Being a kid again
Being 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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Just a great story, the Walter Middy in us always finds a way to come out.
Happy flying, I may go to (virtual) Vegas tonight.
My friends think I am crazy, but they do believe I am less nuts now that I am flying instead of taking an Amtrak Acela Express from Philly to Washington on Train Sim.
One of my friends just found a copy of "Ready for Pushback" (vmax simpilot.com) and purchased it on sale for me. This is like handing a book on Quantum Physics to a middle school student. I thanked him for the gift, but I don't think I can begin to appreciate the software at this point. I am computer savvy enough to have downloaded patches to get it to run on FS2004, and have installed the necessary missing visual basic components for the ancillary software packages. However, I just sat there on the runway selecting different control panels with my mouth open. I did manage to turn on the 1st class air conditioning (I figured this was important), and managed to accidently exhaust fire suppressent on the engines, and through my tinkering the beautiful voice of a British female flight attendent (Classic S-combo software) did not waver as she gave the passangers instructions; I know she must be very well trained, she even managed to sound professional as I discharged fuel onto the runway. 🙂
Incidently, I switched back to the Cessna. I need to learn how to fly this first...baby steps. Don't worry, the software will not go to waste, I will advise on my progress in a month. At the very least, I will be understand a lot more about aircraft systems from this "virtual encylopedia."
Excellent stories! Wow, that brought back memories...in the cockpit of a wee Cessna 172 listening to Rod talk about the first take off...Can't wait to hear what you have to say next! If you really want to enjoy flight simulator, don't do what I do. Go out and look at stuff, pull a vertical up over the hoover dam, land your plane in Mt. St. Helens, do fun stuff...Don't fly a concorde the entire time! There's more to it than that, but i don't think i can enjoy that much because i'm too confined to the GPS, and autopilot controls. Sure, i will admit, nothing gets your heart racing like being cleared for landing in a 747. But if you want to enoy FS to its fullest, be a bush pilot. Watersprite is a good one to talk to, she seems to know where to go to get into trouble!
Fire_Emblem_Master wrote:
Excellent stories! Wow, that brought back memories...in the cockpit of a wee Cessna 172 listening to Rod talk about the first take off...Can't wait to hear what you have to say next! If you really want to enjoy flight simulator, don't do what I do. Go out and look at stuff, pull a vertical up over the hoover dam, land your plane in Mt. St. Helens, do fun stuff...Don't fly a concorde the entire time! There's more to it than that, but i don't think i can enjoy that much because i'm too confined to the GPS, and autopilot controls. Sure, i will admit, nothing gets your heart racing like being cleared for landing in a 747. But if you want to enoy FS to its fullest, be a bush pilot. Watersprite is a good one to talk to, she seems to know where to go to get into trouble!
Indeed, for me the most satisfaction is flying the more moderate Gen Aviation aircraft. I just bought a PMDG B1900D for later today. Right now I'm DLing the southeast Asia scenery file from FlightSim (sea1srtm.zip @ 230 meg) so I still have about 25 mins until I can set it up and go flying. I'm a Bush Flying Unlimited pilot as of yesterday, although my passengers might not be able to handle the landings. He he he heh! 
Heh heh heh! As a kid I NEVER wanted to see an airplane. I get motion sickness even at 62 and some programs for the PC are definitely at fault. However I was VERY pleasantly surprised when I flew FS for the first time. No probs at all, at all. IL2 Sturm does give me the weebies a bit but FS hasn't yet.
Thank you. It is 10:41, I just planned a trip from Tijuana to Long Beach. I printed out my nav log. I've configured the weight to be two friends (both girls) and myself in a Bravo (my new favorite plane). I think I will make it alright. I am still excitied to get Ultimate Traffic... it looks excellent.
OK... my passangers are waiting... I hope they aren't trying to smuggle anything across the border.
- dk
dkozin wrote:
Thank you. It is 10:41, I just planned a trip from Tijuana to Long Beach. I printed out my nav log. I've configured the weight to be two friends (both girls) and myself in a Bravo (my new favorite plane). I think I will make it alright. I am still excitied to get Ultimate Traffic... it looks excellent.
OK... my passangers are waiting... I hope they aren't trying to smuggle anything across the border.
- dk
Please do post your screenshots if you take any 😉
I have a question.
So, I am cheating here a little and paused the sim.
I left Tijuana, but failed to jump onto my nav plans. So, I decided to find a distinctive VOR on the coast (using my map), and quickly adjusted my nav instrument to find what radial I was on. I realized I was on 30, so I turned to 30 and am prepared to fly along that radial (or whatever you call it). I am at 4,500 ft as planned.
Now, I know this doesn't jive with my flight plan, but is this "method" used? In short, does one manipulate two VORs to get a position, and then choose to fly along a radial (and compare with a secondary VOR the exact position)? I am pretty sure I violated some airspace restictions, but because I own my sim world, I decided that I was a VIP and given an "All Day Pass" over California. 🙂
Either way, I am heading off in that direction. I originally was going to take the Bravo, but decided against it. So, back to the Cessna.
ok... back to california (which is sunny, visibility at 40 mi.)
I decided to switch to night flying, so I am including a picture as I just pass over the VOR station I was aiming for. I-5 is the major expressway just below the plane in the picture. Navigating by I-5 And 805 is very easy with this package. The alt here is 4,500.
off to Oceana...
I just past a college to my right.
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