Aerosoft – Digital Aviation AOM PART 1 VOL 1-1-1

CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

Rev # Date Author Change Version

001 9-Sep-2015 MK Start of documentation 0.50
002 18-Sep-2015 MK Pre Release Candidate 0.90
003 18-Sep-2015 MK Adding Manager details 0.91
004 21-Sep-2015 MK Spellchecked and many small things changed 0.92
005 23-Sept-2015 MK Dave tweaks / Tiller info added 0.93

On behalf of Authority
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................... 4
CREDITS................................................................................................................................................. 4
INSTALLING & REMOVING .................................................................................................................... 4
DOWNLOAD ...................................................................................................................................... 4
BOXED ............................................................................................................................................... 5
REMOVING........................................................................................................................................ 5
COPYRIGHTS ......................................................................................................................................... 5
MANUALS ............................................................................................................................................. 5
CONTACT SUPPORT .............................................................................................................................. 6
NAVIGATION DATABASE ....................................................................................................................... 6
VERSION NUMBERS .......................................................................................................................... 6
THE CRJ ................................................................................................................................................. 6
BASIC FACTS ...................................................................................................................................... 7
PILOT INFORMATION FOR TRANSITIONING TO THE BOMBARDIER CRJ700 AND 900 ........................... 7
GEOMETRY ........................................................................................................................................ 7
SYSTEMS ........................................................................................................................................... 8
FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS ................................................................................................................. 9
AVIONICS AND FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (FMC)..................................................................... 9
THE CRJ IN FLIGHTSIM ........................................................................................................................ 11
LOADING THE CRJ ........................................................................................................................... 11
THE VIRTUAL COCKPIT OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 11
OVERHEAD PANEL ........................................................................................................................... 12
GLARESHIELD / AUTOPILOT PANEL ................................................................................................. 14
WARNING / ANNUNCIATOR LIGHTS PILOTS SIDE ........................................................................ 15
CENTER INSTRUMENT PANEL.......................................................................................................... 16
CAPTAINS INSTRUMENT PANELS .................................................................................................... 17
CAPTAIN SIDE CONTROL ................................................................................................................. 18
UPPER PEDESTAL ............................................................................................................................ 19
LOWER PEDESTAL ........................................................................................................................... 20
NOSEWHEEL STEERING ....................................................................................................................... 22
PRE-DEFINED VIEWS ........................................................................................................................... 22
MCDU KEY INPUT ................................................................................................................................ 23
ADDITIONAL TOOLS / OPTIONS........................................................................................................... 24
SAVING AND LOADING A FLIGHT .................................................................................................... 24
USING PANEL STATES .................................................................................................................. 24
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DAVE ............................................................................................................................................... 24
CHECKLISTS ................................................................................................................................. 25
FUEL PLANNER ............................................................................................................................ 25
V-SPEEDS ..................................................................................................................................... 25
OPTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 25
SERVICES / MAINTENANCE ......................................................................................................... 25
DOORS ........................................................................................................................................ 25
AIRCRAFT STATE.......................................................................................................................... 25
CRJ MANAGER................................................................................................................................. 26
LIVERY MANAGER ........................................................................................................................... 26
ROUTE SUGGESTIONS ......................................................................................................................... 27
DIGITAL AVIATION CRJ900 FLIGHT FROM DÜSSELDORF (DUS) TO Basel (BSL) ................................ 28
FLIGHT PLANNING ....................................................................................................................... 28
DEPARTURE FROM DUSSELDORF AIRPORT ................................................................................. 30
ENGINE START AND PUSHBACK ON APRON POSITION ............................................................... 31
TAXIING TO RUNWAY 23L ........................................................................................................... 31
TAKE-OFF ON RWY 23L ............................................................................................................... 31
CLIMB AND CRUISE ..................................................................................................................... 33
ARRIVAL TO BASEL AIRPORT ....................................................................................................... 34
FINAL APPROACH DIRECTION RWY 15 ........................................................................................ 35
LANDING ..................................................................................................................................... 35
PARKING AND SECURING THE AIRCRAFT .................................................................................... 35
DISCLAIMER ................................................................................................................................ 36
EXTENDED FLIGHT PLAN EDDL-LFSB (SOURCE VATROUTE) ......................................................... 36
EXTENDED FLIGHT PLAN EDDL-LFSB (SOURCE AIVLASOFT EFB) .................................................. 37
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

INTRODUCTION

Thank you very much for purchasing Digital Aviation/Aerosoft CRJ700 / CRJ900 package. Development of the
package went through a lot of highs and lows. Thank you for bearing with us.

The CRJ is a typical regional jet to connect smaller airports or remote areas with the bigger hubs. Hence the
CRJ is able to get fast up to cruise altitude and stay there pretty long, but is not designed for world record
cruise speeds.

The CRJ’s history goes back into the 80’s, when first studies were made regarding options to create a regional
jet out of the Challenger 600 business jet. Near the end of the 80’s Lufthansa pushed the idea again and the
project was actually started in 1989 with the maiden flight in 1991 and certification in 1992: the CRJ100 was
born. The CRJ200 was developed later on basis of the CRJ100 and equipped with better engines. Both versions
carry 50 passengers.

When the CRJ700 was developed, the fuselage was stretched further to accommodate 70 passengers.
Accordingly the wings needed to be modified, and furthermore new winglets and new engines were attached.
Its maiden flight was in May of 1999. On basis of the CRJ700 the CRJ900 was developed. The fuselage was
stretched again to accommodate 90 passengers.

The CRJ700 / 900 by Digital Aviation/Aerosoft comprises the CRJ700ER and CRJ900ER models with flight
dynamics modelled according the respective flight performance data and of course 3d representations as close
as possible in FS to the real thing. Accurate systems programming reflects behaviour of the real CRJ within
normal operations.

CREDITS

 Programming: Hans Hartmann (Digital Aviation)

 3d Modelling, Texturing: Stefan Hoffmann (Aerosoft)
 Flight dynamics: Alexander Metzger (Digital Aviation)
 Sound: Turbine Sound Studios
 Documentation: Ingo Voigt (Digital Aviation), Mathijs Kok (Aerosoft), Alexander
Metzger
 Project Management: Mathijs Kok (Aerosoft)
 Advisors: Frank Docter
 Livery Manager: Hauke Fehr (Fehrware.de)
 Additional Liveries: Holger Sobl

The beta testers of this product deserve special mentioning. In this development we experimented extensively
with involving them directly in the production, they often tested code minutes after it was written, gave
feedback and got new code almost immediate. Without them the product would not be where it is now.

INSTALLING & REMOVING

Installing the product correctly is the first step to getting airborne. Please follow the steps below to avoid
problems.

DOWNLOAD

The downloaded file can be unpacked to any location on your system. We strongly recommend using these
steps to install:
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

1. Reboot your computer

2. Log in with administrative rights
3. Disable the anti-virus software temporary
4. Install the product
5. Enable the anti-virus software
6. Defragment your disk (NOT if you are using an SSD)

BOXED

After inserting the DVD the installer will start automatically (if not navigate to the DVD and start the
setup.exe). We strongly recommend using these steps to install:

1. Reboot your computer

2. Log in with administrative rights
3. Disable the anti-virus software temporary
4. Install the product
5. Enable the anti-virus software
6. Defragment your disk (NOT if you are using an SSD)

REMOVING

Never remove this product by manually removing the files but to use the Windows Software control panel.

COPYRIGHTS

The manual, documentation, video images, software, and all the related materials are copyrighted and cannot
be copied, photocopied, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine legible form, neither
completely nor in part, without the previous written consent of AEROSOFT. THE SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED «AS
IS» AND IT DOES NOT COME FURNISHED WITH ANY GUARANTEE IMPLICIT OR EXPRESS. THE AUTHOR DECLINES
EVERY RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTINGENT MALFUNCTIONS, DECELERATION, AND ANY DRAWBACK THAT
SHOULD ARISE, USING THIS SOFTWARE.

Copyright © 2015 AEROSOFT / Digital Aviation. All rights reserved. All trademarks and brand names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners.

Copyrights are serious stuff. If you find any pirated copies of this software please notify us at
[email protected]. We will make sure reports of copyrights violation are rewarded.

Aerosoft GmbH
Lindberghring 12
D-33142 Büren, Germany
www.aerosoft.com

MANUALS

The documentation for the CRJ700 / CRJ900 comprises of several documents:

 Vol.1: AOM part I – General Information. You are reading this manual at the moment. Contains
information on installation, where to find support, manual structuring, some basic information on the
CRJ, a transition guide for experienced users, an introduction to loading the CRJ, the external model,
its cockpit, keyboard commands, tools coming along with the CRJ, and some flight suggestions apart
from the tutorial.
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 Vol.2: Quick Reference Handbook, QRH. Contains information on procedures, limitations and aircraft
performance.
 Vol.3: Tutorial. Tutorial flight which takes you from Los Angeles to Monterey guiding you through a
flight from preparation to shutdown.
 Vol.4: Normal Ops Checklist. Short checklists on two pages – for experienced pilots
 Vol.5: AOM part II - Systems Manual. Introduction and explanation on the CRJ’s systems.
 Vol.6: AOM part III – Flight Management System, FMS manual. In depth explanation on the Flight
Management System

You will find that we discuss the project in FSX a lot. If you are using Prepar3D V2 it should not be a problem
finding the same locations and settings. If there is a problem just contact us and we’ll assist!

Also note that the readme.txt always contains the information on the latest updates. Before contacting
support do make sure you installed the latest version!

CONTACT SUPPORT

Support for this product is done by Aerosoft. We prefer to do support on the support forum for one simple
reason, it is fast and efficient because customers help customers when we are sleeping. It’s also the difference
between one support person reading the question and 500 people, some of why know a LOT about the
aircraft.

 CRJ Support Forums: http://forum.aerosoft.com/index.php?/forum/747-crj-700900/

 If you prefer support by email: https://aerosoft.zendesk.com/anonymous_requests/new
Please note that email support can be slow when things are busy (shortly after a major release form
example). We try to get back to you in 24 hours, but if you want an answer fast, got to the forums.

We feel strongly about support. Buying one of our products gives you the right to waste our time with
questions you feel might be silly. They are not.

NAVIGATION DATABASE

With this CRJ comes a complete copy of the NavDataPro navigation database. This database contains the LIDO
data and is the worlds most used navigation database in aircraft. The database is fully updateable; check its
product page on our websites: www.aerosoft-shop.com/products/navdatapro/navdatapro.html

The CRJ is fully compatible with the well-known Navigraph database. Although these databases come from a
different source and have some differences they are basically the same and you should not see any differences
between the two.

VERSION NUMBERS

 The release version number will be 1.00.

 A service pack will show in the tens, 1.10 (first service pack) -> new full build
 A hotfix will show in in the hundreds 1.11 (first hotfix to be put on service pack 1)

When there are many hotfixes we will also make full new builds. If you are ever in doubt which version you
have, check the product.cfg that you can find in FSXMainFolder\Aerosoft\CRJ*.

THE CRJ
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

As we already looked into the CRJ’s history during the introduction this chapter provides some basic facts on
the CRJ.

BASIC FACTS

CRJ700 CRJ900
Length 32,3 m 106 ft 1 in. 36,2 m 118 ft 11 in.
Wingspan 23,2 m 76 ft 3 in. 24,9 m 81 ft 7 in.
Height 7,6 m 24 ft 10 in. 7,5 m 24 ft 7 in
Dry Operating Weight 20‘290kg 44‘731lbs 22‘131kg 48‘790lbs
Maximum zero fuel 28‘259kg 62‘300lbs 31‘751kg 70‘000lbs
weight (MZFW)
Maximum Payload 8‘190kg 18‘055lbs 9‘907kg 21‘840lbs
Cargo Weight 2‘438kg 5‘375lbs 2‘756kg 6‘075lbs
Maximum Ramp Weight 34‘133kg 75‘250lbs 37‘735kg 82‘750lbs
Maximum take-off 34‘019kg 75‘000lbs 37‘421kg 82‘500lbs
weight (MTOW)
Maximum landing weight 30‘391kg 67‘000lbs 33‘340kg 73‘500lbs
(MLW)
Maximum Seat Capability 70 90
Maximum range 2‘553 km 1‘378 nm 2‘439 km 1‘317 nm
Max. Cruise Speed 473 kts 0.825 Mach 470 kts 0.82 Mach
Takeoff field length 1‘605 m 5‘040 ft 1‘847 m 6‘060 ft
(ISA, Sea Level, Max.
Takeoff Weight)
Landing field length 1‘536 m 5‘040 ft 1‘603 m 5‘260 ft
(ISA, Sea Level, Max.
Landing Weight)

PILOT INFORMATION FOR TRANSITIONING TO THE BOMBARDIER CRJ700 AND 900

(By Alexander Metzger)

For those simulator pilots who transition from larger airliners, like an Airbus 320 or a Boeing 737, we would
like to provide you with important information on the specific differences flying the Canadair Regional Jet
(CRJ).

The aim of the development team was to properly transpose the real plane into a simulation that is enjoyable
to beginners and advanced simulation pilots. This document is focused on the differences of the CRJ700 and
CRJ900 in comparison to other airlines you may be familiar with. We encourage you to read the other manuals
so that you will be familiar with the cockpit and the systems that have been simulated at a very high level of
detail.

GEOMETRY
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On the first look from outside, it is obvious that the CRJ has been realized with a different concept of engine
arrangement in the back of the aircraft. As engines are relatively heavy, consequently the wing position, in
reference to the fuselage length, is also much more rearward, to assure that the centre of gravity of the empty
or fully loaded aircraft is within the limits of the wing chord to assure a stable flight behaviour.

Loading the aircraft properly is therefore vital for sufficient control of the elevator which has less of an arm for
pitch control than on a classical arrangement. Please refer to the trim tables to be properly trimmed for take-
off depending on weight and centre of gravity index.

The big advantage of positioning the engines at the rear end of the fuselage is a lighter wing construction – no
need to carry the heavy engines – and having the whole surface and shape available to produce the required
lift in respect to aircraft weight. This wing is optimized for high speeds and supported by slats and flaps for the
slower flying regime during take-off and approach/landing.

There is also a very noticeable difference while flying an aircraft with that engine arrangement when applying
power changes. On the CRJ the engine thrust is pushing at a position higher than the centre of gravity and
above the wing. This results in a pitch down moment when increasing power and consequently a pitch up
moment when pulling engine levers to idle. While in cruise the autopilot would eliminate this with trim
commands, it is specifically important to bear this in mind during the final landing phase, especially the flare
onto the runway. You need very little pull on the yoke when you slow the descent and retard the engines
before touch down.

Do not retard the engines to idle 50 ft. or even higher, as this will lead to a pitch up of the CRJ and fast loss of
speed too high above the runway and requires a corrective nose down push to avoid a hard landing.

Opposite to the landing, the full power during take-off pushes the nose down and you need pull the yoke
substantially to initiate the rotation. The pitch down attitude, characteristic for these two planes while on
ground, is not helping either to get airborne. Therefore pull firmly, rotate with about 3°/s to 15-18° pitch and
trim for the initial climb speed.

A specialty of the CRJ is its automatic trim movement when flying manually and extending or retracting flaps
between the positions UP-1-8-20°. This automatic trim travel supports the pilot hand-flying the aircraft when
there is a need to compensate the impact from changing flaps configuration with intense lift changes that
require pitch control.

SYSTEMS

Regional jets are typically doing many flights per day and so does the crew. Bombardier has therefore
automated many systems to release the pilots from routine procedures. Examples are the two button only
start-up of the APU with automatic bleed air assignment. Similar the main engines single button start-up and
thereafter fully controlled by the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system.

Fixed throttle detents for the take-off and climb help setting the correct power for these conditions of flight.
On the other hand the CRJs do not have an auto-throttle system and therefore the pilot flying needs to
manage power in cruise and descent. It also has no vertical navigation capability (VNAV) and therefore decent
planning is in the pilots hand and experience.

In return, there is no need to worry about switching bleed air for controlling cabin pressure or during anti-ice
operations. But due to the smaller engines, the loss of power from using bleed air for heating the wings
leading edge is more noticeable than on a larger aircraft. The climb performance is significantly reduced
despite the setting for N1 targets are a bit higher.
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Further, do not be surprised by the increase of N1 and consequent thrust increase during a descent with idle
power when switching on anti-ice. The engines need to turn faster to maintain cabin pressure while hot air
from the turbine is deviated and guided to the engine cowlings and wing leading edges. This can ruin your
planned descent path by picking up more speed and requiring lower rates of descent and it is better to
anticipate icing early in the planning of the descent schedule than being forced to use spoilers to obtain
required rate of descent and not exceeding speed limits.

The two screens in the centre of the panel provide you with a wealth of information on system status, error
awareness or alerts. They also have dedicated screens for the controls and the monitoring role of the pilots
during the start-up of the systems all the way to the engines. We have modelled these pages with great care
and realism. Details can be found in the provided systems documentation and also in the tutorial flights.

FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS

Beyond the above mentioned specifics of a tail driven aircraft, the CRJ is very stable in flight with easy roll and
pitch response in the speed range that may be typically flown by hand.

At cruise speed the response is very direct and minimal yoke input is required. The lower weights versus the
bigger aircraft you may know make it also more receptive to air turbulence.

In the lower range of the speed band, the controls are becoming less sensitive, but still remain more on the
sportive side as it is a light aircraft with significant less inertia on roll versus an aircraft with wing mounted
engines.

Due to the slats and efficient flaps, you typically have a high margin to stall speed and that enables low landing
speeds and short runways. Pitch attitude during descent and on final is often negative and becoming slightly
positive at reference speed providing a good forward view.

As soon as pitch establishes around +2° during the approach, it is time to select the next flaps setting.

The landing gear has very little drag and hardly any pitch effect. Slats and flaps shall be used to slow down the
aircraft and the flight spoiler may assist when you have left little time to adjust speed – but don’t expect
miracles from them, especially on the CRJ900.

In flare, level pitch will not cause a nose gear first touchdown as it is shorter than the main gear. The low wing
has a significant ground effect and the CRJ has a tendency to float forever if you come in just a bit too fast for
the landing weight. You need to set down the nose gear gently and pay specific attention when you use
reverse thrust immediately after ground contact.

On outbound taxi, the CRJ starts rolling with a little power push initially and maintains taxi speed close to idle.
On inbound taxi, you may need to use the brakes from time to time to avoid exceeding apron speed limits.

AVIONICS AND FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (FMC)

Every major aircraft producer favours his avionics provider and even when you are used to a Dash-400 built by
the same manufacturer Bombardier as the CRJ, you need to get familiar with the display and the programming
technique of the FMS used on the CRJ700 and CRJ900.

Please refer to the information provided in the systems description and the procedures as part of the tutorial
flights. Two main screens directly located in front of you provide you with a wealth of information on your
flight situation from an aerodynamic point of you and from a navigational perspective. Again, please familiarize
yourself with the many options of displaying data and graphical awareness displays for navigation and route
following.
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We would like to encourage you to properly fly the CRJ700 and CRJ900 by investing some time to build a
knowledge base for proper operation.
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

THE CRJ IN FLIGHTSIM

The following chapter describes how to load the CRJ700 or CRJ900 in your flight simulator, which animations
(like opening doors, cargo hatches) are available, a brief tour of the virtual cockpit with a short overview of
available panels and pre-defined views, closing with the concept of operation (i.e. how do switches,
pushbuttons, etc. work in your flight sim).

LOADING THE CRJ

It’s important that your simulator is running with Administrative rights to

avoid problems. This is especially important when your simulator is
installed in the default location (Program Files). If you are not logged in
with administrative rights you can still have the simulator running with
Administrative rights by right clicking and selecting [Run as administrator].

Before loading the CRJ we STRONGLY advise you to load one of the
default FSX aircraft with the engine running. This will avoid a load of
problems.

THE VIRTUAL COCKPIT OVERVIEW

To prevent pilots searching the entire cockpit for a certain knob, the entire cockpit is divided into several
panels. The following picture shows a view of the entire virtual cockpit and numbers indicate the respective
panels. Note that elements described in grey are not simulated.
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

1.Overhead 2.Glareshield/Autopilot 3. Centre Instrument Panel

4. Captain Instrument Panel 5. Captain Side Panel/Side console 6. First Officer Instrument Panel
7. First Officer Side Panel/Side 8. Upper Pedestal 9. Lower Pedestal
Console

OVERHEAD PANEL
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1. Electrical Power 2. Fire Detection Test System 3. Hydraulic Shutoff Valves (SOV)
4. Externa Lighting Controls 5. Fuel Controls 6. Pneumatic Controls
7. Auxiliary Power Unit Controls 8. Engine Start Panel 9. Hydraulic Controls
10. Emergency Locator Transmitter 11. Cabin Pressure Controls 12. Air Conditioning Controls
13. Anti-Ice Controls 14. Internal Lighting Controls
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GLARESHIELD / AUTOPI LOT PANEL

1. Standby / Whiskey Compass (Traditional compass, 2. Seat Position Sight Gauge (Used to position the seats so
normally only used to check alignment of electronic your eyes are always in the same location. They gray ball
compasses.) should hide the gold balls.)
3. Warning / Annunciator Lights Captains Side 4. Navigation / Flight Director / Autopilot control Panel
5. Warning / Annunciator Lights First Officers Side
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WARNING / ANNUNCIATOR LIGHTS PILOTS SIDE

1. ROLL SEL and PLT / CPLT ROLL. The ROLL SEL light comes 2. Master Warning Light. The red Master Warning Light is
on, to indicate that roll priority selection is necessary. The illuminated and an aural warning sounds, in case a EICAS
PL / CPLT ROLL illuminates green to indicate which side warning message is triggered.
(Captains or First Officers) has been selected for spoileron
control.
3. Master Caution Light. The amber Master Caution Light 4. Stall Warning Light / Switch. Illuminates in case a stall
is illuminated and an aural warning sounds, in case an warning is triggered. After opening the switch protection
EICAS caution message is triggered. the stall warning switch may be pressed to trigger the stall
warning test sequence.
5. Pull Up / GND PROX Warning Light. The Ground 6. LH ENG FIRE Switch.The LH/RH ENG FIRE Switch
Proximity Warning System, GPWS, may trigger the Pull Up illuminates in case an engine fire is detected. Pushing the
/ GND PROX warning light depending on the current mode switch cuts engine fuel, bleed air and closes the hydraulic
and warning. shutoff valves.
7. BOTTLE 1 and 2 ARMED PUSH TO DISCH
The CRJ is equipped with 2 squibs which contain halon to
at least try and extinguish an engine fire. After pressing
the ENG FIRE switch the squib is armed and the BOTTLE 1
and 2 ARMED PUSH TO DISCH switch illuminates.
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1. Course 1 Selector 2. Flight Director Switch 3. Auto Pilot Engage Switch

4. Auto Pilot Disengage Switch 5. XFR Mode Switch 6. Turbulence Mode Switch
7. Speed Mode Selector 8. Speed Selector 9. Approach Mode Selector
10. B/C Mode Switch 11. Heading Mode Selector 12. Heading Selector
13. NAV Mode Selector 14. Half Bank Mode Switch 15. Altitude Mode Selector
16. Altitude Selector 17. Vertical Speed Mode Selector 18. Vertical Speed Selector
19. Course 2 Selector 20. Flight Director Switch

CENTER INSTRUMENT PA NEL

1/3. EICAS Display No. 1. Engine Indicating and Crew 2. Integrated Standby Instrument Panel
Alerting System – two displays are available to indicate Backup instrument for the attitude direction indicator,
engine data and a number of pages with aircraft speed indicator and altitude indicator.
information like status of the hydraulic systems.
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CAPTAINS INSTRUMENT PANELS

1. Nose wheel Steering Switch 2. Cockpit Light Controls 3. Windshield Wiper Switch
4. Stall PTCT Pusher Switch. Controls 5. Clock / Stopwatch 6. Bearing Selector Switch. Switches
the Stick Pusher. navigation reference between NAV1,
NAV2 and ADF1.
7. Format and Range Selector. 8. Navigation Course Selector. 9. Vertical Speed Selector. Adjusts the
Controls MFD format (PLAN, MAP Switches navigation source between vertical speed shown on the PFD.
HSI, weather radar, TCAS) and range. FMS1, FSM2, NAV1, NAV2.
10. Decision Height / Minimum 11. Barometric selector. Allows 12. Revisionary Panel. Used to switch
Descent Altitude selector. selection in Hg or mbar and adjust the the MFD to PFD, NORM (navigation
Enables to select whether the value. information) or EICAS mode.
decision height (DH) or minimum
descent altitude (MDA) is indicated
and adjust the value.
13. Primary Flight Display, PFD 14. Multi-Function-Display, MFD 15. Voice Recorder Control Panel
Combines several instruments in one: Offers several display modes (Map,
attitude direction indicator, airspeed Plan, Horizontal Situation Indicator,
indicator, altimeter, vertical speed Weather radar, TCAS) and may be
indicator, horizontal situation switched to different nav sources
indicator, V-Speed bugs. (FMS, VOR)
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CAPTAIN SIDE CONTROL

1. Skycam. Used to monitor different camera’s, for 2. Steering Tiller. Used to steer the nose wheel at
example to see who is at the cockpit door. low speed.
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UPPER PEDESTAL

1. Captain side Flight Management System 2. First Officer side Flight Management System
3. Brake Temperature Monitor System. Used to reset the 4. Anti-Skid Switch. Arms or deactivates the anti-skid
system and silence the horn. system.
5. MLG BAY Test switches. Test switches for Main Landing 6. Gear Lever.
Gear Bay Overheat
7. Engine Synchronization Switch. The left and right 8. Ground Proximity Warning Switch. Illuminate
engine’s rpm may be synchronized automatically for noise depending on the activated GPWS mode pressing the
abatement. switch silences the associated warning.
9. Roll Disc Handle. Disconnects the control wheels in case 10. Spoiler Switch. To arm automatic extension of the
one yoke is jammed. ground spoilers after touchdown.
11. Reverser Switches. Arms the reversers so that they 12. Spoiler lever. To extend and retract the spoilers.
may be deployed during landing roll.

13. Thrust Lever. To control thrust (from fuel shutoff to 14. Pitch Disconnect. Disconnects the control wheels in
full power). case one yoke is jammed.

15. Flap Lever. Used to extend and retract the flaps.

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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

LOWER PEDESTAL

1. Radio Tuning Units. Used to tune communication, 2. Audio Control Panels. Used to control sound volume for
navigation stations as well as the transponder. several audio sources like navigation station aural
identifiers.
3. Weather Radar Controls. 4. Backup Tuning Unit and ATC Selector Switch. Used to
select the active transponder and a backup tuning unit in
case the RTU fails.
5. Stab / Mach trim Switches. Controls for the Mach and 6. Avionics Fan Controls.
stabilizer trim.
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

7. Inertial Navigation System Controls, IRS Switches. 8. Parking Brake Lever. To set and release the parking
brake.
Selector knobs for the modes of the IRS system
9. Flight Deck Door Control. Controls for the flight deck 10. EICAS Control Panel. Panel to select different EICAS
door to deny or allow access to the cockpit. pages.
11. Aileron and Rudder Trim Controls. 12. Cockpit Lightings Controls.
13. Yaw damper switches. Used to activate / deactivate 14. Intercom Control Panel. Used on the real plane to
the yaw dampers. control communication within the aircraft like passenger
addressing, crew calls, emergency calls and sounding a
chime.
15. Source Selector Panel. The source selector panel 16. Landing Gear Alternate Extension. In case the gear
allows to select air data sources as well as switching the does not extend when selecting gear down via the gear
displays to different modes in case a display fails. lever, the alternate gear extension lever may be used to
extend the gear.
17. Air Driven Generator Controls. In case the CRJ’s engine 18. Head-up Guidance System Controls.
and the APU fail a little propeller might be extended which
produces sufficient electrical power to supply the most
important aircraft systems.
19. Cargo Fire Panel. Controls for fire extinguishing 20. Emergency Flap Lever. In case controlling the flaps via
systems for the cargo areas. the flap lever is not working the CRJ provides an
emergency flap control.
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

NOSEWHEEL STEERING

At low speeds the CRJ is controlled with the tiller, a control device on the left
console on the First Officer side. It is possible to link this control to any available
control axis in FSX. You could for example link a rotary control on your joystick to
the Throttle 3 channel and then select Throttle 3 on the control option on the
Options page of the CRJ Manager.

Of course it is also possible to disable it here and use the standard FSX rudder
channel.

PRE-DEFINED VIEWS

The CRJ700 / CRJ900 has no 2d-panels. Instead a set of pre-defined views is available which are similar to a 2d-
panel. The following list shows the available views and their respective key assignment / hot key. Of course
these views can be undocked and moved to other monitors.

Hot Key View

Shift + 1 Captain’s VFR View
Shift + 2 CPT Overhead Panel
Shift + 3 CPT Standard View
Shift + 4 CPT FCP (Autopilot)
Shift + 5 CPT Full Panel (similar to CPT Standard with CDU in view additionally)
Shift + 6 CPT MCDU
Shift + 7 CPT Engine Controls
Shift + 8 CPT Center Console
Shift + 9 MCDU Popup window
Ctrl + Plus MFD decrease range (CPT)
Ctrl + Minus MFD increase range (CPT)
Shift + Q Toggle HUD
Ctrl + W Toggle Yoke
F10 Overhead Panel (similar to a 2d panel)
F11 FCP (similar to a 2d panel)
F12 MCDU (similar to a 2D panel with PFD/MFD in view)
Ctrl + Shift + 1 Toggle MCDU Keyboard Input (CPT)
Ctrl + Shift + 2 Toggle MCDU Keyboard Input (FO)
Ctrl + Shift + 3 Switch MFD to HSI format
Ctrl + Shift + 4 Switch MFD to NAV format
Ctrl + Shift + 5 Switch MFD to MAP format
Ctrl + Shift + 6 Switch MFD to PLAN format
Ctrl + Shift + 7 Switch MFD to TCAS format
Ctrl + Shift + 8 Switch MFD to WXR format
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

MCDU KEY INPUT

As soon as you activated MCDU keyboard input (Ctrl + Shift + 1 or +2) you may use your keyboard to enter data
into the keyboard. The following table shows the assignment of key functions and MCDU function.

Function German Keyboard U.S. Keyboard

Left MCDU Kybd ON/OFF Strg + Umschalt + 1 Ctrl + Shift + 1
Right MCDU Kybd ON/OFF Strg + Umschalt + 2 Ctrl + Shift + 2
LSK 1L F1 F1
LSK 2L F2 F2
LSK 3L F3 F3
LSK 4L F4 F4
LSK 5L F5 F5
LSK 6L F6 F6
LSK 1R F7 F7
LSK 2R F8 F8
LSK 3R F9 F9
LSK 4R F10 F10
LSK 5R F11 F11
LSK 6R F12 F12
MSG Strg + F1 Ctrl + F1
Dir/Intc Strg + F2 Ctrl + F2
Fpln Strg + F3 Ctrl + F3
Dep/Arr Strg + F4 Ctrl + F4
Hold Strg + F5 Ctrl + F5
MCDU Menu Strg + F6 Ctrl + F6
Index Strg + F7 Ctrl + F7
Fix Strg + F8 Ctrl + F8
Legs Strg + F9 Ctrl + F9
Sec Fpln Strg + F10 Ctrl + F10
VNAV Strg + F11 Ctrl + F11
Exec Return oder Strg + F12 Return or Ctrl + F12
Radio Umschalt + F1 Shift + F1
Prog Umschalt + F2 Shift + F2
Perf Umschalt + F3 Shift + F3
MFD Data Umschalt + F4 Shift + F4
MFD Menu Umschalt + F5 Shift + F5
MFD Adv Umschalt + F6 Shift + F6
A-Z A-Z A-Z
0-9 0-9 0-9
. . .
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

+ + +
- - -
/ / /
SP Leertaste Space
DEL Entf Delete
CLR Zurück Backspace

ADDITIONAL TOOLS / OPTIONS

Several tools and options are provided to configure the product or to assist you in flight.

SAVING AND LOADING A FLIGHT

When you save a flight using the standard FSX menu option while flying the CRJ, an ‘Aircraft State’ file will be
created as well. This Aircraft State file contains all the settings that are normally not saved by FSX. When you
load a flight the accompanying Aircraft State file will be loaded so you can continue your flight exactly as you
left off. However this ONLY works if you load a flight using the standard FSX menu and not when you load it via
the ‘Free Flight’ menu.

USING PANEL STATES

You can also use Aircraft State to configure the aircraft. There are three default Aircraft States:

 COLD & DARK: As the aircraft is left

when the last flight of the day is done.
All systems are powered down.
 ENG STARTUP: Aircraft configured to
the state just before engines are
started.
 ENG RUNNING: Aircraft is configured to
the state where engines have just been
started (you could consider this a
‘ready for taxi’ state. Brakes are set and
all lights are set.

It is also possible to create your own states. Just

configure the aircraft as you want and use the
SAVE STATE option after you entered a name.
The name can only be 10 characters (a-z,0-9). In
the image a state ‘Short Final’ has been saved by the user.

The Aircraft States menu can be reached by pressing the MCDU MENU button on the MCDU. If the aircraft is in
a Cold and Dark state you will have to provide electrical power to the aircraft bus to activate the MCDU’s. The
easiest way to do this is to switch on the battery bus (Battery Switch on Overhead to ON) and to use Dave to
provide Ground Power (under the Services option). On the Overhead Electrical panel the AC Available light will
be lit. Press the button to connect it to the aircraft bus.

DAVE
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

Named after one of the screw members in 2001 Space Oddity (would you believe we are not allowed to call
the thing Hall?). It’s a tablet computer mounted on the yoke clipboard. Dave runs of its own internal battery.

CHECKLISTS
The checklists (or more precise flows) will assist you in making sure the aircraft is safely operated. Every stage
of the flight is included.

FUEL PLANNER
If you do not want to use the fuel planner you can use Dave to calculate the needed fuel.

V-SPEEDS
Of course the V-Speeds can be calculated and set using the cockpit controls but because that is complex we
included a shortcut option to set V1, Vr, V2 and Vref.

OPTIONS
Diverse options can be set (and saved) in these two pages. Most will be self-explanatory, some guidance on
these:

 IRS ALIGN TIME: The inertial reference system uses a system of gyroscopes to measure the movement
of the aircraft. As it knows he starting location it can calculate the current position without any
external references (for example from GPS satellites or radio navigation beacons. To be able to
operate it needs time to spin up and align itself. Depending on conditions this can take quite some
time. The settings here can be used to select realistic time, a compressed time or an instant IRS
aligning.
 HELP MESSAGES: Toggles the display of additional EICAS messages. In the CRJ the messages on the
EICAS can be rather cryptic, enabling this option makes then easier to understand. They are always
shown in magenta.
 PREPAR3D HDR LIGHTING: When HDR lighting is used in P3D this needs to be activated to make Dave
readable.

SERVICES / MAINTENANCE
 WHEEL BLOCKS, GROUND POWER and GROUND AIR option will toggle the display of external objects
but also the actual availability of Ground Power and Ground Air.
 AUX DRIVE GEN: When the Auxiliary Drive Generator (known as a Ram Air Turbine in other aircraft) is
deployed it needs to be cranked into stowed position by ground staff.
 IDG: The Integrated Drive Generators are engine driven electrical power generating systems. When
you disconnect them in flight they need to be reset by ground staff and this options simulates that.

DOORS
Allows you to open and close the doors and hatches. You can save the configuration so your aircraft will load
with these settings when you load it next.

AIRCRAFT STATE
A quick way to configure the complete aircraft into one of three states:
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

 COLD & DARK: As the aircraft is left when the last flight of the day is done. All systems are powered
down.
 ENG STARTUP: Aircraft configured to the state just before engines are started.
 ENG RUNNING: Aircraft is configured to the state where engines have just been started (you could
consider this a ‘ready for taxi’ state. Brakes are set and all lights are set.

Using Dave you can be in the air minutes after starting the simulator:

1. Activate Dave by clicking the on/off button

2. Select AIRCRAFT STATES
3. Select ENR RUNNING

CRJ MANAGER

You will find the CRJ manager in FSXMainFolder\Aerosoft\Digital Aviation CRJ folder. It allows you to load
passengers and payload and to calculate the fuel load, Center of Gravity and Take-off trim.

Before starting it make sure your simulator is running and your CRJ is the active aircraft on your departure
airport. Also make sure the right aircraft and simulator is selected in the top bar. When all is right a green
‘Connected should be visible in the top bar.

After you done all calculations you have three options to export the settings to FSX.

 Set Fuel & Payload In Flight Simulator: Writes payload and fuel data directly into FSX/FSX-SE/P3D
 Save Fuel To Saved Flight File: Writes fuel data into a .FLT or .FXML file (depending on which is
simulator is selected)
 Save Payload To Aircraft Configuration: Writes payload data in the aircraft.cfg file
 Save Flight Settings: Saves the current payload/fuel settings into a configuration file so CRJ Manager
shows the same data when you start it next time.

LIVERY MANAGER

You will find the livery manager in FSXMainFolder\Aerosoft\Digital Aviation CRJ\Livery Manager Folder.

Installing a livery is as simple as dragging the zip file you downloaded on top of the livery manager. For 90% of
the additional liveries this will work. All other livery ZIP files that meet the following conditions will be handled
automatic (if this method does not work ask the livery designer to be compliant with our standards):

 There must be a txt-file ("readme.txt" or different name as long as it's the only txt-file) with the code
snippet for the aircraft.cfg included.
 The snippet starts with [FLTSIM.X] and ends with a blank line.
 In this snippet the line "ui-type=*aircraft_type*" must be contained, otherwise the manager doesn't
know which plane the livery should be added to.
 Each ZIP-file can only contain one livery / alternative versions must be separated into two ZIP files.
 The whole file must be a proper ZIP-file containing the file and folder structure on the first level. So do
not zip the folder with the files but only the files themselves.
 Beside the text file there needs to be the texture folder with its extension name, containing a
"thumbnail.jpg"
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

ROUTE SUGGESTIONS

During preparation of the tutorial we looked into several different routes flown by the CRJ in real life. The
intention was to find a scenic route which is not too short (more stress when climb and descend follow nearly
instantly on to each other) and not too long (overall time it takes to work through the tutorial).

We didn’t want all our ideas go to waste and hence include the routes as suggestions for further flights after
going through the tutorial. Alexander Metzger further provided a rather extensive description on one of those
flights, which you’ll find attached at the end of this section.

So here you go with our route suggestions:

Departure Arrival Airline / Flight No CRJ Type

Hamburg Copenhagen Scandinavian CRJ900
(HAM / EDDH) (CPH / EKCH) SK646
09:50 10:40
Copenhagen Gothenburg Scandinavian CRJ900
(CPH / EKCH) (GOT / ESGG) SK434
08:10 08:55
Munster-Osnabruck Frankfurt Lufthansa CRJ900
(FMO / EDDG) (FRA / EDDF) LH063
06:35 07:25
Dusseldorf Basel-Mulehouse Lufthansa / Germanwings CRJ900
(DUS / EDDL) (BSL / LFSB) 4U9712
07:10 08:20
Munich Marseille Lufthansa CRJ900
(MUC / EDDM) (MRS / LFML) LH4362 (meanwhile flown
with ERJ-195
10:45 12:20
Copenhagen Aberdeen Scandinavian CRJ900
(CPH / EKCH) (ABZ / EGPD) SK1521
18:05 18:50
Copenhagen Berlin Tegel Scandinavian CRJ900
(CPH / EKCH) (TXL / EDDT) SK0679
15:00 15:55
Copenhagen Bergen Scandinavian CRJ900
(CPH / EKCH) (BGO / ENBR) SK2868
14:05 15:25
San Francisco Jackson Hole United Airlines CRJ700
(SFO / KSFO) (JAC / KJAC) UA5490
12:50 15:57
Seattle Santa Barbara Alaska Airlines CRJ700
(SEA / KSEA) (SBA / KSBA) AS3444
20:15 22:42
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

DIGITAL AVIATION CRJ900 FLIGHT FROM DÜSSELDORF (DUS) TO Basel (BSL)

(by Alexander Metzger)

This is a description of Germanwings flight 4U9712 according the schedule as published on their webpage for
Saturday March 7, 2015. We will be flying one of their Bombardier CRJ900 registered under D-ACNN belonging
to Eurowings which will execute this flight as operator. The planned departure time is 07:00 am and the arrival
should be 70 minutes later at 8:10 am. We will start with our flight planning. You will find a flight situation file
called “DA1_DUS-BSL” in your flight directory. Have a safe flight!

Please note that we advise you to fly the tutorial flight first as it includes a more detailed
explanation about all systems.

FLIGHT PLANNING

ROUTING
Departure airport: Düsseldorf (IATA: DUS – ICAO: EDDL)
Destination airport: Basel (IATA: BSL – ICAO: LFSB)
Alternate airport: Zurich (IATA: ZRH – ICAO: LSZH)

For European flights, VATroute http://www.vatroute.net/ is a good and simple flight planning page to obtain a
typical route. The query result for EDDL-LFSB at our predicted flight reads like this:

FL196-FL315 MODRU Z283 SUMAS UZ283 RITAX UT27 GTQ UN852 ARPUS

We select flight level 290 (FL290) and the route distance has been calculated to 280 nautical miles (NM). An
additional 20 NM are added to cover departure and arrival routes. As alternate airport we selected Zurich
(LSZH). The distance from LFSB is 45 NM plus 20 NM for the arrival route. We do expect taking off from runway
23L and following the Standard Instrument Departure route (SID) called MODRU 9T.

WEATHER
This is a typical spring morning with refreshing 3 °C, light clouds and a moderate, south-easterly wind on
ground.

Based on this data we expect to be taking off from runway 23L. For flight planning we conclude an average
wind component of eleven knots from 032 degrees (11/032) at FL290 and a headwind component of -22 knots
(tailwind) according the weather forecast at cruise altitude.
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

WEIGHT AND FUEL

For this flight we will be using the following data:

Weight in kg Weight in pounds Comment

Dry Operating Weight (DOW) 22’471 kg 49’540 lbs.
Passengers: 72 Adult 72 * 84 = 6’048 kg 72 * 185 = 13’320 lbs.
Luggage in front compartment 462 kg 1’020 lbs.
Cargo in rear compartment 339 kg 748 lbs.
Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW) 29’315 kg 6’4627 lbs.
Weight check against max. ZFW 31’752 kg 70’000 lbs. < MZFW OK
Fuel 2’700 kg 6’000 lbs. See next page
Take-off weight (TOW) 32’015 kg 70’672 lbs.
Weight check against max. TOW 37’422 kg 82’500 lbs. < MTOW OK

Detailed calculation for fueling:

Weight in kg Weight in pounds

Distance to destination 340 nm
Take-off weight (TOW) 32‘000 kg 7‘0570 lbs.
Flight level to destination FL290
ISA deviation -10 °C
Headwind component -22 knots
Contingency 5% 104 kg (minimum) 230 lbs. (minimum)
Distance to alternate 45 nm
Flight level to alternate FL150
Reserve 750 kg 1‘655 lbs.
Taxi 100 kg 220 lbs.
Minimum fuel 2’627 kg 5’791 lbs.
Block fuel 2’700 kg 6’000 lbs.
Center of Gravity (CoG) 22.4% MAC*
* MAC means Mean Average Chord
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TAKE-OFF DATA
Based on the above determined take-off weight of 31’715 kg (69’917 lbs.) we will now define the critical
speeds for departure. EDDL runway 23L is long enough (9’843 x 148 ft. / 3000 x 45 m) so that there is no
restriction and we can use the speeds from the speed card for 70’000 lbs. (31’751 kg).

We will be setting flaps to 8 degrees for the take-off and our departure airport altitude is close to sea level.
Outside temperature is less than 10 °C. This concludes in the following speed selection:

 V1 = 134 knots as maximum speed to abort the take-off.

 VR = 135 knots for safe lift-off speed
 V2 = 147 knots as safe speed in the case of an engine failure
 V2 + 12 = 159 knots as speed for the initial climb phase up to 3’000 ft. above aerodrome elevation
(AAE), also used as acceleration altitude

From the same table we also take the speeds for retraction of flaps during the acceleration to initially 210
knots (maximum speed for flaps extended to 8° is 230 kts):

 159 knots to retract to position 1

 178 knots to retract to position 0

DEPARTURE FROM DUSSELDORF AIRPORT

AIRCRAFT PREPARATION
After completion of the flight preparation it is time to get started. Please load the flight called “DA1_DUS-BSL”
from the flight menu. You are located at apron position V35 at Düsseldorf airport. It is 5:30 Coordinated
Universal Time (UTC) or 6:30 local time (LT). Our CRJ900 is prepared according to the above described flight
planning with the requested fuel and passenger/freight boarding/loading completed.

Next item as pilot flying (PF) is to finalize cockpit preparation and put the aircraft and the crew into a “Request
for start-up and push-back” situation.

 Programing of Flight Management Systems (FMS)

Our FMS includes a function called „Load aircraft state“ (LOAD STATE), which we will use now to avoid
programing of the FMS and can postpone this learning experience to a later stage. Please load
“DA1_DUS” from the FCDU Menu.
 Check of avionic parameters
o HDG-bug on runway heading
o NAV-CRS on runway heading
o V-Speeds according selection before: 134-135-147-159
o Speed Bug on VT = 159
o ILS-frequency on active runway 23L
o Transponder set to 2-3-5-6 and on standby mode
o Departure route is displayed
o Approved initial flight level 5’000 ft. on SID MODRU 9T
o Barometric pressure fine-tuned to airport altitude
o Approved flight plan is complete and active
 Check on aircraft
o Fuel according plan
o Hydraulic pumps on - system under pressure
o Elevator trim set according weight and centre of gravity actual set to 6.4 trim units
o All doors closed
o Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) supplies bleed air and current
o Parking brake is set
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

o Navigation (NAV) lights and Beacon (BCN) light are on

o Passenger signs “Fasten Seatbelts“ und “No Smoking“ are on
 Running „Before Start Checklist“
o Completed

ENGINE START AND PUS HBACK ON APRON POSITION

The start-up of the engines is executed in a semi-automatic procedure and supervised by the Full Authority
Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system and the pilots.

 Throttle lever in CUT OFF position

 Press ENG START button – typically the right engine first, thereafter the left one
o N2 spooling up to above 20%, check ITT <120°C
o Throttle lever into IDLE position
o Kerosene is injected and ignited
o N2 climbing further and N1 to follow
o ITT must be watched – Limit is shown in EICAS display
 Engine start completed and checked
o N1 stable at 20 to 22%
o Consumption at 250-300 kg/h
o ITT at 400°C
o Generators automatically connected and deliver current – Check ELEC page
o Ventilation and air conditioning active
 Running the „After Start Checklist“
o Completed
 Pushback facing North-East
 Pushback completed
 Request “Taxi Clearance to runway 23L”

TAXIING TO RUNWAY 23L

Hint: If you have assigned the front wheel steering via a separate axis assignment on your available hardware
control, this will allow you to steer the CRJ on ground in a realistic way. In addition this will allow you to
execute the flight controls check in a realistic way during taxi time. If you have not, you need to do the check
during standstill.

On the way to the runway you will be setting flaps to position 8° and check the functionality of the controls.
This is done by moving all three control axes to their endpoints and check their movements in the EICAS
display.

The intention to start moving is acknowledged by turning on the TAXI LIGHT. The CRJ starts rolling with just a
bit of power to overcome the inertia and can easily be controlled. If light on weight it may be necessary to
softly brake to avoid exceeding speed limits. Typically 7 to 10 kts are used on apron areas and 20 to 30 kts on a
free taxiway. This depends very much on weather, taxiway conditions and other traffic. And any instructions
from ground control.

Before reaching the holding point of the departure runway the “Taxi Checklist” must be completed and only
when everything is normal you signal your readiness by switching the transponder code to ON. Some airports
do request to be ON when rolling on the Apron but latest at lining up on departure runway.

TAKE-OFF ON RWY 23L

After having received clearance to “Line up and wait”, the last preparations for the take-off need to be made:

 Alert the flight attendants – "Cabin crew prepare for take-off"

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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

 Check identical values for HDG-bug and runway direction – should be 232°
 Running “Before Take-off Checklist”
o Completed
After having received clearance for taking off you switch on the landing lights and by that signals to the tower
that the take-off is imminent. First move the throttles forward to achieve about 70% N1 and check that both
engines are very close N1%. By that you assure that both engines are delivering similar thrust. Only then you
guide the throttles beyond CLB-dent into the TOGA-dent and monitor that the target N1% is matched while ITT
temperature limit is not exceeded. Any malfunction leads to immediate take-off abortion by the pilot in
charge.

Background information:
Taking off in an aircraft is a relative strict process serving safety of flight and noise abatement procedures. You
may divide into the take-off run up to V1, the rotation at VR and the initial climb at minimum V2 + 10. All these
V-Speeds have been defined during flight preparation as per earlier chapters. See previous chapter of this
tutorial.

Rotation at VR shall not exceed 3 degree/second, so that the tail will not touch the ground (tail strike). Pitch
attitude will be set to 15 to 18 ° and the trim may be adjusted to match and the gear will be retracted. By that
an optimal rate of climb with a built in safety margin in case of engine failure and minimal speed can be
achieved.

At 1’500 ft. above aerodrome elevation (AAE) engine power is reduced for noise abatement.

At 3’000 ft. above AAE the acceleration towards the maximum allowed speed of 250 kts will be initiated. This is
executed by an aligned process of flaps lift and flaps drag reduction with synchronous reduction of engine
power and climb rate to achieve the desired acceleration. You may control the aircraft manually or let the
autopilot have the controls.

REGULAR TAKE-OFF SEQUENCE (WITHOUT SPEED LIMIT ON DEPARTURE ROUTE) FOR THIS FLIGHT:
1. Positive rate of climb Gear retraction and maintain V2+10 as minimum.
2. 400 ft. HDG or NAV to be activated
3. 600 ft. Activate autopilot with active HDG or NAV mode
IAS HOLD mode to be engaged – current speed will be set as target
4. 1’500 ft. Pull back throttles to CLB dent and keep minimum V2 + 10
5. 3’000 ft. Target speed set to 210 kts (maximum speed for flaps 8°)
6. > 159 kts Flaps retraction to position 1
7. > 178 kts Flaps retraction to position 0
8. Flaps are 0 Target speed set to 250 kts (maximum speed <FL100)
9. Climb Check “After Take-off Checklist” to be completed
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

CLIMB AND CRUISE

After the busy phase is over and the autopilot follows the horizontal navigation, the route, it is our turn to
secure that all marked speed and altitude restrictions will be followed. We also change to standard barometric
pressure at the transition Altitude (TA) – on the MODRU 9T departure route this is at 5’000 ft.

Background information: Different to flying in the US, the European altitude control requires changing at
3’000 to 5’000ft and in mountainous areas higher to meet minimum altitudes above terrain. As of that TL the
flight level will be assigned as FL50 equal to 5’000 ft. at standard barometric pressure 1013 mbar (29.92 in HG)
and mentioned by the controller.

The CRJ has no automatic vertical navigation control and it is the task of the pilot flying to concur with possible
restrictions by setting i.e. the next allowed flight level. Our SID includes the following description and
limitations:

MODRU NINE TANGO

On track 232° DY to 3.4 DME DUS/3.6 DME IDNE;
RT, on track 320° to UBORO (_);
LT, on track 199° via NETEX (_) to MODRU(_).
Climb with 7% (425ft/NM) or more until passing 3000.
GPS/FMS RNAV: [A600+] - DL243[K210-; R] -
|UBORO[L] - NETEX[K250-] - MODRU[F210+].

With the following meaning:

 NETEX[K210-] the speed until NETEX is limited to 210 kts, even if you may have exceeded FL100
 MODRU[F210+] means that we should be crossing MODRU at FL210 or higher

Background information: Yet the CRJ has a built in autopilot modus that can control the climb or descent
speed by changing the pitch attitude and by that the rate of climb or descent to match a given target speed.
For best performance, thrust lever need to be at least in CLB and the FADEC will set an optimal climb power
according a database that relates to altitude and outside temperature. The typically used speed profile is
250/290/0.74 and this profile is the base for our flight calculation. Alternatively you may choose to fly faster,
i.e. catch up with a delay. This would be 250/300/0.77 or even 250/320/0.80. Naturally both are less
economical.

The first number in this list of speeds is the speed below FL100, which is unified around the world but maybe
lifted by the controller, if current traffic allows.

The second number is the speed for climb and cruise above FL100. With increased flight altitude, there is a
limit for aircraft not only from “indicated Airspeed” but also from the Mach number that shall not be
exceeded. The mentioned speed profiles keep a safety margin from these structural limits of the aircraft. At
about FL270, you reach an interception of IAS =290 and Mach =0.74 and you need to follow the speed control
by Mach. The speed selection button has a center push button to switch between IAS and Mach.

Passing FL100 we switch off the landing lights and could change the IAS HOLD to the desired 290 kts for the
following climb to FL290. But since the SID contains a speed restriction of maximum 250 kts until waypoint
NETEX, we need to wait until we have that passed. Since our weather is not predicting any special turbulence,
we switch off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign.

Just before we reach FL290 we are matching up with Mach 0.74 and change to Mach speed control.
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

At 1’000 ft. prior to target FL an alert will draw our attention to monitor the levelling off to horizontal cruise
flight. Since this requires less power from the engines, we need to pull out the thrust lever and adjust the N1
manually so that the speed stays at Mach 0.74. From experience we know that the expected N1 is about 81 to
82 % and we adjust to keep a speed of Mach 0.74 consistently.

Cruising is the quietest flight chapter and except for scanning other traffic and ATC handover we just monitor
engine parameters and climate control.

ARRIVAL TO BASEL AIRPORT

DECENT AND ENTRY INTO AIRPORT SPACE

The descent to our destination airport has two distinctive parts. First part is the descent into lower airspace
with the reduction of speed down to 250 knots below FL100. Thereafter follows the arrival according to the
published Standard Arrival Route (STAR) or according vectors given by the approach controller. We follow the
process flying the STAR route which needs to be selected first.

Slight winds from southeast suggest that runway 15 is in use. The approach will be done following the
Instrument Landing System (ILS) starting at the Initial Approach Fix (IAF) called ALTIK at 5’500 ft. This is linked
to our last waypoint by the STAR called ARPUS8K. Now the route to our landing runway is defined.

Background information: The arrival to the destination airport will be explained by the pilot flying (PF) in great
detail during the approach briefing. The Pilot Monitoring (PM) is checking the process. Every step will be
indicated and any specialties will be clarified. This may cover speed restriction and minimum altitudes,
obstacles and noise abatement requirements. Further the setup of the navigation instruments like VORs (VHF
Omnidirectional Range) in both NAV devices and in the ADF (Automatic Direction Finder), if an NDB (Non-
Directional Bearing) is available. Final item is the process to execute a missed approach, stating the route
which typically ends at a holding at a waypoint, from which a new approach can be executed.

Route preparation:

 ILS Y RWY 15 with IAF ALTIK at minimum 5500 ft.

 12 DME Arc BLM with frequency 117.45 set in VOR2
 ILS with frequency 111.55, identifier MH set in VOR1 and course 154°
 Threshold elevation 864 ft. entered as LDG ELEV
 Missed Approach straight ahead crossing ADF BS 376 set, followed by a right turn with maximum 220
knots intercepting BLM outbound radial 230°. Thereafter 15 DME Arc BLM to ALTIK hold
 Landing configuration flaps 45° und VRef=136 kts
o Weather classification for ILS. In use are CAT I, CAT II, CAT IIIa to CAT IIIc with lowering safety
altitudes and visibility requirements to initiate the missed approach procedure.

DESCENT CHECK
Entry into airport space:

 > 10’000 ft. > Setting target speed to 250 kts (maximum speed <FL100) and reducing accordingly
 10’000 ft > Landing lights on
 15 min before landing > Passenger signs on
 7 min before landing > Cabin crew information „Cabin crew prepare for landing“
 6’000 ft. > Actual barometric pressure set in all altimeters
 Approach Check > Running „Approach Checklist“
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

Basel airport is located in the 3 country triangle of France, Germany and Switzerland with the cities of
Mulhouse and Basel and the Jura mountains in the south. Due to this location, the arrival route is quite
complex. Adhering to altitude minimum 4’000 ft. and a speed of maximum 185 kts, because of tight turns on
the entry to the DME (Distance Measurement Equipment) arc and the final 90° turn on ILS localizer (LOC),
requires a good control of the aircraft. As a consequence you need to reduce speed to 200 kts and flaps 1° and
185 kts with flaps 8° is necessary.

A more simple arrival can be done by using vectors, i.e. outbound VOR/DME GROSTENQUIN GTQ 111.25 MHz
set in NAV1 and descending to 4’000 ft. at 10.4 NM before VOR/DME Basel MULHOUSE BLM 117.45 MHz set in
NAV2 and once close to BLM switch to standby ILS/DME MH 111.55 MHz on NAV 1.

FINAL APPROACH DIREC TION RWY 15

The required 185 kts at 4’000 ft. should be flown with flaps 8°. We capture the glideslope at 9.5 NM distance
and 3’100 ft. altitude difference to the runway. Remaining are about 3 min to achieve landing configuration.
We therefore reduce to 160 kts and flaps 20°. 5NM before threshold we drop the gear and reduce speed
further. Consequently flaps 35° and 45° are set so that we achieve landing configuration at 1’000 ft. above
runway elevation and the speed should read VRef + 10 = 146 kts. Typically you need about 58% N1 power.
Running the “Before Landing Checklists” and switching off the autopilot we are cleared to land.

LANDING
During the last 1’000 ft. we are concentrated on keeping the speed and the correct position in reference to the
flight director (FD) indication. If the deviation from the ILS LOC/GS happens to be more that 1 dot, the landing
must be aborted and the above discussed Missed Approach Procedure (MAP) must be executed.

Crosswind influences must be equalized precisely and with strong headwinds the value for Vref needs to be
increased by half the headwind. This is done to increase the safety margin.

At 50 ft. above runway – well indicated at the RA display – we pull the thrust lever to idle and reduce the
vertical speed with a soft pull on the yoke. Once the main wheels have touched the ground, the spoilers are
automatically deployed and the pilot pulls the throttle into reverse position. Drop the nose softly to get the
front wheel on ground and only then use wheel brakes for further speed reduction. At 90 kts you cut reversers
by setting the throttle lever back to idle position and take the next exit left to your parking position.

Crossing the hold line you configure the aircraft for taxiing to position:

 Landing lights to off, taxi light remains on

 Strobes to off
 Flaps to be retracted
 Transponder set on “Standby”
 Probes heat to off
 Depending on gate or apron position and local prescription we may switch on the APU to assure air
conditioning and electric supplies once we switch off the engines
 Turning into position we switch off the taxi lights (danger of blinding ground personnel)

PARKING AND SECURING THE AIRCRAFT

After arrival at the parking position:

 Parking brakes set to on

 Cut the engines
 Fuel pumps switched off
 Seatbelt signs switched off
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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

 NAV lights stay typically on

 Beacon set to off
 Nose wheel steering to off
De-boarding of passengers and recording of flight data

DISCLAIMER
All statements and explanations given in this flight description are meant as introduction to execute a flight
with the add-on “CRJ700 and &CRJ900” developed by Digital Aviation for Aerosoft and to be used with the
flight simulators FSX (Microsoft) or Prepar3D (Lockheed Martin).

This is not a training material for real world flying!

The comments represent my knowledge as add-on aircraft developer without a respective pilot license. The
shown screen shots are made from programs that I use for my personal simulator flying.

Alexander M. Metzger, Geneva, March 2015

EXTENDED FLIGHT PLAN EDDL-LFSB (SOURCE VATROUTE)

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CRJ-700 CRJ-900 AIRCRAFT GENERAL / IN FSX 1 09-Sep-2015

EXTENDED FLIGHT PLAN EDDL-LFSB (SOURCE AIVLASOFT EFB)