                acro jet  -  the advanced flight simulator  -  by micro prose

                              documentation courtsey of:
                          abuser's library ii  516  352-6141
                                   sysop  -  doodle
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          aerobatic flying is a pilot's ultimate challenge.  in acrojet we're
     sharing with you some of the excitement, thrills and split-second action
     of real aerobatic flying.
          don't be dismayed if you crash your acrojet frequently.  it's a high-
     strung and unforgiving aircraft.  the key to successfulaerobatics is to
     practice the maneuvers cautiously, safely, carefully and with plenty of
     altitude.  only then can you attempt them at low altitude.
          aerobatic flying is a thrilling and dangerous sport that doesn't get
     the attention it deserves.  we urge you to go watch a real event, see the
     planes overhead, and talk to the pilots and ground crew.  you'll apprec-
     iate and enjoy acrojet that much more!
          this simulation is dedicated to sport, aerobatic and stunt pilots
     everywhere in the world.  we want to bring you the excitement they feel
     every time they climb into the cockpit for a competition or just plain
     flying fun!
          although no real pentathlon or decathlon for sport aviation currently
     exists, continued promotion of sport aviation and aerobatics may produce
     such a competition in the future.  in the meantime, although this simulat-
     ion aims at realism, please don't  attempt any of the maneuvers depicted
     herein a real aircraft. aerobatic pilots have years of training and exper-
     ience. only the best would attempt in real life the maneuvers depicted in
     this product - low altitude aerobatics is extremely dangerous, with no
     leeway for human error or mechanical breakdown.
          most of all we want you to have fun.  we've had fun making this
     product, and look forward to competing with you in the excitment of an
     acrojet competition.  good loops to you.
     getting a quick start....you can get airborne in your acrojet simulator
     quickly by following the appropriate loading instructions, reviewing the
     cockpit layout found midway through the instructions and reading through
     the description on aircraft controls.  instructions for basic takeoff and
     landing techniques can be found right after the controls section.
          be sure to unlock your planes controls when requested.  the lock
     colors and appropriate lock codes are listed in alphabetical order
     throughout this manual.
                                  introduction
          flying is a sport for hundreds of thousands of americans today.
     light planes are reasonably inexpensive when bought off the lot and down
     right cheap if you build them yourself from a kit.  every weekend around
     the nation pilots converge on a small airfield to fly for pleasure, in
     informal competitions, to conventions, or at formal competitions sponsored
     by the eaa and iac.
          this program lets you enjoy a simulation of sport flying.  you can
     experience all the thrills of flying, even perform your own aerobatics.
     better yet, your flying the bd-5j acrojet, one of the few sport jets in
     existence.  this plane is fast, maneuverable, very small, and very tricky.
      to fly one in real life you'd need years of training and experience.  you
     will enjoy the thrill of sport flying in truly "hot planes".  the only
     answer was a computer simulation of the acrojet.
          sport flying has numerous competitions, formal and informal.
     in keeping with the spirit of the acrojet, we've presented 10 aerobatic
     events that would test the mettle of any pilot.  fly any 5 for a
     pentathlon or all 10 for a grueling decathlon.  also included is an
     unlimited event where you can decide what pilots will perform and judge
     them on it.  this human judging of performance is the standard for
     international competition today.
          we enjoy the challenges and hair raising performance of the acrojet.
     we know you will too, as you fly it from you livingroom.
          loading....use port 2, no joystick in port 1 as it can scramble the
     controls.  if you have a c-128 hold down the shift and commodore keys when
     you turn on the computer, this places it in the c-64 mode.  load"*",8,1
     press any key to begin after loading.
                                startup options
          acrojet has a large variety of aerobatic events, options, and
     preflight checkout steps.  however, in every case you can advance quickly
     to the next option by pressing the fire button the control stick.  in
     additions, the following special controls are useful.
     runstop restore restart:  if you hold down the run/stop key, & then press
     the restore key, the entire program restarts fresh from memory [ no disk
     loading ].  all entries are forgotten except new "hall of fame" records
     [ see wgsp hall of fame" for details on clearing that ].
                               title and credits
          when acrojet begins loading, you will see a colorful title screen.
     press any key when loading is finished and this will advance you to the
     hall of fame.
                            automatic demonstration
          if you do not press a key, the demo starts, pressing any key during
     the demo returns you to the title screen.
                             wgsp - hall of fame
          the "world's greatest sport pilot [wgsp] hall of fame posts scoring
     records for the top pentathlon and decathlon flyers, as well as best
     scores in single events.  press any key [except "ctrl c"] to leave this
     screen and continue.  "ctrl c" keys held down will clear all names and
     scores from the hall of fame.
                              pilot registration
          here you register for an event by selecting either the decathlon [all
     ten events], the pentathlon [any five events], a single event or an unlim-
     ited event [a single event where you control the activity, time limit, &
     judging].
     control stick up/down:  moves the highlight cursor up and down the screen.
     the competition currently selected [decathlon, pentathlon, single event,
     or unlimited] is indicated by a "*".
     control stick left/right:  changes the highlighted selection
     type to enter your name:   when you're finished press "return" once.  each
     name is limited to 8 characters, including blank spaces.
     control stick fire button:  exits the screen.  don't press it until your
     done making selections!
                           unlimited event selection
          this screen only appears if you have selected an "unlimited" event.
     control stick up/down:  moves the highlight cursor up and down the screen
     control stick left/right:  changes/erases the highlighted selection.
     event name:  you can type up to 20 characters, including blank spaces.
     when your finished press return once.
     adjust difficulty factor:  you can adjust the difficulty rating for the
     event with the control stick, or by typing a new value.  difficulty
     factors
     range from 1.0 [for the easiest event] to 3.0 [for the hardest].  type the
     appropiate digits in the highlighted space.
     timed vs untimed:  if you select a timed event, the time it takes to com-
     plete the event becomes an important part of the score.  if you select an
     untimed event, the judge's opinion is a large part of the score.
     course layout:  you can select any course by number.
        course 1-2...4 pylons (ne, se, nw, sw
        course 3-4...two ribbon gates side by side sw of the airfield
        course 5.....two ribbon gates east and west of the airfield.
        course 6.....three ribbon gates ne, se & w of the airfield.
        course 7.....one ribbon gate west of the airfield.
        course 8.....landing field only.
        course 9.....two ribbon gates east and west of the airfield.
     control stick fire button:  exits the screen.  don't press it until your
     done making selections!!
                                   event selection
          here you can review or select the events in the competion.  if your
     flying the pentathlon, select any 5 events.  if your flying the decathlon,
     you must fly all ten.  if you select fewer, other events will be selected
     for you.
          the arrows on the sides indicate events selected, the highlight cursor
     control stick up/down:  to select/deselect different events.
     control stick left/right: selects or removes an event.  you can also select
     an event by typing its number [type 0 for event 10, + for item 11-the nor-
     mal defaults].
     acrojet controls:
     control stick forward [dive]:  this lowers the elevators, which pushes the
     tail of your plane upward.  in normal flight this results in a dive.
     control stick back[climb]: this raises the elevators, which pushes the tail
     of your plane downward.  in normal flight this results in a climb.
     control stick left/right [bank]:  this deflects the ailerons, causing your
     plane to bank and turn in the appropiate direction.
     control stick button [slip]:  pressing the control stick button while you
     push the stick left or right banks the plane with "opposite rudder".  the
     result can be a faster descent while you continue flying forward, or
     straight nose tracking during an aileron roll.
     viewing:  the w,a,s, & z keys change your viewing direction.  "w" shows the
     normal forward view, "a" shows the view to the left of the plane, "s" the
     view to the right and "z" the view to the rear.
     0-9 [throttle]:  press "0" to completely close your throttle, which turns
     off the engine.  press 1 through 9 to set your throttle from the lowest
     power [1] to the highest [9].  higher power causes your plane to fly faster
     but be careful your engine doesn't overheat [exceed an egt reading of 700
     degrees c].
     [f] flaps:  press "f" to change your flap settings.  flaps can be either up
     [zero degrees], partly lowered [20 degrees] or completely lowered [40
     degrees].  in general, flaps add lift and permit slower landing speeds.
     [l] landing gear:  press "l" to raise and lower your landing gear.  landing
     gear must be lowered to a safe landing, and raised for safe flying.
     [b] landing gear brakes:  press "b" to brake your landing brake wheels. ``
     this slows you on the runway.  this is especially valuable if you land too
     fast, or too far down the runway.
     [space bar] speed brakes: press the space bar to extend and retract your
     speed brakes.  when speed brakes are extended your airspeed shows signif-
     icantly.
     [f1] engine/weather crt:  press "f1" to switch the left crt between engine
     readout and weather information.
     software controls:
     ctrl r:  hold down ctrl and press "r" to end the competition.
     ctrl v:  volume control - hold down ctrl and press "v" to turn the sound
     on and off.
     run/stop restore:  hold down run/stop and press "restore" to reset the
     entire program to the start again [all records blanked].
     acrojet keyboard controls:
     throttle controls:                 numbers 1 thru 9
     throttle off:                      number zero [0]
     engine weather crt change:         f1
     view:                              w=forward
                                        a=left
                                        s=right
                                        z=rear
     ctrl r:                            restart
     f:                                 flaps
     b:                                 landing gear brakes
     l:                                 landing gear
     p:                                 pause game
     space bar:                         speed brakes
     ctrl v:                            volume on/off

