THE C-1 AUTOMATIC FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

From the B-24 manual:

"The C-1 autopilot is an electromechanical robot which automatically controls the airplane in straight and level flight, or maneuvers the airplane in response to the fingertip control of the human pilot or bombardier.  The autopilot control panel provides the pilot with fingertip controls by which he can conveniently engage or disengage the system, adjust the alertness or speed of its responses to flight deviations, or trim the system for varying load and flight conditions."

The C-1 autopilot in the Wings of Power aircraft is not as complex as the real thing, thankfully, but offers a great deal of functionality.  It also duplicates some of the quirkiness of the original if used to fly the aircraft with "fingertip" controls.  The autopilot front panel has the following functions:

Most of the controls work in the normal manner.  The fun begins when using the autopilot in the "manual" mode.  First, turn on the Master Switch located at the upper left, under the Turn Control knob.  The red pilot light at the bottom left will light.  This simply powers up the unit and will not engage any of the functions.  Turn on the Wing Leveler and Altitude Hold and establish the airplane in level flight.  Then turn on the Centering Lights power switch, located to in the upper right corner.  Carefully center all the control inputs (aileron, elevator, rudder) until all the lights are illuminated.  Then use the Turn Control knob (either one will work) to initiate a gentle turn.  Two or three mouse-clicks are enough to start a gentle turn.  Once the airplane is turning at the desired rate, use the mouse to recenter the Turn Control knob -- it helps to remember how far you turned it to begin with.  The airplane will continue to turn indefinitely, and if you have used too much control, it will continue to bank, so be careful as to how much you turn the knob.  A little goes a long way.  As the airplane approaches the desired heading, you'll want to level out by turning the Wing Leveler switch back on, since it automatically turns off whenever you make an adjustment with the Turn Control knob.  Lead your rollout by a few degrees as you would if you were flying manually, as the airplane will continue to yaw as it rolls level.  This is more difficult than it sounds and it is quite satisfying to get this down pat.  Like the real aircraft, the controls must be centered before this will work.  You will need to recenter the controls after making a turn in this way.

The other controls work in essentially the same way as a normal autopilot but there is more manual labor involved.  The Altitude Hold switch simply engages this function, but you will need to preset your desired altitude using the Altitude Hold Adjust, one click at a time.  The Altitude Hold switch will not enter the current altitude for you.  The Vertical Speed Adjust default is zero, so you will also need to enter your desired vertical speed manually, the plane will not automatically begin to climb or descend as with most aircraft.  For an extra challenge, you can fly an ILS approach using the localizer hold only, meaning you'll have to control the throttles, trim, and rate of descent.  The NAV/GPS, Approach Hold, Backcourse mode, and other switches not covered here work in the normal manner.  Experiment -- this is a versatile and fun unit that will entertain for hours.