Tutorials

Tutorial 1: Take Off And Climb

Goal: airborne, climbing straight and level off at 3,000 feet with the wings level. Use the Light Trainer on the runway at Malaga (LEMG), or any airport with a long runway. Read How To Fly first for the keys.

1. Line up on the centreline. Press V once for a small amount of flap. The Key Numbers of the trainer list the speed below which flaps may be used, and a small setting is enough for takeoff.
2. Hold Space, hold Shift to add power, then release Space. Keep the nose straight with short taps of Q and E.
3. When the speed reaches the rotate speed in the Key Numbers, ease the nose up with the Up arrow. Use a gentle pull, not a sudden one.
4. Once you are off the ground and climbing, press F to raise the flaps. Keep the nose a little above the horizon and let the speed build.
5. At 3,000 feet, ease the nose down until the vertical speed is close to zero, then level off.

Check: let go of every key. The heading should hold for a minute. If it drifts, go back over the steps and use smaller inputs.

Tutorial 2: Fly A Full Circuit And Land

Goal: take off, fly a rectangle around the airport and land on the centreline, then stop on the runway. Do Tutorial 1 first.

1. Take off and climb to about 1,000 feet above the airport. Turn to fly parallel to the runway on its downwind side, at the same height.
2. Fly the downwind leg until the touchdown area is level with your wing, then turn 90 degrees towards the runway. This is the base turn. Set a first notch of flaps and begin to bring the throttle back with Ctrl.
3. On final, roll out so you are lined up with the centreline. Use the Landing Guide (L) to check the line and the height if you want the runway drawn for you.
4. Fly the approach speed from the Key Numbers, with full flaps only below the flap limit. Set the descent with the throttle and hold the speed with the nose, so the aircraft comes down the same path every time.
5. Just before the wheels touch, ease the nose up with the Up arrow until the main wheels settle gently. Do not pull the nose up high, or the speed drops and the aircraft drops onto the runway.
6. After touchdown, hold Space to brake and keep the nose straight with Q and E until the aircraft has stopped.

Check: you touched down in the first third of the runway, on the centreline, and you stopped on the runway.

Tutorial 3: Land In A Crosswind

Goal: land with the wind coming from the side without drifting off the centreline. Do Tutorial 2 first, with the wind as it is.

The wind pushes the aircraft sideways, so it does not track where the nose points. The fix has two parts: point the nose into the wind while you fly the approach, then take that angle out just before the wheels touch.

1. Join the final as in Tutorial 2. If you drift to one side of the centreline, point the nose a little into the wind, towards the side it comes from, until the aircraft tracks straight down the centreline.
2. Hold that angle steady on final. Use small, patient corrections and watch the centreline rather than the nose.
3. Just before touchdown, bank a little into the wind with A or D and use the opposite rudder with Q or E. Those two keys together keep the nose on the runway while the aircraft stays on the centreline.
4. Flare as in Tutorial 2, then brake and keep the nose straight until you stop.

Check: the nose and the track both point down the runway when the wheels touch, and you stop on the centreline. If the aircraft drifts after touchdown, the correction came too late: fly the next approach with a little more crab.

Tutorial 4: Let Auto Land Fly The Approach

Goal: watch a complete approach flown by the autopilot, then take over for the next one. Auto Land needs the aircraft in the air and an airport ahead.

1. Climb to about 1,500 feet and fly towards an airport with a runway ahead, a few miles out.
2. Press L to show the Landing Guide. Read the runway, the speed and the flaps it gives.
3. Press T to switch on Auto Land. It joins the final approach, flies it, flares, touches down, brakes and switches itself off.
4. Compare what it does with the Landing Guide. Where did it start the descent? When did it flare?
5. To take over at any point, press any flight key, such as Shift. The levers keep their place, so you carry on from where the autopilot left off.

Check: fly the next approach by hand, using what you saw. If Auto Land says it cannot start, read the reason it gives: it names the missing thing, such as the airport or the height.

What To Do Next

When the trainer feels calm, try the aircraft guides. Each guide lists the key speeds and the things to practise. Each next aircraft unlocks after a few more landings than the one before.