Hot Start Challenger 650 - 3 - Taxi, Takeoff, Climb

Hot Start Challenger 650 tutorial series, Part Three.
Flying from Montreal CYUL to Glasgow EGPF, in this video we’ll finally start the engines and take off on our delivery flight to Glasgow
Errors, Omissions, Clarifications:-
Omission : I was still accelerating at the end of the video and hadn't quite reached M0.80. Remember to select CRZ thrust when you reach the cruise target.
The fine print:
It shouldn't need to be said, but please remember these videos are for recreational simulation and entertainment purposes, not real world flight instruction.
Unlike other videos on the channel, I have been given free access to the Hot Start Challenger 650 as a result of extensive participation in the beta program. My videos are not intended to be an outright promotion of the product, but rather as informative tutorials. No payment has been received for the creation of this content. Thanks to Sašo Kiselkov and Goran Matovina for inviting me to the program and for being so receptive to feedback.
The flight routing:
CYUL 24L CYUL1 DCT RABIK Q951 DANOL N923A ELSIR/M080F380 50N050W 51N040W 52N030W 52N020W XETBO/N0447F390 DCT ROTEV/N0424F250 P600 BLACA BLACA ILS 23 EGPF
Help and support: forums.x-pilot.com/forums/forum/266-challenger-650/

[@dbvetter7485]

The detail of the datalink is mind-blowing, I need some Tylenol. It’s so awesome.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

The depth of simulation on the Challenger is incredible. Even after all this time and having been pretty close to the product before release it still amazes me.

[@jetnoise6053]

Thank you so much, Graeme. Taking the time to give us Couch pilots these great videos is very much appreciated.... , JetNoise

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks - It's always nice to read kind feedback!

[@paulwilson8367]

Do you fly the 650 IRL? Coming IRL from a career on the 737, where we always took off in LNAV and VNAV, it's difficult to understand why they wouldn't do things the easy way in this airplane. However, when we did use LvlChg, it worked fine. VS stood for "very seldom". The airlines put in flaps after push back so that guys don't forget about them when the airplane is moving, a good idea. I wish I was boning up for the type rating, but my career is over so I am fortunate to have sims which previous generations of retired airline pilots lacked. If they were really keen on continuing to fly, they had to buy a used airplane for hundreds of thousands of dollars, or buy a type in something like the 650. A hundred dollars is a great deal compared to that. I can no longer fly under Part 121 due to my age over 65.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Hello Paul, sorry for the delay replying. No I'm an A320 pilot, but the Challenger was mostly developed over the pandemic period and I logged about 3 times as many hours testing the HotStart Challenger than the real A320 over 2021! I too found it very satisfying to fly when world events kept me mostly grounded. I agree with you about the procedures, there's a lot on the Challenger I find counter-intuitive, where 737 and 320 pilots end up asking "what?!". Like you, we deploy flaps before taxi, unless we're heading for the deice pad. Taxing with flaps up feels wrong, but the procedures shown in the HotStart docs are based on a real 650 operator - although they operate with a load of different contract pilots, so their procedures are very much "read and do" from the checklists rather than airline style flows from memory followed by checklists. The v2 climb to accel alt is another weird thing the Challenger doesn't really need to do - I think this is because of the much greater climb performance. It obviously shares a lot of features with the CRJ, and CRJ pilots do select FLC after gear up so the flight directors give an appropriate speed command. We settled on the pitch target and sync method as it's easier to handle in the sim using a joystick, keyboard, and being single pilot. Hope you have many happy hours with the Challenger in X-Plane - it's the closest I've come to a real airplane in software form, and she's a whole load cheaper than renting a worn out 172!

[@paulwilson8367]

Thanks. These days my Zibo 737, also excellent software, gets fewer flights from me simply because I already know all about flying it and I am not challenged unless I do V1 cuts. In an airplane with engines out on the wings and no computer rudder input with an engine failure, there's plenty of challenge in doing those. I'm slowly getting better at the 650. I also fly some of my former IRL aircraft, ATR and King Air.@@ReflectedRealitySimulations

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Ahh yes, I never flew the 737, but did my MCC and Jet Orientation in a 737 sim and remember the V1 cuts being pretty exciting!

[@Pr3miuM]

Great series, helped me get this great simulation "off the ground". Landings and approaches are usually working out but would definitely watch a part 4!

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Sorry for the delay replying - it's been a really busy summer and KZbin has basically taken a back seat. The transition to X-Plane 12 hasn't helped either. I'm still planning some more Challenger content and hope to make some progress over the winter - there are a lot of interesting things to look at and the product is still being improved.

[@snowdoggyddog]

Thank you for these. Super helpful and enjoyable to watch.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Glad it was helpful!

[@krugeriscious7499]

Fantastic work. Thanks a bunch for the videos. Awesome quality. Keep them rolling!

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks for the nice feedback, will do my best!

[@MeanderingMotoMonk]

As always, very thorough and easy listening smooth delivery. You momentarily mentioned descent VNAV speed control. This is something I can't seem to get right. There must be a way to have speed restrictions met at FMS designated points and speeds, but so far, this has escaped me. Not too much of a hassle to manage speeds manually but would relieve me of a task during the busy part of the flight. I'll stay tuned for the Cruise, descent, and land video :-) Thanks for your tremendous contribution to the CL650 community!

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks David, The work on 1.6 is progressing well, and I'm holding off on the next videos until that update is released as there are quite a few useful improvements and changes in there. For the descent speed management you need to have vnav selected on the FCP, then in the FMS Press Perf, then Perf again to get to the PERF MENU page, then LSK6L "RESUME 250 KT" (or whatever vnav speed is. The speed bug on the PFD will turn magenta and the aircraft with manage speed itself. Make a speed selection by adjusting the speed knob and the speed bug will go back to blue. Hope that makes sense?

[@paulwilson8367]

I also noticed this shortcoming. You can put the speed in the box, but unless you move the speed knob, it's not happening?

[@mikegouse8487]

hope you are planning to do a descent and landing some time soon. All a great source for training, you have done an outstanding Job!

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Sorry for the delay responding Mike, it's been a very busy summer! Yes I still plan to do more CL650 content, but with the European aviation scene returning to pre-pandemic levels of flying it's a bit harder to find the time to make content - thinks are getting a little bit quieter now winter is arriving, so will try my best to create something!

[@vanguard4283]

First! Been looking forward to this part

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

It did take me a while to get airborne, considering it released in January! Hopefully will have more Challenger content over the summer, but work is getting pretty busy now so maybe not as frequent.

[@blitz3391]

That may be a stupid question, but how did you save your popups like this to have them displayed all at once at the push of a button? Also, i'm having some pretty big conflicts with xcamera; each time i use one xcamea view, the walking and view system of the challenger are all messed up and require me to manualy disable xcamera. Is there a fix or method to this?

[@henriksmids3134]

X-camera is not compatible, I have to deactivate it when I fly it.

[@MeanderingMotoMonk]

Pop-ups on/off can be mapped to a keystroke or button in x plane settings.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

I'm afraid I don't know about X-Camera as I don't have it installed, but I understand there's a demo so will give that a try and see if any improvements can be made to how the 650 interacts. For the popups the command you need is simply "CL650\Toggle all panel popups". It's not in a subgroup, just listed at the bottom of the CL650 keybindings.

[@allichaytou]

Very informative,thank you.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks Alli, glad you're liking the videos and sorry it's taken me so long to review all the comments.

[@mikegouse8487]

great video! I have a question that you mentioned " The exact packs transition sequence is detailed in the hint images, straight from the aircraft manuals, and that's shown in the hint images to help learn the pilot monitoring role." Can you tell me how to view the " hint images"

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks Mike, sorry for the delay responding. I hope you've found those hint images by now, but if not have a look on the User Settings screen for the CL650, The F/O Assists tab has a checkbox for "Show Checklist Procedure Hints". This will allow those images to pop up as the checklist progresses.

[@kkcsteven]

Glad I found this video. Question - I have my flightplan set and FMS1 as nav source. Right after takeoff pilot PFD still shows LNV1 as white color and above it TO green color changed to ROLL green color. As a result, turning on the autopilot doesn't navigate the flightplan. Also, my PFD isn't with the half green terain color rather that color of the first officer's PFD. What am I missing here? Thanks.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Difficult to tell without seeing the screen, but sounds like the aircraft isn't able to capture the nav track on takeoff. You could try a direct-to on one of the waypoints then re-engage nav. If that doesn't help the best plan is to post some screenshots to the Forum or HotStart Discord. The PFD terrain needs SVS switched on. It's in the PFD options, use the Menu button one the DCP1, just below the Thrust Reverser Arming switches.

[@antonionozzi4423]

Thank you vaery much! I love your videos (they saved my life with TMB9 and SR22 too xD); are you planning tu upload something for descent and landing? It would be great

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks Antonio. Yes indeed once work has calmed down a bit I'll get the landing video done. I've been very busy over the summer and haven't had any time for sim flying. In the meantime you can see the basics at the end of the launch stream video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJyngqmIbZlgm80

[@VirtualAviationAviator]

I am so much interested in this aircraft. However, I'm still intimidated by it. As a low & slow virtual GA sim pilot, I wonder if it's over my head. Too expensive to be a hanger queen. Still debating on it. Thanks for your tutorials.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Sorry for the late response Frank. It's certainly complex, but it's all fairly logical after a while. The navigation logic especially is miles ahead of most other X-Plane addons so it's actually fairly straightforward to use as you don't need to worry about "sim-isms" from the aircraft. There are a number of Challenger rated pilots on the testing team and the goal is to recreate the real thing as faithfully as possible.

[@VirtualAviationAviator]

@@ReflectedRealitySimulations it is my favorite aircraft. Yeap. A low & slow GA pilot can transition into this plane with a little patience.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

That’s great to hear, really happy you’re enjoying it - I’ll pass on your feedback to the developers too as I’m sure they’ll love to read that.

[@Fynnley525]

Hi, quick question about this, during the takeoff, does this plane have the lovely noise of the nose wheel going over the centerline lights? I think I heard it but I'm not 100% sure.

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Yes it does - and is aware when you're on the centerline rather than just playing the noise continuously.

[@Fynnley525]

@@ReflectedRealitySimulations wow they really did make just make the most realistic planes ive ever seen, i have some that make the bumps but it only checks if youre on the runway not on centerline

[@fvicbemb]

Great videos! Many thanks for making them. Challenger 650 really feels complex and a big step on flight sim planes. Eagerly waiting for your landing and approach video tutorials. As to frame rate. Is the Challenger very demanding?

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks for the nice feedback. It is a complex aircraft certainly, but once you've spent a few hours with it everything starts to make sense. I've not had any frame rates issues, it does a lot of tasks in external processes so has a very light footprint within X-Plane to the point it runs a lot better than many simple addons. Yes indeed once work has calmed down a bit I'll get the landing video done. I've been very busy over the summer and haven't had any time for sim flying to get the approach and landing content done. In the meantime you can see the basics at the end of the launch stream video kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJyngqmIbZlgm80

[@KirkRoyster]

Question - shortly after takeoff "Pitch" appears on the PFD. The AP buttons are off the right side of the view for most of the video up to that point. Please advise how you have your lateral and vertical settings prior to takeoff that then leads to Pitch showing up when it does, as this is required in order for you to SYNC I believe. Context of my question is that I am not seeing Pitch appear when it does in your takeoff. I have 5000 ft, 200 kts, flight plan (except for approach) set up, PERF set up, ATS is working ok. Appreciate guidance to help me isolate root cause. Thanks much.

[@KirkRoyster]

What I am able to do is after gear and flaps up, press HDG (which is already set to runway hog) which then displays Pitch and then SYNC works in bringing attitude to ~ 7.5 deg as the FD follows. What I (think) I found was that if I have NAV enabled before takeoff, then based on the flight plan I have, it immediately turns on course when I activate AP, undesirable and unrealistic in terms of takeoff/departure instructions. Doesn't seem like you hit anything after takeoff to bring Pitch up and have FD follow SYNC pitch ... ?

[@KirkRoyster]

Finally, when I enabled HDG prior to takeoff (trying to proactively set things), it seemed to interfere with N1 TO / ATS on takeoff. Does this make sense?

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Hello Kirk, sorry for the delay replying - I've been really busy over the summer. Firstly HDG is not to be armed before takeoff, that's prohibited on this aircraft. If you don't have NAV armed before takeoff, you must select the heading mode when airborne, this will change the vertical mode from TO to PTCH allowing FD Sync as you've found out. v1.7 (in beta now) does change the behaviour when HDG is engaged on the ground so TO vertical mode will remain available, but it's not really a good idea to do so as the turn will be commanded immediately. NAV armed would be the most common way of doing the departure. If the departure clearance is amended to a specific heading, then selecting the heading manually is required. Incidentally this is the same behaviour on the Airbus where you can have NAV or RWY TRK when taking off, but not a turn to a specific heading.

[@jordoo127]

As soon as I turn on the Autopilot, I get an alert saying “AP holding nose up”. Any idea what I’m doing wrong?

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Sorry for the delay replying. This is usually a control calibration issue. Your joystick may not be fully centring and the aircraft is warning you about it.

[@SimsSmith]

Where is the next video for Descent, approach, landing?

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Sorry for the delay replying - it's been a really busy summer and KZbin has basically taken a back seat. The transition to X-Plane 12 hasn't helped either. I'm still planning some more Challenger content and hope to make some progress over the winter. Thanks for sticking with the channel.

[@mikegouse8487]

Great instruction! I have a question on the bindings for the SYNC button and the Auto disconnect button. I have looked in xplane settings and can't find them listed. Can anyone help me?

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks for the nice feedback Mike! Sync : CL650\contwheel\0\Captain's control wheel Flight director sync button. AP Disc: CL650\contwheel\0\Captain's control wheel autopilot disconnect button. (also works with the stock binding "disco servos, whichever side is active") ATS Disc: CL650\pedestal\throttle\Auto-throttle disconnect (left)

[@mikegouse8487]

@@ReflectedRealitySimulations thank you for the answer to my question. I can't thank you enough for your instructions. have watched this one a few time. they are all very good.

[@henriksmids3134]

Thank you :)

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

Thanks Henrik - always nice to read kind feedback, sorry it's taken me so long to review all the recent comments.

[@Gilles45]

To each his own, I guess. I prefer to do everything myself, even if it's more work. You can't understand the logic of the packs transition if you let the FO do it. For this procedure, I like the way Rob Hammer of Foxtrot Alpha Aviation, a Challenger Captain, explains it... "in before out". Simple and it works!

[@ReflectedRealitySimulations]

The FO feature is to allow you to be able to fly the aircraft when flying single pilot, but of course when multi-pilot flying comes along it's going to be important to learn the pilot monitoring role as well as pilot flying. I can't wait for that capability. The exact packs transition sequence is detailed in the hint images, straight from the aircraft manuals, and that's shown in the hint images to help learn the pilot monitoring role.