I just had to come on and post this regarding my first real flight in a C172 Skyhawk. I'm pretty sure that's what it was.I really have to give you rw pilots props for even flying a sim. After my first flight in a real Cessna, I'm having a hard time coming back to the sim. In short, it was amazing.On first look at the cockpit panel, I was surprised to see just how accurate FS was. All the guages, the radio stack, all right where I expected to see them. I was quite surprised at how tight the cockpit was, but the instructor said it was "roomy" compared to the c150, or was that 152, not sure now. After going through the preflight check, inside and outside, (fuel checks, all the wing checks, movable parts check, then inside breaker checks, as well as once started the checks on the oil pressure, and other things that left my head spinning but kept my interest all the time) then we were ready to taxi.I put on the head phones and smiled as I listened to ATIS. So very much like FS. He then contacted ATC and related our intentions asking for clearance. It was amazing how close FS has this part down. One difference, we were taking off on rw 30, and had to cross rw 34, and ATC made us stop at rw 34 and hold till instructed to cross. It was no biggie, as when we reached rw 34 the instructor called up ATC and asked for permission to cross and for takeoff clearance for rw 30 at the same time, which he received. It was all very amazing to me, and we hadn't even left the ground. As we taxied to rw 30 I noticed how much easier it was to orient yourself, whereas in FS the taxiing can be quite trying at times.Anyways, the similarites kind of ended there. We took off and it seemed like forever before we were actually no longer over the rw. In FS this part seemed to go much quicker. I was also amazed at how he related his intentions to ATC. It had nothing to do w/ heading north at 350 degrees or anything techie, he just said he was going to fly over the downtown area, do a 180 over that area, then move along 87th avenue, then follow the river west before turning to a base approach. ATC acknowledged then said they might have to chase him out of the downtown area as there was traffic approaching in that area in a bit. Sure enough, later on we were instructed to leave that area. It was amazing.Now for the good part. He asked me if I had any training, as he noticed I was quite knowledgeable regarding the instruments and all. I just mentioned I was a MSFS enthusiast. He asked me if I wanted to take the controls. I said, "What? You serious?" He was. The flight was only 45 minutes, but for 25 of those minutes, I was flying!!!! He told me to hold it at 4000' and would tell me to "head downtown". I banked and kept the attitude sure and proper, held her at 4000'...and he was very impressed. I made several turns and always there was slight turbulence, but I held her at 4000. There wasn't a single period where the plane wasn't being buffeted around. I was so glad there was turbulence as it made the flight that much more exciting. I figured this was the norm but he said due to the heat of the day, and the front that was slowly moving in, there was quite a bit of turbulence. Plus he said flying near and over the tall buildings of the downtown area, one would always experience some turbulence.The landing (he did it of course, heh heh) was also amazing. ATC had us acknowledge a Citation (think that's what it was) in the area. We spotted it visually, and were told to land following that aircraft. Very close to what I've experienced in FS. I didn't realize you had to turn the trim wheel and do the flap switch. I thought you pushed buttons and those things adjusted that way. He was constantly adjusting trim, gave a little flaps, and then brought her down as soft as cotton baby! Absolutely exhilarating!It was amazing, and I am now considering looking further. He encouraged me that if not to make a career out of it, there are plenty who just get there private pilots license.I guess to you real world pilots this is a yawner, but to me I've had a hard time getting back to FS. The sim can take us there graphically, but the real experience of flight in a small GA airplane just cannot be simmed. I envy you rw pilots. Hats off to ya!

"I guess to you real world pilots this is a yawner"Not a yawner at all :-) Reminds me of the 1st flight I had on my way to get my license 16 years ago when I had "EXPERIENCE WITH FLIGHT SIM's" that many years ago. Good energy relayed in your message and glad you had a blast! As far as how can you go back to FS that's an easy one...Don't have deep pockets and it fills in between real flights! Carmine http://forums.avsim.net/images/wave.gif

>>I guess to you real world pilots this is a yawner, but to me>I've had a hard time getting back to FS. The sim can take us>there graphically, but the real experience of flight in a>small GA airplane just cannot be simmed. I envy you rw pilots.>Hats off to ya!>You might have heard of this already....Once your "brain" gets use to the sensations & feel of real flight, it will transfer to the sim (except G-forces), depending on how well the programming is done. Even though you're not really moving at all, you'll sense yaw, ballooning with flaps, STOL sensations, airspeed, and a few I can't think of at the moment. This is why I still get a kick out of landing a few models in tricky conditions, as it nearly seems like you're there.L.Adamson

>You might have heard of this already....>>Once your "brain" gets use to the sensations & feel of real>flight, it will transfer to the sim (except G-forces),>depending on how well the programming is done. Even though>you're not really moving at all, you'll sense yaw, ballooning>with flaps, STOL sensations, airspeed, and a few I can't think>of at the moment.>> This is why I still get a kick out of landing a few models in>tricky conditions, as it nearly seems like you're there.>>L.AdamsonI totally agree with you. I have been simming since the ancient days of Sublogic but there were just certain things that I could not fully get a "feel" of such as trimming. About 5 years ago I took several realworld flight lessons in a Cessna 172. The instuctor explained everything about trimming the aircraft and I had it down pat in about 10 mins but the real interesting part was when I got home that day and fired up Flight Simulator I immediately had a new sense of how to easily and quickly trim the aircraft. It's like I could somehow feel it even though there's obviously no back pressure on a PC joystick. I thought that was pretty #### cool. What FS9 lacks is the sense of peripheral vision, G forces, and the pressure felt on the yoke but otherwise FS9 is an absolutely amazing learning tool when combined with realworld lessons. I can't wait to get back to more realworld lessons but of course the usual problem is having the $$$ to do it :)

Yeah, not a yawner at all. It actually gave me goose bumps reading your description of "first flights". I have had my certificate for several years now and I would guess all pilots love re-living that first flight and the sheer exhiliration of it all. I'm sure you took many of us back to that day. I too posted my first experience here at AVSIM. What a wonderful site. Thanks again AVSIM.Hope you get back up there soon.Take care,Ken

Thank you for sharing your experience, it is always great to hear from someone who decides to take the leap and try real world flying. I was just like you after my first flight. I hit the forums and shared my experiences too. I think that all sim pilots should go out and try it in the real world at least once, there is nothing like the real thing. I hope that you will continue and get your PPL, even if you don't fly professionally it will open up many things to you.Best Regards,Philip Olsonhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/supporter.jpg

"He was constantly adjusting trim, gave a little flaps, and then brought her down as soft as cotton baby! Absolutely exhilarating!"First off..congratulations on your first flight... and I am glad you are bitten.:)As far as adjsuting trim.. You bet. Its been my pet peeves with simming that we don't have a good trim wheel. The Go flight trim wheel is just two small. 3 inches? Pffffft.Hopefully.. CH would come up with a a minimum of a 6" or an 8" trim wheel that we could use. After the Yoke and Pedals.. Trim wheel is the most important and the flight sim world has almost put this aside like its a small deal. too Bad. My Right hand keeps going between the trim wheel and the throttle.BTW.. if you are starting to fly for real. I would recommend this forum.http://www.studentpilot.com/interact/forum/I agree with the suggestions that sim pilots need to try it for real atleast once.Almost all flight schools have an Orientation flight lasting 30-45 min and it costs around $45.You don't need a licence nor any medical certificate... just go and fly...Even if you have no intention of getting your licence.

I've found that's true as well, Larry. I was up doing pattern work the other day, just practicing touch-n-goes, and I found that the whole experience was a lot like FS in many ways. And now that I'm flying for real (which is an enormous rush, btw), my FS flying just seems that much better. Oh yeah, and after learning to control a real plane, I'm finding that it's a lot less of challenge to control its simulated counterpart. Although, to be quite honest, I'm finding things like holding altitude/heading much easier in real life than in FS. And now that I've got a few landings under my belt, I think they're a little easier IRL as well. thanks,

>As far as adjsuting trim.. You bet. Its been my pet peeves>with simming that we don't have a good trim wheel. The Go>flight trim wheel is just two small. 3 inches? Pffffft.>>Hopefully.. CH would come up with a a minimum of a 6" or an 8">trim wheel that we could use. After the Yoke and Pedals.. Trim>wheel is the most important and the flight sim world has>almost put this aside like its a small deal. too Bad. My Right>hand keeps going between the trim wheel and the throttle.You know what I've been using for trimming in FS9? The Belkin Nostromo N52 Speedpad:http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage...duct_Id=157024#It has a nice little scrollwheel that is notched and clicks which allows you to make very accurate trim adjustments. Sure it's not as big as the real trim wheel but it almost feels like it. After a while I was able to adjust trim by instinct because I had gotten so used to it. Another great benefit is that you can map a ton of other commands to the keys on the N52 so it's extremely useful. Best of all, it's quite cheap. Around $20-$30. Check it out.

>peripheral visionYou get this when flying in the VC. that's why I can't stand 2d panels

>>peripheral vision>>You get this when flying in the VC. that's why I can't stand>2d panelsWhat zoom level do you use in the VC? I'm still not entirely used to just staying in the VC.

Especially when using Active Camera!Randall

Thanks for sharing your experience and enthusiasm. While flying the sim can be a huge amount of fun and a good way to "fly" all kinds of "aircraft" to all kinds of "places" you've never been, nothing beats the real thing. I'm glad you got a chance to experience the exceitement and feeling of real flight.If you decide to get your ticket, the fun and learning never end. New ratings and endorsements can be the vehicles for trying new things, so you'll never get bored unless you choose to be bored.

>>As far as adjsuting trim.. You bet. Its been my pet peeves>with simming that we don't have a good trim wheel. The Go>flight trim wheel is just two small. 3 inches? Pffffft.>I use one of two hat switch's on my Saitek X45 joystick for trim. It's just like electric trim, and I use it anytime I sense out of trim, thanks to the spring. L.Adamson

>What zoom level do you use in the VC? I'm still not entirely>used to just staying in the VC.I usually use around 75%, such as the RealAir SF260 defaults to.Peripheral vision & the senses it add's (especially yaw) is the main reason I use VC's.Most of the time, I use the VC's for GA, or military such as the RA Spitfire & 2D for large commercial aircraft, since the large cockpit VC's usually are not to the standards of some GA aircraft.L.Adamson