Learning to Fly with Flight Simulator

by John Rafferty

Foreword

You're flying in a cloudless sky. Pay attention to your instruments—the elevator drifts during flight, the gyro frequently has to be reset with the magnetic compass, and the altimeter fluctuates with the barometric pressure. When it gets dark, you'll have to turn on the instrument panel lights. And if you aren't careful during takeoff, you may get stuck in mud or snow.

Learning to Fly with Flight Simulator will help you through the rough spots of Microsoft's Flight Simulator and SUBLogic's Flight Simualtor II, the popular personal computer flight simulators. The Reality Mode is so real, you'll think you're actually flying. Be thankful you have an experienced pilot at your side—the narrator and author of this book—guiding you through the imaginary airways.

Your instructor, John Rafferty, is an instrument-rated pilot who has flown across the country countless times in single-engine planes. He begins with the basics in Learning to Fly with Flight Simulator, so if you've never flown the simulator before, you won't be left on the ground, trying to figure out what to do. Whether you fly the Cessna, Piper, or Learjet, you'll learn how to do everything necessary to successfully take off, navigate, fly, and land. You'll also learn to use official government approach charts, execute precision landings, navigate with the NAV radios, react to in-flight emergencies, prepare and execute authentic flight plans, and do much, much more.

As you learn, you'll fly 26 simulated training flights, following the official aeronautical charts provided for each flight and gaining experience flying in various less-than-perfect conditions, where clouds and wind make flight real. You'll fly air traffic patterns used by commercial pilots and will use standard approaches and landings.

By the time you complete the simulations in Learning to Fly with Flight Simulator, you'll have enough experience to chart your own flights and explore the boundaries of the simulator for yourself.

Strap yourself in, pay close attention to the instrument panel, and get ready to soar.

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