Turns On Pylon Trainer

The Turns On Pylon Trainer simulates flying turns on pylons.

The default airplane and wind speed values where chosen to clearly show the elliptical course that is created at right angles to the wind direction when flying turns on pylon. Note - It is not recommended that you fly this maneuver in 40 knot winds!

Note - the attitude indicator only displays the bank of the plane and does not show its actual pitch.

There are several good books that describe the principles and techniques of flying around pylons. This trainer is based on William K. Kershner's "The Advanced Pilot's Flight Manual and "The Flight Instructor's Manual" from the Iowa State Univerity Press.

The Controls

Turns On Pylon - this control and the Wind control determines the dimensions of the course around the pylon.

Speed - sets the plane's airspeed.
Bank - sets the maximum bank.
Left turns - when checked, turns are made to the left
Beginning - when pressed, repositions the plane to the beginning of the entry course.
1x, 1/2, 2x or 4x - factor to speed up the simulation groundspeed.

Note - The Trainer limits the airspeed, windspeed and bank to the following:

The airspeed must be 50 knots or better.
The sum of the airspeed and windspeed must be less that 200 knots.
The windspeed can't be more that 75% of the airspeed.
The starting bank must be at least 5 degrees.

The airspeed, windspeed and bank will be automatically be set to values that satisify these requirements.

Wind

Direction - sets the wind's direction.
Speed - sets the wind's speed.
Show indicator - when checked displays the wind arrow.

Simulation Start / Stop button

and red indicates the simulation is stopped. When pressed, the simulation will start. The plane's position will be calculated based on its speed, direction, bank, and the wind's direction and speed.

and green indicates the simulation is running. When pressed, the simulation will stop. The plane's position and heading will no longer change until it is started again. When a simulation is resumed, the plane will begin calculating its position from the point where it was stopped.

Wind Direction arrow - indicates the wind direction. You can select it and position anywhere on the screen

Zoom control - uses a predefined series of sizes that range from 40 nautical miles to 1 nautical mile for the vertical geographic dimension of the display window.

In - pressing this button zooms the window IN. The window then shows a smaller area of geography within the same sized window.
Out - pressing this button zooms the window OUT. The window then shows a larger area of geography in the same sized window.

Turns On Pylon Trainer

The Controls

An Example