DELTAFLIGHT, formerly Project
757, is a web site devoted to home cockpit building and flight simulation.
How we ever got started on this project is a story itself. One day I explained to Dave about an article I had read on MicroWings web site about home cockpit building and how they were using a EPIC card to control buttons, switches and so forth. Our brains began to spin at several hundred RPM's. Dave and I have always shared a passion for aviation and the thought of building our very own cockpit was exciting. Our first obstacle we had to tackle during the planning stages were for the accommodation of a wheelchair. Dave was born with Spina Bifida and Scoleosis and has been physically confined to the chair since birth. As you will see from our first few attempts we were seriously struggling. But as time passed and the more I read about the subject the more I learned the "how to's". The driving force behind me was the fact that I knew someday Dave and I would share many hours together enjoying this great hobby. So while the challenge of building the simulator was overwhelming at times, knowing the enjoyment it would soon bring was more than enough incentive for me to continue. Furthermore, we were further hampered early on by the fact there was very little information available on building such projects. When we first began building our simulator, there was only (5) similar projects in the entire world. One of which belonged to James Price of Livermore, California. As you will see throughout this site, I credit James time and time again as he more or less took me under his wing lending as much information as possible. James and I would soon become good friends visiting one another from time to time. Unfortunately, during the late 90's, Dave's health took a turn for the worse forcing Dave to take a disability with his employer Delta Airlines. Dave was very ill for a long time and spent many months in the hospital fighting for his life. I'll never forget how sick Dave was yet he demanded we continue on with the project. So for what seemed like forever, I would take pictures of the simulator over to the hospital for Dave's recommendations. Due to the grace of God, Dave eventually recovered and returned home. In choosing the airplane to simulate, we settled on the concept that we would design our simulator to look as closely as possible to that of the Boeing 757-232, one of Delta Airlines most popular jets. Why the 757? Two reasons. One, this is the only jet able to accommodate the wheelbase of Dave's wheelchair due to the seating configurations. Of course the 757's Dave flew on were owned by none other than Delta Airlines. The people of Delta Airlines exemplify the word customer care. Reason two is because I was actually in the flight deck of a 757. My college roommate, Joe Collopy, an upper manager with the CVG (Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport-See CVG here) based DHL, invited me out one day to have a look at this plane which was visiting from UPS. The two pilots, especially the co-pilot (See her here) were extremely nice and very ambitious to answer all of my somewhat ridiculous questions. Nonetheless, I got some great pictures and left there with the opinion that we would model our sim after the 757. Dave agreed! On January 11, 2001, Dave and I renamed our project to DELTAFLIGHT. As more and more home cockpit projects arise, several folks are calling their simulators "Project" this and "Project" that...... So in an effort to be unique, we decided on the catchy name change. And on January 1, 2005, the DELTAFLIGHT project takes a new direction. Reluctantly, everything we have built to this date, the entire project, has been dismantled and removed. The simulator for the past several years had been located in our parents basement. Our parents now retired, have decided they would like to develop the basement into a family room. While it was heartbreaking tearing down the simulator, it provided us the opportunity to develop something we have been talking about for some time now. A mobile jet simulator. One we can transport to airshows for example. We welcome you to our website and hope you enjoy our storied passion for flight.
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