OnCourse Software

Hi again.

I have been using PFE for quite a while.

I have just installed the PMDG 777, and it has messed up things big time!

I got used to some bad approaches with my tried and trusted Level-D 676, but I have yet to have a successful flight with PFE and the PMDG 777!

I get really stupid approaches and altitudes!

I am going to use this opportunity to address quite a few other issues!

1. PFE will not accept an FSCommander flight plan.

2. PFE will not accept a SimBrief flight plan.

3. PFE will accept an FSBuild 2 flight plan, in FS2004 format.

4. But when using the "compiled" FSBuild 2 flight plan, PFE (aka Proflight2000), I then get a stupid flight plan which cannot be used for VNAV in any aircraft! The "adventure" file is stupid!

5. It is about time that this was sorted out! I have not come across any other program that is so "self interested"! FSCommander accepts FSBuild files. ActiveSky accepts anything! So why does PFE only accept an fs2004 flight plan and then "adjusts" it into a format that "nothing" recognises?

6. Most flight planners adhere to the .PLN format, or .RTE format, which can be imported into most aircraft, in the exact way it was produced initially!

7. VNAV is used by most aircraft! That requires a proper flight plan! PFE does not produce a proper flight plan, fact!

Wake up!

PFE has the ability to be the absolute best ATC ever, but it needs to drop the PF2000 compiler!

That bit is stupid!

It does not follow the norms! It does not produce an adventure file that even remotely resembles the original flight plan!

C'mon! Get this sorted!

I beg you to drop the PF200 compiler! Just allow an imported flight plan!

Asking too much?

Maybe you should have a "talk" with ActiveSky? That accepts any flight plan, in any format!

Anyway, rant over!

The title of my post says it all! PFE and the PMDG 777 do not work together, at all!

Best regards.

Terry

I sometimes have problems compiling a FS9 flightplan into PFE (PF2000), but this is easily resolved by first loading the plan in FS9 and re-saving it.

I have used PFE for a number of years now and do not get "stupid approaches and altitudes". Perhaps you should give examples to help the support team here.

The altitudes assigned by PFE(PF2000) will not agree exactly with your VNAV predictions, why should it ? That is why you have the option to change all altitude parameters in PFE before starting your flight.

Peter

Please post here an example of your so-called messed up flightplan,so i can recreate it using PMDG 747X as i don't have 777,but it will use the same plan format.
You have ranted about the same or similar problems from a post back in May/June of last year,in which Dave March helped you...so why have you repeated,wasn't you happy back then..if not why didn't you say so?

Dave Leesley wrote:

Please post here an example of your so-called messed up flightplan,so i can recreate it using PMDG 747X as i don't have 777,but it will use the same plan format.
You have ranted about the same or similar problems from a post back in May/June of last year,in which Dave March helped you...so why have you repeated,wasn't you happy back then..if not why didn't you say so?

Hi.

I cannot post an example. I do not have permission to attach a file. I do not have any cloud accounts, so I cannot link to a file.

I can give an example of the final waypoints from my latest flight HECA-OKBK:

LAKSO @ 41000
ASPEL 17000 - DISTANCE 73.1
OKBK 205 - DISTANCE 50.6

That gives only 120.7 to descend from 41000 to 2500 (approach altitude), which is "doable", but PFE did not give me descent instructions until I was about 50 miles from the destination! I didn't make it and had to manually go into a holding pattern for a while! I was still at 7,000 when approaching the ILS intercept, and I had also been given an approach course which was way off the ILS anyway! Of course, PFE then gave up and stopped talking to me! I landed and taxied in manually to any free gate. Since installing the PMDG 777, I have not yet been given a "doable" approach, nor have I been given an ILS intercept course that is anywhere near the ILS!

Addendum: Whilst typing this, I noticed that the original FP is actually nearly the same! The only difference being ASPEL @ 16,000. My apologies!

Yes, I did "rant" about this a while back, and I do know that Dave did tell me to either adjust the waypoint altitudes, or to use "adjust FS FP for PF2000", so I know that there are "other" options. I am merely saying that it would be nice if we could just create a FP, and import it directly into PFE, without having to 1st compile an adventure file, then adjust the waypoint altitudes to nearly match the original FP, and still end up with an adventure flight plan that does not match the flight plan that will actually be imported into the FMC (some missing waypoints!)! Of course, we all know that PF2000 "drops" a lot of waypoints which are close together.

Anyway, getting back to the title of my post PFE and PMDG 777. I do not understand why PFE is now giving me an ILS intercept course which is way off! It always used to be pretty much spot on with the LevelD 767, but since installing the PMDG 777, I have not had a proper intercept. I also struggle to get to the approach altitude, but now that I have looked at it again, it may actually be the fault of FSBuild2! That adventure FP is actually nearly identical to the original! So maybe I have been too hasty in ranting about PFE altitudes. My apologies.

I really only wanted to see if anyone else was having the same problem as I am now having when using the PMDG 777, mainly the ILS intercept course. I now have to ignore PFE on approach and fly my own intercept, but then PFE stops talking to me!

I do have lots of other problems that have been "introduced" since installing the PMDG 777, and I am addressing those with the relevant companies.

Once again, I apologise for my rant. It was out of order. I am just frustrated with all the problems that I am having with the PMDG 777!

Rgds.

Terry

Hi Terry,
Please confirm the following before i try this plan.

1.Is the plan for PMDG in .rte format for CDU.

2.You are using FSX.

3.You are using FS Build.

4.FS plan is XML or .pln

5.Again i'll be using 747X for this not 777

I can have a look either later today or tomorrow as i'm on holiday this week.

Hi Dave.

Thanks for your obvious acceptance of my apology! Appreciated. I will be more co-operative from now on. I was tearing my hair out! LOL!

1. I load the CDU manually from the printed FP from PFE. I do not import a FP into the CDU (I will explain why later).

2. Yes, FSX Acceleration.

3. Yes, FS Build 2.

4. FS plan is in a sort of .pln format! (PFE format?).

So maybe I should go over those points again in more detail?

I think a quick explanation of my setup is in order. I run FSX on a client computer, WIN 7 64 bit, with a 4 monitor setup (2 X GTX 650 graphics cards), I7 running at 4.7 Mhz. That is then networked to a laptop, WIN 8.1, on which I run PFE, FSCommander, FS Build 2 (only to create flight plans), Active Sky 2012 and FSCaptain. I use simconnect and WideFs for them all to talk.

My "procedure", that I have to follow to get everything to work in the 1st place, is to open FSCaptain on the client and select a flight, using FSCommander on the laptop to "guide me" to select an appropriate destination that FSCaptain gives me a choice of. I then commit to that flight. Next, I use FS Build 2 to create a flight plan, which is saved in FSC and FS2004 format (.pln). FS Build will not create a .rte file. You may ask why, and I will tell you it is because it is running on the laptop and does not recognise that I have PMDG 777 installed? I then use the FS2004 .pln FP to create an adventure file for PFE, and I print out that flight plan, the compiled FP, and then manually input that into the PMDG 777 CDU.

I have had widely varying flight plans between the "original" FS Build 2 FP and the compiled FP from PFE, and some close ones also! It varies!

I concentrated very hard on this problem today! I created a FP in FS Build 2 and compiled it and printed it out. It did not "look" right though! So I created the same FP in FsCommander, and compiled that one. Hmm! That seemed to give me a more realistic "compiled" FP to what I would get from using the FS Build FP? I did have to adjust the cruise altitude though. PFE gave me FL410, which the 777 does not like!

The flight went very well though. For the 1st time since installing the PMDG 777, I actually got given an ILS intercept course from PFE that was not way off, albeit I did struggle to get down to the approach altitude!

The FP today was OKBK-OOMS though!

I will try the HECA-OKBK again, but using an initial FSCommander FP instead, and compile that one, and see what happens, but like you, I will be "out of the office'" for a few days.

From what I have seen today though, PFE does not interpret the FS Build FP very well, for the 777 anyway. It was always fine with the LevelD 767 though! I have flown for nearly a year now with no problems, using the Leveld 767, and having been given some guidance from Dave March, it all worked, hence the reason why I had not complained again!

My post is to do with some sort of "incompatibility" that has now been "introduced" into my system since I installed the PMDG 777.

It seems to be the way that PFE interprets the FP produced for the 777? As we all know, every FP program produces different FP's!

Dave, thanks for climbing on board on this problem. It appears that we are, between us, coming up with some workarounds, which may be helpful to other users in the future.

That is what this is all about, to share our experiences and to try and help out.

The 777 has been driving me nuts, so I am glad that you did not take my "rant" too seriously.

You may already have realised that I am obviously a staunch supporter of PFE, because I have been using it for over a year. I love PFE. It is by far the best, so immersive and with lots of useful features.

Anyway.

Thanks again for the support.

I will update you when I can.

Rgds.

Terry

Hi Terry,
I've read your post a few times and "Yes" it's a planning problem,however i don't think it's a problem with PFE.
Re-install FS Build to where your FSX is installed or onto your main rig for it to read PMDG 777 so you then import .rte plans into your cdu...FS Build and PMDG 777 are simply not talking to each other!
I've ran a flight HECA to OKBK using PMDG 747X and got a flawless flight,proper descent instructions down to 2000 feet,ILS approach to 33R...straight down the centreline
Back to your issue try my suggestion and see how you get on,

Hi Dave.

After many hours of "playing", and doing a lot of research on the internet, I eventually figured it out!

I pointed FS_HOME in FSBuild 2, to my client FSX install. I then found that I had to use the PMDG737NG path to export the FSBuild 2 flight plan to, and not the PMDG777. Now I get the flight plan available within the 777 CDU.

All working fine now, sort of, LOL!

I had gone back to PATC/X for a try out, just to compare! Same flight. Umm! Even worse! It directed me to the downwind leg, and then tower cleared me to land! Umm, I was not on approach, or locked on to the ILS or localiser and pointing in the wrong direction! LOL!

Yeah! PFE is the way to go. Love it.

Yes, there are problems at certain airports! Today, for example! HKEL-FZQA. PFE told me to descend to 2,500 at FZQA? Umm! FZQA is at 4,000ft!

Rgds.

Terry

Terry2905 wrote:

Hi Dave.



Yes, there are problems at certain airports! Today, for example! HKEL-FZQA. PFE told me to descend to 2,500 at FZQA? Umm! FZQA is at 4,000ft!

Rgds.

Terry

Use the SIDS/STARS page to tell PFE what the MDA is for the airport you are flying into. Once set it will remember this for future flights.