FS ACADEMY

AIR RACE
CONTENTS
WELCOME 3
SOFTWARE SETTINGS 4
TRACK BREIFINGS 5
PENALTIES 10
AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS 10
ON-SCREEN GUIDANCE 11
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 12
WELCOME
FS Academy - Air Race is comprised of 10 Missions covering 5 iconic locations, with a Practice
and Race session for each location. Complete the practice mission to learn the track with on
screen guidance until you can repeat consistent laps cleanly and close to the target lap time.
The missions are found under the “FS Academy – Air Race” Missions category within FSX:SE
and can be completed in any order. They have increasing levels of difficulty, based on wind
conditions, track complexity and AI competitiveness. Mission Briefings are found as you
launch a mission.

Let’s get started…

SOFTWARE SETTINGS
You can tailor your settings so that you experience Air Race as you wish, the recommended
settings are shown here, which will provide the most guidance and support.
Occasionally FSX will fail to load all of the scenery items such as pylons when starting a
mission. Restarting the mission should re-load the mission and fix the missing scenery.

Sound
The mission voiceovers will explain what to do as you go along. Using the Sound settings in
FSX, set your volumes as required so you can hear your instructions clearly. Captions can also
be enabled, allowing you to read along. Captions can be enabled in the General Settings
menu.

Realism
Directional guidance will be in the form of a Gate marker to fly towards and the track map at
the top left corner of the screen. If any of these do not show, enable the Compass and
Pointer option from the drop-down menu found under General Settings.

Areas have been marked out in Missions that reduce the number of AI Boats that appear
around the track, but to remove them all you can set Leisure Boats to zero in the Traffic
settings in FSX.
TRACK BRIEFINGS
Long Beach

Lap Time 01:35

Difficulty Beginner

This round of the FS Academy – Air Race Series takes us around the busy dockland
surrounding Long Beach, California. Blast past the Queen Mary and dive between cranes and
containers on this fast, sweeping circuit.

Wind: Calm
Temperature: +15C
Cloud: Clear

Preserving energy is key in this high-speed track, cautious use of Nitro will be of benefit.
Some moderate climbs are required through Gates 3 and 8, take care not to gain too much
height as this will increase your race distance.

Gate 9 needs care on the approach as you arrive whilst completing a dive, a right-hand turn
and then a jump over the bridge immediately after.
 New York

Lap Time 01:15

Difficulty Intermediate

This round of the FS Academy Air Race Series brings us to New York between Downtown and
Brooklyn. Swoop low below the skyscrapers and pull up high at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Wind: 040/5
Temperature: +23C
Cloud: Few Clouds

Weather is clear and bright with just a light wind from the North West. Remember to account
for this by aiming slightly upwind.

We start with a fast entry through the Start gate immediately followed by a slalom between
Gates 2-5. First slalom pylon is to be taken to the left, finished with a high G left turn after
Gate 5. Focus on not gaining height through the slalom.

Avoid excessive G through Gate 8 to keep your speed up for the long straight towards the
Brooklyn Bridge and Gate 9, which is a pull up gate. Make sure to pass through Gate 9 before
pulling up vertically to perform a ‘Half Cuban’ towards Gate 10.
 Miami

Lap Time 01:23

Difficulty Advanced

Wind: 040/5
Temperature: +23C
Cloud: Few Clouds

Weather is clear as the sun starts to set on Miami. The light is fading but conditions are good.

We start with a fast entry through the Start gate immediately followed by a slalom between
Gates 2-5. First slalom pylon is to be taken to the right, finished with a high G right turn after
Gate 5. Focus on not gaining height through the slalom.

Avoid excessive G through Gate 7 to keep your speed up for the long straight towards the
harbour entrance and Gate 9, which is a pull up gate. Make sure to pass through Gate 9
before pulling up vertically to perform a ‘Half Cuban’ towards Gate 10.
 Portsmouth

Lap Time 01:23

Difficulty Advanced

This round of the FS Academy – Air Race Series brings us to historic Portsmouth Harbour on
the south coast of the UK.

Wind: Calm
Temperature: +10C
Cloud: 3000ft Overcast

Weather is a little grey but good cloud ceiling and calm winds allow for good performance
around 5 laps of this tight and twisty track.

Take care through the first 3 gates especially at the race start, you may have to back off
speed in order to complete the Left-Right-Left chicane between the gates. Gates 5 and 10 are
followed by less aggressive 3-4G left hand turns, whilst Gates 2-3-4 and 8-9 all require max
performance.
 Chicago

Lap Time 01:23

Difficulty Expert

Soar over the harbour overlooked by the iconic Chicago skyline sandwiched between Navy
Pier and Northerly Island, previously Meigs Field.

Wind: 350/10
Temperature: +15C
Cloud: Scattered 4000ft

The track begins at high speed through the start line, careful not to exceed the 200kts speed
limit until the start. We have a moderate wind from the North which will require you to
adjust your heading towards land slightly to account for wind drift. A quick left-right through
Gates 3-4 ends with a pull up at Gate 4 with a turn towards Gate 5 so be prepared for Gate 5
not to be directly behind you. A fast section towards the city and a second pull up at Gate 9,
which must be made tight enough to lose height in the short distance to Gate 10 but careful
not to Over-G or lose too much energy as this is followed by a fast straight to the finish.
PENALTIES
Remember to prioritise a clean run. Stewards can serve penalties or disqualifications.

Over 200kts Start: DISQUALIFY

Pylon Hit: +3 Seconds
Gate Missed High: +3 Seconds
Gate Missed Wide: +3 Seconds

Gates must be passed between the two pylons, no higher than the top of the pylons.

AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
Use Nitro Injection in short bursts to boost engine power and keep your speed up to avoid
losing energy through the tighter corners.

Nitro will increase speed but will also affect fuel consumption and engine temperature.
Prolonged use can cause power loss and damage.

Remember to turn on your Smoke as you approach the Start.

Toggle Nitro: SHIFT + C

Toggle Smoke: i

You can change these control bindings in your FSX Controls settings.
ON-SCREEN GUIDANCE
In practice sessions, passing through a Gate will show an arrow on screen showing the
direction to the next gate or to indicate that you are to perform a pull up.

Pull up gates involve performing a ‘Half Cuban 8’, where you perform the first half of a loop,
but after you reach the loop’s highest point, roll the wings to wings level and keep diving.

At the top left side of the screen you will find directional guidance will be in the form of a
Gate marker to fly towards and the track map. If any of these do not show, enable the
Compass and Pointer option from the drop-down menu found under General Settings.
You can see the current Gate as it is indicated by the green sky-pointer arrow and the
numbered Gates shown on the track map. The arrow around the edge of the map shows the
direction to fly to the current gate. The next Gate is shown in darker green.
Below the track map you see Aircraft Information. From left to right is listed:
Nitro Remaining Engine Temperature Manifold Pressure Engine Health
Keep an eye particularly on your Engine Health, as over-using Nitro will cause damage and
ultimately Engine Failure.
You can close or move these information boxes if you wish.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mission Completion Music
Audioscribe by MilkyCarton
Copyright © FS Academy LTD, 2020. All rights reserved.