Hello I am Dan from Alaska, and I thought I would briefly introduce myself.  I am 34 yo and former diesel mechanic now medium duty mechanic with Uhaul Alaska. I grew up around bush planes and fascinated myself reading the tales of the likes of Don Sheldon and Bob Gillam, Wiley Post and others. Pioneer aviation has fascinated me and I always felt I have been a bit of a purist-favoring propeller-driven aircraft. Bush piloting would have been my career but for a few cruel twists of fate and fortune. I will never forget the first time I saw a Rust's Flying Service DHC Beaver landing at Lake Hood when my father came back from a moose trip; I was 3 years old and aviation has deeply enamoured me ever since. I absorbed all information I could and to this day civil aviation holds a deeply seated special place in my heart.  (I have no interest in military aviation whatsoever, but have read up here and there) 

 

I first got FS 3.0 back in 1988 and quickly upgraded to 4.0 the next year at the tender age of 7 and 8, respectively, and have been flying in every version ever since except 2004 and Acceleration. 

 

Most of my flying has been the prop stuff, with my favorites through the years being at around age 12 or so, flying VOR-to-VOR radial intercepts to make it through the Caribbean in the Skylane. Since I have found love in the Beaver, the Twin Otter, the DO-27 and most recently have, in the wake of a surgery and recovery, (pardon me if I get tangential at points-right now I am fighting back painkillers)  invested in a yoke/rudder after years of budget joysticks, and am finally going all out with my first, and intimidating airliner, the PMDG 737 NGX. Also, I finally have the hardware to run what I deem acceptable performance margins. 

 

I look forward to learning from you all, making some friends along the way, and seeing where this particular run takes me. 

 

Nice to make your acquaintance people. 

 

-Dan Hirschberg

Welcome, brother Dan, we were all FNGs at one time.

Welcome, Dan. It's a great group here. You'll enjoy it very much, and you'll learn a ton.

Welcome Dan! Happy flying!

Presently I'm flying the Aerosoft Twin Otter Extended, and am actually getting more and more familiar with my checklists. I used to fly only things I could do from memory and am glad to expand into a more sophisticated sim experience. I can't believe it took me 20+ years to do more than just enjoy the tactile experience. 

Welcome along Dan. "The FNG". First time I heard that expression was in an Alex Cross novel, when Alex joined the FBI. Brilliant expression.

Welcome Dan.... from the other end of the weather spectrum (Florida).

 

Really something that Alaska has a worse mosquito problem than we do!

 

There is a fine Bush Pilot Group I'd recommend you hook up with - http://www.buffaloairwaysvirtual.com.

 

Best wishes.

Welcome along Dan. "The FNG". First time I heard that expression was in an Alex Cross novel, when Alex joined the FBI. Brilliant expression.

First place I heard it was working at a Kenworth Dealership as a mechanic, and yes, brilliant indeed it is. 

Welcome Dan.... from the other end of the weather spectrum (Florida).

 

Really something that Alaska has a worse mosquito problem than we do!

 

There is a fine Bush Pilot Group I'd recommend you hook up with - http://www.buffaloairwaysvirtual.com.

 

Best wishes.

 

 

Right on Dave! Thanks for the link. Whereabouts in Florida do you live? I go at least once a year to Orlando to pick up my son, and I don't know entirely about your statement on mosquitoes...I will say this, I AM an expert on them and if I can yarn I will tell you a story or two. First off,  I've never known anything nearly as bad as a no-see-um (little buzz in your ear sonofagun) that you can't see and cant hit. They do their thing late at night when you're trying to sleep and they can slip through nylon mesh or zipper teeth on your tent. White socks. Those guys, if you're on a moose kill, will eat you alive, worse than anything I've ever seen, leave a scab for 2 weeks. Now mosquitoes, I've encountered in FL on the Rock Springs canoe run that were pretty annoying, but nothing like the following. I live in a place called Bear Valley situated in the hills above Anchorage, and can go backcountry camping in my own back yard. I was camped on the ridgeline above my house one night. For the record this particular night I had the once-in-a-lifetime fluke of coming upon my wooded tent site, and during the surveil of the location my bear sense (a born and raised Alaskan should never leave home without his sixth sense) went crazy, and I heard a shuffle in the scrub spruce, so I lobbed a big rock into the patch to make noise and scare it away. Keeping it short-I am fairly certain I just so happened to hit the bear square in the ribs with the dinner plate sized rock and she took off like a wild donkey into the trees. Worked up, I convinced myself there was no bear and I just heard the rock rolling down the embankment. As I staked the last corner of my tent, she popped up on the adjacent hillside. 

 

Anyway, as I laid in bed for the night I had some earbuds in listening to some Zeppelin, and I couldn't quite pick it out, but I heard *something* extraneous to my music. Taking off the earbuds, I picked up on it-a low droning sound, and-popping my head out of the tent door and looking above my tent roof, the THICKEST cloud of mosquitoes I've ever seen in my life, teaming over me. I was pretty floored I heard them over the music. 

 

Anyhow I will try and look into that link, looks cool. Update: I was just watching a documentary about buffalo airways the other day. Too much fuff and dress for my taste, as is just about every reality TV show ever made, but some good history on the show!

Us older military guys used a slight modifcation back in the 70's and 80's,

 

SFUNG  (pronounced "SaVung", as in "come here SaVung!").      Often followed by "BOHICA".   :Shame On You:  

 

 

Other, wonderfully colorful acronyms:

 

DILLIGAF

 

SWAG

 

PFM

 

FUNGUS

 

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

 

Alpha Mike Foxtrot

 

 

For those who know what Alpha Mike Foxtrot stands for... we have a radio station in my town, which also hosts two Naval Air Stations in the general area.  The radio station mistook the meaning (I have no idea what) of Alpha Mike Foxtrot, and all last year they broadcasted "Alpha Mike Foxtrot" (in one of those special, recorded announcer voices) continually before each song as played.  Whoops!  FUBAR.