Flight Simulator Co-Pilot

by Charles Gulick

Climbing Turns

Eagle Field Training Base (Local)

North: 17409. East: 7403. Altitude: 2054. Pitch: 0.
Bank: 338. Heading: 39. Airspeed: 120.
Throttle: Cessna 24575. Throttle: Piper 24576.
Rudder: 32767. Ailerons: 32767. Flaps: 0.
Elevators: Cessna 32767. Elevators: Piper 37887.
Time: 13:00. Season: 2. Clouds: 0.
Surface Wind: 4 kn., 270 deg.

I have started a climbing turn to the left; this is what it's supposed to look like. Do your instrument scan and tell me what you see. Read out your airspeed, attitude, altitude, rate of climb, heading, and degree of bank.

Take the controls, and look out front. Don't worry about the mountain. You are about a mile from it, and if you don't let your bank get too shallow, you'll be fine.

And when all you can see is mountain out front, you still don't have to worry, because your instruments tell you what's happening.

We want to maintain a climb rate of about 500 FPM. If you're flying Cessna and it starts to slip below that, trim your elevator up a notch. Apply back pressure, just as in a level turn. If you're flying Piper, a notch of either up or down trim is too drastic. Try a notch of power one way or the other, and then a notch in the other direction to average as close to 500 FPM as you can. Hold the bank. Don't let it get too shallow.

In Cessna, too, if you need more than one notch of back pressure to hold the climb rate (you started the climb with neutral trim, whereas Piper started with a notch above neutral) add power. If the rate increases too much, let off some back pressure.

Line the left wing up with the dot, and keep it there. Work for a rate of climb of 500 FPM.

Climb like this to 3500 feet. Then roll out on a heading of 65 degrees.

Get straight-and-level heading 65, and clean up your altitude. I want you to be at 3500, plus or minus no more than 20 feet. Fly straight ahead, doing whatever you have to do to get it, but whether you get it or not, wake me up in about ten minutes and I'll show you my next trick.

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