M A N U A L CHUCK YEAGER'S ADVANCED FLIGHT TRAINER TM The Manual E L E C T R O N I C A R T S TM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction 1 What AFT is 1 Getting Started 2 Introductory flight 2 Airplane specs 3 Test Flight 11 Airplane control systems & simulator controls 11 Changing planes 14 Navigation 14 Test pilot procedures 15 Formation Flying 20 Following aerobatic routines 20 Recording aerobatic routines 21 Airplane Racing 22 Start the race 22 Your competition 23 Reference 24 Menus 24 Glossary 30 Appendix A Flight Instruction 31 Ground school 31 Basic flight instruction 34 Advanced flight instruction 40 Aerobatic instruction 43 To learn more about flying 47 Appendix B-Test Flight Check-list 48 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Things have changed some since the days when I was learning to fly. As I recall, the instructor just slapped your butt in the front seat and demonstrated the airplane, then moved you back, and then you had to learn all this stuff as it happened: how to take off, level off, turn, and everything else associated with flying the damned thing. That was the way you learned to fly because that was the way they taught you. And that was fine by me, because the way I look at it, flying's flying. General Chuck Yeager March 1987 ________________ What AFT is "Crash" is not a word pilots ever use. I don't really know why, but the word is avoided in describing what happens when several tons of metal plows itself and its pilot into the ground. Instead, we might say, "He augered in." Or, "He bought the farm." Advanced Flight Trainer gives you the chance to learn to fly the way General Yeager did, but without the actual danger. AFT and this manual are designed for advanced pilots who already know how to fly a plane and are looking for the thrills and pure enjoyment of flight. But if you're a novice pilot, or just feel that you'd like to do some brush-up flying first, check out "Appendix A - Flight Instruction" at the end of this manual. After you Get Started and watch the Intro Flight as described in the next two sections, look over the Airplane Specs and pick a plane that interests you. General Yeager attributes much of his success as a pilot to being interested in, and knowing everything there is to know about his ship, so keep this in mind as you look over the Specs. Once you've picked a plane you want to take up, continue on to the Test Flight section and familiarize yourself with the plane's controls and instruments. AFT provides 14 different planes: Real Aircraft * SR-71 ------------- * Spitfire * Cessna 172 Skyhawk * X-1 * F-16 Fighting Falcon * X-3 Stiletto * F-18 Hornet AFT Experimental Aircraft * P-51 Mustang ------------------------- * Piper Cherokee * XNL-16 Instigator * Sopwith Camel * XPG-12 Samurai * Spad XIII * XRH-4 MadDog When you feel confident that you know your ship, and you're ready to take her up, go for it. Try any radical manoeuvre you like - the worst that can happen is you'll auger in. No big deal. You always walk away from an AFT accident unscathed. Your friends, however, may pretend they don't know you.... 1 ________________ Getting Started Boot AFT according to the instructions on the Command Summary Card. Also study the Command Summary Card to learn how to use AFT's menus and commands. _______________________________________________________________________________ Note Because AFT is available on a wide variety of computers with differing capabilities, some commands and features described in this manual may be different or unavailable in AFT on your computer system. Please consult the Command Summary Card for a list of any such differences. _______________________________________________________________________________ When you are confident that you know how to control AFT, continue on to the next section for the Introductory flight. ________________ Introductory ...after taking my first airplane ride, I'd rather have flight crawled across country than go back up. I took off for a spin with a maintenance officer flight testing a ship I had serviced, and I threw up all over the back seat, staggering out of that damned thing as miserable as I'd ever been. 1. If you haven't already done so, start AFT as described in the Command Summary Card. You'll see a the Main menu, listing the missions you can fly, with the Test Flight mission selected (in a different colour than the other missions), and the Intro Flight (Demo) option highlighted. 2. Press Return to begin the introductory flight. The intro flight demonstrates a fast and furious aerobatic flight in the XPG-12 Samurai, one of AFT' experimental test aircraft. As you descend below 1700 feet, you'll notice what looks like balls regularly spaced on the ground. The lower you go, the closer you get to the balls and the larger they look. You can use them to judge your altitude by eye. Now sit back and enjoy the intro flight - and remember to breathe once in a while. When the intro flight is over, several menu titles appear in a menu bar across the top of the screen. To take the flight again, choose Demo from the menu bar. To return to the Main menu, choose Main Menu from the menu bar. 2 _______________________________________________________________________________ Note The intro flight should be in colour on a colour monitor. If it appears in black-and-white on your composite colour monitor, you must make a simple adjustment to AFT. See the Command Summary Card for details. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________ Airplane specs I was always eager to acquire practical knowledge about the things that interested me. That was a big reason for my success as a pilot. I flew more than anybody else and there wasn't a thing about an airplane that didn't fascinate me, down to the smallest bolt. This section lists the technical specifications for the 14 airplanes you can fly in AFT. Knowing the capabilities and limitations of your airplane is one of the most important aspects of being an ace pilot. If General Yeager hadn't known his P-51 like the back of his hand in World War II, it's doubtful that he would have the outstanding record and reputation he holds today. Whether you're planning to push your plane past its limits as a test pilot, or whether your planning to push your plane to its limits in formation flying, study the specs for your chosen plane carefully. ________________ Avion Spad XIII The Spad was a biplane that was introduced into World War I around 1917. It was a real breakthrough for the French because it had an unprecedented speed of 138 miles per hour. Engine: 1 Hispano Suiza V-8 (235 hp) Wing-span: 26 ft., 11 in. Length: 20 ft., 8 in. Maximum Weight: 1,808 lbs. Landing gear: fixed, conventional (tail skid) Service ceiling: 21,800 ft. Maximum speed: 138 mph Crew: 1 [Outline of Avion Spad XIII - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 3 ________________ Bell X-1 I remember the first time I fired up the X-1 was with Bob Hoover...we stood in a hangar, open at one end, for a close look at the X-1, which was chained to the ground. I crawled in the cockpit and was invited to fire the engines. You could light them one at a time. I threw a switch, and, my God! a sheet of flame shot twenty feet out the back door. I clapped my hands over my ears against the loudest man made noise ever heard on earth. I threw a second switch, and that damned plane began surging against its chains; the hangar was shaking, and plaster and dust rained down on us. The noise was so fierce I thought my eyes would pop out. Hoover and I laughed in awe. We didn't walk too steady when we left that hangar. I told him, "Pard, I don't know about you, but that sumbitch scares me to death." He agreed it was a damned monster. Engine: 1 Reaction Motors E600-C4 rocket motor (6,000 lbs. static thrust) Wing-span: 28 ft., 4 in. Length: 31 ft., 6 in. Maximum Weight: 12,312 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: 70,000+ ft. Maximum speed: Mach 1.45 (960 mph) Crew: 1 [Outline of Bell X-1 - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 4 ________________ Cessna 172 The Skyhawk was introduced in 1955 and its still one of the Skyhawk most widely flown airplanes today. I think that record speaks for itself... Engine: 4 cyl. horizontally opposed (160 hp) Wing-span: 36 ft., 6 in. Length: 26 ft., 11 in. Maximum Weight: 2,360 lbs. Landing gear: fixed, tricycle Service ceiling: 13,340 ft. Maximum speed: 141 mph Crew: 4 [Outline of Cessna 172 Skyhawk - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] ________________ Douglas X-3 The X-3 was another rocket plane, but unlike the X-1, the Stiletto X-3 could do a runway take off instead of being dropped like a bomb from a B-29. In fact, the damned thing could take off at a third of Mach - about 260 miles per hour. The X-3 seemed really advanced when the Air Force contracted for it in 1945, but it was already out performed by the new jet fighters by the time I crawled in its cockpit in 1953 Engine: 2 Westing house J34-WE-17 afterburning turbojets (4,850 lbs. static thrust) Wing-span: 22 ft., 8.25 in. Length: 66 ft., 9 in. Maximum Weight: 22,100 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: 35,000+ ft. Maximum speed: Mach .95 (650 mph) Crew: 1 [Outline of Douglas X-3 Stiletto - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 5 ________________ General The F-16 was a real departure for U.S. fighter technology Dynamics F-16 because it was so lightweight, manoeuvrable, and dependent Fighting Falcon upon computers. The F-16 was equipped with analog computers which had no back-up systems. This caused us to lose some planes and pilots in the development stage. But once it was fully developed, the F-16 was a popular fighter. Our Air Force used them, and Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, and Norway used them to replace the old F-104 Starfighter. Engine: 1 Pratt Whitney F100-PW-100(3) turbofan (25,000 lbs. static thrust w/afterburning) Wing-span: 30 ft., 6 in. Length: 47 ft., 10 in. Maximum Weight: 33,200 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: 50,000 Maximum speed: Mach 2.3 Crew: 1 [Outline of General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] ________________ Grace Industries This one's a test pilot's fantasy. Be prepared for a ride XPG-12 Samurai that's fast and furious. Engine: 2 DKS Inc. "Bonecrusher" turbojets (est. 15,000 lbs. static thrust each) Wing-span: 25 ft., 6 in. Length: 45 ft., 8 in. Maximum Weight: 31,414 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: Unknown (Engineers estimate 50,000+ ft.) Maximum speed: Unknown (Engineers estimate Mach 1 possible) Crew: 2 [Outline of Grace Industries XPG-12 Samurai - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 6 ________________ Hilleman Ltd. This one's a test pilot's nightmare.... XRH-4 MadDog Engine: 1 Suarez Technologies "Scrambler" turboject (est. 13,000 lbs. static thrust) Wing-span: 20 ft., 4 in. Length: 47 ft., 10 in. Maximum Weight: 28,212 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: Unknown (Engineers estimate 30,000+ ft.) Maximum speed: Unknown (Engineers estimate less than Mach 1) Crew: 1 [Outline of Hilleman Ltd. XRH-4 MadDog - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] ________________ Lerner This plane was never built, and after flying it you know Aeronautics why. I think we would have had some other names beside XNL-16 "Instigator" for this one! Instigator Engine: 1 Traeger Industries "Marauder" turbojet (est. 20,000 lbs. static thrust) Wing-span: 30 ft. Length: 40 ft. Maximum Weight: 25,313 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: Unknown (Engineers estimate 40,000+ ft.) Maximum speed: Unknown (Engineers estimate Mach 1 possible) Crew: 1 [Outline of Lerner Aeronautics XNL-16 Instigator - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 7 ________________ Lockheed SR-71 The SR-71 is a supersonic reconnaissance jet that was developed with funds from the CIA as a replacement for the U-2. The plane was such a success that Lockheed was contracted to design an interceptor version, the YF-12A, and a larger strike bomber version as well. Engine: 2 Pratt Whitney JT11D-20B turbojets (32,500 lbs. static thrust w/afterburning) Wing-span: 52 ft., 9 in. Length: 100 ft., 4 in. Maximum Weight: 145,000 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: 81,000+ ft. Maximum speed: Mach 3+ Crew: 2 [Outline of Lockheed SR-71 - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] ________________ McDonnell The F-18 was the successor to the F-16 and it's more Douglas F-18 advanced in all respects. It has two engines that produce a Hornet combined thrust of 32,000 pounds. It has back-up flight control systems and it has digital computers that are more reliable and finely calibrated than the F-16's. The F-18 also uses a Heads Up Display which projects all the flight data a pilot needs on the windshield: angle of attack, airspeed, altitude, even what weapons are on the airplane. Engine: 2 General Electric F404-GE-400 low by-pass turbofans (16,000 lbs. static thrust each) Wing-span: 37 ft., 6 in. Length: 56 ft. Maximum Weight: 35,040 lbs. Landing gear: retractable tricycle Service ceiling: 50,000+ ft. Maximum speed: Mach 1.8+ Crew: 1 [Outline of McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 8 ________________ North American The best American fighter in World War II, equal to anything P-51 Mustang the Germans put up against her. With her two-thousand-mile range, she turned around the war against Germany by protecting our bombers over the deepest targets. Her Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine with a two-stage, two-speed supercharger provided terrific speed and manoeuvering performance - she was a dogfighter's dream. Engine: 1 Packard-built 12 cyl. in-line Rolls Royce Merlin V-1650-7 (1,490 hp) Wing-span: 37 ft., 6 in. Length: 32 ft., 3 in. Maximum Weight: 11,642 lbs. Landing gear: retractable wing gear, non-retractable tail wheel Service ceiling: 41,900 ft. Maximum speed: 395 mph at 5,000 ft., 437 mph at 25,000 ft. Crew: 1 [Outline of North American P-51 Mustang - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] ________________ Piper Cherokee Like the Cessna, the Cherokee's a good personal airplane. It has an advantage over the Cessna because it has a little more power. Engine: 1 Lycoming O-540-B2B5 six-cylinder, air-cooled (235 hp) Wing-span: 32 ft., 2 in. Length: 23 ft., 6 in. Maximum Weight: 2,930 lbs. Landing gear: non-retractable tricycle Service ceiling: 14,550 ft. Maximum speed: 156 mph Crew: up to four [Outline of Piper Cherokee - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 9 ________________ Sopwith Camel Now there's a classic - a little before my time though. The Camel was a British plane that entered into World War I about 1917. It had a bigger engine than any other biplane and it created so much torque the Camel could turn on a dime. Pilots of the period complained that the airplane was too manoeuvrable, and several were killed just trying to master the damned thing. Engine: 1 Gnome Monosoupape (253 hp) Wing-span: 28 ft., 7 in. Length: 18 ft., 9 in. Maximum Weight: 1,453 lbs. Landing gear: fixed, conventional (tail skid) Service ceiling: 19,320 ft Maximum speed: 113 mph Crew: 1 [Outline of Sopwith Camel - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] ________________ Supermarine This was a great British airplane that was used as a fighter Spitfire and for photographic reconnaissance in World War II. It was continually redesigned during the war so that it was always a match for what the Germans threw against it. Engine: 1 Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 (1,515 hp) Wing-span: 30 ft., 6 in. Length: 36 ft., 10 in. Maximum Weight: 7,570 lbs. Landing gear: retractable wing wheels, and one fixed tail wheel. Service ceiling: 45,070 ft. Maximum speed: 408 mph at 27,500 ft. Crew: 1 [Outline of Supermarine Spitfire - see ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Planes.jpg] 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Test Flight ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today you've got computers, and simulators, and wind tunnel data, and so you come up with a lot of data on what your airplane will do. The test pilot's job is to find out how good the theorists were.... When you choose the Test Flight mission, you're completely on your own to fly any plane anywhere any way for as long as you like. You can choose to fly on a windy day for more challenge. You start in the hangar at the main airport, lined up for take-off on runway 36. You're in the Cessna 172. To taxi or take off, apply power. To get the Test Flight menus, press the Space-bar. Your goal as a test pilot is to take up your chosen plane and test its capabilities to the max. Can you take the Cessna above its 13,000 foot service ceiling? Can you take the X-1 to the edge of space? How high can you take the SR-71? And watch out for high speed instabilities - the engineers don't want those any more than you do. ________________ Airplane control systems & simulator controls Naturally, the first task for any pilot, whether he's testing a rocket plane or learning to fly in a Cessna, is to familiarize him/herself with the airplane and its controls and instruments. In addition to airplane control systems, there are also certain aspects of the flight simulator itself which you can control. The following sections explain the instruments and controls you'll use in the AFT airplanes, and the controls that affect the AFT simulator environment. ________________ AIRPLANE CONTROL SYSTEMS You can fly an airplane without referring to instruments, but using them enables you to fly more precisely and to get maximum performance from your plane. The AFT instrument panel contains all the instruments you'll need for any of the flight missions. Figure 3 (below) shows a typical instrument panel and glareshield, but what you see on screen may differ slightly depending upon the airplane you're flying In all cases, the instruments operate as follows: * Heading indicator: like a compass, shows which direction the plane is flying, north, south, east, west, or points between. * Airspeed indicator or Mach meter: registers the speed of the airplane through the air in miles per hour (mph), or registers the ratio of airspeed to the speed of sound (1 Mach is 760 mph at sea level). * Attitude indicator: portrays the airplane's position relative to the horizon. It shows the degree of bank and the amount of pitch. * Altimeter: measures the height in feet of the airplane above sea level. AFT airports and open terrain are at sea level. 11 * Vertical speed indicator (VSI): indicates whether the airplane is climbing, descending, or in level flight. The rate of climb is measured in feet per minute (fpm), in rates up to 2,000, 4,000, or 8,000 fpm depending on what plane you're flying. * Brake monitor: registers On while you are applying the brakes. * Landing gear monitor: shows whether the gear is up or down. * Power indicator: tells you how far you have advanced the throttle. It measures power output as a percentage of full engine capacity. * Control surfaces monitor: depicts the position of the ailerons, elevators, and rudder. Ailerons are one colour; elevators and rudder are another. If you're not familiar with the parts of an airplane, see Figure 2 in Appendix A - Flight Instruction. * Slip indicator (Inclinometer): helps determine co-ordinated use of the aileron and rudder. In a co-ordinated turn, the ball rests between the two reference marks. * Flaps monitor: shows whether the wing flaps are up or down. Figure 1 The AFT instrument panel and heads-up display (HUD) [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Figure1.jpg] ________________ SIMULATOR CONTROLS AFT simulates not only an airplane and its control systems, but also the airspace it flies through and the ground it flies over. The following sections explain the ways you can control AFT. ________________ Visual reference Normally when you're flying you'll want to look straight ahead out the windshield, but at times you'll want to look left, right, back, through the belly, and through the roof. All these options are available in the Eye menu. You can also view your airplane from points outside the cockpit, including a chase plane, a 12 satellite, the control tower, and the main airport runway. There are keyboard shortcuts for quickly switching between front, left, right, chase plane, tower, or satellite views. All the keyboard shortcuts are listed on the Command Summary Card. You press a keyboard shortcut once to switch to the new view, and then press the same key a second time to return to the front view. You can also magnify any view as if you were looking through a telescope. The Zoom menu offers nine magnification factors, from 1 to 256. AFT chooses the most appropriate magnification factor when you change views in the Eye menu, but you may choose a different magnification factor any time from the Zoom menu. ________________ Heads Up Display (HUD) As explained earlier, you can monitor the airplane controls by watching the instrument panel. That's not possible in any view except front, and it's not always convenient even when you're looking out the windshield. AFT has a secondary control monitoring system called the heads-up display (HUD) that appears in every view (Figure 1). Choose HUD in the option menu to make the heads-up display visible, and choose it a second time to make it invisible. When the heads-up display is active, a small black box in the centre of the screen repons aileron and elevators position; it follows the movement of the joystick, mouse, or cursor keys. A short vertical black line along the bottom edge of the glareshield tracks rudder position. A horizontal black line moves up and down the right edge of the screen to indicate how high or low you have set the throttle. ________________ Flight recorder AFT has a built-in multi-function flight recorder. In Test Flight, turn on the recorder by selecting Flight Recorder from the Option menu. Leaving the Flight Recorder turned off, however, speeds up AFT so you fly faster. If you're airplare racing, the flight recorder is always on and automatically records about 30 seconds of your current flight for instant replay. To see the replay, choose Instant Replay from the Option menu. (Instant Replay is not available in Intro Flight, Formation Flying, or Flight Instruction.) In Flight Instruction, the flight recorder also records and plays back flying lessons. AFT includes 23 prerecorded basic, advanced, and aerobatic lessons. You use the lessons with the heads-up display in either of two ways: 1) choose a lesson from the Basic, Adv, or Aerobat menus, then choose Observe from the same menu to follow along as the recorder flies the plane; or 2) choose Fly instead of Observe to fly the plane as the recorder suggests what to do. For more information, see "Basic flight instruction" in Appendix A - Flight Instruction. If you want to record your own lessons, use the Record Basic, Record Advance, or Record Aerobat commands in the Option menu as described in "Menus" in the Reference chapter. The flight recorder also records and plays back the aerobatic routines you fly when Formation Flying. AFT comes with six prerecorded aerobatic routines, and you may add your own. See the "Formation Flying" chapter for instructions. ________________ Wind Normally you fly AFT in a no-wind condition. For more challenge, you can add a wind factor by choosing Wind from the Option menu. As you make that choice, watch the bottom of the screen, where a message briefly appears to report the wind 13 direction and velocity. The wind direction and velocity change each time you choose Wind. To return to a no-wind condition, exit to the Main menu and re-select the mission. Wind affects your track over the ground. If you wish to fly a specific ground course, you must compensate for wind drift. For example, suppose you are flying counter-clockwise around a rectangular field with the wind blowing parallel to two sides of the rectangle. As you turn from the upwind leg, the wind blows you toward the field, so you must turn less than 90° and roll out crabbed right, into the wind. Turning downwind, you must turn more than 90° because of the crab (see Glossary), and roll out with no crab (you have a direct tailwind). When going from downwind to crosswind, you must turn more than 90° and roll out crabbed left, into the wind. The left crab means you turn less than 90° to get back on the upwind leg. If you are circling a point on the ground, you must vary the steepness of bank to avoid flying an irregular path. The steepest bank occurs when you are flying directly downwind. As you circle the object on its downwind side, you gradually shallow the bank. The shallowest bank occurs when you are flying directly upwind. As you circle the object on its upwind side, you gradually steepen the bank. ________________ Pause Press P at any time to temporarily suspend flying. Press any key to resume. Activating the menu bar by pressing the Space-bar also suspends flying. Pressing Return to choose a menu item returns you to flying, as does the escape sequence listed under "Keyboard Shortcuts" on the Command Summary Card. If you made no new menu selections, your flight resumes where it left off. ________________ Changing planes In Test Flight, you can fly any of the available planes. The Plane menu lists your choices. Select one of the planes by name and then press Return to fly it. The Cessna 172 and the P-51 are described in "Cessna 172 orientation" and "P-51 orientation" in Appendix A - Flight Instruction. The Introduction chapter lists specifications for all the planes. ________________ Navigation The simplest way to navigate is to fly from place to place. The world is 250 kilometres (about 155 miles) square. There are three airports, including the main airport. Because you fly in real time, you can spend hours flying around in a subsonic plane and still have new territory to explore. If you're exploring the AFT world in a supersonic jet, you may be able to circle the world in under a hour, but it will still take you a while to visit and explore all the locations. ________________ DIRECTION- FINDING RADIO All airplanes have a direction-finding radio to help you find your way back to the main airport. To use the radio, simply press the R key. A message appears at the bottom of the screen, reporting the distance to the airport and the heading to the airport. To reach the airport, turn the airplane right or left until the heading indicator shows the radio heading. Then fly straight and level until the airport comes into view. (In case you're not familiar with heading indicator markings, north is 0, east is 90, south is 180, and west is 270.) 14 ________________ OBSTACLE COURSES ...obviously if you're flying through tunnels (which is a kind of stupid thing to do anyway) you know you can't run up the tunnel and go through it. You've got to swing way out and gauge how wide the damn thing is to see if your circle will fit in.... Scattered around the world are seven obstacle courses. As you fly around, see if you can find these: * Five gates arranged like a "five" playing card * Three gates in a row, each backed by a large wall * A street lined on either side by tall buildings * Six gates arranged in an S-shaped course * A slalom course consisting of seven cube-shaped pylons with a large pyramid at one end * An obstacle course consisting of six closely spaced pylons (You're a real pro if you can fly between them!) * A cube, sphere, and tetrahedron arranged in a line If you get tired of looking for any of the obstacle courses, you can fly directly to them by using the Location menu. ________________ LOCATION MENU Once you've found an obstacle course, there's little thrill in spending 15 to 45 minutes flying there from the main airport. The Location menu eliminates that drudgery by instantly transporting your plane to the vicinity of the obstacle course you choose by name. The menu can also transport you to nine other locations, including: the Hangar at the main airport; a two-mile Line Up for landing practice or six-mile Start-Up for final approach; three miles south of the main airport at 3,000 ft. or 10,000 ft.; and 40 miles north, east, south, or west of your present position. ________________ Test pilot The real hero in the flight test business is a pilot who procedures manages to survive. The procedures that follow list the manoeuvres you should put your ship through to test how good the theorists were. But remember, the only way to obtain accurate results is to fly your plane very carefully, relying heavily on instruments. Attempt to stabilize all the flight parameters: throttle, heading, altitude, attitude, airspeed, vertical climb, and slip. If you are unable to stabilize the aircraft, then it has reached its minimum or maximum limit. After you complete a procedure, write down your results on a copy of the Test Flight Check-list in Appendix B to compare against other aircraft, or against other test pilots' findings. ________________ MINIMUM This may sound simple, but if the engines don't cut it you TAKE-OFF can run out of runway...fast. SPEED (FLAPS UP) 1. Start in the hangar. 2. Increase throttle to 100%. 3. Pull back on the stick about 75% and hold it there. 4. Watch the altimeter and VSI. When they leave 0, check and record airspeed. 15 ________________ MINIMUM Commercial airliners rely heavily on flaps because they TAKE-OFF reduce the speed and distances required for take-off. SPEED (FLAPS DOWN) 1. Put flaps down. 2. Start in the hangar. 3. Increase throttle to 100%. 4. Pull back on the stick about 75% and hold it there. 5. Watch the altimeter and VSI. When they leave 0, check and record airspeed. ________________ MAXIMUM Going faster is one of the things I always found myself LEVEL SPEED doing. I guess it's just one of the things I enjoy the (10,000 FT.) most. 1. Start at 10,000 feet. 2. Increase throttle to 100%. 3. Hold VSI at zero. 4. When airspeed and altitude stabilize, read and record the airspeed. ________________ MAXIMUM This type of destructive testing isn't something that's LEVEL SPEED pleasant to put an airplane through, but it's crucial (10,000 FT., information we have to know. FLAPS DOWN) 1. Start at 10,000 feet. 2. Put flaps down and increase throttle to 100%. 3. Hold VSI at zero. 4. Watch carefully for the "flaps jammed open" message along the bottom of the screen. NOTE: this message occurs very quickly on the fast jets, so be alert. 5. When you see the "flaps jammed..." message, read and record the airspeed. ________________ CRUISE SPEED Knowing your aircraft's cruise speed is useful because it (10,000 FT.) also gives you some insight into the airplane's limitations. 1. Start at 10,000 feet. 2. Set throttle to 75%. 3. Hold VSI at zero. 4. When airspeed and altitude stabilize, read and record the airspeed. 16 ________________ STALL This is one of the most important numbers to know about your SPEED - CLEAN plane because the closer you can get to a stall during (GEAR & landing, the less runway you'll need. Maybe then you can FLAPS UP) land the SR-71 at the main airport.... 1. Start at 3,000 feet. 2. Increase airspeed to about 125% of take-off. 3. Hold VSI at zero (it's hard). 4. Slowly (one notch every 15 seconds or so) reduce the throttle while continuing to keep the VSI as close to zero as possible. When you can no longer keep the VSI at zero, check and record the airspeed. ________________ STALL SPEED Naturally the stall speed is going to be lower with the (GEAR UP & flaps down, because the flaps reduce your airspeed. FLAPS DOWN) 1. Start at 3,000 feet. 2. Increase airspeed to about 125% of clean stall and lower flaps. 3. Hold VSI at zero. 4. Slowly (one notch every 15 seconds or so) reduce the throttle while continuing to keep the VSI as close to zero as possible. When you can no longer keep the VSI at zero, check and record the airspeed. ________________ STALL SPEED Basically, anything that protrudes from the airplane's body (GEAR DOWN & is going to affect airspeed and lift something as FLAPS UP) "unaerodynamic" as the landing gear will have a negative effect. 1. Start at 3,000 feet. 2. Increase airspeed to about 125% of clean stall and lower landing gear. 3. Hold VSI at zero. 4. Slowly (one notch every 15 seconds or so) reduce the throttle while continuing to keep the VSI as close to zero as possible. When you can no longer keep the VSI at zero, check and record the airspeed. 17 ________________ STALL SPEED Basically, anything that protrudes from the airplane's body (GEAR DOWN & is going to affect airspeed and lift something as FLAPS UP) "unaerodynamic" as the landing gear will have a negative effect. 1. Start at 3,000 feet. 2. Increase airspeed to about 125% of clean stall and lower flaps and landing gear. 3. Hold VSI at zero. 4. Slowly (one notch every 15 seconds or so) reduce the throttle while continuing to keep the VSI as close to zero as possible. When you can no longer keep the VSI at zero, check and record the airspeed. ________________ MAXIMUM This is one of the harder tests and requires the most time SUSTAINED and skill. The maximum rate of climb for aircraft like the RATE OF F-16 and F-18 is found in a ballistic vertical climb. CLIMB That's because these aircraft often generate thrust greater than their weight. As you approach their ceiling and reduce engine power, they lose their ability to climb this way. At that point they work like other airplanes and you can measure maximum rate of climb. That's why these planes are so easy to fly - there are few problems the go-stick can't correct. Try measuring the P-51 if you want more of a challenge. 1. This test requires a stop-watch. 2. Start at 3,000 feet with throttle at 100%. 3. At the aircraft's clean stall speed (first try only), pull the nose of the plane into a steady climb, maintaining a constant speed. 4. When airspeed has stabilized, note the altitude and start the stop-watch as you cross a 1,000 foot boundary. 5. After you have climbed an additional 10,000 feet maintaining a constant airspeed, stop the watch. Plot the time at the convergence of the airspeed and seconds on the flight check-list grid. (For aircraft with poor climb performance, try climbing 3,000 feet instead of 10,000.) 6. Repeat steps 3-5, increasing airspeed in increments that match the flight check-list grid. Continue this process until the airspeed matches, and you can maintain, the aircraft's maximum level speed. 7. When you have recorded all the data points on the check-list grid, connect the plots to form a curve. Find the lowest point on the curve and that is your best constant climb rate. 18 ________________ SERVICE This is the altitude you can reach without exceeding the CEILING normal parameters of the aircraft limits. It sounds easy, but it's another test that requires discipline and skill. 1. Start at 10,000 feet. 2. Climb at the aircraft's maximum sustained rate of climb. 3. Adjust attitude to maintain airspeed. 4. Hold VSI at zero and wait for altitude to stabilize. 5. Record the altitude at which this happens. ________________ MAXIMUM Be careful when you're pushing the envelope. Experience ATTAINABLE makes the best test pilots, and in most cases experience and SPEED auger jobs don't mix. Some aircraft like the X-3 exhibit a phenomenon known as inertial roll coupling. This can cause the nose of the plane to pitch away from the flight vector. It can be mild and controllable, or it can be destructive.... 1. Climb almost to the service ceiling. 2. Push the nose down and hold in a steep, steady dive. 3. Watch the altimeter and airspeed indicator. 4. Don't let the altitude get too low to pull out of the dive before the airspeed stabilizes. 5. When the airspeed indicator stabilizes (doesn't continue to climb), record the airspeed. ________________ MAXIMUM It's simple - take the plane as high as you can. Of course ATTAINABLE you may encounter problems with speed instabilities, ALTITUDE structural damage from G forces, or loss of control in the thin, high altitude atmosphere, but that's all part of being a test pilot. 1. Set the throttle at 100% and climb to 50% of the aircraft's service ceiling. 2. Level off and let airspeed increase to maximum level speed (try not to lose altitude). 3. Push the nose down to obtain maximum speed (recorded earlier). 4. Pull the nose into a climb, thus transferring the built-up airspeed into climb energy. When you are almost vertical (pointed at the star straight up), you should be gaining altitude at a great rate. You are trading airspeed for altitude in a ballistic climb. 5. As airspeed starts to bleed off, reduce your angle of attack to sustain climb. 6. The sky blackens as you enter the edge of space if you exceed 90,000 feet. 7. Experiment. The object is to set the altitude record for the plane. Here's something to shoot for: at the time this manual was written, the SR-71's record AFT altitude was 164,900 feet. Good luck! 19 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Formation Flying ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We weren't trained for aerobatics. Aerobatics you see being done today are merely refined air combat tactics. That's what we learned after we learned to fly. Sure, we learned to do rolls, and loops, and cuban 8s, and Immelmans - but that's all part of dogfighting. Barnstorming pilots thrilled crowds in the early days of flying by performing stunts one after another. Barnstorming techniques of yester-year have been modernized and made more exciting by adding more planes to the manoeuvre - this is known as formation flying. AFT re-creates this excitement with recorded aerobatic routines. You follow a lead plane as it performs a series of stunts, and afterward, AFT graphs and scores your performance against the leader's. In addition to the four aerobatic routines that come with AFT, you can also record your own. Choose Formation Flying from the main AFT menu to begin. The Formation Flying menu bar appears. Select Manoeuvre and press Return to see a list of available routines. The prerecorded routines include: * Deadman: you fly a XPG-12 Samurai and follow another in a slalom around buildings. * Gates: you fly a Spad and follow another through gates and over buildings. * Hammer: you fly a P-51 and follow another into a hammerhead stall. * Knife: you fly a P-51 and follow another into a 90° roll that you must maintain in stable flight (it helps to uncouple the rudder first from the Option menu). * Wax Me: you fly a P-51 and attempt to keep your crosshair on General Yeager's plane through a series of easy, medium, and hard manoeuvres. Good Luck! * Spad: you fly a Spad and follow another through a series of aerobatic stunts. ________________ Following aerobatic routines Each aerobatic manoeuvre consists of one or more stunts that take place at a predetermined location with a predetermined type of airplane. To start a manoeuvre, choose it by name from the Manoeuvre menu. After a few seconds, the name of the first stunt appears at the bottom of the screen. You can see the lead plane ahead in the distance, trailing white balls of smoke. If you'd like to pause and get your bearings, press P; then press any key to resume. Follow the lead plane as best you can. If you get too close, reduce power to 50% and apply back pressure on the elevators to slow down. If you get too far behind, speed up by increasing power and applying slight forward pressure on the stick. If you lose sight of the lead plane altogether, try looking left and right. You can also make a 360° turn and look for the lead plane's smoke. 20 AFT displays a graph that compares your path with the lead plane's and scores performance after each stunt in the manoeuvre. Press Return to proceed with the next stunt in the manoeuvre (the manoeuvre ends and the menu bar reappears if there are no other stunts). ________________ REDOING A STUNT During the performance of any individual stunt in a manoeuvre, you can start the stunt over. Simply choose Redo Stunt from the Option menu. You cannot redo a stunt after AFT displays the performance graph. ________________ SKIPPING A STUNT You may skip any stunt in a routine and proceed with the next stunt. Choose Next Stunt from the Option menu. If you skip the last stunt in a manoeuvre, AFT starts the manoeuvre over with the first stunt. ________________ Recording aerobatic routines As a creative pilot, you probably have some ideas for an aerobatic manoeuvre or two. Of course you can perform all the aerobatics you like in Test Flight, but there, a routine once performed is lost forever. For this reason, AFT lets you pilot the lead plane in a manoeuvre you invent. Your manoeuvres appear in the Manoeuvre menu right along with the prerecorded routines. Before recording a formation flight manoeuvre, practice it thoroughly beforehand. AFT does let you redo an individual stunt without re-recording the whole manoeuvre, but it's easier to do it right the first time. You choose a plane and location for your first manoeuvre while in Test Flight. If you want a location different from those in the menus, first choose your plane in Test Flight, return to the Main menu and choose Formation Flying, then fly to a manoeuvre location while in Formation Flying. When you have the plane set up for the first manoeuvre, press the Space-bar to bring up the menu bar. To record your routine, choose Record Maneuv from the Option menu. AFT asks you to enter a file name for the manoeuvre. Type the name that you want listed in the Manoeuvre menu for the whole routine. The name you type must be eight characters or less in length. If you type a name that already appears in the Manoeuvre menu, AFT asks whether you want to overwrite the file, thereby replacing the existing manoeuvre. Type Y if you do; otherwise press Return and type a different name. AFT next waits for you to type the name of the stunt you are about to record. You have up to 28 characters to describe the one stunt. The name you enter here appears on the message line at the beginning of the stunt. Press Return when you are ready to begin flying and recording. 21 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Airplane Racing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh, I've flown a lot of courses. Like helping map out hundred kilometre closed courses and stuff like that. But I don't go to Reno or any of the other big races. I hate to see them abuse good airplanes. Really that's exactly what it is - the wealthy man wins the race. Put your flying skills and your nerve to the test - take your airplane to the races! There's no margin for error as you speed along just 100 feet above the ground following a course through a series of low, narrow gates. You must control your altitude precisely in straight and level flight and in steep turns. You must accurately track course shapes from straight lines to spirals in order to pass through the gates in the proper sequence. You must stay ahead of five other racers to win. Some courses have obstacles you fly around. Other courses have obstacles you fly through. On top of all that, you have competition from up to five other airplanes. To give racing a try, choose Airplane Racing from the Main menu and press the Space-bar. When the racing menu bar appears, select Race Course and press Return to see a list of the races you can choose from. The races vary in difficulty from the surprisingly tricky STRAIGHT to the very difficult CLSDCRS. Each race has its own gate layouts and its own class of planes. The five race courses and their planes are listed below. * CLSDCRS - uses the General Dynamics F-18 Hornet * RENO - uses the North American P-51 Mustang * SLALOM - uses the Avion Spad * STRAIGHT - uses the North American P-51 Mustang * 2MILEBOX - uses the Supermarine Spitfire ________________ Start the race To start a race, choose it by name from the Race Course menu. AFT lines you up behind the first gate. You automatically have full power, so you begin moving immediately. As you approach the first gate, you will see the black course line leading out of the gate. Follow the course line to the next gate. When you pass through a gate, AFT flashes a message at the bottom of the screen confirming your passage. The message only appears if you have gone through all previous gates in the proper sequence. AFT keeps track of your time through the course. If you make it through all gates in the correct order without crashing, your time appears at the bottom of the screen. 22 ________________ Your competition You can race against not only the clock but other airplanes too. Each of the competing airplanes has a different colour tail so you can tell them apart. Your airplane has a blue tail. Races come with competitors installed and every time you complete a course, AFT creates a competitor whose performance matches what you just did. Next time you fly the course, you'll have to do better if you want to beat the competition. If you auger in _______________________________________________________________________________ If you should happen to buy the farm while recording a stunt, you must re-record the entire manoeuvre. This means returning to the starting point of the manoeuvre by either flying there, or selecting the location from the Location menu in Test Flight. _______________________________________________________________________________ When you have finished flying the stunt, press the Space-bar. If you wish to redo the stunt you're flying or have just finished, choose Redo Stunt from the Option menu. If you want to record another stunt as part of the same manoeuvre, choose Next Stunt from the Option menu. When you have recorded the last stunt in your manoeuvre, you can review the manoeuvre by choosing it from the Manoeuvre menu, or you may leave Formation Flying for another mission from the Main menu. ________________ RECORDING CONSIDERATIONS AFT records the stunts in your manoeuvre based on your plane's location in space. You might think of your plane as flying in a stunt-cube. If your plane flies beyond the bounds of its current stunt-cube, AFT automatically ends the stunt and asks you for the name of the next stunt. This method lets you string a series of stunts together into a very long manoeuvre; the length of which is limited only by disk space. See the Command Summary Card for ways to create more disk space. There are limitations to this recording system though. The supersonic jets fly through the stunt-cubes so fast that the stunts are recorded in very short bursts. In fact, the SR-7l is so fast that it cannot be recorded properly - which makes it a very good reconnaissance plane indeed. You'll get the best manoeuvre recordings with the prop-driven aircraft. 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Reference ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFT? Basically it's pretty realistic, I'll tell you. It whets the imagination. ________________ Menus AFT has two menu levels. The first level is the Main menu, which is the one you see upon Getting Started. Choosing an item on the Main menu gives you access to several menu bars. They let you change your point of view, your screen's magnification, your choice of hardware, and other settings. The menu bars are listed and described in alphabetical order after the following description of the Main menu. ________________ MAIN MENU The main AFT menu lists the five basic missions you can undertake. Intro Flight starts a hands-off introductory flight that demonstrates AFT's capabilities. Test Flight lets you fly any plane any place, including through obstacle courses. Formation Flight leads you through aerobatic routines and charts and scores your performance. Airplane Racing lets you race up to five other planes in one of 5 races. Flight Instruction turns AFT into a flight instructor that gives basic, advanced, and aerobatic lessons. Return to DOS quits AFT and returns you to your computer's operating system. ________________ ADV MENU The Adv menu lists the nine advanced flight lessons you can take, plus the commands that let you Observe, or actually Fly the lesson. LVL_CLMB teaches how to make the transition from straight and level flight to a climb. CLMB_LVL teaches how to make the transition from climbing flight to straight and level flight. LVL_DSNT teaches how to make the transition from straight and level flight to a descent. DSNT_LVL teaches how to make the transition from descending flight to straight and level flight. STEEPLFT teaches how to execute a 60° banked turn to the left. STEEPRGT teaches how to execute a 60° banked turn to the right. STALL1 teaches how to recover from a power-off (approach to landing) stall. STALL2 teaches how to recover from a power-on (departure) stall. DEMO is the same intro flight that you can also select from the Main menu. The Adv menu, however, gives you the option to actually try and match the instructor's moves on your own - good luck. ________________ AEROBAT MENU The Aerobat menu lists the six aerobatic flight lessons you may take, plus the commands that let you Observe, or actually Fly the lesson. AIL_ROLL teaches how to fly an aileron roll. LOOP teaches how to fly a loop. SLOWROLL teaches how to fly a slow roll. IMMELMAN teaches how to fly an Immelmann turn. SPLITS teaches how to fly a Split S. CUBAN8 teaches how to fly a Cuban 8. 24 ________________ BASIC MENU The Basic menu lists the eight basic flight lessons you may take, plus the commands that let you Observe, or actually Fly the lesson. LEVEL teaches how to fly straight and level. CLIMB teaches how to fly a straight, steady climb. DESCENT teaches how to fly a straight, steady descent. LEFTTURN teaches how to fly a moderate left turn (30° bank). RIGHTTRN teaches how to fly a moderate right turn (30° bank). TAKEOFF teaches how to take off. LANDING teaches how to make a landing approach. FLARE teaches how to touch down on the runway after making a successful landing approach. ________________ DEMO MENU Replays the introductory flight (Intro Flight from the Main menu). ________________ EYE MENU The Eye menu lets you switch between 10 different points of view (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). From inside your plane you can look through the Front, Left, Right, Rear, Belly, and Roof. You can also switch to points of view outside your plane that include: Chase Plane (following your own), Tower (above ground at the main airport), Airport (ground level at the main airport), and Satellite (you see the terrain around your plane from Earth orbit). ________________ LOCATION MENU The Location menu lets you instantly relocate your airplane to another part of the AFT world. The various locations include: * Hangar at the main airport, in position for take-off on runway 36 * Lined Up on final approach to runway 36 at the main airport, 2 miles out at an altitude of 800 feet * 3000 ft up, headed north, and 3 miles south of the main airport * 10,000 ft up, headed north, and 5 miles south of the main airport * N 40 mi puts your plane 40 miles north of your last position, headed north with your altitude unchanged * E 40 mi puts your plane 40 miles east of your last position, headed north with your altitude unchanged * S 40 mi puts your plane 40 miles south of your last position, headed north with your altitude unchanged * W 40 mi puts your plane 40 miles west of your last position, headed north with your altitude unchanged * Logo puts your plane 57 miles southeast of the main airport at 2000 feet, near a large sphere, cube, and tetrahedron (fly at a heading of 136° from the airport) * Street puts your plane 41 miles south of the main airport, 2000 feet above a street lined on either side by tall buildings (fly a heading of 180° from the main airport) * Slalom puts your plane 11 miles west of the main airport at 2000 feet, approaching 7 square pylons lined up for a slalom (fly a heading of 288° from the main airport) 25 * Obstacle puts your plane 36 miles southwest of the main airport at 2000 feet, approaching 6 closely spaced square pylons lined up on the diagonal (fly a heading of 209° from the main airport) * Gates puts your plane 94 miles southwest of the main airport at 1300 feet, approaching a series of rectangular gates, each with a large wall close behind it (fly a heading of 224° from the main airport) * S Course puts your plane 65 miles southwest of the main airport at 1300 feet, approaching a series of 6 gates laid out in an S shape (fly a heading of 218° from the main airport) * Square puts your plane 65 miles northwest of the main airport at 1300 feet, approaching 5 gates arranged in a square with one in the middle, like the configuration on a "five" playing card (fly a heading of 314° from the main airport) * Start Up puts your plane on approach to runway 36 at the main airport, 6 miles out at an altitude of 3000 feet. ________________ MANEUVER MENU The Manoeuvre menu lists aerobatic manoeuvres in which you follow another airplane as it performs a series of aerobatic stunts. AFT graphs and scores your performance against the lead plane's at the conclusion of each stunt. The prerecorded manoeuvres are: Deadman, where you fly a XPG-12 Samurai and follow another in a slalom around buildings; Gates, where you fly a Spad and follow another through gates and over buildings; Hammer, where you fly a P-51 and follow another into a hammerhead stall; Knife, where you fly a P-51 and follow another into a 90° roll that you must maintain in stable flight (it helps to uncouple the rudder first from the Option menu); Wax Me, where you fly a P-51 and attempt to keep your crosshair on General Yeager's plane through a series of easy, medium, and hard manoeuvres; Spad, where you fly a Spad and follow another through a series of aerobatic stunts. ________________ OPTION MENU The Option menu lists miscellaneous features and commands pertinent to the mission you are flying. The menu itself is always available, but the items on it vary depending on what mission you're flying. All Option menu items are listed below in alphabetical order. ________________ Clear Race Eliminates the competition from the currently selected race (the one listed in red, or another non-white colour, in the Race Course menu). A new opponent is added each of the next five times the race is successfully completed. ________________ Coupled Rudder Couples the rudder to the ailerons to automatically coordinate turns in flight, or uncouples it if it is currently coupled. The rudder is temporarily uncoupled for taxiing when the plane is on the ground. ________________ HUD Deactivates the heads-up display (HUD), or reactivates it if it is inactive. The heads-up display lets you monitor the airplane controls without looking at the 26 instrument panel. A line on the right shows the power setting. A hollow black square in the centre of the view indicates the position of the ailerons. A line along the bottom of the glareshield (or the screen in views other than Front) indicates rudder position. ________________ Instant Replay Repeats the last half-minute of flying (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). This command is available only in Test Flight and Airplane Racing. You must first select the Flight Recorder command before using Instant Replay in Test Flight. ________________ Main Menu Returns you to the main AFT menu. ________________ Next Stunt Advances to the next stunt in a Formation Flying manoeuvre (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). If you are following an existing manoeuvre, the name of the next stunt appears at the bottom of the screen and the lead plane begins flying that stunt immediately. If you are currently recording a new manoeuvre, AFT ends the last stunt when you choose Next Stunt, and asks you for the name of the next stunt. When you press Return after typing the name, AFT immediately begins recording your flying. If you auger in while performing a stunt, you must get set up again, and record the entire manoeuvre over again. ________________ Record Advance Records a lesson to be added to the Adv menu (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). You must get set up for the lesson while in Test Flight. There you can choose an airplane and location from menus. When you have the plane set up for the lesson, press the Space-bar, return to the Main menu, and choose Flight Instruction. Then choose Record advance from the Option menu. AFT asks you to enter a file name for the lesson. Type the name that you want listed in the Adv menu. The name can be no longer than eight characters. If you type a name that already appears in the Adv menu, AFT asks whether you want to overwrite the file, thereby replacing the existing lesson. Type Y if you do; otherwise press Return and type a different name. Be prepared to start recording the lesson the instant you press Return after typing the file name. To end the recording, press the Space-bar. ________________ Record Aerobat Records a lesson to be added to the Aerobat menu (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). For instructions, see "Record advance" above. ________________ Record Maneuv Records an aerobatic manouevre to be added to the Manoeuvre menu (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). You must first select an airplane in Test Flight, then switch to Formation Flight to use 27 the plane in your recorded manoeuvre. While in Test Flight, you can also use the Location menu to put the plane in a particular spot for the manoeuvre before you switch to Formation Flight. Formation Flying always resets to the current plane in the Test Flight Plane menu, and the current location in the Test Flight Location menu when you first start, or after you auger in. When you have the plane and location for the first manoeuvre, press the Space-bar, return to the Main menu, and choose Formation Flight. If you want to record the manoeuvre in a location different than the one you picked in Test Flight, you must fly there while in Formation Flying, then choose Record Maneuv from the Option menu. AFT asks you to enter a file name for the manoeuvre. Type the name that you want listed in the manoeuvre menu. The name can be no longer than eight characters. If you type a name that already appears in the menu, AFT asks whether you want to overwrite the file, thereby replacing the existing routine. Type Y if you do; otherwise press Return and type a different name. After you name the manoeuvre, AFT asks you for a name of the first stunt. The name can be up to 28 characters. The name you enter here appears on the message line at the beginning of stunt during play-back. Be prepared to start recording the stunt the instant you press Return after typing the stunt name. Press the Spacebar when you finish recording the stunt. Choose Redo Stunt from the Option menu if you want to re-record the stunt. If you want to record another stunt in the manoeuvre, choose Next Stunt from the Option menu. Otherwise, do anything you like and AFT will prompt you for the name of the next stunt. Recording works best with the slower, prop-driven planes, and will not work properly with the SR-71 because of its great speed. (See "Recording aerobatic routines" in the Formation Flying chapter for more information.) ________________ Record Basic Records a lesson to be added to the Basic menu (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). For instructions, see "Record advance" above. ________________ Redo Stunt Repeats the stunt you are currently flying in a Formation Flying manoeuvre (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). If you are following an existing routine, the lead plane immediately starts flying the stunt over. If you are recording a new routine, AFT asks you to re-type the name of the stunt. When you press Return after typing the name, AFT immediately begins recording your flying. If you auger in _______________________________________________________________________________ Redo Stunt will not work if you buy the farm while recording; you must get your plane set up again, and re-record the entire manoeuvre from the beginning. _______________________________________________________________________________ 28 ________________ Wind Adds wind to the flight conditions (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). AFT briefly displays the wind speed and direction, which change each time you choose this option. ________________ PLANE MENU The Plane menu lets you select the airplane you want to fly. ________________ RACE COURSE MENU The Race Course menu lets you select which race course you want to fly. There are five races courses to choose from: CLSDCRS in which you and your opponents race F-18s; RENO in which you and your opponents race P-51s; SLALOM in which you and your opponents race Spads; STRAIGHT in which you and your opponents race P-51s; and 2MILEBOX in which you and your opponents race P-51s. ________________ SYS MENU The System menu determines which hardware options are in effect. See the Command Summary Card for your computer. ________________ ZOOM MENU Like the photographic lens for which it is named, the Zoom menu lets you decide how much to magnify what you see on screen, from 1 to 256 times (this feature is not available on all computers, check the Command Summary Card). A magnification factor of 1 or 2 works best for general flying. The middle powers give you close ups of objects on the horizon. The higher powers are useful with the satellite view. AFT normally uses magnification factor 2, except with the satellite view, where it uses 4. 29 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Glossary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ailerons: The hinged surfaces at the trailing edge of each wing, near the wing tips. Ailerons control the plane's roll; lowering an aileron increases lift and raises the wing. The ailerons are linked, so that deflecting one down moves the other up. Angle of attack: The angle at which the wing meets oncoming air. The greater the angle of attack, the more lift occurs, as air striking the bottom of the wing is deflected downward. If the angle of attack is too great, the airplane stalls. Centre of gravity: The intersection of the aircraft's longitudinal, lateral, and vertical axes. Crab: To fly at an angle to the track over the ground, in order to compensate for a crosswind. Drag: The resistance created by air striking the surface of the aircraft as it moves through the air. Some drag also occurs as the wing deflects air downward to produce lift. Elevators: Hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer that cause the aircraft to move about its lateral axis, controlling pitch. Pushing the stick forward moves the elevators downward; the resulting airflow pushes the tail upward and the nose downward. Empennage: The unit consisting of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers; also known as the tail section. Flaps: Hinged surfaces on the trailing edges of the wings, usually near the fuselage. Flaps can be lowered to increase lift and drag, allowing a slower airspeed and a steeper angle of descent while landing. Glideslope: The angle of descent. Heading: The direction in which the aircraft is pointing, as indicated by the heading indicator. Lateral axis: The axis of the aircraft that extends from wingtip to wingtip. Lift: The upward force generated by air flowing over the wings. Air moves faster over the curved top of the wing, creating a low pressure that pulls the plane up. At the same time, air striking the bottom of the wing is deflected downward, creating more upward force. Longitudinal axis: The axis of the aircraft that extends through the fuselage from nose to tail. Pitch: Rotation about the aircraft's lateral axis, pointing the aircraft's nose up or down. Roll: Rotation about the aircraft's longitudinal axis. Also an aerobatic manoeuvre (see "Barnstorming" in the Sport Flying chapter.) Rudder: The hinged surface on the vertical stabilizer that controls the plane's yaw. The rudder is controlled by left and right pedals. When the rudder is moved to the right, the resulting air deflection pushes the tail to the left, which in turn yaws the nose to the right (in other words, pressure on a particular rudder pedal turns the plane in that direction on its vertical axis). Service Ceiling: The altitude above which the engine no longer has enough power to maintain a climb rate of 100 fpm. Skid: The aircraft's undesirable sideways and upward movement toward the outside of a turn. Slip: The aircraft's undesirable sideways and downward movement toward the inside of a turn during a sharp bank. Stall: When the angle of attack is too great, the air no longer flows smoothly across the upper surface of the wing, contributing to lift, but instead results in a turbulent flow of air, rapidly degenerating lift. Most planes stall when the angle of attack reaches around 15° to 20°. To recover from a stall, lower the nose, apply maximum power, and return to level flight when possible. Vertical axis: The axis of the aircraft that passes vertically through the fuselage, intersecting with the longitudinal and lateral axes at the centre of gravity. Vertical stabilizer: The vertical section of the tail; also called the fin. Yaw: Rotation about the aircraft's vertical axis. 30 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Appendix A:Flight Instruction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Never believe anything another pilot tells you about how to fly. Learning to fly a real airplane requires a good deal of study and practice. AFT greatly speeds learning to fly by eliminating the risk. But you must still learn and practice many manoeuvres to become a proficient pilot. This chapter has a brief ground school section that acquaints you with the airplane, its controls, and its instruments. Three other sections present actual flight lessons in increasing order of difficulty: basic, advanced, and aerobatic. There are also orientation sections that describe each type of airplane that AFT simulates. ________________ Ground school Before you start flying, you must learn how airplane controls work, what the various instruments measure, and how to control the flying environment. You may also wish to learn what makes an airplane fly and other principles of flight; see one of the reference books listed at the end of this appendix. ________________ AIRPLANES All airplanes - no matter how new, old, basic, or advanced - have certain basic components (Figure 2). Wings generate lift, tail assembly provides stability, landing gear furnishes ground manoeuverability, powerplant supplies motive force, and fuselage or body holds everything together and accommodates pilot and passengers. ________________ Flight controls Movable control surfaces on the wings and tail allow the airplane to manoeuvre in three dimensions while airborne. The pilot manipulates the control surfaces by moving pedals and a control wheel or stick in the cockpit. An airplane has three primary control surfaces. The ailerons and elevators are connected to the control wheel or stick, and the rudder is connected to the rudder pedals. (See the Command Summary Card for control equivalents on your computer.) In addition to the primary controls, most airplanes also have wheel brakes, wing flaps, and retractable landing gear. ________________ Ailerons Turn the airplane in flight by banking, or rolling, the wings. To bank the wings, you move the ailerons, located on the outboard trailing edges of the wings (Figure 3). To begin a left turn, move the stick to the left. Bank right by moving the stick to the right. 31 Figure 2 Parts of an airplane [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Figure2.jpg] Figure 3 Ailerons roll, elevators pitch, and the rudder yaws [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Figure3.jpg] Elevators Elevators are part of the vertical stabilizer, which is part of the empennage (tail assembly). Moving the elevators up or down makes the nose of the airplane pitch the opposite direction (Figure 3). To pull the nose up, pull the stick back. Push the nose down by pushing the stick forward. Moving the elevators does not cause the plane to gain or lose altitude as you may expect. It only changes the angle at which the wings move forward along the flight path, called the angle of attack. For example, holding the stick full back on low powered aircraft eventually results in a stall, whereupon the airplane stops flying and descends rapidly. Use the throttle to control altitude. Rudder Moving the rudder, which is located at the trailing edge of the fin, swings the tail right or left (Figure 3). On the ground, the rudder steers the airplane like the rudder of a boat. While airborne, the rudder is used in conjunction with the ailerons to coordinate turns. (In an uncoordinated turn, the tail of the airplane slips to the inside of the turn or skids to the outside of the turn.) 32 AFT normally couples the rudder to the ailerons in flight so your turns are always coordinated. You can uncouple and couple the rudder using the Option menu; AFT automatically uncouples it on the ground, when you need it for steering. Swing the tail left by applying right rudder pedal; swing the tail right with left rudder pedal. You can centre the rudder by pressing both pedals simultaneously. Wing flaps Flaps are a movable part of the wing, normally hinged to the inboard trailing edge of each wing (Figure 2). When down, they increase lift and drag. As a result, you can make a steeper approach for landing without increasing airspeed. Lower the flaps by flipping the Flaps switch to DN. Raise them by flipping the switch to UP. Brakes Coast to a stop on the ground by chopping the throttle, and use brakes to hasten deceleration. Press and hold the Brake switch ON to apply the brakes. Release the Brake switch so it returns to OFF to release the brakes. Landing gear Flip the Gear switch to UP to put the gear up after take-off. Flip the switch to DN to lower the gear for landing. The Gear switch is inoperable on planes without retractable gear, such as the Cessna 172. ________________ Engine control An airplane needs power to get off the ground and sustain flight. Climbing takes more power. Reducing power is the key to descending and landing. ________________ ATTITUDE FLYING There are three basic components of airplane control: pitch control using the elevators, bank control using the ailerons, and power control using the throttle. Performing any manoeuvre is a matter of coordinating these three components to achieve the desired flight attitude. You have control of the airplane if you know when and how much to change the attitude, and if you can smoothly change the attitude, or maintain a constant attitude, as needed. At first, you consciously note the relationship of specific reference points on the airplane, such as the glareshield above the instrument panel, to the horizon. As you become skilled, you become continuously aware of these relationships without thinking about them. Such outside references are called visual references (VR). You can fly by visual references alone, but you will get better control and become a more proficient pilot if you also confirm your attitude by scanning the instruments. This is called the instrument reference (IR). 33 ________________ Basic flight We flew from dawn to dusk, six flights a day, six days a instruction week, dogfighting, buzzing, and practicing gunnery. We crawled exhausted into the sack at ten and straggled to breakfast at 4:30 A.M., taking off on our first flight of the day just as dawn broke. I logged 100 hours of flying that first month. Hog Heaven.... Basic instruction starts with four fundamental flight manoeuvres: straight and level, climbs, descents, and turns. All other flight manoeuvres, no matter how sophisticated, build on these four fundamentals. Understand them well, and you will make the most efficient use of your airplane in more advanced flight manoeuvres. To begin basic instruction: 1. Choose Flight Instruction from the Main menu. 2. In the menu bar that appears, select Basic and press Return. You then see the basic instruction menu, with the lessons listed at the top and the two participation options, Observe and Fly, listed at the bottom. Figure 4 The heads-up display during flight instruction [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Figure4.jpg] ________________ HOW TO TAKE A LESSON Before taking a lesson, decide whether you want to observe the lesson or fly it. It's usually a good idea to observe each lesson at least once before you try to fly it. The Observe or Fly options are unavailable until you have selected a lesson from one of the menus. When you select your lesson, AFT automatically defaults to Observe mode. Whichever option you choose, you'll see a double heads-up display. It shows how the instructor uses the airplane controls and how you use them (Figure 4). 34 ________________ Changing the Observe or Fly option Once you have selected a lesson, the currently selected participation option, Observe or Fly, is listed in a non-white colour at the bottom of the Basic menu. To change it: 1. Select Basic in the menu bar, and press Return. 2. Select the participation option you want. 3. Press Return to make your choice effective, and then immediately press the Space-bar to get the menu bar back. (The currently selected lesson begins when you press Return, but pressing the Space-bar pauses it.) ________________ Taking a lesson 1. Study the description of the lesson in this chapter (the descriptions are approximations - the readings you see on your instruments may be slightly different). 2. Set the Observe or Fly option as just described. 3. In the Basic menu, select the lesson you want to take. 4. Press Return when you're ready to start the lesson. 5. Watch the heads-up display and try to match your control movements to the recorded movements. Don't forget to watch the throttle! 6. Heed the hints that appear periodically along the bottom of the screen. You can interrupt any lesson to change the view or zoom (press the Space-bar to get the menu bar). You can also turn off the heads-up display and uncouple the rudder if you wish (Option menu). At the end of the lesson, the menu bar reappears automatically. Fresh perspective _______________________________________________________________________________ To see what the airplane looks like during a lesson, use the Chase Plane or Tower view. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________ If you buy the farm... Don't worry if you buy the farm while flying AFT. You can start the flight over by selecting the same mission again (see "Keyboard Shortcuts" on the Command Summary Card). ________________ CESSNA 172 You can use it as a trainer because it seats two ORIENTATION side-by-side, you can use it for cross countries, or you can use it as your personal airplane - but it's not very fast. I suppose you get what you pay for.... No light plane deserves the title "generic airplane" more than the Cessna 172. Its characteristic high-wing, single-engine, tricycle-gear shape is a familiar sight around airports everywhere. The Skyhawk, as it's also known, has introduced thousands to flying since Cessna started making it in 1955. Pilots love it for its roominess, economy, reliability, and safety record, not to mention its stable handling characteristics. The 172 performs modestly when fully loaded with four passengers, but you can expect better performance since you'll be flying it alone. Hop in the left seat and get ready for your first lesson! 35 ________________ PREFLIGHT CHECK Before starting a flight, take a moment to check the airplane controls, flight instruments, and simulator. Choose Test Flight from the Main menu. The plane is standing still in the hangar, lined up with runway 36. Run down this check-list: * Instruments - check (heading indicator, airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator, slip indicator). * Ailerons, elevators, and rudder - correct response to control movement. * Flaps - test. * Views - check left, right, and satellite. * Brakes - hold ON. * Engine - check. Advance throttle, then retard throttle. * Brakes - off. As you test the ailerons, elevators, rudder, flaps, brakes, and power, be sure to check both the instrument panel and the heads-up display. For information on the controls and understanding the instruments, see the "Airplane & Simulator Controls" section of the Test Flight chapter. When you feel comfortable with the airplane instruments and controls, return to the Main menu, then back to Flight Instruction. Controls inoperative _______________________________________________________________________________ If the ailerons, elevators, or rudder don't work, your joystick or mouse may have become disconnected. If the flight controls still don't work after you reconnect the device, check your selections in the System menu (see the Command Summary Card). _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________ STRAIGHT AND LEVEL FLIGHT (LEVEL) Straight and level flight, as the name implies, is a matter of maintaining a constant heading and altitude. You monitor visual references (VR) and instrument references (IR) to maintain straight and level flight. You achieve level flight by adjusting pitch with the elevators and power with the throttle until the distance between the glareshield and horizon stays the same. For straight flight, use the ailerons to keep the wings level, so that the glareshield remains parallel to the horizon. The glareshield and horizon are your inside and outside visual reference points. Confirm straight and level flight by scanning the instruments. The miniature airplane on the attitude indicator splits the artificial horizon, the altimeter is constant, the vertical speed indicator hovers around 0 fpm, and the heading indicator is steady. Level flight is possible at a variety of power and pitch settings. The airspeed is different for each combination, but remains steady if you are flying level. As you apply more power, you lower the nose to maintain level flight, and the airspeed increases. The reverse is also true. Straight and level cruise speed at 100 mph requires 75% power and about one-third up-elevators. To start the straight and level flight lesson, choose LEVEL from the Basic menu. You begin at 3000 feet, headed north over the airport. ________________ STRAIGHT CLIMB (CLIMB) In a straight climb, the pitch attitude and power settings result in a gain of altitude while the bank attitude remains level for straight-ahead flight. Adding power while holding the pitch attitude required for straight and level flight results in a climb. Best climb performance occurs with 100% power and with the nose higher than for 36 straight and level flight. Holding the stick back about half-way raises the nose and reduces airspeed to about 75 mph. The visual references for a climb resemble the visual references for straight and level flight. The glareshield remains parallel to and a constant distance from the horizon. However, the nose is higher when climbing so distance from glareshield to horizon changes. In a steep climb, the glareshield may even be above the horizon. You can also scan the instrument panel to confirm what you see outside the airplane. When climbing, you should see the miniature airplane in the attitude indicator above the horizon. The altimeter should be moving in a clockwise direction and the vertical speed indicator should be above the 0 point. Provided you keep the wings level, the heading indicator will remain constant. Start the straight climb lesson by choosing CLIMB from the Basic menu. You start at 3000 feet, 1 mile north of the airport heading north. You climb at 75 mph for about two minutes, gaining 800 feet at 500 fpm. ________________ STRAIGHT DESCENT (DESCENT) Descents are pretty much the opposite of climbs. That being the case, you would expect that because you add power to climb, you would reduce power to descend, and you do. In a descent, or glide, you reduce power from cruise (75%) to cruise descent (50%) and adjust the pitch attitude so that gravity pulls the airplane forward and down along an inclined path. Reducing power to 50% and holding the stick about 1/8 forward lowers the nose and results in an 500 fpm descent at about 100 mph. The visual references for a descent look so much like those for straight and level flight, it's hard to tell them apart. In both cases the glareshield remains parallel to and a constant distance from the horizon, but the glareshield is slightly lower on the horizon during a descent. You can clearly spot a descent on the flight instruments. The miniature airplane in the attitude indicator is below the horizon, the altimeter moves counter-clockwise, and the vertical speed indicator registers close to -1. The heading remains constant as long as you keep the wings level. To start the straight descent lesson, choose DESCENT from the Basic menu. You start at 3000 feet, 5 miles south of the airport heading north. You descend 1000 feet at 500 fpm while traveling at 100 mph on a 50% power setting. ________________ LEVEL LEFT TURN, 30° BANK ANGLE (LEFTTURN) A turn involves close coordination of all three flight controls - ailerons, rudder, and elevators. You turn the airplane by banking the wings - left bank for a left turn, right bank or a right turn. The banked wings no longer lift the plane straight up; now they lift both up and sideways. It is this sideways lift of the wings that turns the plane. The total amount of lift is the same, so there is necessarily less upward lift. You must compensate by raising the nose or the plane will descend. For example, with power set at 75% and the stick held slightly less than half-way left or right, you must hold the stick back almost half-way to maintain constant altitude. The visual reference in a turn is again the relationship between the glareshield and the outside horizon, but this time the glareshield is at an angle to the horizon instead of parallel. If you hold the pitch attitude constant a level turn occurs. The turn can clearly be seen on the attitude indicator, where the miniature airplane is at an angle to the artificial horizon. If you hold the pitch attitude constant during the turn, then the altimeter will be constant, and the vertical speed indicator will 37 be steady on 0 fpm. On the instrument panel, only the heading indicator moves, confirming the turn. Start the left turn lesson by by choosing LEFTTURN from the Basic menu. You circle at 3000 feet, 3 miles south of the airport, in a 30° bank. ________________ LEVEL RIGHT TURN, 30° BANK ANGLE (RIGHTTRN) The only difference between a right turn and a left turn is the direction of bank. To start the right turn lesson, choose RIGHTRN from the Basic menu. You circle at 3000 feet, 3 miles south of the airport, in a 30° bank. ________________ NORMAL TAKE-OFF (TAKEOFF) To take off, the airplane must accelerate from a standstill to an airspeed that moves enough air over its wings to create the lifting force needed to overcome gravity. The take-off also includes the initial climb away from the take-off area to a safe manoeuvering altitude. The entire procedure involves a high degree of control on the ground as well as in the air. You begin by lining the airplane up with the runway and applying 100% power. Maintain directional control while on the ground with the rudder. Use the runway markings as a visual reference. When you reach take-off speed, 75 mph in the Cessna, you rotate the airplane to the climb attitude by pulling back on the stick to raise the nose. After lift-off, you may need to lower the nose slightly until airspeed builds up to normal climb speed, 75 mph. At that point, you can establish the airplane in the familiar climb attitude that you have already practiced. As you take off, notice how the balls on the ground grow smaller, helping you judge your altitude by eye. Because of your nose-high pitch angle, you quickly lose sight of them unless you change to an alternate view. Start the take-off lesson by by choosing TAKEOFF from the Basic menu You begin in the hangar, lined up for take-off on runway 36. ________________ BEGINNER LANDING (LANDING) Landing the airplane requires very careful control of power and pitch attitude to achieve a descent at the proper approach speed. You must also maintain directional control if you want to land on the runway. Note _______________________________________________________________________________ Both landing lessons are recorded at the secondary airport, which 40 miles south of the main airport. _______________________________________________________________________________ Plan your approach to the airport so that you are lined up with the runway at an altitude of about 500 feet when you are about 2 or 3 miles out. Prior to reaching that point, move the elevators about one-third up and set power at 50% for a descent rate of about 500 fpm and an approach speed of 75 mph. You are now on final approach. As you line up on final, lower the flaps and adjust the pitch attitude to maintain your descent rate. With the flaps down, the pitch attitude is lower for the same descent rate, giving you a better view of the runway. The airplane can also fly at a slower speed with the flaps extended, so there's less danger of stalling. 38 Figure 5 Flaps steepen the descent angle [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Figure5.jpg] On short final, about one-half mile out, locate a touch-down spot on the runway. This touch-down spot should remain at a constant distance above your glareshield when approaching the runway. If the touch-down point appears to rise in your windshield it means your angle of descent is too steep. In that case, add power as necessary to make the descent angle shallower. If you were to continue the approach without adding power you would surely land short of your touch-down point, if not short of the entire runway. Conversely if you see the touch-down point descend in your windshield, then your angle of descent is too shallow and you are going to overshoot your desired touchdown point or the entire runway. To avoid this, you must decrease power, thereby increasing the descent angle. Watch for the balls on the ground as you descend, and use their size to gauge your height above the ground. At 200 feet, you are low enough to see the balls through the windshield. Looking out a side window, you can see them below about 1000 feet. Controlling the descent _______________________________________________________________________________ You control the glideslope, or angle of descent, with power, not with pitch attitude. Think of the throttle as your altitude control. _______________________________________________________________________________ While on final approach you must watch your airspeed closely. As mentioned earlier, your target airspeed for a smooth and safe landing in the Cessna 172 is 75 mph. If you need to adjust your airspeed while on the final approach, adjust the pitch attitude. For example, if you notice the airspeed has crept up to 80 mph, raise the nose slightly to slow down. If you have inadvertently slowed to 70 mph, lower the nose slightly to speed up. Controlling the airspeed _______________________________________________________________________________ You control airspeed with pitch attitude, not power. Think of the elevators as your speed control. _______________________________________________________________________________ You'll learn the touch-down procedure in the next lesson. To start the beginning landing lesson, choose LANDING from the Basic menu. You are on a one-mile final for runway 36 at an altitude of 500 feet. ________________ NORMAL LANDING (FLARE) The landing flare is a slow, smooth transition from a normal approach attitude to a landing attitude. When the airplane is 10 to 20 feet above the runway, you gradually apply back pressure on the stick, raising the elevators to slowly increase the pitch attitude. At the same time, you reduce power to idle so as to land on the main gear first with the nose gear still up in the air (Figure 6). 39 Figure 6 Landing flare [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Figure6.jpg] Increasing the pitch attitude increases lift, thereby decreasing the downward velocity of the airplane, so you gently settle onto the runway. This increase in lift also increases drag which helps to slow the aircraft before touchdown. After touch-down, brake to taxi speed, raise the flaps, and taxi off the runway. Start the landing flare lesson by choosing FLARE from the Basic menu. You are lined up on final for runway 36 at an altitude of 300 feet. ________________ SOLO After nine basic flying lessons, you're ready to solo. To do that, go back to the Main menu and choose Test Flight. You start lined up for take-off at the approach end of runway 36 on the main airport. Apply power to taxi or take off. At first, you'll probably want to stick pretty close to the airport, practicing take-offs, landings, and the other manoeuvres you learned in your basic lessons. Later, you can head out on cross-country trips. For more information on navigation, finding the airport and other landmarks, changing planes, and flying with wind, see the Test Flight chapter. ________________ Advanced flight instruction The advanced instruction section covers transitions from one fundamental manoeuvre to another, steep turns, and stall recoveries. All advanced lessons are given in the Cessna 172, which is described in "Cessna 172 orientation" earlier in this chapter. If you need instructions on taking AFT flight lessons, see "How to take a lesson" earlier in this chapter. ________________ STRAIGHT AND LEVEL TO CLIMB (LVL_CLMB) The goal here is to make the transition from straight and level cruise flight into a straight climb. Earlier lessons showed you what cruise and climb flight attitudes looked like visually and on the instruments. You also learned that the cruise power setting is 75%, and the climb setting is 100%. With this in mind you can begin the transition to a climb. First, you raise the pitch attitude from straight and level attitude to the climb attitude. Do this by bringing the elevators back until the visual reference looks like what you expect for a straight climb. Increase the power from cruise (75%) to climb power (100%). The transition is complete when the airspeed is constant, about 75 mph for a Cessna 172. A check of the instruments shows the miniature airplane on the attitude indicator above the horizon in the climb position, the altimeter moving clockwise, the vertical speed indicator above the 0 point and the airspeed indicator moving counter-clockwise. To start the lesson, choose LVLCLMB from the Adv menu. You start at 3000 feet, 2 miles south of the airport heading north at about 90 mph. During the transition, you climb 250 feet. 40 ________________ CLIMB TO STRAIGHT AND LEVEL (CLMB_LVL) The transition from climb to straight and level is pretty much the opposite of the last transition. After climbing to the desired altitude, you lower the pitch attitude from climb to straight and level flight. Continue operating at full power to let the airspeed increase to the approximate cruise airspeed. Then decrease the power to 75%. If you reduce power early, the acceleration to cruise speed will take longer. The transition is complete when the pitch attitude is appropriate for straight and level flight, the power is set at 75% and the airspeed indicator is approximately 100 mph. Start the climb to straight and level lesson by by choosing CLMB_LVL from the Adv menu. You start at 3250 feet, 9 miles south of the airport, climb 300 feet, and level off. ________________ STRAIGHT AND LEVEL TO DESCENT (LVL_DSNT) In this lesson you make the transition from straight and level cruise configuration to the descent configuration, which you learned in one of the basic lessons. All you do is reduce power gradually to about 50%. This correlates to your pre-landing instruction that said "power controls altitude." The more you reduce power, the greater the descent angle and rate of descent. In a real airplane, your descent rate should not exceed 1000 fpm to avoid ear discomfort. This transition is complete when the power is reduced to 50%, the pitch attitude is set at the normal descent attitude. Then the airspeed is constant, the altimeter is moving counter-clockwise, and the vertical speed indicator is below the 0 point. To start the lesson, choose LVLDSCNT from the Adv menu. You start at 2000 feet, over the airport heading north at about 100 mph. During the transition, you descend 800 feet. ________________ DESCENT TO STRAIGHT AND LEVEL (DSNT_LVL) The transition from descent to straight and level flight is the opposite of the last lesson. If a reduction in power causes the aircraft to descend, then an increase should cause the aircraft to level off or climb. As you increase power, you see the glareshield move up closer to the horizon. Increasing power to 75% should bring the airplane to a straight and level attitude. Start the descent to straight and level lesson by choosing DSNT_LVL from the Adv menu. You start at 3000 feet, 2 miles south of the airport, descending at 100 mph. ________________ STEEP LEFT TURN (STEEPLFT) The key to performing steep turns (45° to 60°) is understanding what happens to lift in a turn. You may remember from an early lesson that banking for a turn creates sideways lift at the expense of upward lift In a steep turn, the amount of vertical lift lost to the horizontal is substantial and the result will be a serious loss of altitude unless the pilot does something to prevent it. To maintain level flight while executing a steep turn, you must increase the pitch attitude and set the power to 100%. The increased power and pitch attitude will increase the upward lift to offset the loss due to sideways lift. 41 Start the manoeuvre by setting the power to 100%. Then roll the airplane to about 60° of bank. When passing 30° of bank, increase the pitch attitude slightly. If you start to lose altitude during the turn, make the bank shallower to increase the vertical lift. Upon reaching the desired altitude again, you may resume the steep bank but with more back pressure on the stick. You must roll out of a steep turn before reaching the desired heading. As a rule of thumb, start to roll out about half the bank angle ahead of the desired heading. If, for example, the bank angle is 60°, start the roll out 30° early. As you roll the airplane to level flight, reduce the pitch attitude to that of straight and level flight. Reduce power to cruise (75%) and the manoeuvre is complete. To start the steep left turn lesson, choose STEEPLEFT from the Adv menu. You circle at 3000 feet 1 miles north of the airport. ________________ STEEP RIGHT TURN (STEEPRGT) The only difference between a steep left turn and the steep left turn you learned in the last lesson is the direction of bank. Start the steep right turn lesson by by choosing STEEPRGT from the Adv menu. You circle at 3500 feet 2 miles south of the airport. ________________ POWER OFF STALL AND RECOVERY (STALL1) A stall occurs when the smooth airflow over the airplane's wing is disrupted, and the lift degenerates rapidly. Without lift, the airplane cannot fly. A stall occurs because you have over controlled the pitch attitude of the airplane. Specifically, if you apply too much back pressure too fast, the wing stops flying. This condition must be changed quickly if the airplane is to remain in the air where it belongs. Stall recovery is very simple: release back pressure on the stick. Since back pressure caused the stall, releasing that back pressure restores the smooth airflow over the wing and the airplane flies again. The power-off stall generally occurs when an airplane is approaching an airport for a landing. The pilot's attention is divided between controlling the airplane, recognizing the airport layout, spotting other traffic in the area, communicating with controllers, and so on. The stage is now set. If the pilot lets the airspeed get too low or pitch attitude too high, a stall may occur. Recovery must be swift because of the proximity to the ground. Any delay in the recovery would most certainly result in a bought farm. The first indication of an approaching stall may be the stall warning horn. If the stall progresses unchecked, you will see visually and on the instruments a descending pitch attitude. You should then release the back pressure on the control stick and add full power (100%) to begin a climb to a safe altitude. Practice stalls at a safe altitude - at least 3000 feet above ground level. The manoeuvre is complete when you have reestablished the airplane in straight and level flight. Start the power-off stall lesson by by choosing STALL1 from the Adv menu. You start at 3000 feet 3 miles northwest of the airport. ________________ POWER ON STALL AND RECOVERY (STALL2) The power-on stall generally occurs shortly after take-off. If the pitch attitude of the airplane is increased beyond that of the normal climb attitude, a stall may occur. Power-on stall practice starts in cruise flight. You increase power to 100% and increase back pressure on the stick until the stall occurs. 42 The recovery is quite simple: release the back pressure on the elevators to restore smooth airflow over the wings. Once the airplane is flying, you resume your normal climb attitude. To start the power-on stall lesson, choose STALL2 from the Adv menu. You begin at 3000 feet, directly over the airport heading north at about 100 mph. ________________ DEMO This is the same intro flight that you can select and watch from the Main menu. But if you select it from the Adv menu, you have the chance to try and match the instructor's moves. Fly this one at your own risk. ________________ Aerobatic instruction No sooner was the airplane invented than the earliest fliers were trying to see just what their new machines could do. Many of these stunts, now referred to as aerobatic manoeuvres, were invented or discovered purely by accident. When some stunt did not go exactly to plan the result was often a newly discovered manoeuvre. Others were invented as evasive manoeuvres for the dogfighting pilot and many are still used today by the modern fighter pilot. Considering the technology of yester-year, those pilots were true dare-devils. They never knew for sure what limiting aerodynamic forces and stresses they and their early airplanes could withstand. All aerobatic lessons are given in a P-51 Mustang, a single-seat fighter plane of World War II vintage. It looks lean, sleek, fast, tough, and powerful. Mustangs were first built for the British, who began using them in 1942 primarily for reconnaissance and rhubarb missions - for zooming in at low altitudes and strafing trains, troops, and enemy installations. The P-51 remained in service beyond 1950, long enough to see action in the Korean war. ________________ P-51 It's tough trimming airplanes like the P-51. It's a lot ORIENTATION harder to fly than an F-16 - or any jet. Jets are easy to fly compared to prop-driven fighters. You don't have torque and prop-wash turbulence to worry about. Before beginning aerobatic lessons, you must be thoroughly proficient at flying the P-51 in the basic and advanced manoeuvres taught in "Basic flight instruction" and "Advanced flight instruction." If you have been flying a Cessna, you must switch to the P-51. To do that go to the Main menu and choose Test Flight. Press the Space-bar to get the Test Flight menus, then choose P-51 from the Planes menu. Be careful taxiing. Don't apply too much power or you'll get going to fast and may lose control. Be glad you're not taxiing a real P-51, which sits back on its tailwheel so that its nose restricts forward visibility, forcing you to look out the side and S-turn down the taxiway. When you apply full power for take-off, there's no doubt why this plane was named the Mustang! It's like hanging onto a runaway horse. You'll reach rotation speed - 100 mph - remarkably fast. Once airborne, retract the gear. As you climb, don't let yourself become mesmerized by the spinning altimeter hands. Watch your airspeed; 170 mph is the best climb speed. You can put the wheels up on a P-51 (in flight only, please!). On a real P-51, the landing gear handle is located down by your left foot, where you can't possibly reach it and still see outside. You have to be careful not to crack your head on the gun sight as you lean over to reach it. Flying AFT is much easier: just press the G key (for "gear") quickly. An indicator on the instrument panel shows the current state of the landing gear. If you have the Heads-Up Display (HUD) on, the letter G appears on the left edge of the display when the gear is down. 43 After leveling off, you'll find that like the real airplane, you can't fly the AFT P-51 hands-off for more than a few seconds. Let you attention wander, and a wing will drop or the nose will leave the horizon. In a real P-51, leaning forward to adjust an instrument is enough to drop the nose. Practice ascending and descending to and from straight and level. Remember, your rate of climb or descent, at a given airspeed and power setting, is determined by the pitch attitude. When flying at high speeds, a very slight change of pitch attitude immediately results in a high rate of climb or descent and a rapid gain or loss of altitude. Therefore, you must exercise extreme caution when manoeuvering at low altitude and high airspeed. Steeply banked turns required extra caution too. Control pressure on the elevators changes rapidly during the entry into a steeply banked turn, and it's very easy at this time to make inadvertent changes in your pitch attitude. The resulting altitude variations can be critically dangerous if you're close to the ground. Having fun? Don't forget you've got to get this thing back on the ground some day. As you near the airport, slow the plane to 160 mph, the approach to landing speed, and adjust power and pitch to establish a suitable rate of descent. Lower the flaps and the gear and add a little power to keep the nose up as the plane slows to 150, 140, 130. If you find yourself settling too fast, add a little power. Careful with the power, or you'll find yourself going around for another landing! Mustang pilots often learn the hard way that a full burst of power at landing speeds will flip the ship on its back. Cut the gun on short final, then ease back the stick and touch down. Hit the brakes, and raise the flaps as you roll to a stop. Inverted Flight _______________________________________________________________________________ The P-51 fuel system cannot maintain fuel pressure during extended inverted flight. For this reason, you must limit inverted flight to 30 seconds - plenty of time for any normal manoeuvre - or the engine will quit. (The engine restarts when you right the plane.) _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________ AILERON ROLL (AIL_ROLL) The aileron roll was one of the early stunts invented by barnstorming pilots (Figure 7). Today there are many variations of this manoeuvre - slow, fast, four-point, eight-point, barrel, and so on. Figure 7 The aileron roll [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Manoeuvres.jpg] Begin the aileron roll by increasing the power to 100% and increasing the pitch attitude to approximately 20° above straight and level attitude. Next, initiate a coordinated roll - right aileron, right rudder - while maintaining slight back pressure on the elevators. The slight back pressure maintains a constant positive G-force throughout the roll. When the upright horizon appears, centre the ailerons and rudder to initiate the roll out and resume straight and level flight. The maneuver is now complete. Start the aileron roll lesson by choosing AIL_ROLL from the Aerobat menu. 44 ________________ LOOP (LOOP) Lincoln Beachey, an early dare-devil barnstorming pilot, is credited with inventing the loop, or "loop-the-loop" as it was originally known (Figure 8). It was used extensively by World War I pilots as an evasive action manoeuvre while dogfighting in the skies over Europe. Figure 8 The loop [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Manoeuvres.jpg] The first step in learning to execute the loop is to fly at an altitude that gives you plenty of room for error. The next step is to set up the manoeuvre over a road or straight line reference point such as a runway. Then increase power to 100% and start to increase the back pressure on the elevators. Constantly increase the back pressure until the inverted horizon comes into view. You might need to select a left view or right view in order to keep the wings of the airplane parallel to the horizon. If the wings are not parallel to the horizon use aileron control to level them. As the inverted horizon comes into view, you must relax some of the back pressure in order to make the circle symmetrical. You may also need to reduce power on the back side of the loop to keep the airspeed from becoming excessive and to keep the loop symmetrical. As the upright horizon comes into view, set the pitch attitude for straight and level flight attitude. If you haven't already reduced the power to cruise then now is the time. You should start and finish the loop on the same heading. The manoeuvre is now complete. To start the loop lesson, choose LOOP from the Aerobat menu. ________________ SLOW ROLL (SLOWROLL) The slow roll is essentially the same as the aileron roll, in that the movement is around the longitudinal axis of the airplane (Figure 9). The major difference is that the pitch attitude (nose of the aircraft) is held on the horizon throughout the roll. Figure 9 The slow roll [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Manoeuvres.jpg] Begin the slow roll by increasing power to 100%. Then initiate a coordinated roll, left or right, with ailerons and rudder. As the bank angle passes 90°, you will have to hold the stick forward to keep the nose of the aircraft on the horizon. As you complete 270° of roll, neutralize the elevators. When the upright horizon returns to view, increase the back pressure to maintain straight and level attitude and reduce power to cruise (75%). The manoeuvre is now complete. The final heading should be the same as the entry heading. Start the slow roll lesson by choosing SLOWROLL from the Aerobat menu. 45 ________________ IMMELMANN (IMMELMAN) The Immelmann was invented by Lt. Max Immelmann of the German air force in World War I as a manoeuvre to reverse direction while gaining altitude. It is a half loop followed by a half roll (Figure 10). Lt. Max Immelmann was credited with 17 kills as a German fighter pilot, but his career was brief. He entered combat August 1915 and died June 1916 when his aircraft broke up in flight due to structural failure. Figure 10 The Immelmann [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Manoeuvres.jpg] To begin an Immelmann, increase power to 100% and increase back elevators as if you were performing a loop. But when the inverted horizon comes into view, initiate forward elevators. Hold this attitude until the airplane is stabilized in inverted flight. The heading of the airplane should be 180° opposite that of the entry. Next, half roll the airplane left or right to the upright straight and level flight attitude. Finally, reduce the power to cruise (75%) and the manoeuvre is now complete. To start the Immelmann lesson, choose IMMELMAN from the Aerobat menu. ________________ SPLIT S (SPLITS) The Split S is nothing more than half a roll and the last half of a loop (Figure 11). A reference line on the ground helps when executing this manoeuvre. Figure 11 The Split S [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Manoeuvres.jpg] You begin the Split S by reducing power to approximately 50%, causing the airspeed to decrease if the altitude is maintained. This is important because the second part of the manoeuvre generates excessive airspeed. Next you execute a roll, stopping in the inverted position. As the airplane reaches inverted flight, apply back pressure on elevators. Steadily increase back pressure until the upright horizon comes into view. When you reach the straight and level attitude, increase power to normal cruise. The heading should be 180° opposite the entry heading. The manoeuvre is now complete. Start the Split S lesson by choosing SPLITS from the Aerobat menu. ________________ CUBAN EIGHT (CUBAN8) The Cuban 8 was invented by an American pilot named Len Povey, who flew for the Cuban Government during the 1930's. Briefly, the Cuban 8 consists of a 3/4 loop with a half roll on the 45° descending angle followed by another 3/4 loop and another half roll on the second descending angle at which time the figure 8 has been scribed through the sky (Figure 12). 46 Figure 12 The Cuban 8 [See ChuckYeagersAdvancedFlightTrainer_Manoeuvres.jpg] You start the Cuban 8 by increasing power to 100% and reducing the pitch attitude to increase the airspeed. Then apply continuous back pressure just as in a loop. You must neutralize the elevators as the glareshield of the aircraft reaches a point of 45° below the inverted horizon. At this time the aircraft is half rolled to the upright still in a 45° descent attitude. You increase back pressure again, just as in a loop. And again when the glareshield of the aircraft reaches a point 45° below the inverted horizon, you release back pressure. The airplane is now upright in a 45° descent attitude. Apply more back pressure to regain a straight and level flight attitude, and reduce power to normal cruise. The exit heading should be the same as the entry. The manoeuvre is now complete. To start the Cuban 8 lesson, choose CUBAN8 from the Aerobat menu. ________________ To learn more about flying There are lots of books about flying and about the airplanes in AFT. Here are a few: * U.S. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. AC 61-23B. Washington, D.C.: GPO. * U.S. Department of Transportation. Flight Standards Service. Flight Training Handbook. AC 61-21A. Washington, D.C.: GPO. * Medore, Arthur S. Primary Aerobatic Flight Training With Military Techniques. Glendale, CA: Aviation Book Company, 1972. * Cessna Aircraft Company. 1986 Skyhawk Information Manual. Witchita, KS: 1985. * Cole, Duane. Roll Around a Point. Milwaukee, WI.: Ken Cook Company, 1976. * P-51D Mustang Handbook. Dallas, TX: Flying Enterprise Publications. * Morgan, Len. The P-51 Mustang. Blue Ridge Summit, PA.: Aero/Tab Books, Inc., 1979. * Yeager, General Chuck and Janos, Leo. YEAGER. New York, NY: Bantam Books, Inc., 1985 * Miller, Jay. The X-Planes, X-1 to X-29. Marine on St. Croix, MN: Specialty Press Publishers and Wholesalers, Inc., 1983 47 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Appendix B-Test Flight Check-list ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aircraft ___________________________ Test Pilot ______________________________ Minimum Take-off Speed __________ Mach Minimum Take-off Speed (Flaps Down) __________ Mach Maximum Level Speed (100% Throttle) __________ Mach Maximum Speed with Flaps Down __________ Mach Cruise Speed (75% Throttle) __________ Mach Stall Speed (Clean) __________ Mach Stall Speed (Flaps Down) __________ Mach Stall Speed (Gear Down, Flaps Up) __________ Mach Stall Speed (Gear & Flaps Down) __________ Mach Speed for Maximum Sustained Rate of Climb __________ Mach Speed (Mach) .2 + + + + + + + + + + .3 + + + + + + + + + + .4 + + + + + + + + + + .5 + + + + + + + + + + .6 + + + + + + + + + + .7 + + + + + + + + + + .8 + + + + + + + + + + .9 + + + + + + + + + + 1.0 + + + + + + + + + + 1.1 + + + + + + + + + + 1.2 + + + + + + + + + + 1.3 + + + + + + + + + + 1.4 + + + + + + + + + + 1.5 + + + + + + + + + + 1.6 + + + + + + + + + + 1.7 + + + + + + + + + + 1.8 + + + + + + + + + + 1.9 + + + + + + + + + + 2.0 + + + + + + + + + + 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Time to 10,000 feet (or 3,000 feet for lower performance aircraft) Service Ceiling (Using Maximum Sustained Rate of Climb) __________ Feet Maximum Attainable Speed (in Dive) __________ Mach Maximum Attainable Altitude __________ Feet 48 NOTICE ELECTRONIC ARTS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRODUCT DESCRIBED IN THIS MANUAL AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT NOTICE. THIS MANUAL, AND THE SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN THIS MANUAL, IS COPYRIGHTED. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS MANUAL OR THE DESCRIBED SOFTWARE MAY BE COPIED, REPRODUCED, TRANSLATED OR REDUCED TO ANY ELECTRONIC MEDIUM OR MACHINE-READABLE FORM WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED, 11/49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, BERKS SL3 8YN, ENGLAND. ELECTRONIC ARTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THIS MANUAL, ITS QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THIS MANUAL IS PROVIDED "AS IS." ELECTRONIC ARTS MAKES CERTAIN LIMITED WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THE SOFTWARE AND THE MEDIA FOR THE SOFTWARE. PLEASE SEE THE ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED WARRANTY ENCLOSED WITH THIS PRODUCT. MANUAL © 1987 ELECTRONIC ARTS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SOFTWARE © 1987 LERNER RESEARCH. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MANUAL WRITTEN BY LON POOLE & DAVID SIMERLY. ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED 11/49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, BERKS SL3 8YN, ENGLAND ELECTRONIC ARTS® Home Computer Software E01201EM ADVANCED FLIGHT TRAINER TM ENGLISH AMSTRAD DISK Getting Started ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. If you wish to use a joystick, Plug it into the joystick port. 2. If you are using an external disk drive FD1 with a 464, turn on the drive before the computer. 3. Insert side A of the AFT disk into the drive, then turn on your computer and monitor. 4. At the Ready prompt type, RUN "AFT" and press RETURN. 5. Flip the disk and press a key when requested to do so. 6. Once AFT has booted, the Main menu is displayed in the 128K version from where you select a mission as described below in Menus. The 64K version does not have a Main menu but rather goes straight to Test Flight as this is the only mission available. Notes: * RETURN refers to the large enter key and ENTER refers to the small enter key on the 464. * Throughout these instructions, we refer to the joystick. If you are using the keyboard, you can use the cursor keys instead of the joystick. Menus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some missions contain a single menu, while others contain a menu bar containing the titles of several pull-down menus. You begin flying immediately at the start of every mission so press the ESC key to see the mission menu or menu bar. Select a pull-down menu by moving the joystick left or right and press the button or RETURN to pull it down. Push the joystick forward or pull it back to highlight commands within the menus and press the button or RETURN to select. Use the ESC key to close menus and return to flying without selecting any command. In missions with multiple menus like Test Flight, moving the joystick left or right will close the currently open menu and open an adjacent menu. To return to the Main menu press ENTER while you are flying. * Controlling AFT Planes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The joystick controls the ailerons and rudder, which in turn affect your plane's attitude. The rudder is always coupled to the ailerons in the Amstrad version of AFT. That is to say the rudder moves in unison with the ailerons to co-ordinate a turn. In a real aeroplane the rudder is controlled with a set of pedals while the stick affects only flaps and ailerons. However, you can slip (see manual glossary) toward a turn, and skid (see manual glossary) away from a turn using the f0/0 and decimal point keys on the keypad. Press the button or spacebar during flight to neutralize the rudder, thereby cancelling any slip or skid and also centring the ailerons. Keyboard Commands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Menus: Aeroplane: ------ ---------- J........ Intro Flight * 1 to 0 ..... Set throttle % @........ Test Flight * 1=10%, 0=100% K........ Aeroplane racing * O........... Throttle off L........ Formation Flying * f0/0........ Trim Rudder left M........ Flight Instruction * . .......... Trim Rudder right ENTER.... (During flight only) Main B........... Toggles brakes on/off Menu * F........... Toggles flaps up/down ESC...... Open/Close menus G........... Puts landing gear up/down H........... Toggles HUD on/off +/-......... step power up/down Simulator: ---------- Q = Satellite W = Up E = Rear R = Full forward * A = Left S = Cockpit D = Right Z = Tower X = Belly C = Chase Plane P = Pause > = Zoom in < = Zoom out N = Sound on/off I = Temporarily switches from "Observe" to "fly" in Flight instruction; i.e. puts you in control. * * Items marked with an asterisk are not available in the 64K version. Differences in Amstrad AFT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because AFT is available on a wide variety of computers with differing capabilities, some commands and features described in the AFT manual are different or unavailable in the Amstrad version. Due to memory limitations, the 64K version only has the Test Flight option. Recording: (Not available in the 64K version) You can only record your flights in Formation Flying and Aeroplane racing. Formation Flying: (Not available in the 64K version) The Formation Flying mission has three recording slots you can use for your own stunts. These recording slots use a P-51 flying near the main airport until you record your own stunts with your own planes. The following example shows how to record a stunt in slot #1: 1. Select Formation Flying from the Main menu and press ESC after the Deadman stunt begins. 2. Select the #1 recording slot from the Formation Flying menu and press N to cancel the recording and immediately press ENTER to return to the Main menu. 3. Select Test Flight from the Main menu then press ESC to show the menu bar. 4. Select your plane and location from those menus then press ENTER to go to the Main menu. 5. Select Formation Flying then press Y to begin recording with your plane and location selections. 6. Press ESC then select any option to end the recording. Aeroplane Racing: (Not available in the 64K version) This gives you the option to record your race to disk at the end of a race which you win or after selecting "Clear Checked Race" from the menu. Enter Y to record it or any other key to cancel. Menus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The menus that are not used in the Amstrad Version of AFT include: 1. Demo - now called "Intro Flight". 4. Eye. 2. Option 5. Sys 3. Zoom Note: Even though these menus are not used in the Amstrad version, most of the commands they contained are still available through keyboard equivalents listed above under Keyboard Commands. Commands ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The menu commands are fully spelled out on screen in the Amstrad version (they are abbreviated in the manual to match their appearance in the IBM version). The menu commands that are not used in the Amstrad version are: 1. Coupled Rudder 6. Record Manoeuvre 2. Instant Replay 7. Record Basic 3. Next Stunt 8. Redo Stunt 4. Record Advance 9. Wind 5. Record Aerobat Instruments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Altimeter - has a digital display for thousands of feet instead of a second needle. 2. Control surface monitor - does not display flap, rudder or aileron positions. 3. The rudder is always coupled to the ailerons. 4. There is no "direction finding radio" to find the airport. A + appears in the HUD to mark the airport's position. The second airport is 40 miles east instead of 40 miles north. 5. Slip indicator - there are no reference marks on the indicator. 6. Brakes - The plane's brakes will remain on until you press B a second time. Test Flight There is no flight recorder and thus no instant replay in Test Flight. Formation Flying (Not available in the 64K version) 1. Each manoeuvre consists of only one stunt, thus you cannot Redo, Skip or go to Next Stunt. 2. The scoring does not display a graph of your performance. Only a score from 1 to 100. 3. Recording a stunt - Use the procedure described above instead of the one described in the manual. 4. Formation Flying has the 6 routines described in the manual plus three recording slots. 5. "Recording Considerations" discussed in the manual does not apply to the Amstrad version although the recordings are limited in length. Recording will end when you reach the maximum length. Aeroplane Racing (Not available in the 64K version) 1. You can only race against one opponent and the planes start at zero throttle. 2. There is only one menu with an additional command called "Clear Checked Race". This clears all the competition from the currently selected race and you must successfully fly the course again before a new opponent will be added. 3. The 2 mile box race uses the P-51 instead of the Spitfire as described on page 23 of the manual. 4. You can record your race to disk only at the end of a race that you win. Flight Instruction (Not available in the 64K version) 1. There is no flight recording in the Flight Instruction mission. 2. Demo is under the Aerobatic Instruction menu and not the Advanced Instruction menu. Amstrad Version | Stefan Walker Software Design Implementation | Ned Lerner Aerodynamic Model | Gabe Hoffman Technical Consultant | Brig. General Chuck Yeager USAF (Ret.) Producer | Jocelyn Ellis Program art | Richard Antaki & Michael Kosaka Software © 1987-1989 Ned Lerner. Package Design © 1987-1989 Electronic Arts. Amstrad is a registered trademark of Amstrad plc. ELECTRONIC ARTS® Home Computer Software ELECTRONIC ARTS LIMITED E01221EY 11/49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, BERKS SL3 8YN, ENGLAND