Rob Young has sent me back to groundschool!!

[barryward12345 0]

Oh Rob!! :) For the past 18 months , I have been flying FS2002 with the aircraft realism setting set to EASY and the AutoRudder set to CO-ORDINATED. I have been able to advance my cyber-pilot career to the point where I have advanced through my Instrument Rating, completed my CPL , flown twins in all kinds of weather conditions, flown Regional Jets and finally commercial jets along standard Airline corridors -- and I was just about to advance to the coveted position of B747 Captain when I downloaded your new Cessna 172 airfile. Of course,the README file said to change my realism settings to HARD and UNCO-ORDINATED rudder -and , well!!, that was the end of me!!!! Looks like advancement through the airline industry isn't as easy as it first appeared!! :)Barry

[Guest]

That is interesting! I too am progressing up the ranks but not have finished the CPL yet, and obviously not the ATP. Before I finish and send my resume to Delta for a 777-200 pilot position, I'd like to know more about those realism settings and where to place the levers to make the experience more realistic.Robb

[Guest]

HI Barry and Robbie,While the C172 will ONLY fly as we intended with the realism slider maxed, not all other aircraft require this, so please be warned that you haven't necessarily been doing anything wrong!I think for instance that Steve Small over at FSD International sets his flight models for three quarters realism, but you'd best check with his aircraft docs before taking this as gospel. This is just a personal preference and he will have optimised his aircraft designs to operate accurately with the settings he recommends.Our spin-capable aircraft need the slider set to max as without this there is insufficient capability to allow autorotation.In my experience setting that slider to max with Helicopters makes most of them very difficult to control indeed, so there is no one definitive setting for all aircraft.I would advise checking the readme's of each aircraft you fly in to see if the designer has a slider setting in mind.Kind Regards,Rob Young - RealAir Simulations

[michal 44]

As some pilots say flying jets may actually be easier than a Cessna. Once my instructor told me that I was doing better than some airline pilot who wanted to get a check-out in a single engine Cessna. The relative difficulty flying big aircraft is in other areas - managing complex systems, not falling 'behind' aircraft due to its high speed, more precise planning.Michael J.

[Guest Smiley]

LOL ! This is so true. I'll share a recent flight here. On a flight I had in September last year I flew to a local airport for a $100.00 hamburger with a friend of mine that is currently flying the RJ700 for Horizon. He had 3,000 hours in Corporate Jets before going to Horizon a few years ago. We were in a C152II for the lunch flight. Even though he used to teach in the C152 it had been years since his last flight in a GA ac. The weather was not something a new student would be allowed to fly in but we were up for it :). The winds were 30 degrees off runway heading at 19G26. The C152 was barely legal to fly with this crosswind. We had no problems on the ground at either airport. I made the take off and landing the first time and let him do a touch and go on arrival back at our home airport. I gave him the controls on about a 3 mile approach to base and he was ok at altitude. He had the controls at alt for the flight to and from the restaurant as well so there was no shock here. Once on final, lined up for the runway and descending through the more turbulent layer he was all over the place. I thought to myself, he's teasing me, I monitored the approach and was ready to take over just in case. We finally touched down a bit rough and not properly lined for the runway with all the necessary crosswind corrections in place but we were down none the less. He accelerated and off we were for another round. I took the controls back and brought the plane down in the same weather he had but with a much smoother approach that can only be accomplished with practice in that aircraft or very similar aircraft.

[Guest jason2112]

Hello Rob!I have one question concerning the realism settings for you: what do you recommend for the P-Factor and Drift settings? I hope you know what I mean, the two sliders below the overall realism slider - I have a german version of FS2002. I would be glad to hear your personal opinion!Thanks in advance :)Bye,VOlker :]

[Guest Tim13]

"The C152 was barely legal to fly with this crosswind."The crosswind component quoted in a light aircraft POH is a demonstrated crosswind value. It's the maximum value that the test pilot(s) landed the airplane in safely. Demonstrated crosswind components are not operationally limiting. I do agree with what you have written. Recent experience in type is often times as important as total time in the log book.

[Guest]

HI Volker,As discussed in any thread, the p-factor in FS2002 is off or on, even though there is a slider. Anywhere right of zero switches it on. It does not increase or decrease when you move the slider.As for drift and torque, I have never noticed these having any effect.Best Regards,Rob

[LAdamson 240]

I liked the way John & Martha King explain it in their training tapes. During landing, if the rudder isn't enough to straighten the plane with the runway centerline, then you don't have enough rudder to land on that runway. That's what it all comes down to... I suppose.But I also remember a guy who "once" wrote an article for a flying magazine, in which he thought landing somewhat sideways was okay. I guess he just never worried about "side loads" which stresses the gear & it's attachments.L.Adamson

[michal 44]

>I liked the way John & Martha King explain it in their >training tapes. During landing, if the rudder isn't enough >to straighten the plane with the runway centerline, then you >don't have enough rudder to land on that runway. This is direct reason why people should not attempt using crabbing technique while approaching for landing in a small aircraft when winds are strong. Crabbing will work for any winds and may give pilot false impression that safe landing is possible. However in a side-slip you will quickly find out if there is not enough rudder to land. Michael J.

[Guest Reddog]

Unless your flying an Ercoupe!! crosswind landings in them are always done sideways!!LOLhttp://www.enter.net/photoalbum/data/reddog/551867.jpgSceenshots and Pics athttp://community.webshots.com/user/reddog18951USMC Retired

[Guest]

Hmmm... interesting. When I was first learning to fly, my original instructor had me do my approaches with crabs. I had a lot of problems with crosswinds. When I switched instructors, my new instructors (a tag-team duo) broke me of that training and taught me to do my entire approaches with side-slips. It took a little bit to get used to, but it works out far better for me than coming in with a crab.I have to shake my head when I see fully licensed pilots approach in a crab and never transition to a side-slip just before touchdown. Some of the guys come close to running off the runway, and other times it almost looks as if the landing gear is going to get ripped off their airplanes from all the side-loading!I haven't yet checked out Rob Young's 172 flightmodel, but knowing him, I'm sure it's good. Think I'll install that tonight!