Cockpit Instruments

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This picture shows the different instruments in the cockpit.  Each plane will have a different layout, and some of the instruments will be different.  Use this as a general guide to learn the different instruments. 
In addition to the regular instruments, there is a Heads Up Display in the upper right corner of the screen.  A real WWII airplane did not have the HUD, but it is included in game because some instruments are harder to read in game then they would be in real life.
Cockpit Instruments

1. Airspeed Indicator - White line shows your indicated airspeed, red marker shows your true airspeed. Indicator reads in MPH.
2. Compass
3. Ordnance Display - Selected ordnance and count
4. Gunsight
5. Slip Indicator - Ball indicator shows slip/skid
6. Flap Position Indicator
7. Propellor RPM Indicator
8. Oil Pressure
9. Manifold Pressure Gauge
10. Fuel Tank Quantity and Fuel Tank Selection - Shows quantity of tanks and which tank is currently selected. You can run in auto mode which will select tanks for CG balance.
11. Surface Trim Indicators - Shows position of rudder, elevator and aileron trim tabs
12. Accelerometer - Number of G's aircraft is pulling
13. Beacon - Shows your connection status to the host
      Grayed out - Nothing wrong
      Green - Slight variance
      Yellow - Problem exists
      Red - Your connection is being lost
14. Landing Gear Indicator - Green indicates gear down, grayed out indicates gear retracted, yellow indicates gear in transit.
15. Clock - Shows current server time if online, adjusted time if set offline
16. Auto-pilot Indicator
17. Clipboard - Used for maps, roster, and mission planning
18. Combat Trim Indicator
19. Altimeter - Shows your current altitude in feet
20. Turn and Bank Indicator
21. Compass
22. Vertical Speed Indicator - Climb/descent speed in thousands of feet per minute
23. Artificial Horizon
24. Engine Temperature
Two instruments that need a little more explanation are the altimeter, and the airspeed indicator.  Both of these are available in the Heads Up Display in the upper right corner of your screen.
 
The altimeter shows your altitude above sea level.  There are three pointers, the big hand (like a clock), the little hand, and the red outer pointer.  The big hand shows hundreds of feet.  The little hand shows thousands of feet.  And the red outer pointer shows tens of thousands of feet.  You need to be able to read this at a glance. (Note:  The red pointer can be hard to see on some displays)

So this altimeter is showing an altitude of 2,500 feet.

Altimeter: 2500 feet


 This altimeter is showing an altitude of just over 12,600 feet.
Altimeter: 12,600 feet



Now the airspeed indicator is a little more interesting.  In airplanes, we have three speeds to measure:  The indicated airspeed, the true airspeed, and the ground speed.  In real airplanes, there are actually a few more, but in Aces High, we only have to deal with these three.
 
In a car, the speedometer tells you how fast you are traveling over the ground, based on how fast the tires are turning.  In an airplane, the airspeed indicator tells you how fast you are traveling through the air.  On an airplane there is a small tube called a pitot tube (pronounced pē-tow).  The airspeed is measured by the force of the air pushing into the pitot tube as the plane is flying. 
 
This gets a little more complicated because at higher altitudes, the air is thinner, which throws the measurements off.  So the airspeed indicator shows the "indicated airspeed", and the pilot has to make a correction to calculate the "true airspeed", or how fast the plane is really traveling through the air.

Airspeed Indicator

So in this picture, the indicated airspeed is 200 miles per hour.  The little red pointer is showing that our true airspeed is about 240 miles per hour. (Again, the red pointer is hard to see on some displays)  Real WWII airplanes didn't have the little red pointer.  The pilot had to make the calculation himself.
 
 The ground speed is a measure of how fast I am traveling over the ground, and is calculated based on the true airspeed, and the speed and direction of the wind.  So if the wind is blowing from the west at 20 mph, and I am flying west at 200 mpg TAS (True AirSpeed), then my ground speed is 180 mph.  If I turn around and fly east, my ground speed would be 220 mph. 
 
To calculate all these things, a pilot uses an instrument called an E6B.