CORP FLC MISPROGRAMS NAV COMPUTER. NAV ERROR.

Narrative

AN AIRWAY DEV OCCURRED ABEAM DBL (RED TABLE VOR) S OF J- 60 SWBOUND. I WAS PF IN THE L SEAT. I HAD FILED AN IFR FLT PLAN FROM MKE TO LAX. (MKE DIRECT MCW J-148 ONL J-114 DEN J-60 HEC DOWNE 3 ARR TO LAX.) I GAVE THE FLT PLAN TO THE CHIEF PLT/FO WHO THEN STARTED THE APU AND PREPARED THE AIRPLANE FOR DEP. CLRNC DELIVERY ISSUED THE FOLLOWING CLRNC: MKE DIRECT SIBER INTXN DIRECT MCW AS FILED; MAINTAIN 5000 FT; DEP CTL ON 125.35; AND SQUAWK XXXX. AS I PREFLTED THE EXTERIOR; GOT ICE; COFFEE AND CATERING; FO PROGRAMMED THE 2 LONG RANGE NAV UNITS. AS I ENTERED THE COCKPIT WE NOTICED A BATTERY HOT LIGHT CAME ON AND WHILE TROUBLE- SHOOTING WHAT ULTIMATELY WAS A FALSE INDICATION; OUR PAX ARRIVED EARLY. I LATER FOUND OUT THAT THESE CONDITIONS LED TO AN INCOMPLETE PROGRAMMING OF THE NAV UNITS BEYOND DEN VOR. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS IS CONTRARY TO THE PROC WE ALWAYS FOLLOW; THAT IS FOR BOTH OF US TO XCHK THE NAV CHARTS WITH THE PROGRAMMED UNITS; THE VOR'S AND THE CLRNC RECEIVED FROM ATC; HOWEVER THE AFOREMENTIONED DISTRS HAD BROKEN OUR NORMAL PROCEDURAL LOOP. WHAT RESULTED WAS J-60 BEING DEFINED IN OUR NAV UNITS AS DEN DIRECT HEC INSTEAD OF DEN DIRECT DBL (RED TABLE VOR). AS STATED EARLIER; IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR STANDARD PRACTICE TO CHK EACH PASSING FIX WITH NAV UNITS; VOR; CHART; AND CLRNC; HOWEVER; OVER DEN WE FAILED TO DO THIS. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 241588: AS WE TAXIED OUT; I DECIDED THAT IN ORDER TO EXPEDITE OUR DEP AND COMPLETE THE CHKLIST IN THE PROPER MANNER; I WOULD HAVE TO COMPLETE THE RTE PROGRAMMING WITHOUT XCHKING WITH THE NAV CHART. MY THOUGHT AT THE TIME WAS THAT I WOULD HAVE PLENTY OF TIME IN THE AIR TO COMPLETE THE DEN TO LAX CHART CONFIRMATION; AND SO I FINISHED THE PROGRAMMING BY JUST LOOKING AT THE SLIP OF PAPER WITH THE FILED ROUTING. THE NAV COMPUTER WAS NOW LOADED WITH SIBER; MCW; ONL; PONNY; DEN; HEC; DOWNE; LAX. ABOUT 30 SECONDS AFTER TKOF THERE WAS AN AREA OF TSTMS IN OUR FLT PATH. WE REQUESTED AND RECEIVED DEV AS NECESSARY. IN MY MIND AND FOR WHATEVER REASON; I THOUGHT THAT J-60 WAS A DIRECT RTE FROM DEN TO HEC WITHOUT ANY VORS IN BTWN. IT TOOK ATC ALMOST 100 MI TO NOTICE OR INFORM US THAT WE WERE NOT ON THE ASSIGNED AIRWAY. THE FREQ DID NOT SOUND BUSY. WOULD IT BE UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT ATC TO HAVE INFORMED US OF THE DEV WITHIN 10 MI OR SO OF PASSING THE DEN VOR? OR AT THE VERY LEAST WHEN WE EXCEEDED THE AIRWAY BOUNDARY LIMITS WHICH SHOULD HAVE OCCURRED ABOUT 30 MI W OF DEN VOR.