Flight Simulator 2020 - Full MCDU/FMS Tutorial - Airbus A320neo | Full Flight With MCDU

**NOTE**
The performance calculator that I use in this video has mysteriously disappeared. But don't worry! I have found an alternative here:
It works the same way as the other one (and is actually more pretty). To get the OAC (temperature) just look in the simbrief METAR :)
In this video, we will be taking a look at the MCDU/FMS in the Airbus A320neo in the brand new Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. We will be learning all about the MCDU and it's different functions and how it can greatly help the pilot and co-pilot when they are on flights. I also added a full flight with the MCDU in this video!
0:00 - 0:49 - Intro
0:49 - 2:02 - What is the MCDU/FMS?
2:02 - 6:23 - What are all those buttons?
6:23 - 16:37 - Full MCDU Setup Before flight
16:37 - 19:07 - Takeoff/AP Engagement
19:07 - 20:18 - Crossing 10,000ft Checking MCDU
20:18 - 21:00 - Important to know. TOD/TOC
21:00 - 21:50 - Cruise Altitude Reached
21:50 - 23:17 - Descent
23:17 - 25:00 - Setting up Approach in MCDU
25:00 - 25:58 - ILS Prep in MCDU
25:58 - 26:58 - Capturing Localizer
26:58 - 27:40 - Capturing Glide Slope
27:40 - 28:14 - Final Landing Preparations
28:14 - 30:25 - Landing & Final Words/Outro
#MicrosoftFlightSimualtor #MSFS2020 #Tutorial
Simbrief:
www.simbrief.c...
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[@flamez3858]

I can’t strsss enough , 2 years later I’m watching this , tryna learn how to fly properly asking people to help but none there , Thjs is the ULTIMATE Tutorial I’m am so happy now I can fly! Thankyou❤

[@desfroos87]

man, not enough words to thank you for your clarity in explaining all of that. just thanks, top job

[@dillon5155]

You deserve many more subscribers. You explained everything so succinctly and knowledgeably this is such a better tutorial than others I've watched in the past. The alternative performance calculator you gave is great, but how do I calculate OAT (C) or where do I find it?

[@jackrussellthevrgamer4209]

Sorry your question didn’t get answered….

[@kidos4666]

This guide is underrated. It's clear, on-point, and easily understand for beginners like me. Good job my friend, keep uploading. The only thing that missing maybe to activate auto-brake button before landing.

[@captainhorn23]

Glad it helped!

[@bobcardone7437]

I have watched a number of these tutorial videos on the A 320, and yours by far is the best.

[@Thatguyjames77]

I really really like your relaxed tone when it comes to talking systems etc 10/10 cheers from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@captainhorn23]

Thank you so much my man! I'm glad to hear that! Greetings from the USA! :)

[@CaptainCarter1]

I'm blown away. This was so well explained I much prefer this to all the msfs tutorials by far!

[@wizznet86]

One of the best tutorials for this game. Keep it up!

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks so much for your kind words!

[@leaguen6701]

Really quicky want to say how good this channel is. I had so much trouble flying but these vids helped. You DESERVE more attention

[@harbinguy1]

Thanks for pointing out the items in the red box. The majority of the views are new to fly aircraft, especially the jetliners. There are a few " real pilot" out there talking about these things but they tend to fly through as of their viewers are "real pilots", often times it became very confusing for the beginners. Thank you again, captain!!!

[@ska2dt]

Great videos, I must say I did a little dance the first time I stuck an ILS landing in the 320. lol

[@tomkaliamos6773]

Finally someone that gives clear concise instructions that can be understood. There are some real tossers producing these tutorials but Captain Horn is not one of them. I fly the FlightFactor A320 on X-Plane 11 and for some reason the tutorials are 3 times longer with lots of info to show how much the instructor knows but unfortunately all that info burys what the student is trying to learn. Captain Horn has just catipulted me into a confident full fledged A320 pilot. There is plenty more to learn about in regards to controlling the MCDU but first you need the basics to get from point A to point B and this is the perfect tutorial for that. Whether you use MS Flight Sim or X-Plane, all the info in this tutorial applies. Thanks mate.

[@51stparedoctober4]

Great video as always. These really are the best beginner & intermediate flight sim videos out there. One thing of note that may be helpful for some (and I could be wrong but) I believe at 23:50 when you're entering the QNH into the MCDU, the calculator is giving it to you in HG (imperial) but the standard MFS A320NEO without mods will only allow you to use HPa (metric) in the MCDU. If I'm correct, you can choose one of two options to overcome that. Option A: you can spin the Altimeter Pressure dial above the FD and LS to match the HG provided by your calculator then click/press the dial to have it automatically convert the HG to HPa which you then enter into the MCDU. Option B: you can skip noting the HG provided by the calculator and get your HG from ATC, then spin the Altimeter Pressure dial above the FD and LS to match that HG, click/press the dial to have it automatically convert the HG to HPa and enter into the MCDU. HPa doesn't utilize decimal points and is more accurate which is why I'm thinking the sim wants you to use it.

[@flyeagle320]

I was FSX player for few years and it was easy for me to do complete ILS landing but after switching to msfs I was struggling to do that . Now came across your tutorial without any confusing people you have done a beautiful tutorial .thanks a ton . I will try it and comment again ❤️. Subbed you as well

[@captainhorn23]

So glad I helped you out! Thank you so much for subscribing!

[@NotAndrew]

After a few times watching this video I finally did a full flight without any assistance! Thank you for making this :)

[@captainhorn23]

Glad it helped!

[@ozmozis6073]

You're one of the best, very best, who explains the basics and integrates the knowledge into an active example. Thanks so much for doing this.

[@captainhorn23]

I appreciate that! Glad to help!

[@rezaomar3397]

Ive been searching for something like this for so long. INCREDIBLY HELPFUL THANKSSS

[@ather450x3]

I know right .. helps a ton .. thanks

[@EclipseAirways]

THE BEST tutorial of the MSFS A320!

[@russiandrivers9986]

Great tutorial, I was trying different things in the sim and couldn't understand what the plane was doing half the time

[@captainhorn23]

Glad to hear it!

[@heathj7794]

This has been the best video I've seen on this subject. Just wish it could be done through the world map instead of having to use two third party sites

[@johnhawkins2492]

FLEX TO TEMP is "flex takeoff temp." It is a fake higher than actual outside air temperature that makes the engine computer (FADEC) think it has to lower its power (fuel flow) to stay within limits. It knows the real temperature but it plays along. This gives the engine hot section a longer life. The temperature is flexible to achieve a balance between adequate thrust and engine life. TOGA takes the blinders off.

[@Z1000sxGuy]

Quite possibly best description and video, been looking for videos on this and yours is top notch. Im new to fs2020 this hopefully will help me loads. Cheers

[@captainhorn23]

Awesome, thank you!

[@michaelr.9363]

Thanks for that intresting tutorial. Here I learned much. I will look again to make the learned more cemented :-) Please next time can you zoom more into that Instruments you are talking about, coz on a laptop sometimes very hard to see the details, thank you

[@captainhorn23]

No problem man! Glad to of helped. Yeah for sure I can zoom in further!

[@GreggRoberts]

I subscribed to your channel because you have a good mic and don't sound like you're trapped in a shoe box down the hall. Plus this video helped me immensely.

[@blackking2914]

most helpfull video ive ever seen on you tube. u deserve millions of subscribers

[@brandondalton3420]

That you for this! I'm semi competent with the fms but this cleared up any confusion i had. Keep up the great work. Yall subscribe to this guy. Great vids

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks so much my man! This warms my heart to see comments like this!

[@simpilot001]

Agreed subscribe

[@ozarkaviation]

When you realize that you were doing everything wrong on approach… Definitely will be using this tutorial for my next flights!

[@pseud420]

As a beginner this guide has been incredibly useful! Thanks so much for putting the time into fully explaining everything we need and pointing out the things we can skip. :)

[@tonynes3577]

Who knew you can fly a plane by programming a computer. Great instruction; as a newbie I need to practice this a lot. And then throw out my questions later! Thanks!

[@franksantiago9366]

Man, I've been searching and searching for a video like this that explains the essentials on the FMS. I've been trying to learn how to use it and do the autopilot but I was making so many mistakes because I didn't know. Can I ask any questions for the future? I purchased everything for my Flight Simulator, including the honeycomb yoke, throttle and the Logitech rudders. I will give this a try and let you know how it goes. Thanks again so much for being so detail oriented, and helping us flight simmers afficionados learn. All the best to you brother. - Frank in Seattle.

[@rogue_judgex5581]

This is such an educational video for this game I’m just starting and I love it

[@abbynormal7389]

I've seen many tuts and this is THE BEST one I've seen ...!! THANK YOU.

[@jazeify8513]

This helped me so much! Thank you. I was so suprised to see how many susbscribers you have, you deserve so much more!

[@michaeldietrick9857]

Thanks Capt Horn!!! this tutorial was very useful!! I just flew from lemd to lpma Ronaldo. Very tricky landing with strong winds, and narrow runway. You are a very good instructor!!! Thanks again!! Capt. Dietrick

[@GPTblacksmith]

Great video man! I’m a FS noob and trying to learn the ropes of this massively complex endeavor. Your video taught me quite a bit, thanks!

[@garystafford6570]

Excellent and succinct tutorial. Can't wait to try it out. Also hoping that non-functioning buttons and other issues with the MCDU will be worked out in the future. Keep up the good work and "Fly safe."

[@nataliaramirez1769]

Hello, Captain, congratulatios for your superb MCDU Tutorial relating to the A320. You are en excellent instractor.

[@davidko6478]

Best tutorial ever. Not even kidding. Everything was so well explained

[@MsRybak1]

This.video was definitely helpful. I was about ready to give up on 2020 until I saw your video on the FMS and ILS landing in the airbus 320. Thank you, now can you do a similar one for the TBM. A lot of my flight sim members seem to be flying it a lot. Thank you again for a great video.

[@captainhorn23]

Glad it helped and I am glad you didn't give it up!! If you need any help, feel free to join my Discord and talk to me and others there who can help out!

[@pmather]

Excelltent and detailed tutorial - I'm going to watch it again to pick up all the good stuff!

[@patrickseinstra1846]

Great explainatory video! This really helps in further enjoying MSFS. Hope the AP will be further enhanced / de-bugged.

[@liubo8050]

The best one i have seen so far. Thank you.

[@aggelos.d8314]

Hey I'm having a problem. Whenever I set up a flight plan with Simbrief, even though i do everything correctly the white arrow always either doesnt display or displays the wrong time to descend and I end up descending approx. 200Nm before the ALT CST. Sometime not even the ALT CST appears and I end up cruising at 11,000ft. Any help would be appreciated.

[@captainhorn23]

This is a bug with the simulator. VNAV is ridiculous in the game and I can't believe they have not patched it quite yet. I usually just manually descend and calculate it out. I have a video on that go check it out!

[@aggelos.d8314]

@@captainhorn23 thanks for the help. I already watched the video on how to approximately calculatr the descent. I really hope they patch it soon

[@icymike4205]

Thank you, I've been learning alot about how to properly fly an a320 on mfs2020 and I needed this.

[@barrythinn2811]

An excellent and simple tutorial which I will use as a guide...a few practice runs will see me good!

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I’m glad it helped you out! It’s all about practice practice practice now!

[@darkwarrior4720]

this is the best video I have come across excellent , you explained everything perfectly

[@jorgeloy0276]

Excelent explanaition My friend! Regards from Panama!

[@HighwayTrooper]

The videos just get better and better dont they?🔥 Did some one say that we might being doing a video together live on sunday? Hm wierd

[@captainhorn23]

Yes sirr! We gotta special live stream coming up!

[@scdon123]

In the altitude restrictions on the MCDU, where it says e.g. 6000A, it means you need to be above 6000ft at that point. Maybe that's why the managed mode wasn't descending automatically?

[@joetheox1202]

Well done, I'd personally take control at least 500ft, nearer 1000ft before landing. You get time to get a feel for the aircrafts handling at low speed and altitude, you'll shorten your touchdown distance a lot with a few attempts, just aim for the numbers and keep an eye on the PAPI 👍

[@captainhorn23]

Thank you! That’s very true. I’ll have to disengage AP sooner! I wish they would fix the auto land function. I find it to be so cool but if you leave AP on, it will slam into the ground lol

[@N0r8z]

Keeping it simple… great stuff. 👏🏻👏🏻

[@jalapenocider2169]

Thank you, this was the best tutorial i found. Not too long and gets to the point.

[@petemichel8011]

I´m a real world pilot (PPL-A) but it´s very interesting for me too how an airliner works. Regards from Germany and always happy landings.

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks for watching! Greetings from the USA!

[@peterbetts1185]

Made things much clearer for me. Cheers from Oz

[@Eftelingannie]

This will surely help me in FS2020! Thanks a lot.

[@justwilly6778]

minor point - typically the flaps aren't cleaned up until the aircraft clears the runway

[@captainhorn23]

Ahhh I did not know this! I will pay attention to this next time! Thanks for letting me know!

[@adlonsolion4711]

Great video! Thank you for teaching us about the fms

[@daadood100]

Best tutorial I have seen so far, good job I am going to see if I can do it just like it

[@zdp-189]

Great video, well setup, easy to find the part you need, clear, concise, coherent! But your second performance calculator link is dead now also lol! What is with these poor sites?

[@calamityairlines9762]

Rewatched this video more than any other tutorial . Its straight forward but I'm a English simpleton 😫🤣

[@captainhorn23]

Danggg man! I hope you understood a lot of it! Just keep watching it over and over and you will become fluent in English 😂😂

[@harrymcmillan3873]

congratts on 2k subs

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks so much man!!!

[@harrymcmillan3873]

@@captainhorn23 You deserve every subscriber you get

[@J9gti7]

Keep it up man! Really enjoyed the vid👌🏽

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks so much man! I’ll keep it up for sure! ☺️

[@NR.2023]

Excellent Tutorial. Keep up the good work 👍🏻😊

[@captainhorn23]

Thank you so much! ❤️❤️

[@Dmnick155]

V1, VR and V2 calculates itself once you set the correct flaps position (when you extend or retract them, not in MCDU). Secondly i think you should stay on flex position of throttle till the PFD tells you to switch to CL throttle (it's THR RED dependant). QNH is in hPa (currently), so you need to convert for exaple 29.92 to 1013.

[@captainhorn23]

Ahh alright I’ll have to test this out! Are you sure it tells you when you switch to THR CL? If I don’t switch, it will over speed pretty easily. Is there a way to change it from hexopascals to inches of mercury in the MCDU?

[@Dmnick155]

@@captainhorn23 i am sure of the first one. It will appear on top left on the screen. Try to set up the thr red lower than 1500 and it should appear sooner (haven't tested it though). About the QNH i think it is just a bug.

[@captainhorn23]

@@Dmnick155 Alright thanks so much man! Ill be on the look out for it to tell me when to switch!

[@flox1514]

The most efficient tutorial I saw in KZbin for A320. Thank you. Does Reverses active themselves automatically?

[@ZL8103]

Thanks for the great tutorial! BTW, during the approach phase, adding flaps one by one seem to lower the speed automatically to 200, 180, 160 and 140. So I don't need to touch the speed knob.

[@tha_mexikan1752]

Nice work bro

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks brother!

[@tha_mexikan1752]

@@captainhorn23 we need to fly soon

[@captainhorn23]

@@tha_mexikan1752 Yes sir! For sure!

[@richardswede]

Just about the clearest, best A320 FMS Guide (For Noobs) currently on the Tube. Great work. I shall be looking in on your channel from now on. Thank you sir. PS..... Hopefully Asobo (Microsoft or whoever) will fix the VNAV in the A320 (Nay, ALL JETS/AIRCRAFT) in the sim soon, but landing is quite manageable with your instructions on this video

[@captainhorn23]

Thank you so much! I’m glad I helped you out this much!!! Yeah I really hope Microsoft fix the abundant amount of bugs in what seems like every aircraft right now. I can’t even make new videos with other aircraft because of how buggy they are

[@Gee44Bee]

Great tutorial very explicit and easy to follow very appreciated many thanks

[@lilbigmac8894]

Thank you. I think i have enough knowledge of the a320 to do a flight now! btw ATL is where i live ;)

[@Privateuser27]

I honestly needed this, most informative video ever! Is there an easy way to get charts for Airports to get the MDA. Can you maybe do a video on the charts of an Airport. Great video!

[@captainhorn23]

I'm glad you learned from it! The easiest way to get charts is via skyvector.com

[@tommaxwell429]

I recommend rather than arbitrarily setting your altitude to 5000 for descent that you manage it via the STAR. Most STARs will have altitude targets by certain waypoints. For example cross WXYZ at 12000 and 250 kts. By stepping down the altitude setting via the STAR you assure you will not bust the altitude restrictions. Be sure to reset it to the next altitude ASAP after passing one altitude restriction to give the FMC time needed to manage the descent. As you know the FMC will not allow the plane to descend below the altitude you set. If you forget to lower it you will find yourself exclaiming “WTF” and then franticly going into 5000 FPM manual descent. Ask me how I know! In a perfect FMC world the FMC should be able to manage your descent all the way to the ground, provided you keep ahead of it on the altitude setting. Arbitrarily setting altitude at 5000 feet could put you into a “pilot deviation” scenario at best and fly you into a mountain side at worst. Good video!

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks for the tips! Ill watch myself next time lol.

[@adamlury6443]

I have a question I was flying from Tampa intl to Atlanta intl 09L and the flight went smoothly but when I was on approach the ils frequency wasn't showing up and I couldn't pick up the localizer how can I find out the frequency or switch to an ILS approach

[@bullseyes1983]

Very good tutorial, it helped me a lot. Greetings from Argentina.

[@maryb.2882]

Thank you - found that most helpful - will give it a go ! !

[@Slipps-t7]

Great vid well thought out and described best i've seen yet subbed :-)

[@captainhorn23]

Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked it!! ❤️☺️

[@KT-ow1sz]

Lovely work skipper ! Thanks ! x.

[@user-jg9if2xm2l]

thanks you saved me from immortal confusion!! lol

[@captainhorn23]

Glad I could help!

[@DeepFuture]

Great video thanks. Finally someone who explains where to get your info for the MCDU. Do you have a video on the init B page for zero fuel weight and how it's calculated etc ?

[@vincat84]

BRAVO!! well explained!! I really enjoyed this vid and learned a lot! thanks!!

[@myangelina9624]

Amazing job, nice tutorial very helpful…!

[@Trifton]

Excellent tutorial! Keep em' coming!

[@captainhorn23]

You got it!

[@millington0766]

This was honestly so helpful thank you so much

[@rehyrehy1829]

Wow, that was very instructive. Thanks

[@Dazhimself]

Best tutorial I've seen, thanks

[@captainhorn23]

Glad you think so!!! No problem man!

[@fritsbrinkel6810]

Is it possible to enter the landing STAR/runway during the flight? With a long flight, I don’t know the landing runway before takeoff (the wind might change). Thanks in advance!

[@captainhorn23]

Yes it is! In fact this is what airline pilots do in the real world. Once they are close, the ATC will tell them what runway to expect and star and they will put it in the MCDU when they get close!

[@abotoohy]

thatttttts helps me a lot

[@B1gboy224]

you can also just type the numbers in the cruise flight level instead of adding FL :)

[@johnhawkins2492]

True. The box assumes 2 and 3 digit altitudes are flight levels (230 or 80). 4 and 5 digit altitudes are taken as feet (6000 or 17000). If you put in 80 and the transition altitude is 18000 then it shows up in the box as 8000.

[@kashifsiddiqui9763]

Thanks for a very informative tutorial. I need some guidance on setting up multiple monitors to split view. Also need to show instruments on a separate display. Would you please guide?

[@Shelbyandsadie2015]

Thanks for the best tutorial I’ve seen. It helped so much. I’m a read guy so is there a printout of using the FMS?

[@emojim7136]

Man, great job on this video. You are one of the best persons i have seen that helps explain things in detail and close up. This really helps me understand the FMC and it's programming. I Just need to ask you one question. I noticed during your flight that your plane was very smooth in it's flight. What settings do you have in the sim to make it fly smooth like it should? In my sim my A320 rocks back and forth a little when in autopilot mode. It fly's ok but it get annoying cause that's not something that happens in the real airplane. So I'm guessing i have a setting wrong in my sim cause i see everyone else that fly's this plane it fly's smooth.

[@RiskiestGeeMan]

Thank you very much great video awesome instruction and content.

[@dino91vu]

Nice, helped a lot :) my question is what is the perfect timing to engage loc button and app button? How many NM before airport ?

[@yoshanetubetv5791]

Have to look at the pink diamonds

[@thomassmith7432]

I appreciate this video. It helped a ton. I wonder if you can comment or do a video on changing your arrival/approach based on VATSIM ATC changing what you thought was likely. Thanks.

[@captainhorn23]

I'm glad you liked it my man! Yes you can just change your approach in the MCDU by selecting a different arrival runway!

[@thomassmith7432]

@@captainhorn23 Thanks man...I've been trying to make changes but FS2020 seems to do a wonky out and back routing creating some hybrid of what you originally programmed and what you tried to change it to. I usually end up landing VFR out of frustration. LOL

[@ReefAndReptileAutomation]

How do you go about changing the flight plan mid flight? What I mean is let's say you miss the airport and need to land at another. I can not seem to find a way to "enable" or select a specific way point for the AP to follow. I realize from what I can tell the current waypoint it is going to is rather easy but what if I wanted to edit that waypoint or let's say I wanted to go to a different waypoint on the flight plan. Would I use the Direct? Then when it gets there how do I get back on the flight plan? Can you do a video of mid flight alterations to the MCU? Thank you!

[@captainhorn23]

Yes flight alterations video is a great idea! You can use the direct button or change your approach in the mcdu by entering a new star into the arrival airport.

[@Go4Lo]

@@captainhorn23 Yes midflight mcdu flight plan alteration video please! Having lots of trouble accomplishing these edits still going VFR to land somewhere off the original plan.

[@spritegang4444]

why are my seatbelt and no smoking signs Inop? great video thanks alot!!

[@captainhorn23]

Get the FlybyWire mod and you will have access to these! Glad I could help out! :)

[@markpearce7405]

You make it look easy will manged mode but I know its not great video learning alot thanks

[@captainhorn23]

Thanks man! Glad it helped out!

[@ar1hur709]

In the PERF tab, the approach phase. The QNH value should be given in metric not in imperial. I am not 100% sure, of course, but I have checked this in many sources, including examples from real aircraft.

[@ar1hur709]

Additionally, you completely omitted the second INIT tab, but it doesn't matter because it doesn't work properly anyway... Unfortunately.

[@captainhorn23]

Yep I figured this out aswell after the video. Always gotta use hPa in the perf page. Work I didn’t even realize I skipped the second INIT page!

[@gryper1690]

15:22 - I believe the transition altitude in this case is the altitude where you can exceed 250kts. 10k is correct. This is the climb page.

[@log8735]

No, the transition altitude is when you transition into flight levels and when you set your altimiter/baro to std (standard-2992)

[@log8735]

That would be the restr alt known as restricted altitude

[@gilgaspar320]

Thanks! Very good explanation