How to Fly the Mc Donnell Douglas: 


I will preface this short tutorial with a bit about my background. I currently 
fly the MD-88 for Delta Airlines as a Captain out of Atlanta. I flew this aircraft 
as a first officer also and have a bit over 2,500 hours total time in type alone. I have total flight time approaching 12,000 hours and about 2,000 hours of this flying tactical military aircraft for the U.S. Navy. This includes the TA-4J, A-7E, F-18A/B/C and the F-16N and F-5F. I also have a good bit of experience flying general aviation aircraft. I earned my degree in aeronautical science and picked up all my light aircraft ratings during this time. 

My aim for this is to get folks to fly as we do in the real world. Flying the aircraft as it was meant to fly in day to day operations will be rewarding and challenging at the same time. It takes a bit of skill to hit the numbers in this sim. What follows is a short tutorial on how the real aircraft is flown during a simulated flight from start through taxi, take off, climb, cruise, descent, approach, and landing. 

Before I get started I recommend finding and installing a decent MD-80 series panel. There are several based on Paul Golding's release, which work very well and enhance realism while flying these aircraft. A good sound set should also be used. I use one of the panels by Mr. Leon Seale who updated one of Paul's works for the digital version of the main panel. At Delta we use only the MD-88 and this is the only type of panel we have. 

Part 1 

Start/Taxi/Take Off 

Starting is very conventional. We usually start and taxi on one engine to save fuel. Use the APU for start of the second engine. Make sure to start number two to allow two minutes warm up time prior to takeoff. We sometimes leave the APU operating after second engine start to provide electrical backup during low visibility and poor weather conditions. 

During taxi use judicious thrust inputs and shoot for about 15kts-taxi speed. Be aware that on the MD-88 and 90 the main gear is far behind the cockpit so allow a bit of room for the mains to make corners. You do this by waiting a bit or overshooting the turns by a small amount allowing the mains to remain on the paved surface. 

Takeoff is accomplished in a normal manner. Smoothly apply thrust to target EPR rating and note stabilized engine output. In the real world we take off with much less than full power so guard against full throttle take offs. Use about 85% and note a normal acceleration. Somewhere around 135-140 KIAS gently raise the nose and shoot for about 20 degrees nose up attitude after the aircraft has left the ground and the gear is coming up. Hold 20 degrees nose high until 1,000 feet then lower the nose to about 10 degrees high and reduce to climb power. Climb power is not much different than initial take off settings but it is less. At this point allow the aircraft to accelerate to 250 KIAS and clean up as appropriate. 

Clean up depends a lot on aircraft weight but for the sim we can make some generalizations that are pretty realistic and will result in normal profiles. Here is a general guideline for the initial climb. 

1000' AFE (above field elevation) flaps to up, slats remain out. As speed increases retract the slats at about 220 KIAS. Allow the jet to accelerate. Once you reach 250 KIAS in a clean configuration shoot for about 10 degrees nose up and set the power to maintain about 3000 FPM rate of climb. 

Part 2 Climb/Cruise/Descent 

As we pass 10,000 MSL lower the nose and accelerate to about 330 KIAS. Set power for about 2-3000 FPM climb and use this all the way to cruise altitude. At about 27,000 feet we transition to Mach and use about .76 for climb and cruise. At level off reduce the power to maintain a Mach of about .76 or whatever you would like up to about .81. The aircraft will go right up to about .81 or .82 before you get into Mach tuck or get into control and autopilot issues. 


Cruise power is whatever it takes to maintain this speed and should result in about 2700-3000 pounds of fuel flow per hour. For general flight planning use about 10,000 lbs per hour. 

Descent is a snap, just reduce the power to something approaching idle and lower the nose to maintain speed. As you get below 27,000 feet go back to using indicated airspeed vice Mach and descend at about 330 KIAS. At about 12,000 feet reduce your speed gradually to pass 10,000 at 250 KIAS and go no faster than this below 10,000 at all times or you will get a violation from the FAA. 

Descents can be planned with room to maneuver for approach using what we call the "3-1 rule". We want to be at about 30 miles from touchdown at 10,000 feet and no faster than 250 KIAS. Using the 3-1 rule we figure out how much altitude we need to lose and how far away from this point we need to start descent in order to get there. It's a simple rule really, take the amount of altitude you need to lose and multiply it by 3. The product (minus the zeros) is how far away from your descent point you need to begin descent so as to get there and do it comfortably for the folks in the back. 

Here is a sample. Say we are cruising along at 29,000 feet and are about 100 miles from our destination. We want to hit that imaginary point at about 30 miles I talked about above so we do our math. 29,000 feet down to 10,000 is 19,000 feet to lose. We multiply the 19 by 3 and come up with 57. We then back up from our imaginary point at 30 miles so we add that to 57 and come up with 87. So at about 87 miles from our destination we reduce power to idle and start down as above. It works for any altitude combo or restriction and it's simple to use to boot! 

Part 3 Approach/ Landing 

The approach phase begins once we are slowing below 250 KIAS and 10,000 feet. As we descend we can use the slats below 280 KIAS and these will help if you need to slow down and get down a bit faster. Stay as clean as possible for as long as possible as this saves fuel. As we descend towards the runway we usually use some form of procedure to get there, even if the weather is good. Usually the ILS is used with either a pattern or vectoring towards the final course by ATC. Once below 10,000 feet we want to aim to be slowed to about 210 KIAS on downwind or long final approach (outside 10 miles) As we get closer slow to 180 KIAS and go to flaps 11. On final we want to be configured with flaps at about 15-23 with the landing gear down at the Outer marker. This is usually about 5 miles from the runway approach end. As we slow to final approach speed we shoot for full landing configuration at about 1,000 AFE (above field elevation) and a stabilized power setting no later than 500 AFE. 

Landing configuration is normally flaps 40 degrees and a speed of about 135-145 KIAS depending on weight. Heavier weights need the faster speeds. Flaps 28 can be used in gusty conditions and light weights and will result in slightly faster landing speeds and higher nose attitudes. Flaps 28 landings generally use between 140-150 KIAS on final approach. The flare is started at about 15-20 feet and attitude is held as power is slowly reduced to idle as the main wheels touch. We don't use reverse until the nose wheel is on the ground to prevent scraping of the lower buckets at touchdown attitudes. Once on the ground taxi to the gate and shutdown the right engine ASAP to save fuel. 

That's it in a nutshell! Hope it helps your virtual flying become a bit more real. 

Jim "Hornit" Campisi 



General speeds 

250 KIAS below 10,000 MSL 
210 KIAS maneuvering in pattern Slats extended 
180 KIAS Flaps 11 Final approach 
160 KIAS Flaps 15 
140-0 KIAS Flaps 28-40 

Mach .76-81 Cruise (above FL 270) 
330 KIAS climb/descent above 10,000
