In the most recent update of Infinite Flight, Version 18.06, the A-10 was reworked and received a brand new cockpit. For the first time in Infinite Flight, there are now live instruments in the cockpit. With this change, many pilots may be wondering how to use the new instruments and what each of them mean. This tutorial will thoroughly explain each animated part of the A-10 cockpit and how to use them. Now let’s get started!
| Letter | Instrument | Explained |
|---|---|---|
| A | Flap Position Indicator | This instrument gives the current position of your flaps. |
| B | Gear Lever | This lever, as seen in other aircraft in Infinite Flight, indicates the current position of your gear and moves when you press the “Gear” button in the systems page. |
| C | Airspeed Indicator | This instrument gives you your current airspeed of the aircraft. The speed that it’s giving you is your Indicates Airspeed (IAS). |
| D | Attitude Director Indicator* | This instrument gives you the current orientation of your aircraft relative to the horizon. Therefore, it shows your current pitch and roll of your aircraft. It also contains glideslope and localizer needles which help you fly the ILS to maintain properly aligned with the runway. See more information below on how to use them. |
| E | Horizontal Situation Indicator* | This instrument gives you your current heading in degrees and also has a localizer indicator which is the white line. Also, distance to ILS runway is given here. |
| F | Vertical Velocity Indicator* | This instrument gives you your current rate of climb or descent. |
| G | Altimeter | This instrument gives you your current altitude above mean sea level (MSL). |
| H | Interstage Turbine Temperature Indicators | These instruments are for both engines and they give you the current temperature of the engines. |
| I | Engine Core Speed Indicators | These instruments are for both engines and give you the current RPM of each engine in percent. |
| J | Engine Oil Pressure Indicators | These instruments are for both engines and give you the current oil pressure of each engine in pounds per square inch (PSI). |
| K | Fuel Flow Indicators | These instruments are for both engines and give you the current fuel flow for each engine in pounds per hour. |
| L | Fuel Quantity Indicator | This instrument simply states how much fuel your aircraft has on board. |
| M | Standby Compass | This is a simple compass that gives you your current direction. |
| N | Accelerometer | This instrument measures the current acceleration of the aircraft and the G-Forces. |
Many of the instruments that are animated in the A-10 are very simple and easy to learn so we will go over the more difficult ones. Each section below contains diagrams of the instruments to break down how they are used. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask the community for help down below. We are all here to help!
Attitude Director Indicator
As explained above, the Attitude Director Indicator shows the current orientation of your aircraft. Let’s break it down further. This instrument is an easy one to learn and is one of the most important in your aircraft.
Slip Indicator
Starting at the bottom, you will see a small ball. That is called a, “Slip Indicator” which shows the roll of your aircraft. As you roll left and right, you will see the ball move.
Horizon Line
This is simply the line that indicates the real world horizon to keep you oriented while flying. Going above the horizon line (white area) means you are climbing and going below (black area) means you are descending. The words, “CLIMB” and “DIVE” help you in this situation.
Pitch Scale Markers
These markers help you determine how much pitch you have in degrees. The first line from the horizon line represents 10 degrees and the second represents 20 degrees and so on.
ILS Glideslope and Localizer Needles
These yellow needles in the ADI act the same way as how our current ILS system works. You will see a yellow needle that is vertical come from either the left or the right going towards the center of the instrument. This is how you maintain on the Localizer of the runway you are approaching. Next, for the Glideslope, a horizontal yellow needle will move from either the upper part of the ADI or the lower part. The main goal when flying on the ILS is to see a perfect cross with both needles as seen below. Please take note that you are not able to manually change the ILS Runway you are on and you will have to go back to the HUD view to change it.
Vertical Velocity Indicator
First off, let’s locate the needle that points to the VS number. It is the white line pointing to “0” in the diagram above. That needle will move depending on your rate of climb. If you are climbing, it will move up and vice-versa for descending. It is also important to note that the numbers on the instrument are in thousands and the units are feet per minute. So for example, if the needle is pointing to the line between the “1” and “2,” you’re flying 1,500 feet per minute. Once again, this is an easy one to learn but if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask below. Let’s move on!
Horizontal Situation Indicator
Similar to the Attitude Director Indicator (ADI), this instrument has a Localizer on it to help you align with an ILS equipped runway. This instrument plays a major role which is that it tells you your current heading. You can find it in the upper right hand corner where it says, “Course” or you can look at the arrow at the top of the compass to see what heading the arrow is pointing to. Lastly, in the upper left hand corner of this instrument, it tells you how far away you are from the ILS equipped runway that you are currently on. Like always, leave any questions below!
