My birthday gift was a Saitek Pro Flight Yoke system for my flight simulator.
Awesome. So much nicer to fly with a yoke over a joystick.
Saitek describes the Pro Flight Yoke as the aspiring pilot’s introduction to flight simulation hardware.
This is where it can lead:
Now that, my friend, is a flight simulator.
Okay. The flight deck of a Boeing 737. But not the real one. Well, I suppose it is real in a simulated way.
If flying in a garage can be viewed as real.
James Price spent roughly $150,000 to build the ultimate flight simulator. And he accomplished that goal including the acquisition of a real Boeing 737 flightdeck.
And here I was hoping to get a decent quality yoke stick for my birthday. I think I have to set my sights a little higher.
James talks about his project in this video. Amazing what passion and focus can achieve.
Update
After I posted this story, I came across Laurent Airgon. Another enthusiast from France. He also built a fully functional Boeing 737 simulator.
Amazing.
I have been learning how to fly this aircraft: the Boeing 737-200. The screenshot above is taken with my FlyJSim 732 aircraft using the WestJet livery. Boeing has a comprehensive set of resource materials about the aircraft here.
The 737-200 entered service in 1968 and the cockpit certainly has a vintage feel about it. More of a clockwork environment. Hard to believe that this was the flight deck of a commercial aircraft. Here is a screenshot of the cockpit from my airplane:
Here is a shot of an actual Boeing 737-200 — newer version and this one is equipped with flight management computers:
Getting the aircraft ready to fly from a cold, dark start took a surprising length of time to learn. The aircraft has quite a few systems. This video really helped me to work through the basics although, as you can see from the table of contents, this is not for the casual aviation/flight sim enthusiast.
0:00:00 – Intro
0:03:45 – Cockpit layout & quickviews overview
0:08:46 – Identifying the supplied POH and the applicable pages of interest
0:13:30 – Overhead panel flow logic
0:14:50 – Turning on the battery
0:16:48 – Loading the passengers (PAX) & fuel
0:20:12 – Connecting and using the external ground power and air cart
0:21:58 – Working through the overhead panel & activating the systems
0:33:31 – Overheat and fire protection panel
0:39:24 – Continuing w/ the overhead panel – APU start, APU Generators, and warning lights
0:45:18 – Equipment cooling, exit lights, PAX cabin signs, wipers
0:47:49 – Window heat, pitot static heat, anti-ice, hydraulics
0:51:50 – The Cabin ~ air conditioning, packs, cabin pressurization panel
1:02:06 – Aircraft exterior lights
1:03:37 – Flight director and autopilot – flight director indications
1:10:15 – Marker beacon lights test, clock set, autopilot disconnect light, set flight instruments and check RMI flags
1:13:54 – Hydraulic quantities, ground proximity annunciators, flap/gear inhibit switch & inop lights, landing gear lever & lights
1:17:00 – Takeoff configuration indications that are available on this model
1:18:08 – Comments on “as installed” items
1:18:42 – Anti-skid, autobrakes, engine instruments & annunciator lights check
1:22:50 – Setting the navigation radios for departure, skyvector website & route intro, airways, SIDs, setting the initial courses on the HSI’s
1:41:11 – Weather radar, transponder, stabilizer release knob — skipping these three
1:42:00 – “Christmas Tree” Lights test, autopilot panel, standby & flight instruments check
1:44:30 – Stab out of trim, speedbrake lever & lights, thrust & reverse lever, flap lever
1:46:19 – Brake lever and important troubleshoot tip! Engine start lever, stabilizer cutout purpose
1:48:22 – What info you need for takeoff – using Vcard, speed bugs, flap settings, initial altitude, etc.
1:57:40 – Setting the fuel panel, turning on the pumps
1:58:45 – Turning on and checking the hydraulic pumps and quantity check
1:59:53 – Setting stabilizer trim
2:00:41 – Engine start procedure
2:07:06 – Before taxi procedure ~ final systems that need to be turned on and settings before departure
2:16:07 – Let’s taxi !!
But, if you are using X-Plane 10 and you are flying the Boeing 737-200, this video is very helpful for working through the checklists and getting the engines ready to go.