I've never started a 33 post thread before!! --- but

[barryward12345 0]

still nobody has told me where the ignition switch is in a Cessna. How can I start it if I don't know that simple fact? Some simulator!!!! :)Barry

[Guest SD Sim]

Hi Barry,You were wondering if flying has to be more difficult than this? Well starting up the planes yourself is just the start of the odyssey. Whether it be one engine or four (or three for that matter ;) ), there is a procedure for each. Check the kneeboard for the full process(F10). If you're still having trouble, let me know and I can go through the entire process for you. Have fun.P.S. If you have a question about starting a particular aircraft, then just ask. There is no reference to the Cessna in your previous thread.

[Guest]

Barry,I am not quite sure what your exact problem is. Is it that you can't actually see the start switch? If thats the case then there is a possibility that the panel in whichever Cessna you are flying doesn't have one. If you don't have a start or ignition switch on the panel or overhead console then you only have two alternatives. You can start the engine using Ctrl+E on your keyboard or use CfgEdit to install a switch. Hope this helps.

[Guest]

Assuming you're asking about the default Cessna, its on the lower left and doubles as the magneto switch. It's a rotary key switch not unlike the ignition switch in a car. Crack the throttle open slightly, set mixture to full rich and use the mouse to turn the key to the right to the "start" position. You have to hold the mouse button down until the engine actually starts up. I think the real thing may require the fuel pump on to start, but FS doesn't seem to need it.

[Guest]

In the stupid but true catagory.....Flew into Willow run ages ago to participate in an airshow. We had a corporate sponsor and they provided cars for us during the stay. We (6 of us) arrived in the warbirds and jumped out looking cool in our nomex suits etc.Loaded our bags in the 3 SAABs and spent ten minutes looking for the key/ignition slot in the cars. We looked all over the dash....nothing.Seems they had the ignition between the seats on the console. A ramp tech had to show us....duh.Timothy

[barryward12345 0]

>Barry, >I am not quite sure what your exact problem is. Is it that >you can't actually see the start switch? If thats the case >then there is a possibility that the panel in whichever >Cessna you are flying doesn't have one. If you don't have a >start or ignition switch on the panel or overhead console >then you only have two alternatives. You can start the >engine using Ctrl+E on your keyboard or use CfgEdit to >install a switch. Hope this helps. JimThanks for your help -- actually my 2 threads -this one and "Flying can't be this easy" -- have got way out of hand and got far away from what I was wanting to discuss.And that is - that I still can't help but feel that real life flying MUST be harder than what I find this sim to be. But- I am wondering if perhaps I am wrong. Maybe flying is a lot easier than I think. But - as I said in the other post - I can download , startup and fly most aircraft for FS2002 easily -- I do doubt very much that I could simply plonk myself down into the seat of these aircraft in real life and takeoff/land. But - maybe I could ! --who knows? Somehow, I think I would probably have trouble figuring out where to put the ignition key -- happens to me all the time in unfamiliar cars!! :)Barry

[Guest]

The only way your post makes sense is if your panel is in Full Screen mode. Then, having perhaps not been in that resolution before, the monitor may need adjusting for that screen resolution! and the ignition switch is either off the bottom or left edge of the screen.Secondly! Don't go near FlyII :-)

[Guest]

Check Handbooks (see inside cover of CD's)

[Guest RiddlePilot]

In regards to your comment about downloading, installing, starting up and just flying away...You have to remember that the aircraft systems involved with most of your more complex aircraft are not simulated in FS. There are no APUs, no pressurization systems, no fuel systems (other than the basic on/off and crossfeed). Heck, the default don't even have seatbelt and no smoking signs. On the other hand, purchase the wonderful Dreamfleet 737 or Wilco 767 PIC and you'll really get the idea of how difficult heavy metal is to fly. Just remember, the dynamics of flight never change. They haven't since 1903, nor will they ever.So in one sense, it IS that easy. You know from the get go, or learn pretty quickly, that pulling back makes the cows smaller and pushing forward makes them bigger (an example given by an aeronautics teacher at school). Once you get the plane in the air, its really easy. Its getting it started up, setting up all the essential systems, and calculating V speeds for takeoff/landing where MS lacks and the 3rd party developers do their thing.

[Guest]

>>Barry, >>I am not quite sure what your exact problem is. Is it that >>you can't actually see the start switch? If thats the case >>then there is a possibility that the panel in whichever >>Cessna you are flying doesn't have one. If you don't have a >>start or ignition switch on the panel or overhead console >>then you only have two alternatives. You can start the >>engine using Ctrl+E on your keyboard or use CfgEdit to >>install a switch. Hope this helps. >>Jim >>Thanks for your help -- actually my 2 threads -this one and >"Flying can't be this easy" -- have got way out of hand and >got far away from what I was wanting to discuss. >>And that is - that I still can't help but feel that real >life flying MUST be harder than what I find this sim to be. >But- I am wondering if perhaps I am wrong. Maybe flying is a >lot easier than I think. But - as I said in the other post >- I can download , startup and fly most aircraft for FS2002 >easily -- I do doubt very much that I could simply plonk >myself down into the seat of these aircraft in real life and >takeoff/land. But - maybe I could ! --who knows? Somehow, I >think I would probably have trouble figuring out where to >put the ignition key -- happens to me all the time in >unfamiliar cars!! :) >>Barry Of course the real thing is harder. Its the landing and taking off that can get you killed real fast if you don't know what you are doing. I'm told that once in the air and cruising, its general easy to keep the plane in the air. The hard part is knowing how to navigate.You know that lunar lander sim thats out. It says that if you can land this lunar module than you can fly the real thing. Thats a load of BS. The real astronauts found it incredibly difficult to handle. Even in space.Pete

[Guest]

BarrySorry I took your post out of context. After 30+ years of flying and having "flown" sims for more years than I would like to remember, I think I qualify to answer your primary question. Basic flight is not difficult but does require your putting some hours into both the classroom and the cockpit. Though Travis's basic statement is correct,a knowledge of flight basics may get you off the ground, but learning how those forces act on each type of aircraft you fly takes time andexperience. Those two factors will ensure you get back on the ground to fly again. Experience has taught me that the more complex the aircraft, it's systems and the mission requirements, the more humbling the experience. I have met a few "natural" pilots in my career, meaning that they have great instincts which helps to shorten the learning curve, but in the few years that I've been at it I have yet to meet anyone that can just jump into the cockpit, without any prior experience, and command the aircraft successfully from preflight to shutdown. Just taxing for the first time can become an adventure in living. Flight Sims are great and FS2002, dispite someof it's limitations, is the best I've seen. If you use it properlyit can definitely help shorten the learning curve. It will give you some familiarity with flight basics and some procedures but it will definitely not make you, or anyone else that I've ever met, an instant pilot. Flight sims, depending on how they are used, can be a great training aid and give you an immense amount of personal pleasure but IMHO that is all they are for.Hope that answers your question.;)

[Guest RonB49]

You might be surprized Barry. For Father's Day 2000, my daughter gave me a ride in a Cessna 172 with an instructor pilot from Wright Flyers at KSAT. I sat in the left seat and once the instructor knew about my 15+ years of simming experience, he mostly watched and offered advice. I started the engine, taxied to the runway, took off, flew over San Antonio, did a midfield crossing for a left pattern for Rwy 12L, and landed; he worked the radio. His only criticism was when I tried to level off by using the trim wheel not the yoke.The instrument panel was very familiar to me and I found everything I needed in the few minutes that the instructor gave me before engine start. The two biggest surprizes:1. It's almost as hard to taxi straight in the real thing as it is with my CH pedals.2. Its even harder to get the real plane on the ground when landing; it just wanted to float and float and float.Try it some time it doesn't cost much. R-

[Guest]

You're 1/3 of the way there!MikeKOCF