Absolute noob

[addicted_koala]

I got fsx a few months ago and have played around for a while. I have around 50 hours logged on it. So far I can take off, fly, and then land in all the planes, even some ILS landings in the big jets. I'd really like to learn to fly more realistically, and from what I've read, setting the realism settings to "high" won't cut it. I don't know what all this Vx stuff is either, although I know it's an airspeed related to takeoff/landing. I've searched for a while now but can't find anything for absolute beginners at realistic flight. Can anybody point me in the right direction? Sorry for seeming like such an idiot.

[BFMF]

Don't worry about it. We were all new at one point. Have you gone through the FS lessons?

I would highly suggest reading through Brett Henderson's basic sim flight training course right here in the flightschool board

[Mobius]

Right here is a great place to start:

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1208113107

Start on part 1 and ask any questions you have right here.

[addicted_koala]

Ok been reading over the tutorials, and I'm going through lesson 2 now. Takeoffs have been going well, but now I'm trying to fly a standard traffic pattern around the airport, and it's proving quite a challenge. I understand what I'm supposed to be doing, but the most difficult thing is going in the right direction!

What I mean is, when you make a turn, how can you tell if you've turned as much as you need to line up with the runway? When I turn to start the downwind leg, I can't seem to fly parallel (or close to parallel) with the runway, and as a result the base is off and the final is terribly lined up. Are there any tricks, or is this just something I need to practice a lot to figure out? :-/

[Mobius]

First off start by setting the weather conditions in the simulator so there is no wind at all.

[DenisH]

For what it's worth, as a total novice to FS I have found Brett Henderson's and other tutorials in this forum inaluable. Another helpful aid is the "How to fly an airplane" booklet put out by the government  printing bureau.  I guess most of the sim vets in here also know that there's a list of all US and UK airports available on the web giving code designatons, length of runway. lat and longtitude etc . I'll post address in a minute for those who would like them.  

[DenisH]

The two lists mentioned can be found at www.pilotfriend.com

[DenisH]

please excuse the typos