Today started slow and dredged on. I began to set up my flight simulator (X-plane 11) that I have at home on an external hard drive, and discovered it required a software update. The update had around eighty-two thousand files to check (that's not an exaggeration either) and took about an hour to finish. In the meanwhile, I began to open the extremities to the simulator such as the rudder pedals and throttle controls. I noticed that I was short the yoke; the yoke is essential to controlling the ailerons that turn the airborne aircraft. The flight simulator's keyboard controls for the yoke are moving the track pad up, down, left, and right; however, the sensitivity was very high and difficult to control, and not accurate to an actual aircraft.
This led me to see if I could run to the local BestBuy and obtain a training yoke. After a quick stop at school to check in, I could not find a yoke to use for my simulator at the store, however they could order one and I could have it by the beginning of September. So I returned home without ordering it, as September would be a little late, and went on to Amazon. On Amazon, I was able to purchase the proper yoke with free two day shipping and it is scheduled to arrive on Friday night. Until then using the track pad will suffice, as I attempt to learn the ropes of the flight simulator. Upon logging in you're greeted with a screen of options, one of which is a tutorial that teaches you the basics of the simulator. It ran through yoke controls, throttle controls, how to maneuver the camera, and included thing like how to take off (reference picture blow).
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My first day of the intensive was a little bit of a surprise to me. I came in with a preconceived notion that our first day of school would be a syllabus day, where we meet with our rotational classes and determine what supplies are needed for the school year; however, upon arrival that day, I was updated that most of the day would consist of work time for our intensives, and had to make a plan for the day on the fly (no pun intended). My first thought was to investigate the flight simulator program I intend to use, but soon came to the epiphany that it was on my work desk in my bedroom after searching my backpack. With no success in the latter plan, I needed to find tasks to keep myself busy, so my day would not be wasted. I then proceeded to make my blog presentable with information on my intentions of the intensive, and a brief description of my history with aviation in the Who We Are section of the website. Currently, I have very minimal experience behind a yoke; I have about three hours logged, an hour of which is solely taxi time. I then figured, reminding myself of different taxi procedures and sign meanings would be a valuable asset in the near future. Pictured above are rudder pedals for a flight simulator (the same Saitek rudder pedals I use on my simulator). A weird, whacky thing about taxiing an aircraft is you use your feet to turn left and right, opposite to that of a car where you use the wheel. No matter how hard you thrust the yoke left or right, the plane will maintain its forward position, unless you push the right or left pedal to turn the nose gear in the desired direction. Another use for the rudder pedals (other than rudder controls and turning on the ground) is braking. Aircraft do use wind resistance to aid in the deceleration, but if you apply pressure to the tops of both pedals, the wheel brakes will evenly slow the aircraft. Although, if you were only to apply one of the brakes, only the wheel/wheels on that side of the aircraft will engage. This allows the aircraft to make sharp, close turns when taxiing (like a U-turn at the end of a runway).
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AuthorMy name is Rory Hopkins, and I have been fascinated by the world of aviation since I was a child. Now I plan to pursue a career in the aviation world. ArchivesCategories |