Hi all,
I’m just going through my transition from Cessna 152 to 172 and now on the CJ4 and first I tried it without the working title mod but decided to give it a go.
One thing I’ve noticed is that when you hover over the auto pilot controls it does not say if it’s already on or off and also you don’t see over the control the changes like with altitude change it would show over the button which I think is more comfortable that just on the PFD. Is there something I’m doing wrong please?
It’s only like it when I have the mod installed.
Like when you hover over the VS knob it would say off so you click to turn it on. With the mod it just says the name of the button.
Changing altitude without the mod the altitude change is apppearing in a box around the knob but with the mod installed it’s only on the PFD you see the altitude changing.
I only fly the CJ4 with the WT mod.
The WT CJ4 does not have indications on the knobs or buttons.
Indications are on the PFD and MFD.
This is supposed to be like the real life CJ4.
Ok understood, thanks. I’ll have to get used to it and learn each display on the PFD to understand what is active and not active then.
I guess it just takes a bit of time getting used too and I’m still in the early stages of learning this plane and style of flying.
Get the WT Users Guide.
Working Title website:
https://www.workingtitle.aero/packages/cj4/
Thanks a lot. I’m loving the plane and this will help and need to do a bit of studying.
The bar on the top of the PFD shows the status of the autopilot.
And this shows the selected vertical speed
Just sit on the ground with the plane, use the panel zoom hotkeys and play around with the autopilot controls. And yea the guide or YouTubes are a good resource.
Yes good idea to play around just sat on the tarmac as a way of getting used to the controls.
It has made the sim much more immersive flying this plane and with the mod. It was a big jump up from the 172 but looking forward to learning and doing my first long haul flight IFR 
It is a jump to go from 172 to this, if you find it too rapid a transition you could go to the King Air for a bit and then the CJ4.
CJ4 is one of the most fun planes and the WT mod really makes it shine. Before heading out on long IFRs take it around the traffic pattern for some touch n goes, do slow flight until the stall etc. to get a feel for it. Have fun!
I agree it’s a big jump and thanks for the tip about the King air. To be honest I like the feel of the CJ4 so will try to get the hang of it. For now the hardest part for me is takeoff and everything happens far too quick for me and before I’ve had chance to lift up the gear and flaps I’m already over speeding and don’t even get the time to put auto pilot on and NAV mode and FLC. Cruise and decent and landing albeit most all on autopilot I’m fine with. I’d like to practice circuits but until I can get takeoff sorted I won’t be able to do that ))
That’s the challenge of flying something fast, and the reason in the real world that pilots don’t immediately jump from a C152 to a CJ4. lol
There’s a couple of things here. First, is just familiarity with the systems and controls. You have to know what control is where and what sequence you need to activate things in. If you have to stop and think about what it is you need to do, you won’t be able to do things quick enough.
The best advice I can give is to set your heading bug to the runway heading before takeoff and arm your HDG mode before hitting the throttle. Once you’re in the air, pull back your power from full take off power to climb power (there’s an indicator for that on the MFD). Retract your gear, raise flaps, engage your yaw damper, hit the FLC button (it will lock onto whatever speed you’re currently at), and then engage your AP. You shouldn’t be in an overspeed situation at that point. Then, use the FLC knob to set your speed to 240 kts, your climb speed. Then switch your AP from HDG to NAV mode to get on course.
Don’t be surprised if it takes a few tries to get that right. This is a matter of practice and familiarity. It’s going to take some time to get the procedures down. But once you understand what you’re doing and can just do things without hesitation or having to think about it, it’s pretty smooth.
Another option is to practice the same procedure (more or less) on a slower plane to get familiar with it. Outside of the physical layout differences and climb speed, the procedure is very similar on most AP-enabled planes. Get used to it on a slower plane first, then move up to the CJ4. Or just practice with the CJ4. The beauty of simulation is that there’s no consequence for messing up. 
Your spot on and I do understand it’s probably too much too soon 
But as you say that’s the beauty of the sim and being able to take on such challenges with nobody getting hurt apart from pride ))
I really appreciate your detailed guide and I will for sure practice this. One thing I wanted to ask is with arming heading mode does this work even before AP is engaged? I’m sure I’ve set the heading bug to current heading before and it turns blue but then disappears. Maybe I did something wrong.
I’ve come so far now I don’t want to give up on this plane and other than take off it’s beautiful to fly 
You can arm the heading before engaging the AP. You can actually arm everything before engaging the AP, even preset the FLC speed. However, if you follow the proper CJ4 take off procedure, you’re supposed to hit the TOGA button before setting take off power, which will clear your FLC settings. But it holds your HDG setting. If it doesn’t, it’s a quick hit of the button once you’re in the air. It will most definitely hold the heading bug to whatever you set it to.
Ok thanks. I understand you can arm AP settings before engaging but what I was meaning is will the plane hold heading if heading mode is set but AP not armed?
The plane won’t hold heading without the AP engaged. You just preset the heading to the runway heading and arm HDG mode so that once you engage your AP, it will hold that heading without you having to dial it in.
Beat me to it, I was about to say this. You can pretty much prime the AP for everything you want it to do and then when airborne you just need to turn it on. For example after a flight plan is loaded I set the ALT & VS (or FLC). I then make the nav source = GPS and hit the NAV button. Finally I turn on the flight director (FD). All this is on the ground.
Once airborne I just need to press one button - the AP one.
And yes its very easy to blast past the 250kt speed limit under 10K, Im not a RW jet pilot but I gather that full power is very rarely used. The thrust setting is calculated by the computers, saves on engine wear. Im not hardcore into the FMC and stuff but I simulate this by only going to 75-80% power for takeoff.
This would of course be different if taking off from a high elevation airport.
If you do it that way, it works correctly. You can preset your assigned altitude, runway heading, HDG mode, and even preset your FLC speed.
However, if you use the correct procedure for the CJ4 and hit the TOGA button before going to takeoff power, it will clear the FLC settings. Not sure if it’s supposed to do that IRL or not.
I go to 100% takeoff power for takeoff. I rotate at Vr and once I’m a couple of hundred feet off the ground, I roll back to climb power before doing anything else.
Well you guys have helped me immensely as I’ve just done three take offs in a row staying on course, climbing steadily and not over speeding and then arming AP to take me up to 10,000 feet at 240 knots What do you mean A320 next
No seriously this has been a great help and much appreciated chaps!
You can use that same procedure with any AP-equipped aircraft for IFR flight. It works the same with a G1000 as it does in the CJ4. It will be similar in the A320 as well. There are slight differences and different values and such, but the overall procedure should be very similar. Once you have it on one plane, it’s just a matter of adapting to a new plane with different capabilities.
