Learning to fly. Lesson One, Controlling the Aeroplane A Cessna 152 This and subsequent articles will lead through the training process using the Cessna 152 as your trainer. These articles will be necessarily simple and so they won?t have intensive information, they will however give you the flavour of learning to fly and lead you to a better understanding through practical exercises. In this lesson we will look at how the aeroplane is controlled on the ground and in the air. First of all we will look at the controls and I?ll explain their function. The Throttle, it is like the gas pedal in your car and controls the engine's Power output. The Engine RPM/Tachometer gauge is used to determine the power output by displaying engine RPM (Revolutions Per Minute). Pushing the throttle forward (in) increases RPM, and pulling it backwards (out) reduces the RPM. A Mixture Control is used to ensure the engine is fed the right amount of fuel and air at high altitudes, we'll learn more about this later. Left of the throttle there is a Carburettor Heat control. In certain circumstances ice can build up inside the carburettor and choke the engine, we use the carburettor heat to remove this ice, and to prevent it. At power settings below 1900 rpm we apply carburettor heat to prevent icing. The Control Column is used to control the aeroplane in flight. It can be rotated to the right and to the left, and moved forward and backwards. The