July 1, 2011 / admin / 0 Comments
I recently read a blog article which I can easily relate titled “Banging my Head Against the Desk” by fellow blogger and flight sim developer, Bill Womack. Bill describes some of his frustrations with getting his brand new 737 off the hard ground and into the beautiful skies. Bill fully recognizes the differences between complex airliners and GA aircraft and his blog post asks some questions which I believe are questions I too have wanted to be answered. Now before I continue…I’ll add there is a big difference between Bill Womack and Jerry Taylor with regards to flight. Bill has accumulated over 50 hours in a Cessna 172 and is working his way towards his private pilots license.
Within the flight sim community (at least over the last decade) there’s been dialog on the various forums (and there’s a lot of them) regarding virtual pilots who fly the more complex and realistic aircraft models such as 
PMDG and the default or freeware models such as POSKY. I’ve experienced it myself even over a VATSIM personal message once. I was holding short of an active runway and number two for take off. I had another pilot behind me. I believe I was in a 767 and he asked me if it was the LevelD. I said no, it was a POSKY. He went on to add that he felt the POSKY was inferior to the LevelD and stated a few reasons why. It was interesting that his reasons were never around the flight dynamics or the differences and difficulties of getting the LevelD 767 ready for flight, but more around how much more realistic the panel was. It is interesting to note that this individual is about 15-16 years old. Heck I have a pair of tennis shoes older than that. I felt like telling him “look kid, I remember when all we had to flight simulator was flat graphics and aircraft choices was only one and I still had to walk to school up hill both directions (I grew up in Texas so there wasn’t a lot of snow)”.
Anyway, this dialog while not often spelled out can sometimes certainly read between the lines that if you don’t fly the PMDG whatever you are not a real pilot. HELLO??? For most of us we are not real pilots. Some may be in the process of obtaining their private pilots license and some may already hold one. Some are retired or ex-military who flew missions in Korea, Vietnam or Desert Storm. While each of those examples may know the aircraft they have flown (or fly) in real life, most couldn’t get a real modern jetliner off the ground if their life depended on it, let alone land one.
I suppose in recent years I could have referred to myself as a purist. Until just a few weeks ago I only flew freeware aircraft which for the most part are modeled along the lines of the default aircraft that comes part of MSFS. Fire up FSX and pull down a flight plan into FSCommander and Ctrl-E and off you go. I truly supported these freeware developers for their efforts in giving something back to the hobby. A POSKY (or now called FreeSky Project) may not have the same flight dynamics as the PMDG, but they look great for what they cost (zero cost freeware) and handle equally well. But yes, to the dark side I went a few weeks ago after learning about the iFly 737NGX and it’s out of the box compatibility with GoFlight hardware. I couldn’t resist the true beauty of this aircraft from the outside in. I got her downloaded and took a brief test flight around DFW. I was hooked. A few days later this led to the purchase of the LevelD 767 which again is fully compatible with my GoFlight hardware.
Now back to Bill’s blog post. Bill discusses how he likes to learn something. He states “My favorite way to learn something complex is to first learn the bare-bones essentials. Once I’ve mastered them to the point of feeling semi-proficient, I like to add on layers of depth, exploring each new concept until I’ve drilled it permanently into my brain.” I fully agree with what he says here and will admit that I’m the same way. For the most part I’m a self-taught IT Professional. I studied at the school of hard knocks. But I very much learned the basics and progressively built onto that. After all, what makes a giant skyscraper capable of standing? It’s not the spire on top, it’s the solid foundation often not even visible. I believe this is the point Bill was trying to make.
There is another point Bill makes in his blog post which gave me a good laugh, “Give me a stack of manuals and I’ll be stuck inside them for days. Show me a video of what I’m supposed to do, and I’m doing it like a pro in an hour. It seems that most airliners developers are just the opposite type.They spin out reams of paper about this or that system, when all I really want in the beginning is to get in, familiarize myself with the plane, and get it in the air.” It was the “They spin out reams of paper” comment that gave me the chuckle. The iFly 737NGX manual is over 500 pages and while LevelD is only 175 pages I still find that a bit much…especially when talking about first experiences with the aircraft.
Now before you get all excited and want to post those comments about realism and tell me I’m not a real pilot (I already know I’m not a real pilot), let me say this. I’m enjoying (I’ll say it again), I’m enjoying learning more about how both the iFly and the LVLD aircraft operate. I’ve completely changed my flying style, meaning I don’t just run down to my basement and fire up FSX and take off. I enjoy running through the pre-flight checklists, programming the FMC (even purchased the VRInsight external CDU for added realism). I enjoy the 20-30 minutes I spend before I ever start to taxi.
Each of us have our own reasons for participating in this hobby. My reasons might be the same as your reasons and they might not be. Over the past decade I’ve learned a lot about flight. Prior to getting started flying on line, I didn’t know what a STAR or SID was, nor did I understand how to read and follow them. Now I do. Until just a few weeks ago I didn’t really understand how VNAV and LNAV functioned, nor did I use the functionality. Now I do.
I fully support what Bill Womack is talking about in his blog post. If someone…anyone…wants to shell out $30, $40, $50 or more on a pay-ware aircraft and spend hours and hours and hours reading the manual that is fine. Likewise, if the same individual wants to spend the same amount of money and gradually ease into the more complex procedures that is also fine.
Now…having said all that. I applaud iFly for at the very least incorporating various panel states that one can start out with. I’ll admit that there are times I begin “cold and dark” and there are other times I begin “before engine start”. iFly and other developers could take this one step further and create a “fully automatic” or “basic flight” mode. This will allow those of us to get the aircraft off the ground and then build on the knowledge as we go along. Again….it’s my $$ and how I want to spend it is my business.
In closing, while I’ve found a payware 737 and 767 for my virtual hangar and currently looking to expand into a 757 and 777 payware models, I hope people like the folks at FreeSky Project(formerly POSKY) will continue to develop awesome freeware models. The hobby still needs quality freeware add-ons and individuals willing to develop them.
Please leave your comments. If you agree or disagree, this is fine.
Until next time,
Jerry
May 12, 2011 / admin / 0 Comments
While Flight Simulation is the only hobby I discuss on this blog, it is not the only hobby I enjoy. As discussed in the blog posting titled “The Cost of a Hobby”, I do enjoy photography, golf (although my game is suffering right now) and amateur radio (also known as ham radio). It is a lesson from amateur radio that I plan to share with you today.
I returned to the world of VATSIM last November and estimate over 90% of my current flight simulation time is spent flying online. I also had a “full-circle” moment and re-joined with my old virtual airline, American virtual Airlines. In another “full-circle” moment, I’m now managing the Dallas/Ft. Worth Hub for AvA (which I did back in the 2001-2004 timeframe) and am truly having a ball.
For those who have never experienced the fun of flying on VATSIM, you should check it out. Yea I know all the reasons some people have. Let’s see. ONE The software is too complicated to install. TWO The procedures are too difficult to master. THREE There is never any ATC online at the time I want to fly.
OK…So number three is a valid point. There are times (OK…a lot of times) where ATC coverage is not available. But there are also times when there is and when there is….it truly is As Real As It Gets. But this blog post is not about that and unless you regularly fly on VATSIM then it probably won’t apply. But I hope you’ll keep reading.
When I previously flew on the VATSIM network (back in 2001 – 2004 or so) I didn’t have my ham radio license. In 2007 I did earn my license and upgraded to the second level (general class) in early 2008. I’ve been off and on studying for the top tier, (extra class) for several years. One very key element that all beginning ham radio operators learn about is the art of listening.
Now we’ve all been (regardless if you are a fellow ham) taught this lost art. More than likely it was taught to us at a very young age by our parents and certainly was taught during Kindergarten. After all, everything we need to know in life was taught to us during our year of Kindergarten The problem is we tend to forget and most of us have simply forgotten the art of listening.
Back to the hobby of amateur radio. We are taught again about the importance of listening. Part of the material we read and study to earn our entry level license (called technician class) tells us we will do more listening than actually speaking when operating our radios. The guidance when tuning into a frequency is to listen………..listen some more…………listen yet some more……….no we’re not done listening just yet……..after some time we don’t hear anything….then we listen a little more and finally will politely ask if the frequency is in use and yes……LISTEN.
We do this because it is possible I may not hear another ham operator using that particular frequency and my transmission could interfere with his or another operators ability to hear and use that frequency. After I listen for a minute or two and politely ask if the frequency is in use, if I then do not hear anyone…I’m free to go ahead and begin using that frequency.
Of course in VATSIM we do not need to ask if the frequency is in use. This was merely an example of how the art of listening is applied in the hobby of amateur radio. But the key take away that I’m trying to make with this blog post is even in the world of simulated ATC on VATSIM, we all need to LISTEN more than we speak.
Many, Many, Many times fellow pilots will “step over” another pilot or ATC simply because they are not listening. Other times pilots need to ask again for ATC to repeat what they said again because they are not listening. I know some will argue that what is happening is not because of the lack of listening…but I think many and actually most cases it is.
My first piece of advice for virtual pilots is to invest in a good set of headphones. Preferably USB so you can set Squawkbox or FSInn to only send the ATC audio into the headset and keep the sound of the flight sim (the airplane) out of the headset. I know I also flew for many years with the sound of my aircraft mixed in with the ATC audio. It’s not like this on a real airplane….so make the change. You’ll thank me later.
Second, (and this ties in with the above) route your aircraft sounds into some external speakers and keep the audio turned down low enough so when you speak into your headset only your voice is transmitted and not the sounds of your engines etc. This will help everyone hear and understand you better.
Third, if you use an external microphone….read my first piece of advice and invest in a USB headset with boom microphone. Spend some time setting up the audio. The new USB headset you buy might be plug and play, but getting the audio levels just right isn’t.
Fourth, after taking all the above advice….when you tune into an active ATC frequency please LISTEN and LISTEN just a little bit more to see if there is an active conversation taking place. Even when being handed off from one ATC to another, you have plenty of time to LISTEN first. The reason why I’m suggesting you listen is to assist in the overall flow of communication.
What are you talking about Jerry? I’m glad you asked. Just like in normal conversation you have with a friend either face to face or on the phone or what ever, there is a period of time where you speak and then you stop talking and you listen while your friend speaks. This is the flow of normal conversation and is exactly what we learned when we were young.
In the virtual ATC world on VATSIM, the normal flow of communication works something like this. ATC issues instruction to pilot. Pilot reads back instruction to ATC. In some cases (as in reading back clearance) ATC might confirm the instructions the pilot read back. The point I’m making is there is a normal flow and an expected flow of communication.
In the above example, this is a communication between ATC and a pilot A. Let’s say pilot B is on frequency and is not carefully listening or just ignoring the normal flow of conversation. When ATC issues an instruction to pilot A, Pilot B should not speak on frequency until he is aware the conversation between Pilot A and ATC is finished.
Some may argue and ask the question…well how do you know when the conversation between ATC and Pilot A is completed? Again, depending on the situation you will know or you will learn over time. Let’s use another example. ATC is issuing vectors to Pilot A and providing runway assignment. Pilot A needs to read back or confirm this instruction to ATC. Typically once that read back is completed…then the conversation is finished.
Finally, when it is time to speak…speak clearly. So many fellow pilots sound like their mouth is stuffed with cotton balls and ATC have a difficult time understanding them. Remember….we all learned these very important lessons when we were small. Many of us just simply forgot over time. Have fun and LISTEN!
By the way, if any of you reading this are fellow ham radio operators. I operate mostly HF SSB, PSK and a few months ago tried JT-65 and truly love the mode. I also podcast about amateur radio. You can visit MyAmateurRadio.com to download/listen or find me on iTunes. The podcast is titled “The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast” 73 de KD0BIK.
Until next time,
Jerry
September 30, 2010 / admin / 0 Comments
I believe most all flight sim pilots attempt at least one around the world adventure in their sim career. I’ve attempted it several times and have completed it just as many. However, I’ll admit my successful attempts were either not very consistent (using multiple types of aircraft) and in each successful attempt, the adventure was completed in less than 4-6 legs. Meaning in most cases I used a long-range jet like a B747 or B777. In each case, the adventure was fun and I saw a lot of the FS world in doing so. Before I move on, let me just say that any computer pilot who decides to attempt an around the world adventure, there is no right or wrong way of doing it. Do it based on how you want to do it. I guarantee it will be fun and you’ll learn a lot in the process.
For me and my attempt in 2010, I want to do things completely different from my past attempts. First, I don’t plan to use any jet aircraft. I also plan to select one aircraft type and stick with it. After all, if you were trying to accomplish this in real life you would fly one aircraft and only one aircraft.
The way I see this is as follows. First you need to determine what type of aircraft you will fly and second you will need to determine your route. Of course there is a little more to it. Actually, the most important element is to determine your ocean crossing points. This is what I believe dictates both route and aircraft type. It’s easy to cross from Asia into North America, but a little more planning, luck and judgement will need to be used to get from North America into Europe. But it is doable.
The one absolute in all this is I have no expectation on time of completion. I’m not going to set a length of time goal for this adventure. I believe this is where I failed in my previous attempts to do something like this in something other than a B747. If it takes me the rest of the year or beyond…my goal is to complete the adventure and have fun along the way.
Probably in a real-world adventure, one would spend months, perhaps even years planning such an adventure. After all in the real-world a key driver to this would be finances. We don’t have to worry about that in the sim world. In addition, I believe in the real-world one would fully map their course before starting out. This is one approach I plan to differ from. I’m planning to start out on my journey with only a general direction in mind. The rest will fall into place along the way.
The tools I’ll use to plan my route will be my imagination followed closely by FSCommander. I will utilize the mapping and distance measuring capabilities to provide the information I need along the way. In addition, I’ll use a giant 3×4 foot map of the World hanging in my office to help encourage me along the way. I’ll also research weather conditions and plan accordingly since I’ll have real-world weather turned on.
Ground rules? Well…since we are flying there are no ground rules right? Ha ha…OK….poor attempt at humor. But my ground rules are simple. I plan to use a single, default FSX aircraft (non jet) with no time of completion goal. I plan to use ActiveSkyX weather and will fly in real-time (no acceleration).
So why am I doing this? I’m so glad you asked. As I have shared many, many times….I’ve been flying computer sims for over 25 years. Back in the early days all we had to fly was the Cessna. I spent hours and hours and hours in the computer cockpit of the Cessna flying around Meig’s Field in Chicago. Over the years as the flight simulation software developed, I moved up into the larger jets and would rarely ever fly anything smaller.
Since coming back into the hobby, I’ve grown to appreciate the smaller aircraft, grown to appreciate flying lower and slower and taking in the beauty of the sim world around me. So to answer the question of why am I doing this, mainly because I can and just as importanly…because I want to.
Now, back to my planning. My aircraft of choice is the Mooney Bravo. I selected this aircraft over the Cessna models due to its extended range over its single engine counterpart. According to FSCommander, the Cessna 172 has a range of 638 nm and cruise speed of 124 kts. The Mooney provides 412 nm more range and cruises around 190 kts. I believe the Mooney is the best choice of the single engine models available in FSX. I could jump up to the Beech Baron 58 and increase my range and speed even further, but I really want to do this attempt in a single engine aircraft.
The initial route I’ve chosen will take me from my home airport of KAPA (Centennial, Colorado USA) up towards the Northeast. At this point I’m not going to say whether I will stay primarily in the northern hemisphere. There are some sights I would love to see in Africa and Australia is also some place I’d love to visit on a trip like this. At this point, we will just have to wait and see.
I’m really excited about this challenge and the challenge began today. I departed KAPA (Centennial, CO) enroute to KSTP (St. Paul, MN). This first leg is just under 700nm and should give me a good feel for how the aircraft will perform over the coming weeks, months and who knows how long.
I will blog occassionally about the trip, my status etc. But you can see my trip status by clicking the Around the World – 2010 button at the top of the page. I will keep a running journal of my trip on that page.
Until next time,
JT
September 5, 2010 / admin / 0 Comments
In my IT career, hardware has always been my strong point. I learned most of what I know about hardware by taking old PC’s, taking them apart and putting them back together again. I’ve always subscribed to the philosphy that software is only as good as the hardware it is running on. This philosphy is especially true with regards to the flight simulator hobby. While I’ve been working in the IT field for almost 20 years, it doesn’t mean I’ve always had powerful machines to run the simulator software on. Much like an auto mechanic that may do quality work for customers, but drive a beat up truck….I pride myself in the work I do in the IT field, but with every release of Microsoft Flight Simulator I always found myself in the backseat and I haven’t always quickly moved up into the drivers seat until now.
As I mentioned here, I’ve been flying computer simulation games for over 25 years. I’ve watched a computer game grow from being a basic, no thrills (especially in comparison with today’s versions) to an almost true to life gaming experience. An entire industry has been born to support this very fast growing hobby and from all accounts, everything is very healthy.
When I began looking at getting back into the hobby, I first had to research what version of Flight Simulator was the latest and greatest. Flight Simulator X was released around the time I dropped out of the hobby. I had purchased it, installed it and played around with it. But at that time (late 2006) FSX was pretty much standalone. The hardware I owned at the time just barely would run it and I still had that PC in operation when I began looking into the hobby again. Since FSX was still the latest and greatest version I would build a system to fit that need.
I’ve always wanted a machine dedicated to my flight sim hobby. Flight simming is pretty much the only “game” I play on a computer and just wanted something I could dedicate to this software without cluttering it up with email and such. I spent a little time researching through forums to find out what other simmers were building. I knew I would build the machine myself with off the shelf components versus buying a brand name machine. I needed a machine based on my specs and only wanted what I wanted. I also wanted to stick to a budget, but I didn’t want the budget to 100% dictate all my design decisions.
I knew I wanted to build the machine around a couple of key points. In my mind these were requirements. First I wanted the hardware to take advantage of a 64 bit operating system. I’ve been testing Windows 7 at my day job and knew it was a solid OS. The second key element was the Intel i7 processor. I’ve heard very good things about this chip and I’ve always used Intel in my homebrew machines. I knew the rest would fall into place. So I made a shopping list and off to Micro Center.
My Parts List
Intel i7-930 Processor
EVGA X58 FTW3 Motherboard
GeForce GTX 460 1024MB Graphics Card
OCZ DDR3-1600 RAM (6 GB worth)
Corsair TX750W 750 watt power supply
Microsoft Windows 7 64bit OS
Antec Twelve Hundred ATX case
Once home with all the parts, I began the fun job of putting it all together. This Antec Twelve Hundred case is much more than I need at the present time. But I’ve never owned a case with this much ventilation and the lights are neat too. I had the Windows 7 64 bit OS running in no time and just applying a few tweaks here and there to just get the most out of Windows 7. After a few more hours I had Microsoft Flight Simulator X installing on the new machine.
I’ll admit I’ve spent the better part of this past weekend and many hours this week tuning and tweaking FSX. I had a bear of a time getting my GoFlight hardware working the way it should with this setup. The issues??? Equal parts of hardware, software and my own lack of knowledge has contributed to most of the issues. I still am experiencing a few issues and am working directly with the awesome guys at GoFlight. I am confident all will be resolved soon. Anyway, I was surprised at home much I had forgotten in the almost 5 years I’ve been away from the hobby. Of course, the information I forgot is only a small drop in the bucket compared to all the new information available now. While what I’m going to say next is not scientific in any way…..but I personally believe that all aspects of the hobby has grown by 2x, 3x or more in these past 5 years. I regret not being a long for the ride.
All-in-all I’m glad I chose to allow my background in hardware to make the right decisions on building this new machine. The machine and software (Windows 7 64bit) is working great together. I’m getting the performance from all aspects of the configuration that I expected and believe I have room to grow. Of course, none of us know exactly what will be needed for the new Microsoft Flight. But I’m confident my current setup running Flight Simulator X will perform just fine for the next few years. After all, I have learned that FS9 is actually still used heavily in the community and we all know it takes the industry a little while to catch up to the latest and greatest Microsoft releases.
So for now I’ll continue to tweak this new machine to get the best from it while using FSX. I do plan to install FS9 and all my add-ons from the old machine just to do some comparison studies. I’ll probably blog about this experience in the future. Stay tuned…..
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my flight sim blog. Please tell a friend.
Until next time,
J
September 2, 2010 / admin / 0 Comments
I had flown into KFJK a few days ago. Since I like to keep my flight simulator adventures in somewhat of an orderly fashion (meaning I tend to fly from airport to airport and don’t jump around alot) I decided I wanted to practice my VFR techniques. Since I only had a short amount of time I decided to park the “Big Iron” and jump into something smaller. I haven’t spent much time looking for add-on aircraft so I picked the Beechcraft King Air 350 which is part of the Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) default aircraft. I departed runway 22R for my adventure.
Soon after departure from KFJK
My route took me up the coast of Long Island through Block Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound and then across Buzzards Bay. Once reaching my crusing altitude it was all smooth sailing. The FS Kneeboard iPad application provided all the charts I needed for the route. I have 3-4 notebooks of charts and maps printed from 5+ years ago I once used. This little iPad applications gets me access to all the US region. I certainly hope they continue to develop the app to include more regions.
Crusing up Rhode Island Sound
The descent started over Buzzards Bay and then a turn across Cape Cod. Running Active Sky X, the ride down was a little bumpy for a few minutes. The Beechcraft King Air handled the bumps nicely.
A bumpy descent over Cape Cod
We’re almost there. Lining up on runway 24 at KMVY. Traffic was light today heading into the island. Certainly a good change of pace from the congestion around KJFK earlier.
Lining up to runway 24 at KMVY
Once parked with engines off and brake set it is time to head into Martha’s Vineyard for a relaxing short vacation. I’ll need to keep a close eye on Hurricane Earl incase he decides to travel up this direction. I may decide to leave Martha’s Vineyard and fly up to KBOS to meet up with some “Big Iron” from there the sky is truly the limit. Of course, I could also fly down and meet up with Earl to see how well Active Sky X models a hurricane. 
Engines off, parking brake set and ready for some R&R
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my Flight Sim Adventure as much as I enjoyed flying and blogging about it. If you blog about the flight simulator hobby please let me know and I’ll link to your blog site.
Until next time,
J
September 2, 2010 / admin / 0 Comments
OK…where to start? Oh I know…let me tell you about myself. My name is Jerry, I live in Denver, Colorado. I’m less than 5 miles from KAPA and about 20 miles from KDEN. I’m married to a wonderful woman who supports all my various hobbies. Before moving to Denver in 1998, I lived in Dallas, Texas. I lived very close to KADS and about 15 miles from the awesome KDFW airport. As a child we would visit the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and one of my two highlights would be visiting Six Flags over Texas and KDFW to watch the planes.
I’ve always been fascinated with airplanes and flight. Now the weird thing is I’ve never had any desire to learn to fly and/or pursue my private pilots license. I know….this may sound weird…but it is what it is. My Uncle has his PPL and he took me flying for the first time in a small Cessna when I was a small child. While I wouldn’t fly again for 10+ years (and my first commercial flight was around the age of 16) I always loved watching airplanes. Even as a “Big” kid, I love all aspects of travel (well perhaps not the waiting in security lines). I love getting to the airport early and watching the planes and the people.
I’ve been flying computer simulator games for over 25 years. Yes….they’ve been around that long. It all started for me with the Commodore 64 computer. The Commodore 64 computer launched my flight sim hobby, but more importanly it helped launch the career I’ve enjoyed for almost 20 years in IT. This IT career has helped to further my enjoyment of the hobby with a better understanding of how computer hardware and software functions together and has provided the opportunity for me to fly around the world.
In the early days of computer flight simulation it was all very basic compared to what we have today withMicrosoft Flight Simulator X. While a friend of mine had a TRS-80 around 1982-83, I didn’t personally own a flight simulator program until 1984 when a company called SubLOGIC created Flight Simulator II. This was the second generation flight simulator and was amazing.
While I was interested in a few other “computer games”, flight simulator was the one that I spent the most time playing. Now I already mentioned that these early versions were basic. While I haven’t played Flight Simulator II in over 20 years, I do remember you would start off at Meig’s Field in Chicago. I honestly believe that was about it. I believe (but not 100% certain) that KORD was represented in the software as well as several other smaller airports. However, that was about it. I also remember a few updates to the Commodore 64 version. Towards the end of my Commodore experience I had obtained some sectional maps and such of the areas where airports were represented. I still only flew with a joystick but my skills were improving with every hour of flying time.
My Commodore 64 computer was finally replaced in the late 80’s with an IBM PC. My flight sim hobby took off from there with the Microsoft
Flight Simulator version 3.0. This was a HUGE jump from the version I had been flying on the old Commodore. In the complete history of Microsoft Flight Simulator software, I did miss out on versions 1.0 and 2.0. Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0 (the first MS product I used with a PC) 3 aircraft including the Cessna we had all known to love along with a learjet and a Sopwith Camel. The graphics were much improved over the Commodore 64 version and for the first time you could actually look outside of the aircraft. From MSFS 3.0, I’ve owned every version released and each release was better and better and I couldn’t wait until the next one would come out.
Over the years as the graphics improved so did the options. Microsoft began adding more scenery and a lot more choices for aircraft to fly. With the birth of the Internet, an entire industry was born to cater to this exciting hobby. No more were you just limited to the features Microsoft provided….you had access to hundreds…probably thousands of different add-on products to enhance your experience. You could fly around the world and land just about anywhere. “Real World” airports and the accurate scenery around them was all being developed into the software or available through a third party add-on.
Again, while I’m fairly confident I’ve owned every version of Microsoft Flight Simulator since version 3.0 (circa 1988), for me personally it was Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 (aka version 7.0) that really pushed the game experience into a true hobby. I picked up a flight yoke and peddles and joined a virtual airline or VA for short. I have flown for several VA’s over the years. The first was a VA setup as American Airlines. It soon went bust. I then joined a VA operating as Air Canada and then found another American Airlines VA which looked awesome. I joined and within a short period of time had worked my way up in the management ranks to VP of Operations and also managed the DFW Hub.
In this timeframe I began flying online and experiencing operating with other online pilots and online ATC (Air Traffic Control) through a network called VATSIM. During this same timeframe I was traveling more and more both through work and for personal reasons. I would fly from KDEN to KDFW, then down to KILE (now KGRK) to visit family a few times a year. One of my favorite things to do would be to re-create the flight before and after a trip. I would fly the same aircraft at the same time of the day etc. It almost became a pre-trip ritual. My first real international (over the pond) flight was in the Spring of 2001. I was headed to our London office for 3 weeks. My real-life trip would take me from KDEN to KDFW then to London’s Gatwick airport EGKK. I simulated this trip in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 (version 7.0) before and after my real-world flight.
Microsoft has used the phrase “As Real As It Gets” since at least the days of Flight Simulator 95 (version 6.0). It all became too “As Real As It Gets” with the release of Flight Simulator 2002 (version 8.0). Microsoft had planned to release FS 2002 in mid-September 2001. When the terrorist attacks of 9/11 happened, Microsoft delayed the release of 2002 so developers could remove the WTC twin towers from all copies of the software. As a way of paying respect to those who perished that day, all online flights taking place on VATSIM were suspended for the same duration that real-life air traffic operations were shut down. I was scheduled to fly to London on 14 September for business. Needless to say this trip was cancelled. I wouldn’t fly again until just before Christmas of that same year.
I continued participating with VA’s until sometime in late 2006 when life just really got busy for me. Like with any hobby, my flight simulation hobby had to be set aside. My wife and I bought a house and my job has changed dramatically over the years. Just before I put the cockpit and software in storage I had purchased the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator X (version 10.0). At the time of FSX release, my computer was a weakling and there wasn’t a lot of add-ons available. I’m also not even sure FSX at the time would work on the VATSIM network. But I had to have it and purchased it soon after it came out.
Now it is late Summer 2010. I was flipping through the TV channels and came across a History Channel program about to start called Extreme Airports and I was reminded of how much I loved flying the flight simulator software. The PC I used back in the 2005/06 timeframe still had FS9 and FSX installed. I connected my GoFlight gear, my yoke and peddles and flew from KDEN to KDFW in FS9. My old PC just wasn’t powerful enough to run FSX. But this was soon resolved.
I’ll blog about my new “Beast” of a PC on the next post and bring you all up to speed on what I’ve been doing to get started in this awesome hobby again.
Until next time,
J
PMDG and the default or freeware models such as POSKY. I’ve experienced it myself even over a VATSIM personal message once. I was holding short of an active runway and number two for take off. I had another pilot behind me. I believe I was in a 767 and he asked me if it was the LevelD. I said no, it was a POSKY. He went on to add that he felt the POSKY was inferior to the LevelD and stated a few reasons why. It was interesting that his reasons were never around the flight dynamics or the differences and difficulties of getting the LevelD 767 ready for flight, but more around how much more realistic the panel was. It is interesting to note that this individual is about 15-16 years old. Heck I have a pair of tennis shoes older than that. I felt like telling him “look kid, I remember when all we had to flight simulator was flat graphics and aircraft choices was only one and I still had to walk to school up hill both directions (I grew up in Texas so there wasn’t a lot of snow)”. 
