what is flight management computer system (FMCS) ??

black box that does all our thinking for us. why l retired.

http://rockwellcollins.com/ecat/br/FMS-4200.html

A computer used for the entire flight; it calculates the speeds for take-off (V1, Vr, V2, Vfr etc) and optimum flightlevel for the cruise. It is also a navigationcomputer, so coupled to the autopilot it can fly the entire route (including approach and landing) using GPS and/or VOR/DME/ILS information to determine it is position.

a computer that does all the hard work, like navigation for u

it also computes departure, climb, cruise, descent and arrival speeds

the SIDs and STARs etc etc

does everythin!

A flight management system, or FMS, is a computerized system that pilots the aircraft in most phases of flight. Modern airliners r all equipped with flight management systems, & the majority of every commercial flight today is flown under computer control. The pilots simply watch the computers work, & occasionally double-check things. Pilots r there mainly to handle any unexpected problems, which computers r not very good at dealing with.

Most airliners r flown by hand during take-off, & during landing. However, the flight management system & other automation systems can land the aircraft on its own, if necessary (in poor visibility, for example), & most of the take-off can be automated, too. Pilots like to fly by hand when they can, so they prefer to fly take-offs & landings on their own. Often airline company policies require them to use the FMS during the rest of the flight, mainly because the computer is better at minimizing fuel consumption than human pilots are.

The FMS knows the entire route of the flight, from take-off to landing, & handles all changes in altitude, turns, speed changes, & so on.

Smaller aircraft usually do not have a FMS, because it is very expensive, & because aircraft flown by people for pleasure would not be as much fun to fly if the computer did it all. As others here have indicated, sitting & watching the FMS fly the plane is not very interesting, but it is an economic & business necessity these days for commercial airlines.

Using GPS, Inertial navigation etc. it adjusts the aircraft flight controls to keep the aircraft in a steady & reasonable attitude. Modern aircraft r unflyable by humans as the control surfaces have to be moved at over 1000 adjustments per second to keep the aircraft in flight. The FMCS ensures that the aircraft flies. It is basically a triple redundant mission computer that sits on the aircraft bus system & monitors & controls the aircraft sytems. Without it the plane can not fly!

It is obvious a couple of u have never actually used an FMS.
It is a multi-function interface with an alphanumeric keypad & a screen. It can provide fuel consumption info, ETA info, wind & drift info & a lot of useful info. Weights, V-speeds, etc. (Older ones do a little less.) A principal use is for entering waypoints for the flight, & departure procedures & STARS & approaches. It is a bit complicated to really get into all of the uses here. It is not the same as the autopilot, however. As a nav interface, it integrates GPS, VOR/DME, & other sources & auto-tunes. With FMS is l have used, the nav display must be taken out of FMS mode (into nav mode) for an ILS. A GPS approach is flown in FMS mode, as the FMS is ur GPS interface. In a full glass cockpit, the FMS has a Radio page which replaces the nav/com heads found on older panels. You do not actually see a radio stack. You interface with all of ur nav/com equip. through ur FMS Radio page (except possibly for a back-up nav/com). In older cockpits, u still have a visible radio stack, but not a visible GPS & the FMS still auto-tunes VORs as needed for position-sensing & tracking waypoints.