Notes on X-plane Cirrus FJ50

 These are notes I made while learning to fly the Cirrus Jet SJ-50 in X-plane Mobile. I’ve tried to put in some of the many mistakes I made while learning.

Start-up

Start-up is really simple. I never really had problems, unlike with the 737-800 which took trial and error. I think the proper procedure is to enter the flight plan and then start the engine.

Flight plan

Basically, you can start by turning on battery 1 and 2, and the avionics go on automatically. Then you can enter the flight plan.

Start-up

Turn on the nav lights (not necessary in a simulator but just as a good habit). Then switch on the engine lever to Run and push the start button. Voila!Following that, turn on the generators and the rest of the buttons under the main flight display except for the takeoff lights. 

Taxiing

Taxiing is supposed to be at 20 knots and 10 knots in turns. My mistakes here were that for a long time I didn’t realize you can’t simply look at the airspeed, but have to find the ground speed indicator. On the Cirrus jet it’s at the top of the MFD. also, I used to tilt the device to turn, not realizing you are supposed to use the rudder (right on top of the mobile landing gear button). Though sometimes on the simulator it’s easier to use the tilt at higher speeds.

Lights 

The navigation lights should be on before you start the engine. The strobe lights should be on when taxiing.

Setting autopilot

Once the flight plan is in the computer, you can prepare the autopilot. Press FD, then NAV, which makes the horizontal flight path. Then press FLC, and use the wheel to set a reasonable climb speed, for example 160 knots. Then set the altitude to the top of climb, and the right panel above the PFD should read

FLC 160K ALTS

Note that it’s important to set the altitude after setting FLC in the autopilot.

Takeoff

Then you are ready to take off. First, set the takeoff lights (landing and strobe). Set the flaps to the first setting. Then set the throttle to about 40 percent, and when it stabilizes, release the parking brake and set the throttle to full. You’re on your way. Note that the rudders are quite sensitive.Try to keep the plane in the middle of the runway. When you reach 90 knots, pull the yoke back, and in a few seconds the plane will take off.Once you’re off the ground and climbing, retract the landing gear. At about 1000 feet, retract the flaps and turn the autopilot on. The plane ideally will follow the flight plan route, and climb at the sped you set. Increasing the throttle will increase the rate of climb. One thing to be careful about is to NOT leave the throttle at 100% through the climb. Otherwise, when you hit the top of the climb you will likely over speed. Reduce the throttle to about 70%.

Cruise

When you reach the target altitude (the blue number on top of the altimeter), the plane will level off, and you can enjoy the scenery. One thing to make sure is that you don’t go too fast.

NOTE: if you reach the set altitude and the plane keeps climbing, chances are the throttle is too high and the plane keeps climbing to avoid overspeeding. If this happens, reduce the throttle and the plane should eventually settle at the set altitude.

Detours

Descent

The descent phase is fairly easy, but you have to be careful of some things. If you have programmed the flight correctly, then after you pass the waypoint where the cruise altitude has been last entered, then you will see a panel under the flight plan panel showing when the descent will begin and the angle. You can change the angle by pressing the DES PROFILE button at the bottom of the MFD.

Approach

There are different types of approaches. For all approaches, however, you need to start by activating it. Before you arrive at the IAF, open Process in the flight plan and select Activate approach. Depending on the type of approach, the procedure will differ.

ILS

Landing