I regret to have to inform you guys that I am going to pull out of this years race. We're having a fairly hot summer here in Western Australia and I can't keep my rig cool enough to ensure that it won't crash inadvertently such as at a critical point during the flying of a leg. I can fly reliably for maybe an hour or so, but any longer than that and I run the risk of my CPU overheating.Anyhow, if the Roll Call thread is anything to go by then I expect that I won't be too sorely missed since there seems to be quite a few volunteers this year.I'll be watching from the sidelines and I wish you all the best of luck. Go bring that trophy home where it belongs.Mike.

Mike - Sorry to hear about that. Need an ac unit? Wish I could ship you this extra one I have laying about. Unfortunately my time is limited to the weekend due to a new job.Cheers

Mike, you WILL be missed.M.

Sorry to hear...ya know about those peltier coolers? You can add one right on top of the cpu an put the fan/heatsink on top of that! I have never done it cause I never overclock but its worth lookin into if you have a hot area.

Hi Mike (HiMike :))Sorry, to hear that - but do stick around and if the weather (and your rig!) cools, do join the race at that time. You know you will always be welcome!BRGDSSven Sorensen, EKCH

I have in fact got an a/c unit specifically to cool my computer. I've got both side covers off with a desktop fan on one side and the a/c unit on the other side, but still my system is crashing. I think part of the problem is with the way in which Vista deals with an impending crash. It seems that when CPU temperature enters a critical range Vista will forestall a complete crash by terminating the application, and I get a 'Flight Simulator has stopped working' message.Either way the outcome is the same. I can't rely on not being kicked out FS at a time when I most need it.Mike.

That's a good idea, Sven. There's no harm in joining the TeamSpeak server, and keeping an eye on the temperature. Experiment has shown that below about 26 C ambient room temperature I can remain flying for the two hours needed to complete a leg.Mike.