Military Visualizations Beechcraft Baron B55 Quick Start Guide

Military Visualizations Beechcraft Baron B55 Quick Start Guide Here it is! The bare bones! The kick the tires and light the fires and get airborne guide. You read this and you get off the ground. You want to learn how the airplane actually works and flies properly, then you read the Pilot s Operating Handbook (POH) when you feel like it. Step one: You have booted up FSX in Free Flight and you re sitting in the cockpit. On the keyboard, press Shift- 1 to bring up the setup menu box (figure 1). If you want a two-blade prop, click the Swap Props button Figure 1 red. You want three blades again, click it green! You want to remove the chocks, click that button. Click it again to bring them back. You want the pilot visible and the engine plugs and pitot covers removed, then click that button to make it green. Want the pilot gone and the plugs and covers back, click it red. Step two: You want to light the fire! OK, here s how: 1. On the left side of the cockpit, beside the yoke, see that box (figure 2)? It has your starter buttons, master battery switch, and left/right alternator switches. See the triangular arrayed switches (figure 3)? The top of the triangle is the master battery. The two base switches are the left and right alternator switches. Flip all three up to the on positions. Figure 2 Figure 3 2. Look in the center of the panel, see those six levers? The two in the middle are your throttles that s right Beech put the throttles for the Baron 55 in the middle! Use your keyboard, mouse, or your physical controllers and push those two throttles forward about a half inch forward from the full aft position. Make sure your two prop control levers are full forward and the two mixture levers are full forward. 3. See that huge yoke? Covers up near everything doesn t it? Let s hide it temporarily! See the bare aluminum shaft that pierces the panel in the center? Hover your mouse pointer

over the base where it pierces the panel and click it (figure 4). You want the yoke back? Click that open hole and it comes back. Now that it s hidden, we can see our way to the rest. Figure 4 4. Reference the pilot s lower panel with all those switches in a long row (figure 5). In the center, there is one labeled Beacon. You should click it up to the on position. This turns on the rotating red beacon light and warns people you re about to turn on the engines. It is ultimately the Get out of the way or forever lose your head warning!

Figure 5 Once the engines are started, and you have confirmed power is supplied by the alternators (referencing the two load meters) you should turn on the rest of your lights. To learn more about the details, plus also how to use the two auxiliary fuel pumps, please read the POH. Figure 6 5. Take another look at that left console panel (figure 2). See the two vertically arrayed knobs (figure 6)? Those knobs perform two integrated functions. They are starters as well as magneto switches. The top knob controls the left engine and the bottom one controls the right engine. They rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise by using your mouse to hover over the knobs, click and hold the left mouse button, and slide the mouse right or left to rotate the knobs. The starter is engaged when you rotate the knob full clockwise. When you release the left mouse button the knob returns to the BOTH position which activates the two magnetos. Rotate those two starter/mag knobs to crank both engines. When you want to learn to check the individual magnetos, you use those same knobs and rotate them counter-clockwise to isolate the right and left mags for each engine (note the R and L labels). When both engines are started, then you are ready to proceed to the next step. Figure 7

Step three: Turn on the rest of your lights and your avionics on the radio stack. To turn on the avionics, reference the left side of the pilot s panel and you will see one lone switch labeled Radio Master (figure 7). This is your avionics master switch labeled in the style things were named back in the era this aircraft was constructed. Once you toggle this switch on you should see the avionics on the radio stack turn on. To operate the two Garmin GPS/Moving Map Comm/Nav radio units, you must read the separate manuals provided in your aircraft s folder in FSX. Step four: Now you are ready to taxi. You should know how to use the FSX menus for radio interaction and control. So, do what you need to do to taxi to the runway. Line up for takeoff and apply brakes. Throttle up to 2100 RPM s with the brakes applied and reference your engine instruments (on the far right side of the pilot s panel yep they are just that conveniently located in the real airplane also!). If all looks good, release the brakes and smoothly apply full power. Note: the plane will require significant degrees of rudder inputs to maintain runway centerline. This is how it really is. How do you learn to do it accurately and keep on centerline? Three words: Practice, Practice, Practice! Step five: See the airspeed gauge. The red line (called the red radial) on the airspeed gauge at the 80 KIAS mark is your Vmc (minimum control airspeed on single engine). If you want to learn all about the Vmc speed, you need to read the POH! When your airspeed reaches that mark, rotate for takeoff. It s a powerful airplane here, don t try to zoom up like an F-15C! Keep the pitch within five degrees up or you will see things happen you don t want to see happen! Step six: When you get airborne, you need to retract the gear. Locate the gear handle (figure 8), which is located in a marvelously convenient and easy to see location in the real airplane (putting tongue back in cheek now!). This is why we allow you to hide the yoke bar! That gear lever is located on the left half of the center console just below the mixture levers. You can either cycle the gear using a physical controller button (the easy way) or use your mouse to hover over top of the virtual knob in the VC, left click and hold, then slide the mouse to toggle the handle up or down way). Either way, the gear will retract. When the three green lights are Figure 8 all illuminated, then it means all three landing gear are down and locked and you can safely land on the gear. When the red light is illuminated, it means the gear are in transit, meaning they are either moving up to retract or moving down to extend. When all the lights are off it means the landing gear are fully retracted. Step seven: Now you are flying, and frankly at this point if you want to understand all the myriad of factors involved in properly flying a piston twin aircraft, you have no choice but to read the POH. Because if we tried to explain it all here, then we d duplicate the POH in about all its slightly over 100 page glory! So, once again, please allocate the time to read the POH.

At the minimum, you will need to trim the elevators very frequently as speed and power settings are changed. The easiest way to trim is to assign the function to a physical controller button, ideally a rocker type button. When we say trim constantly, we mean just that! Airplanes like this don t fly automatically. They require constant loving attention from the pilot and trim is essential to make the it friendly. The best description is that you force the yoke in the position required to achieve the flight condition you desire, and then you trim out the control forces your muscles are exerting. This is where pilots learn to become pilots and once you learn, you learn to love doing it! To climb, you set what is called 25 squared. This means you set 25 inches of manifold pressure (or full throttle when the air gets too thin above 5,000 feet MSL to no longer allow 25 inches of MP), and 2500 RPM s. Additionally, you have to lean the engine s fuel flows as you climb into the thinner air. To do this, you use the two mixture controls on the right side of the throttle quadrant. You have a fuel flow gauge to the immediate right of the Manifold Gauge to help this leaning function. Where the bottom of the green arc is located, you see something labeled 75% power. Lean back until the two needles (for left and right engines) mark this position. At this point, you have leaned out to optimal fuel/air ratio and are producing the maximum amount of power you can at your current manifold and RPM settings (figure 9). Properly controlling aircraft power in the myriad of flight conditions associated with climb, cruise, and descent is complicated and once again can only be fully understood with a complete reading of the POH!

Figure 9 Note that in figure 9 how the six levers on the throttle quadrant are arrayed, and how the needles on the three primary engine gauges appear. This is the quintessential 25 squared setting as you can see how the RPM, manifold, and fuel flow values are symmetrical for the left and right engines (overlapping needles) and are set at 2500 RPM s, 25 inches of MP, and that 75% power fuel flow status. Note, this screen capture was taken just as the aircraft was passing 5,000 feet MSL and that is why the throttles in the center are full forward. Climb above 5,000 feet MSL will see the MP decline the higher you go from there even with the throttles full forward. Step eight: There is an old as aviation adage, Takeoffs are optional landings are mandatory! Now it is time to think about landing. Piston twins are designed for raw climb power and speed. So, to land them we have to fly them slower than their ideal cruising speeds. To do this, we need to know the proper power and aircraft attitude management techniques, which is a fancy way of saying to configure the flaps and gear, plus use the engine controls (throttles, prop controls, and mixtures) to set the ideal manifold pressures and RPM s on the left and right engines.

One of the prime pieces of gear used to perform slower flight required to approach and land are the flaps. To control the flaps on this Baron 55, you have a flap handle located on the left side of the center throttle console (figure 10). Figure 10 In the real airplane, you have to press and hold the flap handle down or up to extend or retract the flaps, and then you release when the indicator immediately left shows the desired flap setting. In this virtual Baron 55, you should assign the flaps operation to a two-way button on your physical controller. In addition, vice flaps anywhere you practically want them, you have two positions pre-set and selected in sequence. You can also perform this operation by hovering the mouse pointer over the handle, press and hold the left mouse button, and slide the mouse to slew the handle down or up as desired. Flaps are just a small part of the total. Ultimately, a good approach and landing is management of power to attain and maintain desired speeds and pitch on approach, final approach, crossing the runway, and ultimately touchdown. You then use constant elevator trim to remove any control input forces on the yoke required to maintain the desired pitch. To measure all this, use those same instruments shown in figure 9 and also reference your airspeed gauge. So, how do we do this, in the nutshell? 1. When you get about ten miles from your destination airport, throttle down to about 19 inches of manifold pressure and wait for the airspeed to bleed down in level flight to at or below 160 KIAS. Then, lower the flaps its first notch ONLY. (Note: if you drop the flaps to the full down position of 30 degrees when faster than 122 KIAS, then you can damage the flaps.) The speed should bleed down further to below 153 KIAS where you can lower the landing gear without damaging it. Again, position the yoke to achieve the pitch angle required to maintain level flight with this configuration and then trim the elevators to remove the yoke control forces needed. 2. You should already be familiar with what is called an airport traffic pattern. If you are not, then view the FSX tutorial pilot training videos. Once you understand the pattern, then when you are on the downwind leg and abeam your intended touchdown spot on the runway, lower your landing gear and set 17 inches of manifold pressure, push the prop control levers full forward to their maximum RPM settings, and then set the mixtures to either their full forward (full rich) position, or to the setting required for a high altitude airport (an airport above 5,000 feet MSL). Trim the aircraft elevators to support a descent rate of about 500 feet per minute and at a constant airspeed of 100 KIAS (referred to as Vyse or blue line speed

because of that long blue radial line on the airspeed gauge). If you want to know what the deal is with Vyse and why it is so vital to safe operation of a piston twin, then again, read the POH! 3. When your intended runway touchdown spot gets behind your shoulder on about a 45 degree angle, then turn to your base leg. When the runway is at your ten o clock position (no wind), then turn to final approach. When you are about one to two miles from the approach zone of the runway and the runway is clear and then commit to landing. Extend your flaps to full down, and use your rudders to make very fine adjustments as necessary to remain on runway centerline. As you approach the runway leading edge, smoothly throttle back to idle and keep the nose pointed at your runway aim point (which should be about 300 feet prior to your intended touchdown point). 4. When you are about a half a wing length above the runway (hopefully on centerline) rotate the nose to level and watch the airspeed bleed down. (In real aviation, this become more a feel of listening to the airstream plus gauging the speed of the ground rushing by as you keep your eyes glued to the far edge of the runway to maintain orientation). As the speed bleeds down close to stall speed, pull the yoke a bit more aft so you touchdown on the main landing gear (this is called the flare). In summary, good landings are essentially all about pitch, power and speed control. When you need to increase descent rate, you reduce power and pitch the nose down. When you need to decrease descent rate, you add power and pitch the nose up. You adjust the power and the pitch the nose at the same time this is called pitch and power. Pitch and power on approach to land are like conjoined twins they go together and stay together! To accurately touchdown on the optimal spot on the runway, you use a three-step process, called Aim, Level, Flare. On final approach, you aim the aircraft s nose at a spot about 300 feet prior to your desired touchdown spot on the runway. As written above, when you get about a half a wing s length above the runway, you pull back the yoke and rotate the nose to level pitch. As your airspeed approaches stall speed (bottom of the white arc on your airspeed gauge with gear and flaps down) you pull the yoke back further to the nose high flare position, which should be about five to ten degrees nose high. Ideally, this is done in one continuously smooth and fluid yoke motion. At this point, you should touchdown. If you have crosswinds, then you have to use rudder to point the nose down centerline and use the ailerons to bank into the wind to cancel out any sideways drift caused by the crosswind. This is called cross-controlling the aircraft. This is easy to explain, but pulling it off accurately is rightly called the artwork of piloting. To perfect this we have three words: Practice, Practice, and Practice!

One final point, nothing in aviation is perfect. While the principles of aviation are very much scientific, the reality of piloting an airplane is very much practiced artwork based upon sound understandings of the scientific principles involved! Once you study the POH, you will reference the power settings and speeds required for a good approach to landing. But, you must remember that every day is different in temperature and atmospheric conditions. A given manifold pressure setting will achieve the ideal speed on one day, but on another day will need tweaking to achieve the optimal speed. This becomes the variations in aviation that pilots also come to love the constant challenge of taking a machine into the air and plying your craft with precision and skill. Congrats! You have flown the Baron 55! Now, once the initial joy subsides, follow that most timeless of all instructor admonitions to student pilots, Get in the books! Cheers, Ken Stallings Military Visualization Staff Contract US Air Force Instructor Pilot FAA Commercial AMEL/ASEL Pilot Beechcraft Baron B55 is a trademark of Textron Aviation Inc. and is used under license to RailSimulator.com Ltd d/b/a Dovetail Games.