User Guide

Turn the ignition key all the
way to the right, to the “start” posi-
tion. The engine will crank. When
it fires, smoothly push the mixture
control all the way in. As soon as
the engine starts, check the oil
pressure gauge. If it doesn’t start to
rise within about 15 seconds, kill
the engine by pulling the mixture
control all the way out.
Once the engine has started,
turn the auxiliary fuel pump back off and verify that the ignition
key is at the “BOTH” position. You’ll see the annunciators go out,
and as the vacuum pumps come online, the artificial horizon will
go through a few gyrations, then settle down to a straight-and-level
indication. Turn on any exterior lights you’ll need. Although we
won’t be using the radio on this first lesson, turn on the avionics
master switch and watch all the radios come to life.
HEY, TAXI!
Now we need to get out to the active runway. (If the simula-
tor has already positioned you on a runway, we’ll just taxi around
on it for a few moments to get the feel of things).
On the ground, the airplane is steered, not by the control
yoke, but by the rudder pedals. It’s very common, on a student’s first
flight, to find them twisting frantically on the yoke while the airplane
continues inexorably toward some obstacle! Make sure the parking
brake is released, add just a little power to get rolling, and try steer-
ing the airplane in gentle left and right turns using the rudder ped-
als (or the “twist” axis if you have a three-axis control stick).
LET’S FLY!
Return to a normal cockpit view and turn on the master
switch. Some of the annunciators at the top of the panel will light
up (they’ll blink for ten seconds, then stay on) and the small engine
gauges at the lower left of the panel will come to life. Check the
left and right fuel gauges to be sure they indicate the amount of
fuel you have on board.
ENGINE START
If you’re in a hurry, hit “E” on the keyboard and the airplane
will magically spring to life. You’re missing all the fun, though;
here’s the way the airplane is actually started:
Unlike earlier models of the 172, the current “R” model has
a fuel-injected engine which requires “priming” before startup -
especially if it’s cold. Check that the mixture control is in its idle
cutoff position (pulled all the way out); now “crack” the throttle,
i.e., pull it all the way back, then push it in about half an inch.
Note: if you have Auto Mixture activated, you cannot manually
alter mixture.
Now turn on the auxiliary fuel pump, and, while watching the
fuel flow gauge (lower left), push the mixture control in until you see
about 3 to 5 gallons per hour of fuel flow, then pull it back out.
SimTip
To get an accurate read-
out of any instrument
panel gauge, position
the mouse pointer over
it. A window will pop
up with a digital readout
of the current value.
Flight Instruction
Flight Instruction
82
83
SimTip: Pitch Trim
You’ll be using the pitch trim wheel a great deal in this, and
most other, airplanes. In the real airplane, you’ll be able to
reach for it without looking, and you’ll feel its effects directly,
as pressures in the control yoke. In the simulator, it can be
tedious to have to change your panel view every time you
need to make a trim change.
I suggest you either configure the switches on your con-
trol yoke (preferred) or stick to provide pitch trim; or use the
keyboard shortcuts (keypad 1 for nose up, keypad 7 for nose
down). If you have a force-feedback stick, you should be able
to feel the pressures changing. Otherwise, you’ll have to grad-
ually release elevator pressure until the airplane holds the
pitch attitude you want “hands-off.”