<>Been doin' it for 35 years and STILL learning!(-:Best regards,Jim

<>Yeager couldn't do it either!! (-:Food for thought question. How many pilots departing from unfamiliar fields ask a local what the terrain is like at the departure end and which way to turn if the engine quits? (Not many is, unfortunatley, the correct answer. I fact, almost every time I ask, the person says they've never been asked that before.)My HERO, legendary DuPage Aviation Chief Pilot "Spence" ( a man with no known first name and who certainly would have tested positive for avgas in his bloodstream) taught me that on my FIRST student flight.Here's what he said...."Corn to the left, beans to the right. Corn is more expensive to mow over and is louder when you do but beans are more likely to nose you over. Which would you pick"? "Corn." I said. "Right answer." he said "I may be able to make a pilot out of you."RIP Spence!!!!!!!!!!(-:

When I was working on my PPL tkt, I was using Dreamfleets Piper Archer.It has the best flight dynamics as for Stall, Slow flight and even the sluggishness at slow flight... like the real 172S. At that time I tried the Real Air's 172. I know its very popular, but I didn't care for it. The plane felt too light to the touch. Mind you.. I am a Real Air fanatic. Manny

The standard pattern at both EGBO and EGCV when I was learning was identical: T&P check and flap up (if used) at 300', turn crosswind at 600'. Depending on the aircraft, you either level at 1000'AGL on crosswind or downwind. Turn base with the end of the runway at your 45 degree line, turn final at or about 600'.I didn't have anywhere near as much time at the controls as a lot of people around here, but even in the relatively short time before I lost my medical, I had four near misses.The first was in C152, flying downwind at what was then Halfpenny Green, now Wolverhampton (EGBO) - a PA28 decided to join downwind and came in above me, slightly faster. Because he was a low wing and me a high, there was no way we could have seen each other and he dropped in close enough that I could see the paint chips around the rivets on his tail, then pulled off the power! When I landed, I admitted to the chief instructor that I had used the flaps - outside the white arc - as an emergency airbrake, incidentally balooning me above the PA28's tail so we didn't collide. His response was that checking the flap motors was a darned sight cheaper than a new 152 and hey, it worked didn't it?The second was a classic head-on invisible glider. He saw me before I saw him and turned aside. He was non-radio and operating from a non-radio field.The other two were birds. The swifts were more maneouverable than the C152 and missed me. The seagull went between the wing, fuselage and cantilever strut. My passenger's response was "what seagull?" :-hahIan P.

I'm getting my PPL in a older 172 made in 1957, are there any models on FS in that age range?

GJ,an older 172 meaning.. a 160HP engine? Then Flight1 172R would fit right in i think, even though the flight1 172R is a dishy looking new 172R. I think 172R has a 160 hp engines and not the 180hp engines found on 172S.I think so.Manny

As in a 172 with a straight tail, the one I fly is almost looks like this,http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0618025/L/

Well as for as flight sim flight dyanamics are concerned, I doubt it makes any difference between straight tail or otherwise. However, the engine size and HP matters more. The F1 172 looks more modern than your straight tail..but I would wager it flies like that. So Flight1's 172 would be your best bet or you could try the Dreamfleet Piper Archer. Its a low wing, but I loved the dynamics.JMO.Manny

160 on the "R" and 180 on the "S", thus the "S" is Cessna's version of the Archer.Getting back to Jim Scott and the TIS...Of course, I've experienced more than one near miss before TIS. Now, I just get grey hairs every time the "English" woman says "traffic" in my ear.Actually, it's worse in the pattern at CDW than en route (the TIS is really no help in the pattern), yet I never have a flight without several traffic alerts. Almost all the time they are nothing to worry about, but every so often I will make a slight correction, just in case. ;-)What happens is:You are making a course adjustment, and for a "moment" your plane is conflicting with another- just for a second. You get the alert.You look around, see the aircraft, and while it may be somewhat close, it is a non-issue.Otherwise, I'm happy to have TIS, until the FAA kills it off and I have to get ADSB ($$$$).Actually, the TIS drives me even more crazy because it invariably distracts me by saying "Traffic not available" when I am just about to flare!Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

<>LOL! At least she doesn't say..."Runway not available.":-)

Actually, I wish she would say:"I'm available after the flight if you want to go for drinks". :-lolRegards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg