This is the first section of my FMC tutorial for the 767.  I would like some opinions so that I know weather I should continue with it or just trash the whole idea.  Thanks in advance.  Please E-Mail me with your opinions and I will send the Word format document if you desire.   smithdavidp@yahoo.com

Captain Sim B-767 FMC tutorial
Part 1
The beginners guide


This is my first attempt at writing an instructional manual.  I shall endeavor to make it fun reading while trying to give the instruction needed to complete a task.  I hope I succeed in breaking up the sheer boredom you will experience from reading this tutorial.  Finally I would like to point out that when I desire for the reader to take an action I have put the instruction in Bold face type.  Now….on with the show……

Many of us are new to a fully functional FMC with our FS airplanes.  In the past we just relied on the old GPS button.  With the CS767 there is no GPS button so we wind up learning how to program a new device….the FMC.

The FMC is actually a system that relies on three separate systems, The CDU, the IRIS, and the EFIS.  We will tackle each of these, one at a time, to better understand the importance that each plays to successfully program our FMC.  We want it to take us where we want to go and even, possibly, put us on short final at our destination and perform an auto land when we feel lazy.  The FMC on the CS767 is capable of doing all of this and more.

IRIS

The IRIS, for our purposes, is the switch that turns on the computers and our displays.  The IRIS can be located on the overhead panel in the upper left corner and looks kind of like a telephone pad with extra switches.  I doubt E.T. can use it to phone home but I do believe we can use it to get all of our informational computers to share the same information.  There is one problem with the IRIS though…..it never knows where it is at.  It is looking for its current position so that it can tell the other computers where we are at.  There are two devices that will accomplish this task.  The keyboard on the IRIS itself and the CDU.  Since this is a beginner instructional we will take the easy route and tell the IRIS its position by using the CDU.  I, personally, do this just as soon as my cockpit screen comes up.  Kind of sounds like I’m doing a commercial “I use Doctor Jerkem for all my dental care and you should too” (no I’m not toothless yet).

Get your 2D panel up and get ready to get busy.  Press the CDU key (second button on the left under the A) which will bring up the CDU screen.  There are lots of buttons and we will cover them under the CDU section.  Our focus here is to get the IRIS aligned.  The video screen of the CDU has a bunch of information that we won’t worry about now except for the bottom right which displays “POS INIT” which is position Initialize.   Push the button next to this displayed item and the screen will change to the POS INIT menu.  Not to distract you from our main goal but notice the upper right corner of the CDU screen and you will see  “1 / 4”  This means that you are on page 1 of 4 pages.  We won’t bother with the other pages here but I wanted you to notice it for future reference.  Our main concern here is the row of empty boxes.  We need to put something in the boxes so that the IRIS will know where it is at.  The second line above these boxes is the GPS position of where your aircraft is located.  Press the third button from the bottom right, next to the GPS position, one time and you will notice that your GPS position is now shown in the lower left corner of the CDU screen.  This section of the screen is known as the scratch pad.  What ever is shown in the lower left corner is waiting to be entered as data to the CDU.  Now we want to push the second button from bottom right, adjacent the empty boxes, and viola…..the GPS position of the aircraft now occupies the empty boxes.

We can now close the CDU screen and turn our attention to the overhead panel.  Let’s go to the overhead and focus our attention on the IRIS panel.  We want to turn the switches, located below the keypad, to the align position.   I realize that Part II, page 10 of the manual states that “rotating the IRIS mode selector from OFF to NAV begins the IRIS alignment”.  The manual is wrong!!! And besides….I love being right.  After turning the switches to align the lights will begin to illuminate.  We can go ahead and turn on the other systems on the overhead panel, except the yaw dampers, while the IRIS is busy aligning the left, center, and right computers.  About the time you have the other systems turned on the Align lights should go off.  If they start flashing then we missed a step during the input of the CDU position.  In this case….back to square one young man.  After confirming that all three lights are off we turn the three switches from align to NAV.  Then we finally turn on the left and right yaw dampers.  We can now close the overhead panel and get ready to visit the EFIS panel.

The sequence will be the same for the IRIS alignment regardless of rather you start in a cold dark cockpit or if someone was nice and has warmed your airplane up for you.

Thanks for starting this.  If it is for beginners then you must have screenshots to help us find our way.  You can't assume anything if we have never seen a 767 or similar aircraft  This ain't your grandmothers Cessna.

Keep up the good work.


RayM

wheres the rest?