AlphaSim B-52 Stratofortress Reference Information

Advanced/Simple Flight Models

This aircraft comes with a simplified flight model which limits the total aircraft weight to approximately 302,000 pounds by reducing the total amount of fuel available. It also is configured to have electric power always available. An advanced flight model is available in the "advanced" folder which enables a full fuel load and allows for electrical failures. First unzip the files in the "Advanced" folder. Then copy the file named "aircraft.cfg" from the "advanced" folder into the main aircraft folder, overwriting the existing "aircraft.cfg" file, to enable the advanced flight model. With the advanced flight model, the electric power will drain very quickly if the engines are off or the generators are shut down.

A summary of the differences between the advanced and simple flight models is as follows:

Property | Advanced FM | Simple FM
All fuel tanks-max weight over 480,000 pounds | Yes | No
Limited fuel-max weight 302,000 pounds | No | Yes
CG management required with fuel burn | Yes | No
60-second flap extension | Yes | No
10-second flap extension | No | Yes
Electrical power always available | No | Yes
Significant trim change with flaps/gear/spoiler extension | Yes | No

Wing Flaps

The wing flaps have three positions: maneuvering, high-drag (approach), and high-lift (maximum).

Speed Limitations

- Full Flaps: 190 KIAS
- Half Flaps: 225 KIAS
- Airbrakes greater than position 4: 305 KIAS
- Landing Gear: 305 KIAS
- Maximum indicated speed: 390 KIAS
- Maximum indicated Mach: 0.87

Instrument Panel

The main instrument panel includes all of the usual flight instruments as well as engine monitoring instrumentation. Use the icons to bring up the popup panels. Click on the yoke to remove it, and click on the underlying icon to restore it if desired.

The main panel features an interesting gauge that simulates a terrain following radar scope. Turn this on and set the reference altitude and you will see the reference bar move up and down as the terrain below changes in altitude.

There is one other interesting feature of the main panel. On the overhead panel, in the center, is an icon with a "4" on it. Clicking this icon converts the engine instruments to simulate an eight-engine panel. That is, the left four instrument stacks monitor only the left engines, and the single fifth stack monitors the right engine. This can be useful for simulating engine-out procedures so that the instruments appear to read accurately with respect to an eight-engine aircraft. Otherwise, use the four-engine option, where engines 1-4 are monitored by stacks 1-4.

Fuel Control Panel

The fuel panel allows monitoring of the contents of all eleven tanks. This flight model precisely duplicates the number, position, and contents of the real aircraft's fuel tanks. The gauges at the extreme right and left of this panel can be switched to view the contents of the outermost tanks on each wing: EXT, TIP, and AUX. There are two fuel selectors, one for the engines on each side. Selecting ALL means all engines on that side will draw from all eleven tanks, beginning with the external tanks and working inward in the standard Flight Simulator pattern. Selecting either L or R will allow either the left or right engines to draw fuel from only the left or right tanks, excluding the external tanks. For example, setting ENG 1-4 to draw from the L position will cause those engines to burn fuel from the left TIP tank first, progressing to the left AUX and left MAIN in that order. This position will NOT draw from the external or center tanks. To burn fuel in the center or external tanks, the ALL position must be selected. By turning both switches to ALL, the fuel consumption is entirely automatic and controlled by Flight Simulator. However, the recommended procedure is to set the left engines to the left tanks (L position) and the right engines to the right tanks (R position) and allow these tanks to burn until nearly empty. This reduces the weight in the wings first. Then switch to ALL for both selectors and you will first burn the fuel in the external tanks, followed by the fuel in the center tanks.

You can easily set up the initial tank contents using the Fuel and Payloads menu and then control fuel burn using the fuel panel. For short missions you may wish to fill only the center tanks and external tanks. The external tanks should always be full on takeoff as they add stability to the aircraft. You can use the fuel transfer command (not found on the panel but available as a keystroke or joystick button command) to set the fuel transfer either forward, aft, or automatic for the center tanks.

Autopilot

The autopilot is a full-featured unit with IAS and Mach hold adjustments

Radio Stack

The radio stack has the usual radios plus the electric system switches. This plane has only a single NAV and COM radio.

Throttle Quadrant

The throttle quadrant has the usual controls for throttle position as well as the engine start switches. The switches are ganged together to simulate an eight-engine aircraft. Switches 1-2 will start Engine 1, switches 3-4 will start Engine 2, and so on. Trim controls for all three axes are found on this popup.

Other Controls

Clicking on the seat icon in the extreme lower left corner of the instrument panel will bring up the seat height adjustment. Restore the yoke using the yoke icon, hidden behind the yoke. The checklist, map, and GPS are viewed using the standard icons.

EVS Panel

The main difference is that the EVS panel has an MFD instead of the terrain-following display.