Learning to fly

When you first start up FS2004 you will automatically go to a page called "getting started". That page will take you to some virtual flying lessons in the FS world. They teach the basics on how to fly an aircraft. Later on it will teach the basics of being an airline pilot. The lessons have a world renound instuctor instructing you on what and what not to do while you are flying a lesson.

I hope that brief guide helps a little.

Oh, and welcome to the Flyaway forums. 😎

welcome to the world of flightsimming and welcome to flyaway 🙂

You will find everything you need to learn to fly within the tutorial section of FS2004, it really is a great way to learn to fly all the aircraft on FS2004

JVD beat me to it 😂

yeah i have tried a few of those. is there any way of learning the key shortcuts for everything cos seems to be alot. mayeb some checklists?

thanks alot lads

Dougal81: Your question comes back to an issue discussed many times on this board. Is FS9 a game or a simulator? Actually, it is both. It depends on how you want to use it.

If, for you, it is a game, then search the board for shortcuts, maybe take an introductory lesson or two in the tutorial, then have at it.

If you want to learn to fly and to use FS9 as a simulator, there is no substitute for slogging through the lessons and practicing what you learn in them until you become competent. It is the same way we learn to fly in the real world and there are really no shortcuts on the way to developing fundemental skills and knowledge. For instance, the first lessons will be takeoffs, landings, basic turns, and stall avoidance and recovery. These are necessary skills for any pilot to master before being allowed to solo in the real world. Under US regulations, if I recall correctly, it takes a minimum of 8 hours dual instruction before a student can be approved for solo and most pilots-in-training require more time before their instructor considers them safe for solo flight. Practice-Practice-Practice.

Having said all that, keep in mind that FS9 will not make you a safe or competent real world pilot. What is simulates, it simulates fairly well and realistically. However, there is much a real pilot needs to know about aviation and flying that does not exist in FS9.

I also recommend you start learning on a basic airplane such as the C-172. Only when you have become competent with basic manuevers and have learned something about the ATC and aerospace system should you move on to more complex aircraft. I also suggest that until you are really competent, you don't touch the autopilot. Using the autopilot will not help develop the basic skills.

whichever way you choose to use sim, enjoy it.

at the main menu on fs9 press i think its like flying lessons or something. i would start at student pilot and work your way up. the lessons are helpful if u use them right.

dougal81 wrote:

yeah i have tried a few of those. is there any way of learning the key shortcuts for everything cos seems to be alot. mayeb some checklists?

I'm also a trainee. I worked through the first section of Machado's lessons (Student Pilot), then a couple in the Private Pilot section. A few lessons, I flew over and over and over. In my own flights, it was very useful to discover that I could save a flight in progress and then return to that point instantly at any time - say, beginning an approach for landing. I've also been reading Charles Wood's articles on navigation, which are posted in the Content section of this site. I bought a New York sectional (map for Visual Flight Rules aviation) a protractor, and a soft pencil, and began plotting courses and filling in the flight planning worksheets, which if you're actually trying to get to a particular airport are invaluable. And I've been memorizing, slowly, the "numbers" for the 127SP, which is what I fly. I've also printed out a lot of the shortcut key lists because I'm always forgetting them. Most of the texts in FS have a "print" button associated with them.

I've also spent god knows how many hours fiddling around with Settings to get FS to run smoothly, but I've learned there are a few glitches that you just have to live with, as CrashGordon said in a recent post. When I walk into my neighborhood bar at the end of the day and say, "I just flew from New Bedford to Fishers Island and made my first successful crosswind landing" I get tolerant, strained smiles all round and the bartender points at his head and makes tiny circles with his hand when he thinks my back is turned.

Yesterday I flew Charles Wood's practice flight from Lawrence, MA to Worcester, MA, in a 40 kts crosswind. First, I landed on the wrong runway. Next try, I missed the airport completely when I confused the "Total nm" column in the worksheet with the "Total Time" column. On the third try, I did a reasonable job although I probably used as much fuel on my approach, which might as well have been by-way-of Kansas City as the way I actually flew it, as on the rest of the flight.

Cheers. It can be a lot of fun, but it may be awhile before I start carrying passengers.

HL

the tuorials are quite good,

i think that sometimes just spending hours up in the sky will give you so many skills!!

I agree that the lessons will give you the technical knowledge, but the flying hours will give you the skills, just remember to start small, as boring as you may feel that is.

Micah

Stick time is important, but so is practicing the prep and paperwork.

HL