflightthatwillgiveyouthe
experienceofacompleteflight,takingoffandlandingatTucsonInternationalAirport.Somethingofa
"oncearoundthepattern"flight,onlywith17waypoints.Itwillgiveyouthefullexperienceoftheflight
managementfunctionsoftheMCDUinaroundanhour.

4.2AMPLIFIEDCHECKLIST
Presumingthatyou'vereviewedyourchartsandproceduredocuments,andaresittingintheaircraft
poweredup,here'sasequenceofentriesthatshouldgetyoureadytogo.Refertotheimagesonthe
previouspagesifneeded:

1. SelectDEPARTURE.

2. EntertheICAOidentifierofyourdepartureairportinthescratchpadandinjectitusingbuttonL2.

3. Selectyourrunway.

4. Selectyourdeparturefromthelistofthoseavailableforyourrunway.Ifnoneareavailabledue
toproceduresthatmustbeeliminatedduetowaypointsnotcurrentlysupported,youmayomit
thedeparture.

5. Selectyourtransition.UsethePREVandNEXTkeysbelowthescreentochangepagesas
needed.Transitionselectionisoptional.

6. Afterselection,youmayproceedtotheSIDeditpagewhereyoumayreviewthewaypoints,and
inparticularyoumayusethewaypointeditortoaddwaypointsortrimasneeded.Youwillalso
usetheSIDeditpagetoaddaltitudesforwaypointsthatareloadedwithzerovalues.

7. ReturntotheMCDUIndexandselectSIDEdittoviewthelistofwaypointstovisuallyconfirm
loading.

25

8. ReturntotheMCDUIndex,andrepeatsteps1through7,butusetheARRIVALandSTAR
relatedfunctionsinstead,whicharenearlyidentical.

WithSTARsyouselectyourrunwayfirst,justlikeSIDs.Thisfiltersoutanyproceduresthatdo
notapplytothisrunway.

Thenextthingthatyouneedtodoistodecideonyourmethodofapproach,whichiswhat
youllrequestfromATC.Themostcomplexsolutionwillbedescribed.

26

Step1.
ChooseARRIVALontheARRIVALpage.ThiswillpresentalistofSTARsandSTAR
transitions.Youdonthavetoflyatransition,butifyouchoosetodoso,theSTARthatit
connectstoisautomaticallyappendedtotheendofyourtransition.Soyouonlyneedtomake
onechoicehere.Allpossibleroutestotherunwayapproachesareoffered.

Step2.
Chooseanapproachtransition(APPRTRANS).Thiswilllistallofthetransitionsthat
areavailabletotherunwayyouvechosen.EachwillbelistedwiththerunwayID,andthatis
precededwithaletter.Forexample:
I11L
isanILSapproachtorunway11L.

27

Thesearethepossibleapproachtypesyouwillsee,asdefinedbythefirstletterinthe
runwayshown:
C

CATIIILSApproach

ILSApproach

GPS/RNAVApproach

VOR/DMEApproach

NDB/DMEApproach

(Pleaseseesection5forimportantspecialnotesregardingproceduresinstructionstepsand
theresultingwaypoint).

Step3:
Selectyourfinalapproachfromthelistoffered,whichwillnormallybeonlyoneifitis
ofatypethatcanbeused,subjecttotheprecedingspecialnote.Whilethiscould
automaticallybeappendedtotheapproachtransitionforyou,inthiscaseyouhavetheoption
ofusingatransitionwithoutselectingafinalapproach.

WhenyouselectSTARtransition,oraSTAR,and/oranapproachtransition,thethreshold
coordinatesforyourarrivalrunwayareappendedautomaticallytoyourSTARwaypointlist.
WhenyouselectaFINAL,thisisnotdonesinceitistypicalthatmissedapproachorhold
waypointsmayalsobeintheprocedure,andwouldconflictwithafinalwaypointattheendof
thearrivalrunway.

28

Differentselectionsmaymakedifferencesinthewaypointsprovided.Reviewtheresultsof
yourselectionsontheSTAREDITpagetodetermineiftherouteloadedistherouteyou
desire,referringtoyourairport'sproceduredocuments.Besuretocomparetheseresultswith
yourapproachchartsanddocuments.

9. EnteryourROUTE

OPTION1:SelecttheADDRTEWPTSpageandmanuallyenteryourroute'swaypoints.(A
morecompletedescriptionfollowslaterinthisdocument.)

OPTION2:SelecttheLOADpageandchoosearoutefilethatyoupreviouslycreatedorthat
youdownloadedfromanonlineflightplanner.Only.fmsfilesareofferedhere.

NOTE:
IfafileyouputintheXPlane/output/FlightPlansdirectorydoesn'tshowuphere,
chancesarethefilenamewastoolong.Youcanconfirmthisbyopeningthe
FMS_File_Loader_Report.txtthatisalwayscreatedeverytimeyouflytheERJ175.Ifthefile
youwantisreportedhere,youcaneditthefilenametobeshorter.ExitingtheLOADpageand
reselectingitwillrecreatethelistofavailableflightplanfiles.Ifyou'veshortenedthename
enough,thefilewillthenbeavailable.

10. SelectionofthefiletoloadisidenticaltoselectingaSIDandSTARasyoudidearlier.Usethe
PREV/NEXTbuttonsasneeded,andtheouterringoftheselectorknobtohighlightthefileyou
wantwhenyou'vefoundthecorrectpage.Thecenterbuttonoftheselectorwillloadthefileinto
theROUTEwaypointlist.

11. Atthispoint,youhavethethreelistsyouneedtoloadafullflightplanintotheXPlane
navigationdatabase.It'sworthmentioningthatyoudon'thavetohaveallthree.Any
combinationofSID/ROUTE/STARwillload.AllittakesistwowaypointstomakeavalidFLT
PLAN.ASIDandaSTARwillyieldaFLTplanthattakesyoufromtheendofyourSIDtothe
beginningofyourSTAR.Similarly,ifyou'vecreatedaROUTEonlinethatalreadyincorporates
departureandapproachwaypoints,youcanloadthatfileandimmediatelyexecuteitwithout
evenconsideringSIDorSTARprocedures.

29

12. VerifyyourSID/ROUTE/STARwaypointlistsusingtheSIDEDIT,ROUTEEDITandSTAREDIT
pages.Additionally,thefileyouloadedaswellastheprocedureselectionswillappearonthe
STATUSpage.

13. Onceyou'resatisfiedwithyourlists,atthispointyoureturntotheMCDUINDEXpageandpress
theINITbutton.Thisisnotmandatory,butisgoodstandardproceduretoremoveanypreviously
loadeddatabeforeEXECuting
abrandnewflightplan
.Therearetimeswhenyouwon'tdothis,
tobesure.We'llgettothat.

14. PresstheEXECbuttontomergeandloadyourthreelistsofwaypointsintotheXPlane
navigationdatabase.Atthispoint,theendpointsaremergedasneededandaFLTPLANis
created.

4.3FLTPLANREVIEW
YoucanviewthecompletedplanusingtheFLTPLANpage.TheFLTPLANpagewillalsokeep
trackofthewaypointthattheaircraftisflyingto.AswithanyofthelistbasedMCDUfunctions,you
canusethePREV/NEXTbuttonstoadvancethroughthevariouspagesoftheFLTPLAN.

30

4.4WAYPOINTSELECTORKNOB
Youusetheselectorknobtohighlightwaypointsthatyouhaven'tflownpastyet.Youcannotselect
waypointsthatyou'vealreadyvisitedthatis,anywaypointthatappearsabovethemagenta
highlightedwaypoint.Thepurposeoftheselectorknobismainlytoallowyoutoeditwaypointdata.
Ifyou'reclearedtoadifferentaltitude,youwouldeditithere.Clickingonthecenteroftheselector
knobwillbringyoutotheeditingpage.Onceeditingiscompleted,anupdatewillhavetheeffectof
changingthedataintheXPlanenavigationdatabase.Thisdoesnotchangetheentriesinanyofthe
sourcelistsSID,ROUTEorSTAR.Youcan'teditthealtitudeofthewaypointyou'reflyingtoatthis
time.Ifitprovespossibletodosowithoutadverselyaffectingoperation,thisabilitywillbeoffered
aftersuccessfultesting.Youwillneverbeabletoeditanyotherattributeofthedestinationwaypoint,
however.

4.5FLIGHTPLANCHANGES
Onceyou'veloadedaFLTPLAN,itisalwayspossibletochangeit'ssourceSID,ROUTEand/or
STARfilesandreEXECute.Ifyouchoosetodothis,
donotpressINITfirst
.Doingsowill
automaticallysetyourdestinationwaypointtotheveryfirstentry,meaningyou'llprobablydoa180
degreeturnandflybacktoyourdepartureairport.Fromexperience,doingthingsoutsideofasimple,
rationalorderrisksdisturbingthestabilityofXPlane'sautopilotlinktoyourflightplan.Reloadingyour
entireflightplanwithwaypointsthataresignificantlydifferentfromyouroriginalrouteisalmost
certainlygoingtofail.Reloadinganentireflightplanwitheditedwaypointsbeyondyourcurrent
destinationwaypointislikelytobesuccessful.

4.6EDITINGSCENARIOS
TherearethreescenarioswhereeditingFLTPLANwaypointswhileenroutemaybeneeded:

Deviationduetoweather
Deviationduetodiversiontoanalternatedestination.
SubstitutinganewSTAR.

DeviationsduetoweatherarebesthandledbyeditstotheFLTPLAN.

DeviationsfordiversiontoadifferentdestinationairportorthesubstitutionofadifferentSTARthan
theoneyouloadedoriginallywouldrequirechangingtheSTARandreEXECuting.

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OneFLTPLANeditthatrequiresnospecialhandlingisthechangeofaSID,shouldATCdirectyou
differentlythanyouplanned.Inthiscase,simplynavigatetotheDEPARTUREpage,thentheSID
SELECTpage,andreselectyourSID.BesuretoreviewyourROUTEwaypointsiftheSIDtakesyou
inadirectionthatdoesn'tblendwellwiththeoriginalROUTE.EditthestartoftheROUTEasneeded.
ThenreEXECuteafterpressingINITonceagain.

4.7ROUTEENDPOINTS
FindtheendpointsofyouroptimalSID/STARselectionsbeforeyoucreateyourROUTE.Thisis
CRITICAL.BesuretoaccommodateanyturnsfromtheendofyourSIDtotheROUTEandtheend
ofyourROUTEtotheSTAR.IfyoudownloadROUTE.fmsfilesfromtheweb,becertainthattheydo
NOTincludethedepartureorarrivalairport.Itmakesnosensetoflyaperfectlygoodprocedure,only
tothenreturntotheairport.Thisalsomayhavetheeffectofdrawingaratherunexpectedflightpath
onyourNAVdisplay.

4.8ADDING/EDITINGWAYPOINTS
TheADDRTEWPTpageisnearlyidenticaltotheEDITWAYPOINTpagethatyoucanonlyreach
afterselectingawaypointfromSID,ROUTE,STARorFLTPLANeditpages.Theonlydifferenceis
thatyoucanonlysaveanewwaypointwhenit'sentered.WiththeEDITWAYPOINTpage,youcan
updateawaypoint,inserttheeditedwaypointbeforethewaypointyouoriginallyselected,insertthe
editedwaypointafterthewaypointyouoriginallyselected...or,ofcourse,youcanjustdeletethe
selectedwaypoint.Observethatuneditedwaypointshaveallgreenentriesonscreen,andifyouve
madeachange,theentriesturnyellow.

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4.9LIMITATIONS
TheADDRTEWPTandEDITWAYPOINTpageshaveafewlimitationsandonecaveat:

Ifyou'veenteredanydataatall,thepagedatatextwillturnfromgreentoyellow.Thismeans
thatifyouattempttoreturntotheMCDUINDEX,orgoBACKtowhichevereditselectionpage
youwereon,youwillbewarnedthatyouhaveunsaveddata.Asecondattempttoleavethe
ADDROUTEWAYPOINTorEDITWAYPOINTpageswillbesuccessful,andyouwilllosethe
datayouentered.

Ifyou'veenteredandsavedawaypointintheADDROUTEWAYPOINTpage,anditistheonly
waypointentered,youwillbewarnedthataROUTEREQUIRESTWOWAYPOINTSwhenyou
trytoexittotheMCDUINDEX.Asecondattempttoleavewillbesuccessful,andyouwilllose
thesinglewaypointentered,withtotalROUTEentriesbeingreturnedtozero.

Ifatanytimeyouhaveunsaveddata,orlessthantwowaypoints,andyouselecttheRADIO
button(thebuttonclosesttheselectorknobinthesecondrowofbuttons),youwillloseany
unsaveddata.Additionally,youwillloseyourwaypointentryifthereisonlyone.Thereisno
warningofanykindsinceitispresumedthatanyneedtousetheRADIOshortcutbuttonwould
beforanurgentcommunicationsneed.

4.10EDITING:ADDINGWAYPOINTS
WhenyounavigatetotheADDRTEWPTSpage,thedefaultnavigationwaypointtypeofairportis
automaticallyselectedforyou.Thisisalsotheautomaticselectionforanysubsequentwaypoint
entry.Youhavetospecificallychoosewhichtypeofwaypointyouareenteringatthebeginningof
eachentry.Onceselected,theentrytypeispresentedatthetopleftofthepage,belowthewaypoint
number.

4.11EDITING:AIRP,VOR,NDB&FIX
Usethescratchpadtoenterthenavigationidentifierofyourselectedwaypointtype.UsebuttonL3to
injectthisdata.Ifyoupickedavalididentifier,itwillbeaccepted.Ifnot,youwillbeadvisedthatthe
NAVIDcannotbefound.

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4.12EDITING:LAT/LON
Usethescratchpadtoenternumericdataforlatitudeandlongitude.Youcanhaveuptosixdigitsin
yourmantissathedecimalportionoftheentry.ForSOUTHandWEST,youmusteitherenterthe
MINUSsignusingthedigitalkeypad,oryoucanusethe+/keyafterenteringnumericdataonlyon
thescratchpad.UsebuttonsR1andR2toinjectthisdataasneeded.

4.13EDITING:ALLTYPES:
Ifyoutrytoenteranairport,VOR,NDBorFIXwhenLAT/LONisthecurrentwaypointtype,itwillbe
rejected.Similarly,ifyouattempttoenteraLAToraLONforanonLAT/LONwaypoint,itwillalsobe
rejected.

EnteryouraltitudeusingthescratchpadandbuttonL5toinjectit.Thisisagoodthingtodoforevery
waypoint,althoughitisnotrequired.

UsebuttonR5toSAVEyourwaypoint,andadvancetothenext.

Keepatituntilyou'redone.Ifyouhavealongflightplan,youwouldfindanonlineplanner
exceptionallyeasier.ThisisoneI'veusedandratherlike:

http://app.xflightplanner.net/

4.14ADDINGVS.EDITING
Therearetwomaindifferencesbetweenaddingandediting.

Thefirstisthatwhenyouselectawaypointandnavigatetotheeditorusingaclickonthecenterof
theselectorknob,thefulldataforthewaypointisautomaticallypopulated.Thesecondisthatyouno
longer"SAVE"anewwaypoint,you"UPDATE"theexistingwaypoint.

InadditiontoUPDATE,youcanalsoDELETE,INSERTBEFOREorINSERTAFTER.Thisgivesyou
agreatdealofflexibilityinmodifyingwhateverlistofwaypointsthatneedsrevision.Whatthese
functionsdoisselfexplanatory.

Otherwise,editingawaypointisexactlylikeenteringanewone.Ifyoudon'twishtousethewaypoint
typethatwasoriginallyselected,youusethesecondrowofbuttonsontheMCDUtochooseanew

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one,andthatchangestheentryrestrictionsappropriatelywhenitcomestonavigationidentifieror
latitudeandlongitude.

Ifyou'vedecidednottoeditawaypoint,youcangoBACKtotheoriginaleditlistofwaypointswithout
updating,deletingorinserting.Ifyou'veentereddata,youwillbewarned,naturally,butagain,
repeatingtheBACKselectionwilloverridethewarning.

SelectionofUPDATE,DELETE,INSERTBEFOREorINSERTAFTERautomaticallyreturnsyouto

theoriginaleditlistofwaypointsaftertherequestedactionhasbeencompleted.

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5.0HELPFULTIPSANDADVICE

5.1SPECIALNOTE:
DuetolimitationsinthefunctionalityofferedthroughtheXPlaneSDKandtheautopilot,itis
notpossibletoimplementproceduresthatinvolveflyingVOR/DMEarcs,procedureturns,
andessentiallythetypesofflightpathsthataredefinedbyradionavigationaids,as
opposedtofixedpositionwaypoints.Whenaprocedurelegtypeisdiscoveredfora
particularairportthatthestockautopilotcannotfly,andthestockNAVdisplaycannotdraw
completely,theFMSwilldrawthoselegsoftheprocedurethatitcan.Theundrawnlegswill
berepresentedbyadirectlinkfromthelastusablewaypointtothenext.Atthesepositions
theuserwilldetectadistinctdifferencebetweenwhatisultimatelydisplayed,andwhatever
documentstheyhavethattheyarereferringtowhenplanningtheirflight.Whenplanning
andchoosingyourSIDand/orSTARprocedures,andyouwishtoemployonethatusesone
ofthemorecomplexnavaidrelatedprocedures,youwillhavetheopportunitytopreplan
alternatewaypointsandtoenterthemviatheeditor.Remember,youhavefinalsayover
thewaypointsthatyoufly,andtheWaypointEditorcanhelpyouflytheactualroutethatyou
wishorneedtofly.

Also,therearesomeprocedurewaypointliststhatwillendupshowingonlytheendpoint,or
perhapsnothingatall.Forexample,oneoftheSIDsoutofKSFOonrunway01Lhasthree
proceduralelements,butnoneofthempresentawaypointtheFMScanloadordisplay.
TheresultisthattheonlywaypointloadedfortheSIDistherunwaythreshold.Thisgets
moreinterestinginthattheresnoSIDTRANSITIONtoconnectthisSIDwiththeROUTE.
So,whenthisoccurs,theusershouldconsulttheirchartsandeithermodifytheirROUTEor
theSIDtoaddappropriatewaypointstoaccomodatethesituation.

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5.2TIPSandADVICE:
1. BeforeyouloadaplanintotheXPlanenavigationdatabaseusingEXEC,alwaysclick
onINITfirst.Thiscompletelyclearsthedatabase,wipingtheslatecleansothatyou
wonthaveanyunexpectedresults.
2. IfyoumustedityourFLTPLANwaypointsenroute,itisbesttodosowhileyouareinthe
headingandaltitudemodeoftheautopilot.Updatesofwaypointsarenominallynota
problem,butwaypointdeletioncommandsanautomaticINITofthedatabase.Inthis
case,youwillneedtoadvanceyourwaypointselectionintheFLTPLANpagetothenext
destinationwaypointandselectDIRECTTO.Ifyoudontdothis,sincetheXPlane
autopilotwillconsiderthefirstwaypointofafreshlyloadedflightplantobeyour
destination.OnceyoureturntousingtheFMStoguideyourflight,theautopilotwilllikely
turntheaircraftaroundandstartheadingbackthewayyoucame,orotherunexpected
behavior.
3. Whenfirstgettingusedtoprocedures,itisofteneasiertokeepyourselectionssimple.
Forexample,asinthedemo,youareonlyrequiredtoflyaSTARtransitionplusaSTAR
attheendoftheflight,leavingthechoiceofapproachtoyou,aslongasyougetATC
clearance!
4. Usedownloadedflightrouteswithcaution.Thesewilloftengofromairporttoairport.
YoucantusethesewithSIDsandSTARsbecausethenyouwouldbeduplicatingthe
airportwaypoint.Whiletheseroutescanbeloadedandthentheterminationwaypoints
edited,anddeletedifneedbe,thatsagooddealofwork.Fortunately,ifyoudomake
thesesortsofedits,youcanresavethenewversionoftheplanusingtheSAVEpageof
theMCDU.
5. WheneverthisFMSloadswaypointsfromfiles,asanitycheckisperformedtovalidate
theplacement.Asitsloaded,eachwaypointhastobefoundinthevariousXPlane
navigationdatafiles.If,forsomereason,itfindsthewrongone,orcannotfindanything,
thenthewaypointrequestedbytheproceduresfile,ortheflightplan.fmsfile,is
convertedtoaGPSwaypoint,retainingtheoriginalnavigationID.Inotherwords,a
listingofVORPHXmightbecomeGPSPHX.

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5.3WHYISASID/STARNOTAVAILABLE?
Thisisgoingtobeafrequentquestion,perhaps!

Youvedoneyourflightplanningtothebestofyourability,youhaveeverythinglaidout,youknow
whereyouregoingandhowyouregoingtoprogramyourflightdataintotheMCDU.Andsuddenly,
youdiscover...wheresmySID(orSTAR)?Well,itmaynotbeinthedatabaseatall.

TheoriginalGNS430datathatwasreleasedwithXPlaneversion10.30inSeptemberof2014wasa
greatstart.However,itisnotthemostcurrentanduptodatedata.Therearemanyomissionsinthe
data,dependingonthelocale,andtheonlywaytobecertainthatyouhavethemostrecentversionis
toeithermakeaonetimepurchaseofnewdata,oryoucansubscribetoaservicethatprovides
periodicupdates.ThisiscommonlyreferredtoasanAIRACrelease,andthereleasethatyouare
usingisdetailedinthelog.txtwheneveryouruntheE175inXPlane.Thedownloadeddatagoesinto
your/XPlane/CustomDatafolder,andthisfolderisnotupdatedbyLaminarResearch.Itisthe
usersresponsibility.

Visiteither
http://www.aerosoft.com
or
http://www.navigraph.com
formoredetails.

5.4TUTORIALVIDEOS
TherewillbeasetoftutorialvideosexplaininghowtousetheFMSonthe
XCraftsYoutubeChannel
.
(ThesewillbemadeavailableashorttimeafterthereleaseoftheE175inearlyDecember,2015)

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