Take-off

Now that you have your aircraft completely prepared and you know what to do after take-off, it's time to set take-off thrust and have some fun! Since we've already briefed the take-off and initial climb procedure, I'll not be very detailed here - much of the information you need for the take-off were already presented in the briefing section.

When cleared for take-off/position and hold, turn the strobe lights on and enter the runway - you may want to run the lineup checklist here. If you are not going to takeoff immediately, set the brakes and wait for a takeoff clearance. Once you have been cleared, release the brakes and quickly set takeoff thrust. Keep tracking the runway centerline using the rudder. The aircraft will accelerate fast and it shouldn't take too long for the takeoff speed to be reached. At the takeoff speed, rotate the aircraft to about 7 degrees, retract the landing gear and make the necessary pitch corrections so that the aircraft can maintain a speed of 20~30 knots above takeoff speed. You are now in a safe speed, climbing away from the airport (but still on the runway heading). The take-off is as simple as that!

- In the hydraulics system (R1 icon):

1. Auxiliary hydraulic pump switch - OFF
We aren't using the brakes, so the auxiliary pump is not needed anymore.

--- RUN THE AFTER TAKEOFF CHECKLIST ---

Climb

The climb speed is not fixed, we'll climb at different speeds in different stages of the climb. Use the chart below to determine your appropriate climb speed.

At this point, I assume that you have approached the VOR station and turned right to intercept and track the 246 radial. I also expect that you are climbing on the radial with the appropriate speed (refer to the chart above). If you have really reached this point with no major problems, congratulations - you are a truly skilled pilot!!!

Time for some coffee. Using the autopilot

I encourage you to fly manually as much as possible, but since this part can get a little boring (it's just climbing at the right speed and keep tracking the radial!), I'll show you how to use the C-130 autopilot. Note that this autopilot is very primitive and may sometimes act strangely - if the autopilot does anything you don't agree to, I want you to immediately disengage it and fly manually. I also want you to disengage the autopilot and fly manually 10 miles before intercepting another VOR radial and another 10 miles after interception. The Smiths autopilot included is capable of holding altitudes or speeds, tracking a heading, VOR radial or ILS. That's everything it can do, really!

- In the autopilot panel (AP icon):

1. Turn the MODE SEL switch to the VOR/ILS1 position.
That will tell the autopilot that you want it to track a VOR radial.
2. Enage the autopilot by clicking on the engage button
With the autopilot engaged, you will be able to select how you want it to operate.
3. Activate the VOR1 course tracking by clicking on the track button
The autopilot will now control the ailerons to keep the aircraft always on the 246 radial.

The autopilot will follow the VOR radial you've selected on the HSI, but we still need to adjust it to climb. The climb options are limited: you can either make it hold the present airspeed (that would be the best option, but it's not working correctly) or control the pitch using the pitch button. Using the pitch button, find the pitch angle that will maintain the aircraft climbing at the proper climb speed... adjust it as necessary. That's how the autopilot works - simple, isn't it?!

Cruise

At this time, you should have climbed to 20,000ft (FL200) using the speeds provided in the chart, leveled off and adjusted power to maintain 290 knots of true airspeed - the true airspeed gauge is available on the navigator panel (N icon) only. For the first 212 miles of the flight, we'll continue to follow the LITTLE ROCK VOR's 246 radial. At about 100 DME from the station, open the radio stack (tower icon) and change the NAV1/NAV2 radios to the BONHAM VOR (BYP - 114.60) frequency - that will help on keeping the bearing needle always accurate. There is no need to change the course on the HSI - we are flying to the same place, just using another station as reference. The bearing needle should remain centered, but if there is a discrepancy you simply need to turn left or right to intercept and track the radial again.

After 60 miles of flying this new radial, we'll need to do another turn and finally head to the airport. Again, 10 miles before reaching the RANGER VOR, set the ABILENE VOR (ABI - 113.70) frequency on both NAV1 and NAV2 radios. Turn the course set knob to 250 - it is the only radial that passes both VOR stations. The bearing needle will go off center again, you just need to keep the present heading and turn right when appropriate. Intercept and track the radial as soon as possible, but avoid exceeding 30 degrees of bank - if you missed it the first time, just make the appropriate corrections to get on course.

That's how we cruise using VOR's as navigation aids. It is certainly more difficult than setting and FMC and watching the autopilot do the job, but it's no rocket science. One you get enough experience, that will certainly be your favorite way of flying. We're done with cruising... let's proceed to the descent.

Descent and approach

After more than an hour in cruise level, it's finally time to prepare and start the descent. We'll now review the approach, configure the aircraft for descent and start approaching the airport. Since the C-130 cruises in a much lower level than most of the jetliners (FL350 vs. FL200), our descent should take only about 10 minutes. Let's start the preparation to get this aircraft down to 5,000ft!

A little break for the descent and approach briefing...

Before actually starting the descend and approach, we need to brief the procedure in details - nothing can go wrong at this stage. I want you to read this section very carefully!

At about 45 miles from the ABILENE VOR (45 DME), move the throttles back to the flight idle position (flight idle, not ground idle!) and remain at FL200. This should yield a zero torque configuration, resulting in an economic powerless descent. When the airspeed comes close to 210 knots, push forward on the yoke and start a 2000 feet per minute descent; make the necessary adjustments to keep 210 knots then. I want you to keep a speed of about 210 knots and a descent rate of about 2000FPM - change attitude and throttle position as needed, but never let torque go negative. That attitude/speed should yield a near cruise speed descent and a good descent rate, allowing us to get down to 5,000ft (the initial approach fix altitude) in a fairly low time. During the descent, I still want to you track the 250 radial to the ABILENE VOR.

Before we continue, please download (and print, if possible) the Dyess AFB ILS RNW 34 and ILS RNW 16 approach plates at AirNav.com. Approach plates provide essential information about the procedure, which must be strictly followed. If you are unfamiliar with them, please take some time to read our "How to interpret approach plates" tutorial.

There are several limitations in both Flight Simulator and the Captain Sim C-130 that make this approach even more complicated. First of all, FS2004 does not support TACANs, which are a very common navigation aid in Air Force Bases. The DYESS TACAN could give us DME information, but since it is inoperative we have no way of knowing how far from the runway we are. Even if TACANs were operative, the C-130 doesn't have a working DME for the NAV2 radio - we'd have to be switching frequencies in order to get a DME information from NAV2. Also, a real ATC could easily vector us to the initial approach fix, but FS ATC is obviously not capable of that. Despite all these limitations, we are still able to do a fairly realistic approach.

Using the C-130E Takeoff and Landing Speeds file you have downloaded, determine the threshold and landing speeds (for a flap 100% landing) based on your gross weight. Because of the weather conditions, I'll be landing on runway 34. Don't worry you need to land on runway 16 - the approach is basically the same, but in the opposite direction. Now look at the approach plate - notice that we're coming from the right side and that the approach begins 20 miles before the threshold at 5,000 ft. We basically need to cross the airport, join the left traffic pattern, turn to final at about 20 miles behind the runway and land using the ILS. In the meantime, we also need to reduce the speed, extend the flaps/gear and configure the different systems of the aircraft. Let's now brief this approach in details.

At this point, you should have already descended to 5,000ft and slowed down to 180 knots. Since we're joining the left traffic pattern, we'll continue to track the ABILENE VOR 250 radial until 5 miles past the station - that should provide a neat spacing for the downwind leg. After crossing the station and flying for 5 more miles, turn left to the opposite runway heading (341) in order to enter the downwind leg. After the turn is completed, slow down to 150 knots. Still in the downwind leg, I want you to set the ILS frequency on the NAV1 radio (I-DYS - 109.90) and turn the COURSE SET knob to 161. We'll continue to fly in this heading (341deg), speed (150kts) and altitude (5,000ft) until the glideslope starts to go up. When the glideslope has gone all the way up, start another left turn to the base leg, reduce the speed to 140 knots and command flaps 50%. In a short time, the localizer will become "alive", and you should make the last turn to final approach. When the final turn is completed, extend the landing gear and activate the auxiliary hydraulic pump. Finally, command flaps 100% and reduce the speed to about 130 knots "when landing is assured". Keep the localizer and glideslope centered at all times.

That's the end of the descent and approach briefing. Please read this section again, analyze the approach plate carefully and get ready to start the descent. It is extremely important that you fully understand what you are supposed to do before starting the descent.

Since we've already briefed the descent and approach procedure, I'll not be very detailed here - much of the information you need for this phase were already presented in the briefing section. Back at cruise altitude, move the throttle to the flight idle position and wait for the speed to drop to 210 knots. Then, adjust the attitude and thrust so that you descend at -2000FPM with a constant speed of 210 knots. While descending, continue to track the ABILENE VOR 250 radial. From the approach plate, we learn that the decision height for this approach is 200 feet - set this in the radar altimeter. Continue the descent until reaching 5,000ft, then level-off and adjust the throttle to maintain 180 knots.

Five miles past the VOR station, start a left turn to heading 341 in order to enter the downwind leg. The airport should be ahead of you, on the left side. Slow down to 150 knots - that is the normal downwind leg speed. Still in the downwind leg, set the ILS frequency on the NAV1 radio (I-DYS - 109.90) and turn the COURSE SET knob to 161 (runway heading). Maintain this same heading, speed and altitude until the glideslope bar has moved all the way up. At this point, start another left turn to the base leg (heading 71), reduce the speed to 140 knots and command flaps 50%. In a short time, the localizer will become "alive" - make your last left turn to the final approach leg, extend the landing gear and activate the auxiliary hydraulic pump. Finally, command flaps 100% and reduce the speed to about 130 knots "when landing is assured". You may want to turn the taxi and landing lights on, also.

--- RUN THE BEFORE LANDING CHECKLIST ---

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