40 More Great Flight Simulator Adventures
by Charles Gulick
The Auburn
Abstraction
Abstraction
| North Position: 21314 | Throttle: 16383 (all except IBM) |
| East Position: 6593 | Rudder: 32767 |
| Altitude: 1529 | Ailerons: 32767 |
| Pitch: 359 (IBM only) | Flaps: 0 |
| Pitch: 358 (all except IBM) | Elevators: 35583 (IBM only) |
| Bank: 0 | Elevators: 36607 (all except IBM) |
| Heading: 152 | Time: 4:00 |
| Airspeed: 96 (IBM only) | Season: 2-Spring |
| Airspeed: 119 (all except IBM) | Altitude: 1529 |
| Throttle: 14335 (IBM only) |
 |
I'm sure Bruce Artwick didn't
set out to paint such abstractions as
this, but the simulator world at night-like the world itself at
night-offers many of them. Pause and admire this one. It's composed of
nothing more complex than a couple of metropolitan areas (the southern
outskirts of Seattle in the foreground, and Auburn, south of Auburn
Municipal, beyond the airport), Interstate 5 going south on your right,
and the western slope of Mount Rainier on the horizon. (Unfortunately,
the metropolitan area outlines and brilliant colors are not visible in
the Piper version. If you're flying the Piper, this isn't exactly a
painting you'd put on your wall.) |
 |
Another nice thing about the
picture is that you're cleared for a
straight-in approach to runway 16 at Auburn Municipal. Being 4:00 a.m.,
there isn't much traffic around. Take over and fly it. You'll want to
get over to your left and put some flaps on. Don't forget carburetor
heat. Elevation here is 63 feet. Long approaches at slow speed can be beautiful at night. Once you're lined up, everything seems suspended. Because the world is asleep, your engine obliges by being quieter. Of course, you can't appreciate the suspended feeling, the silence of the hour, or the quality of the painting if you're weaving wildly all over the sky trying to get into position. And the only cure for that is to learn to draw straight lines. |
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