The Pilot's Operating Handbook is the airplane's own book: limitations, normal and emergency procedures, performance tables, weight and balance. Flying an aircraft in the sim with its real POH open is the single biggest step from "flying a model" to training-grade practice, because the numbers you brief and the procedures you run are the real ones.
This page collects handbooks and flight manuals as they turn up. Every link points to where the document is hosted; nothing is copied here. If a link goes dead, or you know of a better source for a type, say so on the community page.
Pilot's Operating Handbooks and flight manuals
| Aircraft | Document | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 172S Skyhawk | Pilot's Operating Handbook and FAA-approved Airplane Flight Manual (PDF, 12 MB) | Boeing Employees Flying Association | Club copy of the Cessna book; the same type as the sim's default 172 |
More rows are added as handbooks are found.
FAA handbooks
Free, public and current. These are not aircraft-specific, and they are the reference the POH assumes you have read.
| Handbook | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Airplane Flying Handbook | Maneuvers, takeoffs, landings, emergencies, the how of flying an airplane | faa.gov |
| Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge | Aerodynamics, systems, weather, performance, navigation, decision-making | faa.gov |
| Instrument Procedures Handbook | Departures, en route, arrivals and approaches under instrument rules | faa.gov |
How to use a POH in the sim
- Brief the flight from the performance section: takeoff distance, climb, cruise power settings, fuel burn, landing distance.
- Run the normal checklists from the book, not from memory, until they are memory.
- Pick one emergency procedure per flight and practice it as written.
- Compare the sim's numbers with the book's. Where a study-level aircraft matches the POH, that is the flight model earning its score in Which Plane to Fly.