Is there any kind of book/cd that explains what the gauges look like/where they are positioned in the cockpit and what they do in a flight simulation software? For example, Flight Simulation X. I have flight simulation X from Microsoft but I don't know a damn thing about what the gauges do or where they are located in a cockpit.Tony

start here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_instrumentsstart with the default Cessna 172 or better yet, go over to Carenado and buy there C152... http://www.carenado.com/CarSite/Portal/index.php it just about doesn't get any easier then that.. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Did you even try toGoogle? I don't mean to be rude or anything, I just can't think of any other way to phrase it.

Edited January 23, 201214 yr by Chuck_B

I think the first place you should go to is the flight lessons within fsx to learn all of it.

I have to agree with previous posters. Your question suggests you've made no attempt to find out for yourself. You can't really expect others to dio it for you.

To: Chuck_B,If you were insinuating I did not bother to find out all about learning about the gauges, what they do/where they are positioned/what they do, you are mistakenly wrong.To: mgh,Just because I did not ask the question in the proper context doesn't mean I did not look on the Internet for help in learning how to use PC flight simulators.Tony

Hi Tony,The gauges work pretty nearly as they do in real life. After all, the software is a simulator, despite MS referring to it as '... the game'.As other posters have suggested, the best place to find out about what they do is in the lessons that come as a part of FS. I don't know about FSX but in FS9 the lessons are a pretty good way of getting your flying (playing? :) ) right. They start with the simplest basics, including the obligatory first lesson free flight. The complexity develops as you move along through the programme and are introduced to new instruments and new techniques. There's a certain amount of pleasure to be had in learning new things, though in FS9 I find the instructor is a bit patronising...As far as I know, there's no manual for each aeroplane that shows you where all the relevant knobs and switches are. I feel that's a bit of a problem when I download a new plane but so many people who make FS gauges, panels or whole planes are seriously dedicated, know instictively where everything is, and tend to forget that a lot of us are just fair-weather simmers! The best answer there is just to play around with whatever is on the monitor in front of you. You're sat at home, in front of a PC, so you're not going to come to any harm and if you wreck the plane you can always start again or fly something else.Don't be put off by the intimidating nature of a complex panel in a big jet. Most of their instruments are laid out in groups and the main five or six are always in approximately the same arrangement, right in the middle in every aeroplane. You will benefit though from starting small in say a little Cessna, and familiarising yourself with the basics before expanding. I've had FS9 for three years and am still perfectly happy flying the C172, rarely using anything more complex than a Rockwell Commander, or a PA-34. If you think little planes with limited instrumentation are for amateurs, go and find out about bush flying, and learn about bad terrain, bad weather, bad runways and bad cargo, and a serious reliance on the basic instruments.Other than that, as above, Google is your best friend!Kind regards,D

"You're sat at home, in front of a PC, so you're not going to come to any harm and if you wreck the plane you can always start again or fly something else."..and if you turn off crashes in the realism settings, you can fly right through obstacles and bounce back up in the air if you do crash

To: mgh,Just because I did not ask the question in the proper context doesn't mean I did not look on the Internet for help in learning how to use PC flight simulators.Tony

That's not what you said in your first post.

...but I don't know a damn thing about what the gauges do or where they are located in a cockpit.

..and if you turn off crashes in the realism settings, you can fly right through obstacles and bounce back up in the air if you do crash

I don't know if I should admit to it, but I've done that. Some airport building are a bit like Eccentrica Gallumbits :( , with their crash zones extending well beyond their bricks.D

To: Chuck_B,If you were insinuating I did not bother to find out all about learning about the gauges, what they do/where they are positioned/what they do, you are mistakenly wrong.Tony

And you are being redundant..."mistakenly wrong"?? (Just pulling your "appendage leg".)

..and if you turn off crashes in the realism settings, you can fly right through obstacles and bounce back up in the air if you do crash

I think you'll find a lot of us who did that years ago, and for me I'm not embarassed at all to admit it. The "Crash Zones" in MSFS are NUTS!!

Edited January 25, 201214 yr by Chuck_B

When I first started in this hobby I DEVOURED anything and everything I could read about flight simming. The best are written by Bill Stack, or Mike Ray. There's also a great resource titled "Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot". I don't use the latter one as much as I hoped I would, but it's nice to have around the simulator.FWIW, when posting in any forum, I'm sure you know that it's helpful if you say in your original post what you HAVE done beore you posted your question, as far as research is concerned. It will keep useless (and annoying?) posts out suggesting things you've already tried, and thereby save EVERYBODY'S time. You'll find the flight sim community to be the most patient, nicest, and most helpful crowd anywhere, but we've all had to learn a lot just by doing -- in the United States, we call it "The School of Hard Knocks", and as someone noted previously, some things we simply can't do for you. Although Microsoft will argue the point, FSX and FS9 are simulators, not games, like you may be familiar with where you just land in a scenario and can start blasting away and finding ammo/extra lives and health. THAT'S what makes it so COOL!Good luck and enjoy your new obsession. (Do you like to tweak computers? You may end up diddling with your computer's systems and hardware, as you actually do flying the simulator -- maybe even more! :( )EDIT: I simply can't believe this: because I went ALL THE WAY upstairs (with a broken toe) and brought down my flightsim reference books, two of my favorite Bill Stack books slid off the couch when I wasn't looking and fell right into the pot of water I'm soaking my foot in and I didn't notice for over 5 minutes. I CAN'T BELIEVE the run of luck I've been having! Dammit!!! No good deed goes unpunished these days. Dam Dam! DAM!!!

Edited January 25, 201214 yr by Chuck_B

To the OP.This following link is to a book that's a great read. Even if you just reference the material instead of reading it cover to cover, you will probably be more knowledgable than most of the folks around here that haven't read it.http://www.amazon.co...aw/d/0884872386JB

Edited January 25, 201214 yr by Buzz313th

Does anyone know of a good technique for drying out totally soaked paperback books?? I'm trying to blow dry them right now . . . :( :(