VC10 Panel Manual
Panel Manual Checklists Flying Tips

Main Centre Autopilot Fuel Ignition Overhead Radios
Main Panel
 Airspeed Indicator

Displays Indicated Airspeed (IAS) in Knots.
The needle travels round one & a half times from 0 to 450 kt.  Because of this the scale is split at 200 kt& continues on the inner section.
The yellow/black barber pole shows the maximum allowed speed (VMO & MMO).  If this speed is exceeded the overspeed warning will be given.
The bugs around the outside can be used to mark important speeds as a reference. Clicking on the Speed Reference Chart (on the centre panel) will automatically set the bugs to important reference speeds depending on your situation.
At non-flying speeds (under 100kt), the four bugs will be set for takeoff and will mark VR, V2, Climb Speed & Flaps Up Safety speed.
If you are at flying speed, the bugs will be set for landing and will mark Flaps Up Safety Speed, Minimum speed with 35 deg flaps, Minimum with 45 deg flaps & Vat (Landing speed at runway threshold).
The bugs can also be moved manually.  Click the bottom half of the gauge to toggle the 'current' bug  (the current bug is yellow). Click in the top half of the gauge to move the current bug.
Note: Previous versions of the VC10 panel used the Airspeed indicator to select the speed for Auto Throttle.  This version of the panel now has a proper Auto Throttle unit (on the Auto Pilot window) to set the Auto Throttle speed.
Attitude Indicator 

Visual representation of the aircraft's bank & pitch angles.
The scale across the top shows marks for 0, 10, 20, 30 degrees of bank.  The outer mark is at 45 degrees.
The scale on the inside shows a pitch scale up to 25 degrees in either direction.
The two diamonds show the required bank & pitch from the flight director.  The idea is that if you keep the diamonds on the ends of the wings, you are on the correct course.
The Flight Director can be used with or without the autopilot being switched on, but only if the relevant NAV & ALT hold modes are selected on the autopilot panel.
When the Flight Director is inactive a red flag shows bottom right.

Altimeter

Displays height above sea level in feet.
The number at the top is the altitude hold setting.  This is the value that the autopilot will hold when the 'ALT' button is pressed.  Alter the setting by clicking either side of the value.
Altimeters need to be adjusted according to local pressure readings.  These readings are given out by ATC & also by ground information radio channels at airports.
The VC10 gives this pressure setting in two commonly used units.  The picture on the left shows a setting of 1013 (millibars) or 2991 (inches of mercury)
You can click either side of these numbers to increase or decrease the pressure setting.

HSI   (Horizontal Situation Indicator)

Also known as CDI (Course Direction Indicator)
Visual representation of the aircraft's heading & the aircraft's position in relation to any beacon tuned in on the NAV1 receiver.
This gauge also sets the Heading & Course values which are used in the 'HEADING' & 'LOC/VOR' modes of the autopilot.  Click on the relevant dial (bottom left & right) to adjust these values.
The Heading bug is triangular & the Course bug is pointed.  The course setting is also shown by the numbers in the centre section.
There are localizer & Glideslope indicators on the centre section.  Each one returns to it's central position & shows a flag if there is no signal currently being received.
The localizer line moves sideways relative to the Course bug.  The four dots provide a scale with the outer dots being the maximum deflection of the instrument.
The Glideslope line moves up & down, again with dots showing the maximum deflection top & bottom.
The gauge pictured here is from an aircraft that is already turning left to settle onto the localizer beam (course 057) & which is flying below the glideslope.

VSI   (Vertical Speed Indicator)

Shows the vertical speed in thousands of feet per minute.

Machmeter

Shows the Mach number for the current air speed & altitude.
It is also used to set the MACH hold value for the autopilot.  The bug can be moved by clicking either side of the gauge with the mouse.  Click the right side to increase the speed, click the left side to decreases it.
The machmeter shown in the picture is not going fast enough to register a Mach number, so the needle points down.  The bug is set at Mach 0.5

VOR  (VHF Omnidirectional Range)

If you tune your NAV1 or NAV2 receiver to the frequency of a VOR beacon, the VOR instrument will automatically display the direction to you.
The single lined arrow shows the direction for NAV1 & the double lined arrow is for NAV2.
A VOR beacon radiates separate beams for every degree of the compass.

DME   (Distance Measuring Equipment)

This gauge displays the distance to any DME supporting beacon that is tuned into your NAV1 receiver.  It displays distance in nautical miles.
Most VOR & ILS becons support DME, but some do not.
If no DME signal is being received, the gauge shows a yellow line across the numbers.
Later DME equipment also displayed ground speed & estimated time to the beacon.  This information is available if you move over the gauge with the mouse cursor.

Radio Altimeter

Displays the aircraft's height over the ground directly below it.  It gives an accurate & reliable reading during approach & landing.
This gauge is also used to set the decision height for landing.  The decision height bug can be moved by clicking either side of the gauge with the mouse.  Click the right side to increase the decision height, click the left side to decreases it.

Decision Height Indicator

This lights up when the aircraft reaches the decision height that is set on the Radio Altimeter.
If the runway can not be seen at this point, or the approach is not good, the landing should be aborted.

ADF  (Automatic Direction Finder)

If you tune your ADF receiver to the frequency of an ADF beacon, this instrument will automatically show the direction to that beacon.
The orange arrow shows the ADF direction.  The double lined arrow is for any beacon on NAV2.
ADF beacons are less complex devices than VOR beacons.  They only emit a single signal & are less accurate.

Turn Coordinator

Shows a central position with three standard rate markers each for left & right turns.
The outer marker shows a standard 2 minute rate turn (time taken for a full 360 degree turn).
The middle marker shows a half rate turn (ie. it would take 4 mins to do a 360 degrees turn).
The inner marker (half line) shows quarter rate.
It is usual to use only half rate (or 4 min turn rate) in a large jet.
The turn is considered 'coordinated' when the bubble indicator is central.

Speed Reference Chinagraph

The crew had to work out the correct takeoff & landing speeds for their flight & would write them down on a little chinagraph.
If you click this little pad it will calculate & write down the correct speeds for you.
It works out the speeds according to the charts in the flight manual for the VC10's current weight.

V1 - Max speed to abort takeoff  (The V1 given is only a guess, as it depends on runway length)
Vr - Rotate speed (Takeoff)
V2 - Safe flying speed (Takeoff)
Vat - Landing speed (At runway threshold with full flap)

Auto Throttle

Click to toggle the auto throttle on or off.  The A/T light is lit when the aircraft's auto throttle is operating.
Autothrottle is not linked to either 'IAS' or 'MACH' hold on the autopilot.  These hold the speed by altering pitch alone.
The A/T speed is set using the bug on the airspeed indicator.
With auto throttle active, the pilot has no control over the throttles.
Auto throttle only operates up to 200 kt.

OMI  (Outer Middle Inner markers)

These indicators light up in turn when the aircraft is over the relevant marker during the approach to an airport.
Blue for Outer, Orange for Middle, White for Inner.
Not every airport will have all of these markers.

Stopwatch

Counts minutes & seconds.
Click to start, click again to stop, click again to reset to zero.
If you stop over it with the mouse it gives the current time in FS.


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