Cheers Peter. I have just performed my 'best' takeoff from Edinburgh with a full load.
Three previous liftoffs were satisfactory also - I am not quite sure what I have done wrong , but, I did notice that I had hit f7 twice to bring the flaps down to 16 degrees, and I had a quick look after I had primed the booster engine. They were still at 0 degrees. I then hit F7 again, and watched the needled moved - when they did so, I hit f7 again, and the flaps remaind at 10 degrees - so I needed another bang on f7 to set them.
I may have been taking off at Edinburgh with too little flap....
I dunno if you've twigged yet but hitting flap 1 (F7) once doesn't bring the flaps down.. it deploys the LE slats.. a necessary evil of Fsim I'm afraid (there's no separate control possible for the slats) You seem to fly the VC10 a lot and on that model, 1 click deploys both the LE slats and T/O flap. That doesn't happen on any of the Trident models ;-)
That is what I get for spending too much time on the '10. I only ever look at flaps if I'm setting something non-standard - IE 23 degrees for a short runway. I am so used to one tap on the 10, tihs is where I have been messing it up at Edinburgh! No wonder it felt strange!
Of course, now I realise, I am asking myself why I did not twig earlier, as flying around Glacier Bay, I was forever giving an extra tap of f7 and not thinking about *why*!
Onwards and upwards - a few days of getting the hand in, and I think I will have a go at Peters' autoland tutorial.
The clues are there on the gauges Jim. Hit F7 once and you'll see the droop gauge operate but no movement from the flap. If in doubt.. go and have a look outside.. a definate advantage we have over realworld pilots ;-)
The thing is, in my attemots to see what was happening, I was replaying outide views, looking at the speed and watching to see when the wheels lifted - all the bl***y while the answer staring me in the peepers.
forthbridge wrote:I think I will have a go at Peters' autoland tutorial.
That is a superb way of learning how to fly the Trident. Flying a circuit in thick fog with nothing but the instruments in front of you and a virtual Captain McLeland by your side (and a little help from the 'P' key, of course ) is a steep learning curve. But the satisfaction when the approach lights appear in front of you just as the aircraft flares is one of the best feelings I've had in FS!
BTW Don't forget to use DM's inbuilt pre-take off checklist. I can't remember if Dave's already mentioned it, but if you open it you will see that any action that you haven't yet set (i.e. take-off flaps!) will have a cross next to it. Clear all the crosses and you are set to go!
EDIT: Thought I'd have a quick refresher on autoland. Here you are, Jim - this is what it will look like!
You seem to fly the VC10 a lot and on that model, 1 click deploys both the LE slats and T/O flap. That doesn't happen on any of the Trident models ;-) 
