MCDU - Multi-Control Display Unit

The main feature of this instrument is the included FMGC - Flight Management and Guidance Computer, which will help you in managing your flight, following the programmed route and correct approach. The FMGC works with the flight plan loaded into FS2002. You can use the FS2002 flight planner, or any other software, such as FSNavigator, to plan your flight and export it into GPS flight plan format.

This instrument is not supposed to be realistic, the real Airbus MCDU is much more complex than this one. I just wanted to develop an instrument that helps the FS2002 virtual pilots to manage their flight easily.

Layout

| The MCDU is composed of six buttons on the left (named LB1 to LB6) and six on the right (RB1 to RB6). These buttons have variable functions depending on the page displayed on the MCDU. Eleven buttons are located on the lower part of the MCDU. They are used to navigate easily through the MCDU pages. On all the pages, a message displayed in blue with a * indicates a selection. Normal messages are displayed in green.

Pages

| MENU Page This is the first page displayed on the MCDU when it is switched ON. You can also call this page by pressing the MCDU MENU button. This pages gives an access to the FMGC and to other features described below.
| AIDS Page This page displays features designed to help you in managing your flight. At this time, only the AUTO TUNE feature is implemented. If this function is engaged, AUTO TUNE appears in blue with a * indicating that it is selected. Otherwise, it appears in green. When engaged, this function will automatically set the NAV1 frequency and course according to the ILS of your destination runway when you get close to the airport.
| CONFIG Page Through this page, you can configure the ND to decide if you want it to display the names and frequencies of the airports and navaids around your aircraft.
| INIT Page This is the first page of the FMGC. It is displayed when you select FMGC from the MENU page, or when you press the INIT button. FROM/TO shows the departure and arrival airport codes, determined from your flight plan. FLT NBR is your current flight number LAT and LONG display your position. It should be aligned with the ADIRS. COST INDEX is a fixed value (fake) CRZ FL is the cruise flight level. It should be set before take-off. It is diplayed in blue when set. To set the CRZ FL, first make sure it is not already set. If it is set, press LB6 to unset it. Then select your cruise flight level on the FCU. Come back to the MCDU, it now displays the FL selected on the FCU, and press LB6 to set the CRZ FL. It is very important for altitude management.
| F-PLAN Page Several pages may be necessary to display all the waypoints of the flight plan. Click on the F-PLAN button to display the first page. You can navigate through all the pages using the PREV PAGE and NEXT PAGE buttons. Each page displays the waypoints of your route, and the distance and heading between waypoints. Clicking the left button (LB1 to LB6) corresponding to one of the waypoints displays specific information about this waypoint. At this time, only airport information are available. This is especially useful for the departure and arrival airports. Clicking one of the right buttons (RB1 to RB6), marked SEL, selects the corresponding waypoint. The selected waypoint is shown in blue, and it is centered on the ND when PLAN mode is used. You can select the previous or the next waypoint by using the up and down arrow keys of the MCDU. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts: Shift-Ctrl-Up Arrow and Shift-Ctrl-Down Arrow
| AIRPORT INFORMATION Page This page is very important to get information about your destination airport. It displays the airport full name, the ICAO code, the elevation (important to estimate your altitude AGL, above the ground level). ILS information is also displayed for each runway that is equiped. You can select the runway in use on this page as soon as you have this information from the ATC or the ATIS. If auto-tune is active, this will allow the FMGC to automatically set the ILS for a perfect approach. The runway heading is shown with 2 numbers. The first number is the magnetic heading, which may vary. The second number, between parenthesis, is the geographical heading of the runway which is constant. The difference between these numbers is the magnetic variation at the airport location. The VORs and ILSs work with magnetic heading, so you should only take this infiormation into account.
| PROG Page Click the PROG button to access this page. It shows the progression of the flight along the programmed route. You can see the previous waypoint, the next waypoint, and the waypoint after the next. For each waypoint, the separating distance and the ETA are displayed. Below the dashed line, the arrival airport is displayed, with the total distance and ETA to the destination, following the route. You can click any left button (LB1 to LB6) to have information about the corresponding waypoint. At this time, only airport information are available. This is especially useful to read information about your arrival airport. When ATC directs you to the destination airport, you can press the DIRECT button (LB6) to indicate that you leave your route to fly directly to the destination. At this time, the distance and ETA are calculated using the direct distance from your aircraft to the airport. You can press the WIND key (RB6) to have information about the wind. See details below.
| WIND Page This page is dedicated to the wind information. It displays the wind strength and direction, composed of front and side wind.
| STATUS Page - On ground The STATUS page is accessible by displaying the PROG page and by pressing the NEXT PAGE button. When the aircraft is on the ground, it displays the status of the flight plan to indicate if it is loaded or not. It also indicates the cruise altitude status (if the CRZ ALT is defined or not). The flight plan and the cruise altitude should be defined before take-off.
| STATUS Page - Climb During the climb phase, this page shows the target speed and altitude. The target speed is calculated by the FMGC, depending on the configuration and the altitude of the aircraft. The target altitude is the cruise altitude that has been defined before.
| STATUS Page - Cruise During the cruise phase, this page shows the cruise altitude (it should be the current altitude) and the target speed. It is calculated to be lower than the maximum speed, depending on your cruise altitude and aircraft configuration.
| STATUS Page - Descent The descent phase begins when you program an altitude lower than the cruise altitude on the FCU. At this time, this page shows the target speed caluclated by the FMGC.

To understand how the MCDU is supposed to be used during a flight, you should read the typical flight section.

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