Calclassic Propliner Planning Tool, Engineer/Navigator and Pilot Notepads

QUICK REFERENCE

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Text file by Tom Gibson

This file is available for viewing during flight from the Kneeboard (press F10). There is a link to this file in the Reference File (handling notes).

YOU MUST HAVE READ THE NOTEPAD.HTM FILE COMPLETELY BEFORE USING THIS QUICK REFERENCE FILE!!

You may use these Notepads with no preparation whatever - they are designed to still be quite useful in that case. Due to the lack of distance and destination approach altitude information (normally entered into the planner) the Dest ETA, 0 Rte Fuel @, and TOD numbers will be blank. But all the ice!, low fuel, divert?, and headwind/tailwind warnings will still work fine, and all the V speeds and weights will be properly calculated.

If you want those 3 values described above to appear, as a minimum you need to enter only a very few numbers into the planner, using a simple flight plan.

To plan a flight:

1. Use the FS2004 or other flight planner to create a flight plan for your flight. This need be only as detailed as you desire. The MINIMUM:

a. Enter the departure and arrival airports

b. IFR, Direct-GPS

c. Press Find Route

d. Click the NavLog button.

e. Write down the distance listed at the top, the heading you need to fly, and the altitude of the destination airport.

f. Or print the Nav Log.

Feel free to make your flight plan as complicated as you wish - VOR to VOR, etc.

2. Click the FUEL value on the FE/NAV Notepad (if necessary) to go to the CalClassic Planner.

3. Enter the distance of your flight into the Enter Distance line.

4. If you have an approach plate for the destination airport (use the CalClassic approach plate download page to find one - http://www.calclassic.com/propliner_tutorial_charts.htm), enter the MSA altitude (for the direction of your approach) into the Enter Dest IAP line. If you are flying a specific approach with a different IAF altitude value, use that instead.

5. If you do not have an approach plate and have no other information, add about 2000 ft to the arrival airport altitude and enter this into the Enter Dest IAP line. Note that you will have to be in visual contact with the ground at all times during your descent and approach, to provide terrain clearance!

6. The maximum planned altitude will be displayed. Note that this may need to be increased for terrain; see the Notepad Readme.txt file for a full description of how to do that. Note that this is not the altitude you must fly, only the maximum value from the flight plan. Terrain may increase it, power settings may reduce it (terrain allowing).

7. If you cannot fly the route without ADI (and the plane is equipped with ADI), click the NO ADI words to plan the flight using an ADI (wet) takeoff instead.

8. If green, you may click the Total Fuel numbers to load that amount of fuel. Or, go to the Aircraft/Fuel and Payload menu in FS2004 and set your fuel load to at least the amount of fuel listed on the Total Fuel line. You will have a reasonable amount of fuel reserves for almost all contingencies. Increase only if required for known detours, known severe headwinds, polar flights, etc. Refer to specific fuel planning documents if included with each aircraft (in the HTML panel manual, for example).

9. In the same menu, adjust the payload to a value around 2/3 that of the Max Payload line. This will simulate a typical passenger load. Add/subtract 170 lbs to the Pax lines and 30 lbs to the Cargo and Bags lines for each passenger. Split each of these evenly between fore and aft compartments. Adjust to different values to simulate full/empty aircraft if desired.

10. Note that all values in the planner should be black or green and there should be no warnings displayed at the bottom. Click the top of the Planner to go to the FE/NAV Notepad. Note the blue numbers in the Dest ETA, 0 Rte. Fuel @, and TOD lines. Do they make sense? Is the FUEL value green, not red? Is the MTOW value black, not red? These things indicate that you have entered proper values into the planner and into FS.

11. Fly the route according to your flight plan, using the Propliner Tutorial and the handling notes provided with the plane. Keep in mind that it is expected that you will be at least "competent" in the execution of your flight plan; if you make mistakes monitor your fuel load and the Dest ETA value vs the 0 Rte Fuel @ values - they may indicate that you will need to divert early.

12. Use the Oper Ceil altitude to decide when to level out after your initial climb. Level out at the proper semicircular altitude *below* the Oper Ceil flight level.

13. Refer to the Notepad Readme.txt file for the meaning and resolution of any warnings you might receive from the FE/NAV Notepad during your flight. These can be explicit warnings at the bottom, or orange or red numbers in the Notepad itself.

14. When the Current GMT time reaches the time listed on the TOD line, begin your descent. You should target your descent rate to about -700 fpm.

15. When you land, the values will be reset and you will be ready to enter another plan.

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THE CALCLASSIC NOTEPADS - OVERVIEW

The notepads provide quick reference values and extend realism. They provide various planning functions followed by real (slow) time calculation of aircraft status in flight and from that realistic result they generate early warning of current and anticipated problems for the aircraft captain to solve. The warnings and remedies are based on the criteria set out in the 2008 Propliner Tutorial. Qualified aircrew may wish to substitute more complex remedies.

CALCLASSIC (FUEL + PAYLOAD + CRUISING LEVEL) PLANNER - OVERVIEW

The planner will calculate the fuel required for a given route, then the maximum payload that can be carried, and then the maximum cruising altitude that should be attempted in nil wind. It uses complex algorithms to ensure that we have realistic route fuel, more than adequate reserves, yet never exceed either maximum take off weight or maximum landing weight at destination. Nor will it allow us to exceed the maximum legal payload. We must transfer the values it proposes to MSFS via the fuel and payload menu before flight. Some elements of the other notepads are disabled if the planner was not used.

PILOT NOTEPAD - OVERVIEW

The pilot notepad is a partial replication of the aircraft's handling notes. It does not replace them. It promulgates the power settings which must be used to control fuel burn in response to warnings generated by the FE/NAV notepad.

FE/NAV NOTEPAD - OVERVIEW

This notepad acts as one or more virtual crew members. At the simplest level it interacts with MSFS calculating changes in weight dependent V speeds for us, but the full use of this notepad is complex. It delivers various warnings, but especially warnings of insufficient progress down route, poor altitude selection and/or inappropriate power management. These concepts are in tension. Our navigator may warn us that we are making insufficient progress whilst at the same time our FE may warn us that our fuel state is becoming critical. The correct solution may not be obvious. The remedies are explained at length in the 2008 Propliner Tutorial and in brief within the Pilot Notepad.

FE/NAV WARNINGS! - OVERVIEW

The FE/NAV notepad does not generate false warnings, but it may deliver very early warnings. Some warnings may require immediate action, but most like current weight > maximum landing weight are real, but will usually self resolve. We have been warned correctly that a problem exists. As captain we must decide what to do about it. Often the correct solution to a warning is only to monitor the trend.

The notepads do not cheat. They will warn of significant ice accumulation but will not tell us how much has accumulated. They mimic real life. They will only update warnings after long intervals of calculation by our virtual aircrew who cannot possibly detect small changes of state or trend. We will get updates when a change of state or trend becomes large enough to be detectable in real life. Initial climb is an unsteady state; nothing that occurs predicts what will happen in the cruise and later. In general the FE/NAV notepad will produce no useful predictive warnings until we have been in initial cruise for at least 20 minutes. The longer we have been cruising the more reliable predictive warnings from our virtual FE and NAV become.

The notepads are not 'virtual training captains' or 'virtual flight examiners'. Other than warning if we exceed Vno/Mno they take no interest in transient events. Your virtual FE and virtual NAV are evaluating the accumulation of problems, the slow trend of those problems, and recent progress, not transient mismanagement of the airplane. Fuel warnings and perceived headwind warnings are explained in detail later.

Conventions:

Black: Normal values

Blue: Unreliable values

Green: Click on these numbers

Orange: Warning of problem with complex solution

Red: Warning of problem which requires immediate solution

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