Hi: I live near a major US Airforce Base, and I constantly see KC-135's flying the pattern, doing touch and go's, etc...I would love to be able to simulate this, but how the heck do I get an FS9 large jet to go slow enough to fly a reasonably tight pattern without falling out of the sky? Sometimes they fly amazingly tight patterns around the field...Any advice appreciated!Steve in Kansas

Just a guess--Bags of powerLots of flapNerves of steelPracticeDave

One good thing to do if youre gonna fly around the pattern is to not let the speed even get up too high in the first place... for a pattern, I wouldnt go above 180 kias... for a tight pattern, you're probably going to want to keep it below 160.

Hello Steve,at that speed you will need lots of flap to reduce the stall speed and increase the drag. If that doesn't work then may be the flaps are not modelled effectively. There are tables to program this in the .air file. To learn how to do this search/ask at:Air File Board, post March 2003http://www.avhistory.org/scripts/MegaBBS/logon.aspIan

The easiest way is to remember that like the 727, the 707 has a very low stall speed. When light, this will be below 100 kts!!! Of course at anything like that speed you'll need the barn doors hanging off the rear of the wing and the power up enough to stay airbourne.

.......and cut the weight. Stall speed is a function of wing loading so empty out the passenger and cargo hold and carry minimum fuel.TonyDigital-Flight

"How To Slow A 707?"See that hill just over there...?

:-lol

If you think that the KC135s are slow in an AF pattern, you should see the E4 (747). They look like they're going about 60 mph!I lived just west of Offut AFB in Omaha for 15 years and have seen plenty of these birds in the evenings when the STRATCOM guys fly to get their hours in for flight pay.Steve

Steve,Having actually flown the 707/AWACS around the visual pattern a few times (a few years ago) here are a few tips:First, like others have mentioned the aircraft is relatively light (for an AWACS probably around 220K lbs to 240Klbs (max landing weight 250K lbs), the 707/135 would be about 50K to 60K lighter because the back end is pretty much empty).Complete a normal take-off but leave the flaps at 14. If you elect to bring the flaps up (your option) then recommended pattern speed is 200 knots (if at flaps 14 fly Vref +30 min). Big power reduction at level off (FF of about 2500lbs/hr/eng to 3000 lbs/hr/eng if I remember right)Level off and turn downwind. Typical pattern altitude is 1500 AGL. There is really no such thing as a straight section for the crosswind or base legs. Run the Before Landing Checklist on downwind. Check the landing data (Vref will be somewhere around 130 knots).Abeam the landing end of the runway select Flaps 25 and gear down, maintain altitude and begin to slow to Vref + 20. About 2 miles past the end select Flaps 40 and begin a descending continuous turn (about 20 deg bank to start) to roll-out on the extended runway centreline. Descent rate about 500 to 700 fpm and slowing to Vref + 10. Complete the Before Landing Checklist.Turning final at about 1 to 2 miles, select Flap 50, Slow to Vref + wind corrections. Actual position of flap selection will vary depending on how you are relative to the vertical profile and your airspeed. Add power if required to maintain target speed.Aim to touchdown about 1000 to 2000 ft down the runway. Once on the runway advance the power to about 1.2EPR, reset the flaps to 14 and set the elevator trim. Once the flaps at at 14 advance power to take-off setting and rotate at Vref.Repeat, repeat, repeat until your runnning out of gas!Kevin in CYOW.

Thanks to all of you who have given me such good advice...I think my major mistake was having the plane at it's gross weight...Lowering the weight made a great deal of difference...Now all I need is to find a really good KC-135 for FS9!Thanks again,Steve in Wichita, Kansas, USA

If your 707 is too fast for you, you may as well just sit back and enjoy the lapdance. http://sgair.net/erick/GRIN1.gif