The following draft is about half of a "task oriented" training syllabus that I sent in some time ago. One of my suggestions was that newbies would get their first 5 days in the TA and then 10 days in any arena. But if they passed this (or like syllabus) with a trainer, then they could go on to any arena even if the first five days were not up.
Aces High II
Primary Flight Syllabus – Single-Engine FighterWelcome to Aces High II primary flight school. This syllabus covers the essentials you need to successfully start flying aircraft in Aces High II. The training is "task-oriented," meaning you are quickly helped off the runway into basic combat on your first flight. You start by choosing a plane and weapons, adjust your views, then take off for a sortie, attack a ground target, engage in air-to-air combat (if online with a flight instructor), and then return to your base to land. You get a rich taste of what it is like to fly in Aces High II in about an hour.
If you invest a little time to practice the following exercises you will acquire the skills and confidence you need to successfully fly sorties and to progress up the ladder in your combat prowess.
Help and Setup Notes:
• Check our online Help pages here
• If you have not done so already, download and install the Aces High II software. Get AH II software here. Follow the installation steps.
• Follow the configuration steps here to make sure AH II video and audio is set for maximum performance according to your PC's video and audio capability.
• It is strongly recommended to use a joystick with throttle to fly in Aces High II. Even an inexpensive joystick helps a great deal. Follow the stick calibration and setup steps here.
• It is highly recommended to have a microphone in order to communicate by voice. Follow the setup steps here.
For problems, contact us at:
• Support email:
support@hitechcreations.com • Or US phone: 817-251-1540[/list]
Launch the Aces High II program and log in
Online
• If you have scheduled a session with an AH II Flight Instructor, go to the Online Arenas and from there to the Training Arena. Your Flight Instructor should contact you in the Training Arena.
• Your Flight Instructor will explain the meaning of various items, choices and selections, and assist in solving setup and calibration problems. In addition, your Flight Instructor will give you valuable pointers on all aspects of flying in Aces High II.
Offline
• You can practice nearly all the exercises in this syllabus in the Offline Arena. The exception is Air-to-Air Combat.
Whether you choose an online or offline session, you should first appear in the Tower of an airbase, with the clipboard open to the map display page.
You can open the text buffer for text messages by pressing the / key.
Primary Flight Syllabus – Tasks and Checklist
1. PreflightApproximate time: 8 minutes
• You should be in the Tower. If not already visible, press the ESC key to pull up the Clipboard. Note: the Clipboard contains many option settings and much information that are crucial to flying in AH II.
• Verify your airfield location on clipboard map (find the small airplane icon on the map)
• Locate a target airfield on the map to attack during your practice mission (suggest a nearby Medium field)
• Click Hangar to go to the Hangar and the hangar page of the clipboard
• Find F6F-5 on the list of planes and vehicles and click it
• On the clipboard, click Attack to score this flight as Attack
• Click the barrels, bombs and missiles on the hangar floor to load 50% fuel, 250 lb bombs, and missiles
• At the top right of the clipboard click Set Convergence
• Mouse over, and then mouse-drag the point of convergence of each of the three gun-sets to 300
• On the clipboard's lower left click a square in the "START FLIGHT" pane to spawn on the runway. (Click any square other than "H")
• Use your stick's Hat views or Key Pad views to look at your right wing
• While viewing your right wing, move your joystick from side to side and make sure the aileron at the end of the wing moves up and down. (If the ailerons do not move you need to check and reconfigure your stick settings.)
• Release the joystick
Setting your cockpit views
• Position each Hat view (or Key Pad view) for the best view out of the cockpit using ARROW keys, and the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys, and save each Hat view by pressing the F10 key.
• On the cockpit dash in front of you, locate and check gauges:
o ALT (Altimeter), Airspeed, Landing Gear lights green, etc.
o Verify the fuel gauge shows 50%
o Press the BACKSPACE key several times slowly to verify the ordinance you selected (bombs and missiles) appears in the weapons select panel, and reset to machine guns
• Set your Throttle to idle (pull it all the way back)
• Go back to the Tower by typing in the text buffer .ef (i.e. (dot)ef ) and press , OR click "End Sortie" on the clipboard menu
• On the clipboard go to Options > Preferences > Flight and check the boxes beside the options Auto-Takeoff, Enable Stall Limiter, Auto Combat Trim (but leave "no tracers" unchecked) and click OK.
Note: This syllabus is designed to cover many tasks at a brisk pace, so auto-takeoff is used to get you in the air quickly. After you get used to handling the aircraft in flight you should invest time to learn how to take off manually. Be aware that there is no auto-landing in AH II, so you will perform a landing when you return to base from your sortie.
2. Takeoff and climb-outApproximate time: 3 minutes
• On the clipboard in the "START FLIGHT" pane click any square other than H. You spawn to the runway, the engine starts automatically and "Auto take off enabled" appears in the center of the screen
• Rest your hand lightly on the joystick without moving it
• Increase throttle to 100%
• Press the P key to engage WEP (provides more engine power)
The plane takes off automatically (note lift-off speed) Landing gear retracts automatically (verify the green LG lights go out)
• Verify that the Autoclimb light is on
• At an altitude of 1,500 feet (i.e. the short-hand of Altimeter gauge is on 1, the long-hand is on 5) press the P key to turn WEP off. Keep the throttle at 100% and keep climbing
• Gently move the joystick right and left to disengage Autoclimb. You should see that the plane now moves around as you move the stick.
• Keep your wings level and maintain your climb manually to 2000 feet (the short-hand of Altimeter on 2, the long-hand on 0)
• Maintain 150 knot climb speed
• Press the G key to lower Landing Gear, verify the LG lights go on, first to yellow, then to green
• Press G to raise Landing Gear, verify the LG lights out
• At 2000 feet simultaneously press ALT and X keys for Autoclimb (verify the Autoclimb light is on and that the plane stabilizes)
• Test flaps by pressing the Q key once to lower flaps one notch (out of five notches)
• Press the W key once to retract flaps
• In the text buffer type .speed 175 (i.e. (dot)speed 175) and press Note how the plane automatically changes climb rate and attitude
• Climb to 4000 feet and disengage the Autoclimb (verify the light goes out)
• Press the X key to engage Autopilot for level flight (verify light on)
3. Level FlightApproximate time: 4 minutes
• Use Hat switch button or Key Pad keys to scan the sky all around your plane, upward and downward, and especially rearward.
• Look through the gunsight
• Press the Z key to zoom
• Press the ] key to increase zoom
• Press the [ key to decrease zoom
• Set zoom to an intermediate magnification
• Press Z to return to normal view
• Pull up the clipboard and click E6B
• Set the throttle to 100%, then press Key Pad "–" (i.e. minus) key four times to decrease RPM (verify Gallons Per Hour-GPH, Time Remaining, and Range change)
• Press the Key Pad "+" key four times to increase RPM
• Stow the clipboard
• While at 4000 feet altitude, disengage Autopilot and bank left 30 degrees, pull back on the stick slightly, and perform an easy 360 degree turn (a complete circle in level flight) and return to original heading and maintain your 4000 feet altitude
• Engage the Autopilot again (X key) for level flight
4. Air to Ground Approximate time: 10 minutes
• Pull up the clipboard and verify your position on clipboard map
• On the map, right click the target base you chose at the beginning of the mission and near the bottom of the pop-up menu list select "
[target #] status" (for example "A83 status")
• Check the status of Ord, Radar, Troops, Hangars
• Verify that the Bombers are "Enabled" (i.e. the bomber hangars are undamaged)
• Right click anywhere on the clipboard map. At the bottom of the pop up menu list click Clipboard Maps. On the side page that opens, at the top, open the drop-down menu of Clipboard map, and open Medium air field
• On the Medium air field map, locate the position of a bomber hanger on the airfield to attack
• Re-verify your current position on clipboard map
• Press BACKSPACE to select your bombs and verify on the cockpit weapons select panel that bombs appear
• In the text buffer type .salvo 1 (i.e. (dot)salvo 1) and press
This means only one bomb is released per press of the B key
• Look out the cockpit to try to observe the target base visually. Use zoom
• Try to visually acquire your targeted bomber hangar
• When the bomber hangar is visible, fly level to it until very near the base [/list]
Included were several other tasks including A to A, landing, the rearm pad, and .S
I also suggest that similar task oriented training be available for bombers, GVs etc.
All the best
