The Ultimate Flight Simulator Pilot's Guidebook (Paperback)

This 1003 page tome was an enormous undertaking that required the efforts of many scores of individuals. Veteran pilots, software creators, flight simulator specialists, and flight physics experts have contributed to this authoritative guide. For example, Captain Sean Trestrail, a Boeing 767 pilot, wrote a chapter on Instrument Flight Procedures, Ed Williams, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Physicist wrote a chapter on Great Circle Navigation Formulae, and Ray Proudfoot, the CompuServe Flight Simulator Forum expert on scenery, wrote a chapter on scenery management and creation.

The CD-ROM also required the mammoth efforts of many Flight Simulator experts to put together the most amazing companion CD-ROM that you will find on Flight Simulator 95/98. Many readers have commented that the CD-ROM, crammed with 650 MB of stuff (so much so that we ran out of room and had to remove software!) is, alone, worth the price of the book.

You may wonder why the CD-ROM is so valuable? For one thing, the CD-ROM contains the fabulous (and fabled) U.S. Dept. of Defense's Digital Aeronautical File, or DAFIF, which is not available anywhere else and which contains a listing of ALL 10,500+ worldwide navaids that you can also add to Flight Simulator to fill in the gaps in navaid coverage that now exist in the program. The DAFIF also lists runway, communications, and facility data for over 9,600 airports worldwide, so that you can design your own accurate renditions of existing airports using the included Airport 2.0 Windows 95 Scenery Creation program.

You will also find the AeroView Windows 95 Moving Map Display program that links up with Flight Simulator and allows you to see where your airplane is located anywhere in the USA using real High Altitude IFR Aviation Charts and World Aeronautical Charts that have been scanned in and digitized onto the CD-ROM. Not only that, but you can print out these real aviation charts in full color!

You'll also find 21 new aircraft, utilities, 100 instrument approach plates for cities around the world, 52 global aviation charts based on the U.S. Government's Digital Chart of the World (with magnetic headings listed for all major transoceanic air routes), a custom version of the navigation software GPS2.02 which contains the DAFIF so you can accurately fly anywhere on Earth (you can also upgrade GPS2.02 to the new GPS98 with DAFIF), an Excel Great Circle Heading & Distance Navigation Calculation Spreadsheet, and custom scenery for recreating Amelia Earhart's ill fated 1937 attempt to circumnavigate the Earth (using Earhart's famous Lockheed Electra, also on the CD).

There are many other items on the CD-ROM too numerous to mention here.

But what of the book itself? Below, I have listed the Table of Contents, so you may better understand what is contained in the book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: The Art of Flying
Chapter 2: The Aerodynamics of Flight
Chapter 3: Airspeeds
Chapter 4: Aircraft Engineering Principles, Powerplants and Technology
Chapter 5: The Atmosphere
Chapter 6: Piloting the Cessna 182 Skylane
Chapter 7: Commanding the Learjet 45
Chapter 8: Mastering the 737-400
Chapter 9: Flying the Bell 206B Jetranger III Helicopter
Chapter 10: Advanced Simulator Features
Chapter 11: Creating & Managing Your Own Scenery
Chapter 12: Contents of CD-Rom, Add-On Scenery and Online Resources
Chapter 13: Global Navigation
Chapter 14: Great Circle Navigation
Chapter 15: The Science of Flight Simulators, Federal Aviation Regulations and Pilot Training
Chapter 16: Instrument Departure and Approach Procedures
Chapter 17: The Great Adventure of Amelia Earhart
Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Performance, Hardware, Configuration Issues
Appendix B: Navaids
Appendix C: Airport Directory and Selected Instrument Approach Plates
Appendix D: U.S.A. IFR Enroute High-Altitude Jet Routeway Charts and World Aeronautical Charts
Appendix E: 52 Digital Charts of the World
Appendix F: Standard Atmosphere Table
Appendix G: Keyboard Shortcuts and Basic Simulator Functions
Appendix H: Adventure Programming Language Reference
Appendix I: Bibliography

Unlike many other books on this topic, The Ultimate Flight Simulator Pilot's Guidebook is profusely illustrated with specially created technical diagrams and art (not just screen shots from the program). These illustrations will illuminate your understanding of flight physics, navigation, and other related topics. The hundreds of equations, with examples, allow you to test your understanding of the principles of flight and navigation by using them directly with Flight Simulator. You'll also learn, from these examples, where there are flaws in the Flight Simulator model, and you'll discover some of the deficiencies in the aircraft models. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.