ETOPS AND OCEANIC PROCEDURESA practical guide froma "not-know-it-all" to fellow "not-know-it-all"s

PART 2: IN THE FLIGHT DECK

© 2013 Belisar Hoxholli

FOR FLIGHT SIMULATOR USE ONLY

Based on PFPX and the PMDG 777LR

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Page 2

AT THE DISPATCH OFFICE (for a short visit)

The purpose of this flight was to provide a good ground to actually show you what to do . Thus please take note of the following:We will be flying London Heathrow (EGLL) to Boston Logan International Airport (KBOS). We expect the runway in use at Heathrow to be 27L and the landing runway at KBOS 22L. Our zero fuel weight for today is 206.387 Kg.The route our dispatch office prepared for us is (well, you will do this yourself, just like I did, but I like to pretend I did not go through that at all and I just arrived at the dispatch office, fresh and shiny):

CPT3G CPT UL9 KENET UN14 PEMOB UN24 SLANY DCT MALOT NATA CYMON N144B EBONY DCT ENE OOSHN2

We read as:

We expect runway 27L today and the Compton 3 Gold departure to Compton. The standard route to the OCA entry point takes us via UL9 to KENET, UN14 to PEMOB, UN24 to SLANY and then DIRECT MALOT. At MALOT we enter Track A, which ends at CYMON. From CYMON, via the North American Route (NAR) N114B we fly to EBONY then DIRECT KENNEBUNK (ENE), which is also our transition for the OOSHN2 STAR at KBOS.

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Page 3

Track A was the best alternative for today:

- Wait a minute... I did not get that in Part 1 of this guide...No worries, it is easy. I go by the idea that if I have 8 hours to spend on a flight, I can give planning a good 30 minutes at least. I run 3-4 tracks and see what gives me the best fuel economy, less distance, less time en route. This is done by returning to your flight information page after computing a flight, editing the route, and computing again. PFPX will save all results and will compare them to each other and underline where a route performs better than another one. As you can see, I also save the routes so that I can load them again if PFPX crashes and of course, I can see which route is in which line via the Route/Remarks section. I delete these routes after I finish my flight as they of single use due to the North Atlantic Tracks changing daily (for each direction).Below is the ETOPS page setup in PFPX. We will go through all of that as after we get our briefing package.

We will be operating under ETOPS180. At any time during our route we will be within 180 minutes/1320nm of one of our ETOPS alternates, based on our performance in a hypothetical one engine out+decompression scenario. Our adequate airports for today are EGLL EINN CYYT CYYG KSFM. PFPX picked them up for us. I just switched EIKY with EINN instead. We will enter ETOPS 60 minutes from EINN in our outbound leg. We will exit ETOPS 60 minutes to CYYT in our inbound leg. Our ETOPS alternates for today are EINN and CYYT. We will be at FL360 and M.84 as long as we are on Track A.

Let’s get our briefing package now and start going over each part. This is based on the default PFPX format. Terminology might change with other OFP formats, but you will find what is what with ease.

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Page 4

THE FLIGHT BRIEFING PACKAGE

Everything is important, but what you really need to take note is:

RELEASE fuel - This is what you will load in your PMDG menu. (54824)

FINAL RESV+ALTN FUEL - This what you put in the FMC reserves entry block. (9255)

ZERO FUEL WEIGHT - This is what you put in the PMDG Payload menu 209106 (This is how I do it)

Limitations will be fine unless you ignored PFPX warnings when computing the flight. In that case do check carefully the weights and their limits.

COSTI INDEX - That is what we will put in the FMC PERF page.

INIT ALT - The first altitude we will climb to. It should be the same in our FMC.

Other information in this section provides information in regards to weight limits, fuel penalties for different altitudes or weights than those in the OFP and other information which is a good read, but we got what we needed here.

The section related to estimated and scheduled times is of no relevance for us today. The flight will actually be flown departing at around 1530z. However, take note of them in your flights. If your destination has special noise abatement procedures / runway configurations, it pays to know ahead.More importantly you check your estimated time of arrival with TAFs for the airport and see what the weather will be like when you get there.

ETOPS BRIEFING NEXT

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ETOPS BRIEFING

Again, everything is important, but what you really need to take note is:

EROPS ENTRY (EINN) - Read as ETOPS Entry Point. This is where you are 60min from your last adequate in the list of adequate airports for this flight. In this case, EINN. Its coordinates and location relative to the next waypoint in your route are shown.

EROPS EXIT (CYYT) - Read as ETOPS Exit Point. This is where you are 60min to your first adequate in the list of adequate airports for this flight, in your inbound leg. In this case, CYYT. Its coordinates and location relative to the next waypoint in your route are shown.

EROPS ALTNS WX/NOTAM SUITABILITY PERIOD

Weather for EINN is of relevance to us from 1931z-2156z. Weather for CYYT is of relevance to us from 2122z-2156z.Weather if provided in the weather briefing section of the briefing package. I will not go over it in this guide. For this flight, I am looking at ceiling above 1800ft and visibility of more than 10Km in both cases. I have to check even though I selected them in the first place. Reason being you have to sign the dispatch so it is a good idea to read and make sure someone did not mess up by mistake.

ONE ENGINE OUT DECOMP ETP 1 FOR EINN/CYYT - Read as ETOPS Critical Point between EINN and CYYT. This is the point where it takes us long to reach EINN as it does to reach CYYT. Make sure fuel planned at the ETP/CRP, is enough by comparing it to the ETP FUEL REQ. In this case it is. If it was not, PFPX would have made an extra entry for ETOPS fuel in my fuel dispatch. Take note of the coordinates as we will put them in the FMC when we get there.

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Page 6

ATC ROUTE - In our case, that is what I file on VATSIM.

ALTERNATE PLANNING - KJFK with the route there from KBOS. This goes in the FMC as well.

NAVLOG - What follows is the NAVLOG. This where you crosscheck winds and fuel usage, get information as for the leg distance and what heading to track towards each of them and other important information. I am assuming you are somewhat familiar with it. If you are not familiar then I think it is not polite not to go over what is what anyways:

AWY - Stands for airway. (UL9, UN14, NAT A). SID and STAR name appear in this column as well.

WAYPOINT NAME - Exactly as it says.

MT - Magnetic Track. After each waypoint, we need to crosscheck if that is the track we turned to.

ALT/TMP - Altitude and temperature at that altitude. Not shown when climbing or descending.

WND/VEL FREQ - Forecast wind direction and speed for the waypoint and altitude. Below wind, the frequency of waypoint when that is a navigational aid is given.

TAS/GS - True airspeed / Ground speed

REM/DIST - Distance to the next waypoint and below that our progressive distance to Boston in this case..

FUEL Column - Shows expected fuel remaining and fuel used at each waypoint.

POSITION - Shows the coordinates (LAT/LON) for the waypoint.

The last column is related to time, it shows the leg time and cumulative time enroute and you have dots to fill them with your actuals.

The rest of the briefing contains wind information, the weather briefing for our airports of interest including the ETOPS alternates, NOTAMS and wind charts. I look at the wind information and weather briefing, scroll through the NOTAMS and look at the wind charts briefly.

THE FLIGHT BRIEFING PACKAGE (continued)

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Page 7

IN THE FLIGHT DECK

Finally, we are in the flight deck. This is the part most of you wanted in the first place, but a good ground knowledge refreshment does not hurt anybody of we do not jump on the flight deck without first going through the paper work, but here we are. I will not outline the normal procedures flow here, but just the procedures related to ETOPS and oceanic while on the ground and en route.

Until now I have: Loaded fuel and payload as per PFPX flight plan. Loaded the route in the FMC. Did the normal flows for this stage. In the screenshot above I am checking if oil quantity is more than 23 quarts so that I am good to start the engines when I get to that point. In the PERF INIT page you will notice fuel is at 15.0Kg. That is because I use real time refueling on the Ground Operations menu. It will load all the quantity eventually. Notice the RESERVES entry from our OFP and confirm ZFW is correct as per the flight plan.

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Page 8

HEADS DOWN! IT’S TIME TO PLAY WITH CIRCLES.

Let’s get that ETOPS information in our FMC, no time to mess around looking at how beautiful this bird is.

GETTING A FIX (OR TWO)

There are 4 pages with 4 fixes we can set up. For our ETOPS on the ground we will use FIX page 3 and FIX page 4. The reason being we will have FIX 1 and FIX 2 to play whith en route (read: use as need arises to asses information in terms of distance, bearing and time to waypoints/fixes of interest... but boy that is a boring sentence).

What we did here is build 60 minutes / 453nm circles around our last adequate outbound and first adequate inbound. Where the EINN circle intersects our path and we are leaving the circle, that is our ETOPS Entry Point. Where the CYYT circle intersect our path and we are entering the circle, that is our ETOPS exit point. We will check this out on the ND in a short time. Keep in mind This time it happens that EINN and CYYT are also our ETOPS alternates. That is not always the case. These circles are drawn around your last and first adequate, not around your ETOPS alternates.

Let’s get back to our list of adequate airports.:

EGLL EINN (ETOPS ENTRY) / (ETOPS EXIT) CYYT CYYG KSFM

60 minutes from EINN we will reach our ETOPS Entry Point. 60 minutes = 453nm for us (remember from Part 1, page 3?) 60 minutes to CYYT we will reach our ETOPS Exit Point. 60 minutes = 453nm for us (as usual)

Go to FIX page 3 Type EINN in the scratchpad and copy it to the FIX entry (1L). Type /453 in the scratchpad and copy it to the first BRG/DIS (3L)

Go to FIX page 4 Type CYYT in the scratchpad and copy it to the FIX entry (1L). Type /453 in the scratchpad and copy it to the first BRG/DIS (3L)

HOW

WHY

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Page 9

HEADS DOWN! THE GAME IS NOT OVER YET.

SET UP THE ALTERNATES PAGE

SET UP THE RTE2 PAGE

With your ETOPS alternates.

That looks coold, doesn’t it? There is a purpose and way of doing it thoug and we do not do it just for the looks.

With your ETOPS data.

Go to your RTE 2 page. We will use it to get our ETOPS alternates, ETOPS Critical Point, destination and destination alternate with the route from our destination to alternate. In the images above you can see the setup on page 1/4 of the RTE 2 page LEGS. I have my ND set in PLAN mode in the EFIS and zoomed out to give you an idea of what this process will do for use. The point you see in the middle of the ND N54W033 is our Critical Point. You have direct lines from EINN to the CRP and from the CRP to CYYT. Because we put EINN and CYYT in our ALTN page as well, their identifier and direction is also shown.

You can access your ALTERNATES page from the RTE Page.The FMC calculates the 4 closes airporst you may divert to. We will leave two for the FMC to play with, and two we will play with ourselves. Grab your two closest ETOPS Alternates, which in my case are EINN and CYYT. I have only two in my case, if more then two, you put in the closest two and update en route so that it keeps being that way.

Go to ALTN Page (via RTE page or INIT/REF INDEX) Type EINN in the scratchpad and copy it to the FIX entry (1L). Type CYYT in the scratchpad and copy it to the FIX entry (1L). You will see them in the bottom of the list and they will show constantly in ND in preference to other alternates. You will see arrows pointing to them in the ND if you zoom far enough as well as a circle with letter A next to their identifier.

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GETTING KNOW WHERE IT GETS CRITICAL

On our RTE 2 Page, we will put the following (in the same order):- First ETOPS Alternate - Critical Point- Second ETOPS Alternate---DISCONTINUITY--- DESTINATION- ROUTE TO DESTINATION ALTERNATE- DESTINATION ALTERNATE

- It will display that info when we want to and provide us with a better situational awareness using the ND.- it provides a quick loading of the directs to our ETOPS alternates depending on where we are in relation to the critical point (read: which alternate is closer). - it provides us with a very quick way to load the route to our destination alternate (KJFK) in case things go south in Boston and we need to divert to the alternate. - It looks damn cool on the ND and it looks like we know what we are doing when posting screenshots around :).

Go to your RTE 2 page which is accessible via RTE 1 page. Type EGLL and KBOS for our origin/destination Go to the next page. Type EINN in the scratchpad and put it in 1R Note the critical point for one engine out and decompression from the PFPX OFP (page 5).

Enter N5406.7W03332.3 (Note: No spaces, add zero after “W”). Place that in 2R Type EGLL and KBOS for our origin/destination Type CYYT in the scratch pad and put it in 3R Confirm there is a discontinuity. KBOS (or your destination) will be right after that. From you ALTERNATE PLANNING section of the OFP (page 6 here), get and enter your route to KJFK, which is our destination alternate, including KJFK. It is shown in the third screenshot above.

SET UP THE RTE2 PAGEwith your ETOPS data. (continued)

WHAT WHY

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Page 11

ARE YOU WHERE YOU ARE?

- Check if ou r current position is accurate. - Check that our position sources are working properly (GPS/INERTIAL)

Grab your charts for the departure airport and locate the gate positions. I get my charts from Navigraph. I am at stand 533 at Heathrow and the coordiantes from the chart are N51° 28.3 W000° 29 compared to N51° 28.4 W000 28.9 from my FMC, which is available on the POS REF page 2/3. All is well. Press 6R to switch to BRG/DIST so that compare the FMC position to our position sources. We read inertial difference at 0.0 All is well, but if that was above 0.3-0.4 I would thing that PMDG service based failures were playing tricks on me. This is done along with all other stuff as well. We have gone through the preflight and before start check list and are about to start taxiing. A few words next page on our oceanic cruise today and off we go.

PRE-DEPARTURE POSITION CHECKWe’ll be flying over an area with no radar coverage, pay double attention to your position.

WHY

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FROM SHANWICK WITH LOVE

NORTH ATLANTIC TRACK MESSAGE-----------------------------------------------------------------------(NAT-1/3 TRACKS FLS 310/390 INCLUSIVESEP 21/1130Z TO SEP 21/1900ZPART ONE OF THREE PARTSAMALOT 53/20 54/30 54/40 51/50 DENDU CYMONEAST LVLS NILWEST LVLS 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390EUR RTS WEST NILNAR NIL -

The message is longer, but the part of concern to us is this one.

We will be entering Track A at MALOT and after that we head for 53N 020W. After 53N020W we go to 54 N 030W. 030W? Sounds familiar? Because it is. You read about that in Part 1.Here is the deal with this one. 030W is where the FIR boundary between Shanwick and Gander runs through. The NAT message valid time is (from above) 1130Z to 1900Z. The valid time is not based on your departure time but on the time you are expected to cross 030W. This means that if we cross 54N030W before 1900Z we're fine with Track A, and if not, we can still cross the other way, but on a random routing. We expect to cross at 030W at 1835z today.

After 54N 030W we head to 54N 040W, followed by 51N 050W, DENDU and we exit the track at CYMON.

We have filed to be at FL360 and M.84 as long as on Track A and FL360 is available as we can see from the message.

We will request oceanic clearance from Shanwick 40-45 minutes before entering the oceanic airspace, which means that we do that 40-45 minutes before reaching MALOT.

We take note of our SELCAL and make sure that it is correct in FSINN SETTINGS/BASIC and also part of our remarks section of the flight plan if we fly on VATSIM.

We have noted the track message for today and have it handy for when we request clearance later on. For now, we are entering Irish airspace and will soon leave land, and since they have not yet made floating VOR's that do not float, we will soon run out of ground based navigational aids.

030W Location on the PFPX map.

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OCEANIC CLEARANCE

It is 1648z in the sim with an ETA at MALOT of 1733z, it is a good idea to request clearance now so I can do a position accuracy check before we fly away from ground based stations.

At the time you are required to request oceanic clearance, you are still with Shannon Control. Ask for permission to switch to Shanwick (or you can just text Shanwick, but this is better and more enjoyable).

I told you to write that track message down because we will need it now.

Shortly after:

After my speakers go DING DONG.

I switch to Gander and get ready to make a position accuracy check, but just before that a few notes.

Shannon, BAW21G, request frequency change to Shanwick for oceanic clearance.

Shanwick good evening, BAW21G, with clearance request.

Approved, will report back, BAW21G.

BAW21G, roger, stand by for clearance.

BAW21G, I have your clearance, are you ready to copy?

BAW21G, readback correct, stand by for SELCAL.

BAW21G, you can switch to domestic, first position report over MALOT.

Shanwick, SELCAL positive, BAW21G.

Switching to domestic, with first position report over MALOT, BAW21G.

BAW21G, frequency change approved, report when back.

Shanwick that is correct, BAW21G, back.

We are ready to copy, BAW21G, back.

BAW21G, requesting Boston via NAT A, MALOT, 53N 020W, 54N 030W, 54N 040W, 51N 050W, DENDU and CYMON. Flight level 360 and Mach .84. We estimate MALOT at 1733z, TMI 264.

BAW21G, Shanwick copies you request Boston via NAT A, MALOT, 53N 020W, 54N 030W, 54N 040W, 51N 050W, DENDU and CYMON. Flight level 360 and Mach .84, estimating MALOT at 1733z, TMI 264.

Shanwick clears BAW21G to Boston via NAT A, TMI 264, FL360 and Mach .84, no time restriction for MALOT.

Cleared to Boston via NAT A, TMI 264, FL360 and Mach .84, no time restriction for MALOT, BAW21G

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A FEW MORE NOTES

SELCAL

RESTRICTIONS

SQUAWK / TRANSPONDER CODE

STRATEGIC LATERAL OFFSET PROCEDURE

Overland you communicate via VHF radios. Over the Atlantic however we use HF radios which are terribly noisy due to interference. HF is not simulated on VATSIM however, all the same:

Listening to all other pilots going with their position report is not fun for a long time.

SELCAL gets you away from that noise by acting as a flight deck "phone number". I.e. You do your position report and switch frequencies so you are not hearing all the mambo jumbo going around. If ATC wants to talk to you, they just call you via SELCAL. You will hear a DING DONG sound which is different depending on you SELCAL. My 777 SELCAL is GJ-CS, and I put that in a prominent place in the beginning of the remarks section of the flight plan. It may be the only thing I put there on VATSIM as anything else will probably be skipped by controllers.

If the controller does not initiate the SELCAL check, you should do so before flying past solid ground and into the ocean. Just ask for a SELCAL check and tell the controller your SELCAL. He will send the SELCAL to you in no time and you are good to go.

You ask for a SELCAL before entering oceanic airspace. In this case you ask it from Shanwick.

You ask for a SELCAL before crossing 030W (FIR boundary) to make sure you establish positive SELCAL is OK with Gander as well.

On VATSIM if either Shanwick or Gander is online, they control both FIRs. If only one of them is online there is no need to confirm SELCAL again at 030W, although it I recommend so you establish a routine for oceanic flights independent of ATC coverage on VATSIM.

Shanwick might clear you for a different FL than what you asked. You fly that flight level.

Shanwick might clear you but ask that you reach MALOT (in this case) before or not before a certain time. You monitor your ETA to MALOT and take actions accordingly or adjust ATC of your ETA and inability to comply with the asked time.

We switch from our assigned one to 2000, 30 minutes after ocanic entry.

We estimate MALOT at 1733, at around 1805z we will set our squawk to 2000.

We will be given a brand new one when we exit the track.

To reduce the chance of mid-air collisions, we fly centerline or offset by 1 or 2 nm right of our track.

How we accomplish this? On RTE 1 Page, type R01 or R02 in the scratchpad and put in 6R and activate. Depending on what your choice was you will be flying 1nm or 2nm right of the track.

In this flight we are flying centerline. Make it a habit to alternate between the three options on your flights. VATSIM is not that busy, but it does get busy during events etc. If we can avoid close encounters and do out share of the job properly, everyone is happy.

Getting to your offset might be quicker with the HDG SEL mode instead of LNAV. You re-engage LNAV when you intercept the offset track. You can of course just not touch anything and LNAV will turn and intercept the offset track on its own.

You offset AFTER entering oceanic airspace (after MALOT in this case) and return on centerline BEFORE exiting the oceanic airspace. You only offset within the track.

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HEADING FOR THE OPEN OCEAN

POSITION ACCURACY CHECK BEFORE LEAVING THE AREA OF RADIO NAVIGATION RELIABILITY

ALTIMETERS CHECK BEFORE ENTERING RVSM AIRSPACE

As we get near Shannon, we are going perform a position check with one of the ground based navigational aids. In this case it will be Shannon VOR (SHA). We will crosscheck what the position in relation to SHA is indicated by our FMC compared to the one by our radios. If they are close, then we are all set and will continue straight to the ocean. Which station you use is up to you, but you do this before you leave the area and when you are close to station you will tune. Let's get over with this so we can get to our first position report over MALOT.

Check the captain's, first officer's and stand by altimeter for any disagreement. The tolerance here is 200ft between the captains and the first officer's. Higher than that and your oceanic cruise is over. Get back to ATC to sort out what to do. Refer to the stand by altimeter to investigate the issue and have an end to that endless argument you are having with your first officer. However, they always agree on my end.

Go to your NAV/RAD page and tune in a nearby radio station. In my case I put in SHA and select the SHANNON VOR/NDB from the list that pops up. Take note of:RADIAL (FMC) 126DME (ND) 35.5

Go to your FIX page 1 (remember we left 2 fix pages empty for use en route? This is why.) Type SHA in the scratchpad and put up to 1L. Note the BRG/DIS just to the right. BEARING (FMC) 126 (0° difference from radio data)DME (ND) 34 (1.5nm difference from radio data)

The tolerances within 50nm of the station tuned are 8° on the bearing and 4nm on the distance. Our check results in a difference of 1.5nm, which is less then 4nm, so we are good to go ahead.

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ENTERING THE TRACK, FIRST POSREP PREPWORK

It is time already. We are no flying over MALOT and our first position report is due.

LET'S CHECK A FEW THINGS FIRST

VERIFY POSITION ACCURACY AGAIN ON POS/REF PAGE 2AND AT AVERY WAYPOINT

Confirm LNAV Engaged Confirm VNAV Engaged Confirm next waypoint with the one in your OFP, with its track and distance. Confirm offset 0, R01 or R02 in route page and activate after passing MALOT for SLOP (page 14). We are flying centerline in this case.

Press 6R to switch to BRG/DIST so that compare the FMC position to our position sources. Check GPS is being used by the FMC for position updating FMC (GPS) is shown in line 1. Check our inertial position doesn't differ by more than 4nm. In this case they do not differ at all (0.0nm).

Check that our actual navigational performance is better than our required navigational performance (RNP). In this case we have a RNP of 2 and an actual of 0.06. In other words, our requirement is for our airplane to calculace its position correctly within a radius of 2nm. It is actually calculating it correctly within 0.06nm. That is default RNP value in the PMDG 777LR and I have not touched it.

Before we have that conversation with Shanwick telling them where we are and where we are headed, you might gave noticed the dotted green arc in our ND, which is part of the 60min/453nm circle we built around EINN. Where that dotted arc intersects the magenta path representing our route, we reach our ETOPS entry point. CHECK WEATHER AND NOTAMS FOR EINN AND CYYT AGAIN so you are aware of the situation. OK, checks all done, it is time to give Shannon some accurate information regarding our position so they can do the math and keep us apart from other aircraft.

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FIRST POSREP

Now then, we report the same way over each position and go through the same routine. It really takes less time to do than write or read about it. We will now go through some other nice things. We are now further into our route and approaching the critical point and some other interesting things. Let's see. First, let's assume we got distracted and got over a compulsory reporting waypoint reading posts on Facebook. Once past that waypoint, it doesn't show in ND as it is behind us, and we may miss the report altogether. The trick I do is that I add a 10 minute reminder after the waypoint in the ND. Here is how to do it yourself and have that reminder on the ND, so if you return to the cockpit and see that green dot and time, you know sometime in the last 10 minutes you passed a compulsory waypoint.

Go to your POSITION REPORT page from the PROG page (previous page), contact Shanwick and then just read what your airplane is telling you out loud to Shanwick.

BAW21G, go ahead.

Shanwick, hello again. BAW21G with position report.

BAW21G reports MALOT at time 1732z, FL360 and Mach .84. We estimate 53N 020W at time 1756z. Next 54N 030W.

Shanwick, that is correct, BAW21G.

BAW21G, thank you, next report 53N 020W.

Next report at 53N 020W, BAW21G.

BAW21G, Shanwick copies you over MALOT at time 1732Z, FL360 and Mach .84, estimate 53N 020W at time 1756z. Next 54N 030W.

DONE

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HOW

From the ND, take note of our next waypoint and the estimated time of arrival: 5430N /1843Z On FIX page 1 or 2, enter the waypoint name in the FIX (1L). Add 10 minutes to the estimated time of arrival 1843z+10min=1853z. Type 1853Z in the scratchpad. Place it in 6R (ETA-ALT). Notice the green dot with the time (1853Z) appearing on the ND.

You can use the same procedure to do other stuff related to time and waypoints, and there you have how it is done. I will use it again when I exit Gander Oceanic.

Go to your LEGS page. Via 6L, go to RTE 2 LEGS. Have a look at your ND.

RTE 2 PAGE IN ACTION (sort of )

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT THE ND IS TELLING USWell, for starters it is telling us a lot if we know how to read it and you probably can if you read this far. If you compare this images to the ones in the previous page, you can see that by just showing RTE 2 legs, we made our ETOPS information available on the ND. That is how we toggle it on and off to reduce clutter. N54W033 is not a waypoint on our route. It is our Critical Point / Equi-time Point. There are two dotted cyan lines there. One takes your directly to EINN and the other directly to CYYT, our ETOPS alternates. They meet at the Critical Point (CRP). Past the CRP we go to CYYT, until then, we go to EINN should need arise. Pay attention not to inadvertently activate RTE 2. We are also approaching 54N 030W, which means that our next position report will be to Gander Oceanic as we will be in their airspace. We need to do a SELCAL check with Gander as well to establish positive SELCAL. The green dotted arc in the bottom is our circle around EINN. The green dot with the 1853z time, is our 10 minute reminder past 54N 030W, which reminds us of to accomplish our waypoint crossing checks and the position report. In this case you would hardly forget as we are required to make contact with Gander 10 minutes before entry.

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Do not change altitude or speed without ATC confirmation (if ATC online). Confirm the rest of your route in the FMC. Set your assigned squawk or change to the generic IFR squawk code (2200), in this case. Do not forget to get back to centerline if you were flying offset before leaving the track.

This is as far as Part 2 goes. The next pages include a printable checklist to use pertaining to ETOPS and oceanic operations and a page of links and resources I find useful.

LEAVING ETOPS

EXITING OCEANIC AIRSPACE

We are now exiting our ETOPS segment. As you can see we are crossing the circle around CYYT and are now within 60 minutes / 453nm of an adequate airport. We have not exited our track yet.We are just exiting our ETOPS segment. We'll check the accuracy of our position as we enter the area of radio navigation reliability, just as we did when we exited it. The procedure is identical to the one we used to check the accuracy of our position when we left Ireland. We would tune YAY in this case. Refer to page 15.If you are given a "Radar contact", there is no need to do it, however, it is good airmanship to go through the checks and make sure we are all set.

PMDG 777LR ETOPS AND OCEANIC GUIDELINES CHECKLIST

DISPATCH

FLIGHTDECK PREPARATION

AFTER DEPARTURE DELAY

PRIOR TO OCA AND ETOPS ENTRY

ENROUTE

ETOPS/OCEANIC EXIT

NOTES

POSREP TEMPLATE

FLIGHT BRIEFING PACKAGE RECEIVEDFLIGHT PLAN CHECKED

NAT MESSAGE (if applicable) CHECKED NAT Validity at 030W CONFIRM

PLANNED FUEL AT CRITICAL POINTS(at or above required) CONFIRM

WEATHER/NOTAMS INFORMATION(Departure, ETOPS, destination, alternate) REVIEWED

ETOPS Alternates suitability CONFIRM

NAT MESSAGE (if applicable) CHECKED NAT Validity at 030W CONFIRM

WEATHER/NOTAMS INFORMATION(Departure, ETOPS, destination, alternate) REVIEWED

ETOPS Alternates suitability CONFIRM

OCEANIC CLEARANCE RECEIVED

HF SELCAL CHECK POSITIVE

ETOPS WEATHER CHECK***

POSITION ACCURACY CHECK (before leaving are of radionavigation reliability) CHECKED

ALTIMETER AND COMPASS CHECK (Check Capt/FO/Stby alitmeters agree;check Capt/FO/Stby compasses agree) CHECKED

POSITION ACCURACY CHECK (entering the area of radionavigation reliability) CHECK

<CALLSIGN> REPORTING _________AT TIME _________ESTIMATING _________

____________ NEXT

Note 1: Crews are reminded that dispatch ETOPS weather minima do not apply when airborne. If weather falls below ETOPS dispatch minima, no re routing is required.

Note 2: At all waypoint crossings, verify aircraft turning to the correct heading and the distance to the next waypoint is correct as per the OFP.

Note 3: When CPDLC is in use by ATC, this is noted in the ATIS information of the respective controller.Note 4: If either Shanwick or Gander is logged on, they control both FIRs. When both FIRs are controlled by the same controller, SELCAL check at 030W is not required.

RTE 2 Review routing for alternate CHECK

CRZ PAGE (Assigned altitude and speed set) CHECKED

SQUAWK (Set 2000 30min after track entry) SET

ETOPS WEATHER MONITOR***

POSITION ACCURACY CHECK S(at each point, confirm inertial dif. <4nmRNP less then ANP) CHECKED

CHECK RTE 2Check correctly loaded / Do not activate CHECKEDunless needed to divert)

MINIMUM FUEL TEMPERATURE(if different from -37°C, PERF/INIT) SET

RTE 1 LOADED

WIND DATA LOADED

RTE 2(ETOPS, critical points, dest. alterante) SET

CHECK FMC WAYPOINTS AGAINST OFP CHECKED

PREDEPARTURE ACCURACY CHECK (intertial position difference >0.3nm/POS/INIT pg2, BRG/DIS) COMPLETE

ETOPS ENTRY AND EXIT POINT(set in FIX 3&4 with 453nm circlesaround last and first adequate) SET

ALTN PAGE(set two closest ETOPS, leave twofor the FMC calculated closest) SET

STATUS PAGESEICAS messages CHECKEDConfrim OIL QTY abv 23 qts.

FOR FLIGHT SIMULATOR USE ONLY

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LINKS AND RESOURCES

SKYVECTOR http://www.skyvector.com

Provides wind charts and IR4/Weather radar images in real time as well SIGMETS and other important infor-mation. You can have it process your flight plan and you can see weather along your route.

CHARTS.AERO http://www.charts.aero

A very good resource on charts for European airports mostly.

North American Routes (NARs) http://techno.demon.co.uk/severnair/nar.asp

Quick access to North American Routes depending on your entry waypoint/destination combination etc.

SIM SRD http://www.simsrd.myzen.co.uk/

A very good application (needs download/install) with quick access to standard routes for the UK and Ireland. Works in a similar fashion to the above web based database for NARs, but has a map as well and some nice small additional features.

Current NAT Message https://www.notams.faa.gov/common/nat.html

A very good application (needs download/install) with quick access to standard routes for the UK and Ireland. Works in a similar fashion to the above web based database for NARs, but has a map as well and some nice small additional features.

Great Circle Mapper http://www.gcmap.com A very good map generator which can create ETOPS coverage areas for the whole world. Very interesting and worth a visit.

Skybrary http://www.skybrary.aero/ Probably one of the best resources to get knowledge and information related to aviation.

Finally, I would like to thank the developers because their hard work takes our hobby to new levels. Both Topcatsim with PFPX and TOPCAT as well as PMDG with their latest 777 simulation, have brought a whole new dimension to desktop flight simulation and have re-energized our community. The more we support this level development, the

more we get in the end, so get them from the right websites Captains!

This guide can be shared freely as a whole but not in sections, except for the checklist on page 20. Thanks you for reading through and I hope you find it useful.

END OF PART TWO

© 2013 Belisar Hoxhollibelisar.hoxholli@gmail.com