Comet 4 Panel Manual
Panel Manual | VC extras | Checklists | Flying Tips
VC extras
Virtual Cockpit extras
I'd always found VCs difficult to use, but was unaware of some of the available viewing features that make an airliner VC a much more viable proposition. These viewing options have been picked up off various design forums. They are certainly not new ideas, but don't seem to be in common use.
Mouse panning There is an area at the top of the pilot's panel (and co-pilot) that allows you to pan around very quickly & accurately using the mouse rather than the 'hat' on your joystick or joke. The area to click for mouse panning is shown in yellow. Click in this area & hold the mouse button down. The view will likely jump at first, but moving the mouse around will settle it down & give a very quick natural method of looking around. While you can't click any of the gauges in this mode, you can still use the full array of keyboard & yoke/joystick controls. When you release the mouse button the panning stops wherever you are currently looking.
View Adjustments & Preset Views At the outer edge of pilot's main panel there is a small toggle button marked 'i'. Clicking the 'i' button will open a small popup window in the bottom left corner of the screen showing a number of buttons. 1. Move the view Up, Down, Left, Right, with the centre button being reset view. All of these are available on the keyboard, but they are usually multi key presses and difficult to remember. Move across right to view from the co-pilot seat. As well as clicking, the mouse wheel can be used to alter these view settings. 2. Level of zoom. It alters the zoom in 25% chunks for quick changes. The optimum zoom setting for this VC appears to be 0.75, but that is down to personal preference. 3. Move forward & backward. The default view in the VC is set slightly back to give a better & more realistic field of view. 4. Click any of these buttons to instantly snap to these pre-set views without having to pan. Overhead 1, Overhead 2, Overhead 3 Main Forward 1, Main Forward 2, Engineer panel Left Window, Pedestal, Right Window Note, these pre-set views are set from the Captain's side only & only the Main Forward view will work from the co-pilot seat. 5. Engine selection. Thanks to Fraser McKay for this idea. Allows for easy engine selection by clicking the engine or combination of engines. Great stuff for a four engined airliner like the Comet where you could often need to run the outer and inner engines at different RPMs. The '+' buttons are clicked to select the two engine numbers that they lie between. 'A' selects all engines. Other icon buttons along the bottom include standard FS icons for ATC, Checklist, GPS, Map. The button marked 'CS' is for a cold start & will shut down everything (only if you click it when the aircraft is stationary). Next to that is a button to turn off the extra sounds - Takeoff config warning, takeoff speed calls etc. The 'X' button closes the VC views popup window. The rest of the buttons are all for 2D popup windows - Fuel, Ignition, Overhead, Checklists, Autopilot

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