Because of the high UFO speed that can be attained, move the joystick only very slightly and carefully. Do NOT exceed 88,000 feet AGL, as the AlienUFO may get into an almost irrecoverable spin. It is recommended to switch ON the frame-friendly 3D-HUD, even though some gauges are then redundant. It really helps keeping the UFO under control
First learn how to fly this complex AlienUFO at low to moderate speeds, with only engine-1 & -2 switched ON. It flies a bit like a Harrier jet fighter plane, but I did not manage to have it hover at zero speed.
Use one hand for the mouse and the other hand for the joystick, because you need to operate the panel switches a lot while in flight. Always move the joystick smoothly and calmly, never make sudden movements.
C H E C K L I S T :
JOYSTICK
1 - Make sure Autorudder is OFF
2 - Calibrate the joystick if necessary
FUEL
1 - Fill up all fuel tanks to 100%. Fuel cross feed is fully automatic
2 - If you run out of fuel, and your FS2002 has 'unlimited fuel' checked on, then you can keep on flying another zillennium, however, then keep in mind that the craft is lighter
3 - There are no fuel gauges in the cockpit
GRAVITY GEAR
1 - The Gravity Gear is in fact a alpha gravity pull vector that keeps the UFO floating just above the ground
2 - In the water, the gear has a mild braking effect on horizontal movement, as it has in the air
3 - On the ground, the gear may be somewhat unstable, rocking the UFO a little bit, along with some Alien sounds. Usually it means that the fuel tanks are empty or that the MFD (Magnetic Field Disruptor explained in 'read-UFO-description document') is ON
PANEL ILLUMINATION
1 - You can switch the panel to bright bronze or greenish color with the switch underneath the AImap on the left circular panel
2 - In dusk and night, the panel is bronze, with varying intensities. The color switch allows you to manually choose between the two colors
3 - The Alien head incorporates a Too Low Terrain indicator and a radar. Activate the radar by the middle icon button on top left triangle overhead panel
4 - Main HUD (3D) ON/OFF by clicking on the left icon on left triangle overhead panel
5 - Aux GUD ON/OFF by clicking on the left icon on the left triangle overhead panel
START ENGINES
1 - Master switch ON and Avionics ON. Switch ON the Landing & Anti Collision Lights if you want
2 - Gravity pull ON by hitting the / key
3 - Park Brake ON, by hitting CTRL-. (control dot)
4 - Hit F1 once, to set throttles at zero
5 - Hit F5 once, to set vertical magnetic field disruptor at zero
6 - First start engine-1, Leave engines-2, -3 & -4 OFF. Do NOT use CTRL-E, because that will start all engines. Use the engine switches on right triangle overhead panel
7 - Apply reverse thrust with F2 if UFO starts moving on its own. Do not brake, because Park Brake is already ON
8 - Reverse won't work in the water
9 - Park brake OFF by hitting the . key
10 - The switche underneath the GPS is a for GPS autopilot nav control (right position)
11 - Unclutter the AImap by clicking the left AImap button
12 - Adjust the GPS as needed
13 - Switch ON the EICAS by clicking the second top left button for N2 power monitoring
14 - Toggle the seatbelts and no-smoking signs as needed
TAXI
1 - Engine-1 is running
2 - Release Park Brake
3 - Taxi speed should be around 8 or 9 knots
4 - Steer with Rudder (for example by twisting the joystick, if it has that feature), NOT with banking
NEAR-VERTICAL TAKE-OFF
1 - Engine-1 is running. Now start Engine-2
2 - Hit F8, for maximum MFD
3 - Set Trim at AUTO (left overhead panel)
4 - Open throttles gradually
5 - Ease the joystick backwards to lift off
6 - Gear up, or if you take-off from water then leave it up
7 - Ease the joystick forward to level the UFO
TRANSITION TO HORIZONTAL FLIGHT
1 - After near-vertical take-off, hit F6 a few times to gradually decrease MFD
2 - Set Trim Auto OFF
3 - Level the UFO to horizontal position and adjust the trim by clicking in the center. Do not use auto trim at high speed. Fly like a small jet
4 - Start engines-3 & -4 to add extra power for extreme speed and climb. You can exceed Mach 3.5 at low altitude
5 - Ignore the Overspeed signal. The UFO will remain stable at maximum speed anyway
6 - From approx 60,000 feet ASL, Mach 4.7 can be reached
7 - Do not exceed altitude of 88,000 feet. Beyond that, the UFO may get into a spin that is very hard to recover (explained later)
8 - Autopilot works well till approx 60,000 feet ASL. But make sure the Trim is adjusted correctly
TAKING TURNS AT HIGH SPEED
1 - Make sure FS2002 has autorudder OFF
2 - Use only joystick that has rudder capability
3 - Use rudder to go left or right, and the AlienUFO will bank by itself. Exit the turn by banking to straight level. But you can also apply conventional turning technique.
4 - To speed up the turn, ease the joystick slightly backwards for socalled G-turns
5 - To end the turn, keep rudder centered and use only banking (NOT Rudder) to level off the UFO
6 - When exiting high speed G-turns, it is best to do so with a roll, in order to get rid of excessive inertia
QUITTING A SPIN AT above 100,000 feet AGL
1 - Switch OFF engines-2 & -3 & -4
2 - Close throttle
3 - Gravity pull ON by hitting the / key
4 - MFD ON by hitting F8
5 - Autopilot underneath panel at Hold/Level
6 - UFO may stall at Mach 4+
7 - Do nothing and wait until UFO stabilizes under 88,000 feet. It may take a few minutes
8 - Put UFO into a steep dive with MFD OFF by hitting F5
9 - Halfway, say 40,000 feet, switch ON the other engines again
DESCENT, APPROACH AND SHORT LANDING
1 - Switch off engines 3- & -4
2 - Pitch down
3 - At approx 8,000 feet, if you are over Mach speed, hit the / Gravity Pull key and immediately hit it again once speed is below Mach 0.5
4 - Reduce power as needed
4 - At approx 1,500 feet Radar Altitude, hit F7 once to increase MFD
5 - Pitch down
6 - Open throttles
7 - Gravity Gear ON and Park Brake ON, or leave it up if you want to land on water
8 - Auto Trim ON
9 - Pitch up towards horizontal level
10 - At approx 200 feet Radar Altitude, hit F8 for maximum MFD. Speed approx 25 KIAS
11 - Keep the UFO to horizontal position. Use pitch as needed
12 - Just before touch down, hit the / Gravity Pull key
13 - Apply short bursts of full throttle to touch down smoothly. Do not exceed 1000 feet per minute of vertical descent
14 - Shut down engines, but leave engine-1 ON for taxiing to the gate. Park Brake OFF and taxi at approx 8 KIAS
HORIZONTAL LOW/MEDIUM SPEED FLIGHT
1 - Use only engine-1 or engines-1 & -2
2 - Hit F8 to set MFD maximum
3 - Set Trim AUTO
4 - Open throttles and lift off
5 - Hit F5 and immediately F7 twice to set MFD at second position
6 - Pitch slightly forward to move horizontally
7 - Start engines -3 & -4 to add more power, if necessary
8 - Use gravity pull, using the / key, to further reduce horizontal speed
9 - This way of flying requires more throttle
10 - Speeds between approx 50-120 KIAS
VERY SLOW HORIZONTAL FLIGHT
1 - Use 2 or 3 engines, as needed. It will not produce sideslip or yaw to have 3 engines active
2 - Gravity pull ON, by hitting the / key
3 - Hit F5, then F7 twice or thrice to set MFD at second or third position
4 - Full throttle for lift-off
5 - Speed approx 40 KIAS
6 - Take turns with Rudder rather than banking. Exit turns by centering Rudder and it will level by itself. But you can try conventional turns as well. Just do all maneuvers smoothly
7 - It flies a bit like a very heavy sluggish helicopter
TAKING TURNS AT LOW SPEED
1 - Engines-1 & -2 ON
2 - MFD (F7) in first or second position
3 - Speed approx 80-150 KIAS
4 - Use rudder/banking to make turns. Anticipate end of turn by letting the UFO level off by itself and by counter-banking by the pilot (you). Exit
5 - This turning technique is used for example at slow flight, much like a helicopter
6 - Use throttle to change altitude
7 - Use pitch and throttle to change speed
LANDING LIKE A NORMAL AIRPLANE
1 - Shut OFF engines -3 & -4
2 - MFD OFF by hitting F5 once
3 - Close throttles
4 - Approach at approx 180-210 knots
5 - Gravity Gear down and Park Brake ON, or leave gear up if you want to land on water
6 - Before outer marker, reduce speed to approx 100 knots
7 - Touchdown and apply reverse by hitting F2
8 - Do NOT brake, because park brake is ON
9 - Shut OFF engines, but leave engine-1 ON to taxi to the gate at approx 8 KIAS
ALTERNATIVE LANDING LIKE A NORMAL AIRPLANE
1 - Leave only engine-1 running while on approach
2 - Gravity Gear down
3 - Park Brake ON
4 - Before outer marker, reduce speed to approx 100 knots
5 - Touchdown and apply reverse by hitting F2
6 - Do NOT brake, because park brake is ON
7 - Gravity pull ON, by hitting the / key
8 - Release Park Brake
9 - Leave engine-1 ON to taxi to the gate at approx 8 KIAS
10 - At gate parking lot, put Park Brake ON
LANDING ON WATER
1 - You can land the UFO on water as above, like a normal airplane, or using the short landing technique
2 - Leave gear up, but if gear is down, the UFO will not sink right away
3 - Once in the water, a special effect shows bubbles and steam. The UFO is then hot and needs to cool down. It has further no implications on the operation of the craft
4 - Another way of land on the water is by short-landing
5 - Land with care and avoid excessive vertical speed
AUT0PILOT
1 - From take-off to cruising altitude (approx 60,000 ASL), you can use autopilot. At the lower altitudes, do not exceed Mach speed
2 - AUT ARM (auto throttle) does not work. Auto Level must be switched manually
3 - Autopilot will not work correctly if gravity pull or MFD is ON
4 - Better never use autopilot, except for holding altitude and level at low to medium speed. Just fly like Luke Skywalker
5 - Autopilot with GPS works well up to half speed, i.e. Mach 2.4
6 - If you use GPS NAV and Hold ALT at high speed high altitude, then it works best at 63,000 AGL Mach 4.7 . When approaching the desired altitude, reduce vertical speed to approx 100 feet/minute
7 - If you use Flight Planner for GPS NAV, it is recommended to take Direct GPS, because at mach 4+ speeds it takes very long turns and ALT hold won't work well. In any case, do NOT use AUTO Trim when using Autopilot, unless the UFO does not remain properly level
8 - For long low level flights over the ocean, try hold approx 500 feet ASL and switch wing leveller ON. This is real cool if you fly at dawn towards the rising sun. As the sun rises, the panel color will gradually change from bronze to green
WATER SPEEDING
1 - Gravity pull ON, with the / key
2 - On water, start engine-1 & -2
3 - Hit F5 to set MFD at zero
4 - Gravity pull OFF, with the / key. But you can try leave it ON if you want low speed
5 - Do not pitch up or down with the joystick, or only very very slightly to avoid crashing into the water
6 - Increase throttles gradually, little by little
7 - You can reach Mach speed over the water surface if you play it cool. It takes some practice
8 - Taking high speed turns on the water is risky. The UFO may crash & splash
9 - Turn by using only the Rudder, like a boat, not by Banking
BEAM DOWN CROPCIRCLES
1 - Park on the ground or on the water, or fly as slow as possible at horizontal level at approx 100 feet AGL
2 - Hit the S key 3 times to see the UFO from outside
3 - Turn the view such that you look at the front side of the UFO
4 - Hit the i key to see the effects AND hit the i key immediately again to switch off the effects
5 - To see the cropcircle on the ground, view the UFO from rather above when hitting the i key
6 - The cropcircle actually comes from just behind the UFO Light Beam that leaves the cropcircle behind the flight path
7 - At higher altitude, moderate speed, the UFO will pass through a warp field, lots of colored starry lights around the craft. When you view the UFO from behind, from a larger distance, then you can see the huge warp field entirely
8 - If you beam down cropcircles too often one after the other, FS2002 may crash and ask for a restart, so do it sparsely and fly some time before doing it again
9 - Make sure that, when you hit the i key for beaming down cropcircles, you hit the i key again to switch off the effect, to avoid travelling with a beam of light all the time. Unless you want that of course
10 - Sometimes, the first time you beam down a cropcircle, only a tiny beam extends behind the UFO. Just beam again, and the proper beam will extend from the UFO correctly
