Flightsimcon Attendance

[n4gix 4,947]

Greg, we were like several schools of fish swimming around a large chain of ponds! I arrived Thursday afternoon, then spent the entire day Saturday, but it wasn't until Sunday morning that I finally managed to catch up with Jim Young!

I had an absolute ball meeting up with many folks whom I've only "known" digitally over the past few decades.

I am however giving serious thought to flying to the next FlightSimCon. Having a car was extremely convenient, but the fifteen hour + drive each was a bit much for this old man to take. I'm exhausted even though I broke the trip in half by staying almost precisely half-way in Clarion, PA.

[Jim Young 2,356]

It was great to meet and converse with Ed Wilson (and his wife Karen) and Greg (greggerm) and to see Fr. Bill again.  Ted Stryker helped me guide my Corvette to the conference.  Bill, you mentioned your GPS showed an image of the road ahead plus directions and I had the same on my return to Virginia.  Just did not notice it before.  Still, my GPS managed to send me through the heaviest traffic possible in the Wash DC area.   It has a weird sense of humor...  Hope to meet up with our all again in the future.

Lots to see and do at the conference and I thought the organizers did an awesome job.  I think this will be a major event for the flight simulation community for many years to come (at least I hope so)!

Best regards,

Jim

[Guest]

Sorry I wasn't able to meet you all ... Adam B. from LM indicated that Rob McCarthy (LM core dev) thought is was a very good event and well organized.  Adam suggested LM will be there again next year.  I'll make sure I clear my schedule for 2018 FSCon.

Just curious, are there any road race tracks in Connecticut?  I know they have a lot of ovals, but might be fun to extend the trip to some track time so Jim and I can go head to head in our weapons of choice :)

Cheers, Rob.

[greggerm 312]

19 minutes ago, Rob Ainscough said:

Just curious, are there any road race tracks in Connecticut?

One of the more famous ones, at least locally, is Lime Rock.

[Guest]

Oh of course, Lime Rock!  How could I forget ... only ever raced it simulated on iRacing, but never real world ... have wanted to, so this seems like a perfect "extension" of FSCon 2018 :)

Cheers, Rob.

[Jim Young 2,356]

Lime Rock looks easier than the Beltway and Interstate 95 in Virginia.  Crossing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Virginia, I thought it would be super easy to beat out a couple of sixteen wheelers, obviously construction vehicles.  One, without racing stripes on its side, was pulling one of those long trailers that hauls sand, gravel, scrap metals, etc., and it appeared to be loaded.  The other had a flatbed trailer carrying a large Caterpiller Excavator (okay, it digs ditches).  They were going well over 70 mph and zipping past cars and changing lanes to get past those who were only going 70.  The Beltway was heavily congested at about 10AM.  Many of the cars honked as they dangerously passed their vehicle or pulled in front of them.  I seriously thought there was going to be a nasty accident so decided it was time to try and get in front of them.  I was finally able to get around them when the Interstate finally opened up with little traffic. I have never seen a dangerous situation like that before but that's the kind of action you might get when you drive home from a FlightSimCon!

Hope you can make it next year Rob!

Best regards,

Jim

[n4gix 4,947]

Jim, I noted similar circumstances on my return home. I set my cruise control to precisely the speed limit, yet still had eighteen wheelers flying by me all the time. June must be the season of "Road Construction." I'd no more than get up to a cruise speed and then have to slow down again for more construction.

New York is polite enough to have Porta-Potties at their rest areas so if the indoor facilities are being cleaned or out of order, folks still have somewhere to go. I also noted the frequent "Text Areas" where folks can pull over and use their smartphones, etc.

Indiana on the other hand was cruel with regards to rest areas. There are supposed to be six of them both east and west bound, but coming west only two were open. No respect for old men with weak bladders or those on medications!

[Jim Young 2,356]

2 hours ago, n4gix said:

Indiana on the other hand was cruel with regards to rest areas. There are supposed to be six of them both east and west bound, but coming west only two were open. No respect for old men with weak bladders or those on medications!

Hopefully, the organizers of the next FlightSimCon 2018 will get in touch with authorities in Indiana and remind them of the essential needs of our flight simulator community traveling to/from conferences!!  But, but you live in Indiana!

Best regards,

Jim

[n4gix 4,947]

Well Jim, as it happens Indiana sold the Indiana Toll Road  to an private company. They made the decision to completely replace all of the existing rest areas with new buildings, new facilities, new fuel stations, etc., as well as re-build all of the bridges, and repave the entire road...

...all at the same time! Only two of the new rest areas on each side are completed and open so far. IMHO they should at least have provided some porta-potties in the absence of permanent facilities. As I was, I had no choice but to pull over to the side of the road as far as possible and use the opened doors on the pax side to provide some privacy.

[Captain Kevin 586]

3 hours ago, n4gix said:

Indiana on the other hand was cruel with regards to rest areas. There are supposed to be six of them both east and west bound, but coming west only two were open. No respect for old men with weak bladders or those on medications!

Now imagine me traveling down this stretch of highway on a frequent basis. No, I was not one of the tractor-trailers flying past you, as we're governed at 65, and cars can do 70.

42 minutes ago, n4gix said:

...all at the same time! Only two of the new rest areas on each side are completed and open so far.

One of which is on the west side of Indiana, and the other in the middle. So if you need to stop in between, you're basically screwed. It's an hour and a half between the service plaza in Elkhart and the first one in Ohio.

[n4gix 4,947]

16 hours ago, Captain Kevin said:

One of which is on the west side of Indiana, and the other in the middle. So if you need to stop in between, you're basically screwed. It's an hour and a half between the service plaza in Elkhart and the first one in Ohio.

At least truckers had access to the "Trucks only rest area" heading westbound. Even though there are no "facilities" there's more than enough privacy for standing up needs...

[Captain Kevin 586]

5 hours ago, n4gix said:

At least truckers had access to the "Trucks only rest area" heading westbound. Even though there are no "facilities" there's more than enough privacy for standing up needs...

They have them both eastbound and westbound, but in any event, I'm not really one of THOSE truckers. The only time I've ever gone into those ones was if I really couldn't stay awake, and even then, I don't leave the truck. I pull in, go to bed, wake up half an hour or an hour later, and leave.

[n4gix 4,947]

1 hour ago, Captain Kevin said:

They have them both eastbound and westbound, but in any event, I'm not really one of THOSE truckers. The only time I've ever gone into those ones was if I really couldn't stay awake, and even then, I don't leave the truck. I pull in, go to bed, wake up half an hour or an hour later, and leave.

I'm not sure what that means, but I'm fairly sure it has nothing to do with taking a leak, for which I will always exit my vehicle first...

[Captain Kevin 586]

52 minutes ago, n4gix said:

I'm not sure what that means, but I'm fairly sure it has nothing to do with taking a leak, for which I will always exit my vehicle first...

The second part had nothing to do with it, but the first part did. I'm not one of those truckers who gets out and just goes on the ground. Stuff like that is exactly why places like Walmart and other places don't want trucks parking on their property. And truck parking is already limited as it is. The two service plazas that are there, if you try to leave out at 02:00 AM, it's like an obstacle course trying to get out when you're swinging a 53-foot trailer around.