Cruising with your Flight Simulator.

Your virtual airline flight is now climbing toward 1800 feet, at a steady 500fpm on a heading of 310�. The city is up ahead, at the tip of Manhattan Island in your flight simulator. As you approach 1800 feet as indicated on your flight simulator instruments, level off by gradually reducing power�nothing else. Begin to throttle back your flight simulator at 1700 feet, and continue to gradually reduce power to 1950rpm. You’ll end up in straight and level flight at 1800 feet with a cruising airspeed of 120 knots. You can get a little more speed on your flight simulator and aircraft if you wish, but 120 knots works out well. The aircraft will occasionally drift from your assigned altitude in flight simulator. Try correcting this with engine power alone by increasing and decreasing it. The less you fiddle with the elevator in flight simulator, the better. Just increase or decrease rpm slightly, until your virtual airline flight’s assigned altitude is restored. And start now to make it routine to always remain within 50 feet of your assigned altitude.

Cruise Procedures in Flight Simulator for Flight Simulation.

When Air Traffic Controller gives your virtual airline flight instructions to make a turn, they’ll give you a specific new heading to turn to. Keep your turns very shallow and gradual for now; we’ll work on standard turns later on. Bank the wings very gently, then monitor the gyro compass as the aircraft comes around toward the new assigned heading. While turning, nudge the stick in your flight simulator to the side again from time to time to maintain the bank, if necessary. In shallow banks the aircraft has a built-in tendency to level off again by itself in flight simulator. Start to roll out about 5� early, so that you don’t over-shoot the assigned heading. At 1700 feet, reduce power slightly in your flight simulator, then reduce it further so as to be at 1950rpm as the aircraft levels off at 1800 feet. The aircraft will cruise at 120 knots with 1950rpm when it’s trimmed the way you had it at lift-off�two notches of up elevator in your flight simulator. Bank your aircraft’s wings gently to the right with the stick, and let your aircraft come around gradually in a shallow right turn. Monitor the gyro compass. At about 040�, use the stick to begin to roll out gently, so as to end up straight and level on a heading of 045�. The two crossed runways of La Guardia field have now come into view just to the right of your course in your flight simulator, with the upper reaches of the East River crossing in front, where it runs out to the right and up into Long Island Sound. Sometimes it seems like the air traffic controller is just trying to be annoying. Of course, you have a right to ask him the reason for the altitude changes, but he undoubtedly has one, so there’s no point in making it an issue.