de profundis wrote in Fri May 31, 2013 10:30 am:Attention all Airmen:
the FlightGear Cross-Country Tutorial II - a VFR guide
has reached 2.0 status
(snip)
the link for 2.0 is in the opening post of this thread
dp
I dug those two seconds outta my pocket, downloaded the new manual, and it is so righteous and excellent that my jaw hit the floor.
The superlative detail, and the depth of De-Profundis' explanations of what could be very confusing aeronautical concepts is excellently done, and I feel more like I'm taking a well prepared class rather than just reading some obscure flight-simmers document somewhere.
The typical, run-of-the-mill aeronautical document of this kind, is usually written for someone with several thousand hours in the air, has been around the block a few times, and is well steeped in all of the usual aeronautical "air-speak" gobbledygook, leaving the rest of us wondering what the &*#^! just happened.
By comparison, De-Profundis' tutorial is written in simple enough language that someone who is interested in flying, (and knows the difference between the rudder and the propeller), can pick up his tutorial, begin reading, and feel right at home. The illustrations and notes are both simple and complete. He gives you enough knowledge to understand the complex concepts involved, without overwhelming you in details.
At the same time he carefully avoids the pitfall of talking down to his audience. By comparison, the tone of the tutorial is that of an old flying buddy passing along tips and techniques the way fliers have done for generations. Instead of being made to feel stupid, you feel that your flying buddy has given you a pat on the shoulder, complemented you on your flying skills, and invited you into that inner-circle of experienced flyers everywhere. He's invited you into the cockpit, and is carefully showing you how to get from here to there with a minimum of trouble and a maximum of airmanship and skill.
As something of a writer myself, I realize the skill required - not just to write the tutorial itself, but to write it in such a way that the reader feels included and complemented - is a rare skill indeed, and one that is sorely lacking in the writing community at large. (And this is a skill that I, myself, as a writer still struggle with.)
In short, this tutorial has earned an honored place in my collection of Flight Sim documents, and if you have not yet read it, I encourage you to do so.
Jim (JR)