8. Continue the appropriate START checklist from this point until it is complete.
9. Remove all ground equipment, both using the MENU options as well as any third party ground
equipment you have deployed.
10. Make your PUSHBACK selection and follow the ground crew’s instructions.
11. After the pushback tug has parked and you have ground control clearance, proceed to the
runway and have fun… but don’t forget the rest of the checklists. These will follow you all
through the flight. They are there to keep you out of trouble, to ensure the aircraft operates as
you would expect, and most importantly to keep your virtual self and your virtual crew and your
virtual passengers… alive.
6.1.1 POWER ON
When the batteries are on, there are only 2 displays on, including the backup attitude indicator.
Displays (going from left to right) 2&3 are powered. Display 2 is a status page, display 3 is an EICAS
page. The MCDU on the captain’s side is powered as well. The rest of the displays will turn on after
an AC power is provided from the APU, GPU or engines.
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6.2 APU START
In the interests of ease of use, both start procedure types are complete with all notations. These
steps result in complete power on settings - they are not 1:1 with the simulation checklists that include
even more detail.
1. Fuel DC pump and AC pumps 1 & 2: AUTO
2. HYD SYS 1, 2, PUMPS: AUTO
3. Battery 1 and 2: ON
4. TRU 1 & 2: AUTO
5. TRU ESS: AUTO
Steps 4 & 5 are essential if you want the autopilot to follow your flight plan, or to work at all.
6. APU GEN: ON
7. AC POWER: ON
8. TRU 1 & 2: AUTO
9. TRU ESS: AUTO
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10. APU: (ON) START
Click and hold the APU knob - it should rotate clockwise to the START indication. You won’t be able to
watch the RPM build up on the EICAS, but if you wait at least 3 to 5 seconds you’ll be okay. By this
point, if you listen carefully you should hear the APU spooling up.
11. Wait until APU reaches 100% on EICAS APU indicator
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12. Now complete FMS preparations.
At this point you have set the aircraft up sufficiently to complete your tasks in the FMS MCDU.
This part is not necessary if all you’re going to do is take off and sight-see. On the other hand, if
you’re going to try to emulate a passenger carrying flight, you’ll probably have completed your
load planning and have some numbers to enter.
This is summarized in the FMS manual as well, but here are a few pointers for the order in which
to do certain things to take greatest advantage of the latest FMS features.
a) Navigate to PERF 1 and enter the fuel quantities from both tanks.
b) Enter the aircraft cargo weight and the MAC percentage.
c) Navigate to PERF 2 and enter your cruise airspeed, initial cruise altitude and final cruise
altitude. The FMS will alert you to enter your departure airport at this point.
d) Navigate to DEPARTURE - make your entry selections.
e) Navigate to ARRIVAL - select at least the runway and the first procedural element of the
STAR. You can enter the complete arrival, transition and approach if you are not
anticipating any changes assigned by ATC.
f) Either load your route file (company flight plan) or manually enter waypoints and airways.
This part is optional as the entry of a departure and an arrival is all that’s really necessary
for short, regional hops.
g) Verify your SID, ROUTE and ENTRY waypoint lists are correct, with the correct speeds
and altitudes. Edit as needed.
h) Navigate to the MCDU index and press the INIT button, and then the EXEC button. Your
flight plan is now loaded, and you can then navigate to the PROGRESS 1 page, and then
to FLT PLAN to verify the loaded flight plan.
i) Navigate to the AUTOPILOT page to make any configuration settings you would like to
make here. This gives you a digital means of entering data that you would otherwise
adjust using the knobs on the FGCP.
j) Navigate back to PROGRESS. This completes the FMS / MCDU tasks, and leaves the
MCDU screen prepared to monitor the flight waypoint sequence.
13. Bleed Air: APU
14. Engine 1 & 2 Ignition: AUTO
15. Flip open the cover over engine No. 2 (Right)
16. Click-hold the “Start” knob for engine No. 2 for 5 to 10 seconds. Leave in RUN.
17. Uncover switch and start engine No. 1 (Left)
18. Click-hold the “Start” knob for engine No. 1 for 5 to 10 seconds. Leave in RUN.
19. APU: STOP
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20. Bleed air to BOTH
21. Air conditioning packs to ON
Steps 20 and 21 are essential if you do not wish to black out due to lack of pressurization. X-Plane
simulates this by slowly dimming your monitor screen(s) to black after you’ve gotten too high to get
enough oxygen when you breathe - usually over 14,000 feet MSL or so. By the time you pass FL180,
half of the atmosphere of our planet is below you.
6.3 GPU START
This start procedure is slightly different from the checklists in the cockpit and details how to start the
aircraft without using the APU.
1. Fuel DC pump and AC pumps 1 & 2: AUTO
2. HYD SYS 1, 2, PUMPS: AUTO
3. Battery 1 and 2: ON
4. AC POWER: AUTO
5. TRU 1 & 2: AUTO
6. TRU ESS: AUTO
Steps 4 & 5 are essential if you want the autopilot to follow your flight plan, or to work at all.
7. Press the GPU button to allow power from the external GPU to become available for engine start.
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8. Now complete FMS preparations.
At this point you have set the aircraft up sufficiently to complete your tasks in the FMS MCDU.
This part is not necessary if all you’re going to do is take off and sight-see. On the other hand, if
you’re going to try to emulate a passenger carrying flight, you’ll probably have completed your
load planning and have some numbers to enter.
This is summarized in the FMS manual as well, but here are a few pointers for the order in which
to do certain things to take greatest advantage of the latest FMS features.
a) Navigate to PERF 1 and enter the fuel quantities from both tanks.
b) Enter the aircraft cargo weight and the MAC percentage.
c) Navigate to PERF 2 and enter your cruise airspeed, initial cruise altitude and final cruise
altitude. The FMS will alert you to enter your departure airport at this point.
d) Navigate to DEPARTURE - make your entry selections.
e) Navigate to ARRIVAL - select at least the runway and the first procedural element of the
STAR. You can enter the complete arrival, transition and approach if you are not
anticipating any changes assigned by ATC.
f) Either load your route file (company flight plan) or manually enter waypoints and airways.
This part is optional as the entry of a departure and an arrival is all that’s really necessary
for short, regional hops.
g) Verify your SID, ROUTE and ENTRY waypoint lists are correct, with the correct speeds
and altitudes. Edit as needed.
h) Navigate to the MCDU index and press the INIT button, and then the EXEC button. Your
flight plan is now loaded, and you can then navigate to the PROGRESS 1 page, and then
to FLT PLAN to verify the loaded flight plan.
i) Navigate to the AUTOPILOT page to make any configuration settings you would like to
make here. This gives you a digital means of entering data that you would otherwise
adjust using the knobs on the FGCP.
j) Navigate back to PROGRESS. This completes the FMS / MCDU tasks, and leaves the
MCDU screen prepared to monitor the flight waypoint sequence.
9. Engine 1 & 2 Ignition: AUTO
10. Flip open the cover over engine No. 2 (Right)
11. Click-hold the “Start” knob for engine No. 2 for 5 to 10 seconds. Leave in RUN.
12. Uncover switch and start engine No. 1 (Left)
13. Click-hold the “Start” knob for engine No. 1 for 5 to 10 seconds. Leave in RUN.
14. Bleed air to BOTH
15. Air conditioning packs to ON
16. GPU: AVAIL / DISCONNECT
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As mentioned under the APU start, steps 14 and 15 are essential if you do not wish to black out due to
lack of pressurization. X-Plane simulates this by slowly dimming your monitor screen(s) to black after
you’ve gotten too high to get enough oxygen when you breathe - usually over 14,000 feet MSL or so.
By the time you pass FL180, half of the atmosphere of our planet is below you.
7.0 V-SPEEDS
The V-Speed tables for both the E175 and E195 are incorporated into the FMS PERFORMANCE pages
1 and 3 for ease of use during flight, and the values presented update automatically based on entries
made on either of these two FMS pages.
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