VC10 C1K Panel Manual
Panel Manual | Checklists | Flying Tips
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Autopilot
The autopilot is a separate window from the main panel. It is toggled on/off by the toggle button marked 'AP' On the real aircraft the AP panel is positioned in the middle of the pedestal. Whenever the autopilot is turned on, the pitch axis (elevators) is always under auto pilot control. If none of the ALT, IAS or MACH holds (all pitch based) are selected, the 'UP / DOWN' pitch thumb wheels (8) control the pitch axis.
The switches are clicked 'Forward' to turn on. 1 : NAV On the real aircraft this is used to take navigation information from the Inertial Navigation System, rather than the NAV radios. The INS in FS (an optional 3rd party addon) needs to use heading mode instead in FS, so this switch has instead been set up as a NAV/GPS switch in FS. When selected into the ON position, the Auto Pilot Navigates using information from the FS GPS unit. Note: In previous versions of the VC10 panel the 'NAV' switch had to be switched ON to use any of the functions on the rotary switch below it (7) (HEADING, MAN, LOC/VOR, GS AUTO, GS MAN, FLARE). This is no longer the case, The rotary switch now works independantly of the NAV switch. 2 : AP-1 Master On/Off button for autopilot functions. AP master does not control the auto throttle. Auto throttle works independantly of the autopilot. The flight director can still use the NAV modes if the autopilot is off. AP-2 is for a second autopilot & is not used in the model. 3 : DAMPER 1 & DAMPER 2 Yaw damper. It is normal to have both yaw dampers operating all the time. 4 : ALT Altitude hold will hold the current altitude by holding Vertical Speed at zero. Altitude hold does not allow the selection of a target altitude, but the held Vertical Speed can be adjusted to hold a steady climb or descent using 'DATUM ADJUST' (10). The 'DATUM ADJUST' will allow greater variations than the real aircraft & can be used to hold large climb rates if so desired. Altitude hold can be selected without the autopilot being on. With AP off 'ALT' mode will still pass required pitch information to the flight director (see Attitude indicator, main panel). Selecting ALT hold will automatically deselect IAS or MACH hold, if either is in use. 5 : IAS Note: This is not an autothrottle control. Indicated Air Speed hold will hold the current air speed by adjusting pitch alone. The current air speed value is read when IAS hold is activated. IAS hold will activate the autotrim system which will automatically adjust the tailplane setting for the held speed. With IAS hold selected, any manual change in throttle setting will be slowly translated into a change in climb rate. Selecting IAS hold will automatically deselect ALT or MACH hold, if either is in use. 6 : MACH Note: This is not an autothrottle control. Mach Hold will hold the selected Mach number by adjusting pitch alone. The Mach number to hold can be set using the bug on the Mach indicator (main panel). Mach hold will activate the autotrim system which will automatically adjust the tailplane setting for the held speed. With MACH hold selected, any manual change in throttle setting will be translated into a change in climb rate. Selecting MACH hold will automatically deselect ALT or IAS hold, if either is in use.
7 : Rotary switch for selecting auto navigation modes. Select the mode by clicking on the relevant text. HEADING Heading hold. Will hold the heading set on the Horizontal Situation Indicator (main panel). The heading is shown by the triangular bug on the HSI. MAN Manual mode. This has a similar effect to a wing leveller, taking control of both bank & pitch. The 'TURN' knob is used in this mode to provide a very gradual & smooth turn. Each click gives roughly two degrees of bank, up to a maximum of around 25 degrees. The 'DOWN/UP' Pitch thumb wheels are used in this mode to provide a very gradual & smooth change in pitch. The Manual pitch mode can operate up to a maximum of around +/- 4000 ft/min. LOC/VOR Holds to any VOR or localizer beam that is set on NAV1 (radio panel). Ignores any glideslope beam if NAV1 is tuned to an ILS. Equivalent to 'NAV' on other autopilots. GS AUTO Follows both localizer & glideslope beams for any ILS that is set on NAV1. Equivalent to 'APR' on other autopilots. GS MAN On the real aircraft GS MAN only captured an ILS beam when the aircraft was already positioned on the beam. FS only does an equivalent to GS AUTO, so GS MAN has been removed from the model FLARE Performs a full autoland using ILS beams, with auto flare & throttle cut before touchdown. Auto throttle speeds & flap settings still need to be set manually. Using this mode, the model will follow the ILS down onto the runway. It will perform a flare, cut the throttle back to idle and land gently. In FS, this auto land function is now 100% reliable in pitch (the auto flare) & can even cope with over or underspeed landings. However, as with all automated ILS approaches in FS, it is prone to directional errors if there is a strong crosswind. If you are using auto throttle during landing, it is advisable to close your joystick/yoke throttle in FS. If you do not do this, the throttle setting from your joystick/yoke can unexpectedly register after auto throttle is turned off.
8 : DOWN/UP (Pitch thumb wheels) This control only works when ALT, IAS & MACH holds are OFF. The 'DOWN/UP' wheels can be used to provide a gradual & smooth pitch control. Each click gives around 100 ft/min in vertical speed, up to a maximum of 4000 ft/min. The DOWN/UP control adjusts the elevators, but it is also linked into the auto trim system. This will adjust the tailplane (elevator/pitch) trim setting to take any excess load off the elevators. 9 : TURN This control only works in MAN mode The 'TURN' knob can be used in Manual mode to provide a very gradual & smooth turn. Each click gives around five degrees of bank, up to a maximum of 45 degrees. 10 : DATUM ADJUST The 'DATUM ADJUST' knob can be used to adjust the hold value in ALT, IAS & MACH hold modes. The held value is shown as a 'tooltip' when the mouse is over the 'DATUM ADJUST' knob.
11 : SWAP AUTOPILOT Clicking the bottom left corner, gives the option of using a more familiar FS autopilot (from the default Learjet)
Auto Throttle Unit Auto throttle works independantly of the auto pilot. Turning off the auto pilot will not also turn off the auto throttle. Note : The auto pilot's IAS & MACH hold modes do not use auto throttle, they work by adjusting pitch. 12 : POWER & THROTTLES SWITCHES On the real aircraft each of the four throttles can be switched to Auto throttle. In FS, these switches work together as a simple ON/OFF toggle for the AT unit. Switching the auto throttle unit off disengages the auto throttle. 13 : ENGAGE No1 & No2 Toggles auto throttle on or off. FS only has one auto throttle, so clicking the switch either way (No1 or No2) turns on the FS auto throttle. 14 : Auto Throttle Speed Select This is the Indicated Air Speed value that the auto throttle will hold. Click either side of the number to adjust it up or down. Note : The VC10 auto throttle only works up to 180 kt & is only used during approach & landing.

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