***********************************************************************
* SABRE Fighter Plane Simulator                                       *
* Documentation file: takeoff.txt                                     *
* August, 1997                                                        *
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# Main Key Review: (see keys.txt for a listing of all the keys)
'Q': Quit SABRE (use when boss appoaches)
'*': Throttle 100%
'+','-': Throttle up,down
'w': Disengage/engage wheel brakes
'C': Turn cockpit off/on  Useful for getting a better view 
'{': Turn exterior off/on. Gives an even better view.
'6': Exterior view, in which you can use
     'm','y','z','o' to  rotate
     and 'i' and 'u' to zoom in, out
 
TODAY'S LESSON: TAKING OFF!
Your first goal as a budding fighter pilot is to learn how to get your
plane off of the ground. 

Before we can actually take off, though, we have learn all about the
instruments and controls of our simulated Sabrejet, so ...

LEARN YOUR COCKPIT/HUD
Execute the 'takeoff' mission by typing 'takeoff'. You will find
yourself sitting in your cockpit, looking down the runway. Now, don't 
be intimidated by all the complicated switches and dials you see in the
cockpit. Only a few of them actually work, and I'll explain each of them.

First off, there are actually two displays being presented to you. They are
the Cockpit Instrument Panel, and the HUD (Heads Up Display).

COCKPIT INSTRUMENT PANEL
************************************************************
Key note: 'c' or 'C' hides/shows the Cockpit Instrument Panel
*************************************************************
The Cockpit Instrument Panel is really more for "show" than anything else.
The 'active' indicators displayed are (from right to left):
 Throttle handle
    You'll see this little fellow move up and down as you
    adjust the throttle
 Landing Gear, Wheel Brakes and Speed Brakes indicators
    These are red indicator lights which tell you whether or not
    your Landing Gear, Wheel Brakes or Speed Brakes are engaged
 Altitude Indicator (left top) 
    This dial shows you your altitude. There are actually two needles,
    the white is calibrated in feet, the red in thousands of feet.
 Artificial Horizon (center top)
    This is about the most useful of the cockpit displays. It shows you
    how much you are banked with respect to the horizon. Note that the
    blue represents the sky, the red the ground. 
 Compass (center bottom)
    Your navigational compass.
 Air Speed Indicator


So much for the cockpit instruments. Except for the Artificial Horizon,
they are really quite useless as they are too small to be read with any
accuracy. So, to make up for this shortcoming, you also have the HUD,
for Heads Up Display. The HUD shows the same information in a digital,
easily read format. The HUD is, of course, a fictional display that did
not exist in the real Sabrejets.  

HEADS UP DISPLAY (HUD)
****************************************
Key note: 's' or 'S' hides/shows the HUD
*****************************************
The Hud is divided into five areas on your screen:

Hud : Upper Left Corner
  Line 1 - Air Speed 
  This is your true air speed, in knots.  
  Line 2 - Altitude above ground (AGM)
  Line 3 - Altitude above sea-level.
  The next two lines show your altitude in feet, the first being the more
  immediately important one as it is relative to the height of the
  ground, while the second is an absolute measurement above sea-level.
  Line 3 - Load 
  "Load" is a quantity determined by taking the lift force and dividing
   it by the weight of the aircraft. It relates to "g's", the force felt
   by the pilot during maneuvers.  
   

Hud : Upper Right Corner
   Line 1 - Control Indicators
    This line contains symbology which shows the positions of your 
    controls. For on/off controls, the presence of the symbol indicates
    an on position. From left to right, these are the symbols:
     A - Autopilot engaged
     G - Landing gear engaged
     W - Wheel brakes engaged
     B - Speed brakes engaged
     F - Flaps raised (followed by the degree of flap)
     The last item is the percentage of throttle you have applied.
  Line 2 - Climb Rate
     This shows you how fast your are climbing or descending, in feet
     per minute. 
  Line 3 - Compass heading
     This shows your current compass heading, in degrees. Note that it
     reads 270, for due west. If we pretend this is Nevada, you are pointed
     at California. I happen to live in New Jersey, so I'm safe.

Hud : Lower Left Corner
     Damage Read Out
     This indicates how much damage the enemy or yourself has done to the
     airplane, as a percentage of the maximum damage the plane can sustain.
     Right now, this should read 0%, unless you've gone off like a fool and 
     tried to fly this thing without me helping you.
     
     Stall Warning Indicator
     An important indicator in this area, is the STALL warning
     which will appear when you are close to or in a stall. During takeoff,
     the main danger is stall. A stall is a condition that occurs when
     your aircraft's wings are no longer able to produce lift.
     This happens when you bring your plane to too high an Angle of Attack
     for your current speed. Stalls during takeoff and landing are the
     most popular way to get killed flying an airplane, so pay attention to
     this indicator!

      
Hud : Lower Right Corner
     During combat, you will look to this area for vital information about
     your opponent's aircraft. For now, it will remain empty, and we won't
     need it for this scenario.


Hud : Center
     In the center of the HUD you will find the nose position and yoke
     position markers. The Nose Position Marker, which is a green cross,
     shows you the position of your nose (not YOUR nose, your PLANE's nose)!
     It is always in the center of the screen. Related to that is a green
     circle which shows your yoke position, the Yoke Position Marker.  
     Move the mouse or joystick around and observe how the Yoke Position 
     Marker moves to indicate whether you have pulled back, pushed forward,
     dragged left or right.

     
 
PREPARING TO TAKEOFF
     Being that this is a game, you really don't need to do any of the
     preparation a real pilot would have to do to fly, i.e., check that you
     have fuel, calibrate the compass, test the engine, etc., etc.
     One thing I'd like to do, though, is the "walk around" so you can
     learn about the outside view. Press the '6' key. You are now on the
     outside, about to do your "walk around". Press "m" or "M" to start
     walking around your plane, inspecting it for any defects. One big 
     defect you might notice right away is that there isn't any landing gear!
     Well, its 'cause I haven't modeled any yet. If you like doing 3-D 
     modeling, you might consider contributing some landing gear to the
     project (see README). At any rate, just pretend you see landing gear
     for now. The program pretends it does also.

     When you are satisfied that your plane is airworthy, return to the
     cockpit by pressing '1'. 


Part III: Takeoff!
******************
     Ok ... here's the big moment! Let's takeoff!
    
     First, use the '+' key to bring your throttle all the way up to
     100%. You'll see the throttle handle moving up, and the throttle percent
     read-out in the upper right corner increase. As you reach 60-70%,
     you'll start to move. Bring it all the way up to 100%.

     You are now moving, but only a wee bit, as you have your wheel brakes
     engaged. Release them with the 'W' or 'w' key. Notice the Cockpit 
     Instrument Panel and the HUD indicators change.

     Now, you should really start to move. Watch your airspeed which is
     in the upper left corner. When it reaches 160 kts, start to GENTLY
     pull back on the stick, i.e., your mouse or joystick. Get the Yoke Position
     Indicator to about 5-6 pixels below the Nose Position Indicator. You will
     start to rise into the air ... you are airborne! Keep a close watch on both your
     airspeed and altitude. When you are at about 100 feet, bring up the landing gear
     ('G'). Continue to climb until you are at a comfortable altitude, then level off
     and check things out!


   
     


      

     
  
   




  









