January 9Jan 9 The takeoff roll sequence in the MD-80 is rather unique - quite different to what 737 pilots are used to! And if you've made these mistakes before, don't worry - you're not alone! Several high-end flightsimmers have fallen victim to this 😁 I've had to point out this to many simmers, and I've seen various strange ways different people approach this sequence: 1. The CLIMP Victims: Some users don't know there's a TO/GA button behind the autothrottles and get mixed up with the Thrust Rating Panel (TRP). Logic: "Since I selected TAKEOFF on the TRP, just spool up and engage the autopilot!" Bad move - throttles go into CLIMP (Clamp; THR HLD) mode at whatever setting you're at. Most realize too late the sluggish performance and firewall the throttles. Outcome: Overrun, tail strike, overrevved engines, or dual flameout. This happened to Q8 Pilot once in a livestream ! 2. EPR Lim approach: Learning from #1, many use EPR LIM to set takeoff thrust to the TRP value. Seems reasonable, but throttles never enter CLMP mode, making a reject takeoff tough 3. The 737 Approach: Some waltz in thinking 737 flows work: Arm A/T first, spool up, then TO/GA. Problem: If you've pre-armed ALT or LNAV on the ground, TO/GA overrides them, leading to an awkward situation in the air when you realize and have to re-arm. 😉 So whats the actual proceedure you may ask? Answer: Watch real MD-80 jumpseat vids - After engine start, TO/GA can be armed early. Arm NAV/ALT too if desired. On the runway: Spool to 1.4 EPR, then engage A/T. Simple! In my video here, I explained the takeoff proceedure as well The FMA Should Read as follows: Still need to learn how to post a screenshot... |EPR TO | ALT (+ Nav - Optional) | Tak OFF | TAK OFF| Nail this and hear that Mad Dog howl on spool-up (Ok, we need the immersive audio pack first ;))! Who's tried the 20th Anniv? Hope this addresses the common pitfalls many MD-80 simmers face - making mistakes is a learning opportunity (as told in my aeronautical engineering course)! Disclaimer: I'm not a real pilot, but a real aeronautical engineer & flightsim enthusiast. Don't try IRL - refer to your airline-specific FCOM. Rest of us simmers... enjoy!
January 9Jan 9 Glad to know of your excitement…🙂…and learning…with this classic MD jetliner…in MSFS… I flew it much in the earlier SIMs, but I don’t own it in MSFS. I have also travelled a lot on it with AA (they operated over 300 units at one time)… Always smooth and quiet flight, as I recall… Enjoy..! Edited January 9Jan 9 by P_7878
January 9Jan 9 Author 36 minutes ago, P_7878 said: Glad to know of your excitement…🙂…and learning…with this classic MD jetliner…in MSFS… I flew it much in the earlier SIMs, but I don’t own it in MSFS. I have also travelled a lot on it with AA (they operated over 300 units at one time)… Always smooth and quiet flight, as I recall… Enjoy..! Nice! After I got acquainted with concorde in 2015, my second most flown plane in the sim is the MD-80. It really resonates with me. I love it 😎😍
January 9Jan 9 Author 15 minutes ago, sd_flyer said: They still have compass mirror inop 😞 Oh no! I didn't try that out. I was rather impressed that the aerosoft DC-8 has it functional 🙂
January 9Jan 9 My only real gripe is the modeling of the “tight” tensioned thrust levers. Other than that, great jet as always! FAA: ATP-ME, 737 CA, enough time in the 757/767 to be dangerous 🤠 Matt Kubanda, 7950X3D, 64GB RAM, RTX 5090@4k, MSFS 2024
January 10Jan 10 On 1/9/2026 at 7:33 AM, Joshua757 said: Still need to learn how to post a screenshot... Simple: Take screenshot (I generally use the snip tool) Crop for preferred framing upload to Google Photos click on photo in photo album, choose create link, then copy link, usually i will test the link in another browser (to confirm anonymous access), and if the album appears, i'll copy the link to the image itself. paste here to avsim, et voila! Takes me about 2 mins at this point. p.s.: I use Google because I use it for a bunch of other things besides image hosting, so I'm always already logged in 😉
January 10Jan 10 20 hours ago, P_7878 said: Glad to know of your excitement…🙂…and learning…with this classic MD jetliner…in MSFS… I flew it much in the earlier SIMs, but I don’t own it in MSFS. I have also travelled a lot on it with AA (they operated over 300 units at one time)… Always smooth and quiet flight, as I recall… Enjoy..! I think a lot of those AA pilots are prior military, judging by the bank angles and other maneuvers they pulled 😉
January 10Jan 10 Author 17 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said: Simple: Take screenshot (I generally use the snip tool) Crop for preferred framing upload to Google Photos click on photo in photo album, choose create link, then copy link, usually i will test the link in another browser (to confirm anonymous access), and if the album appears, i'll copy the link to the image itself. paste here to avsim, et voila! Takes me about 2 mins at this point. p.s.: I use Google because I use it for a bunch of other things besides image hosting, so I'm always already logged in 😉 Oh ok! That's so simple. I was trying with Flickr haha. Thanks alot @UrgentSiesta 🙂
January 10Jan 10 Author 15 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said: I think a lot of those AA pilots are prior military, judging by the bank angles and other maneuvers they pulled 😉 Must be indeed 😎
January 10Jan 10 21 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said: I think a lot of those AA pilots are prior military, judging by the bank angles and other maneuvers they pulled 😉 My friend flew for American and was a captain in md80th. With all type rating under his belt he told me that md was the most fun airplane to fly P.S. he flew mds until AA retired them and then switched to 737 flight sim addict, airplane owner, CFI
January 10Jan 10 20 minutes ago, sd_flyer said: My friend flew for American and was a captain in md80th. With all type rating under his belt he told me that md was the most fun airplane to fly P.S. he flew mds until AA retired them and then switched to 737 Interesting! My dad flew 727s for UAL (among others) and he said that was his favorite. I'm sensing a trend here!!! 🙂 Edited January 10Jan 10 by UrgentSiesta
January 10Jan 10 Author 53 minutes ago, sd_flyer said: My friend flew for American and was a captain in md80th. With all type rating under his belt he told me that md was the most fun airplane to fly P.S. he flew mds until AA retired them and then switched to 737 That's really cool!
January 10Jan 10 Commercial Member My biggest failing with the MD-80 (and I still do it occasionally now) is engaging autopilot too early and watching it start to descend RAPIDLY while chasing the airspeed indicator. The trim can't keep up and I invariably have to disengage the autopilot and stabilise the aircraft myself which is annoying. I'll watch your video and take notes 😂 Self-Loading Cargo - Real-time Cabin Crew and Passenger Simulator for MSFS, X-Plane, P3D and FSX
January 10Jan 10 Author 2 minutes ago, FPVSteve said: My biggest failing with the MD-80 (and I still do it occasionally now) is engaging autopilot too early and watching it start to descend RAPIDLY while chasing the airspeed indicator. The trim can't keep up and I invariably have to disengage the autopilot and stabilise the aircraft myself which is annoying. I'll watch your video and take notes 😂 Haha, that's great to hear! Hope you find my videos useful. Are you engaging the autopilot immediately after Takeoff? If so try IAS Hold 250 k - that mode will never cause a descent. The real aircraft shouldn't descend like that. It could also be a premature flap retraction too.
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