IFR Flights of 13MIKE

by Fred J. Calfior and Douglas W. Miller

FLYING THE SCENARIOS

The "Competitive", "Challenging", "Fun", "Exciting", "Thrilling", and "Nerve Racking" experiences of 13MIKE are back! Along with "White Knuckle" and "Yukky" weather! All levels of flyers have agreed that these scenarios are, by far, the most challenging series of intensely packed instrument flights they have ever encountered. From the zero-zero takeoff to the instrument landing approach with a two hundred foot ceiling, and everything in between, Professors Calfior and Miller keep you busy and on the edge of your seat from startup to shutdown. All procedures are authentic, from the flight plan and weather brief, to the low altitude enroute charts and instrument approach plates.

The flight scenarios we created in this action book are the results of our many years of actual flying and flight instructor experiences. We hope you will benefit from the great effort we expended to assure the authenticity of each and every scenario, and the realism that we ingrained into each flight.

As you progress through the flights, you will get a sense of repetitiveness from scenario to scenario. Because of the authentic nature of each flight, it was necessary to step through the repetitive procedures that are an inherent part of every real flight. Flight instructors spend hours upon hours trying to get the student to be able to repeat these procedures in their sleep. Welcome to the real world of instrument flying!

Okay, here is an overview of the setup procedures, COM dialog, questions format, simulator flying techniques, and general hints.

SETUP

Aircraft - It is important to select the Cessna 182 RG aircraft. All performance and position parameters are based on the 182 RG. If another aircraft is used, your answers will not match the answers in the back of the book.

Winds - The winds are set by levels. The wind changes speed and direction as your altitude changes. Double check the level settings and make sure that the wind speeds and directions indicated in the SETUP section of the scenario match your settings, as well as the turbulence levels. Your distance, timing, and position answers will be off if the winds are not set correctly.

Clouds - The clouds are set by levels. Thunderstorms are also found in this section. Make sure you have the proper level settings, which become especially important when shooting an instrument approach to your destination airport.

Position - When the simulator starts, you are placed at a default airport and runway. Do not be concerned about this. The SETUP section of the scenario takes you through a repositioning series of steps. Just follow the instructions and you will be repositioned at the correct airport for the departure part of the scenario. The aircraft positioning sequence has four parts, "NORTH", "EAST", "ALTITUDE", and "HEADING". Be sure that all parts have been set correctly. You do not need to set the "Control Tower" position. Caution, your position will be different at each airport. You will need to read the TAXI section to determine how to get to the runup area for the departure end of the runway in the scenario.

COM SETTINGS and DIALOG

This action book is based on realistic flight procedures which include weather briefs and radio communications. Unfortunately, the radio dialog of the Microsoft Flight Simulator is limited, therefore we have inserted full radio communications dialog within the scenarios where they would normally occur. This dialog will appear after you have changed COM frequencies, and a transmission on your part or a broadcast message would normally take place. At times, you will tune in an ATIS frequency and see a message run across your outside view screen. Microsoft Flight Simulator has ATIS broadcast messages at selected airports only. To make the scenarios as realistic as possible, we have included ATIS messages in the action book for all airports that are used. These ATIS messages will not necessarily match those that Microsoft displays. You only need to be concerned with those in the book.

Some of the frequencies listed in the Microsoft Flight Simulator are different from those you'll notice in the IFR low altitude enroute charts and instrument approach plates. Please use the frequencies listed in the scenarios. Also, you will notice that all radials given in the book are even numbered, which differ from some of the instrument approach plates and Victor airway tracks. This is due to Microsoft Flight Simulator version 4.0's two degree gradation for the OBS.

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

One of the objectives in flying the scenarios is to obtain the highest score possible by performing the listed procedures as precisely as you can. At different times during the execution of the scenario, you will be asked to "pause" the simulator. Write down specific flight parameters or answer certain questions pertaining to the flight (all questions are indicated with a double "**"). After you have written the information down, you will be asked to continue the simulation. Each question has a certain point value assigned to it. Some questions are more important than others, and therefore have a higher point value. At the end of the flight, you add up the points to find out what kind of pilot you are. You will need to study the questions you missed so you can do better the next time you fly that scenario.

THE PATH TO THE PERFECT SCORE

Obviously, you are interested in gaining the maximum number of points for each flight scenario. The level of flight difficulty increases as you get deeper into the book. For the most part, it will take you at least three to five attempts before you can nail each flight scenario with a maximum score! The harder flights may even require more than five flights! So don't feel discouraged at a low score for your first flight. That's what makes these series of flight scenarios so dynamically alive and heart pounding! You keep trying to better your previous attempt, being ready for a required quick reaction that you may have missed before, or keeping your VOR needle centered so you can accurately meet a checkpoint.

We recommend the following five steps when you're ready to fly:

1. READ THE ENTIRE SCENARIO FROM START TO FINISH WITH CHARTS IN FRONT OF YOU. THE FLIGHT CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD UNLESS YOU WALK IT THROUGH.

2. ENJOY BEING IN THE AIR DURING YOUR FIRST FLIGHT. TRY TO STAY A PAGE AHEAD SO YOU CAN ANTICIPATE WHAT IS COMING UP. GO FROM DEPARTURE TO DESTINATION FOLLOWING EACH SERIES OF NOTES AND TASKS METHODICALLY.

3. THE SECOND FLIGHT, YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. STABILIZE YOUR FLYING BY BEING SHARPLY ON ALTITUDE - PROPER POWER SETTINGS - RECOMMENDED OR PREVIOUSLY DISCOVERED DESCENT RATES, ETC. SEARCH TO SPECIFICALLY BETTER THE AREAS WHICH YOU MISSED THE FIRST TIME.

4. THE THIRD FLIGHT, SKIP PROFESSOR CALFIOR'S NOTES (YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THEM TWICE NOW!) AND CONTINUE WITH THE RADIO CALLS. HUNT FOR THOSE ELUSIVE CORRECT NUMBERS, BUT KEEP THE FLOW NONSTOP FOR THE ENTIRE FLIGHT RIGHT TO THE LANDING.

5. THE FOURTH FLIGHT AND ANY ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS, PAY SHARP ATTENTION TO ALL THE NUMBERED NOTES. THESE FLIGHTS WILL BE QUITE DYNAMIC BECAUSE YOU WON'T BE NEEDING TO READ AHEAD TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT STEP! YOU'VE GOT THE SCENARIO PRACTICALLY MEMORIZED. WHEN YOUR TIMING IS ON, AND YOU KNOW THE ROAD, IT BECOMES ONE THRILLING MANEUVER AFTER ANOTHER.

HINTS and SIMULATOR TECHNIQUES

The following is a list of flying techniques that will help in performing the scenarios with more accuracy and precision, thereby increasing your score:

a) You may need to adjust your power setting from the one stated in the scenario. This is due to deviations from the correct approach speed and altitude.

b) Watch your VSI (vertical speed) on approach. Try to maintain a constant vertical speed.

c) Watch your heading. The winds will make your airplane fly a different ground track than your heading would indicate. You may need to set in a crab to compensate.

d) Watch overbanking and over controlling. It is easy to over control the simulator. After putting in a roll control, you will need to put in an opposite control to stop the roll. Do not overdo it. The airplane will oscillate back and forth if you do. Gentle on the controls.

The following hints will help you in flying the scenarios in the beginning. After you become more proficient, try to fly without the aid of these hints.

a) For finding the airport and taxiing around the airport, use the "Num Lock" key.

b) To determine orientation to the airport and other landmarks, use the "Scroll Lock" along with key pad numbers 1 through 9 (except 5) to change your view of the outside to the different windows of the aircraft.

c) To provide more stability to the aircraft and minimize the aircraft's tendency to wander, you may want to fly with the autopilot "wing leveler" on.

d) To help maintain your orientation, follow your flight on the IFR low altitude enroute charts in Appendix B.

e) You should fly the scenarios more than once, trying to improve your performance, accuracy, and score each time. Remember timing is important.

f) You may want to save your approach or landing configuration so you can practice these sections without having to fly the entire scenario again.

g) For the best scanning technique, use a round pattern around the six-pack of instruments. These are the airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, VSI, heading indicator, and turn and bank indicator. Other scanning methods are the "L", "T", or "X". Don't disregard your other instruments, but these six are the meat of basic attitude instrument flying.

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