Top Avionics 747-400 Panel & Aircraft

version 1.5 - © 1998-2000 by Tony D'AMBROSIO

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INSTRUCTIONS

TOP AVIONICS 747-400 Panel provides many innovations for Flight Simulator 98 and Flight Simulator 2000.
The most important are the CRTs (Cathode Ray Tube) that are displayed using Vectorial Design technology (VD).

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Click on an instrument to see instructions for it.

                                    Then, click on your navigator's Back button to see again the image.

RealCRT.ND v3.2

This is a Navigation Display. It provides Arc mode and Rose mode, VOR1, VOR2, ADF, ILS, DME1, Navaid IDs, wind direction and speed.
Every item is displayed if available (you must be tuned to a valid navaid frequency to display the needle and the ID).
To switch between Arc and Rose modes you can press the panel 9 activation keys ([Shift] [9] by default), or click the rotating commutator above.
This new version provides also MAP/PLAN modes, and displays the route of a flight plan (see Navigation Data v1.1 help for details about flight plans, and the FMC section below).
To activate these modes, you must install the shared module "Navigation Data"  version 1.1 (or higher).

RealCRT.PFD v3.1

This is a Primary Flight Display. It provides an ADI, turn coordinator, actual speed, speed limits according to the aircraft configuration, autopilot speed bug and value, V1, V2 and Vr bugs, actual altitude, autopilot altitude bug and value, ground altitude (radioaltimeter), decision height, vertical speed, support for metric and english units, heading rose with autopilot heading bug, autopilot modes active and armed, Flight Director with 2 modes.

The ADI part is a classic ADI including a turn coordinator (the small rectangle).
Flight Director bars are displayed over, when active (see Flight Director explanation bellow).

The speed limits (low and high) vary with the aircraft configuration (flaps extension).
You can adjust speed limits and decision height.
You can also make different settings for different aircraft.

How to set the values :
- Load the gauge at least one time
- Then quit FS98
- Go to your Gauges folder where you will find a file named RealCRT.PFD.cfg
- Simply edit this ASCII file with the NotePad to modify the values

How to configure the PFD for other aircraft :
- Duplicate RealCRT.PFD.gau with a different name (for example : RealCRT.PFD.MD80.gau)
- Run this new gauge at least one time
- Then quit FS98
- Go to your Gauges folder where you will find a file that has the same name, but with ".cfg" extension (for example : RealCRT.PFD.MD80.cfg)
- Modify the values for the new PFD as explain above

V1, Vr, V2 are calculated according to the aircraft configuration.

The altitude is displayed using the currently selected units (meters or feet).
The Autopilot altitude is displayed over the tape, followed by the active unit.
This is the only part of the panel where you can verify the unit in use (m or ft), which is a very important thing, especially for a big jet. In approach, imagine the consequence of being at 100 ft above ground instead of 100 m...
The ground altitude is indicated by a mark on the altitude tape. The altitude above ground (from the radioaltimeter) is displayed over the tape, when it becomes lower than 2500ft / 760m. The decision height is fixed and set regarding ground altitude.
These indications are not displayed if the aircraft goes up or is on ground.
The atmospheric pressure setting is displayed at the bottom of the altitude scale.
This value cannot be set directly on the CRT : use the analogue altimeter button.

The vertical speed indication also depends on the units in use (1 = 1000 ft/min or 1000 m/min).

The heading rose indicates the plane heading degrees magnetic.

Autopilot (A/P) modes are displayed in green if active or in white if armed. A mode is displayed armed only if another mode is active at this time.
For example : if you can select HDG and NAV at the same time, the NAV will be armed.
If the NAV becomes active, HDG is automatically disengaged.
But if you select only NAV and it is currently not locked by the A/P, it will be displayed as active, instead of armed (due to a Flight Simulator limitation).

The Flight Director can be turned off or run in 2 modes : ALT/HDG or NAV.
To select the mode, you can press the panel 8 activation keys ([Shift] [8] by default), or click the rotating commutator above.
The principle of the Flight Director is to indicate, in 2 dimensions (horizontal and vertical), the directions you must follow. Whatever the mode, you must try to maintain the 2 bars centered in the middle of the screen.

ALT/HDG mode :
- The vertical bar indicates if you are following the heading set in the A/P. The bar is centered if the plane goes straight in the direction of the A/P heading or if it turns to reach this direction with a standard bank angle of 20 deg. (This value is fixed for this version. May be adjustable in the future...).
- The horizontal bar indicates if you are at the altitude set in the A/P. The bar is centered if the plane is flying at the A/P altitude, or goes up or down to reach this altitude with a vertical speed equal to the one set in the A/P.

NAV mode:
- The vertical bar indicates if you are following the course or the localizer of VOR1. This bar is not displayed if NAV1 is not tuned to a valid frequency. If VOR1 is a localizer, the vertical bar indicates the deviation of the needle (just like a HSI). Otherwise, this bar indicates if you are following the course set for NAV1. As for heading mode, the bar is centered if the plane follow the course or turn to reach this course with the standard bank angle.
- The horizontal bar indication depends if you are tuned to a Glide Slope or not. If a GS is available, the bar indicates the deviation from the slope, like a HSI. If a GS is not available, the horizontal bar works as in ALT mode (see above).

The Flight Director mode is displayed on the CRT if the A/P is not engaged.

RealCRT.EICAS v3.1

This version is revolutionary, because it supports 2, 3 and 4 engines.
It detects the number of engines, then automatically fits its display.
This version can also display the Autobrake mode (compatible only with the Autobrake gauge described hereinafter). The mode is displayed white when selected, and red when active.

This is mostly an Engine rating display. It shows all data regarding engines, fuel, and some others like flap position, gear position, parking brake, warnings, external temperature, oil temp and pressure, etc...

The display includes 3 screens :
- Engines rating / Flaps / Gear / Park brake / Warnings / Total Fuel / External temp
- Fuel circuitry and tanks
- Miscellaneous engines data

To switch over screens, you can press the panel 7 activation keys ([Shift] [7] by default), or click the rotating commutator above.

A detailed explanation about all data will not be made here. The thing to notice is that some data are displayed with different units according to the display units mode setting in Flight Simulator (english or metric).

On the fuel screen, active circuitry and tanks are displayed in yellow. Otherwise there are in gray. If an active tank level is less than 5%, the tank is displayed in red.

To select tanks and fuel feed circuitry, use the FUEL SELECTOR on the upper panel.

If an erroneous selection is made, some engines may stop. For example : if you select only a left tank, and the crossfeed left to right is not active, right engines stop because there are not fed.

Notice : if you unselect all tanks, engines stop only if the options are valid in Flight Simulator. From the Aircraft menu, select Aircraft settings, Fuel, then activate Manual tank selection. From the Aircraft menu, select Realism, then activate Engines stop if out of fuel.

If an engine stops, its number is displayed in red on the CRT. Otherwise, engine numbers are green.

Other gauges

Many other "classic" gauges are new in this panel.
Here are some common characteristics :
- To set a value click buttons, not the value itself (on some gauges, you can also click values).
- Gauges are backlighted.

The MCP (Mode Control Panel)

Located on the top of the main panel, the MCP contains all the commands of the Autopilot (A/P), including the Auto-Throttle (A/T), and the Navigation Display (ND) Mode Selectors (all the left part).

The main and new characteristics of this MCP are the two-colored A/P mode LED's :
- yellow if the mode is active
- orange if the mode is armed
The limitation is the same as for the PFD : LED's indicate an armed mode only if another mode is active (see PFD for details).
The DISENGAGE button turns off all A/P modes.
Altitude and vertical speed are in the currently selected unit (metric or english).
The A/P speed value is displayed in kt or mach, regarding the current selected mode of the A/T. To display/set the kt or mach, click the little black button (IAS or Mach must be different from zero).

Concerning the ND mode selectors, please refer to "Navigation Data" Help.

FUEL SELECTORS

Selects what tanks will be used to feed engines.
Due to a Flight Simulator limitation, you can select only all tanks or one. For example, you cannot select Right main and Left main, and no other.
If you select one lateral tank and crossfeed in the right direction is not active, some engines may stop.
If you select OFF, engines stop only if Flight Simulator fuel options are active. (see EICAS for details)

STARTER SWITCHES

Four classic switches select the mode of the starter for each engine : OFF / GEN / START.
The START button activates a global fuel flow.
The STOP button shuts down all engines, by interrupting the global fuel flow.
To start engines, set the parking brake, switch starters to START position, and then press the START button.
To stop engines, simply press STOP button.

FMC (Flight Management Computer)

For users of previous versions of Top Avionics panels:
There was also a gauge called "FMC" in previous panels. However, it had quite only the functions of a Radio Stack. And indeed, it has been replaced by a gauge called  "TA7x7.Radio", described below. Now the panels include a gauge that is running almost as a real FMC.

The use of the FMC is closely related to the "Navigation Data" module and the RealCRT.ND gauge. Please refer also to "Navigation Data" help file.
The FMC includes a text mode display and a set of keys.
12 keys arranged vertically 6 by 6, on each side of the display, are dynamically affected to a function depending on the text displayed beside.
Some other keys affected to a specific function, are placed below the display. Each function is described hereinafter.
The FMC allows to load a flight plan generated by "Navigation Data" module, to get all details about the flight plan, and to display various information about the current aircraft position and time, regarding global coordinates (GPS) and flight plan waypoints.
When a flight plan is loaded, it will be automatically displayed on the RealCRT.ND gauge.

[MENU]
This key displays a screen where each line corresponds to a menu choice. Then, you can select a function by clicking on the key beside.
The current choices available are :
- LOAD A FLIGHT PLAN : displays a list of available flight plans. Click on the key beside, to open a flight plan. Use [NEXT_ PAGE] and [PREV_PAGE] buttons to view all the available flight plans.
- AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE : shows the aircraft performance associated with the current loaded flight plan (cruise speed and altitude, climb/descent rate and speed).
- POSITION : displays the current GPS position and speed of the aircraft.

[RTE]
The RTE button displays the ROUTE page of the FMC.
The ROUTE  page shows departure and arrival airports, runway numbers, runway headings, runway lengths and ATIS frequencies.

[LEGS]
The LEGS pages shows all the waypoints sequence of the flight plan.
Each waypoint is represented by an ID, the heading to reach this waypoint from the previous one, the distance in NM from previous waypoint, and the speed and altitude attempted when passing this waypoint.
Each page contains a maximum of 6 waypoints. If the flight plan loaded has more waypoints, the legs are distributed on as many pages as needed.
To view the rest of the waypoints, use the [NEXT PAGE] and [PREV PAGE] buttons (see below).
The total number of pages, and the current page are displayed in the upper right corner (example : 2 / 6 = page number 2 of 6)
When displaying LEGS pages, if you click on one of the side buttons, the display will show details about the corresponding waypoint (ID, full name, frequency for navaids and GPS location)

[PROG]
The Progress page shows the aircraft progression through the flight plan. The progression is characterized by 4 waypoints :
- the one that has just been passed (LAST)
- the one where to go now (TO)
- the one to reach after (NEXT)
- and finally, the arrival airport (DEST)
For the first one, the time it was passed is displayed (for example, 2230z means 22h30).
For the 3 lasts, each waypoint is displayed with the distance in NM from the current position, and the estimated time when the waypoint will be reached (ETA).
the progression is automatically refreshed when a waypoint is passed. In the case a waypoint is missed (the aircraft passed over 2 NM from the waypoint), and you want to proceed the flight plan with the next waypoint, you can use the 2 keys on the right side, identified by [^] and [v].
This allows to select manually the TO and NEXT waypoints.
As for the LEGS page, when clicking on the button beside waypoint's ID on the PROG page, the details about the waypoint can be viewed.
On the waypoint details page, click on BACK button to return to the previous mode (LEGS or PROG).

[PREV PAGE]
Shows the previous page, when the data cannot be displayed on only one page (see pages description above).
The total number of pages, and the current page are displayed in the upper right corner (example : 2 / 6 = page number 2 of 6)

[NEXT PAGE]
Shows the next page, when the data cannot be displayed on only one page (see pages description above).
The total number of pages, and the current page are displayed in the upper right corner (example : 2 / 6 = page number 2 of 6)

Some other screens...

Radio stack

The radio stack manages navaids and COM frequencies, Morse ident activation for each navaid receiver, transponder, current time, and the time rate setting.
A feature added to Flight Simulator is that each frequency has a standby value. You can set the frequency of the next navaid, and activate it just in time with a mouse click.
To set a value, use the buttons beside it. 
To swap a frequency with its standby value, click the swap button <>, located between values display.
The radio stack also incorporates a push button to show/hide the FMC.
This operation can be done also by using keyboard (key combination corresponding to the panel number of the FMC : [Shift] + [1]...[9])

Warning !
The frequency standby values are not saved by Flight Simulator. So, when the panel is reset (FS restarted, screen resolution changed, etc...), the standby values are set to their default (108.00 for NAVs, 118.00 for COM, etc.)

CHRONOMETER

This chronometer has 2 buttons : START/STOP (ST) and RESET (RST)
The ST button starts the chrono, from its actual position or stop it, keeping the actual value.
The RST button resets the chrono to 0 sec / 0 min / 0 hour.
The RST can be pressed even if the chrono is running. The chrono is then reset, and continue to run.
The chronometer also shows the TOTAL flight time. 
This part of the chronometer automatically starts and stops at the beginning and the end of the flight.

Autobrake and Hydraulic Brake Pressure gauges

These 2 gauges are independent : they can run independently of one another.
However, using them together is interesting because you will see directly the effect of the first one onto the second one.

The Hydraulic Brake Pressure gauge indicates the intensity of the brake force, in case of a manual braking, parking brake, or autobrake action.

The Autobrake gauge is a rotating selector associated with an automatism used to stop the aircraft in various conditions.

The RTO mode (Reject TakeOff)
This mode can be selected only when the aircraft is on ground.
When selected, the Autobrake is activated if the aircraft is running over 80 kt, and the throttles are set to idle.
In this case, the actions of the Autobrake are :
- Automatic spoilers extension
- Automatic reverse activation (if over 80 kt)
- Automatic maximum braking (under 100 kt)
- Automatic spoilers retracted (under 10 kt)
- Automatic braking off (under 10 kt)

The OFF mode
The Autobrake is not active

The DISARM mode
The Autobrake is set automatically to this mode when the conditions of activation are over :
- from RTO mode, when the aircraft lift off or slow down under 10 kt
- from 1/2/3/4/MAXAUTO modes, when the aircraft slow down under 30 kt, or throttles are set to max after a touch down (touch and go procedure)

The 1/2/3/4/MAXAUTO modes
These modes are used to brake automatically when landing.
The difference between these modes is only the intensity of the braking.
Otherwise, the Autobrake runs in the same way :
- Automatic spoilers extension, when touching down
- Automatic braking under approx. 100 kt
- Automatic reverses stopped under approx. 80 kt
- Automatic spoilers and braking off under 30 kt, or if throttles set to max (touch and go)

Notice :
the reverses are not automatically activated (you are free to activate them after touching down) because not authorized in all airports. However, if activated, they will be automatically stopped under approx. 80 kt.

You can see the intensity of the braking on the Hydraulic Brake Pressure gauge.

The Autobrake has been calibrated so that the 747-400 model provided stops with the lower position (1), on a recommended runway, including a safety margin.

See another screen shot

Click on an instrument to see instructions for it.

                                    Then, click on your navigator's Back button to see again the image.