NZFF

Now that I have actually installed VLC I thought I'd repeat my NZCH - NZAA flight. To tell the very short version of a very long story I have discovered what I think is a bug in the NGX (namely that things turn rapidly to custard when you start using route offsets, support ticket has been submitted for an answer on whether it's pilot error ). Working this out resulted in my having to fly the same trip a number of times so if you think you've spotted continuity errors in these shots you're probably right

As before these are clickable thumbnails which will take you to a larger copy, at the top of that you can choose Original to see them at 100%.

PMDG NGX with repaint by lewis griffiths, VLC, REX2, Adamski's NZAA fix.


1 - Ready for the off



2 - Climbing out of NZCH, heading for the West Coast



3



4



5



6 - Lake Coleridge



7



8 - Lake Brunner



9



10 - turning North over Hokitika



11



12 - over Greymouth I think, heading back for the East coast



13



14 - It occurred to me that with the number of student pilots with the ink still wet on their licences building their hours around here it might be wise to avoid the direct VOR-VOR routes, so I set up a 10 mile offset. Boy was that a mistake ...



15 - the first problem with offsets rears it's ugly head, although I didn't spot it at the time. The distance to the next waypoint on the ND has stopped decrementing. The FMC correctly tells me that TR is 70nm away and the map is still updating but the ND hasn't budged from 87.4nm which is what the reading was when it flicked over to this waypoint.



16



17



18



20 - Mt Egmont disappearing over my left shoulder.



21 - View of Ruapehu matches the ND which says we are pointed at Taupo ? Check ...



22 - Problem with offset routes number 2. The ND swore we were pointed straight at Taupo NDB. Unfortunately Taupo was out of the left window not the front window. Then Tauranga was out of the left window ... then nothing except ocean was out of the left window ... Panel was frozen, I was unable to disengage the autopilot either by clicking things or pressing actual keys or wiggling the joystick. The ND was still swearing we were pointing at AP (is there an AP in Argentina maybe ?) and I was swearing a bit too. Note the part number printed up the back edge of the window, and the safety standard printed on the bottom ...



23 - Approaching Taupo again the next day. I've added some fix rings to the ND so I can make sure that hasn't locked up, but it didn't as I wasn't dense enough to use an offset this time.



24



25 - This was far too easy



26 - So I made it harder.



27 - and Voila! - it was harder !



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29



30 - Dropping down over the Waikato. Looks like this might not be completely blind after all




31 - I wanted it harder, I got it harder




32 I'll shut up for a while and just put up this bunch of screens, which show the HUD on the approach. Note how the runway edge markers pop up at 300' then disappear again at 50'.



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40



41 Then at the last second the runway disappeared again !! Luckily I still had the edges on the HUD.



42



43 Touchdown. I remembered to hit ctrl-printscreen this time instead of ctrl-break



44 Runway vacated



45 And we're there



oh and one last one - problem with offset routes number 3. Do I really need to explain what's wrong here ?

Nice one Gary , I can see the safety with the HU , you could just about park it in your back pocket with em , a like the google versa VLC

Last screen , i thought the passengers in the other side wanted a view

Fantastic Gary, looking fwd to this machine, gonna treat myself and buy it after I upgrade my rig
Re the last pic, were you clearing some water out of your left ear?

Great screens, but about that last screen, whats really strange is the attitude indicator is showing only about 5 degrees bank.

Also most of the information on the PROG page has disappeared (see the FO's CDU on shot 16). Oh, and the VSI shows I'm level, and the ASI shows I'm at a nice cruising speed, and the ND shows me making a beeline towards Taupo ... I don't think so !

Gary - for what its worth offsets create problems in the real world too - so much so that they're not allowed within the NZ Oceanic and Domestic FIR's!! Tsk tsk In NZ airspace aircraft are restricted to using SLOP (Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure) which restricts aircraft to 1-2nm either side of their flight planned route. Any more than that requires a deviation.

I have seen some of the FMC behaviour you describe on the Oceanic control platform too - such as aircraft waypoints not being progressed, radar targets flying backwards or hovering, incorrect waypoint reporting etc.

Of course that doesn't negate the other obvious issues you've had with controlling the aircraft. Jeepers!!

mfraser wrote:

QUOTE (mfraser @ Sep 5 2011,11:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course that doesn't negate the other obvious issues you've had with controlling the aircraft. Jeepers!!

And here I am thinking only airbuses had these sorts of problems.

connor wrote:

QUOTE (connor @ Sep 5 2011,11:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And here I am thinking only airbuses had these sorts of problems.

LOL.. I was waiting for Ian to come out with that

........wait for it..........

cowpatz wrote:

QUOTE (cowpatz @ Sep 5 2011,5:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

........wait for it..........

Arr look at the wonderful 737 doing exactly what Tex Johnson many many years ago ...... had that been a .. an ..but a ARBUST ... would be in so many pieces and like many world wide all would have perished !

mfraser wrote:

QUOTE (mfraser @ Sep 5 2011,11:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gary - for what its worth offsets create problems in the real world too - so much so that they're not allowed within the NZ Oceanic and Domestic FIR's!! Tsk tsk In NZ airspace aircraft are restricted to using SLOP (Strategic Lateral Offset Procedure) which restricts aircraft to 1-2nm either side of their flight planned route. Any more than that requires a deviation.

...

Of course that doesn't negate the other obvious issues you've had with controlling the aircraft. Jeepers!!

Oh sweet, maybe it's correctly modelled after all then

My other problem (entering an offset under specific conditions immediately caused an uncorrectable VNAV DISCONNECT) has been passed to the programmers to be corrected - if I'm ever stupid enough to play with offsets again I'll see if it's been fixed in a hotfix

I have to stress that other than the offset things I've had absolutely zero problems with the plane - it does exactly what it's supposed to at all times. There have been a few occasions when it's taken me quite a lot of pdf searching to work out what it was complaining about or why stuff did or didn't happen, but in every case the plane has done exactly what it was was supposed to, even if that's not exactly what I wanted or intended it to do

It is a lovely lovely lovely add-on. Get it.

Gary

Ryan tried recreating my flight and had the same result. Woohoo, score 2 bugs found in the NGX for me Oh and there's a new hotfix coming, no sign of it in the forum yet