Magnum One

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Magnum One / Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso / d4 / jetset.arc / JETSET.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1988-08-21 | 45.0 KB | 811 lines

The documentaion which follows was originally published in the November, 1982 issue (v7,n11) pp. 272 of BYTE Magazine. It is reproduced here (with slight modification to account for figures not reproducible here) so that those of you who no longer can locate this issue may enjoy this excellent program... Russ McCallister, P.O.Box 79, River Forest, Illinois 60305 - September 1983 747 or JETSET as it was named by the author offers the adventure of piloting a jet aircraft minus the jet lag and the risk. The program name JETSET is an acronym for the Jet Simuator Electronic Trainer. You will maneuver an aircraft through the three stages of flight--takeoff, cruising, and landing--in less than ideal conditions. The program originally written for the TRS-80 Model II, uses the keyboard and screen to make a personal computer version of a commercial flight simulator. To make JETSET a realistic simulation, everything the pilot does in this program must be coordinated with an instrument panel displayed on the computer screen. In addition, the pilot must follow the actual procedures required when flying in near-zero visibility. A plane flown in such inclement weather must proceed according to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) established by government, and the pilot must be specially trained and certified to fly ON INSTRUMENTS. This information is incorporated into the JETSET program. Computer Simulated Flight -------- --------- ------ The JETSET (747) Program lets the pilot activate the control surfaces of the jet aircraft, adjust engine thrust, and tune navigational radio equipment by pressing a set of keys. (See Table 1.) The program responds to the keypress commands by adjusting aircraft attitude to match the control surfaces and updating the instrument panel display every four seconds as the trajectory of the jetliner is tracked through space by the computer. The jet instrument panel gives the pilot all the flight information he needs to take off, navigate, and land an aircraft using standard flight procedures and the radio facilities established for modern-day flying. The panel functions reveal what the aircraft is doing and where it is located, so that after a short period of training the pilot knows instinctively how to scan and interpret the panel data. Position tracking, a vital ingredient in the simulation, is performed in real time to keep the flight situation up to date. Although the pilot completely controls the motion of the jet, wind forces that vary with altitude can influence the flight. The program uses an analytical combination of jet and wind motion to solve the "wind triangle" that is formed whenever an aircraft is aloft and moving through layers of air. The wind-triangle solution yields the "true" motion of the jet relative to the earth's surface. When the simulation begins, the jetliner is poised for takeoff on the runway at Philadelphia Internation Airport. The geographic coordinates of Philadelphia mark the starting point of flight. The computer fixes this initial position in memory and cranks out a new longitude and latitude 15 times a minute. The pilot controls the path of the jet during the takeoff roll down the runway. If everything is done correctly in the cockpit, this path will lead to a takeoff with room to spare. Once airborne, the jet is tracked against a grid of meridians and parallels, an involved computation that requires the program to used spherical trigon- metry because of the earth's curved surfgace. Because the geographic coordinates of airports and radio beacons are stored in the computer's memory, a comparison of positions yields the information needed to update the insrument panel the pilot uses to navigate. An instrument landing, the trickiest part of any actual flight, is also the most complex operation for the computer to simulate. This type of landing requires a programmed geometry to simulate the Instrument Landing System (ILS) pattern formed by special radio beams. These beams, which converge at the landing end of a runway, deflect an indicator on the instrument panel of the landing jet and give the pilot an exact path to follow during the final approach to the airport. Because JETSET knows precisely where the pilot is telling the plane to go, the program will continue to run until the jet lands safely and rolls to a halt or until the flight ends in disaster. When the simulation has ended, for whatever reason, JETSET provides a complete report of the pilot's performance. The report includes the landing location of the plane-whether on or off the runway-to the nearest foot, and in case of pilot error a description of the error and the likey damage to the aircraft. Flying Lesson #1, Taking Off ---------------------------- When you load JETSET into memory and type RUN, the screen will flash a message authorizing a takeoff from Philadelphia International on runway 9R. The screen will then display the upper section of the jet instrument panel and a perspective view of the runway as it would appear from the cockpit. At this point the jet is parked in the takeoff position with its engines idling, ready to go when its brakes are released. To prepare for takeoff, lower the flaps (L key) and check the panel FLAP indicator. A down position shows that the wing flaps are now extended. The flaps provide the vital extra lift needed during landing and takeoff, when the jet airspeed is marginal. Next, release the wheel brakes (W key). The jet will begin to move slowly because the engines are idling at only a fraction of their rated power or thrust. To apply full takeoff power, press the "F" key and watch the THRUST lever indicator move to its maximum forward position. The program will now apply acceleration to gradually bring the jet up to its rated takeoff speed, 150 knots (173 mph). As momentum builds, the AIRSPEED indicator begins to register. The jet begins its takeoff roll down the 10,500 foot runway. Soon afterward, the COMPASS indicator begins to deflect from its 075 degree reading as the jet is hammered by gusts of wind sweeping across the runway. This is a busy time in the cockpit because you must carefully steer the jet along the 200-foot-wide runway strip as you come up to take-off speed. A sliding arrow at the base of the runway graphic shows how far the jet is wandering from the runway centerline. Use the rudder keys (< and >) to steer the jet via its nosewheel whenever this arrow veers away from the center position. The arrow will shift left or right whenever the compass reading deviates from the 075 degree direction of the runway. Careful steering, then is an exercise in coordinating both keys with the compass reading and the runway graphic (each press of a rudder key alters the direction of travel by one degree). Assuming that the jet doesn't veer off the runway (which would end the flight), you must be ready to execute the lift-off maneuver when the airspeed indicator reaches 150 knots, at which point you press the "D" key once, and once only, to tilt the nose up 10 degrees. The jet will lift off just before the end of the runway moves to the bottom of the screen, and the horizon line will vanish. Immediately following the lift-off, you must execute a three-step sequence to gain altitude promptly: 1. raise the landng gear (W key) to reduce "drag" (air friction) 2. retract the wing flaps (L key) 3. reduce the thrust (S key) to attenuate engine noise-in accordance with federal antinoise regulations-as the jet passes over metropolitan Philadelphia. You must perform this sequence in the above order because the three keys are software-interlocked. In addition, you must complete the three steps before the ALTITUDE indicator reads 1200 feet. If you do everything correctly, the screen will erase to indicate a successful takeoff and a display of the complete instrument panel will appear. Takeoff Mishaps JETSET doesn't introduce random flight emergencies, but the simulation will abort with a grim message if you mishandle the jet. Using the built-in program specifications of a Boeing 747, the equations of motion dictate that it takes 63 seconds to reach takeoff velocity (150 knots) after full engine thrust is applied. During this interval, the accelerating jet uses up 80 per cent of the two mile runway. This equation of motion establishes the safe takeoff envelope for the simulation. You must use the "D" key promptly when the airspeed reaches 150 knots. If you hesitate for another ten seconds, it will be too late-the jet will simply charge down the runway at 172 knots, plunge into the marchlands beyond, and...you get the picture. The anxious pilot who pulls the nose up too sharply at lift-off time (by pressing the "D" key more than once) also comes to grief. The abort message will point out that the tailend of the fuselage has struck the runway; the aft end of a 747 will clear the ground by only a few feet during normal takeoff. Most important, as pilot you must always remember to lower the wing flaps before you attempt to take off in a 400-ton jet, even in a simultation. Flying Lesson # 2 Maneuvering ----------------------------- Following the takeoff, the jet slowly gains altitude as it passes over central New Jersey and heads toward the Atlantic coast. None of this geography is visible, of course, because of the blanket of clouds below. At this point, you must navigate the jetliner entirely on instruments until it's just a few hundred feet from the point of landing at the destination airport, wherever that may be. This lesson will give you a "feel" for the controls and show you how they relate to the instrument panel functions. (See table 2 for controls list.) The PITCH indicator shows that the nose is tilted upward (positive pitch) at an angle of 10 degrees. With the current position of the THRUST lever, the jet is gaining altitude at the rate of 6704 feet per minute (VERTICAL SPEED). Press the "U" key twice to level the nose to a zero-degree pitch. The AIRSPEED will now increase. VERTICAL SPEED will become zero, and the ALTITUDE will remain constant. The "U" and "D" keys, which correspond to motion of the pilot's control stick, are used to climb or descend to a new altitude. Each press of the "U" key pushes the nose down another 5 degrees, causing a rapid loss of altitude as both air speed and vertical speed build up. Regardless of the maneuver--climbing or diving--you should always use the "C" key to quickly level off the jet when the ALTITUDE readout reaches the desired value. You can steer the jet to a new COMPASS course by pressing the keys that control rudder angle. Press the "<" key once to begin a slow turn to the left and watch both the COMMPASS and the rudder-angle indicator (RUD). Each additional push of the rudder key will make the angle more acute, causing the COMPASS to swing faster as the rate of turn increases. Always use the rudder-cancel key (/) to stop further turning as soon as the COMPASS indicates the desired course. You can adjust AIRSPEED by moving the thrust level forward or backward (F and S keys) one step at a time. Each tap of the key shifts the position of the arrow displayed on the THRUST indicator and alters the AIRSPEED reading. The 747 normally cruises at 600 knots, and for a given thrust setting the AIRSPEED indicator will drop back during a climb and increase during descent. Because the instrument response time is 4 seconds, you must delay consecutive applications of the stick or rudder keys until the panel instrument readings catch up. The jet will automatically level off when it reaches an altitude of 45,000 feet; a dive to ground level while cruising however, will abort the flight with a simulated crash. In a plane, the VLF OMEGA indicator is part of an electronic subsystem that receives and correlates specially phased, very low-frequency radio waves. These waves, which propagate over great distances, are processed in the airborne receiver to give the pilot a continuous display of the changing position of the aircraft. The JETSET simulator tracks aircraft motion as the sum of two vectors: aircraft movement relative to the wind (compass heading and airspeed) and wind movement relative to the earth's surface. As a result of this tracking, the longitude and latitude displayed by the OMEGA readout can fix the exact geographic position of the jet as it is maneuvered through computer-simulated winds. This process results in an effective real-time simulation of the actual OMEGA system. Although the longitude and latitude displayed on the OMEGA indicator may be used along with any chart or road map to check the progress of the simulated flight, the actual OMEGA system is normally used for flying between continents. For short-range and cross-country flights, most air- craft-and the JETSET simulator-rely on a more convenient system popularly known as VOR (VHF Omni-directional Ranges). Flying Lesson #3 Navigating --------------------------- Most aircraft navigate from point to point using VOR radio facilities. A ground station transmits radio beams that radiate horizontally outward in all directions like the spokes of a wheel. Each spoke or radial (there are 360) is fixed in direction and can be used to provide an accurate and unvarying path to its source, the VOR station transmitter. In practice, the pilot first tunes the VOR receiver to a ground station located at or near the destination. Each station is assigned a unique frequency. Next the pilot adjust the receiver's radial selector dial to match the particular radial intended for use as a path (this dial is cali- brated in one-degree steps, from 000 to 359 degrees). The pilot then flies while watching the needle of a sensitive meter connected to the VOR receiver. When the needle moves to its center position, the aircraft has intercepted the selected radial. By altering the course to keep the VOR needle centered, the pilot will be able to guide the plane directly along the radial in a straight line toward the VOR transmitter. To navigate from Philadelphia to Buffalo, New York first tune the VOR receiver to 116.4 MHz (the frequency assigned to the Buffalo VOR station) and select the desired radial, 115 degrees in this example. Rotate the radial dial until it points to 295 degrees, the reciprocal value of 115 (115 + 180 = 295). (The reciprocal value is always used when setting the selector dial to match the chosen radial. This process gives the VOR receiver proper internal orientation.) Once tuning is completed, you fly in an approximate northerly direction and watch the movement of you VOR panel indicator. Initially the needle will be "pegged" to the right side of its travel, but it will slowly begin to move toward the center as the plane nears the 115-degree radial. Once the needle is at center, alter your course to 295 degrees by compass and swing the nose of your jet toward Buffalo. Now you must make minor steering corrections, using the rudder to keep the VOR needle centered. This needle, rather than the compass reading, provides the guidance for the remainder of the trip. Upper air winds will generally deflect the heading (compass course) of the jet from its actual track over the earth's surface, but if the plane is flown with the needle centered, the path of travel will remain exactly on the 115-degree radial. The compass reading may differ by a dozen or more degrees when you are flying at upper altitudes in the presence of high-velocity jet streams. The process of adjusting the steering to keep the VOR needle on center is called "chasing the needle." If the needle (which represents the radial), begins moving to the left, you must apply some left rudder until the needle returns to center. For needle deflection to the right, steer to the right. After a minute or two you should be able to establish a compass heading that keeps the VOR needle centered until the jet arrives in Buffalo. The VOR system carried aboard a jetliner includes a very useful and important device know as the DME (Distance-Measuring Equipment). Once the VOR receiver is tuned to a station, the DME indicator continuously displays the distance in nautical miles (NM) to the station. In a flight to Buffalo, for example, the DME would read about 180 NM when the northward-flying jet first intercepts the 115-degree radial. From then on, as the pilot steered toward Buffalo the DME value would progressively decrease in step with the aircraft's position until the reading reached zero. A zero reading would indicate that the jet had flown over the VOR station. The DME readout would then slowly begin to increase as the pilot passed by Buffalo. The simulator VOR receiver is tuned and adjusted from the keyboard. To tune to a station, first press the V key. then type in the station frequency. The typed characters will echo on the screen; to correct them, use the Backspace key. Finally, press Enter to terminate the input. To tune in the Buffalo station, type the 6-key sequence "V116.4" followed by the Enter key. A similar procedure sets the VOR receiver to any selected radial except that you type "R" first rather than "V". To adjust the receiver for the flight to Buffalo, type "R295" followed by the Enter key. The RANGE window of the VOR receiver displays OUT whenever the receiver is not tuned to any station or whenever it is tuned to an incorrect frequency. An OUT also appears if the receiver is tuned to a VOR station whose distance exceeds 300 NM, the maximum range of the VOR signals. Flying Lesson #4 Practicing VOR ------------------------------- Several practice flights to Buffalo on the JETSET simulator will acquaint you with the simple principle of VOR navigation. Although it isn't nec- essary, a chart or group of road maps that encompass the Buffalo-Phila- delphia area would help you visualize the progress of the jet. Begin by taking off from Philadelphia, climbing to about 10,000 feet, and leveling off. Then apply the left rudder until the compass reads 000, give or take a few degrees. While you're on this northerly course, adjust the thrust (F and S keys) for an airspeed of 600 knots. Tune to the Buffalo VOR station by typing "V116.4" and the Enter key. Set the receiver for the reciprocal of the 115-degree radial by typing "R295" followed by Enter. This completes the tuning procedure. The VOR needle, which is located directly above the RADIAL window on the display, will now remain pegged to the rightmost position for about seven minutes as the jet flies north. Once the VOR needle begins moving toward the center of the graphic slot, prepare to alter course. When the needle reaches center, apply the left rudder (< key) and bring the jet on a compass course of 295 degrees. Remain on this course for about a minute and watch the motion of the VOR needle. Now you can begin chasing the needle by applying the rudder corrections needed to center the needle and keep it there. You may need to make an occasional steering adjustment if the needle begins to wander, but as long as it remains within one dot of center (each dot represents one degree), your course will be reasonably accurate. When the Buffalo radial is first intercepted, the DME indicator should read approximately 180 NM, and it should take about 18 minutes for the 600 knot jet to reach its destination. The exact flying time, of course, will depend on the strength and direction of the prevailing winds, but the DME readout will always show the exact remaining distance. If you use a map to keep tabs on the practice flight, remember that DME distances are nautical (not statute) miles. A DME reading of 100 NM corresponds to 115.2 statute miles. As the jet moves along the radial the RANGE window of the VOR panel will display TO, indicating orientation toward the VOR station. As soon as the DME reaches zero, note the reading of the OMEGA display. Because the jet is passing directly over the ground station, the display should read 42 degrees 55 minutes North, 78 degrees 38 minutes West, equal to the geo- graphic coordinates of the VOR station. This reading confirms that the navigation was accurately performed by the VOR system. If you have main- tained the course, a FROM will appear in the RANGE window as the jet proceeds in a westerly direction away from Buffalo, New York. Flying Along Airways -------------------- Although I used the 115 degree radial for the practice flight to Buffalo, I could just as will have chosen other radials for guidance. For example, a map shows that the 140 degree radial passes directly through Philadelphia and would therefore reduce the flying time if it had been used as a path. I selected 115 degrees instead because it is designated as a jet route by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administraction). The FAA has established a net- work of special radials that high-altitude jets must use when flying on instruments. An aviation chart reveals that radial 115 from Buffalo corres- ponds to jet route J-95 when the radial direction is adjusted for the earth's magnetism (the JETSET program works with true, not magnetic directions). In order to comply with regulations, an actual high-altitude flight from Philadelphia to Buffalo might require the pilot to proceed as follows: fly toward Philipsburg, Pennsylvania along jet route J-60 alter course at Philipsburg to pick up jet route J-61 which leads directly to Buffalo During the first leg of the trip, the pilot would tune the VOR receiver to 115.5 MMz, the frequency of the Philipsburg ground station, and fly along the J-60 radial (278 degrees). Just before the pilot reached Philipsburg (as shown by DME indicator), he would retune the receiver for Buffalo (116.4 MHz) and adjust it to the radial that corresponded to jet route J-61 (346 degrees). The pilot would then alter his course, chasing the needle to follow radial 345 until he arrived at Buffalo. Numerous VOR stations scattered throughout the country enable a pilot to fly extended distances simply by hopping from one station to the next, retuning the receiver to locate the designated jet routes. JETSET, however needs only a handful of VOR stations to establish a network for instrument flight simulation. Table 3 shows the frequencies and locations of the VOR stations for practice flights included in the program. You may use any of these VOR stations for practice flights to the given cities or as stepping stones for navigating from city to city. (Remember that a tuned-in VOR station must be within 300 miles to activate the airborne VOR receiver). The VOR receiver in the JETSET simulator is as versatile as its real-life counterpart. When a pilot is lost or disoriented the receiver can be tuned to a VOR station and the radial-selector dial rotated until the needle of the VOR meter centers. The reading shown on the radial dial then represents the direction from the VOR station. Combining this with the distance read on the DME indicator results in an exact position "fix". In the JETSET simulator a press of a "A" key results in an exact position fix. The program automatically rotates the invisible radial-selector dial for the pilot and quickly displays the direction from the tuned-in station in the RADIAL window. Instrument Landing ------------------ Using the VOR receiver as a guide a pilot can navigate accurately from one city to another without any view of the earth below. VOR radials are suitable for point-to-point navigation, but when a pilot arrives at his destination he needs another system of guidance to get to the airport runway itself. In this case the pilot must revert to a radio aid, the Instrument Landing System (ILS), a facility designed to make blind landings possible. A trained pilot flying an aircraft equipped with an ILS receiver can locate an airport and safely land on a runway that may not be visible until a minute or so before the actual touchdown. An ILS installation consists of a group of radio transmitters arranged in the vicinity of the airport where ILS landings are to take place. These transmitters radiate highly directional radio beams that converge at the foot of the runway, forming a cone-shaped pattern like the rays of a searchlight. The pilot first maneuvers the plane into this invisible cone, then uses the ILS receiver to follow the radio waves down until the air- craft is just a few hundred feet above the ground. At this low altitude the runway should be visible, so the actual landing can be completed in the usual way. The airborne instruments used to locate and follow the cone of radio waves are a marker lamp, an ILS indicator, and a radar altimeter. On the JETSET simulator panel these three components are identified as the MARKER, ILS, and RADAR ALT respectively. The panel MARKER lamp flashes on when the aircraft flies over a point called the "outer marker" telling the pilot that the plane has just entered the ILS cone. The crosshairs (horizontal and vertical needles) of the panel ILS meter will now begin to deflect, and the pilot must maneuver the plane to keep the needles centered in order to follow the path of the ILS radio cone. As the aircraft descends along this narrow path, the radio altimeter (RADAR ALT) gives a continuous display of the exact elevation from the ground (in feet).The radio alti- meter is much more sensitive than the conventional altimeter, so it is always used for precision landings. During the time the aircraft has entered the ILS cone and is heading toward the runway, when the pilot is making the final approach, the plane flies in a direction known as the "localizer" direction of the ILS radio beams. The angle that the radio cone makes with the ground is called the "glidescope" angle, and the descending plane is said to be flying within the ILS "glidepath". The two moving needles of the ILS indicator correspond to the localizer and glideslope axes during the final approach. The pilot chases the vertical needle (which moves left and right) to remain aligned with the localizer direction. The horizontal needle (which deflects up and down) must be chased using the elevator controls to keep the plane within the glidepath. Once the descending aircraft reaches the ILS "middle marker", the panel MARKER lamp will flash again, alerting the pilot that the plane is just a fraction of a mile from the runway. This critical location is called the "decision height" of the final approach because the pilot must now decide whether he can safely complete the landing. If the runway appears in view directly ahead, the pilot can make a visual landing. If, however, the plane is not properly lined up with the runway (because the ILS needles were not kept centered), the pilot must abort the landing attempt at once by climbing out of the glidepath. This situation is known as a "missed approach". When a pilot misses the approach, he flies a safe distance away from airport traffic and then returns to the OM point for another try. Every ILS equipped airport uses an arrangement which places the VOR station away from the airport in such a way that the plane will cross the ILS cone near the outer marker. The exact ILS arrangement (localizer direction and glidescope angle) for any given airport is published in a manual of approach diagrams (one for each airport), which the pilot studies well in advance of his instrument landing. Obviously, an instrument landing is a tricky procedure that airline pilots must practice in large-scale simulators to perfect. The routines that sim- ulate landing are an important part of the JETSET program; they closely follow the sequences that develop when a plane flies into the ILS pattern. You may have to make several attempts at a simulated landing before you can consider yourself qualified to handle a jetliner under bad weather conditions. Flying Lesson #5 - Practicing ILS --------------------------------- Preparing for an instrument landing, even aboard the JETSET simulator, begins when the plane is still many miles away from the airport. Because all ILS landing procedures follow a standard pattern, the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, conveniently located with respect to Phila- delphia, can serve as a practice landing site. A simulated flight from Philadelphia to JFK lasts about 20 minutes from takeoff until the jet rolls to a stop on the runway. Every airline flight must be conducted in accordance with a flight plan, a document that specifies the routes the pilot will fly until he arrives at the destination. An actual flight takes place at standard altitude levels and under close supervision of air traffic controllers, but the flight plan prepared for the practice run to JFK International tells the JETSET pilot exactly how to proceed. See Table 4. Using the Philadelphia-JFK flight plan as a guide, execute the takeoff procedure and climb to 5000 feet while maintaining a compass course of 075 degrees. During the climb, tune your VOR to the JFK ground station (115.9 MHz) and input the radial value of 058 degrees. Level off at an altitude of approximately 6000 feet. Use the "<" key for the left rudder to alter the compass course to approximately 000 degrees. HOld this course until the VOR needle nears its center position. Now steer to 058 degrees and begin chasing the VOR needle. The jet will head directly for JFK as long as you keep the VOR needle centered-the 058 degree radial is used because it's the "initial approach" radial defined for JFK airport. It will lead to an intercept with the runway outer marker (OM), a prerequisite for the instrument landing. As soon as the DME indicator reads 38, you must prepare for landing. To begin a descent, adjust, adjust the elevators for a pitch of -10 degrees (press the key twice) and level off at an altitude of about 1900 feet. Start the "initial approach trim" procedure for the jetliner when the DME distance is 20 NM. First reduce your airspeed to 300 knots (S key), lower the landing gear (W key), and lower the wing flaps (L key). The airspeed will automatically drop back to 120 knots as soon as the flaps are lowered, as required for a proper landing. Complete the trim procedure by adjusting altitude until the ALTITUDE indicator reads between 1700 and 1900 feet. You must execute this procedure quickly so that the aircraft is in proper "profile" or flight configuration as it approaches the OM along the initial approach radial. You will reach the OM when the DME reads exactly 12 NM, so the jet should be in its trim profile and steered to keep the VOR needle centered (to within two graphic dots) as the OM point nears. If you've done these steps carefully, the panel MARKER lamp will flash when when the DME indicator reads 12 NM. This is a signal that the aircraft has just intercepted the ILS radio cone and must be promptly steered to align with the localizer direction (028 degrees) at JFK airport. Press the left rudder (< key) quickly when the MARKER lamp flashes. It's imperative that you swing the jet to a compass course of 028 degrees before it flies out of the narrow area of the radio cone (this would occur about 15 seconds after the MARKER lamp turns on). A compass reading of 028 degrees (give or take one degree) before the MARKER lamp goes off will ensure that you completed the turn in time for the jetliner to enter the ILS radio cone. Both the ILS indicator and the RADAR ALT meter should be activated. If not, the turn took too long to complete and you need more practice in making a fast turn. For another attempt, you can stop the simulation program and begin again or raise the flaps and wheels and circle back to pick up the initial approach radial for another attempt. The rapid updating of the ILS indicator means the jet is now beginning its crucial final approach. You have very little margin for error. The program will automatically change the sensitivity of the elevator and rudder keys; each press of the elevator key varies the pitch by one degree and the course changes by one degree each time a rudder key is pressed. Quickly press the "D" key three times to pitch the nose down 3 degrees and turn your attention to the ILS display. You must use the rudder keys to chase the vertical needle of the ILS indicator as the jet loses altitude (as shown by the RADAR ALT reading). If ;the ILS horizontal needle moves from center, chase by using the elevator keys. Crosswinds blowing across the airport will tend to deflect the jet (and the vertical ILS needle), so you must make every effort to keep the two ILS needles where they belong-exactly on center. The RADAR ALT indicator, a meter that activates when the final approach begins, shows the elevation of the descending jet (feet above ground level). At an elevation of about 600 feet, JETSET will display the approaching runway on the lower-right portion of the screen to simulate that the ground is now visible. The arrow appearing at the foot of the graphic screen shows the exact alignment of the jet in relation to the approach end of the airport runway. You mut now use this visual reference instead of the ILS indicator to quickly correct any course errors. For example, if the arrow extends too far to the left, beyond the runway base, apply some right rudder to realign the jet's path. After a few more seconds the MARKER lamp shold flash again to announce that the plane has just reached the middle marker point along the approach path, the decision-height location. Now a quick decision is vital. If the arrow of the runway graphic extends too far left or right, beyond the runway base, the jet is not properly lined up for a safe landing and you must press the "M" key immediately to signal a missed approach to the computer. JETSET will comply by announcing that the pilot's decision was correct for the landing situation. If however, the runway arrow shows that the jetliner is safely aligned for a landing, you must bring it down as follows: 1. At an elevation of 100 feet (RADAR ALT reading), press the "S" key once. This command will "chop the throttle" (abruptly reduce the engine thrust to idle). 2. At 50 feet, press the "C" key once to "flare up" the nose of the jet. This maneuver automatically tilts the aircraft upward slightly to a positive pitch, causing a controlled stall. The jet will now sink gently down to ground level as it loses aerodynamic lift. 3. At 0 feet the jet has landed and is rolling along the runway. Quickly press the "Q" key to apply reverse thrust to the engines. Reverse thrust decelerates the ircraft gradually until the AIRSPEED readout reaches zero. Your JETSET flight concludes with a display of the landing information that tells you how well you handled the jet. This information specifies where ground contact occurred and where the jet finally rolled to a halt. If you made a mistake at the middle marker, the landing report will print out the consequences. This is only a small part of the capabilities of the JETSET simulator. There are about 15 to 20 additional airports built in. It is conceivable that you could fly all over the United States. Remember though, this simulator flies in real-time. If it takes 6 hours to fly from New York to San Fransico in a real aircraft, it will take the same 6 hours flying the simulator. Table 1. Listed below are the keyboard keys, functions, and definitions: KEY FUNCTION DEFINITION --- -------- ---------- F THRUST INCREASE* INCREASES POWER TO JET ENGINES S THRUST DECREASE* DECREASES POWER TO JET ENGINES Q THRUST REVERSE REVERSES ENGINE THRUST DURING LANDING D PITCH DOWN* LOWERS NOSE OF AIRCRAFT BY 5 DEGREES U PITCH UP* LIFTS NOSE OF AIRCRAFT BY 5 DEGREES \ PITCH CANCEL SETS NOSE TO LEVEL FLIGHT < RUDDER LEFT* INCREASES RUDDER LEFT BY ONE INCREMENT > RUDDER RIGHT* INCREASES RUDDER RIGHT BY ONE INCREMENT / RUDDER CANCEL RETURNS RUDDER TO CENTER POSITION L FLAPS RAISES AND LOWERS WING FLAPS W WHEELS RAISES AND LOWERS LANDING GEAR B BREAKS RELEASES WHEEL BRAKES FOR TAKEOFF M MISSED APPROACH SIGNALS AN ABORTED LANDING ATTEMPT V VOR FREQUENCY TUNE INPUTS A FREQUENCY TO VOR RECEIVER R VOR RADIAL SELECT SELECTS A RADIAL VALUE FOR NAVIGATING A VOR AUTO SELECT AUTOMATICALLY ROTATES RADIAL SELECTOR DIAL NOTES: 1. The CAPS LOCK key must be engaged throughout the simulation. 2. An asterisk (*) identifies keys that may be typed additional times to increase their control function. Table 2. Instrument Panel Legend -------- ---------- ----- ------ Instrument Units Function ---------- ----- -------- FUEL pounds,% fuel aboard (in puounds and percentage full) VHF MHz communications channel THRUST position of engine thrust levers PITCH attitude of aircraft DEG degrees angle of pitch, measured from horizontal COMPASS degrees compass heading of aircraft (direction of nose) AIRSPEED knots aircraft velocity through the air VERT SPEED feet/minute rate of climb or descent ALTITUDE feet altitude above the ground CLOCK hr.min.sec time of day (local) VLF OMEGA degrees,min aircraft position (latitude and longitude) RUD rudder angle FLAPS flaps position WHEELS landing gear position BRAKE position of wheel brakes VOR MHz frequency to which VOR receiver is tuned RANGE status of VOR receiver RADIAL degrees value of selected radial (needle moves along window directly above radial) DME nautical miles distance to VOR ground station RADAR ALT feet aircraft elevation during final approach MARKER turns on when flying directly over the ILS outer and middle marker beacons ILS pair of needles that deflect according to aircraft position in ILS radio cone STALL flashes as aircraft is stalled during final approach Table 3. Locations and frequencies of simulated VOR ground stations LOCATION FREQUENCY LATITUDE LONGITUDE -------- --------- -------- --------- Philipsburg, PA ll5.5 MHz 40 deg 55 min N 77 deg 59 min W JFK, NY 115.9 40 38 73 46 Boston, MA 112.7 42 22 70 59 Buffalo, NY 116.4 42 56 78 39 Flint, MI 116.9 42 58 83 44 Green Bay, WI 117.0 44 33 88 12 Joliet, IL 112.3 41 33 88 19 Cleveland, OH 113.6 41 22 82 10 TAKEOFF PROCEDURE ------- --------- A. Lower flaps (L key). B. Release breaks (B key). C. Apply full throttle (F key). D. Steer along the 075-degree runway using the left/right rudder keys (< and >). Coordinate steering with the COMPASS reading and the position of the arrow located at the base of the runway graphic. E. As soon as the AIRSPEED indicates 150 knots, press the U key once to gently lift the jet off the runway. F. After the horizon line drops below the screen, press the W key to raise the landing gear. G. Retract the flaps (L key). H. Throttle back the engines (S key). I. Sit back and relax for a minute or so as the jet gains altitude. PRACTICE FLIGHT TO BUFFALO -------- ------ -- ------- A. Execute the takeoff form Philadelphia as described above. B. Level off at 10,000 feet. C. Steer approximately north. D. Adjust airspeed to 600 knots. E. Tune to the frequency of the Buffalo VOR station (115.5 MHz). F. Input the value of 278-degrees radial into the receiver. G. When the VOR needle moves to center, alter course to 295-degrees (COMPASS). H. Now steer to keep the VOR needle centered. This indicator, not the compass, will provide exact guidance for the remainder of the flight. I. Use the DME indicator to keep track of the distance remaining, in nautical miles, to Buffalo. To estimate the remaining flying time (in minutes), simply divide the DME reading by 10. J. When the DME readout reaches zero, the jet has arrived. INSTRUMENT LANDING ---------- ------- A. Execute the takeoff procedures. B. Continue to climb to an altitude of 3000 feet on a course of 075 degrees. C. At 3000 feet, alter course to 000 degrees and continue climbing. Adjust thrust for airspeed of 580 knots. Tune VOR to Philipsburg station (115.5 MHz), and set radial to 278 degrees. D. Steer along 278-degree radial when intercepted. Level off at 40,000 feet and proceed to Philipsburg at 600 knots. E. At DME=20 NM, retune VOR to Buffalo (116.4 MHz) and set radial to 346 degrees. F. Upon intercepting the 346-degree radial, alter course to follow the radial to Buffalo. G At DME=73 NM, begin decent to 1900 feet (descend at approximately 11,000 FPM). H. Level off at 1900 feet. Remain aligned with the radial. I. Begin initial approach trim when DME=20 NM as follows: 1. Reduce airspeed to 300 knots (S key). 2. Drop landing gear (W key). 3. Lower the flaps (L key). 4. Adjust altitude to between 1700 and 1900 feet (elevator keys). 5. Keep the VOR needle centered (rudder keys) to stay on the initial approach radial. J. Be alert for the flash of the MARKER lamp (which occurs when the DME=12). At this signal the jet must be maneuvered for the final approach: 1. Quickly swing the nose until the compass shows 042 degrees. 2. Use rudder and elevator keys to keep the ILS indicator needles centered as the jet descends along the glidepath. 3. As soon as the runway graphic appears on the screen, use the graphic arrow as a guide to apply rudder corrections. K. When the MARKER lamp flashes again to announce arrival at the decision- height point, check the runway alignment using the graphic displayed on the screen. If necessary, press the M (Missed Approach) key to abort the landing attempt. Otherwise, if the plane is lined up safely, take all cues from the RADAR ALT from here on in: 1. At 100 feet, idle the engines (S key). 2. At 50 feet, flare up the nose (\ key). 3. At 0 feet, the jet is on the runway. Slow it down by applying reverse thrust to the engines (Q key). FLIGHT PLAN - PHILADELPHIA, PA TO BUFFALO, NY ------ ---- ------------- -- -- -------- -- 1. After takeoff, continue climbing to 3000 feet on course 075 degrees. 2. At 3000 feet alter course to 000 degrees and continue climbing. Adjust thrust for airspeed 580 knots, tune VOR to Philipsburg station (115.5 MHz), and set radial to 278 degrees. 3. Steer along 278 degree radial. When intercepted, level off at 40,000 feet and proceed to Philipsburg at 600 knots. 4. At DME = 20 NM, retune VOR to Buffalo (116.4 MHz) and set radial to 346 degrees. 5. Upon intercepting 346-degree radial, alter course to follow radial to Buffalo. 6. At DME = 73 NM, begin descent to 1900 feet (descend at approximately 11,000 feet per minute). 7. Level off at 1900 feet. Remain aligned with radial. 8. Begin initial approach trim when DME = 20 NM. 9. Execute ILS final approach procedures when MARKER lamp flashes. Localizer direction is 042 degrees. FLIGHT PLAN - PHILADELPHIA, PA TO JFK INTERNATIONAL, NY ------ ---- ------------- -- -- --- -------------- -- 1. After takeoff, continue climbing to 6000 feet on course 075 degrees. While climbing, tune VOR to JFK station (115.9 MHz) and set radial to 058 degrees. 2. Level off at 6000 feet. Steer left to intercept radial, align with it, and proceed toward Long Island, NY at 400 knots. 3. At DME = 38 NM, begin descent to 1900 feet (descend at approximately 7410 feet per minute). 4. Level off at 1900 feet. Remain aligned with radial. 5. Begin initial approach trim when DME = 20 NM. 6. Execute ILS final approach procedures when MARKER lamp flashes. Localizer direction is 028 degrees. ===== END ======