User Guide

Learning To Fly with Rod Machado
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artificial horizon line (Figure 6).
Or you can let go of the controls and the autopilot will return the
airplane to level flight. In a real airplane, however, letting go of the
controls often makes the passengers nervous (especially if you
simultaneously say, “Hmmm, let’s see, I thought I remembered how
these things work”).
6. Look at the altimeter’s hundred foot hand (the long one) and the VSI
needle. They’ve settled down and have stopped moving. This is how
pilots confirm that their airplane is in level flight.
7. Push P to pause the simulation and relax for a bit.
It takes practice to keep these needles stationary (in real life, they’re always moving just a tiny bit).
The average private pilot does a great job if he or she remains within 100 feet of a chosen altitude.
Unfortunately, when I was a student, I found it much easier to keep changing the target altitude at
which I wanted to be (until, of course, I finally perfected this skill). Challenge yourself to remain within
private pilot tolerances.
So, here’s your assignment. When you’re ready:
1. Press P to reactivate the simulation.
2. Press Z to take the simulator off autopilot.
3. Practice maintaining straight-and-level flight; keep the attitude indicator’s miniature airplane
(the orange wings) parallel to the artificial horizon line.
If a wing dips right or left, raise it by moving the joystick left or right.
The altimeter’s hundred foot hand shouldn’t move. If it does:
4. Use the joystick to change the pitch slightly until the needle stops moving. This is the pitch
attitude required for level flight.
If things get a little crazy, press Z, then Ctrl+V, then Ctrl+Z to activate the autopilot’s wing
leveler and altitude hold feature, then relax and give it another try.
This is exactly how we’d do it in the real airplane except I play the part of the autopilot (and you’d
activate me by saying the word “Help!”).
5. When you’re done, push P to pause the simulation and read on.
Figure 6