You cannot really fly an airliner "seat of the pants" style. The whole point of airliner flying is a structured approach.
The problem that most people have when looking at these huge, complicated machines is: "where to start". Just ramming the throttles forward in an "engines running" state won't get you far.
Once you realize that, you start searching YouTube and the X-Plane forums for an easy way to get started. After a while, the enthusiasm for flying one of these "tubeliners" becomes severely dampened. "It's just too much work, and anyway, I don't understand what on earth they are talking about"
Does this sound familiar?
Well, this e-book is an attempt to address this frustration in a practical hands-on way. Essentially the book has two purposes - to give you a taste of what it's all about, and to give you a firm enough grounding that further study is no longer so daunting.
Part 1 is a heavily illustrated step-by step tutorial that uses the default Boeing 737-800 that comes with X-Plane (you can use part 1 with the demo version of X-Plane 12)
Part 2 is a more detailed heavily illustrated step-by step tutorial that uses the freeware ZIBO mod Boeing 737-800
This e-book will not teach you how to become an ATP [Air Transport Pilot], but it will (hopefully):
• De-mystify some of the incredible complexity of these magnificent machines.
• Introduce you to that frightening thing called a CDU/FMC [ Computer display unit / Flight Management Computer ] and help you tame it.
• At the same time, provide you with a step-by-step set of instructions to get you into the air (You might crash on landing, though!)
• Be a fun, satisfying experience!
This e-book consists of two parts.
The first part is a simple sight-seeing flight flown using the default Boeing 737-800. The flight leaves from the demo Portland Airport and returns to it so you can use just the demo version of X-Plane to fly it. This flight gives you a feeling for what is involved and a sense of satisfaction that it's not quite as difficult as it may appear. This first flight will be dangerously simplified, without using ATC, but still complex enough to give you a feel for what it's like to fly an airliner. The emphasis will be on programming the FMC.
The second part is a little more realistic - a detailed flight using the ZIBO mod of the 737-800. We'll dive in a little more deeply and execute a complete flight from one airport to another, starting from a cold and dark situation and ending with a stepped descent and a CAT III ILS landing.
Also included are various X-Plane-specific tips and useful "How-tos".
The PDF book has 315 pages (157 Double spreads):
You need only purchase this book once - all future updates are free - simply re-download it from your store account when I publish an update.