But it is much more than that. The chapters have been expanded from
the original and new chapters developed out of expanded issues. See
the TopSkills Web site for details.
Chapter 1 is a new chapter dealing with the concept of "Pilot
Certificates and Ratings". This is actually a very good guideline in
progressing oneself in flight proficiency within flightsims, i.e.
"learn to walk before you run!"--acquire your flight sim "Private
Pilots License" first and work from there.
Chapter 4 is an expanded dissertation on airspaces.
Theoretical Class F airspace is mentioned and also a few paragraphs
on Airways & Jet Routes with diagrams.
Chapter 5 "Air Traffic Control" has been expanded from 5 to 14
pages. I found a lot of useful information here. The extra detail
here is welcome as I find it useful in understanding what to expect
when I try FS98 Internet flights using SATCO services.
Chapter 6 "Weather Services" is new. It is a concentration of the
issue, whereas in the previous publication, parts have been mentioned
across various chapters.
The chapter on Visual Flight Rules has been expanded from 12 to 19
pages. The introduction is much longer than the previous publication
and makes the chapter very relevant. This time round Bill breaks the
general concepts into "Rules" for flight-simmers, i.e. "Visual Flight
Rule 2: Carry the necessary equipment" etc. and then proceeds to
explain. Brilliant! This method is also carried through to the
chapter on Instrument Flight Rules.
New extra info in the appendices takes the form of conversion tables
(I've used these to good effect...well done, Bill!) and resources on
the Internet.
The book is in A5 format but obviously larger than its predecessor,
increased from 85 pages to 172 pages. It is now ring bound making it
easy to keep open particular pages. The paper and print appears
better quality than before and I think the print size is slightly
larger. This combination makes the book much easier to use and read.
The page numbering concept has changed from numbering in each chapter
to numbering from the beginning of the book. This makes it easier to
navigate to specific items from the front or back indices. Stick with
this method please, Bill.
The Book
This is an updated version of Bill Stacks' "Flight Simulator Pilot's
Information Manual" published in 1997. (See my
original review). The
basic tenet here is that it is updated to the official (USA)
Aeronautical Information Manual 1999.
The chapter on "Navigation Aids" is new and concentrates solely on
the aids of various types that help pilots get safely from A to B,
including radio, GPS and lighting.Conclusion
The most striking part for me is the organisation of the chapters on
VFR & IFR. The rules could be bullet points for safe flying under
each heading. It certainly is a quick way of discerning whether one
has everything covered before starting the aircraft engine(s). Just
for these chapters alone is it worthwhile to update your copy of the
Information Manual to the 1999 version.
Philip M. Wafer
pwafer@indigo.ieOther Books By Bill Stack/TopSkills:
Top Performance
Flight Sim Maneuvers
Flight Sim Pilot's Information Manual
Instrument Flying For Flight Simulator Pilots
Concorde Simming
Jet Simming
