Another method is entering a lower altitude in the MCP and selecting DES NOW from the FMS DECENT page. What is the result?

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Multiple Choice

Another method is entering a lower altitude in the MCP and selecting DES NOW from the FMS DECENT page. What is the result?

Entering a lower altitude on the MCP and choosing DES NOW on the DESCENT page tells the aircraft to begin descent immediately using a controlled rate around 1,000 fpm, heading toward the selected altitude or toward the point where it would intercept the VNAV descent path. This feature is used when you need to reach a workaround altitude quickly, while the FMS continues to manage the vertical profile. In practice, the airplane will descend at about 1,000 feet per minute until it reaches the target altitude or until the path planner can reconnect with the VNAV path, at which point VNAV can resume controlling the descent. This is why the option describing a ~1,000 fpm descent to the chosen altitude (or to intercept VNAV) is correct. The other scenarios aren’t accurate: DES NOW is not a manual 1,500 fpm descent, and choosing DES NOW does not leave you cruising on a VNAV path without descent. Also, DES NOW does imply a selectable, defined descent rate capability, rather than a completely fixed or unavailable rate.

Entering a lower altitude on the MCP and choosing DES NOW on the DESCENT page tells the aircraft to begin descent immediately using a controlled rate around 1,000 fpm, heading toward the selected altitude or toward the point where it would intercept the VNAV descent path. This feature is used when you need to reach a workaround altitude quickly, while the FMS continues to manage the vertical profile.

In practice, the airplane will descend at about 1,000 feet per minute until it reaches the target altitude or until the path planner can reconnect with the VNAV path, at which point VNAV can resume controlling the descent. This is why the option describing a ~1,000 fpm descent to the chosen altitude (or to intercept VNAV) is correct.

The other scenarios aren’t accurate: DES NOW is not a manual 1,500 fpm descent, and choosing DES NOW does not leave you cruising on a VNAV path without descent. Also, DES NOW does imply a selectable, defined descent rate capability, rather than a completely fixed or unavailable rate.

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