Roshan Bhojwani | rbhojwani@hotmail.

com | 2012

PMDG 737NGX GroundWork

Flight Instruments

Lesson Introduction

Hello, and welcome to the Flight Instruments Lesson in the PMDG 737 Next Generation
GroundWork, from Angle of Attack.

This lesson will cover the following topics:

- Well start by introducing the Common Display System,

- Overview of the Display Electronics Unit, Display Units and other CDS components,
- Summary of the flight deck instruments.

Similarly to the Autoflight lesson, today we will talk about the 737NG flight deck instrumentation
system from a very superficial point of view. We want to give you a basic understanding of a few
key points, so that you can dig into the more complex items during FlightWork! There are an
enormous amount of instruments and digital gauges, and it would take us, and you, a lot of time
to understand each and every reading, limitation, marking and color. For this reason, well
practice a seeing is believing approach to the information in this lesson, and FlightWork.

Having said this, lets start talking about the Common Display System.

The Common Display System, or CDS, is put together to provide the flight crew of important
information for safe operation of the aircraft. This information comes in the form of navigation,
engine and performance parameters that are displayed in three formats:

- Primary Flight Display (PFD),

- Navigation Display (ND),
- Engine Display (ED).

Worth mentioning is that the Common Display System may also provide flight instrument
information in a more traditional way, also known as the EFIS/MAP display system. We can
see in the diagram that the EFIS/MAP mode displays the instruments in a layout that is
somewhat more standard than the PFD/ND mode. However, for the purposes of this lesson, we
will talk about the instruments layout in the PFD/ND mode.

Moving on, The Common Display System is primarily made up of the following components:

- Display Electronic Units (DEUs),

- Display Units (DUs),
- Electronic Flight Instrument System, or EFIS control panels,
- Display Select and Control Panels.

Before we actually dig into the instruments on the 737NG, lets have a look at each primary
component of the CDS.

Display Electronic Units (DEUs)

In first place, we have the Display Electronic Units (DEUs). The DEUs are the main elements
in the Common Display System as they receive the aircrafts avionic and airframe information
from the Air Data Inertial Reference Units (ADIRUs). The data is then processed and changed
to video signals so that they are shown in the flight deck screens. There are two DEUs in the
737NG.

DEU (1) is powered by the 28V DC STBY BUS and the DEU (2) is powered by the 28V DC BUS
(2). For system protection, both DEUs are provided a nominal hold up voltage, by the 28V DC
HOT BATTERY BUS. Whenever power is being transferred or momentarily cutoff for one
reason or the other during two seconds or less, the DEUs use this hold up voltage to stay

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energized. If primary power to the DEUs is shut for more than 2 seconds, the related DEU will
power down and re-start in 90 seconds.

Display Units (DUs)

The next CDS component well talk about are the flight deck Display Units, or DUs. Once the
DEUs have processed the aircraft avionic and airframe information, they generate the graphics
that are then sent to the cockpit displays. These graphics are presented in six screens, which
are:

- Captain Outboard Display Unit,

- Captain Inboard Display Unit,
- Upper Display Unit,

These three DUs are controlled and computed by the DEU 1.

- And the First Officer Inboard Display Unit,

- First Officer Outboard Display Unit,
- Lower Display Unit.

These three DUs are controlled and computed by the DEU 2.

Each DU receives screen-brightness information from the DEUs, which subsequently receive
brightness inputs from the Brightness Control Panel, allowing the flight crew to select their
desired screen brightness. There are also Remote light sensors, and Bezel light sensors that
measure the ambient light and automatically control the DUs brightness. For brightness
purposes, the DEUs divide the DUs into the following pairs:

- Left outboard and inboard DUs,

- Upper and lower center DUs,
- Right outboard and inboard DUs.

QUICKTIP: When the light sensors detect a rapid increase in flight deck ambient light,
the DEUs rapidly increase DU brightness, however, if the flight deck ambient light
decreases, the DEUs decrease the DU brightness slowly. This is done to replicate the
way the human eye works.

All six displays are normally powered by both DEUs but can also be powered by a single DEU.
A DISPLAYS SOURCE selector located in the forward overhead panel controls the related DEU
source for each display. The selector has the following positions:

ALL ON 1: The Left, or Captains, DEU controls all six DUs.

ALL ON 2: The Right, or First Officers, DEU controls all six DUs.
AUTO: Which is the normal operating position, allows the left and right DEUs to control
their respective screens, according to the logic we explained above. In case any single
DEU were to fail in flight, the AUTO logic instantly switches command to the other
operative DEU.

Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) Panel

Moving on with the CDS components, we have the Electronic Flight Instrument System, or
EFIS, control panels. There are two of these: The left EFIS panel controls the information on the
captains outboard and inboard display, while the right EFIS does the same for the First Officers
outboard and inboard display units.

Each EFIS panel is subdivided into two areas: The upper area controls the flight instrument
information, whereas the lower area controls the navigation display information. The EFIS has
many little options and display modes. Dont worry if you dont understand all of these now, as
these will be heavily discussed during FlightWork, however, as a summary, the two areas of the
EFIS panels have the following switches and buttons:

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EFIS Upper Area includes approaching minimums reference selectors, a meters to feet
switch, barometric reference selectors and a flight path vector switch.

The EFIS Lower Area has controls for displaying VOR and ADF information, a
navigation display mode selector, a map range selector, a TCAS information switch,
and several map switches that add information to the maps, for example, the display of
airports or waypoints.

Immediately to the right of the DISPLAYS SOURCE selector we talked about earlier, is the
DISPLAYS CONTROL PANEL selector. Similarly to the former, the DISPLAYS CONTROL
PANEL selector allows for one single EFIS panel to determine both the Captains and the First
Officers primary and navigation displays. The selector has the following positions:

BOTH ON 1: All displays are set by the Captains EFIS panel.

BOTH ON 2: All displays are set by the First Officers EFIS panel.
NORMAL: The left and right EFIS panels control their related displays.

Now that weve discussed a few key components of the Central Display System, lets have a
look at the actual instruments and the information that is shown in the PMDG 737 DUs under
the PFD/ND presentation. FlightWork is just around the corner, where all the instruments will be
deeply discussed and a few cross-check techniques will be taught. For this reason, were going
to have a basic look at the displays right now in this lesson, so if you have any doubts or
questions, drop a comment below this video and well help you out!

Captain and First Officer Outboard Displays

Lets start with the captain and first officers outboard displays, also known as the Primary Flight
Displays, or PFDs. These include seven main indications:

- Flight Mode Annunciators: Located in the top, the FMA displays the current flight
mode for the autopilot and autothrottle. The 737 Autoflight Groundwork lesson
comprehensively discusses the FMA.
- Autopilot-flight director system status: Displayed in the center above the attitude
indicator. The 737 Autoflight lesson also talks about the AFDS.
- We also have the following common cockpit instruments: Attitude indicator, or
artificial horizon, airspeed/mach indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator and a
heading/track indicator.

Lets have a deeper look into some important instruments.

Airspeed Indicator

For example, the airspeed indicator comes in the form of a tape. The instrument is dynamic in
the sense that it displays certain information according to the aircraft flight phase. This means
that things like the selected MCP speed, current airspeed or maximum speed are normally
shown, but for example when the aircraft is in the takeoff or approach phase, additional
elements appear on the speed tape, like the takeoff reference speeds or the flap maneuvering
speeds.

The instrument also displays mach number when the aircrafts airspeed is 0.40 mach or above.
Where airspeed is below 0.40 mach, groundspeed is displayed in the same area. Airspeeds
may be bugged in the instrument, either by an MCP input or by the FMC computed airspeed.
Many markings and colors determine many important speed limitations.

EXAMPLE: The little amber box below the maximum speed displays the maximum
maneuvering speed, which is the airspeed that provides a 0.3g margin to high speed
buffeting. Another examples are the green markings that are displayed for the takeoff
reference speeds (i.e V1, V2, VR and flap speeds).

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Attitude Indicator

Moving on, we also have a conventional attitude indicator in the PFD with a normal bank scale,
horizon line and pitch scale, a bank pointer and a turn coordinator or slip/skid indicator.

Certain extra elements include:

- A pitch limit indication, which displays the pitch limit angle before stick-shaker
activation occurs.
- A flight path vector indication that displays the flight path and drift angles, relative to
the horizon line and display center respectively. The flight path vector switch is located
in the EFIS panel we talked about earlier.
- And finally a flight director bar, which indicates the flight director steering inputs. The
flight director is deeply discussed in the 737 Groundwork Autoflight lesson.

- Around the attitude indicator, we can also find Navigation Performance Scales (NPS),
which indicate how deviated the aircrafts position is with regards to where it should be.
The scales have to do with the RNP criteria, and they only display when LNAV, VNAV,
HDG SEL or TO/GA modes are engaged.

- During ILS approaches, the following information displays in the attitude indicator: an
Approach reference briefing, with the ILS identifier, the final approach course, the DME
distance and the marker beacon symbol. Glideslope and localizer deviation information
is also displayed around the attitude indicator as and when the radio signals become
available.

Altimeter

In the right side of the PFD we find the altitude tape, which indicates the ADIRS altitude and
other related information. Altitude is displayed in feet, and may also be shown in meters if
selected so in the EFIS panel. Selected MCP altitude, altitude bugs and altimeter barometric
settings are also shown. Barometric settings are shown in inHg or hPa as selected in the EFIS
panel.

Similarly to the airspeed tape, the altitude tape also displays certain information that is specific
to certain phases of flight.

EXAMPLE: When the aircraft is approaching to land, the EFIS selected barometric
approach minimums are displayed in green and a landing altitude indication appears in
amber.

The PFD also displays radio altitude information when the aircraft is below 2500ft AGL.

Vertical Speed Indicator

Moving on to the right of the altimeter, we can find the vertical speed indicator, which indicates
the current instantaneous vertical speed, as opposed to conventional vertical speed indicators
with the 6 to 9 second delay. Selected MCP vertical speed is displayed in magenta, and the
actual vertical speed pointer displays in white. There is no indication when vertical speed is
lesser than plus or minus 400 feet per minute.

Heading and Track Indications

Finally in the PFD, heading and track is presented in the bottom of the screen. Current heading
is shown, current track, selected heading, and heading bugs. The heading reference may be
either with relation to the true or magnetic north.

PFD Failure Flags

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Now, all the indications we pointed out previously assume that all sources of information and
computers work properly. What happens when there are failures? Certain failure flags display in
the related instrument when it is faulty, or the information that feeds it is faulty or unavailable.
Some of the many possible flags are:

SEL SPD: selected speed is invalid,

PITCH/ROLL: Captain and F/Os pitch and roll angles differ by 5 or more,
ALT: altitude display has failed,
Amongst others.

There are certain extra annunciations and alerts that are shown on the PFD. Some of these are
disagree alerts, for example when airspeed or altitude indications are considerably different
between the captain and the F/Os screens. Other types of alerts include annunciations
regarding the actual display system, for example, when a DEU fails or the CDS needs
maintenance (CDS FAULT).

Captain and First Officer Inboard Displays

The captain and first officers inboard displays, also known as the Navigation Displays, or NDs,
essentially display navigation progress and routing information to the flight crew. One of many
navigation modes may be displayed in the NDs: MAP, APP, VOR or PLN. These are selectable
in the EFIS panel directly above the related navigation display, provided the DISPLAYS
CONTROL PANEL switch is in its NORMAL position.

Lets talk about each navigation mode in particular.

ND MAP Mode

Firstly we have the MAP mode, which shows the aircraft position relative to the route of flight.
The background is a moving map, as the name implies it. The MAP mode can be presented in a
CENTERED mode, with a full compass rose, or an EXPANDED mode with a partial compass
rose. For the most part, the information displayed on both MAP modes is the same.

The map mode is the most commonly used display during flight. Some of the information it
presents is:

- Selected heading and track,

- Range until the selected MCP altitude is reached,
- Groundspeed and true airspeed,
- Wind direction and speed,
- Waypoint information, ETA and distance,
- Navigation data points as selected in the EFIS panel.

These navigation data points can be:

- Waypoints (WPT),
- Airports (APT),
- Route Progress (DATA),
- Position (POS),
- And additional navigation facilities (STA).
ND VOR Mode

Following the MAP mode, we have the Navigation Display VOR mode, obviously used when
VOR tracking is the main navigation source. The VOR mode also comes in an EXPANDED and
a CENTERED mode, but both are heading up. In this navigation display, we have similar
information to the MAP mode, except that there is a CDI and there is VOR station information,
in terms of OBS course, frequency and DME distance.

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ADF station information may also be shown, as well as RMI pointers to each selected ADF or
VOR.

ND APP Mode

Very similarly to the VOR mode, the APP mode is used for approaches and is also heading up.
It displays a CDI for localizer capture and interception, as well as glideslope information towards
the right of the display. Wind information is also shown, as it is critical for the approach and
landing phase. The APP mode also comes in an EXPANDED and a CENTERED mode.

ND PLN Mode

Finally, we have the navigation display PLAN mode, where the presentation is true north up.
This mode is used to situate the route and legs relative to the north. The LEGS page on the
CDU allows a view of the active route in the PLAN mode.

ND Advisories and Alerts

Similarly to the PFD, the ND also has several advisories and annunciators to alert the crew or
unwanted conditions. Amongst all, we are going to talk about one in particular: the EFIS
MODE/NAV FREQ DISAGREE. It is important to highlight this alert because it is displayed in
the ND when the APP mode is selected but a VOR frequency is tuned, or the VOR mode is
selected but an ILS approach frequency is tuned. Worth mentioning, this alert is displayed in
both the EXPANDED and CENTERED display modes.

To emphasize the alert, the DME and frequency displays in the upper right of the ND are
replaced by dashes. The CDI and the glideslope pointers are also hidden.

Standby Instruments

The last set of instruments that are covered in this lesson are the standby instruments. It is
imperative to understand and dominate the operation of all standby instruments, as these
become the primary source of flight information when there are significant failures in the
common display system, such as a prolonged electrical failure. The chances of this occurring
are almost negligible, however, the system redundancy must be built-in, which means we as
pilots must know what standby resources are available to us!

The standby instruments on board the 737NG are:

- Standby magnetic compass,

- Standby attitude indicator,
- Standby airspeed indicator,
- Standby altimeter,
- Standby radio magnetic indicator, or RMI,
- And an Integrated Standby Flight Display, or IFSD.

The magnetic compass is standard, with a normal correction card located near it.

The standby attitude indicator is independent from the primary attitude displays, and is powered
by the BATTERY BUS. If all normal AC power is lost, the standby attitude indicator remains
powered as long as there is battery power, approximately for 60min. Similarly to a conventional
attitude indicator, the 737 standby attitude indicator is operational around a minute after power
has been applied to its gyro, and the indications are only reliable after around 3 minutes of
power application.

Standby altitude and airspeed are displayed in one single indicator. These receive air
information from alternate static ports and an alternate pitot probe and are fully independent
from the primary airspeed and altitude displays.

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The standby radio magnetic indicator (RMI) displays independent VOR or ADF bearings to a
station. The standby RMI is powered by the AC STBY bus and remains powered even if all
normal AC power sources are lost, as long as there is battery power.

And last but not least, the Integrated Standby Flight Display, or ISFD. The ISFD displays
attitude, airspeed, altitude, ILS and magnetic information. All the information for the ISFD is fed
by:

- Alternate pitot and static air sources,

- Internal inertial attitude sensors,
- And the No. (1) ILS receiver.

QUICK TIP: The ISFD information is NOT available in polar regions.

The ISFD is activated once the battery switch is placed ON and the battery bus is powered.
Once the battery is powered, the ISFD begins an initialization sequence during 90 seconds. If
there is any change in the aircrafts position while the ISFD is initializing, the ISFD may display
inaccurate information. This condition is not annunciated and it is something we must keep an
eye out for.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson weve had a deep look at all the flight instruments on board the 737NG. Sure
there are many, and they all have so many limitations, colors, markings and information,
however, it is important to get a good understanding of their operation to make the most out of
your PMDG flights!

Because this lesson was only an introduction to the flight instruments, we encourage you to stay
tuned as FlightWork is only a few weeks away.

We may teach and explain the instruments to you as best as we can, but sometimes, the best
way of understanding and learning them is by simply sitting down in the aircraft cockpit and
staring at them. Youll be surprised how much this little trick helps to visually orient oneself in
the cockpit, and therefore speed up the instrument crosscheck, which is also something well
teach during FlightWork.

This lesson covered the following topics:

- Common Display System Introduction,

- DEUs, DUs, EFIS, Select & Control panels,
- Summary of the flight deck instruments.

This lesson wraps up GroundWork. We hope youve enjoyed it as much as weve enjoyed
teaching it! Throttle On!

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