TraineeBeing a Kid Again:
Before last night, I was a very casual and very new FS user: I appreciated the graphics, was fascinated with gauges, knobs and physics, and have always had a healthy love for planes and trains. I have never piloted a real life plane in my life. Last night, on my first simulated flight from start to finish, I finally understood.
Before yesterday, I never completed a flight or developed a real flight plan. I would take off, switch planes in the air, and tote around and eventually crash. With the purchase of MegaScenery came a Southern California sectional aeronautical chart and a book full of airport diagrams. I understood the basic theory of VOR navigation, so I decided to complete a flight.
I took off from Oceanside near Sand Diego. I decided to try my hand at ATC, but became annoyed when the Oceanside tower would not reply. I wasn't deterred by the rudeness of the virtual Oceanside operators and figured maybe the airport was too small to have them (or perhaps FS2004 was on the fritz). I took off, and with help from the OCN VOR, I hopped on to Victor 23-165-597 9if that is even what you call it). My Cessna was in my control, I checked out the scenery and was working on keeping course: it was a fantastic strategy game hidden behind gauges and knobs. I took a brief break to check the laundry, figuring my great elevator trimming would have kept me level for a few seconds.
This wasn't the case.
Luckily, I caught my plane before crashing into the california mountains and was able to recover the plane to my vector. I was now ready for the approach for landing...
I then discovered interaactive ATC.
The communications began, the other planes were flying past and I was coming in to land at Long Beach Daughtery. I checked my charts and made the best landing of my fledgling virtual pilot career. The passangers, which I modeled by using my friends real weights, survived (albeit very sick).
I sat there, pleased that I completed a flight, sitting in the middle of the runway.
ATC got annoyed and wanted me to leave the runway. Wow, the AI was actually paying attention to my little plane?!? I could see planes waiting in a line to my right, and one by one were being told to hold short because the Cessna was still on the runway. I figured out how to speak with Ground, and began taxing for the first time. Again, a second surprise: I did not have the right of way. Apparantly, a Baron was on final approach, so I decide to stop my plane,altough I was convinced that the virtual ATC was blabbing non sense. I switched to spot view and scanned the skies. A few seconds later, buzzing down from the sky was the Baron 58 and it landed right before my plane. For a moment, I remembered what it was like to be a kid at the airport. I looked back to see that the line of Boeings that were waiting for the runway were finally able to begin taking off; their passangers probably cursing the idiot flying the Cessna. I taxied to a gate, opened the door, and became filled with much satisfaction.
Flight simulator helped me capture the childhood fascination with flying.
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