Approaches, Profile, & other

[cavok84]

I apologize if these have been brought to your attention already. 

ILS/ VNAV approach/ profile issues: 

Cannot edit VAPP speed on approach page while conducting VNAV approach (should be able to type and drop it on FMC computed value)

Vertical Deviation on Prog page mismatched (1,000ft-2000ft) with Approach page deviation, while conducting VNAV approach

Frequently, 'Vertical Deviation' will display on ND (map mode) while ILS is selected and no VNAV (RNAV/LOC/VOR) loaded in FMS, appears to mimic glideslope when it does this. This is different from G/S in arc mode which should be on the ND. 

50ft below MDA, autopilot disconnects as it should on an RNAV/VNAV approach. However, the FMAs should take a snapshot of SPD, heading hold, and vertical speed. The sim incorrectly remains in PSPD PDES all the way down, and autothrottles fail to retard at 30ft when this happens. 

Misc

I can't seem to get flight path angle to display on the PFD while using Flight Path vector, same with the 'blue heading line' that should be displayed. 

Deselecting altitude hold should activate the vertical speed window. 

"Norm Cancel Switch" should silence Autopilot 

 

Issues that might just be transient and need a reload

Aircraft Brakes: Unable to operate right brakes without left brake pedal first having been depressed. The left brake pedal works correctly, but the right brakes fail to operate independently, only working while the left pedal is also being pressed. 

I verified that this occurs in all anti-skid modes and using the yellow hydraulic system as well. I placed the brake anti-skid selector switch to ALTN ON and ALTN OFF, and brake pressure indicators confirmed what I observed with the system in NORM ON

This feels like it could certainly be a 'me' problem, but so far, the 310 is the only plane I've seen this on. 

Fuel: Unable to crossfeed fuel to APU. Unable to feed APU out of CTR tank. Unless I close the fuel isolation valve to the left outer (just to test it), it always grabs left outer fuel. This holds true to attempts with the Left Inner tank, right inner tank, and Center. ECAM displays the appropriate tank feeding, but in actuality it grabs from Left Outer only. 

With the aircraft on ground and in-flight, Manual Fuel Feed conditions don't always display quite correctly on the ECAM (Oftentimes, the jet is still behaving as if it is in auto-fuel feed (auto managed pump status and tank selection). Sar far, this hasn't happened during every flight, oddly enough. 

*This issue appears to have resolved itself. Haven't confirmed I can feed the APU from other tanks, but the fuel synoptic appears to be very well done and working (now that I restarted a few times). 

 

 

[cavok84]

NAV

The white course line displayed on the ND does not depict great circle route in the plane, it's essentially a rhumb line. If you have a fairly distant TO fix, the aircraft symbol will drift laterally until it appears you a far off course. The lateral deviation (1.5L) is the value that actually tells you if you're on course. This has significant implications when given a crossing restriction (e.g., cross 100nm east of LAX at FL250, distance TO LAX is 1000nm, you've been flying for an hour and the white line is miles south of you). In this case, the correct answer is to initiate a new Direct TO to KLAX prior to inputting the place/distance fix, or else you will take a hard left turn to go get the fix that has been painted along your unreliable white line. The new direct re-centers the line, then you must quickly input the P/D fix. Crews have been violated because of this bizarre quirk. 

[Cammac]

Hi, 

Thank you for taking the time to write this post. Sorry that it took a while to get back to you on this one. 

I've just got a few follow up questions on some of the issues raised. I will list them in order below:

- Maybe this is down to the FMS fit or software version but from the documents we have this field is not adjustable

-This again maybe might be down to an FMS fit or software version or indeed an issue, but from the information we have the VDEV on the PROG page is based on total distance flown without correction for the FINALX. X mode whereas the VDEV on the approach page is taking this into account giving the accurate figure for the final descent segment. 

-For the auto throttle software version we based the 310 around auto retard only worked with an ILS approach as it's coupled with FLARE mode. I will link the references below. But I understand they adjusted this logic on later fits which matches what you reported is expected. 

From the later software fit:

I can fully see why the newer software versions would have made this change, ha. 

-At this time we have not included the FPA cage display, but we can look to add this. We left the display working on the EFIS panels as I know some crew use it as a reminder of the takeoff trim setting. 

-For the aircraft breaks I did actually see another report of this but if you are on the latest Beta it should be 100% fixed if not please reply here to let me know and we can track it. 

-For the NAV track we should have modelled this but maybe it's not working as expected. I tried to take some images with an extremely long leg but it's possible the effect is not great enough or not working consistently. 

At the start of long leg. 

600 miles later in NAV no DIR TO. 

 

All the other items will be added to our tracker thanks again for the report. 

 

 

[cavok84]

On 11/29/2022 at 3:22 AM, Cammac said:

Thank you for taking the time to write this post. Sorry that it took a while to get back to you on this one. 

I've just got a few follow up questions on some of the issues raised. I will list them in order below

No problem. Happy to help!

I've been quite busy as well, and I apologize if I'm wasting time by comparing your model to newer software, but my intention was to enumerate issues that I thought would apply to older systems as well. It's interesting to see what might have changed. 

For clarity's sake, in addition to my airline's flight manuals and experience with the jet, I also have access to Honeywell's FMS manual Rev 1 pub. Dec '93. Are your reference manuals older than this? I'll make sure to consult both before posting anything. 

On 11/29/2022 at 3:22 AM, Cammac said:

Maybe this is down to the FMS fit or software version but from the documents we have this field is not adjustable

One thing that comes to mind is the Honeywell manual (1993) is pre-GPS, and after comparing the manual to our current system manuals, it does look like this (VAPP) has changed. I could be mistaken but it doesn't appear that the FMC software of this vintage allowed the aircraft to fly VNAV approaches past the final approach fix. Hence, the VAPP window (only controlling speed with profile engaged) would not be used after GS intercept or vertical speed selected.

This seems relevant to a few things I mentioned in my original post. 

Did the above citation come from a pre-GPS manual? At least some of your references must be post-GPS, given your model flies RNAV approaches with VNAV guidance, and the model's FMS has GPS functionality. 

On 11/26/2022 at 7:49 AM, cavok84 said:

Vertical Deviation on Prog page mismatched (1,000ft-2000ft) with Approach page deviation, while conducting VNAV approach

On 11/29/2022 at 3:22 AM, Cammac said:

-This again maybe might be down to an FMS fit or software version or indeed an issue, but from the information we have the VDEV on the PROG page is based on total distance flown without correction for the FINALX. X mode whereas the VDEV on the approach page is taking this into account giving the accurate figure for the final descent segment. 

 

It may very well be a software change. My initial thought was that this was a result of combining information between manual revisions (e.g., FMS software allowing VNAV and older ones), but if your information explicitly says they are separate in "final approach mode" then I can't argue. 

I'll just add that once 'final approach' is activated (with the current software), the approach page, PROG page, and ND scale VDEV all show deviation from the final approach segment. If for some reason you want manual references for my claims let me know, but it must be that these things changed over the years. Interesting!

On 11/29/2022 at 3:22 AM, Cammac said:

For the auto throttle software version we based the 310 around auto retard only worked with an ILS approach as it's coupled with FLARE mode. I will link the references below. But I understand they adjusted this logic on later fits which matches what you reported is expected.

Interestingly, this relates to my next item "50ft below MDA, autopilot disconnects as it should on an RNAV/VNAV approach. However, the FMAs should take a snapshot of SPD, heading hold, and vertical speed. The sim incorrectly remains in PSPD PDES all the way down, and autothrottles fail to retard at 30ft when this happens." 

When conducting a VNAV approach, P.SPD reverts to SPD 50ft below MDA, which allows the ATS to retard at 30ft. Oddly enough, my manual doesn't include the "newer' software information you provided! It makes me wonder if once VNAV approaches became available, there was still a time in which only ILS approaches allowed auto-retardation, or we are simply seeing an issue between the description of software generations. It would be interesting to find out. 

On 11/29/2022 at 3:22 AM, Cammac said:

For the NAV track we should have modelled this but maybe it's not working as expected. I tried to take some images with an extremely long leg but it's possible the effect is not great enough or not working consistently. 

Thanks for providing the pictures! I'm impressed y'all modeled such an annoying feature of the airplane! I'll try again in-game and see if I can replicate itn

Again, thanks for all of your hard work, and I apologize for sending you on a wild goose chase by referencing newer manuals.