Simviation Forums

thanx for participating

I rarely fly civies but when I do I do it pretty much by the book, all my silly stuff is in fighters

I usually turn on the auto pilot as soon s I leave the ground.  I think the only time I don't use autopilot is in the helos and fighters at high speeds.  

I like to fly it myself up until I'm established on my flight plan, and then I'll hit the AP. It's quite an easy plane to fly.

if i fly a heavy, it's most of the time a 747 (or 777). i put the AP on when i'm at cruise altitude and when i'm on my route. if the plane is trimmed well and has the correct speed and vertical speed, you can easily climb it to that altitude. if you don't accelerate enough, you'll be screwed and will stall  :-/  ;) it's a very stable aircraft

It's worth noting that if this question ever gets asked after FS2004 is out, I'd expect to see almost everyone using the autopilot.

The reason for this is that Microsoft are (Thank God!!) including stepped climbs to cruise altitude in the new version.

This will eliminate most of the problems with trying to get a 747 to climb like an F-16 in order to to achieve your required altitude before FS2002 cancels your IFR flightplan.

i mostly never use the autopliot

i like to feel the plane and fly it as i please , specially on short IFR flights i leave AP off because of the amount of instructons given by the ATC

i only use AP on really loooooooooooooooooonnnng flights

and on small planes i think i never use AP since they are so easy to handle

most of the problems with trying to get a 747 to climb like an F-16

What problem? That is how I normally fly it.

I like to fly it manually after rotation, then engage autopilot at about 1000 ft AGL. Then I use AP all the way to landing. I don't like holding the controls for very long periods (as it takes to reach altitude) because it makes my hands hurt.

-Seth