Flight Sim

This game assumes that you have taken over the controls of an aeroplane when it is 2000 metres in the air and 20,000 metres away from the target runway. Through the cockpit window you can see little - just the horizon, when it is in view, and the distant dot of the runway - so like a seasoned pilot you must rely on your expertise at responding to the instrument panel to bring you and all your passengers safely in to land.

The Instruments

There are four dials on your instrument panel. The first one tells you your airspeed. This varies according to whether you are diving (your speed increases), climbing (your speed falls off) and changing engine power. A counter underneath the airspeed dial tells you your compass bearing.

The second dial shows you where the horizon is in relation to your aeroplane. This means that even when the horizon is not in view through the cockpit window, you still know where it is. The counter underneath this dial gives you the bearing of the runway.

The third dial gives you an altitude reading. This has two hands, one for thousands, and the other for hundreds. The counter underneath calculates the drift of the aeroplane - as the runway is 100 metres wide, a drift of over +50 or -50 will cause you to miss it altogether.

The last dial tells you the engine speed in revolutions per minute. The counter beneath lets you know the distance you are from the centre of the runway.

Landing The Aeroplane

You must centre the radar image of the runway. When you assume the controls, weather conditions are fair, and the runway is due north. Landing like this is not hard, and the game would quickly lose its fun if you could not vary this. To add difficulty, you can specify the speed and direction of the wind: for instance, a howling gale from the side will make your job very much harder.

Moving The Aeroplane

The range of controls you have closely approximates to the controls of the aeroplane - though you are pressing keys, rather than using a joystick.

In a real aeroplane, to control pitch - the up and down movement - the joystick is moved backwards or forwards, thereby moving the elevators on the tailplane upwards or downwards. You will be using two keys to create the same effect.

The roll of the aeroplane - the side to side movement - is controlled by moving the joystick from side to side. This moves the ailerons - the control surfaces on the wings. Again you'll be using two keys to turn you either to the right or the left.

Your last two controls enable you to speed up or slow down the engine, essential for finely timing your landing, or making sure that you do not stall.

Stalling Speed

Aeroplanes stall when they fall below a certain speed, which means that they literally drop from the sky. In this program, if your airspeed falls below 30 metres per second, the aeroplane will start to dive steeply, turning to one side as it plummets. If you've got enough height, quick action may save you, but a stall is dreaded by every pilot.

Originally published in Input #23, page 716

Game Controls

Z - Roll left, X - Roll right, P - Pitch up, L - Pitch down, RETURN - Throttle up, SPACE - Throttle down