The E6-B Quick Start Guide

Here are the quick-start E6-B Flight Computer instructions. The first section is an easy-access summary for those who have been through the basics or have used it in the past.

If the E6-B is new to you, Click Here to learn some basics on how to use it during flight and flight planning.

And here is the complete E6-B Instruction Manual which describes all of the E6-B features and calculations.

E6-B Summary

True Air Speed (TAS)
more info

Rotate the outer ring until the OAT in the small window lines up with the pressure altitude. Read the TAS on the outer ring over the IAS.

Fuel Consumption
more info

Rotate the outer ring until the GPH is above the big arrow. Read total Fuel Consumption on the outer ring above the elapsed time on the inner rings.

Time and Distance
more info

Rotate the outer ring until the Ground Speed is above the
big arrow. Read the elapsed time on the inner rings under
the distance traveled on the outer ring.

Wind Correction Angle and Ground Speed
more info

1. Click Course, place Wind Direction under True Index.
2. Click the red "Wind Mark," then drag the red velocity
dot up the slider bar by the speed of the wind.
3. Click Course, place True Course under True Index.
4. Click Ground Speed; drag the slider bar to place the wind
velocity mark (red dot) at the TAS line.

5. Read the Wind Correction Angle between the center line
and the wind velocity mark (red dot).
6. Read the Ground Speed at the dot centered on the E6-B.

 

Instructions for those new to the E6-B.

The instructions in this guide are limited to calculating True Air Speed, TAS; Fuel Consumption; Times and Distances; Wind Correction Angles, WCA; and Ground Speeds.

We recommend that you print this Quick Start Guide for ease of use. However, it is also accessable from the Kneeboard.

Open the Kneeboard, and then click on the text tab in the lower right border of the kneeboard. That will bring up the DOUGLAS DC-3 Reference Information document. Next, click the Quick Start Guide link near the top of that page. Drag the kneeboard to the left for better viewing.

You'll be happy to discover how easy it is to learn the E6-B, whether using a printed copy or reading it from the kneeboard.

Note: The real E6-B has two sides, front and back, and so does your virtual E6-B.

General Information about the front of the E6-B

Click the "E6B Front" icon to access the front
of the E6-B.

The front of the E6-B is a Circular Slide Rule plus a few specialized calculation windows. Many of the instructions are printed right on the face of the E6-B.

There are two movable slides or rings on the E6-B Slide Rule.

Grab the "O" in the word FLIGHT COMPUTER with your mouse to rotate the outer ring. Then pull the outer ring in either direction, clockwise or counter-clockwise (anti-clockwise) as needed. Keep your mouse on the "O" while rotating the outer ring.

To rotate the inner ring, grab the "1:40" in the Hours scale with your mouse and similarly rotate it in either direction. Keep your mouse on the "1:40" while rotating the inner ring.

Circular slide rules save space over the conventional versions. The downside is that sometimes the answers to a problem are located where the numbers are upside down. A work-around for this, once you have mastered the E6-B, is to first rotate the outer ring so that the location of the expected answer is at the top, then rotate the inner ring to finish the calculation.

OK, let's get started with some calculations

 

1. True Air Speed (TAS)

Example ... IAS = 140 kts,   Altimeter = 7000 ft,   OAT = 0° C

  • On the front of the E6-B, follow the instructions in the top right quadrant.

    TAS Directions

  • Grab the "O" in FLIGHT COMPUTER, and drag the outer ring left or right until 0° C lines up with 7000 ft in the window on the top-right side.

    Temp over altitude

  • Then the TAS ... 155 kts in this example ... is displayed on the outer ring, over the calibrated IAS ... 140 kts ... in the outermost scale on the inner ring.

    TAS

  • With the rings now aligned you may also read the Density Altitude in the innermost window.

    Density Altitude

 

2. Fuel Consumption

Example ... Fuel Rate = 93 GPH,   Flight Time = 1:45

  • On the front side of the E6B, note on the inner ring the second from outer scale, at the top, reads 1:40.
    Put the mouse on that number, and drag the inner
    ring 180 degrees.

    Grab 1:40

  • Now the "for fuel consumption" instructions
    are in the top-right quadrant.

    Fuel Consumption Instructions

  • After reading them, put the mouse on the "O" on the outer ring, and rotate it until the GPH ... 93 in this example ... is above the big arrow in the inner ring (about 3 o'clock).

    Move GPH over Big Arrow

  • Now, find any selected time in hours ... 1:45 in our example ... on the second from outer scale on the inner ring. The fuel consumed is read directly above that time on the outer ring. 163 Gallons.

    Read Fuel Consumption

  • If this were a real E6-B we would turn our hand
    so that the numbers were right side up.

    Numbers Right-Side-Up

 

3. Time and Distance Calculations

Example ... Ground Speed = 132 kts

  • On the front side of the E6B, note on the inner ring the second from outer scale, at the top, reads 1:40.
    Put the mouse on that number, and drag the inner
    ring 180 degrees.

    Grab 1:40

  • Now the "for time and distance" instructions
    are in the top-left quadrant.

    Time and Distance Instructions

  • After reading them, put the mouse on the "O" on
    the outer ring, and rotate it so that the ground speed
    ... 132 kts in this example ... is above the big arrow
    on the inner ring.

    132 kts above Big Arrow

  • Now, for any distance on the outer ring, read the hours from the second scale on the inner ring, or minutes in the first scale if under one hour. For example, the time to fly 202 NM at 132 kts would be 1:32.

    Read Time

 

4. Wind Correction Angle and Ground Speed

  • Close the Front of the E6-B if it is open.
  • Go to the Back of the E6-B for these calculations.

General Information about the back of the E6-B

Click the "E6B Back" icon to access the back
of the E6-B.

The Back of the E6-B has a calibrated slider ring, a slider bar, and a movable "dot" to represent the pencil dot one would mark on a real E6-B. This side of the pop-up E6-B differs from the real E6-B in the availability of some digital information.

There are two sides to the slider bar. The front is calibrated from 30 to 260 kts and the rear is calibrated from 150 to 650 kts.

To move the slider bar, click the words "Ground Speed" to the right of the E6-B, then HOLD the mouse on the centerline of the slider bar while sliding it up and down. To change sides of the slider bar, click the words "Ground Speed" again.

If you slide the slider bar (front) all the way down, you will find printed instructions at the top of the bar to calculate Wind Correction Angles and Ground Speeds. To read these, besides having excellent eyes, you should have a large monitor screen and fs9 should be set to 1600 dpi.

E6-B Instructions

Below are the instructions to calculate Wind Correction Angles and Ground Speeds for those who can't read those in the pop-up E6-B.

NOTE: In the real world you would use True Course and the True directions of winds aloft in your calculations. However, fs9 reports everything in Magnetic, so use Magnetic instead of True with this E6-B if you wish.

If you have third-party weather software that reports winds aloft in True direction, then also use True course numbers for your aircraft.

You cannot mix True and Magnetic in these calculations.

A ... Set the Data into the E6-B

Example ... Magnetic Course = 270°,   TAS = 155 kts,
Winds = 225° at 32 kts.

We enter this data on the E6-B in the following order:

  • Wind Direction
  • Wind Velocity
  • True Course
  • True Air Speed (TAS)

This is easy to remember because it is:

  • Direction–Speed
  • Direction–Speed

with the winds first.

  1. Wind Direction ... 225°

    Click on the word "Course" to the right of the E6-B.

    Then Grab the "N" on the ring and rotate it until the Wind Direction ... 225° in this example ... is under
    the True Index.

    Wind Direction Under True Index

    Wind Direction Under word
    Note that the wind direction,
    225°, also appears in the line below the word "Course."

  2. Wind Speed ... 32 kts

    Words
    Click the first group of Red words, "Wind Mark," to the right of the E6-B. They should brighten.

    Drag the Red Dot up from the center of the E6-B a distance of the Wind Speed ... 32 kts in our example.

    Move Red Dot distance of speed of wind

    Wind Speed and Direction Under Wind Mark segment Note that the wind speed,
    32 kts, and direction, 225°, now appear in the Wind Mark segment.

    If the direction is off a degree or so, move the red dot left or right to correct it.

  3. True Course ... 270°

    Click again on the word "Course" to the right of the E6-B.

    Then Grab the "N" on the ring and rotate it until the
    True Course ... 270° in this example ... is under
    the True Index.

    True Course 270°

    True Course Under word
    Note that the True Course,
    270°, now appears under the word "Course."

  4. True Air Speed (TAS) ... 155 kts.

    Click on Ground Speed.

    Place your mouse on the Slider Bar and move it so that the Wind Velocity Mark (Red Dot) lies on the TAS line,
    in this case, 155 kts.

    True Air Speed 155 kts

B ... Read the Wind Correction Angle from the E6-B

Note below that the Wind Velocity Mark (Red Dot) is about 9° to the left of the main course line. That is the Wind Correction Angle needed to maintain a course of 270° in our example. Since it is to the left of the main course line, the WCA is minus, and the required aircraft heading is 261°.

    Read WCA

C ... Read the Ground Speed from the E6-B

The Ground Speed appears on the main course line at the dot centered on the E6-B. It is a bit difficult to see in the example below because the "130" label partially obscures it. Our Ground Speed is 132 kts.

    Read Ground Speed

Congratulations, you've learned some basics! The Summary at the beginning of this document should adequately refresh your memory, if necessary, when next using the E6-B.