Advanced Stuff

This chapter describes some of the advanced features of vasFMC, parts of this chapter are based on Airbus procedures and features.

Important: Make sure you successfully accomplished the first flight chapter before fiddling around with the advanced features.

Prerequisites

This chapter relies on the following prerequisites:

You are using the vasFMC A-Style.
You have a hardware throttle lever (as part of a joystick or a separate one).
The following settings on MCDU MENU SETTINGS page are active:

SOUNDS is set to ON.
A/THR MODE is set to VASFMC.
AIRBUS A/THR is set to YES.
Set the other options according to your needs.

I also recomend to use vasFMC in combination with the Project Airbus models as these were used during the development.

Airbus A/THR Mode

If the Airbus autothrottle mode is active, your throttle will behave differently to what you are used to.

First, the range of your throttle lever is divided by several detents:

IDLE
When your throttle lever is fully back (< 2%), it is in the IDLE detent.
CL (climb)
This detent is reached as soon as your throttle lever is advanced to 81% or beyond.
Note: This detent is used most of the time when airborne.
FLX/MCT (flex / max. continous)
This detent is reached as soon as your throttle lever is advanced to 92% or beyond.
TOGA
This detent is reached as soon as your throttle lever is advanced to 99% or beyond.

Note: The percentages mentioned above may be configured in the autothrottle.cfg file located in the vasFMC configuration directory. Make sure the flightsim and vasFMC are not running while changing the values!

Second, your throttle lever is not directly connected to your engines anymore. In the Airbus mode the throttle lever commands a N1 value, thus every position of your lever is equal to a calulated N1 value.

At the IDLE detent the lever commands idle thrust (the lowest thrust possible).
At the CL detent the lever commands climb thrust which depends on the FMS/FADEC calculations.
At the FLX/MCT detent the lever commands FLEX or MCT (max. continous thrust) thrust, which depends on the FMS/FADEC calculations.
At the TOGA detent the lever commands max. possible thrust.
In between the IDLE and the CL detent the lever commands an adequate N1 value between idle and climb thrust when airborne.
When on ground the CL detent is ignored, the lever commands an adequate N1 value between idle and FLEX/DRT thrust between the IDLE and the FLX/MCT detent.

Third, the following facts hold:

The N1 value commanded by the thrust levers is shown on the upper ECAM display by cyan bugs (blue dot) at the N1 display.
When moving the throttle lever into a detent (except for the IDLE detent) you will hear a click sound for each detent passed followed by a callout announcing the current thrust setting.
When advancing the throttle lever to or beyond the FLX/MCT detent, the A/THR will automatically engage if you are on the ground.
To disengage the A/THR either move your throttle lever into the IDLE detent or press the A/THR button on the FCU (when in the air).
You will hear a single chime sound and the text is shown "A/THR OFF" on the upper ECAM for 10 seconds if the A/THR was disengaged.

Fourth, the following PFD thrust announcements (located on the top left of the PFD) exist:

"Empty"
No A/THR mode is active.
SPEED
The speed (IAS) hold mode is active.
MACH
The mach hold mode is active.
MAN TOGA
The A/THR is set to max. thrust.
MAN FLX
The A/THR is set to FLEX thrust.
MAN DRTxx
The A/THR is set to DRT (derated) thrust.
THR MCT
The A/THR is set to max. continous thrust.
THR CLB
The A/THR is set to climb thrust.
THR IDLE
The A/THR commands IDLE thrust.
THR LVR
When the A/THR is engaged and the throttle lever is located below the CL detent, the A/THR sets the thrust adequate to the throttle lever (thus the thrust will be below the climb thrust setting).
LVR CLB (flashes on the 3rd row of the thrust announcements).
When airborne and above the thrust reduction altitude (as set on the MCDU PERF TAKEOFF page) with the throttle lever not in the CL detent, the A/THR (if engaged) reminds the pilot to move the throttle lever to the CL detent. If the throttle lever is not moved to the CL detent after 10 seconds, a repetitive CHIME sound will be triggered.

Fifth, how to use the Airbus A/THR:

On the ground while taxiing, the throttle lever shall not be moved beyond 40% N1. This should be enough for taxi.
At takeoff, advance the throttle lever to about 45% and watch the N1 display on the upper ECAM.
If the engines are responsive and stable, advance the throttle lever to either the FLX/MCT or the TOGA detent.
Check if the following audible thrust callout is correct according to your thrust setting, if not move the throttle lever to the correct position.
When airborne and passing the thrust reduction altitude (as set on the MCDU PERF TAKEOFF page) move the throttle lever back to the CL detent.
From now on, the throttle lever remains in the CL detent until the A/THR is disengaged for landing.
When switching to manual thrust during the approach, move the throttle lever back until the cyan bugs (blue dot) at the upper ECAM N1 display reach the current N1 value. This is done to avoid a rapid thrust change on A/THR disengage.
When reaching the correct throttle lever position disengage the A/THR.
From now on you have manual control over the thrust.
Move the throttle lever to IDLE when approximately 20ft above the ground. You will hear a RETARD callout if not doing so.

If you have trouble with the throttles (e.g. using separate throttle levers and the N1 is stuck at 40%, etc.) try the following FSUIPC tweak:

Added an extra facility for joystick calibration, in order to try to cope with some different add-on practices (notably, in this case, the Wilco A320). Normally, the 4-Throttles, 4-mixtures and 4-Prop pitch calibrations result in an output with either a range which includes the reverse zone, or, if the "no reverse zone" option is checked, a range from 0 (idle) to 16383 (max). These are sent to FS using the older "????n_SET" controls (THROTTLE1_SET, etc), since these are the ones providing the reverse zone below zero.

If you set the [JoystickCalibration] INI file parameter UseAxisControlsForNRZ to "Yes", then the NRZ (no reverse zone) option for all three axis types will use the AXIS_????n_SET controls (e.g. AXIS_THROTTLE1_SET) instead, with a range of -16363 (idle) to +16383
(Max).

Approach Phase Reset

If you activated the APPR (approach) phase via the MCDU PERF page too early or unintenional, you can reset the phase by entering a new cruise FL on the MCDU PROG page (LLSK1).

Takeoff Trim Settings

The following takeoff trim settings should be used for the stated aircraft models:

Aircraft Model	Takeoff Trim Setting
MSFS Project Airbus A318, A319, A320	-1.0
MSFS Project Airbus A380	+4.5 to +5.0
MSFS Project Opensky/Freesky A330	-0.5
MSFS Project Opensky/Freesky A340	+0.5

FSUIPC Control

If you are using vasFMC with the MS Flightsimulator and own a registered version FSUIPC you can control vasFMC via various FSUIPC offsets. For details refer to the fsuipc.offsets.txt readme file located in the docs/help directory of your vasFMC installation. The file can also be viewed via the help menu of the vasFMC standalone version console window.

Checklists

vasFMC comes with fully configurable spoken checklists which are located inside the checklists directory of the vasFMC installation. The loaded checklists depends on the loaded aircraft data profile which can be selected on the MCDU DATA A/C STATUS page.
Note: At the time being, vasFMC only comes with an Airbus checklist. This may change in the future depending on user input.

To view the checklist inside the FMC go the MCDU MENU CHECKLIST page, the bottom LSKs can be used to go forward and backward in the checklists. You may also use the hidden clickspot on the FCU (right below the SPD MACH button) to advance through the checklists.