A Guide To The Hud-1 Form: Fill & Download for Free

All of them? If you're talking about a commercial airliner, then there's hundreds and hundreds. There are big, fat manuals describing what they all do. But, since you asked, buckle up.Every airplane is different. Unlike learning to drive a car, you can't just hop from one plane to another. A pilot needs familiarization (and in some cases, a whole new type of license) to fly a different kind of plane. Some are piston-powered; some are jet-powered. Some have electrically-driven controls; some are hydraulically-driven. Some have emergency oxygen; some don't. And so on. All the switches, dials, and knobs in the cockpit control the various aircraft systems, and every aircraft has different systems.Let's take a very popular airliner, the 737. And of course, different 737s are different, so let's just invent a 737 that we can use. A typical one. Here's a photo of a 737.Pretty typical small-body airliner. For our example, we're going to be flying a 737-600, a modernized 737 with glass-cockpit displays and digital avionics.So, before we can talk about what all the switches in the cockpit do, we need to know what systems the 737-600 has onboard. So without further ado, here is a non-complete list of all the systems that the pilot or copilot might need to manage:Engine: Our 737 has two CFM56-7 turbofan engines with thrust-reversing capability. The engines are started by an APU (auxiliary power unit) -- the APU is itself a mini-jet engine that is used to start the two big boys under the wing. (The APU is started by the battery, if you're curious.) Fuel flow to the engines is electronically controlled.Fuel: The 737 has three fuel tanks: one in each wing, and a center tank in the fuselage. Electrically-powered fuel pumps transfer fuel from the tanks to the engines. Each tank has two redundant fuel pumps, for a total of six. The center tank drains first, then the wing tanks. Normally the left center fuel pump sends fuel to the left engine, and vice versa, but there is a cross feed valve that opens to allow the left center pump to provide fuel pressure to the right engine in the event the right center pump fails (or vice versa).Hydraulics: The engines power three redundant hydraulic systems (systems A and B, and the standby system) which actuate the flight controls (elevators, rudder, ailerons) that maneuver the aircraft in flight. The hydraulic system also powers the landing gear, flaps, and slats, thrust reversers, as well as a few other minor things. System A and B each power a subset of the preceding list, with the standby system providing emergency hydraulic power to the critical systems only.Electrical: Each engine (including the APU) has its own generator that can power the aircraft's electronics (lights, avionics, galley, in-flight entertainment, etc.). When the engines are off, the aircraft uses an onboard battery to power its systems. There is also a standby battery in the event the main battery is drained. The aircraft can also accept external ground power from a mobile generator. Each electrical source (battery, generator, ground power) can be hooked up to one of two transfer buses that move the electricity to aircraft systems. Typically in flight each engine generator is hooked up to one of the transfer buses. In the event one electrical source (APU, battery) must power both transfer buses, a bus tie system connects the two buses.Bleed air: Bleed air (siphoned from each engine) powers the air conditioners and anti-ice system, and pressurizes the hydraulic and fuel pumps. The airplane is split into two separate "zones" which can have their own temperature settings. The aircraft can also accept external air from a mobile air cart.Oxygen: The 737 has two independent oxygen systems -- one for flight crew and one for passengers. In the event of depressurization, the oxygen masks will drop and oxygen canisters will supply pressurized oxygen to the passengers and flight crew.Navigation: The 737 is equipped with two independent GPS antennas and three IRUs (inertial reference units). An IRU is a gyroscope that records changes in acceleration. By integrating these changes over time, the airplane can track its position, though it gets increasingly inaccurate over time.Radios: The 737 has three communication (COMM) radios and three navigation (NAV) radios. The COMM radios let the pilot talk to ATC and the NAV radios let the pilot navigate to or from ground radio navigation stations. There's also an onboard weather radar that sends out radio waves ahead of the plane looking for storm clouds.OK, let's get started. I'll start with the pilot's side of the main panel.The two main displays in front of the pilot are the PFD (primary flight display; left) and ND (navigational display; right). The pilot and copilot each have a set, and there is a pair of shared DUs (display units) in the center (arranged top-and-bottom). Each can independently display one of a few different screens of information. In the above picture, the top DU is showing engine information and the bottom DU is blank.The information shown on the PFD is the airspeed tape (left side), the attitude indicator (center -- shows the sky and ground pictorially), the altitude tape (right side), and the rate-of-climb indicator (far right). Along the top, the current autopilot mode is shown (autopilot is currently off). On the bottom is the heading indicator. The yellow text are some warnings and the green text is the altimeter setting (more on that later). The purple text is the autopilot speed and altitude settings (more on that later too).The navigation information shown is the current heading (solid line) and the course dialed into the FMC (flight management computer; more on that later -- it's the dotted purple line). Two white blocks of text show information about the next waypoint and and some general position information. The green text shows information about how accurately the jet can guess its position.The engine information shown: On the top left are two dials; they indicate the N1 setting for the left and right engine. N1 is a measure of engine power -- at 100% N1, the engine is producing maximum power (right now the engines are at 22.5% N1). The second row shows the engine's EGT (exhaust gas temperature, currently 411 °C), another measure of engine power and also an important thing to monitor -- if the exhaust gas is too hot, you're in trouble. To the right of the dials is a grid where engine warnings would pop up. On the bottom right are the fuel gauges; it shows the fuel in each of the three tanks and the total fuel onboard (40,200 gallons).Between the top DU and the pilot's ND are the standby flight instruments. In the event that the PFD fails, the pilot can still get critical flight information from these backup instruments. The top one is the standby flight display -- it looks just like the regular PFD. The big white knob sets the altimeter setting (again, more on that later). The + and - buttons on the right side control brightness. The APP button on the top-left toggles between two different displays relating to landing the aircraft: approach and back-course. When these modes are active, the pilot gets additional help in guiding the plane down to the runway. The HP/IN button to the right of that button toggles between American and European units. The RST button on the bottom left resets the instrument to displaying straight and level, in case it "tumbles" during heavy maneuvering. (You should only press this button when the plane actually is straight and level.)Below the standby flight display is the standby HSI (horizontal situation indicator -- it's a heading indicator that also has the ability to navigate you to a waypoint). The knob on the standby PFD sets the altimeter setting (again, more on that later). The two dials below the standby HSI set the course that the pilot would like to fly to or from one of two radio navigation fixes he would have tuned in (e.g., I wish to fly to the Oakland VOR on the 090° course). The dials show the course you dialed in with the knobs, and indicate how accurately you are flying that course.Above the standby attitude indicator is a small dial labeled YAW DAMPENER. The yaw dampener helps the pilot smooth out turns by coordinating aileron and rudder input. When the bar is centered, the turn is smooth. When the bar slides left or right, the yaw dampener needs to add right or left rudder to the turn to smooth it out. This lets the pilot check if the yaw dampener is working properly.There is one little light above the PFD; this is a warning light that tells the pilot when that the below-glidesope alert is active. (The glideslope is the proper glide path down to a runway. If you're too far below it, you're going to get leaves in your engines.) Pressing the light inhibits the warning, in case the pilot really does know what he's doing.To the right of that light, above and between the PFD and ND, are two knobs; these control what systems are linked to the pilot's displays. Normally the left screen shows the PFD and the right screen shows the ND, but if one of your screens fails, you could switch up which screen displays which system. These knobs let you do that.To the right of those knobs are a set of three lights in a well; these light up to tell the pilot when the autopilot has disconnected, the auto throttle has disconnected, or there is an error on the FMC (again, FMC explained later). The switch to the right tests the lights. The switch to the right of that switch is the master warning lights switch; it controls the brightness of all warning lights, and tests all warning lights.Below the well are three more lights. They light up to tell the pilot when the speed brake is extended, when the speed brake should not be extended, and when the autopilot is failing to trim the aircraft properly (an aircraft is in trim when it can fly straight and level without continuous input from the pilot or autopilot; an aircraft out of trim will slowly pitch up or down).To the left of the pilot's PFD is a digital clock with count up timer and sweep second hand. The CHR button on the top left of the clock face starts/stops/resets the chronometer. The two buttons on the top right are used to set the time and toggle between local time/UTC time/date display. On the bottom-left, the two buttons control the elapsed time counter, which is used to time the entire flight. Lastly, on the bottom-right, the + and - buttons are used to set the time.Below that is a switch that toggles between the normal (hydraulic system A) or alternate (hydraulic system B) nose wheel steering (NWS) system. (NWS turns the nose wheel on the ground and allows the plane to steer during taxi.)Alright, next up, the knobs below the pilot's PFD and ND. On the very left is a pull-lever labeled FOOT AIR, to make the pilot's feet comfortable, followed by WINDSHIELD AIR, which defogs the main windows.To the right are five knobs. They control the brightness of the four displays (PFD, ND, upper DU, and lower DU) and the brightness of the panel itself (flood lights that light the whole panel).Then to the right we've got two more knobs, that control the brightness of the background lights, and another set of flood lights that light the top portion of the panel (which we'll see later).Now to the right of those knobs we see a small screen with a keyboard. That's the FMC, or flight management computer. This is a computer into which the pilot enters the route he wants to fly, the altitude he wants to fly it at, and all sorts of other information about the flight. From that the computer calculates the best speed to fly each leg of the flight, how long it will take, whether there's enough fuel, etc. The pilot can also enter in restrictions (can't be above 250 knots below 10,000 feet, for example), and the autopilot will obey those restrictions. The FMC has a multitude of other functions, like finding nearby airports in an emergency, or calculating holding patterns, etc. There's pages and pages of features.To the right of the FMC is the lower DU, and then the copilot's very own FMC. There's some stuff above his FMC that we can't really see well, so let's take a closer look to the right of the previous image.The big round handle is the landing gear lever. Pull it up and the gear retracts; push it down and the gear extends. Above the lever are three landing gear lights. They're green when the gear is down, red when the gear is in motion or not fully extended, and unlit when the gear is up. It's typically a good idea to check for "three green" before landing.To the left of the gear lights is the flaps indicator. The flaps are a pair of flat surfaces on each wing that can extend outward to increase the surface area of the wing. This allows the plane to fly at slower speeds (say, for landing). Right now the needle shows the flaps at 0° (fully retracted). They can be extended all the way out to 40° for very slow landings.To the left of the flaps indicator are the auto brake controls. The auto brake can automatically start braking after landing. The top light illuminates when the auto brake disarms due to a malfunction, reminding the pilot that it's now his job to stop the plane. The middle knob sets the braking intensity, from OFF (no auto braking) up to 3 (hard braking), with a special RTO setting (rejected takeoff -- hold on to your hand rests).The two lights below the flaps indicator light when the flaps are moving or extended, respectively. The light below the auto brake knob illuminates when there is a malfunction in the anti-skid system, warning the pilot not to apply excessive brake pressure and cause a skid.To the left of all that are a pair of small knobs, a switch, and two pushbuttons. The right knob controls where the aircraft gets its calculated reference airspeeds -- important airspeeds that must be called out during takeoff. They can be automatically calculated by the FMC, or as a fallback, entered manually using this knob. The left knob controls what max. N1 limit is displayed on the upper DU. Like the reference airspeeds, it can be automatically calculated by the FMC or manually entered. The setting appears as a red line on the N1 dials displayed below on the DU.The FUEL FLOW switch below the N1 setting knob controls the fuel flow indicator; normally it shows the fuel flow rate, but can temporarily act as a fuel "triptometer" -- showing fuel used since the last reset, and marking a reset point.The three buttons to the right of that switch control what's shown on the lower DU, either engine information (ENG) or information on the aircraft's other systems (SYS). The C/R button is cancel/recall -- press it once to "cancel" any warnings shown on the DU (makes them disappear), and press it again to "recall" those warnings (makes them reappear).To the right of the landing gear lever are the copilot's PFD and ND, the copilot's cockpit illumination controls, and air controls (not shown). They mostly mirror the pilot's.OK, let's move on to mode control panel (MCP). It sits on top of the main panel:On the left side are the controls for the pilot's ND. The top-left knob (MINS) is where the pilot dials in the minimum approach altitude. This is the lowest the pilot can go before he must see the runway to land. If he can't see the runway, he has to abort the landing. Setting this knob will let the plane say "MINIMUMS" when the pilot reaches this altitude, as a reminder. Then, going right, we've got an FPV button that toggles display of the flight path vector on the PFD (basically a little circle showing you where your airplane is trending; e.g., if it floats above the artificial horizon you know your plane is climbing). Then a button (MTRS) that toggles between metric and English units for international flights. And lastly a knob (BARO) for changing the altimeter setting: that's the outside surface air pressure. The pilot needs to do this so the altimeter indicates an accurate altitude.Second row: The first switch (VOR1/ADF1) toggles the left data block on the ND between VOR and ADF information. (VOR and ADF are two kinds of radio navigation.) Then we've got a knob that sets which of the different screens the ND is displaying (currently the MAP screen). The ND can show an overhead map view (as shown), or a plan view, or an approach and landing view, etc. The next knob over sets the range of the ND (the zoom knob). And then there's another switch that's like the VOR/ADF switch on the left side, but for the right data block. (These data blocks are not currently shown ND.)The bottom row of buttons toggle on and off the display of different "data layers" on the ND. In the photo the ND is pretty sparse -- it's just showing the compass rose and course line. The pilot could use these buttons to show weather radar, nearby airports, topographic terrain, etc.To the right of that cluster, spanning the remaining width of the MCP, are the autopilot controls. When the pilot is not actually flying the airplane by grabbing the yoke, he is dialing in instructions to the autopilot using this panel.At the very left side of the MCP is the course knob and window. This knob sets an inbound or outbound course to fly towards a radio navigation facility (e.g., fly to the Newark VOR via the 270° radial). Below and to the right of that knob is the F/D (flight director) switch. Turning on the flight director is like "assisted autopilot": The autopilot doesn't actually fly the plane, but shows you on the PFD what you should be doing to fly the plane in the way it wants you to. It's extra guidance for the pilot who still wishes to hand-fly.Just above the F/D switch is a tiny little light labeled "MA" (for master -- though it's unlit so you couldn't tell). There are actually two of these lights; one on the left side and one on the right -- you can see the right one on the other side of the photo. These correspond to the two FCCs (flight control computers) that power the autopilot. If the left light is on, the left FCC is doing the F/D calculations. If the right is on, the right FCC is doing the F/D calculations. Normally the left FCC manages the pilot's F/D, but if the pilot's FCC fails, it could be managed by the copilot's FCC.Moving over to the right, we've got the A/T (auto throttle) arm switch. The auto throttle can control the throttles automatically to maintain a set airspeed or N1. To the right of the switch is a knob that dials in the airspeed/N1 setting, and above it a display showing the current airspeed/N1 setting. There are lines moving out to the bottom-left and bottom-right, connected to buttons. These enable the different auto throttle modes -- N1 (maintain an N1), SPEED (maintain an airspeed), and LVL CHG (level change; sets throttles appropriately for climbs and descents).There's also a small button to the left of the knob called C/O (changeover), which toggles the display between airspeed (in knots) and Mach number. At higher altitudes, speed in Mach becomes more important than speed in knots.The other small button to the right of the knob is the SPD INTV (speed intervention) switch. If your FMC is calculating your speed for you, but you temporarily want to maintain a different speed, press this button and dial in your speed. Press it again to return to flying the FMC's calculated speed.Above that button is the VNAV button, which turns on the vertical navigation autopilot mode. This mode will fly the vertical profile programmed into the FMC, beginning climbs and descents as the FMC commands.To the right of the VNAV button is the heading knob and related buttons and window. This knob is used to set a heading for the autopilot to fly. The button just below the knob turns on heading mode, commanding the autopilot to fly that heading.To the right of the knob is a row of three buttons. The top turns on LNAV (lateral navigation) mode. This mode flies the plane through the waypoints programmed into the FMC. Turning on both LNAV and VNAV mode will have the plane fly exactly the 3D route programmed into the FMC. The middle button turns on VORLOC mode, where the plane flies to a VOR (radio navigation fix) using the onboard nav radio and the course dialed into the course window. The bottom button is APP (approach) mode, where the plane flies an ILS signal down to a runway. ILS is a very accurate radio navigation system that can guide a plane precisely onto a runway for landing.Next column to the right is the altitude setting. We got a knob and a window for setting the altitude, and two mode buttons: ALT HLD (altitude hold), and V/S, which holds a specified vertical speed. To the right of the knob is a small ALT INTV (altitude intervention) button that works like the SPD INTV button. Then we got a knob and a window for dialing in a desired vertical speed in feet per minute.Moving right is a grid of four buttons. These control the two autopilot computers (A and B). The top row of buttons turn on autopilot command mode (where it has total command over the aircraft), and the bottom row turns on CWS (command with steering) mode. CWS is a special mode where the pilot pushes the controls to get the plane flying in the way he wants, and then releases the controls -- the autopilot then takes over the flying. There are two redundant autopilot systems, and both must be active to make an autopilot-controlled approach and landing.The big bar below the grid of buttons disengages the autopilot and gives the pilot full control of the aircraft. To the right of that grid are some duplicated controls from the left side that are in easier reach of the copilot.The other panel we can see in this image is the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS). The panel is below the copilot's ND, containing three large black switches.The GPWS warns the pilot when it detects that the aircraft may hit the ground. The three switches are used to turn on and off three types of ground-proximity audio warnings: "TOO LOW - FLAPS" (when the plane thinks you may have forgotten to extend your flaps before landing), "TOO LOW - GEAR"(when the plane thinks you may have forgotten to lower your gear before landing), and "TOO LOW - TERRAIN" (when the plane thinks you may have forgotten about that mountain between you and the runway).Above and to the left of the switches is a warning light indicating when the GPWS is inoperative, and a SYS TEST button that tests the GPWS.Now let's look above the main panel, on the glare shield:The red Fire Warning light is bad news when it lights up, but you can silence the alarm bell by pressing it. The yellow Master Caution light is also bad news; pressing it "acknowledges" the caution and turns off the light. To the right of the Master Caution light is a grid of lights that indicate what is generally wrong with the airplane. (Nothing is illuminated right now, but examples are FLT CONT [flight controls] and ELEC [electrical system].) The copilot has his own Fire Warning and Master Caution lights, as well as a separate grid of different annunciators.The CLOCK button on the very left operates the chronograph, same as the CHR button on the clock face.Let's take a look at what's to the left of the pilot's seat:The wheel on the right side of the image is the tiller wheel, used to steer the airplane on the ground. Below it are two knobs; the forward one controls the brightness of the map light (the red-capped light on the left side of the image). The rear knob has no function.Behind the knobs is the pilot's emergency oxygen mask.Let's move on to the throttle console now!At the center are the throttles. Push forward to burn more gas, pull back to save money. There's one for each engine. There are also paddles behind each throttle lever that control the thrust reversers. Pull up to apply reverse thrust during landing. There are buttons underneath each throttle grip (not shown) that engage TO/GA (takeoff/go-around) mode. Press either button and the throttles automatically set for either a takeoff or an aborted landing. The black buttons on the side of each throttle grip cause the auto throttle to disengage, giving throttle control back to the pilot.The pair of levers below the throttle are the fuel cutoff levers. Pulling either of these levers down will cut off fuel to that engine. They're used to shut the engines down in an emergency or as part of a routine shutdown.The big wheel is the trim wheel. If the plane is floating up hands-off, push the wheel forward to apply forward trim. And vice versa. Nurse the wheel as needed to get the plane to fly straight without any pressure on the yoke from the pilot. To the right of the trim wheel is the trim indicator.Next to the trim wheel is the parking brake lever, and behind it a light that illuminates when the parking brake is set. Also next to the trim wheel is the speed brake lever -- pull back to deploy the spoilers and slow down; push forward to clean up the plane and speed up.To the right of the throttles is the flap lever, which sets the flap position.Below the flap lever are the stabilizer trim cutout switches. There's one switch for the autopilot's automatic control of trim, and another switch for the pilot-controlled electric trim system. If either system were malfunctioning and trimming the aircraft incorrectly, you could disable it and just trim the plane manually using the big trim wheel. Note that these are backup trim cutout switches -- the normal trim cutout switch is on the yoke.OK, let's move away from the throttle quadrant to the bottom portion of the center console. At the top are the bright red fire extinguisher handles, labeled "1" and "2" (for engine 1 [left] and 2 [right]), and "APU" for the APU fire extinguisher. To the left of the engine 1 extinguisher is the OVERHEAT switch, which selects between redundant A and B engine overheat detection circuits. Below that is a light that illuminates if an overheat is detected in the left engine, and below that a switch that tests the A and B detection circuits.Between the engine 1 and APU handles are lights that warn of: a fire in the wheel well, a fault in the A or B fire detection circuit (depending on the position of the OVERHEAT switch), a fault in the APU fire detection circuit, or a discharged APU bottle (you only get one!).Between the APU and engine 2 fire extinguisher handles is a similar set of test switches and warning lights for the right engine, and a big black BELL CUTOUT button (obscured) that silences the fire warning bell if the pilot should get sick of it. To the right of the engine 2 handle is the bottle test switch and lights that tell the pilot that each of the three extinguisher bottles is working properly. There are also a pair of lights indicating that the left or right bottles have already been used.Moving down to the very top-left side of the center console is the COMM1 radio panel. The left window shows the active frequency: the frequency the pilot would be talking over if he were to key in the mic while COMM1 was set. Then to the right we have the standby window, which is where the pilot dials in the next frequency he wants to talk to. When he's ready to switch frequencies, he presses the transfer button in between the two windows, and he's on a new frequency. The two knobs set the larger and smaller digits of the standby frequency. There's also a test button and an on/off button below the right and left windows, respectively. The grid of six buttons in the bottom center choose which radio the COMM1 panel is connected to: There are three VHF radios, two HF radios, and an AM radio. The HF SENS knob is used to set the sensitivity when COMM1 is connected to the HF radio: HF is a very long-range radio system used in overwater flights, and can require fine-tuning of sensitivity.Moving right, we have the cargo file panel. We have two green lights that light up when the TEST button below it is held down, to show that the two cargo fire extinguisher bottles are working. We got two small knobs that choose between each of two fire detection circuits for the forward and aft cargo locations (so two circuits per location, two locations total). To the right is a light that illuminates if a fault is detected in any fire detection circuit. Below the knobs are two lights that illuminate should a fire be detected in the forward or aft cargo compartment. To the right of those lights is a guarded button; flip the guard and press down to extinguish the cargo fire. It doubles as a light telling you you've already discharged your bottle.To the right of that is the COMM2 radio, which works the same as the COMM1 radio.Below the COMM1 radio control is the NAV1 radio control. This works like the COMM radios except the pilot doesn't talk over the radio; the airplane uses the radio signal to navigate to a station. There's a test button that drives the NAV1 needle (on the ND or the backup HSI) to a known heading; if the needle is on that heading, the radio is working.To the right of NAV1 are the weather radar controls. The left knob sets the gain (sensitivity) of the weather radar, and the right knob is used to tilt the radar up or down, to scan for storm clouds above or below. The buttons select different display modes, such as WX (weather only) or WX+T (weather and turbulence). In case you're curious, the radar can detect turbulence by noticing when rain droplets change direction as they fall.Then, moving right, we've got the NAV2 radio, same as the NAV1 radio.Below the NAV1 radio is the audio selector panel. The top row of buttons sets who the pilot is talking to when he keys in the mic. He can talk over COMM1 or COMM2, he can talk to the flight attendants or to all the passengers, etc.The two rows of knobs below that set the volume for each of the many different radios and other audio sources that go into the pilot's headset.The bottom right switch is a backup push-to-talk switch for mic keying. (The normal PTT switch is on the yoke.) Move up to talk over the radio, and move down to talk over the intercom.To the right is the MASK/BOOM switch, which toggles between the oxygen mask microphone and the boom microphone for transmissions. The pilot would only use the MASK position of the oxygen mask deployed in an emergency.The V-B-R knob controls what audio is filtered out from nav radio stations. In "V", only weather information is heard (which is sometimes broadcast over a nav radio). In "B", both weather information and the morse code identifier is heard. In "R", only the morse code identifier is heard (to verify that the pilot tuned in the correct station, and the station is working properly).The ALT-NORM switch on the right toggles between normal and emergency mode for the communications system.To the right of the pilot's intercom controls is the HGS (heading guidance system) controls. The pilot uses this panel to input information into the HGS. The HGS then displays telemetry to the pilot over the HUD (more on that later) to help him land. The pilot presses a button on the left (such as RWY for runway length), then enters the data using the numeric keypad on the right. Once he's entered all the data, the HGS can then help guide him down to a landing. There's also a clear button and brightness controls along the bottom.To the right is the copilot's mic and intercom controls, which are the same as the pilot's.Below the pilot's intercom controls is the ADF panel, which controls the ADF, a very old form of radio navigation. The bottom-left knob switches between ADF mode (for navigating to the radio signal) and ANT mode (for listening to the radio signal). The right knob mutes and un-mutes the radio signal. The pilot would listen to the radio signal to hear the morse code and make sure he's tuned the correct frequency, and ergo navigating to the correct station.To the right of the ADF radio is the transponder controls. The transponder is a device that intercepts an incoming radar beam (from an ATC radar) and sends it back out with information about the aircraft. ATC uses this information to get more information about an aircraft than it could from just an unmodified radar return.The top left knob selects between one of two redundant transponders. The middle window is the transponder code. Every aircraft is assigned a four-digit code when it's under ATC control; you dial it in with the two knobs below and on either side of the window.The top right knob turns on the transponder and sets its mode. XPNDR turns on altitude reporting, which sends back the plane's current altitude (which can be hard for radar alone to determine) with the radar beam. TA additionally transmits the plane's unique identifier. And TA/RA will also allow the transponder to receive data broadcast from ATC to all nearby aircraft over the radar beam. This data includes the locations of other aircraft that the radar is picking up.Note that the four-digit squawk code is different from the unique ID transmitted in TA mode -- the four digit squawk code can be reused many times in a day, whereas the unique Mode S ID is assigned once to one aircraft for all time.The bottom left knob sets whether to use the pilot's or copilot's altimeter when reporting altitude back. The middle IDENT button performs an identification function. This causes the aircraft to "light up" on ATC's radar. ATC will often ask an aircraft to "ident" to figure out who they're talking to. The top middle light indicates a transponder failure.To the right of the transponder controls, below the copilot's intercom panel, is the COMM3 radio panel, same as the COMM1 and COMM2 panels.The bottom left panel controls the brightness of the center panel and flood lights.At bottom center are additional trim controls. The aileron trim controls are on the bottom left, allowing the pilot to trim left-wing-down or right-wing-down if the plane is drifting left or right. The indicator is in on the yoke. The knob on the bottom right is rudder trim, and its indicator is above the knobTo the right of that is the stabilizer trim override switch. In the NORM position, the yoke trim cutout switch is operational. In the OVRD position, the two trim cutout switches on the throttle quadrant (discussed above) are operational.At the very bottom right are the cockpit door controls. The door can be unlocked, locked, or automatically controlled using the right knob. The two lights indicate when the door is unlocked and when the locking mechanism has failed.We're almost done -- let's do the overhead console! Let's start with the top half.The red switch at top-left controls the in-flight WiFi; it can be in normal or override-off mode.Below that switch are the IRU controls. At the top we have a window that displays information, and a knob that controls what information is displayed. It can display the current lat/lon, the wind direction and speed, the airplane heading and speed, etc. All of this information comes from the IRS (inertial reference system).Below that is a knob that toggles the display between using the left or right IRS (there are two after all). To the right is a keypad used to enter in the initial lat/lon of the aircraft. (Remember that the IRUs only measure changes in position, so without an initial position, they can't give any useful information.) Normally this is done using the FMC, but it's here too as a backup.Below the IRS panel are some warning lights showing when an IRU has failed, or is on battery backup power, and a pair of knobs that set the left and right IRU mode. IRUs have to spin up and align before they can be used for navigation, a process that takes 10 minutes. So the IRU must first be put into ALIGN mode for 10 minutes or so before it can be moved into NAV mode. If the pilot is in a hurry, he can put the IRU into the emergency ATT (attitude-only) mode, but he will get no position information and only attitude information.To the left are two slanted sets of lights: That's the leading-edge flaps indicator. The flaps actually have two components: The part that extends backwards and the part that extends forwards (the slats). These lights indicate whether the slats are in motion, extended, or retracted.Below the slats indicators is a single, lone caution light. It illuminates when the PSEU (proximity switch electronic unit) has failed. The PSEU monitors the sensors that determine if the landing gear is up or down, if the aircraft is flying or on the ground, etc.To the right of the IRS panel is the SERVICE INTERPHONE switch, which turns on a backup system for talking with the flight attendants. Below that is the DOME WHITE switch, that turns on and off the bright white dome light that floods the whole cockpit. (Not good for night vision.)Then, one column to the right at the top, is an intercom panel for the observer (a third flight deck member who sits in an observer seat).Below the observer intercom panel are two thrust reverser caution lights that illuminate if there is a problem with the left or right thrust reverser. Below that are two switches and lights that toggle between the primary and alternate EEC (electronic engine computer). Each engine has two EECs, one for backup. The EEC controls the flow of fuel into the engine to get a desired power, as set by the throttle, but will also limit power as necessary to prevent damaging the engine.Below the EEC controls is the emergency oxygen indicator. The flight crew has its own independent emergency oxygen system, and this dial shows how much oxygen is left in that system.To the right of that is a switch and a light -- flip the switch to make the passenger oxygen valves fall down from the ceiling. The light illuminates to show that the passenger oxygen is on and flowing to the masks.Below that are three backup gear-down lights; in case the main ones go out, the pilot can still be sure his gear is down before he lands.On the very right is the flight recorder switch, used to test the flight recorder (that records telemetry to the black box in case of a crash). The light to the right of it illuminates if the flight recorder fails. The two buttons to the right of the light test the airspeed warning system that sounds an alarm when the plane busts its maximum airspeed.Then below that we've got two stall warning test buttons. Press them to test each of the two redundant stall warning systems. (A stall occurs when the aircraft is no longer flying fast enough to generate lift. It's bad enough to warrant an aural warning.)On to the lower portion of the overhead panel:At the top-left corner are the flight control systems. The two black switches at the top turn on and off the A and B hydraulic flight control systems, which allow the pilot to steer the jet in the air. The warning lights to the right of and below those switches warn the pilot if there isn't enough hydraulic pressure to power the flight controls. There is also a STBY RUD position on each switch that switches rudder control to the standby hydraulic system.The bright red switch in the middle of that panel turns on the alternate flaps system, which uses the standby hydraulic system to get the flaps down or up in an emergency. The red switch turns on the system, and then the smaller switch to the right raises or lowers the flaps.Below and to the left are another pair of black switches; these turn on and off hydraulic A and B power to the speed brakes. The lights to the right warn of speed brake failures. Below that is the yaw dampener on/off switch and failure light.Moving right, we have a lone switch that turns on and off the cockpit video camera, and then below it a digital display; this shows information about the electrical system (amps and volts being put out by the battery and generators). Below that are three warning lights indicating when the battery is powering things that the generator ought to be powering, or other electrical failures. To the right is the MAINT button, which is used by ground personnel to test the system.Below the warning lights are the controls for the electrical system display. It's split into two sides -- the left is for DC equipment, and the right is for AC equipment.On the right is a knob that sets which electrical system's information is appearing on the display; it can display information from the main battery, standby battery, battery bus, and each of three generator transfer busses, as well as a test mode.Below that knob is the battery on/off switch -- this is the first switch you'd want to flip when you entered the cockpit.Moving to the right half of the panel (the "AC" half), we've got another knob for setting which system's information is shown on the panel (standby battery, external ground power, engine 1/2 generator, APU generator, battery inverter, or test mode), and two on-off switches for two electrical accessory systems. Below it is a GALLEY switch that supplies electrical power to the galley for "cooking" airline food.Moving right, we've got two knobs controlling the brightness of the circuit breaker lights (which are behind the copilot's seat) and the overhead panel lights.Right again, and we get seven switches in two rows and a plethora of lights. These are the heating/anti-ice controls. The top row of switches controls the window heat (defog/anti-ice). There are four heated windows (four switches), and the center switch tests the overheat detection system. The lights illuminate when the heating system is on or when it's overheated and automatically turned off.Below that are the probe heat switches. The pitot probe sticks out from the outside of the airplane and measures ram air pressure; this is used to calculate airspeed. It must be heated to avoid icing. The switches turn on probe heat, and the lights illuminate when there is a problem with the probe heaters, or when the auxiliary probe heaters are activated.The next panel down contains the anti-ice switches. On the left we have the wing anti-ice switch, and two lights showing that the anti-ice valves are open. On the right, we have the engine anti-ice switches, one for each engine, and lights showing when each valve is open. The additional lights indicate problems with the engine anti-ice system.Moving right, at the top, are the temperature controls. The top middle knob sets whether the temperature dial below is showing the passenger cabin air temperature or supply duct air temperature. To the left and right are dials indicating how much cold outside air is being mixed with hot engine air to produce the desired air temperature for each of the two passenger cabin zones. At the bottom are two knobs that control the temperatures of each of the two zones. There is an auto setting and a manual cold/hot setting. The warning lights indicate an overheat condition when there is not enough cold air to bring the hot air down to the desired temperature.Moving back to the left side, in the middle, are the navigation source switches. Normally, the pilot's radio navigation instruments are powered by the NAV1 radio, and the copilot's by the NAV2 radio, but this switch lets you set one radio to power both sets of instruments.The IRS switch does the same thing, but for the two IRSes, and the FMC switch for the pilot and copilot FMCs. The displays source knob and displays control panel switch control whether each DU control panel and source switch (discussed earlier) configures its own DU, or whether the panels both configure the same DU.To the right of that is the standby battery controls. The two red switches connect and disconnect the standby batteries from DC (left) or AC (right) power. The center switch turns on and off the standby battery. The middle warning light illuminates when the standby battery is off. The left and right lights illuminate when the standby battery is powering the DC or AC busses.Moving right to the center column, there is an EQUIP COOLING panel, with two switches and two lights. The switches control the equipment cooling fans (supply and exhaust), which must be on to keep the avionics cool. The lights indicate when the fans are off.Below that are the emergency exit lights controls. The switch turns on and off the emergency exit lights, and the light indicates when the exit lights are illuminated.Moving right, we get a big cluster of lights above and below four switches. These are the hydraulic pump switches. There are four hydraulic pumps: an electrically-powered and an engine-powered pump for each engine. The inboard switches power the electric pumps, and the outboard switches power the engine-driven pumps. The top warning lights indicate when a pump detects low hydraulic fluid pressure or an overheat of an electric pump.One of the bottom cluster of lights will illuminate if any one of the many exit doors are open in the aircraft. All of these lights should be off before the plane starts taxiing.Moving right, we see a dial above a set of switches. These are the air system controls. The dial indicates the air pressure in the air ducts. The switch above and to the right of it turns on and off the recirculating fan, which recirculates air (and interesting odors) throughout the cabin. Below that is the overheat test button that tests the overheat detectors.The switches below and to the left and right of the dial control the left and right packs. A pack is an air conditioning unit that provides conditioned air to the cabin and other accessories -- it can be turned off, placed in auto mode, and forced to maximum output (HIGH). Directly below the dial is the isolation valve switch, which controls the isolation valve. When the valve is closed, each pack has its own independent source of air. When the valve is open, the packs can share air between them.The button below that switch resets a tripped overheat light. The lights to the left and right of the button indicate when a pack has overheated.Below those lights are three switches; they control the source of air. The outboard switches select bleed air from the left and right engine; the middle switch selects bleed air from the APU.Above the air control panel are three lights; they light up to show cautions related to the air system, such as a "dual bleed" situation (air being fed from both engines and the APU at the same time).Moving back to the left side, below the navigation controls, is a dial surrounded by lights. The dial indicates the temperature of fuel in the tanks (to watch out for freezing fuel). The blue lights to the left and right illuminate if a fuel valve is closed. The blue light below and to the center illuminates if the cross feed valve is open. The orange lights flanking that light illuminate if either of the two fuel filters is being bypassed.Below that are the fuel pump controls. The big knob in the top center opens or closes the cross feed valve. Below that are controls for the two center tank fuel pumps, and low-pressure warning lights. Below those switches are controls and warnings lights for the two fuel pumps for each of the wing tanks.To the right, we have a single switch, the ground power switch, which toggles on and off external ground power (if it's hooked up to the plane). Below that are the generator controls. The big black switch in the middle turns on or off the automatic bus transfer system, that automatically transfers power between buses to ensure AC power is available. The lights to the left and right indicate if the engine 1 or engine 2 transfer buses have failed.Below that is a row of four switches. The outboard switches control the left and right engine generators, and the inboard switches control the two APU generators. The lights illuminate when a generator is not powering systems because another generator is doing the job for it.Below that is a row of four caution lights, indicating faults in the generator system. Then below that we've got an EGT dial for the APU. (Since the APU is itself a mini-jet engine, its EGT must also be monitored.) To the right is the pilot's windshield wiper knob -- park, intermittent, low- and high-speed; the copilot's wiper controls are just to the rightMoving to the center column, we've got the No Smoking and Fasten Seatbelts switches (though No Smoking has been taped over with a new meaning -- "chime"), and two buttons. The left makes a "bing-bong" chime that gets a flight attendant at your beck and call, and the right sounds a horn to external ground personnel working near your jet. The light below the GRD CALL switch indicates when a flight attendant or ground person would like to talk to you (the reverse of the call buttons).Moving right again, below the cluster of lights, is the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) controls. The black grille in the middle is the cabin mic for the voice recorder. The red button erases the CVR's memory banks (this can only be done when on the ground, before you get clever). The green button tests the CVR and illuminates the little light to the right if everything is working.Below that is the cabin pressure dial. The dial has two needles, one indicating the current cabin altitude (the altitude that the cabin "feels" like it's at given the air pressure), and one indicating the difference between the outside and inside air pressure. (It can't be too high.)To the right of that is the ALT HORN CUTOUT button, that silences the landing gear warning horn, if, for example, the pilot knows the landing gear is down but for whatever reason the airplane still thinks the gear is up, and is complaining loudly about it.The dial below the cabin pressure dial is the rate of change of cabin pressure -- it indicates ear-popping "descents" or "climbs" in cabin pressure.Moving over to the right, we see the cabin pressure controls. We have two windows and two knobs, for setting the cruising altitude (the cruising cabin pressure will be based on this) and the altitude of the airport we're landing at (so that by the time we land, the cabin pressure has been equalized). To the right of those windows is a dial indicating the position of the outflow valve, which releases excess pressure to the ambient atmosphere.Below that are the manual outflow valve controls. The top switch opens or closes the valve when in manual control, and the knob below toggles between automatic, alternate automatic, and full manual control of the outflow valve.Moving to the left side of the very bottom row, we have a row of four wide switches. These turn on and off the landing lights, which illuminate the runway at night. Then we have a pair of smaller switches -- these are the runway turnoff lights, which illuminate the left or right side of the aircraft. The switch to the right of that turns on the taxi lights, which are less blindingly bright than the landing lights.Moving right again, we have the APU start switch, which is used to power the APU. Once the APU is powered up, you can start the engines. Which brings us to…The engine start panel is to the right of the APU start switch. There are two knobs, that control the engine starters for the left and right engines. The starter has four modes: GRD (ground start), OFF, CONT (continuously monitor the engine and automatically restart if it dies), and FLT (in-flight restart). The switch in the middle determines which igniters to use -- only the left or right engine, or both engines.Moving right again are a set of five more lights switches. They control, in order, the logo lights (lights up the airline logo), position and strobe lights (to help other planes find us at night), anti-collision lights (same purpose), wing lights (to mark the edges of our wingtips at night), and wheel well lights (to light up the wheel well for maintenance crews).At the very bottom left is the HUD (heads-up display), currently folded up. You can pull it down to get helpful symbology superimposed over the view ahead. The knob controls HUD brightness.Below the overhead panel is the standby compass and a switch controlling the compass light:There are some controls sprouting out from the yoke too:As you can see, the pilot has a handy checklist in the center of the yoke with a movable tab to keep his place. On the left side, the two trim switches trim the airplane nose-up and nose-down. The button on the side disengages the autopilot. On the right side, the numeric display can be set so the pilot doesn't forget his flight number. Not shown is the push-to-talk switch, which is held down when the pilot wishes to speak over the radio.And lastly, behind the copilot's seat is a large bank of circuit breakers:And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this tour!

Alright, I think it’s been long enough, and it’s time to do another one of these! This time, we’ll be dissecting the cockpit of the Mirage 2000. And, as with my other answers…What do all the controls in an airplane's cockpit do? https://www.quora.com/What-do-all-the-controls-in-a-fighter-jets-cockpit-do https://www.quora.com/What-do-all-of-the-controls-in-an-F16-fighter-jets-cockpit-do… we’ll need to pick a specific Mirage 2000 to dissect. For this answer, I’ll be covering the Mirage 2000C, as flown since 1982. The “C” stands for chasseur (“fighter” in French).The Mirage 2000C is a French fourth-generation jet fighter. (“Fourth-generation” broadly meaning it has advanced air-to-air missiles, sophisticated radar display, digital mission and targeting computer, and more.) It began life as a lightweight fighter but has since evolved into a capable multirole aircraft with both air-to-air and air-to-ground capability.Let’s once again start by introducing you to the systems that these cockpit switches will control.Engine: The Mirage 2000C is powered by a single SNECMA M53-P2 engine, which is an afterburning turbofan. Its simple single-spool design is unique: Unlike most jet engines, which use separate spools for the fan and the compressor, the M53 has one spool, attached to which are the fan, the compressors, and the exhaust turbine. The engine is started by the battery.For stable operation in supersonic flight, the nose of the aircraft has a movable shock cone (souris), that retracts inward after exceeding the speed of sound, to control the location of the supersonic shock wave within the engine air intake.The intake has automatically-controlled scoops (pelles) that open to increase airflow into the engine during high-angle-of-attack maneuvering, where airflow would normally not be sufficient for continuous engine operation.The engine is controlled by a digital engine computer that manages fuel flow, nozzle position, and afterburner, to produce commanded engine power. In the event the main engine computer fails, there is a much simpler secondary engine computer (secours calculateur) that can keep the engine running at a reduced thrust level.In the event both computers fail, a secondary “emergency fuel” (secours carburant) mode is available, isolating RPM and nozzle control from fuel control.Fuel system: The Mirage 2000C has six fuel tanks split into two groups, the left group and the right group. The fuel tanks in each group are the wing tank, the forward tank, and the feeder tank. In addition, there is a center tank just aft of the cockpit. The Mirage 2000C can also mount up to three external fuel tanks for additional fuel, and has an aerial refueling probe ahead of the cockpit for in-flight refueling capability.Environmental control system: The ECS performs heating and air conditioning to automatically control air temperature and pressurization. The Mirage 2000C also has onboard liquid oxygen to provide oxygen to the pilot’s mask.Electrical system: The Mirage 2000C has AC and DC power systems. Primary AC power comes from two alternators, connected to the engine. The alternators are connected to two transformer-regulators providing primary DC power. If engine power is not available, a battery provides DC power, and it is connected to a power converter to provide AC power. In addition, the flight computer has a dedicated power converter.Flight controls: The Mirage 2000 is a delta-wing aircraft with no horizontal stabilizer. At the trailing end of the delta wing are four elevons, that provide both pitch and roll control. The vertical stabilizer has a rudder. In addition, the wings have automatically-controlled slats (becs) on the leading edges.The Mirage 2000C has a fully-digital fly-by-wire (FBW) control system. The FBW system is “full authority” — in other words, the airplane is not controllable if the FBW system fails. Therefore it is granted extra failsafes. The FBW system has four main control computers and a fifth emergency computer. The FBW system operates in one of three different modes: air-to-air mode (allowing full maneuverability), air-to-ground mode (reducing maneuverability when heavy ordnance is loaded onto the wings), and emergency mode (a degraded functionality mode used when the main FBW system fails).The Mirage 2000C also has airbrakes above and below each wing to slow the aircraft down. On the ground, a nosewheel steering system links the rudder controls to the nosewheel, allowing it to turn the aircraft on the ground.The Mirage 2000C can also mount a drag chute or arrestor tail hook. Both are used to slow the aircraft down in an emergency after landing.Hydraulic system: The Mirage 2000C has two independent hydraulic systems, called system 1 and system 2. Each system has one engine-driven main pump and one electrically-powered reserve pump. The various hydraulically-powered devices on the aircraft are distributed across the two systems.Each hydraulic system also includes a hydro-alternator that generates electrical power for the #1 and #2 fly-by-wire channels, allowing continued FBW operation in the event of an electrical failure.Landing gear: The Mirage 2000C has tricycle landing gear (nose wheel and two main wheels). The main wheels each have carbon disc brakes and are connected to an anti-skid system. There is also a parking brake.Autopilot: The Mirage 2000C’s autopilot is closely linked to the fly-by-wire system. The aircraft is designed to be flown on autopilot most of the time (except in combat, of course). The autopilot operates in one of a few different modes: attitude hold (holds the commanded pitch and heading or bank), altitude hold (holds commanded heading and altitude), and approach mode (flies an approach to a runway).Pitot-static system: The nose of the aircraft contains an air data probe consisting of a pitot and static port, which are used to power the barometric instruments like altimeter, airspeed indicator, and vertical speed indicator.Lighting system: The Mirage 2000C has both interior and exterior lights. Interior lights illuminate the cockpit and panel text. Exterior lights include navigation and formation lights, anti-collision lights, landing lights, and a police light.Communications system: The Mirage 2000C has two radios, a main U/VHF radio capable of operating on both UHF and VHF frequencies, and an auxiliary UHF-only radio.Navigation systems: The Mirage 2000C has an onboard inertial navigation system (INS), which uses three gyroscopes to measure acceleration in each axis. This is integrated over time to track changes in position. It must be initialized with the aircraft’s starting position on the ground, and can be corrected in-flight against known landmarks. In addition, the Mirage has VOR, TACAN, and ILS receivers for radio navigation, and a radio altimeter for measuring height above the ground.IFF system: The Mirage 2000C has an IFF (identify friend/foe) transponder capable of responding to mode-1, mode-2, mode-3, and mode-4 IFF interrogations, and transmitting interrogations to other aircraft.Radar system: The Mirage 2000C has an RDI pulse-doppler radar with multi-mode capability. It’s optimized for air-to-air combat and has very basic air-to-ground capability. It can guide the radar-guided Matra Super 530D missiles that the Mirage can carry.Radar warning system: The Mirage 2000C has a radar warning receiver (RWR) that detects incoming radar signals, analyzes their source, and provides warnings to the pilot. In addition, the Mirage has a missile warning system (MWS), a series of cameras mounted around the aircraft that detect incoming missiles by their distinctive smoke plumes.Weapons systems: The Mirage 2000C has four wing pylons, four lateral fuselage pylons, and one center fuselage pylons for a total of 9 hardpoints to carry weapons. The Mirage can carry heat-seeking and radar guided air-to-air missiles, unguided rockets, bombs of various types, and external fuel tanks.Countermeasures system: The Mirage 2000C has a built in radar jammer (“SABRE”) that can jam enemy radars. It also has internal chaff and flare cartridges that can launch chaff (spoofs enemy radar and radar-guided missiles) and flares (spoofs enemy heat-seeking missiles). The Mirage can also carry an Éclair pod that carries additional chaff and flare. The Eclair pod can be mounted where the arrestor hook or drag chute would otherwise go.Okay, that should be about all you need to know to understand the various switches, knobs, dials, and gauges in the cockpit. So without further ado, let's get to it!As before, we'll start from the left side and work our way around the cockpit to the right side. Also, as with the MiG-21, the labels will be in English but are of course in French in most actual cockpits.The left side has the fly-by-wire controls, audio controls, and radar controls.The back-most panel on the left side is the fly-by-wire test system. The “FCS 5” switch activates the emergency fifth fly-by-wire channel. This provides degraded FBW operation in case the other four channels fail.The two “TEST” switches test the autopilot (“AP”) and flight control system (“FCS”) computers. When the test completes, a green or red light will illuminate indicating the outcome of the test.Moving forward, we have four guarded switches. The furthest switch labeled “A/B OFF” is the emergency afterburner cutoff switch, used to terminate the afterburner if the thrust control cannot do so.The “EMER OIL” switch enables the emergency oil pump, providing oil pressure to the engine in the event the engine-driven oil pump fails.The “ENG COMP” switch controls an emergency secondary engine computer. It’s used when the main engine computer fails. It’s a three-position switch that enables the secondary computer, disables it, or forces a reset of the main engine computer.The “FUEL DUMP” switch opens the fuel dump valve, which dumps fuel in the external tanks only. Once opened, it cannot be closed.Forward of the four emergency switches are the trim controls. The “TRIM DIRECTION” rocker trims the rudder left or right. The large wheel next to it switches between normal and emergency trim modes.Further from that panel are two switches against the sidewall and a third recessed switch. The “RADAR GROUND TRANSMISSION” switch, when on, allows the radar to function while the aircraft is on the ground (normally this is disallowed for ground crew safety).The switch forward of that activates the tape recorder, which records the HUD and cockpit view.The recessed switch is the air relight switch. This switch enables the mid-air relight process, which is used to restart a stalled engine in midair.Ahead of the relight switch is the audio control panel. It consists of a series of volume knobs for the various audio systems in the aircraft. The large “AMPLIS” switch is the amplifier selector switch. This switch chooses between one of two amplifiers for the headset, in case one fails.On the seat, there is an oxygen “TEST” button, an “EMER RELEASE” lever that turns on the valve to the emergency oxygen supply, a “TEST SURP” lever that tests the oxygen mask, and a “100%” lever that toggles between 100% oxygen and an altitude-dependent mixture of oxygen and air.Moving forward, we have the radar control panel adjacent to the thrust lever.The recessed switch above the thrust lever controls the air refueling valve and lights. It has three positions: off (no refueling), day (refueling), and night (refueling plus lights).At the back row, the “RANGE” rocker increases or decreases the radar display range. The “STT” button moves the radar to single-target-track mode, where it focuses all its energy on tracking a single target (typically to support a radar-guided missile launch). The “SCAN” switch chooses the azimuth (width) of the radar sweep — from 60° to 15° of the sky laterally.The “STORE” switch is used to choose how long radar returns stay on the scope before they fade out. The “HFR”/“BFR” switch selects the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) — HFR (haute fréquence; high frequency), BFR (basse fréquence; low frequency), or ENT (entrelacé; interleaved). The high PRF mode gives you longer radar detection ranges and better “look-down” performance (detecting targets below you). Low PRF mode gives you better performance detecting slower targets. The ENT mode interleaves (cycles) between the two modes. The “BARS” switch chooses how wide the radar scans vertically — 1, 2, or 4 bars. Each “bar” is a left-to-right or right-to-left sweep of the radar at a different pitch angle.Forward of those is the “PRI”/“B” switch, which toggles the radar scope between PRI mode and B-scope mode. In PRI mode, the radar display is rendered like a cone coming out of the aircraft’s nose, and targets appear relative to their actual position in space. In B-scope mode, the bottom of the cone is stretched out to form a square, and targets closer to the aircraft are more stretched out laterally than those further away.The “A” button next has an unknown function. The switch next to that controls the target designator cursor (TDC) mode. The TDC is the “mouse cursor” on the radar display used to designate and lock targets. In “ANG” mode, the number next to the cursor shows the altitude of the center of the radar cone at the distance of the TDC from the aircraft. In “ALT” mode, the numbers next to the cursor show the minimum and maximum altitudes of the radar cone at the distance of the TDC from the aircraft. These numbers change as the pilot slews the TDC up and down the radar display.The “TEST” button is also used by maintenance personnel. The “CUT” button activates the radar’s ground avoidance mode, where the radar is used to map the terrain ahead of the aircraft for ground avoidance. The “TER” button activates the ground-mapping mode, displaying the terrain ahead on the radar scope.The large knob controls the radar power mode. It has the positions OFF, WARM UP (préchauffage; power on and warming up), SIL (silence; power on but not transmitting), and EM (emission; power on and transmitting).Above that knob, the RESET button performs a reset of the radar. Next to that switch is the Doppler reject switch, with positions “WITH” (avec), “AUTO” (aut), and “W/O” (sans). Doppler reject is a function that automatically hides from the radar display contacts that are moving so slowly that they’re probably either ground vehicles or the ground itself. In “AUTO”, the Doppler notch (the speed range that is filtered out) is automatically controlled. The other two positions increase or decrease this range manually.The “GAIN” knob controls radar gain, which is the intensity that radar returns must be to be separated from background noise.The unlabeled forward two knobs are separated by a “VAL” button. The further knob is non-functional, and the closer knob is a signal filter control. The function of the button is unknown.The yellow-jacket handle, when pulled, activates the emergency secondary thrust lever. This small lever underneath the handle controls the engine in emergency fuel mode.The large handle at the top of the sidewall (just cut off in the screenshot above but visible in others) controls the drag chute, which is deployed to slow the aircraft down after landing when necessary. On some aircraft, an emergency tail hook is installed instead, and this handle controls the tail hook. The tail hook catches an arrestor wire on the airbase, used to stop the airplane quickly in the event of a brake failure.Moving forward, we have the flight control systems. The “SCOOPS” switch toggles the engine intake scoops between AUTO (automatically controlled) and R (retracted). The “S/CONES” switch toggles the shock cone between AUTO and R (retracted). And the “SLATS” switch toggles the slats between AUTO mode, and manually extending or retracting them.Forward of that panel is the exterior lights panel. The “ANTI COLL” switch turns the anti-collision lights off, or turns them on in low- or high-intensity mode. The anti-collision lights are bright flashing white lights.The “NAV LIGHTS” switch controls the navigation lights, in off, low-, or high-intensity mode. The navigation lights are red, green, and white lights around the aircraft.The “FORM LIGHTS” switch can also be set to off, low, or high. The formation lights are yellow lighted strips around the aircraft used to visualize formation position at night.The switch next to that panel against the sidewall activates the SERPAM flight data recorder or “back box”.Moving forward, we have controls for the two radios. But first, we’ll do the two additional switches up against the sidewall. The forward-most switch controls the police light, which is used to illuminate an unknown aircraft at night to help identify it. The wider rear switch activates the landing or taxi lights, used when landing or taxiing at night.OK, so the top radio set is the secondary UHF radio (“red” radio). The top-left switch is “5W”/“25W” selects between amplifiers and is always set to 5W. Next to it, the “MUTE” switch turns on or off squelch, which automatically cuts out static. The “F+A2” switch is a test selector used by maintenance personnel.The “CDE” button activates encrypted audio; it turns green when audio is encrypted. The knob next to that button controls the radio mode: OFF, ON, F1 (fixed preset frequency; not sure about this one), and H (homing, used to navigate to the source of a radio transmission). The “TEST” button tests the radio.The large knob selects the radio frequency. Frequencies are programmed into one of 20 presets. The window to the right of the knob shows which preset is active. There is no way to manually tune a radio frequency for the secondary radio.Below the secondary radio controls are the primary (“green”) radio controls. At the top left is another “TEST” button. The “E+A2” switch activates the encrypted mode. The “MUTE” switch toggles squelch on and off.Below those switches are windows where the pilot can manually set the radio frequency (there’s an up/down rocker next to each digit). The large knob, as with the secondary radio, selects which of 20 preset frequencies to use.Below the frequency window is the main mode switch. The modes are OFF, PRI (transmits/receives on the selected frequency), PRI+G (same as PRI but also receives on the “guard” frequency, 243.0 MHz, which is a worldwide emergency frequency), F1 (same as with the secondary radio), and H (homing, same as with the secondary radio).As with the secondary radio, the “5W”/“25W” switch selects between amplifiers and is always set to 5W.The frequency mode dial to the right of that switch selects between M (uses the manually-dialed frequency), P (uses the preset frequency), and G (uses guard frequency).The large yellow-jacket paddle is the emergency canopy jettison handle.Moving up to the vertical panel, we have the large red landing gear lever, which raises and lowers the landing gear. Above it is the large yellow-jacket emergency landing gear release handle, which when pulled, lowers the landing gear in the event of a hydraulic failure. The large yellow-jacket button is the emergency jettison button, which jettisons all stores on the aircraft.Below that button are a series of lights showing the status of the landing gear (three green lights means all three gear are down and locked), the air brakes, the parking brake, drag chute or arrestor hook, and nose wheel steering system.The “FCS GAIN” switch activates the emergency fly-by-wire gains. This is used when the normal fly-by-wire computer has a malfunction. Emergency gains is activated for the rest of the flight.The switch above the FCS GAIN switch arms the guns. The switch to the right of the FCS GAINS switch toggles between air-to-air and air-to-ground g limits, allowing the aircraft to pull more g when no bombs are loaded.Below those switches are a row of “level lines” indicating the control deflections that the FCS is sending to the four elevons and the rudder.The small box attached to the edge of the left eyebrow controls the countermeasures system. The “AUTO”/“MAN”/“OFF” switch activates the chaff and flare dispensers, and turns on or off automatic countermeasures dispensing based on a detected threat on the RWR. The two numeric displays show number of chaff and flares remaining in the pod. The “PRGRM”/“S REL” switch toggles between releasing the selected chaff/flare program or launching a single chaff and flare with each release.Next to the countermeasures box is a clock with winding and setting capability.On to the left forward console. Angled along the eyebrow sill are the autopilot controls. The “TEST” button tests the autopilot lights. Each of the other buttons activates an autopilot mode, which lights up the green light when active, or the yellow light when armed. From left to right, you have the autopilot master (activates attitude hold), current altitude hold, selected altitude hold, an unlabeled button (which in some aircraft activates a ground-controlled intercept mode), and an approach mode (that follows an ILS signal to a runway).The tall vertical barber pole indicator is angle of attack, with the green range being the acceptable landing angle of attack. To the left are the yellow master caution and red master warning lights; pressing the light acknowledges the alert. Below that are the radio repeaters, that display the currently-tuned frequency (preset or manual) for the UHF and U/VHF radios.The two blue-and-black balls are attitude indicators (primary and backup) that display the aircraft’s orientation against a virtual horizon. The larger primary attitude indicator also displays current heading, making it a “navball”. The primary attitude indicator has a cage lever to cage the gyro when not in flight, and the backup attitude indicator has an index knob used to raise or lower the symbolic “wings”, as well as cage the gyro.The “NORM”/“SPIN” switch, when set to SPIN, temporarily disables the fly-by-wire limits on angle of attack, allowing the pilot to exceed maximum angle of attack. This is used to recover from a spin (vrille).Below that, the five-digit window is used to select the altitude for the autopilot to hold. To the right of that is the vertical speed indicator, indicating rate of climb or descent in feet per minute. Below and to the left of that is the airspeed indicator (with a window for Mach speed), then the altimeter (with digital display and a knob for setting current sea level pressure).Below that is the PCA (poste de commande armament or armament control panel). It consists of a red master arm switch, a guarded yellow-jacket selective jettison switch, and a series of buttons whose function changes depending on the current weapons mode. Currently displayed button actions are “TOP” (activates a time-over-steerpoint mode that assists you in getting to a location at a certain time), “POL” (police mode; activates the radar for locating targets but does not allow weapons firing), “APP” (activates approach mode, assisting the pilot in flying an approach to a runway), “RD” (route désirée; activates normal flight plan following mode), and “OBL” (recalage oblique de la centrale; activates a mode that recalibrate the INS using the radar).The bottom row has a button for each weapon loaded onto the aircraft. “MAG” refers to the Magic II air-to-air missiles, “530” to the Matra Super 530D radar-guided missiles, and “RP” to the external fuel tanks (réservoirs pendulaires). You can press a button to select a weapon to fire (or jettison, if the selective jettison switch is active).Moving to the HUD control panel just below the HUD, we have at the top-left the DCLT (declutter) switch, which when active removes some symbology from the HUD to clear it up. The “CLEAR” button temporarily declutters the HUD when held.The “WGS DEP” knob sets the manual target wingspan in meters. This is used on the HUD to display a guide for aiming the gun. The pilot uses the HUD to line up the target’s wings with an aiming guide used to estimate distance.The “CCTL” switch toggles the gunsight between CCLT mode (calcul continu de la ligne de traceurs; continuous calculation of the path of the bullets) and PRED (prédéfeni; uses a predefined target distance).The “BRT” knob on the left controls HUD brightness, and the “STBY BRT” knob on the right (mislabeled) sets the position of a backup, fixed gun cross. As a backup, the pilot can manually calculate the deflection necessary for a shot, and dial it into the backup gun cross.The “SELH” switch controls which altitude is shown on the HUD. The “ZP” position shows barometric altitude and the “H” position shows radar altimeter height.The “RAD ALT” switch is used to turn ON or OFF the radar altimeter, and put it into self-test mode. The knob next to the switch sets the minimum altitude. If the aircraft descends below that altitude (on the radar altimeter), the pilot will be warned.There are two unlabeled switches below the HUD control panel. The left one turns on and off the HUD, and the right one toggles on or off the backup fixed sight.Below that is the radar display. Along the sides of the display are eight unlabeled switches that control the radar’s display of ground-controlled intercept targets. These targets are transmitted to the aircraft from ground controllers and displayed on the radar scope. On the left side, the switches are (from top to bottom): start/finish input designation (unsure about this one), number of objectives (also unsure), display polar coordinates, and display bearing coordinates.Along the right side, the witches are: display course to GCI target, display GCI target altitude, display GCI target mach number, and display time that GCI target was relayed to the aircraft.Moving below the radar display to the center pedestal, the “DECLT” switch declutters the radar display. The “TV/RDR” switch (mislabeled) controls the location of the ground radar map relative to the symbology; the pilot can shift it up or down to line it up with the symbology.The four numeric thumbwheels control (from left to right) marker brightness (unsure about this), backlight, radar contrast, and radar brightness. The “TDF”/“TDR” switch turns on or off the display.Below that is the IFF controls. There are two sets of thumbwheels for setting the mode-1 and mode-3 IFF codes. Mode-1 is used to set the mission number, and mode-3 is used to set a code given to the aircraft by air traffic control for identification purposes. Mode-2 is an aircraft identification number and it’s hard-coded.Below that are switches that activate each of the IFF modes: mode-1, mode-2, mode-3A (ATC identification), and mode-C (altitude reporting to ATC). The “IDENT” switch, when set to IDENT, sends an ATC identification signal that helps radar controllers locate the aircraft on their scope (when requested). When set to “MIC” the identification function is performed every time the push-to-talk button on the thrust lever is pressed.Below and to the left of those switches are the IFF mode-4 controls. Mode-4 is the only encrypted mode and therefore the only true identify friend/foe mode. The mode-4 IFF can store two encrypted IFF codes (labeled “A” and “B”). The mode knob selects between codes A and B. In the “ZERO” position, the two codes are erased. Normally they are also erased after the aircraft is turned off, unless the knob is set to “HOLD”.The ON/OFF switch turns on or off mode-4 replies. The light illuminates when replying to a mode-4 interrogation. The “AUDIO”/“OFF”/“LIGHT” switch controls what happens when replying to a mode-4 interrogation: an audio alert can be played, or the light illuminated.To the right of the mode-4 controls are the master IFF controls. The large knob selects the main mode: off, SBY (standby), N (normal operating mode), or EMER (replies to mode-3 ATC interrogations with a code indicating aircraft in distress). There is also a TEST button and a light indicating an IFF fault.At the bottom of the center pedestal are two gauges. The left gauge indicates pressure in the two hydraulic systems, and the right gauge indicates cockpit pressure altitude (the air pressure in the cockpit, shown as an altitude).The yellow-jacket handle is the eject lever.Moving to the right forward panel, the topmost gauge is the accelerometer, showing g forces on the aircraft.Below that is the radar warning receiver, which indicates the location of detected radars scanning this aircraft. The row of LEDs below the RWR indicate the status of the countermeasures system: S (standby), ECM (jamming), RWR (RWR is on), MWS (MWS on), and J (chaff or flares dispensing). The knob controls RWR brightness.Below the RWR is the horizontal situation indicator (IDN, indicateur de navigation). It indicates the aircraft’s heading. The blue index shows the commanded heading for the autopilot. There two arrows indicate the bearing to the current steerpoint or the currently tuned TACAN station. The inset numeric readout is the distance to the current steerpoint or TACAN station. Along the inside of the bottom is the current navigation mode: TH/NAV (true heading and navigating INS steerepoint), NAV (navigating to INS steerpoint), TAC (navigating to TACAN station), CFS (navigates to an offset position from the INS steer point), [math]\rho[/math] (unlabeled; sets offset distance), [math]\theta[/math] (unlabeled; sets offset bearing), and DTL (guided by remote GCI datalink).The left +/- knob below the IDN sets the offset distance or bearing when in [math]\rho[/math] or [math]\theta[/math] modes. The right knob changes the navigation mode.Moving back up to the eyebrow, the “A/B” light illuminates when in afterburner. Below that is the “N” gauge, showing engine RPM as a percentage of max RPM. Below that is the “T7” gauge, showing exhaust gas temperature in hundreds of °C.Below the engine gauges is the combined fuel gauge. At the top are two digital readouts showing the total amount of internal fuel (left) and internal + external fuel (right). These fuel amounts are not directly sensed; they are calculated by a totalizer based on fuel flow. The “PRESET” switch increases or decreases the total fuel amount manually, and should be used when refueling.The orange light at the top activates when air refueling is ongoing.The left vertical pole gauge indicates directly-sensed internal fuel in the left feeder tank, and the right pole gauge in the right feeder tank. The feeder tanks feed directly to the engine, so they empty last.The matrix of lights indicates which fuel tanks are empty. There is a light for each tank.The “TRANSFER” switch tests the fuel transfer circuit. The “CROSSFEED” knob, when turned, opens the tank gates, allowing fuel to flow freely between the left and right tank groups (for balance purposes).To the left of the fuel gauges is the weapons configuration panel (PPA, poste de préparation armement). The “L”/“R”/“AUTO” switch selects which missile (Magic or 530D) will be launched, the left or right. In AUTO, the missile closest to the target’s position off the nose will be launched.The “P MIS” button powers on the Super 530D missile “P” displays when the missile is ready to be fired. The button to its right is not used. The “P MAG” button powers on the Magic II missiles, and “P” displays when ready to fire. The “TEST”/“PRES”, when in TEST, tests all lights on the PPA. When in “PRES”, displays a pictorial representation of the weapons on the aircraft on the radar display.On the bottom row, the leftmost switch sets bomb fusing: INST (bombs explode instantly on impact), RET (retarded, bombs are allowed to penetrate into the target briefly before exploding), and INERT (bombs do not explode).The “QTY” switch sets the number of bombs to be released in one salvo. The “DIST” switch sets the distance between impacts for the salvo. The values for each of these is read off the LED screens to the right of the switches. The “CAN ROF” button sets firing mode for the guns, rockets, and Super 530D missiles. In PAR, a single 530D missile is launched, or sets burst mode for rockets and guns. In TOT, both missiles are launched, or sets continuous fire mode for rockets and guns.Alright, almost there! Time to do the right side panels.Here we’ve got the master electrical switches, warning lights, navigation controls, countermeasures controls, engine starting, and interior lighting controls. We’ll start forward and work our way back.The big red handle opens, closes, and locks the canopy. Below it is a round wheel just barely jutting out from under the canopy sill; that’s the emergency compass. It can be pulled out from its stowed position to show magnetic heading when the INS fails.Going to the vertical panel, at the very top, we’ve got a liquid oxygen (LOX) quantity gauge.Below that we’ve got the main red “BATT” switch, which turns on and off the battery. To the right of that are on/off switches for the transformer-rectifier, and the two alternators. To the very right is a lights test switch, which tests the matrix of warning lamps below.To the right of the warning lamps are two switches. The top switch I’m not sure about, but the bottom switch holds the aircraft into an “alert” state, where it is mostly ready for takeoff, and can be scrambled at a moment’s notice.The forward part of the horizontal sidewall is the navigation control panel or PCN (poste de commande navigation). The control panel is used to enter the latitude and longitude of waypoint, navigate to those waypoints, set target data, and do other navigation functions.The large knob sets the INS parameter, which is the field that is currently being displayed or edited. These parameters can apply to the aircraft’s current position or to a steerpoint. Each knob position represents a pair of numbers. There are two LED windows at the top of the control panel, and the two numbers go into the two LED windowsOptions are RD/TD (route désirée/temps désiré; desired bearing and time), L/G (latitude and longitude), ALT (altitude [in feet and meters]), RH/DS (runway heading and glideslope for approach).In addition, there are also display-only modes: DT/DTM (distance and bearing to next steerpoint), TR/VS (time to next steerpoint and ground speed), GS/ΔTM-So (mislabeled, wind direction and speed), F PLN CT/WS-WD (mislabeled, magnetic declination).And in addition, there are three editable offset modes, for setting an offset waypoint from a waypoint: [math]\rho[/math]/[math]\theta[/math] (distance and bearing offset from waypoint), ΔALT (altitude offset from waypoint), and ΔL/ΔG (latitude and longitude offset from waypoint).Below the two data fields are two two-digit numeric fields. The left contains the number of the waypoint currently being edited, and the right the number of the waypoint currently being navigated to (the steerpoint).Pressing the “PREP” button below the left waypoint field lets the pilot choose the waypoint to be modified using the numeric keypad. Pressing the “DEST” button below the right waypoint field lets the pilot choose the steerpoint.The “ENC” (enchaînement) button between the two turns on auto-navigation, which automatically sequences the steerpoint to the next waypoint once the current steerpoint is passed.To the right of the mode switch are three more buttons. The top button, BAD (but additionnel), activates the offset waypoint that was programmed in using the offset parameters. The middle button, REC (recalage) starts an INS position update process, allowing the pilot to overfly a waypoint at a known visual landmark to re-align the INS. The bottom MRQ (marquage) button marks the current position as a markpoint, storing it for later navigational use.The button just below the mode switch labeled VAL (validation) is pressed to begin INS alignment, accept in-flight INS position updates, and accept markpoint data.The keypad is used to enter numeric values for parameters, and it also has EFF (effacement; clear) and INS (insertion; enter) buttons.Moving down, we have the IFF interrogation panel. The left knob selects which kind of IFF interrogations will be sent: mode-1, mode-4, modes 2 and 3, mode-3, or modes 3 and 4. The four thumbwheel digits set the mode-3 code to interrogate. Any other aircraft with this mode-3 code set will come back as friendly for a mode-3 interrogation. The switch to the right of the thumbwheel turns on and off power to the interrogator.Below the IFF controls are the ECM controls. The leftmost switch sets the ECM mode: STBY (standby), a square (normal mode), or PCM (priorité contremesure; jammer takes priority over radar, causing you to jam your own radar as well).The three switches to the right have ON, OFF, and TEST positions: “ECM” (controls the jammer), “RWR”, and “MWS”.The sub panel to the right controls the countermeasures program. The switch sets the dispenser mode: AUTO (chaff and flare dispensed automatically when a threat appears on the RWR), SA (semi-auto; chaff and flare are dispensed when the pilot commands in), and OFF (no chaff and flare dispensed).The large knob selects among different predetermined chaff and flare dispense programs. There are 10 such programs, and each dispenses chaff and flare in different quantities and with different timings designed to fool specific missiles or radars. When the knob is in “A”, the program is automatically selected depending on the primary threat the RWR detects.The bottom-most panel before the gap controls the VOR/ILS and the TACAN. The VOR/ILS subpanel allows the pilot to tune a VOR station that s/he can navigate to, or an ILS frequency to use to approach a runway. The two knobs tune the major and minor parts of the frequency. Around the outer ring of each knob is another selector knob. The left outer knob turns on and off the receiver, and the right outer knob selects between the two receiver antennas: HG (haut-gauche; high left) or BD (bas-droit; low right).The TACAN subpanel allows the pilot to tune a TACAN station. TACAN frequencies are referenced by channel number (1 to 126) split into two bands (X and Y). The left and right knob set the digits of the TACAN channel. The outer ring of the left knob toggles between the X and Y bands, and the outer ring of the right knob sets the TACAN mode: OFF, REC (receive only), T/R (transmit/receive), and A/A (air-to-air). In receive-only mode, the TACAN only receives bearing information. In transmit/receive mode, the TACAN also transmits radio pulses to the station, and measures the time of the reply to calculate distance to the station. Air-to-air mode is used when navigating to an airborne TACAN, which are placed on air refueling tankers.Home stretch! The forward-most panel below the gap sets the INS mode. Options are: OFF, STBY (powered but not operating), CAL (maintenance calibration mode), TST (test mode), ALN (starts aligning the gyroscopes, an 8-minute process that’s necessary before the INS can be used for navigation), STH (stored heading, a faster alignment using stored information from the last time the aircraft was shut down, assuming it hasn’t been moved since then), NAV (normal navigation mode), and EMG (emergency mode, when alignment data is lost, allows basic attitude navigation).To the right of the INS mode is a port to insert a data cartridge containing INS waypoint data and loadout data. To the right of that is the INS operational mode selector: a boxed N (normal mode), STS (status mode, shows the INS alignment progress), CDI (données codées inertielles; displays coded inertial data for maintenance), FFR (C/R de vol; displays a maintenance report), and MTN (maintenance mode).Below the INS controls are the environmental controls. We’ve got two big orange buttons labeled “H” and “C”, these set the avionics cooling mode to hot or cold.To the left, the “AUTO”/“MAN” switch toggles the air conditioning between automatic or manual mode.To the right, the “COND” switch turns on and off the air conditioner, and below that, the “DEPOLL” switch (unsure about that).The large knob controls cockpit temperature. The top half sets the set point for automatic temperature control, and the bottom half is used for manual temperature control.To the right, the “DEMIST” switch toggles canopy defogging.Below the ECS controls are the interior lighting controls. The “UV” knob has an inner and outer ring. The outer ring controls the brightness of the red flood lights, and the inner ring controls the brightness of the instrument panel backlights.The “CONSOLE” knob also has two rings; the outer ring controls the brightness of the lights for the left and right side consoles, and the inner knob for the front panels.The “NIGHT”/“DAY” switch toggles the brightness of the caution and warning lights, and the “WHITE” knob controls the brightness of the white flood lights.Behind another gap is the engine start controls. The big guarded red button is the starter switch, used to start the engine. Opening the guard also reveals the on/off switch for the starter fuel pump, which is used to provide fuel to the engine during start.The “L/H” switch controls which ignition system is used for engine start, left or right. There is also a position called VENT that motors the engine without fuel or ignition; it’s used to clear gases from the engine after a bad start.The “PUMPS” switches turn on the left and right fuel pumps, which pump fuel from the left and right tank groups. The smaller guarded switch labeled “FP MAN COCK” is the fuel shutoff valve, which when closed, shuts off all fuel to the engine.Behind the starter controls are circuit breakers. The large handle is the parking brake. The switch on the seat adjusts seat height, and the yellow handle is used to manually separate the seat from the pilot after an ejection (should automatic separation not occur).Alright, that’s about everything! Thanks for joining me on this aventure incroyable!

I'm starting to feel like I'm being baited into these questions. And as the description mentions, I am being asked about my most favorite fighter jet, so this one should be a cinch. I might not even need to pull out my -1 (the flight manual)! (I'll try not to wax too poetical about the joys of the F-16's usability while I type this up.) This will also probably end up being my longest answer, since modern fighters are so complicated … so buckle up.The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, affectionately called the "Viper," is a fourth-generation multirole fighter jet built for the US Air Force and flying today for many countries. It's a pretty unique fighter for its time in that it is single-seat, single-engine. As a multirole fighter, it's capable of a large variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. As a fourth-generation fighter, it has an advanced avionics suite with onboard computers and digital displays. To cover the various functions of the digital displays would fill a book, so we'll stick to the knobs and switches.And as in both previous answers (What do all the controls in an airplane's cockpit do? and What do all the controls in a fighter jet's cockpit do?), before we can discuss the switches, we must learn the systems. The F-16, as a modern fighter aircraft, has many systems, and we'll cover those now.There are multiple variants of the F-16, and each has different equipment installed. We'll invent an F-16 to learn about. This one will be an F-16C block 50.Engine: The F-16C is powered by a single GE F110-GE-100 turbofan engine with six-stage afterburner. The engine has two engine computers, the digital electronic engine computer (DEEC) and a mechanical secondary engine computer (SEC) as backup. These computers schedule fuel flow and airflow into the engine for optimum performance. They also schedule the position of the movable exhaust nozzles. The engine is started by a jet fuel starter (JFS), which is powered by onboard compressed air accumulators. The accumulators are charged by the hydraulic system when the engine is running.Fuel system: The F-16 has left and right wing tanks, two forward fuselage tanks, an aft fuselage tank, and two reservoir tanks. The right and forward tanks drain to the forward reservoir and the left and aft tanks drain to the aft reservoir. The engine feeds from the reservoir tanks. Electrically-powered fuel pumps ensure that fuel is available even during negative-g maneuvers. The F-16 has provisions for up to three external drop tanks: one under each wing and a centerline tank. The centerline drop tank empties first, to the forward fuselage tank. Then the wing drop tanks drain to the wing tanks as the wing tanks empty. Transfer of fuel from external tanks is powered by pressurized air from the environmental control system (ECS).Environmental control system: The ECS provides air-conditioning and pressurization functions, as well as other functions such as avionics cooling and canopy sealing. It uses bleed air from the engine compressor. The cabin is kept pressurized but at altitudes about about 10,000 feet an oxygen mask must also be worn.Electrical system: The F-16 has AC and DC power generators (main and standby) connected to the engine that provides power while the engine is running. An onboard battery is used during ground operations and engine failure. Emergency power is available from the EPU (emergency power unit). The emergency power unit is powered by engine bleed air, and provides emergency electric and hydraulic power to the flight controls. In the event of an engine failure, a hydrazine rocket motor is activated, which provides EPU power for less than an hour.Flight controls: The F-16 is unique for its time in that it has an all-electric digital flight control system (FLCS). A computer reads the pilot's control inputs and uses hydraulic-electric motors to move the flight surfaces. There is no backup mechanical linkage — without electricity, the aircraft is uncontrollable. The FLCS is powered by the aircraft's electrical system normally. It will be powered by the EPU during an engine or electrical failure. The FLCS also has its own series of batteries it can use for a short period of time. Along with normal flight controls, the F-16 also has computer-controlled leading edge flaps and trailing edge flaps (LEFs and TEFs) that operate simultaneously with the landing gear, as well as aerodynamic speedbrakes.The FLCS also has a protection function, in that it prevents the pilot from maneuvering the aircraft into an unrecoverable spin, via the FLCS limiters. The FLCS can also modify the stick "gain" (sensitivity to pilot input) depending on the situation: cruise gains and takeoff/landing gains. There is also a "standby gains" mode for FLCS system failures.Hydraulic system: The F-16 has two independent engine-driven hydraulic systems, A and B. Both systems are used by the FLCS simultaneously to power the flight controls and LEFs. The A system also powers the speedbrakes. The B system powers everything else: gun, air refueling, landing gear, brakes, and nosewheel steering. The EPU also has an emergency hydraulic pump that powers the A system.Landing gear: The F-16 has retractable tricycle landing gear. Ground steering is accomplished with nosewheel steering and independent brakes on each main wheel. The brakes are hydraulically powered, with anti-skid and parking brake capability. Brake pedals are electrically powered from two of four FLCS inverters, split into two channels (CHAN 1 and CHAN 2). In the event of a hydraulic system failure, the gear can be lowered using an emergency compressed air bottle. A red light on the gear handle (the "tomato") and an audible horn warn the pilot when the aircraft is about to land with the gear up. For emergency landings, a tailhook can be lowered for use with a ground-based emergency arresting system.Autopilot: The F-16 has a simple two-axis autopilot that (for pitch) can maintain a pitch or altitude and (for roll) maintain a heading or bank.Pitot-static system: Airspeed and altitude are measured using an electric central air data computer (CADC) with anti-ice probe heating capability.Warning system: The voice message system (VMS) provides audio cues to the pilot of warnings ("Pull Up," "Caution," etc.). The distinctive female tone is nicknamed "Bitchin' Betty." Labeled caution and warning lights illuminate for major failures, and a pilot fault list (PFL) display is used for getting a detailed list of faults and system failures.Lighting system: The F-16 has a flashing anti-collision light, navigation lights, formation lights, and air refueling slipway lights (so the boomer can see the plane during a night refuel). For interior lighting, there are console, panel, and flood lights.Oxygen system: Pilot oxygen is provided by an onboard oxygen bottle. The regulator in the mask can deliver 100% oxygen or a mixture of ambient air and oxygen. A partial-pressure breathing for g (PBG) function is available to reduce pilot fatigue during high-g maneuvering. The pilot can wear an anti-g suit which is inflated during high-g maneuvers to keep blood in the head.Communications system: The F-16 has UHF and VHF comm radios. The UHF radio has HAVE QUICK anti-jamming capability. Either radio can be encrypted with a KY-58 secure voice module. The F-16 also has datalink capability, where aircraft in a flight can transmit their position and target information to each other over the comm radio, which is then displayed on the multifunction displays (MFDs).Radionavigation system: The F-16 has a single TACAN transmitter/receiver that is used to measure bearing and distance from TACAN stations. The TACAN also has an air-to-air mode allowing it to measure distance (and sometimes bearing) to other aircraft that also have TACAN systems. The F-16 also has an instrument landing system (ILS) allowing it to follow a radio signal down to a runway in poor visibility conditions.Position/navigation system: The F-16 has an onboard inertial navigation system (INS), which uses three gyroscopes to measure acceleration in each axis. This is integrated over time to track changes in position. The INS is initialized and corrected using an onboard GPS receiver. The F-16 can also carry a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) pod that provides cockpit infrared video of the view ahead.IFF system: The F-16 has an IFF (identify friend/foe) transponder that operates in four modes. Mode 1 and mode 2 are military modes used to identify this F-16's squadron and mission. Mode 3 is used by air traffic control to identify the aircraft. Mode 4 is an encrypted mode used to identify the aircraft as friendly to other aircraft. The IFF is capable of interrogating other aircraft and responding to interrogations.Radar system: The F-16 has an AN/APG-65 radar with air-to-air and air-to-ground targeting capability. The radar also provides terrain-following autopilot capability and a ranging feature for gun and bomb attacks.Radar warning system: The F-16 has a radar warning receiver (RWR) that detects incoming radar signals, analyzes their source, and provides warnings to the pilot.Weapons systems: The F-16 has nine pylons which can carry a large variety of missiles, bombs, and other loadouts. Weapon release is managed by the modular mission computer (MMC) and fire control radar (FCR), which calculate weapons solutions and provide cues to the pilot for launching and releasing weapons. In addition to the nine pylons, two hardpoint attachments are available on the fuselage for attaching additional sensors, such as a video camera targeting pod.Countermeasures system: The F-16 has onboard chaff and flare dispensers for spoofing radar-guided and infrared-guided missiles. It can also carry an ECM (electronic counter measures) pod (such as the AN/ALQ-184) that provides the ability to jam enemy radar.Okay, that should be about all you need to know to understand the various switches, knobs, dials, and gauges in the cockpit. So without further ado, let's get to it! As before, we'll start from the left side and work our way around the cockpit to the right side.Let's begin with the left console:The top left console is the test panel, and contains switches for testing various systems:The FIRE & OHEAD DETECT button, when held, tests the fire detection circuits. The pilot should see the FIRE and OVERHEAT cautions light up.The OXY QTY switch tests the oxygen quantity gauge. The pilot should notice the OXY LOW caution illuminate.The MAL & IND LTS button, when held, illuminates all cockpit panel and warning lights, and sounds all VMS alerts. The pilot uses this to check the functionality of the VMS, and to ensure that no bulbs have burnt out.The PROBE HEAT switch has three positions. When on, it heats the angle of attack and pitot probes to prevent ice formation. In TEST, it tests the circuit; the pilot should notice the PROBE HEAT caution flashing on and off.The EPU/GEN switch is used to test the EPU and its generator. While holding down this switch, the pilot advances the throttle until the EPU is receiving enough air to power its generator. The pilot then verifies that the EPU is generating power and the FLCS relays are functioning.The FLCS PWR lights lights are used to verify that each of the four flight control computers that make up the FLCS are functioning.The bottom switch is the FLCS mode switch. In NORM, the FLCS operates normally. In TEST, the FLCS power output is tested on either the generator or the battery (depending on which is active). The MAINT mode is used by ground crew.Moving down, we have the anti-g panel:The TEST button inflates the g suit and begins partial-pressure breathing for g (PBG). This is used by the pilot to test the functionality of these systems.Back up and moving forward, we have the FLCS control panel:The DIGITAL BACKUP switch selects backup FLCS software, in case there is a fault with the main software system.The ALT FLAPS switch only functions when the FLCS is in standby gains. If the FLCS is in standby gains and the ALT FLAPS switch is in NORM, the trailing edge flaps will extend and retract along with the landing gear. In EXTEND, the flaps extend no matter what. (If the FLCS is operating with normal gains, the TEFs are scheduled by the computer.)The MANUAL TF FLYUP switch controls a protection feature of the terrain-following system. When the terrain following system is in manual mode (i.e., not on terrain-following autopilot), it still monitors the terrain ahead of the airplane, and can initiate an automatic "fly-up" if the aircraft gets too close to terrain. This switch enables or disables that feature.The LE FLAPS switch controls the leading edge flaps. The LEFs are controlled automatically by the FLCS when in AUTO mode, or can be held in their current position by putting the switch in LOCK.The FLCS RESET switch can be momentarily placed in the RESET position to reset the FLCS's internal database of system failures.The BIT switch performs a FLCS built-in test. While the test is running, the RUN light illuminates. If the test fails, the FAIL light illuminates.Below this panel we have the trim panel, which controls aircraft trim. The aircraft is in trim if it does not drift when the pilot is "hands off" of the controls.Normally trim is controlled by a four-way hat on the stick (which we'll get to later). By putting the TRIM/AP DISC switch in DISC, the stick trim is disabled, and trim must be controlled using the ROLL TRIM and PITCH TRIM wheels on this panel. (The autopilot is also disabled.) Each wheel has an indicator that shows where the trim is compared to center. Yaw trim is not controllable by the stick and must always be set using the YAW TRIM knob.Back up and moving forward, we have the fuel controls:The MASTER FUEL switch, when on, opens the main engine fuel shutoff valve and the EEC (electronic engine control) fuel shutoff valve. These valves can be closed in the event of a fire.The TANK INERTING switch, when activated, opens a valve that supplies halon gas to the fuel tanks as they empty. This anti-explosive gas reduces the chance of a fuel fire. It's typically used before entering combat. An initial amount of halon is provided for 20 seconds, then a continuous trickle of halon thereafter.The ENG FEED knob controls which fuel reservoirs (and thus, which fuel tanks) are feeding the engine. In BOTH, the engine feeds from both reservoirs, and all tanks drain. In AFT, only the aft reservoir feeds the engine (and only the right wing and aft fuel tanks drain). In FWD, only the forward reservoir feeds the engine (and only the forward and left wing tanks drain). In OFF, all electric pumps are disabled. The engine still receives fuel from the gravity-fed proportioner. By switching between AFT and FWD, the pilot can shift the center of gravity of the airplane and correct for fuel imbalances.The AIR REFUEL switch prepares the aircraft for air refueling operations. The air refueling slipway door is opened, revealing the refueling receptacle, and the air refueling valves are opened. Tank pressurization is reduced and external tanks are depressurized (allowing the tanks to refuel). The FLCS is placed in takeoff and landing gains, making it less sensitive to pilot input. Air refueling lights are enabled.Below the fuel panel are the IFF and back-up TACAN controls:The IFF MASTER knob sets the IFF master mode. In OFF, the IFF is unpowered. In STBY, the IFF is powered but does not respond to interrogations. LOW and NORM have the same function: The IFF operates normally, responding to interrogations. In EMER, the IFF responds to interrogations with a special emergency code that lets air traffic controllers know the aircraft is in distress.The M-4 CODE switch controls how the IFF responds to mode-4 interrogations. (Remember, mode-4 is the encrypted mode that is used to determine if an aircraft is friendly or not.) In A/B, the IFF uses the normal secret code it's stored (either code A or code B). In ZERO, both code A and code B are erased from memory. This is also normally done when the aircraft is powered off. If the switch is in HOLD, the power-off zeroization is temporarily disabled, and the aircraft remembers its mode 4 codes next time it's turned on.The IFF MODE 4 REPLY switch has three positions: In "A" or "B," it replies to mode-4 interrogations with either code A or code B. (If for example you rotate through codes once a day, the F-16 might need to store two codes if it has an overnight mission.) In the OUT position, the IFF does not respond to mode-4 interrogations.The IFF MODE 4 MONITOR switch determines what should happen if the IFF receives a mode-4 interrogation but does not respond because of the position of the previous switch. In the AUDIO position, the VMS enunciates an audible "IFF" warning informing the pilot that he is not appearing as friendly to an incoming interrogation. This feature is disabled when the switch is positioned to OUT.The CNI switch controls how the pilot should tune the TACAN radio. Remember these are the backup TACAN controls — normally the TACAN is tuned using the up-front controls, which we'll get to later. This is the case when this switch is in UFC. In BACK UP, this panel is used to tune the TACAN.The backup TACAN controls consist of a channel selector, which lets you dial in one of 127 TACAN channels split into two bands (X and Y). Next to it is the TACAN mode switch. In T/R (transmit/receive), the TACAN both receives bearing information from the station and transmits signals allowing it to calculate distance to the station. In REC, only bearing information is received, no distance. The A/A TR position is used to receive bearing and distance from an airborne TACAN station (typically an airborne refueling aircraft).Below the AUX COMM panel is the EXT LIGHTING panel:The ANTI COLLISION switch toggles the flashing anti-collision light on the tail. The left POSITION switch toggles between flashing or steady-burning position lights. The middle switch toggles the wing- and tail-mounted red/green/white position lights. The right switch toggles the red and green fuselage position light.The FORM knob controls the brightness of the formation lights, used for nighttime formation flying. The MASTER switch turns off all lights when in the OFF position, for combat operations. The AERIAL REFUELING knob controls the brightness of the aerial refueling lights.Back up and further forward are the EPU controls:The HYDRAZN light illuminates when the EPU is using its hydrazine rocket motor to provide emergency power. Since the rocket's exhaust gases are hotter than 1500 °F, you want to make sure no one's standing around the aircraft if it is on the ground. The AIR light illuminates when the EPU is using engine bleed air for emergency power.The green light illuminates when the EPU is running.The EPU power switch, in NORM, will automatically start the EPU during an electrical failure. In ON, the EPU runs regardless. The OFF position terminates EPU operation unless there's an electrical failure. (The exception is that if you turn the EPU off before takeoff and leave it off — then the EPU will never run.)Below the EPU panel is the electrical panel:The MAIN PWR switch, in OFF, disconnects the battery and the generator. (The battery cannot be disconnected in flight.) In the BATT position, the battery is connected and the generator is offline. In the MAIN PWR position, the battery and generator are both connected and providing power (the generator is on standby if the engine is not running).The CAUTION RESET light resets the main and standby generators, resets some circuit breakers, and clears the ELEC SYS caution light.The FLCS PMG light illuminates if one of the FLCS branches is not receiving power from the FLCS generator.The MAIN GEN light illuminates when the generator has failed, and the battery is draining or the standby generator is in use.The STBY GEN light illuminates when the standby generator fails.The EPU GEN light illuminates when the EPU is on but the EPU generator is not functioning.The EPU PMG light illuminates when the EPU is on but the EPU FLCS generator is not functioning, so the FLCS is not receiving power from the EPU.The ACFT BATT TO FLCS light illuminates when the aircraft battery is powering the FLCS and voltage is too low.The ACFT BATT FCLS RLY light illuminates if one of the FLCS power branches' voltage is too low or disconnected.The ACFT BATT FAIL light illuminates if the battery voltage is too low or the battery fails to charge.Moving down, we have the controls for the audio-video tape recorder (AVTR), which consists of the gun camera, display recording, audio recording, and a VHS tape deck.The cockpit TV system (CTVS) and audio video tape recorder (AVTR) lights illuminate when recording. The TEST button tests the lights. The master switch toggles the AVTR on and off, and in the AUTO position automatically records 30 seconds of audio and video any time the trigger is depressed. The DISPLAY SELECT dial chooses which camera is recorded to tape: The HUD camera, or left/right multifunction displays. (The AFT position is only used in two-seat models.)Back up to the top, we have the throttle:The cutoff release is used to move the throttle back below the idle detent, where fuel is cut off to the engine and the engine stops. The throttle is moved forward past this detent to start the engine.The communications switch is a four-way switch:UP - Pilot transmits over UHF radioDOWN - Pilot transmits over VHF radioOUTBOARD (press) - Toggles on and off datalink symbology on the multifunction displaysOUTBOARD (hold) - Commands a datalink updateINBOARD - Transmits the current air-to-ground target over datalinkThe manual range knob, when turned, has a couple of functions depending on the current weapons mode. In air-to-air modes, it toggles between a 700-foot and 1500-foot manual gunnery range. In air-to-ground modes, it controls the radar gain (sensitivity).When the manual range knob is pressed in, different functions occur. When an air-to-air missile is active, it uncages the missile (a "caged" missile follows the radar; an "uncaged" missile tracks its own independent target). When an air-to-ground missile is active, it removes the protective cover from the missile camera.The antenna elevation knob manually controls the elevation of the radar antenna. This allows the pilot to use the radar to scan for aircraft above or below him.The dogfight/missile override switch is a three-position switch. The middle position is normal. When moved outboard, the airplane goes into dogfight override mode. The avionics are immediately prepared for a visual dogfight. When moved inboard, the airplane goes into medium range missile (MRM) override mode. The avionics are prepared for a beyond-visual-range missile engagement.The speed brake switch is also three-position. The middle position does not move the speed brakes. Switch forward closes the speed brakes, and aft opens them. The aft position is momentary only and must be held in.The cursor enable control is a four-way joystick with a press capability. The joystick moves the radar cursors (or the cursors of whatever format is active on the active MFD). The z-axis (press) toggles between weapon launch modes (depending on the active weapon). For most missiles it toggles between slave mode (follows radar) or boresight mode (looks straight ahead).The black-out switch toggles night vision goggle-compatible lighting. Next to the throttle is a "slap switch", which runs a preset emergency countermeasures program designed to spoof incoming radar-guided missiles. (Countermeasures programs are discussed later.)Next to the throttle we have the engine controls:The JET FUEL switch toggles the jet fuel starter. In START 1, one compressed air accumulator is used to run the JFS. In START 2, both are used. (You might need to use both on hot days or high altitudes to get enough air pressure for a start.) The RUN light illuminates when the JFS is running.The ENG CONT switch toggles between using the primary digital electronic engine computer or the secondary hydro-mechanical engine computer. Normally the SEC is used automatically if the DEEC fails.The next switch is a three-way switch with both top and bottom positions being momentary. In the ENG DATA position, eight seconds of engine data are recorded to the engine monitoring system computer (EMSC). The pilot would hit this switch if he hears mysterious noises, and tell the ground crew to investigate the data.The AB RESET position, and the MAX POWER switch, do nothing for F-16s with the GE F110 engine (though it's still fun to flip on MAX POWER every so often).Below the engine controls, from back to front, we start first with the electronic countermeasures (ECM) panel:This panel controls the ECM pod (jammer pod), if the F-16 is carrying one. The actual layout of the panel depends on which kind of ECM pod is loaded; the one shown is for the AN/ALQ-131. The top-left switch controls power to the pod: In OPR, the pod is allowed to operate, and in STBY it's powered on and warms up, but not allowed to transmit. OFF is off (of course).The XMIT switch controls which mode the pod transmits in. The meaning of these operational modes appears to be classified, but is likely related to how the ECM software chooses jamming techniques and which radio bands to jam. One source I read claims that modes 1 and 2 activate two sets of automated jamming programs, and mode-3 is a "manual" mode where the pilot selects which bands to jam using the 1-5 pushbuttons.The DIM knob controls the brightness of the pushbutton lights. The RESET button temporarily halts jamming when held down, allowing the pilot a "look-through" period where he can use his own radar unaffected by his own jamming signal. It also attempts to clear any detected faults.The BIT button, when held, performs the interruptive control integrated test system (ICITS) tests. These tests are comprehensive and interrupt the normal jamming process. The jammer continuously performs the continuous CITS tests, without interruption to normal jamming.Pushbuttons 1-5 are used to enable or disable different radio bands when in mode-3 operation. They also have "S", "A", "F", and "T" lights. The "S" light activates when the jammer is powered and ready to transmit on that band. The "A" light illuminates when in mode-3 and that band is activated. The "F" light activates if a fault is detected in that band. Finally, the "T" light activates when the pod is transmitting on that band.The next pushbutton has had its label scratched out in the photo, but the label is "ALT". It toggles between high-altitude and low-altitude antenna angles. It has two lights; "HI" and "LO".The "FRM" button toggles on a cooperative jamming mode, where multiple aircraft in a formation can coordinate their jammers, a technique that helps confound ECCM (electronic counter-countermeasures) software. The "A" light activates when formation mode is active. The "C" light activates when a CITS test is being performed.The "SPL" (special) button activates an override mode that cancels out the normal transmit and formation modes. The "A" light illuminates when this override mode is active. The "IC" lamp illuminates when there's a fault in the pod/computer interface control. The "RP" light illuminates for a fault in the receiver/processor. The other lights are not used.Moving forward, we have the audio panel:The INTERCOM knob controls the volume of audio to the pilot's headset. The TACAN knob controls the volume of the TACAN audio signal. The TACAN transmits a morse code identifier that can be listened to. Likewise with the ILS.The rightmost switch has three positions. In the HOT MIC position, the pilot can communicate to ground crew via a headset jack in the airplane's nose, or to the boom operator of a refueling plane via an audio connection in the refueling boom. In the CIPHER position, unsecured communications are not allowed, and the pilot can only transmit over whichever radio is connected to the KY-58 secure voice module.Moving forward again, we have the audio 1 panel:The COMM1 and COMM2 knobs control the volume of the UHF and VHF radios respectively. Moving the knob out of OFF turns the radio on.Below each knob is a radio mode knob corresponding to that same radio (UHF or VHF). In the OFF position, squelch is turned off — this allows the pilot to listen to background noise for a weak signal. In the SQL position, squelch is on and background noise is filtered out. In the GD position, the radio listens to the "guard" frequency: a universal frequency that two aircraft can use to talk to each other when they have no other common frequency. (UHF guard is 243.0 MHz and VHF guard is 121.5 MHz.)At the forward left edge of the left console is the manual pitch control:The MANUAL PITCH switch, when held in the OVRD position, allows the pilot to override the FLCS limiters and exert manual control over aircraft pitch. This is used to recover from a deep stall. FLCS limiters operate normally in the NORM position.To the right of that panel is the UHF radio backup controls. Normally the UHF radio is controlled by the DED, but if the CNI switch is in BACK UP (discussed earlier), the UHF is controlled from this panel:The CHAN window displays the currently selected UHF preset. It's set by the knob to the left. The UHF radio stores up to 20 preset channels, which the pilot can write on the handy paper in the upper left.To manually tune a frequency, the four tuning knobs are used, and the frequency is read in the center window. The leftmost knob can be set to "2" or "3" (for tuning a frequency between 200 and 399 MHz), or can be put into anti-jam frequency-hopping mode with "A."The TEST DISPLAY button illuminates all the numeric displays.The STATUS button toggles the main display between showing the manually tuned frequency and showing the frequency corresponding to the preset selected in the CHAN window.The master mode switch (bottom left), in OFF, powers off the UHF radio. In MAIN, the UHF radio is on. In BOTH, the UHF radio listens on both the selected frequency and the guard frequency simultaneously. The ADF position has no function.The VOL knob is nonfunctional — volume is controlled from the AUDIO 1 panel (discussed earlier).The bottom-right switch, when in MNL, uses the manually-tuned frequency in the main window. When in PRESET, it uses the preset frequency chosen in the CHAN window. In GRD, it tunes and activates the guard frequency.The T-TONE switch has two momentary functions related to anti-jam frequency hopping. To ensure that two aircraft's radios hop to the same frequencies at the same time, they both must have synchronized clocks. Moving the switch to the TONE position transmits a time-of-day (TOD) signal over the radio, for other aircraft to synchronize to. Moving the switch to the "T" position listens for a TOD signal from other aircraft.The SQUELCH switch toggles and off the squelch function.The frequency preset card lifts up to display additional controls:The MN SQ button screw-knob controls the level cutoff between signal and background noise for manually-tuned frequencies, and the GD SQ screw-knob for guard frequency.The ZERO switch deletes all MWOD (multiple word of the day) data. A word of the day is a secret number that determines which frequencies the radio hops to in anti-jam mode. This data must be erased if it could fall into enemy hands.The LOAD button loads the currently tuned frequency into the currently selected preset.The FILL port is used to load frequency presets and MWOD data from a data tape.Done with the left console! And we're just getting started — let's move now to the left side aux console:Let's start with the big panel at the top. The EMER STORES JETTISON is a glass-covered button. Pound the glass and press to jettison all external stores in an emergency. To the right we have the gear lights, which turn green when each wheel is extended and locked in place. Further right is the emergency tailhook lever.The GND JETT switch, when in ENABLE, permits jettisoning of external loads while on the ground. The BRAKES switch toggles between using FLCS channel 1 (FLCS computers A and C) or channel 2 (B and D) for controlling the wheel brakes. The switch to the right, when in PARKING BRAKE, enables the parking brake, and when in ANTI-SKID, turns on the anti-lock braking system.Next row — the STORES CONFIG switch determines how much maneuvering the FLCS lets you perform. In CAT I, the FLCS assumes you have a lightly-loaded aircraft and will permit maximum angle of attack maneuvers. In CAT III, the FLCS assumes you have bombs or large missiles and will permit less maneuvering.The HORN SILENCER button temporarily silences the landing gear warning horn.The switch to the right, in LANDING LIGHTS, turns on the taxi and landing lights. In TAXI, the taxi lights are turned on.To the right we have the landing gear lever. Normally the landing gear cannot be raised while on the ground (for good reason), but you can override this feature by holding down the DN LOCK REL button. (By the way, this still won't raise the gear on the ground because of the weight-on-wheels switch.)The SPEED BRAKE window changes to the word "OPEN" when the speed brakes are deployed.Next let's cover the chaff/flare panel, below. In the photo above, the panel for an ALE-40 self-protection system is shown, but I'd like to cover the Countermeasures Dispenser System (CMDS) panel, since it's a little more modern:The panel is split into four columns, for the chaff, flare, and "other 1" and "other 2" dispensers. (Other 1 & 2 are not currently used.) At the top are status windows for each of the four dispensers (GO, NO GO, RDY, and DISPENSE when dispensing).Each dispenser has its own on/off switch and above it a status display showing how many chaff/flare/etc. remain. "LO" is displayed when fewer than 10 rounds remain.The RWR switch turns on an interlink between the CMDS and the RWR. When ON, the RWR can automatically initiate countermeasures programs against threats it detects.The JMR switch turns on an interlink between the RWR the ECM pod (if carried). When ON, the RWR can automatically initiate jammer programs against a detected threat.The MWS switch turns on the missile warning system (if installed). This is a series of cameras mounted around the aircraft that look for missile smoke trails, and warn the pilot on the RWR display (covered later).The JETT switch jettisons all flares.The PRGM switch selects between one of four preprogrammed dispense programs. These programs can dispense certain patterns of chaff and/or flares that are tuned to fool specific types of missiles. In BIT, a built-in test is performed.The MODE switch sets the countermeasures mode: In OFF, the countermeasures system is inactive. In STBY, power is on but no dispensing occurs. In MAN, the pilot must initiate all dispensing programs manually. In SEMI, the VMS sounds an audible tone ("DISPENSE") when it wishes to dispense against (or jam) a detected threat, and the pilot must approve it with the CMS button (discussed later). In AUTO, the aircraft will automatically dispense chaff and flare, and initiate jam programs, against detected threats. In BYP, programmed features are disabled, and running any program will result in one chaff and one flare being dispensed.Below and to the left is the THREAT WARNING AUX panel:This panel has auxiliary controls for the radar warning receiver. The main panel is discussed later.The SEARCH button toggles the display of search radars on the RWR scope (radars that are scanning but not actively tracking targets). The "S" light illuminates any time a search radar is detected, regardless of whether display on the RWR is enabled.The ACTIVITY POWER light illuminates any time any radar activity is detected.The ALTITUDE button toggles on and off RWR priority to low-altitude threats. When on, threats more dangerous to low-altitude flying are prioritized on the RWR scope. The LOW ALT light illuminates when it's on.The POWER button turns on/off the RWR. The SYSTEM POWER light illuminates when the RWR is on.The DIM knob controls the brightness of the status lights.To the left of this panel is the alternate gear extension handle.Pulling this handle fires compressed air bottles that manually lower the landing gear in the event of a hydraulic failure.To the right of the RWR aux panel is the helmet mounted-display panel. This panel controls the brightness of the helmet-mounted display symbology if one is installed. Our F-16 does not have one.Now we move to the center console, containing the HUD, two multifunction displays (MFDs), the up-front controls (UFC), the data entry display (DED), and the engine and backup flight instruments:Let's start with the left side eyebrow lights:The MASTER CAUTION light, top, illuminates for any caution. Pressing it acknowledges the caution. Below it is a grid of four specific caution lights. The top-left is TF FAIL, which illuminates when the terrain following system is inoperative. The other three lights have no function.Below the eyebrow lights are the eyebrow buttons:Pressing the F-ACK button cycles through detected faults on the pilot fault display (discussed later). Repeated presses displays each new fault.The IFF IDENT button performs an IDENT function over the mode-3 IFF, making the aircraft bloom on ATC radar displays. It's used by ATC to identify an aircraft they're talking to.The other two buttons have no function.Moving down to the extreme left panel:The RF switch controls the amount radio emissions this aircraft is creating. In NORM the radar, radio altimeter, etc. are all allowed to operate normally, at the risk of making this aircraft visible to enemy RWRs. In QUIET, most radio emitters are disabled but some critical ones are allowed to transmit (such as the IFF). In SILENT, no radio transmissions of any kind are created.The ECM light enables whenever the ECM has consent to jam. If the ECM detects a threat, it will jam that threat only when consent is allowed by the pilot.The LASER ARM switch arms the targeting laser, which is used for laser-guided bombs and laser ranging.The ALT REL button is an alternative pickle button in case the stick's pickle button fails.The MASTER ARM switch allows weapons to be fired when in ARM. In SIMULATE, the aircraft symbology is the same as if it were in ARM (weapons can be activated and targeted), but no firing occurs.The ADV MODE button toggles the terrain-following mode of the autopilot. The STBY light toggles to ACTIVE when the TF autopilot is active.The next two switches control the autopilot. When the PITCH switch is in A/P OFF, the autopilot is off. When in ALT HOLD, the aircraft maintains it's current altitude. When in ATT HOLD, the aircraft maintains its current up or down pitch amount. When the ROLL switch is in HDG SEL, the aircraft flies the heading dialed into the backup horizontal situation indicator (discussed later). When in ATT HOLD, the current bank angle is maintained. When in STRG SEL, the aircraft flies to the current steerpoint (navigation point in the flight plan).Moving back up and right, we have the RWR display and panel:RWR consists of an audio and video component. Each time a new threat is detected, the radar signal is converted to an audio wave and played to the pilot, and a symbol is placed on the RWR display.The HANDOFF button cycles between threats in priority order. Normally, the highest-priority threat is displayed, and its radar audio is heard. Pressing this button moves the indicator to the next-highest priority threat and plays its audio. The "H" light illuminates whenever the current threat is not the top priority threat.The MISSILE LAUNCH light illuminates whenever a missile radar is detected by the RWR, or the MWS detects a missile smoke plume.The MODE button toggles between PRIORITY and OPEN mode (indicated by the lights). In PRIORITY mode, only the five top priority threats are displayed. In OPEN mode, up to 16 threats are displayed.The ship icon button, when pressed, increases the priority of known ship radar signatures. The UNKNOWN light illuminates whenever an unidentified radar signature is detected.The SYS TEST button initiates a built-in test. The light illuminates while the test is performed.The "T" button spreads out overlapping target icons to make them easier for the pilot to differentiate them. The TGT SEP light illuminates when this is on.At top center is the HUD, which displays critical flight symbology to the pilot. The HUD has many different modes of operation which we will not spend all day documenting.To the left and right of the HUD are the indexer lights:On the left are the AOA indexers, which are used to control aircraft speed during landing. When the red light illuminates, the aircraft is approaching the runway too slowly and must speed up. The yellow light tells the pilot that the aircraft is too fast. The green light illuminates when the aircraft is at the proper landing speed.On the right side are the refueling status lights. The RDY light illuminates when the air refueling door is open and the aircraft is ready to receive fuel. The AR NWS light illuminates when the aircraft is connected to the refueling boom. It also illuminates on the ground when nosewheel steering is enabled. The DISC light illuminates when the aircraft disconnects from the boom.The multi-function displays (MFDs, also called DDIs or digital display indicators) are surrounded by 15 option select buttons (OSB) and brightness controls. Each MFD is capable of displaying one of many different formats (essentially programs), such as a radar display, video from a targeting camera, etc. The function of the buttons is labeled by the format and differs depending on the current format and page. Documenting all formats and their button functions would make this answer longer than War and Peace.The BRT rocker controls MFD brightness, and the CON rocker contrast. The GAIN rocker, when in the air-to-ground radar format, controls radar gain (along with the gain knob on the throttle). The SYM knob controls the brightness of symbology overlying video on video-displaying formats (such as weapon cameras).In the center, below the HUD, is the up-front controls (UFC):The up-front controls are used to control the data entry display (DED), just to the right:As with the HUD and MFDs, the DED has many different modes, and it would take a while to document them all. I'll talk about the UFC controls but not about the DED modes.Along the top, the circular buttons have a variety of different functions.The COMM 1 button puts the DED into COMM 1 mode, where the pilot can tune the UHF radio. The COMM 2 button does similarly for the VHF radio.The IFF button puts the DED into IFF mode, where the pilot can enter IFF codes and enable different IFF modes.The LIST button displays the DED page shown above, where the pilot has a menu of other DED pages to choose from. (The MISC option displays yet another list of pages…)The A-A and A-G button put the airplane into the air-to-air or air-to-ground master modes, preparing the aircraft for an A/A or A/G engagement.The SYM wheel controls HUD symbology brightness. The BRT wheel controls the brightness of the FLIR video signal which can be placed on the HUD. The DEPR RET button controls the height of the depressed reticle, which is a backup collimated sight that is displayed on the HUD if the HUD fails. The CONT wheel controls the contrast of the HUD FLIR displayThe numeric keypad is used to enter numeric data in the DED. ENTR submits it and RCL cancels it. Each number button also has an alternate function, that selects a different DED page if the DED is not in a number-entry mode. For example, pressing the "1" button goes to the TACAN/ILS page, where the pilot can tune in TACAN and ILS frequencies on the DED.The dobber is the four-way switch at bottom center. Moving it up and down moves the cursors on the DED to different fields where numbers can be entered. The rocker switch on the left increments or decrements DED data. The switch on the right, when moved to the DRIFT C/O (cutout) position, prevents the flight path marker from drifting outside of the HUD field of view. The FPM is a small symbol on the HUD that shows where the aircraft is going. Moving the switch to the WARN RESET position (momentary) acknowledges any active warnings (discussed later).The right column controls the HUD FLIR video. The WX button activates terrain following radar weather mode, which reduces the likelihood that the terrain-following radar will be confused by clouds or rain. The GAIN/LVL/AUTO switch controls FLIR signal gain and level. In AUTO, gain and level are automatic. In either GAIN or LVL, the rocker switch above manually controls gain or level.Next let's cover the backup flight instruments, used if the HUD is not functioning:At the top left is the airspeed indicator. The dial indicates airspeed in 100s of knots, and the window indicates mach speed. The knob sets the green index.Top right is the altimeter. The large window is a digital altimeter. The knob sets current sea-level air pressure, used to calibrate the altimeter. The pressure value is shown in the small window. The "PNEU" flag illuminates when a failure of the central air data computer (CADC) forces the altimeter to revert to pneumatic mode. The two-way switch at bottom right toggles between electric (CADC) and pneumatic altitude sensing.The middle left window displays the current angle of attack in degrees. The middle right window displays the current rate of climb or descent in hundreds of feet per minute.The middle center window is the attitude director indicator (ADI), displaying a representation of the horizon. The yellow bars indicate ILS signal guidance. Keeping the bars centered when flying an ILS will fly the aircraft down to the runway. The knob sets the "W" shaped aircraft indicator height, used to calibrate pitch indication on the ground. Below the attitude indicator is a small ball in a track; this indicates sideslip. The ball is centered when the airplane is flying straight through the air. Below that is a small white indicator on a track below two black index marks. This is the rate of turn indicator. The aircraft is not turning when the indicator is centered.The LOC and GS flags appear on the ADI when no localizer or glideslope signal is being received. The OFF flag appears when the ADI is not functioning, and the AUX flag appears when the INS fails and the ADI is running off its auxiliary gyroscope. The vertical scale to the right indicates vertical deviation from the desired ILS glideslope, and the ticks along the bottom of the ADI indicate bank angle.Bottom center is the horizontal situation indicator (HSI). The face is a gyroscopic compass with the current heading read at the top. The needle indicates the selected course to or from a TACAN station. The middle part of the needle deflects left or right as the airplane flies off course. The small bug at 310° is the heading bug, used by the autopilot HDG mode. The HDG knob sets the heading bug, and the CRS knob sets the course needle. The OFF flag appears when the HSI is not functioning, and the small red flag in the center appears when a TACAN signal is not being received.The top-left MILES display indicate distance to the TACAN station and the top right display indicates the currently-selected course.Below the HSI is an air vent.Left of the HSI, we have the navigation mode knob. In TCN, the course arrow is used to set the course for the tuned TACAN station. In NAV, the course arrow sets the course for the currently selected steerpoint. In ILS/TCN and ILS/NAV the ILS bars are activated as well.The HDG knob calibrates the HSI when the INS fails and AUX mode is activated. Pushing it left or right moves the current heading left or right. The pilot should calibrate the current heading against the magnetic compass (discussed later).Below this panel, the PEDAL ADJ handle is pulled out to allow the pilot to move the rudder pedals forward or backwards for comfort.To the right of the HSI, we have the fuel quantity knob. This knob sets what value the fuel quantity totalizer (discussed later) needles indicate. In TEST, a test value of 6,000 pounds is displayed and the needles each indicate 3,000. In NORM, the needles indicate the internal tank totals. In RSVR, the needles indicate the amount of fuel in the reservoir tanks. In INT WING, the needles indicate the amount of fuel in the wing tanks. In EXT WING, they indicate the amount of fuel in the wing drop tanks. In EXT CTR, they indicate the amount of fuel in the centerline drop tank.The EXT FUEL TRANS switch controls the order that fuel is fade from external drop tanks. In NORM, the centerline tank drains first. In WING FIRST, the wing tanks drain first.Moving back up to the top, right of the UFC:We have the DED, backup backup attitude indicator (!), and fuel flow gauge, which indicates fuel flow in pounds per hour. The backup backup attitude indicator has a knob that sets the pitch index, and the knob has a PULL TO CAGE function that cages its gyroscope so it doesn't tumble.To the right of that, we have the right-hand eyebrow lights:The lights are, top to bottom and left to right:ENG FIRE - The engine's on fire. Bad news.ENGINE - Indicates an engine fault of some kind.HYD/OIL PRESS (double height) - Hydraulic or oil pressure is low.FLCS - Indicates FLCS fault.DBU ON - FLCS is running on digital backup softwareTO/LDG CONFIG (double height) - Aircraft appears to be landing and is not configured for landing (gear or flaps aren't down)CANOPY - Canopy is open or pressurization failureThe bottom right light has no function.Below the eyebrow lights on the extreme right are the engine gauges:The top gauge indicates oil temperature. Next down is exhaust nozzle position, then engine RPM (as a percent of maximum RPM), and finally fuel turbine inlet temperature or FTIT (pronounced "eff-tit"), in hundreds of degreed Fahrenheit.Moving further down, we have the right aux console:Top left is the magnetic compass. To its right is the fuel gauge, with two needles (see the fuel totalizer switch discussed previously), and a totalizer window that displays total fuel quantity digitally.Below the mag compass is the pilot fault display (PFD), a digital display that describes aircraft faults and is used with the F-ACK button described previously. To its right are the hydraulic pressure gauges for the A and B systems.Below the PFD are the caution lights. There are many of them:Most are self-explanatory. Don't worry too much about the "NUCLEAR" one — it just means that the NUCLEAR CONSENT switch is armed (discussed below).To the right of the caution panel is the liquid oxygen gauge which measures how much oxygen is remaining. Below is the EPU fuel gauge which measures how much rocket fuel the hydrazine motor has. Below that are two gauges. The left measures the cabin pressure altitude (the altitude at which the air pressure would be the same as it is currently in the cabin). The right is the clock.Then we have the stick:The trigger fires the gun. It's actually a two-stage trigger: The first stage starts the camera and activates the laser (if using laser ranging), and the second stage fires the gun. The weapon release button fires missiles and drops bombs (everyone calls it the "pickle" button).The trim hat (the "nipple") is a four-way hat that controls elevator and aileron trim. The pinky switch, in most MFD formats, toggles the zoom level of whatever's displayed on the active MFD. The paddle switch turns off the autopilot.The side button with the long name is so named because it has a bunch of functions. On the ground, it toggles nosewheel steering. When refueling, it disconnects the aircraft from the boom. In missile-firing modes, it steps between different missiles of the same type. When held down, it toggles between different types of missiles. In bomb modes, it toggles between different bomb dropping modes.The target management switch (TMS) is also a four-way hat. What each position does depends strongly on what format is displayed on the active MFD. I'll take one example, the radar format:Forward - Locks on the target under the radar cursorsAft - Unlocks the target and returns to searchLeft - Commands IFF interrogationRight - Steps between targetsThe display management switch (DMS) manages the MFDs and the sensor of interest (SOI). The sensor of interest is whichever sensor is being used to lock targets.Forward - Moves SOI to HUD. The pilot uses the HUD to locate and lock a target visually.Aft - Toggles SOI between left and right MFD. E.g.: If the radar is displayed on the left MFD and the left MFD is SOI, the radar is used to locate and lock a target.Left/Right - Cycles between formats on the left or right MFD.The countermeasures management switch (CMS) controls countermeasures dispensing:Forward - Runs the countermeasures program selected by the PRGM knob on the CMDS (discussed earlier).Left - Runs an emergency countermeasures program.Aft - Gives the jammer consent to jam.Right - Removes consent to jam and consent for automatic chaff/flare dispensing (if the CMDS is in AUTO mode).Okay, home stretch. Let's do the right console now:We'll start on the forward end with the sensor power panel:The LEFT and RIGHT HDPT switches control power to the left and right fuselage hardpoints. As I mentioned earlier, these hardpoints accept external sensors such as cameras or radar receivers.The FCR switch powers on the fire control radar. The RDR ALT switch powers on the radio altimeter. In STBY mode the radio altimeter is powered but not transmitting.Moving aft, we have the HUD control panel:The top left switch toggles between HUD display of the vertical velocity and velocity/altitude/heading tapes, just velocity/altitude/heading tapes, or no tapes. (A "tape" is a linear scale displayed on the HUD.)The next switch to the right toggles between display of the flight path marker (FPM) and pitch bars, just the flight path marker, or neither.Moving right, the pilot has the option to repeat the DED display on the HUD, display the PFL on the HUD, or neither. The top-right switch toggles display of the backup depressed reticle using the primary or standby HUD image generators. In STBY, all other HUD symbology is removed.The bottom-left switch toggles between HUD display of calibrated airspeed, true airspeed, or groundspeed. The ALT switch toggles between the display of barometric or radar altitude (altitude above sea level or ground level). The next right switch toggles between day or night HUD brightness mode. The bottom right switch, in ON, displays a test pattern on the HUD. Moving the switch momentarily to TEST STEP steps between different test patterns.To the left of this panel is the zeroize panel:The ZEROIZE switch erases from memory sensitive data. In the OFP position, the operational flight program is zeroized (GPS keys, IFF keys, mission data, RWR threat database, etc.). In the DATA position, some OFP data is spared from erasure.The VOICE MESSAGE switch controls the VMS. In INHIBIT, Bitchin' Betty is silenced.To the right of the HUD panel is the nuclear consent panel:The NUCLEAR CONSENT panel controls consent for nuclear weapons release. Placing this switch in ARM/REL gives the airplane consent to arm and release nuclear weapons (if loaded). In REL ONLY, the airplane will release but not arm nuclear weapons.The switch below controls which radio is sent to the KY-58 radio encryptor. In CRAD 1, the UHF radio is encrypted. In CRAD 2, the VHF radio is encrypted. In PLAIN, neither radio is encrypted and all transmissions are in the clear.Below the HUD panel is the interior lighting panel:The PRIMARY CONSOLES knob controls the brightness of the console text backlighting. The PRIMARY INST PNL knob controls the brightness of the backup flight instruments and engine instruments. The DATA ENTRY DISPLAY knob controls the brightness of the DED.The FLOOD CONSOLES light controls the brightness of the floodlight that illuminates the left and right consoles. The FLOOD INST PNL light controls the brightness of the floodlight pointed at the backup flight instruments.The MAL & IND LTS switch controls the brightness of the indicator and caution lights (bright or dim).Below this panel is the air conditioning panel:The TEMP knob allows the pilot to set the air conditioning level. The MAN range manually sets the ventilation air temperature, and in the AUTO range, the ECS uses ventilation air to maintain a set temperature.The AIR SOURCE knob sets where the ECS gets its air from:OFF - Engine bleed air valves are closed; no A/C, avionics cooling, or pressurization functions are available.NORM - Normal ECS operation; all functions available.DUMP - Cockpit air pressure is dumped. Used to clear smoke from the cockpit. Cockpit is ventilated by conditioned air.RAM - Cockpit air pressure is dumped and bleed air valves are shut off. The cockpit and avionics are ventilated from ram air (air collected directly from outside, not the engine). Used when a leak spoils the bleed air.Moving aft, we have the KY-58 secure voice control panel:This panel controls radio encryption. The MODE knob sets the KY-58 mode. In P(lain) mode, the KY-58 does not encrypt. In C(ipher) mode, encryption occurs. In LD (load) mode, the KY-58 accepts encryption keys over the fill port. In RV (receive variable) mode, the KY-58 will accept encryption keys over the radio.The FILL port is used to load secret encryption keys on the ground.The rightmost knob selects which encryption key to use. A key received over the air is always placed in slot 6. The Z1-5 position zeroizes the keys stored in slots 1 to 5. The Z ALL position zeroizes all keys.The VOLUME knob controls decrypted signal volume.The bottom right knob is the power knob (ON/OFF). In TD (time delay) mode, the KY-58 adds a time delay to cipher signals to account for delay in satellite-based communication.Below the control panel is space to write reminders as to which key is stored in which slot.Getting closer! Moving aft and top, we have the anti-ice/antenna panel:The ENGINE switch controls the engine anti-ice function. In AUTO, anti-ice air is turned on when the ice detector detects ice. In OFF, anti-ice air is inhibited. When ON, the anti-ice function is activated. (Hot bleed air is directed over the engine air intake to melt ice.)The ANT SEL switches determine which IFF and UHF antennas are used for transmission. In NORM, the antenna with the strongest received signal is used for transmission. The pilot can also manually select the upper or lower antenna.Below is the avionics power panel:Each of these switches controls power to different components: The flight control computer, stores management system, multifunction displays, up-front controls, global positioning system, datalink, and digital terrain map.The INS switch sets the inertial navigation system mode. The INS must align its gyroscopes before it can be used for navigation, a process taking about 8 minutes.OFF - INS is offALIGN STOR HDG - INS turns off but remembers its alignment information. Next time it is turned on, it can skip most alignment procedures (assuming the aircraft is not moved).ALIGN NORM - The INS aligns. The aircraft must not be moved.NAV - The INS provides navigational data to the flight computer. This is the normal mode after alignment.CAL - NonfunctionalIN FLT ALIGN - Performs an emergency in-flight alignment. The pilot must fly the plane straight and level for about a minute.ATT - Reverts to an emergency attitude-only mode. No navigation data is provided, only attitude data. Takes about 10 second to align.Moving aft, we come to our final panel, the oxygen regulator:The FLOW indicator turns white when oxygen is flowing. To its right is the oxygen pressure gauge.The red lever, in NORM, provides normal oxygen pressure below 30,000 feet, and positive pressure above that altitude when high-pressure oxygen becomes required. In the EMER position it provides 100% oxygen under pressure (used to test for leaks). The TEST MASK position does the same thing.The diluter lever (white) toggles between 100% oxygen and a mixture of oxygen and air depending on cockpit altitude (increasing amount of oxygen as altitude increases).The mode lever (green) turns on and off the oxygen supply to the mask/helmet and anti-g suit. In PBG it also activates the pressure breathing for g function, which supplies high pressure oxygen during high-g maneuvers to reduce fatigue.And with that, we have finished our tour of the F-16's cockpit. I hope you enjoyed it! There's a wealth of additional information to be found in studying the various MFD formats and HUD modes as well, but I'll leave that as an exercise to the reader.Thanks for playing, all! Especially if you read the whole thing.(…And yes, I'll get to that helicopter one next…)