Weather Screen

I have been at the door of my local software retailer every time Microsoft has released a new version of their beloved Flight Simulator. Microsoft has made leaps and bounds with the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002. From the dynamic scenery, to the customizable weather, air traffic control not to mention the AI traffic that at times surrounds you, to the crisp new 3D cockpit environment. Those are all great additions to the simulator we all love, but, and their is always a but, there is one feature that is widely overlooked, even though it is easy to operate and it's fun as well.

Have you ever had a friend say "the learning curve in the flight simulation world so to speak, is very steep. I wish there was a way that I could learn interactively. I don't like the lessons though they tend to be hard and you have to be so precise." Microsoft has made an addition to their already robust simulator. I think that sadly there is one module that is overlooked by many. The one that we will talk about in this article. Do you wonder what the brown icon is for? Have you even seen it? Did you delete it to clean up your desktop? You might think twice about doing so. Once you see what that little brown icon can do, you will probably be restoring it to your desktop once again. The brown icon is labeled "flight instructor". You say to yourself I don't need instruction and then you might even dismiss it. Don't be so quick to judge that which you have not yet seen.

You are probably used to the lessons if you have been a flightsim enthusiast for some time. You probably know about the lessons if you are just starting. We aren't talking about the lessons though. We're talking about the "Instructors station". This is nothing like what you are used to. Microsoft has once again out done themselves.

Microsoft has added a wonderful and educational tool to their sim. When you click the icon, that is after you have found it again, you will see what looks to be the same old multiplayer menu. Oh but it isn't at all. You now have the power to do one of two things. You can either take the role as instructor, or you can connect your computer to your flight instructor, or a friend who is willing to help. You now have the power to teach, or learn whatever your heart desires. This is a great tool. I saw a post in a newsgroup that said "I am living away from home and my Dad and I want to fly online, but we can never see each other, even though we are at the same facility." Well now that won't be so. Whether you choose to fly or take on the role of instructor, you now have many new options available that will keep all involved on their toes.

Instructors Screen

When you fire the system up for the first time you might want to look around a bit, and become familiar with all the variables that are involved. There (on the instructor's end) is a lot of information you can gleam from the student's aircraft, and a lot of options available to the instructor.

We will take a look at the instructor's screen first. Param 1-5 tells you a multitude of things. They can tell you a lot about the engines, the oil pressure, RPM's, etc. The map comes alive once a simple multiplayer connection is made. The map as you can see also sends with the image a lot of important information. Your magnetic heading is the first you see. Even if you are on the ground the instructor can tell you where to taxi to, and yes he or she can point you in the right direction, for those of us that get turned around easily. As you can see your altitude is displayed as well as your speed, vertical speed, pitch, bank, even your latitude and longitude. It also tells your ground speed or true airspeed.

Failures Screen

Now here comes the interesting part. It says failure history--what do you think that implies? Right about now you see the button on the lower left hand side. That's right, the instructor can, at will, fail any system in the aircraft. The instructor can set random failures so that both parties have an interactive and sometimes chaotic experience. They can also change weather, and at the same time be chatting via the text system most of us are used to, or with Roger Wilco, or any other voice communications software, got a speaker phone?

Microsoft has paid attention to the details here. Your instructor, or you as the instructor have complete control over the environment. The instructor has the ability to take on the air traffic controller role while keeping an eye on the aircraft's vital systems, or failing them. There is also the ability to set the failures to come on at random intervals, again making things very interesting for both the student and instructor.

Looks like a fun day to fly...

This addition to Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002's arsenal is significant, however sadly overlooked. I would encourage you to fly with a friend, or with someone that has asked for help in a forum. You could also add this to your flight training with a real instructor. The possibilities of this add-on are seemingly endless. Whether you would like to learn how to enter a traffic pattern, or you want to learn IFR the hard way, (in a wall of clouds when you have lost an engine and your vacuum instruments are on the verge of disaster). It can all be done here. Little brown icon, I think not, a whole new way to fly...maybe.

I am not one to praise a product or its many features, however this will surely add to the excitement of your flight experience as it has mine. You have the ability to fly with Dad across the coutry, or with Mom from your dorm room. You can teach a friend how to fly and never leave the house. You can fly with your real flight instructor. You could even offer to help someone who is new to the Flight Simulator 2002 arena. Using this feature is as easy as multiplayer setup which is not hard at all. You enter your "instructors" callsign, or start a multiplayer session and give the person you want to fly with your callsign. That's it, it's that easy. I hope that you have a chance to use this module, you will likely enjoy it like I did. It's not hard to set up, and it's not hard to fly, but it can be, it's all at your fingertips, unless you are the pilot then tighten those harnesses it might be a bumpy ride...

Jeff Wrobel
justkane@optonline.net