An interesting problem with the PMDG and FSLabs (and maybe more) aircraft in P3DV5 is that they have incorrect leg data for certain SIDs, with the wrong leg type as compared to real life and other Navigraph data. I did bring this issue up before but with no response or change over several months, so here I will provide more detail and comparison, as the default Navigraph data actually has these legs correct.
I discovered this problem with the Cathedral One (CATH1) departure from Palm Springs KPSP, so that is what I will use for this example, but there may be more like this that I have not discovered.
The real Cathedral One departure from the normal runway 31L requires departing the runway on a heading of 310 until crossing radial 268 of the Palm Springs VOR (PSP), then proceeding direct to said VOR. The leg type would be a VR followed by a DF. The departure from the opposite runway 13R requires a climbing left turn to a heading of 100, proceeding on the 100 heading until crossing the 176 radial of the PSP VOR, then direct to PSP. Another VR to DF.
This is represented 100% correctly most of the Navigraph Navdata, as shown in X-Plane 11. The global data there shows a VR leg followed by DF.
The issue is that the PMDG and FSLabs data do not represent this correctly, instead calling for the aircraft to intercept the 268 and 176 radials respectively. The PMDG data is viewable and clearly a different format from the correct X-Plane data, and clearly shows the command “INTERCEPT” in both cases, which is very much incorrect. In the case of the unique PMDG data it should most likely show “UNTIL” or something similar, as this situation would be very similar to a fly-over waypoint seen on some SIDs, which the PMDG handles just fine.
The FSLabs data is not viewable or editable, but it shows the same intercept command on the FMC and incorrect path on the ND, so I assume the case is very similar if not identical to the PMDG.
I assume this issue is a result of an incorrect manual interpretation of the data, which also makes me wonder if similar issues exist with other SIDs or STARs in the PMDG and FSLabs databases.
Below is the chart for this specific SID, the correct X-Plane data, the incorrect PMDG data, and a comparison between the incorrect result in the FSLabs A320 and the correct result in the Zibo 737.
Cathedral One departure plate
Correct raw X-Plane 11 data
Incorrect PMDG data
Incorrect result in FSLabs A320
Correct result in the Zibo 737