 FSXA / SP2 Space Shuttle Atlantis 

- Completely re-worked model and textures . New flight dynamics optimized for SP2/Acceleration to restore sub-orbital performance. Acheive Mach 4.65 and climb to just under 700,000 ft under your own power at max realism. Very stable re-entry dynamics with Shuttle like landing characteristics. DVC added with a camera view for bay window , custom gauge controlled effects, animated SRB and External Tank separations , bay doors, robot arm and payload, elevons, spoiler/rudder, body flap and gear w/ nosewheel steering - compiled with the FSXA SDK 
* for FSX Only by Bruce Fitzgerald .

 fitzgeba@hotmail.com

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Unzip AtlantisX.zip and locate the Atlantis_X folder,
... and copy to FSX/simobjects/airplanes/

 locate the effects folder within the Atlantis_X folder
... and copy all the .fx files inside and paste to fsx/effects

a step by step guide for the Novice can be found at...

 ==>  http://www.simviation.com/fsxaircraftinstall.htm

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Animations:
* open bay doors               - Shift+E
* SRB Separation              - Shift+E  2   // they disappear when exit 2 is fully open
* External Tank separation - Shift+E 3    // it disappears when exit 3 is fully open
* robot arm and module     - Shift+E 4    // arm picks up module , releases it and re-stows

Gauge controlled effects:
Main Shuttle Engine Flames and smoke -  are tied to Smoke and will light when the throttle is above 97%
SRB Flame and Plume - are tied to Cabin Lights and come on when throttle above 5% and Exit 2 is fully closed

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Hints and Tips:

to fly around as a plane , open exit 2 and 3 to make the boosters and tank disappear

to do a vertical launch 
- use SLEW to rotate to the vertical  and place yourself on the desired launch location
- put the throttles at about 20-25 percent
- come out of slew and you begin your launch
- slowly increase throttle to 100 percent
- seperate the SRB's and External tank when you think it looks right
- welcome to space

the atmosphere ends at 400,000 ft - control surfaces stop working  and any movement around pitch/roll/yaw axes will continue
until you get back below 400k - you can toggle slew mode to stop any motion or recover from tumbling

max altitude can be acheived by going level until you reach Mach 4.65 then pull up to an 85 degree climb
use trim to keep the 85 degree climb angle 

best sub-orbital trajectory is a 50 degree climb angle , this makes the re-entry angle less steep and more managable with a level flight recovery
occuring at a higher altitude

use the wing tip contrails on re-entry as a guide for your angle of attack - 15 degree angle of attack provides the best recovery

use small control inputs - ham fisted control inputs are the best way to send it out of control on re-entry 

you can try landings with zero throttle or engines shutdown  but use the spoilers for energy managment

best landing speed is around 215 knots 


