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| Flight School (000X0) |
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FLight school is located at your airstrip, you'll need to go through it anyway
during the story mission once you've bought the place for $80,000 so if you're
too early in the game and haven't got here yet, don't worry, just wait. It's
just Northwest of Las Venturas. A bronze medal will get you the Rustler, a
silver the Stuntplane and a gold medal will get you the Hunter.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Takeoff |
\_/ (000X1) \------------------------------------------------------o
Your first test is taking off. This is quite simple, all you have to do is
hold the X button to accelerate along the runway. When the tail of the plane
starts to lift up a little pull back on the left analog stick to take off.
When you're airborne press R3 to bring in the landing gear. Now you'll need
to go through three coronas to show you can at least control the plane a
little. They're pretty much in a straight line. Any turning you do should be
done with only the lightest of movement on the analog stick, you don't want to
find yourself out of control and constantly correcting your direction.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Land Plane |
\_/ (000X2) \------------------------------------------------------o
In the second mission you need to learn how to land the plane. Aim yourself
down toward the first corona, this will approximate the angle you should be
looking to use when landing. Extent your landing gear with R3 and start to
pull up a little while holding square. Continue to pull back so that you land
as straight as possible and adjust your speed so that you come to a stop as
close to the centre of the red marker as you can to pass the test.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Circle Airstrip |
\_/ (000X3) \------------------------------------------------------o
Your next challenge is circling the airstrip. Select whichever course you
feel more comfortable with, it doesn't make much difference. This one is much
more difficult than the last one, it puts an emphasis on turning which in
planes can be quite hard. It introduces you to the rudder turn using the L2
and R2 buttons, never underestimate the power of this turn, it's far easier to
turn like this and remain in control. You still need to turn with a
combination of these buttons and the analog stick for a couple of the turns
but for the majority you can just stick with the L2 and R2 buttons.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Circle Airstrip and Land |
\_/ (000X4) \------------------------------------------------------o
Well now take what you did on the previous test and make it more difficult.
You need to fly around the airstrip and land the plane after doing so. The
same idea applies to making it through all the coronas on the way but you also
need to straighten yourself out at the end. Make sure to start descending and
slowing down early, you get bonus points if you stop inside the red marker
(it's quite difficult to beat without doing this) so slow down early, it's
easier to adjust your speed to that you go forward a bit further, but not so
that you slow down if you're coming in to land when it's too late.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Helicopter Takeoff |
\_/ (000X5) \------------------------------------------------------o
Now we change vehicles to the helicopter which will feel significantly easier
to fly to people who have played Vice City. This one is actually quite easy.
The instructions you are given are to fly straight upward, to do this all you
have to do is hold the X button. When you reach the top let go of the X
button when it tells you to level off, but press it periodically to maintain
your height. Hold either L2 or R2 to do a 180 degree turn and then when it
tells you to hold up on the analog stick to bank forward. From here you'll be
moving directly toward a corona, pass through it to complete the test.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Land Helicopter |
\_/ (000X6) \------------------------------------------------------o
Since you've taken off with the helicopter now it only makes sense to land.
The game actually needlessly complicates this one, despite everything it tells
you all you have to do is hold forward and X to fly toward the end of the
runway, when you reach it position yourself over the red marker (press L3 if
you are still banking to level off) and descend using the square button. If
you find you are falling too fast let go or press the lift button to slow.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Destroy Targets |
\_/ (000X7) \------------------------------------------------------o
Bring on the destruction. Your goal is to fly forward as you normally would
and destroy the three stationary trucks at the end of the runway. Your
helicopter is equipped with machine guns on the L1 button and a rocket
launcher on the circle button, you won't be needing the machine guns. As you
approach the three trucks slow down and fire the rocket launcher at each of
them to make sure they are destroyed, then turn around and fly toward your new
target: two moving cars. These can be a bit difficult to hit, but as long as
you are facing and angled directly toward them, they are going slow enough so
that you won't miss. One thing I find that helps is keeping control of where
you're looking by moving the camera with the R3 stick. As a final test you
need to fly to the red marker on the strip and land your helicopter.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Loop-the-Loop |
\_/ (000X8) \------------------------------------------------------o
This is just a quick one, in a new plane you haven't used yet you need to
perform a fancy loop-the-loop. Fly toward the first corona and immediately
once you pass through jam back on the left analog stick to do a loop, no
matter what the camera does just hold back on the left analog stick. As long
as you weren't pressing in any other direction you'll find yourself in a
perfect position to pass through the second corona when you complete it.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Barrel Roll |
\_/ (000X9) \------------------------------------------------------o
Another in the session of fancy moves is the classic barrel roll. This is
much more difficult than the last one because despite doing exactly what the
game tells you to do, you're inevitably going to lose control afterwards. You
can only hope to salvage what little control you have left and make it through
the corona. Okay, maybe it's just me. But still after passing through the
first one hold left, now the important thing is not too hold it for too long
because that's instinctively what you're going to do, let go just as you're
about to straighten out and you'll have a better chance of gradually
straightening and making it through that second corona to complete the test.
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/ TA: San Andreas /-------------------------------------------------------o
| _ --------o-------\ Parachute onto Target |
\_/ (000XA) \------------------------------------------------------o
The last test really isn't about flying at all, well if it is then the only
vehicle flying is you because the test starts with you far above the clouds
and only a parachute on your back. Your goal is to aim toward a small target
on the ground which looks physically impossible from this height but becomes
perfectly plausible once you get down there. The game teaches you numerous
tricks about falling and chuting but in order to do well on this mission
simply hold up on the analog stick to dive the whole time. Do not listen when
the game tells you to open your chute, instead continue to dive past the
clouds and open it up only once you're through the clouds. Now you can slow
your descent and move forward by holding down on the left analog stick but
avoid doing this as you're more likely to just over shoot the target. Instead
simply let yourself fall normally and use the right analog stick to look
around and gauge how well you're doing. As you get closer to the ground judge
whether or not you need to drift forward and adjust it so that you do.
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