Gig 601XL Builder writes:

In the real world we don't have that little V superimposed on the wind
sheild. What we do have is that little dodad ball in most cases in the turn
coordinator. Keep that little ball so it looks like this

|O| and you will be in a coordinated turn.

I know, but under VFR I'm supposed to be looking out the window, not staring
at the ball.

I found some Web pages on this; one of them suggests looking out the side of
the aircraft at the wing. If I'm in level flight, the extension of the wing
out the window points to the horizon, and it moves forward (very slowly,
depending on the distance of terrain). If I turn, however--and if the turn is
coordinated--it seems that the extension of the wing will point to a spot on
the ground that remains stationary. This spot is the center of my turn. The
steeper the turn, the closer this spot will be to my aircraft, but it will
always be aligned with the wing. If no spot above the wing is stationary in
the turn, the turn is uncoordinated.

Does that seem logical?

If you want to know how to make that V do what you want you are going to
have to ask in a flight sim newsgroup.

The pages I read suggest making a mark on the windshield for the purpose, with
a grease pencil or something. The sim provides a more perfect mark than one
can achieve in real life (because in real life one moves one's head, etc.),
but the same technique can be used in real life. The problem with it, though,
is that I'm not sure how fast the heading should be changing for a given
degree of bank, and it's not clear that there is a way to recognize this
intuitively.

Watching the extension of the wing out the side of the aircraft seems to work,
although it's more awkward. The page I read said you can fly the aircraft all
day by watching the wingtip, and this does indeed seem to be true, although I
suppose one would finish the day with a sore neck.

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