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MTL 220-EX Near Autonomous Plane

When we here at MTL started working on the 220-EX, we wanted to make a flagship aircraft that would show MTL's technical prowess but also showcase our top-of-the-line cutting-edge FlightLogic 4.3 AIO Navigation and Avionics Solution that is one of the most advanced avionics systems out there, capable of full autopilot and autoland.

The cockpit is laid out in a way that prioritises ease of use rather than extreme realism. In between the seats there are a set of buttons for controlling the brakes, landing gear, flaps and 2 displays to select what system is shown on the main 2x2 display.

On the ceiling there are buttons to start the engines, thrust cut, and APU start. There is also a instrument panel to control the lights.

In the mode control panel sits the center-piece of this aircraft: FlightLogic.


The MTL FlightLogic System is the main reason for MTL's return into the aircraft market after the decently succesful but rather archaic 72-600.

It unifies the entirety of the aircraft's avionics systems into one highly advanced microcontroller. It is split up into 3 main menus.

Main Menu
In the main menu you can toggle the main aviation systems, open the settings menu, and open the destination menu.


Aviation systems:

• AP - Autopilot: Will navigate to the next waypoint set on the route map.
  (requires HDG)
  
• AL - AutoLand: Will keep plane centred on runway and reduce throttle for landing. (check Flight Guide further below for more detail)
  (requires AP and ALT)
  
• ALT - AltHold: Will hold the plane at the altitude selected in the Settings menu.
  
• RLD - Roll Dampers: Will keep the wings level. Also will tilt the plane for better turning with AP.
  (should be enabled at all times)
  
• HDG - Hold Heading: Will hold the heading the plane was going in when HDG was activated.

Settings Menu
In the settings menu you can tap to change the AltHold target altitude and the descent start distance for the AutoLand.


Destination Menu
In the destination menu you can choose the airport you wish to AutoLand at. First you choose its general area (Sawyer, Arid, Other), then you choose the specific airport (airport 3 letter code list at the end) and then you choose the runway number of the runway you want to land at. (heading of the runway. also marked with NSWE in case you don't know the runway number. more on this at the end)



The 220-EX is powered by 2 mighty MTL XR2 diesel-fan engines providing enough thrust for even a 45 degree climb without stalling.
These engines allow the aircraft to reach a top speed of 136 knots and to be able to fly at that speed for over 10 hours on its 6900L (nice) fuel tank.

All of this can be monitored through the EMS system that's installed in the aircraft.



In order to explain how to use all of the systems this aircraft has to offer I will use an example route: FJW to Harrison.

1. Route Setup

Firstly we sit down in the Navigator chair and use the MTMAP Route Planner to set up a route where the last waypoint is at the end of our destination runway and the line between the last and second to last waypoint is pretty closely lined up with the destination runway. You add/delete waypoints using the A and D buttons respectively.



2. Data Input

Now we sit down in the Captain chair and move our attention to the FL4 Keypad (the crappy green LCD).
Firstly we go to the settings tab to make sure AltHold altitude and Final Approach Distance are set. (the default final approach distance of 10k goes really well with althold altitudes greater than 700m on all runways except ONeil 31W)
Then we go to the destination screen. In our case since we are flying to Harrison we will select SAW (sawyer) then HRS (harrison) then since we are going to be going north-east towards the runway we select runway 04E.

3. Line Up

We disengage the parking brake, enable the APU and use the Up/Down Left/Right keys to taxi until we are lined up with the runway. In our case we will be taking off west.
Once we are lined up we disable the APU.

4. Take Off

Once lined up we turn on both engines and select the EMS on one of our screens to make sure both engines are running properly (7 RPS).
We enable AltHold, RLD and HDG then set throttle to 10.
Once we lift off we raise gear, enable AP and AL and select the HSI on one of our displays.
The airplane should now be following the route we set up on the map.
Once we get to our AltHold altitude we set throttle to 8.5.

5. Final Approach and Landing

Once we start our final approach (when the next waypoint is the final waypoint aka our destination), a purple bar will appear on the bottom of our Artificial Horizon. The AL system will yaw to get that purple bar to be centered. If its centered then that means that we are lined up horizontally with the runway. The plane may violently wobble left and right if the purple bar is too far from center. Do not panic. The plane can handle it.

Once we are less than our Final Approach distance away from the runway the screen will flash red twice and a red bar will appear on the right side of the Artificial Horizon. The AL system will increase/decrease throttle to get that red bar to be centered. If it is centered we are lined up with the glideslope for the runway. While that is happening gear should be lowered and Landing Brakes/AutoBrakes should be enabled.

When the plane touches down it will automatically flare, cut thrust and brake. After it has stopped you can turn off all FL4 systems, set throttle to 0, shut down the engines, disable thrust cut, disable the Landing Brakes/AutoBrakes, enable the APU and taxi to the hangar.

Congrats! You made your first near full automation flight!


Airport Codes as seen in the FL4 Keypad:
Main Areas:
SAW - Sawyer
ARD - Arid
OTH - Other

Airports:
SPY - Spycakes/Dreimor
HRS - Harrison
ONL - ONeil

ENA - Ender
CLK - Clarke
FJW - FJW

TJN - Tajin
MPB - Multiplayer Base
MIL - Military
CGO - Coast Guard Outpost
AIP - Airport
AIS - Airstrip

Runway Numbers:

Runway numbers indicate the compass heading you have to keep in order to be lined up with the runway. In the scenario mentioned in the Flight Guide, we were landing at Harrison on the runway with the heading of approx. 40 degrees (actually 45 but dw about it) hence the runway is numbered as runway 04.

The letter on the end I added so you can more easily tell with an airport with 1 runway which number to choose (this excludes military but i dont feel like talking about that).
In our example we were flying north-east towards the runway so we chose the runway with the E suffix.

Customizable Artificial Horizon - Falkner-Muir/HEVS.
The Display Switcher and seats are taken from ENDAIR aircrafts.
ZE Modular Engine Controller
Digital Thermostat
Hals Advanced Aircraft HSI
Jet EFI