Hi, last monday I took a sightseeing tour with my daughter over my city (groningen, holland) starting from eelde (ehgg)in a c172 for an hour. Weather was cloudy with scattered rain and windy. I had a camera with the idea to really shoot everything. I made just 10, mostly on the ground. Here's why; after take-off we turned for the city, the pilot asked if I wanted to fly. Well, that was the LAST TIME he touched the controls until final! Really! He let me do steep turns over my house, some landmarks, climbing from 1000 to 2500 feet and back, trimming the aircraft accordingly, setting the engine rpm during all stages of flight! It felt so naturally (easy) after all those years of flightsim, scanning the instruments and the horizon, while maintaining level flight. Ater I lined the aircraft up on final, he did the landing because of a stiff crosswind, while explaining every action, and after we taxied back to parking he said; "next time YOU sit in the left seat"! It had become an experience I never expected. All of you thinking of doing this, GO! ps, now my daughter finally can say to her friends that her dad is a true pilot instead of a pc-one, only after I asked the pilot to tell her who did most flying; she never noticed, which should be taken as a compliment, said the pilot!

Good job!! When I got my ticket in 1992 in low 45 hours I contributed my rapid adaptation all to practicing and familiarization with simulation and my CFI thought I was just a natural. I could just imagine today how it must feel even better today to go from more realistic simulation like FS2004 to your 1st flight. I can't even think of not having a simulator today and staying proficient.Carmine http://ftp.avsim.com/dcforum/Images/wave.gif