On Wednesday 22 March 2006 11:31 am, you wrote:
> Hi
>
> >From: Melchior FRANZ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >
> >* [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Wednesday 22 March 2006 20:03:
> > > Ignorant of code, one thinks it should not be too hard to allow
> > > switching the views in paused state.
> > >
> > > Is there any insurmountable code architecture/design hurdles [...]?
> >
> >Yes, there is: switching views while the sim is paused works for
> >me without problems. And it's hard to fix things that work.  :-}
> >
> >m.
>
> I can confirm the [Shift] 'v' view changing works while paused
> (098a/WinMe), can't remember if the mouse panning or the [Num-Lock] view
> shifting works while paused though. (I don't use them that much when
> paused)
>
> Cheers
>

A few thoughts about how to be able to better asses your aircrafts attitude in 
real time.  Real aircraft can't be paused while you figure out what state 
your are in.   If you are that far behind the aircraft you will likely end up 
dead.   In a real aircraft you need to be able to quickly shift your vision 
in order to know what your attitude is.   There is an old saying about 
keeping your head out of the cockpit and on a swivel (meaning that you should 
be constantly looking around) and doing this in the sim is more difficult 
than in a real aircraft.  This is likely one of the reasons that you need to 
pause the sim.   The other is that as a beginning pilot it takes you longer 
to assess of what you are seeing and what to do about it.

I have found that once the sim is started if I click two times with the right 
mouse button I can then use the mouse to look around.    Using the mouse like 
this works really well to simulate how this works in a real aircraft at least 
for me with my setup (I have a stick with trims, a throttle and pedals).  I 
leave the mouse this way all the way through the flight.   I getting my mouse 
in this state to be part of my preflight check list.

Using the mouse this way you can quickly glance over the wing tip to see how 
that relates to the horizon or glance over your shoulder to see where the 
runway is.   Much more realistic and quicker than using a hat on the stick 
IMO.   I use this a lot when flying low level aerobatics in my P51 or 
Spitfire so that I can keep track where I am at in my maneuvers.   Very handy 
when doing loops and vertical maneuvers such as hammerheads.  Less so for 
Cuban Eights, Immelmans and rolls.    It is also very useful when in the 
landing pattern. 

Starting out you should be flying a trainer type.  The 172 or the Piper 
Cherokee Warrior are good for this as is the J3.  My favorite of these is the 
J3.  Very simple to fly (does not even have flaps) and for the most part very 
forgiving.  The only thing is that it is a tail dragger and it can be a bit 
of a handful in a cross wind.  So start off with no wind.  The J3 will also 
help you to prepare for higher performance tail draggers such as the P51 or 
the Spitefire.    At first you will likely have to pause the sim to get your 
wits about you but as you progress you should need this less often.  When the 
trainer(s) get boring and you are no longer having to pause the sim then step 
up to the next level.  Work your way into the higher performing aircraft 
gradually.   

Also remember that to get a basic pilots license you need at least 40 hours of 
flight time and just to solo on your student license you need at least 20 
hours of flight instruction.   You are trying to be your own flight 
instructor (is that like being your own lawyer?) so expect it to take even 
longer to get to the same skill level.  You also need to guard against 
getting bad habits since you will not have a flight instructor sitting next 
to you during this learning process to spot these tendencies and stop them 
before they become habits. 

Hope this helps.

Hal


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