Air New Zealand 737-200
Edit: DO NOT keep the throttle at full for anything but takeoff, you will lose elevator authority!!
Imagine it is the late 1960s. You are at Wellington Airport, New Zealand, on a regional flight bound to Auckland.
As you walk out of the terminal into the sunlight you see a thing of beauty, a white, teal and dark blue 737-200 with Air New Zealand painted on the side.
It is the most recent addition to the Air New Zealand fleet, one of the aircraft they got after the merger with NAC.
As you step inside an air hostess greets you. You have a window seat today, just over the wing.
You sit in a plush coral-red seat, overlooking the glimmering metal wing, as you push back from the gate you relax.
The pilots come over the PA system to announce that the weather is clear the whole trip. The seatbelt sign comes on as you taxi to the runway.
Soon the engines spool up to take off power and you start rolling. Look at that, You are flying! Off on another adventure in the wild blue yonder…
This here is a 1:1 scale representation of an ANZ 737-200, just as it would have been back in the 60s and 70s.
It has all the functionality of one too.
Everything is labelled and is pretty self explanitory, although I will write a few checklists and notes down here.
Start up:
This airplane is equipped with an APU, you should start that as soon as you enter the plane to elimiate the possibilty of battery drain if ground power is not connected.
(groud power inlet is on the inboard section of the left wing)
The tail is extended by a button just behind the main breakers, do not extend until out of the main hangar area.
Enter the aircraft via the handles above the doors, or an airstair if you are so equipped
Proceed to turn on the Battery and Avionics switches behind the overhead console, leaving the Aux battery as that is only used if the Main battery is unable to operate
Turn on the Nav lights, as this is required whenever the aircraft is powered up IRL. Not a necassary step, but one that adds more realism
Make sure Parking Brake on the lower console is ON
APU ON
Once the APU is ignited, you can turn on the passenger cabin and cockpit lights if required and begin boarding. Make sure the No-Smoking sign is in the ON position, but this being the 1950-60s, it isn’t the most concerning problem….
Once the passengers are boarded turn the seatbelt sign ON, prepare for start up.
Beacon lights go to ON, as this lets the ground crew know the aircraft is about to start up or move
Start number one first
Fuel control for number one set to ON
Engine one starter ON (Starters buttons are left on for the duration of the flight, as they control ignition)
Leave throttle at idle
Once ignited and stabilised, you may proceed to do the same for engine two
APU can go OFF, it will take a minute to shut down just like the real one
Taxi:
Ground Power Disconnect if connected
Extend tail, if not extended already
Taxi lights ON
Parking brake off
Throttle to 10-20 for taxi, control direction with rudder and braking with the downward arrow key
While taxiing, I recommend setting the autopilot up to take over once established in cruise. Set Alt and Dest, and you should be good to go
Strobe lights go on once you are far away from other traffic, as they are bright and can be blinding to other traffic in close proximity
Take Off:
Once lined up and ready for take-off, set landing lights to on till established in cruise if the weather is clear. If not, leave on for the duration of the flight
increase power to full, and release brakes if on
Once established in climb, activate the Autopilot if desired and climb to cruise altitude
Cabin heat ON, and seatbelt sign can come off till the descent
Most efficient cruise throttle is 120-130, you will be able to ge to the Arctic with plenty to spare
Autopilot Systems:
The autopilot is a passive system, meaning you will have some degree of control even when they are on. Very useful for emergency situations
Being the 1950s-60s, the autopilot is very basic, consisting of only a wing leveler, alt hold, and direct-to waypoint.
Operation is straight forward and very intuitive, so I won’t detail it’s operation here.
Descent:
Seatbelt signs ON
I recommend (100-200) for the final approach altitude, but of course you can deviate from that if you wish. Set that, and start descending
Throttle can be brought back to about 100 so you do not overspeed
Landing: A throttle setting of about 20-25 will be sufficient enough for a stable descent on to the runway. As you flare for landing, apply gentle braking
to come to a complete stop. Shutdown consists of turning on the apu, shutting down the main engines, and turning all exterior lights off (except for the position lights, as those have to be on when
power is supplied to the aircraft)
I intend to upload other versions such as the cargo, gravel kit, combi and ADV. So keep your eyes open for that. And if you have any suggestions, please feel free to express them 🙂
I hope you enjoy flying this as much as I enjoyed making it!
Glitches:
These are beyond my control, and are due to the interesting stormworks physics
The cabin door may sometime reverse itself. In this case, jump out the cockpit side windows (if on the ground, if you are on the air….. bad luck)
In a dive at full throttle, elevator control will be lost and a rapid pitching up movement will take over. Throttle down to regain control.
Sometimes after landing, the nose gear may collapse as if it had no power. To remedy this get out of the pilot seat and it should regain its power.
Credits:
Alex-eddk for helping me with the lua, helping me with the body shape, and for being a good mentor and friend
Thingymuhbob for giving me his prototype for rework and finishing, and giving me encouragement along the way
