User Guide

Learning To Fly with Rod Machado

And remember, this isn’t a shoot ‘em up game. Since you’re not saving the universe from space

aliens, make smooth movements on the flight controls. In other words, move the joystick like a

surgeon, not like a jackhammer technician. We’re not churning butter here.

4. Press P to reactivate the simulation.

5. Press Z to turn the autopilot off.

6. When you’re done, press P to pause the simulation before reading any further.

Have fun!

Know Where You’re Heading

As a student pilot I got lost a lot. In fact, instead of heading for a specific destination, I found it easier

to keep changing where it was I wanted to go. You won’t have this problem because I’m going to

show you a practical purpose for making turns. It’s called flying a specific heading.

Figure 9 shows the airplane’s heading indicator (sometimes called the

directional gyro). It’s found in the middle of the bottom row of the six

main flight instruments that we discussed in Tutorial One. Think of the

heading indicator as a mechanical compass that shows which way

your airplane points. Notice the numbers on the face of the heading

indicator. Add a single zero to any number on the face to get the

airplane’s actual heading. In other words, 6 is really a heading of 60

degrees (spoken as zero-six-zero degrees). The number 33 is actually a

heading of 330 degrees. (When we say that aloud, we say “three-three-

zero degrees” for extra clarity. It’s important to be extra clear when

you’re flying.) These numbers appear at 30-degree intervals. Between

these numbers are 5- and 10-degree heading increments.

To fly a specific heading, simply turn the airplane in the shortest direction to the heading desired. For

example, turn the airplane until the nose of the white airplane in the heading indicator points to the

letter W for West (this is a heading of 270 degrees).

1. Press P to reactivate the simulation and give this a try (make sure the altitude hold and wing

leveler are disengaged). I recommend that you make all turns at 20 to 30 degrees of bank. This

makes the turn easier to manage.

2. When you are within 5 degrees of the desired heading of 270 degrees, start rolling out to

straight-and-level flight.

With more experience you’ll learn the precise amount of lead necessary to roll out on the desired

heading.

Now that you have a basic idea of which way the airplane’s heading, try turning to specific headings.

Figure 9