Airbus A330-200 Series
| The product featured in this article is NOT available under the GNU GPL. This means that you may not be able to re-use (parts of) it in other projects. |
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 An Airbus A330-203 on the Runway | ||
| Type | Civil aircraft, Airliner | |
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| Configuration | Low wing aircraft, Monoplane aircraft, Wide-body aircraft, Retractable gear aircraft, Tricycle landing gear aircraft | |
| Propulsion | Twinjet (Jet aircraft, Twin-engine aircraft) | |
| Manufacturer | Airbus | |
| Author(s) |
A320neo Developers
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| FDM | JSBSim | |
| --aircraft= |
A330-203 A330-223 A330-243 | |
| Status | v2.0, Git Development Version | |
| Supports |
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| Development | ||
| Repository |
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| Download |
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| Liveries |
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| Forum |
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| License | Undefined | |
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The Airbus A330-200 series project consists of the Airbus A330-203 (A330-200 with General Electric CF6-80E1 engines), Airbus A330-223 (A330-200 with Pratt and Whitney PW4000 engines) and the Airbus A330-243 (A330-200 with Rolls Royce Trent 772B-69 engines). The project uses theOmegaHangar's new Airbus A320/30/40 cockpit and systems and new Airbus A330-200 models. Feel free to start a discussion in the forum topic if you'd like to contribute to the project.
This aircraft package is now Rembrandt compatible! (Simply checkout the Rembrandt branch from the Git repository to get it)
| Caution This aircraft is NOT GNU-GPL Compatible. If you would like to use parts of it for other aircraft, please contact muraleen (at) my (dot) erau (dot) edu. |
| Note This wiki page applies for the A330-300s too. |
Airbus systems
Airbus fly-by-wire
The Airbus fly-by-wire system (adapted from the Airbus A320neo fly-by-wire system) continuously takes in the pilot's stick input, uses them as pitch/roll-rate commands, and calculates the required surface deflection to achieve the commanded rate. The fly-by-wire also provides flight envelope protection and the soft/hard bank feature.
Pitch/roll-rate and g-force command
For the roll axis, the stick all the way to the left commands a negative 30 degrees roll rate and all the way to the right commands a positive 30 degrees roll rate.
As for the pitch axis, the commands are divided according to the airspeed of the aircraft. If the Airspeed is under 210 knots, pitch-rate is used and over 210 knots, g-force is used. Under 210 knots, pulling the stick all the way to the back commands a 30 degrees pitch rate and pushing it all the way forward commands a negative 30 degrees pitch rate. Over 210 knots, pulling the stick all the way to the back commands a 2.75G acceleration and pushing it all the way forward commands a -0.75G acceleration.
Flight envelope protection
For the roll axis, having the stick less than half way deflected either side, you get what's called a soft bank. With a soft bank, the aircraft can't exceed 33 degrees of bank to either side. If the stick is deflected more than half way, you get a hard bank and the aircraft can be banked up till 67 degrees to either side.
For the pitch axis, the aircraft will maintain itself between a pitch of 30 degrees nose up and 15 degrees nose down.
Hydraulics system
The Airbus A320, A330 and A340 series have similar hydraulic systems. There are three hydraulic systems on the aircraft, each having it's own reservoir- the GREEN system, the YELLOW system and the BLUE system.
The green system is powered by the left engine's hydraulic pump, the yellow by the right engine's hydraulic pump and the blue system with an electric pump. During normal operation, each hydraulic system should have their hydraulic pressure between 2500 and 3000 PSI. (Pounds per Square Inch) The engine systems control the surfaces, stabilizers, flaps/slats and landing gears while the electric pump system connect to only the surfaces and stabilizers. In case a system fails, an alternate system can be used. The yellow system also has an electric pump which can be used to power the hydraulics using external power when the aircraft is on the ground.
The yellow and green hydraulic systems have a power transfer unit which is used to transfer hydraulic pressure between the pumps in case there is a 500 PSI difference between the pressures in the green and yellow systems.
All hydraulic controls (including the PTU) can be controlled form the Hydraulics section on the overhead panel.
| Note More systems information coming soon. |
Aircraft of the month
Example flights
We will show 2 example flights – one flight that uses a company route from the default flight database and one custom planned flight.
MIA134 from Brisbane to Singapore (company route)
MIA134 is one of Merlion's alternate-day flights from Brisbane to Singapore. We'll just be using this as an example and you can use the same procedures from any route from the company database. (Take a look at our database flights below) Flight MIA134 is flown with an Airbus A330-243 (Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60 Engines) virtually registered S-QDAZ.
First, start-up at any of the parking ramps at Brisbane's (YBBN) International Apron. As Brisbane doesn't have parking positions at the moment, start-up on runway 01 and taxi-to (best using pushback) a parking gate in the international apron.
Pre-flight planning
To start with the pre-flight planning, we need electrical power. For Airports that provide external power, we can use that and for other airports, the APU can provide power. At Brisbane, external power is available, so make sure your ground services dialog has external power box enabled and turn on EXT PWR from the Overhead Panel. (View)
Before we start anything, lets make sure everything are how they should be. Make sure only the following overhead panel buttons have OFF showing on them: HYD YELLOW ELEC PUMP, ENG1, ENG2 and CTR TNK LTK FUEL PUMPS 1 AND 2, BAT1, BAT2, GEN1, GEN2 and APU GEN. EXT PWR should show ON. Now, look at the pedestal and make sure both engine master switches are at OFF, the throttle is at idle, the engine mode is set to NORM, the speed-brakes are at 0, the parking brake is ON and the flaps lever is at 0. Lets now start with the pre-flight planning.
- Turn to the FMGC/mCDU View and turn on the Airbus mCDU by rotating (scroll) the BRT knob to full.
- Click on DATA and then A/C STATUS. Make sure the ACTIVE NAV DATABASE is 27MAY-26AUG MIADatav3.1. If not, please re-download the
Database/Company/routes.xmlfile from Gitorious.
- Now, click on INIT to head to the routes initialization page. You can initialize the company route by entering the company route ID (reference below) or the departure and arrival ICAO codes. I normally enter the departure and arrival ICAO codes as that way, it gives you all available routes you can choose from. So enter YBBN/WSSS and click on the LSK (line selector key) next to FROM/TO.
- The mCDU will show 2 available routes (MIABNESIN1 and MIABNESIN2) which you can scroll through using the left and right arrow keys on the mCDU keypad. We will be using MIABNESIN2 for this flight, so view that and click on the LSK next to INSERT. Once you do that, you should see that MIASINBNE2 would be written under CO_RTE and YBBN/WSSS would be written under FROM/TO.
- Enter the flight number MIA134 and click on the LSK next to FLT NUM. (OPTIONAL)
- If you want, you can also enter a COST INDEX for the flight (normally between 25 and 40). (OPTIONAL)
- If you have an alternate route (not supported atm), you can enter the alternate airport ICAO and RTE ID in the ALTN/CO_RTE Field.
- The final step in the INIT A page is your cruise altitude and Temperature. We'll be cruising at flight level 360 (FL360/36,000 ft) and checking the Environment>Weather Dialog, it's about -55 degrees at that altitude, so enter 360/-55 and hit the LSK next to CRZ ALT/TEMP.
| Note To get the -, press on the +/- key in the keypad twice. |
- After INIT A is complete, lets proceed to INIT B (aka. FUEL PREDICTION Page), click on the RIGHT ARROW KEY on the keypad to go there.
| Note Please skip the next 2 steps for the moment as this part requires fixing. |
- Once there, the trip fuel/time should show about 120 blocks of fuel (atm, it shows 24 but it will be fixed soon) required for the flight. The Aircraft can hold a maximum of 172.5 Blocks (1 Block = 804 KG JET-A Fuel). It should also show that the total flight will be about 442 minutes long using the initialized route. That is 8 hours and 22 minutes, a decent time for about 4000 miles.
- We'll take 10% fuel with us for reserves, so enter 0/10 and hit the LSK next to RSV. The mCDU will automatically calculate our extra fuel, TOW (Take-off Weight) and LW (Landing Weight).
- Now, click on F-PLN to go to the Primary Flight-plan Management Page. Here, you'll see the automatically initialized flight plan which you can scroll through using the up and down arrow keys on the keypad. Atm, we don't need to make any changes to our flight-plan as the company route sets everything perfect for us. We'll come back to F-PLN Lateral Revision (LAT REV) in the next custom planned example flight.
- We need to select a DEPARTURE and ARRIVAL procedure for our flight. To select a DEPARTURE Terminal Procedure, click on the LSK next to YBBN (Right above F-PLN DISCONTINUITY) and click on the LSK next to DEPARTURE.
- I'll be using runway 19 for departure (Currently Winds are 200@9), so I click on the LSK next to 19.
- Our first waypoint (after YBBN) is WOODY, so I want a DEPARTURE PROCEDURE that'll take me to WOODY. A procedure available for Runway 19 is WODY2A.19 (at the end of the list). Select that and hit the LSK next to INSERT.
- Now, for the arrival procedure, you want to find your last waypoint before WSSS, so go to the F-PLN page and scroll to the end. With this route, REPOV is the last waypoint. (With MIABNESIN1, LAVAX is the last waypoint).
- Scroll back up and click on the LSK next to DEST WSSS and then select ARRIVAL.
- We'll be landing on Runway 20R (usually the default international runway at WSSS), so I select 20R. For the Arrival Procedure, select and INSERT REME6B.20R as that procedure starts at REPOV.
| Note Small sections based on the PERF, DIR and PROG pages are remaining but we'll get back to that once it's completely functional. |
We have completed out basic flight planning. We will focus on radio navigation later. Let's now fuel up for the flight. As we entered in the mCDU, we'll be starting with 130 blocks of fuel for this 8 and a half hour flight. That's 104,500 KG JET-A fuel. Open the Fuel Truck dialog, enable to truck, connect it to the aircraft, enter 104500 in hte REQUEST KG and Start Filling up the aircraft. Once the fueling is complete, we can disconnect the fuel truck and proceed to starting up the aircraft. Remember to first disconnect all ground services and remove the chokes.
Manual engines start-up procedure
- Turn on the Beacon Lights from the Lighting Control Panel.
- Look up at the overhead panel and turn on the APU by turning on the APU MASTER SW and the START button. You should hear the APU spooling. Once it's started, turn off the APU START switch and turn on the APU GEN.
- To get fuel to the engines, you need to turn on the LTK PUMPS, so turn on all the ENG1, ENG2 and CTR TNK FUEL PUMPS.
- Switch to Pedestal View and in the throttle quadrant, set the Engine MODE to START, and then turn both engine master switches to ON.
- Keep an eye on the Upper ECAM. When both Engine N1% exceeds 25%, the engines are started and running. Turn the Engine MODE back to NORM and turn off the APU.
- Turn on the Navigation Lights.
Release Parking Brakes and use 2 notches of Flaps for take-off. Pushback and taxi to the runway as usual. While taxiing, you could set your autopilot and other preferences. For autopilot, I'm going to make sure everything is disarmed and then set speed to IAS:250|MACH:0.72, altitude to 36000 ft (switch the black knob in behind the ALT knob to 1000 for easier scrolling, V/S to 2200 and finally click on the HDG knob to turn it to Managed Mode. You can also set ND and Lower ECAM Display Pages- I use the NAV page on the ND with 40 nm range (VORD, NDB and ARPT selected), and normally keep the FUEL page on the Lower ECAM. If you need to check another system, you can use the switching panel to change to that display.
Finally, remember to set your altimeter setting. Get your altimeter setting from Environment>Weather and scroll the altimeter setting knob on the Glare-shield panel to that reading.
| Note Managed Mode means the FMGC tells the computer where the plane should go. This is equivalent to LNAV on Boeing aircraft. |
Take-off and cruise
Once you're holding short, revise your reference speeds. At this weight, they'd be- V1:140, Vr:150, V2:156.
When the runway is clear (and/or you have ATC's permission), taxi on to the runway and turn on the Strobe Lights. Power up the throttle all the way, and rotate at Vr and make sure you're airborne by V2. Retract your gears and when you reach the respective flaps extension speeds (PRINTED ON THE MAIN PANEL), retract the respective flaps. Once you've maintained a steady climb, turn on the A/THR and AP1 from the Glare-shield panel.
The autopilot will automatically fly the departure procedure you entered and then transition to the F-PLN (flight-plan) from the Company Route. Once over 10000 ft, switch to 280 KIAS Speed and keep climbing, Around 18000 ft, switch to mach (setting at 0.72) and reduce the V/S to around 1800 fpm.
Once you're over FL260 (26000 ft), reduce your V/S to 1000 fpm and increase mach to 0.78. Then sit back and relax (or go do something else) while the computer automatically takes you to your destination.
| Note More coming soon. |
Custom Emirates flight from Frankfurt to Munich
This flight was requested by Detlef N. (MIA0283), and video tutorials were recorded for different sections of the flight. The videos can be viewed below or in the FlightGear Airbus YouTube channel. Thank you for watching!
Flight planning
Manual start-up
Take-off and climb
| Note Cruise skipped due to the fact that it may be boring. |
Descent and autoland
Liveries
The Airbus A330-200 series have liveries for each variant (203, 223 an 243) and are managed by Chris M (muffinman).
Airbus A330-203 operators
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Airbus A330-223 operators
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Airbus A330-243 operators
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Default flight database
The Default Flight Database contains Merlion Virtual Airlines Airbus A330-200 Routes. This database can be used by anyone, whether he/she is a merlion pilot or not. The example flight above explains how to use routes from the Flight Database.
If you fly for a different Virtual Airline which uses the Airbus A330-200 (203/223/243), please contact your staff for the flight database.
- Current Active Database - MIA_Data_v3.1 (27MAY-26AUG)
- Previous (Standby) Database - MIA_Data_v3.0 (DOES NOT EXIST YET)
Available routes table
The following routes are complete and available:
| FLT NO | DEP ARPT | ARR ARPT | A/C REG | RTE_ID(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA131 | WSSS | YBBN | S-QDAZ | MIASINBNE1, MIASINBNE2 |
| MIA132 | YBBN | NZAA | S-QDAZ | MIABNEAKL1 |
| MIA133 | NZAA | YBBN | S-QDAZ | MIAAKLBNE1 |
| MIA134 | YBBN | WSSS | S-QDAZ | MIABNESIN1, MIABNESIN2 |
| MIA135 | WSSS | FAJS | S-QDBZ | MIASINJNB1 |
| MIA136 | FAJS | SBGR | S-QDBZ | MIAJNBGRU1 |
| MIA137 | SBGR | FAJS | S-QDBZ | MIAGRUJNB1 |
| MIA138 | FAJS | WSSS | S-QDBZ | MIAJNBSIN1 |
| MIA139 | WSSS | RJGG | S-QDCZ | MIASINNGO1 |
| MIA140 | RJGG | KLAX | S-QDCZ | MIANGOLAX1 |
| MIA141 | KLAX | RJGG | S-QDCZ | MIALAXNGO1 |
| MIA142 | RJGG | WSSS | S-QDCZ | MIANGOSIN1, MIANGOSIN2 |
The Rest of Merlion's Flight Database is available for Merlion pilots from the website Downloads section.
Installing
- Download the aircraft from the the download page linked to in the infobox at the top of the page.
- Extract the compressed aircraft folder in your
data/Aircraftfolder - Rename the Aircraft folder to
data/Aircraft/A320neo
Important developments remaining
We have completed the highest priority developments on the list, if you'd like us to do anything for the aircraft, please make a note below.
Important recently completed developments
- Modeled the Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60 Engines for the A330-243
- Animated Flaps, Speed-brakes and Parking Brake Levers (NOT PICK, ONLY TRANS/ROTATE)
- Animated the Throttle Quadrant (incl. Engine cutoffs - REQUIRED FOR MANUAL START-UP) - Manual Start-up is now possible
- Fixed the Blue Hydraulic System
- Completed Separate Engine Sounds for the each variant
Future developments
A recent fork of the project is adding more features to the Aircraft, such a Canvas based Navigation Display and more realistic flight modes. This fork is currently under development and can be cloned from gitorious/a330-200/a330-200/c6fc6d1f48e1898a7036376e5156d2b65ec08715: It will be merged with the main project in the future.
Here's a list of the main features introduced by the fork:
- Canvas based Navigation Display
- Top of Descent and Top of Climb symbols
- Altitude constraints symbols: white when vertical mode is "selected" (no VNAV), magenta when vertical mode is managed, orange when managed and constraints will be missed
- Hold pattern rendered on the route using a custom MapStructure layer
- Different colors/styles for route: inactive (dashed yellow), active (solid green), active but lateral selected mode (dashed green)
- PLAN mode: you can move all along the route by using the mCDU arrow keys when you're on mCDU f-plan page
- DECEL point and SPEED Limits symbols
- More realistic flight modes: CLB, DES, OP CLB, OP DES, VS/FPA, G/S, SRS, HDG, NAV, LOC,... (they're full operating and displayed on the PFD)
- Auto-thrust supports both Fixed-Thrust mode and Speed/Mach mode
- Airbus Throttle detents: TO/GA, IDLE, CLB, REV. They're activated by Ctrl-T, Ctrl-I, Ctrl-C and Ctrl-R
- New sounds for engines (internal) and PTU
- PFD: target speed indicators, both managed (magenta) and selected (blue)
- PFD: target alt uses now different colors for managed and selected modes (magenta and blue)
- PFD: Terrain indicator on ALT tape
- Models: added tiller steering (taken from A350)
- ECAM: implemented TO Config and LDG Config check lists
- ECAM: engine thrust reverse mode indicators
- Ground brakes lever animation
- Flaps and speed brakes levers can now be picked
- Parking break lever can now be picked
External link
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