The COMPUTER DISPLAY UNIT A guided tour of the COMPUTER DISPLAY UNIT (CDU) i y Mike Ray \] f Capatn tke Ray right index finger as tapped his share of CDU teyboards and entered bout becllon keys votes during hs ettene asa ol timer Boeng ane plo. le brings tht wealth of timast worthies lnowledge 1 she Wi the Onl ‘roupof people tn the word whole tested ad whose passion nie st fy ee compar to ery Er weird and strange place in the virtual world. — ~ Oo ne important piece of the Boeing flight display and control suite that without a doubt eauses a lotta problems for new pilots and simmers is the @DU, Frequently, encounter simmers so confused and timmoxed by this complex and arcane airplane doo-dad that they wou rather fly without using the “glass” tall, OF Worse, 5 PLECE OF simply give up and not fly{ {eit sim programs at all, It seems so futile to spend theieNalable sim time trying to understanglamd opefate the bizarre CDU. To most begitinenss tiefhing actually looks like a meaningless and unnecessary “add-on,” sortie Bug 9 Norden Bombsight into a DC-3 sim. BUT... listen up .. you simply cannot operate a modern jet (and this applies to both the Boeings as well as the Airbus". and any other of the late model jets) without some understanding of the essential relationship the CDU has to the very guts of the operating system of the airplane AND here is another point... TS EASY! So, that being said, let's see if we can get this rascal to work. — «xo eoce NEOB8O e000 ecooo HoPARTS of the CDU ‘These are the twelve little buttons running down both sides of the screen, INPUT KEYPAD This is like the “keyboard” of any computer, and when we type in information, it goes directly onto the ‘SCRATCH PAD. They are numbered from the top down: for example if 1 said, “Line select four right,” Iwould mean push top on the right side. this is the key that, when illuminated, ‘sends the information that is input to the CDU to the FMC or -RATCH PAD c Flight Manangcment Computer This is the “empty” area below the word “index.” Probably the MOST IMPORTANT Entries can be made using key on the CDU, It is considered GOOD the FORM to have BOTH pilots agree with INPUT KE) the information on the screen BEFORE the EXEC BUTTON is pushed, or can come from the FMC. DEL key places the word DELETE c ‘when Line Selected will delete that selected line on the screen, IF the information is delete-able. CLR key simply removes the last letter of the scratch pad entry (whole entry will be deleted if held down long enough) SP key enters a space in the scratchpad when using the CDU for ACARS or SATCOM HOW DOES THE PILOT GET THE COMPUTER TO WORK? 1. LOAD THE FMC FLIGHT CONTROL SURFACES (flight management computer) 7 "AND THRUST MANAGEMENT. using the CDU e (computer display unit). = then; COMPUTER 2. INPUT TO THE FMC tae MANAGEMENT (flight management computer) (CDU) Nera using the MCP (mode control panel). VA PRIMARY NAVIGATION Rape CONTROL FLIGHT DISPLAY ‘total @ MIKERAY 2006 waro.com ‘PANEL (MCF) DISPLAY (ND) (PFD)HOW TO LOAD THE FMC When I get my sim airplane up and running, and I am sitting on the take-off end of the runway, the very first thing I want to do is LOAD THE CDU. Even though Pilots may operate their jets on several different levels of automation: from totally hand-flying to fully automated, most of the instrumentation cannot funetion without having an operating flight management computer. And where the challenge and outright FUN resides is in integrating the flight paradigm with the operation of the automated systems, Making the jet consistently do exactly what you want it to do with precision, In order to have the FMC operating, it must first be LOADED. To load the FMC requires pilot input from both the CDU and the MCP. Once that is complete, - drop the flaps (about three taps on the F7 key), - press the TAKE-OFF switch (TOGA, CTRL-SHFT-G or FA), - release the brakes (period key *, and start having FUNI STEP ONE ENTER PRESENT POSITION POS REF page 1: INIT REF key 2. at the bottom right comer of the instrument to go to the next page. ‘A mara © MIKERAY 2005 wartom.com ‘TP: Ifyou are unsure what the runway is; “SHIFTS” and go outside fo take a look, “SHIFT-BACKSPACE" to look down on the beautiful airplane, “SHIFT-ENTER" fo swing around and see the runway. The number ofthe runway is PAINTED in big letters near the nose ofthe jet ADDITIONAL TIP: Ifthe runway has only one digit, but a "0" in font oft to make ita two-digit identior. For example: Runway 4 is ontorod as 04 ADDITIONAL TIP #2: {there is an L or Ron the runway, that MUST be included in the runway designator: for example: Runway 4L is designated 041, 1 1 Enter RWY of RTE 2 page. Tumoral 8 MIKEAAY 2005 waraomomSTEP TWO ENTER DEPARTURE, DESTINATION, and ROUTE* Welcome to the RTE page 4. Type in the 4 digit identifier for your departure airport (KSEA is the default MSFS airport), Hore is a potential problem: The departure airport you select MUST be the airport where the “airplane” is. You must have already “selected” the AIRPORT/RUNWAY from the MSFS “FLIGHT PLANNER" or accept the default KSEA. To go back and do that, push the ALT key on your keyboard now, select “FLIGHTS”. 2. There is a line of BOXES under ORIGIN. Press LINE SELECT (key 1L) to place your selected departure airport 3. Type in the 4 digit identifier for your DESTINATION airport, and 4. similarly, place it in the BOXED space under DEST (key 1R) I have placed CYVR in my example. You may, however, select any DO NOT PUSH place on earth; as long as you have the fuel on board to get there. ACTIVATE KEY YETI! 1, Push the "NEXT PAGE" key. Get this page: ‘Now, listen up! This is a lecture about the ROUTE, In order for this computer stuf to figure out how to climb and descend on schedule (VNAV) and how to draw that magenta line with which it steers the airplane (LNAV), and do all that magic prediction of fuel and arrival ti A “complete route" is defined (for the purposes of this discussion) as: * noeoG 1. at least one waypoint (a fix along the route), and nono 2. a destination (fix that is at the destination, usually the three digit IATA designator works) There are two columns on this page. The left column is for the "AIRWAYS" and the right hand column is for the "FIXES" (called waypoints in Boeing FMC-speak). Here is an example of a routing’ Say, we wanted to go from Seattle to Vancouver, BC: Here is the way that could look: PAE.V23.YVR.CYVR. 008 wm. z THESE TWO STEPS ARE A BIG DEAL! g After the route is in the CDU; : 2 ACTIVATE Fe He ca toae op i NOTE: Sadly, some sims are not accurately depicting this detail but don't getPERFORMANCE DATA This is the PERF INIT page, opened by selecting it in the lower right comer of the CDU. Plug in the values that we pre-figured when we collected our flight data, Here are the five things to input: FUEL ‘There is one more page to complete, the ZFW TAKEOFF REF page. There are a coupla ways RESERVES to find it, but tre easiest isto select the THRUST LIMIT» page in the lower right comer CRUISE ALTITUDE | THRUST ‘COST INDEX Then select the TAKEOFF? in the lower right comer of that page, Here are some notes: ‘hat pags ZFW plus FUEL equals GR WT (Gross Weight). Remember that you cannot be ‘above the maximum gross weight alowed for tako-off or landing. Look in tho fight manual of your sim for the limitation on TAKE OFF and LANDING weights Here is whore you fell the FMC your desired cruise altitude, STEP FOUR TAKEOFF DATA First .. put in the FLAPS setting. That will cause the V speeds to automatically display ...but with "small" fonts. Then the next step is to select each of the three V SPEEDS and observe the fonts becoming LARGE AND BOLD. Note: some sims require you to send the value o the scratchpad and re-elect to the appropriate ne. Then, take the V2 speed, add 10 knots to that and place it on the MCP airspeed selector window. Here is where a lot of the Sim guys screw up. You gotta set up the Mode Control Panel (MCP) Itis REALLY simple. 4. FID (flight director) "Qhotebunch pore tise a 2. AIT (auto-throttle) ‘Captain Mike Ray's new book: 3. IAS (indicated airspeed) .. ‘at V2 + 10 knots “Fling the Bocing 700 Series 4. NAV ‘ARM (switch may be illuminated) EisheSimuiaers* 5. HDG SEL (heading select) ......usually runway heading wots om 6. ALTITUDE ‘set “cleared to” altitude (I set 10,000) SELcET Paps ape ante 60 FLY! push TOGA (select Takeoff power), CTRL-SHFT a RELEASE BRAKES ... push the period "." key Hi. AVE FUN! a