I'm very sorry to hear this sad news.Although I don't know him personally I always read his replies to postings where he shared his knowlegde with the Flight Sim community.A long time ago he had a personal forum somewhere where flight simmers could ask all kind of questions. I checked his forum very regularly, always something new to learn.If I recall correctly (and I'm sure I do) he posted there the following story:In FS98 he had praticed numerous times a looping in a 747-400, untill he got everything right.When he was still on active duty he had his (half) yearly checkride in a NWA 747-400 level-D simulator. When his checkride was over, there was some time left and he discussed with the examinator if he thought that the 747 simulator could do a looping.Since this had never be done before there was some risk involved (they could break the simulator), the examinator was a bit reluctant but after a brief moment he said 'what the heck, let's try it'.So Mel took off again and did everything the same way as he had practiced in FS98. That day was the first time that a NWA pilot had accomplished a perfect looping in their 747 simulator :)Mel was amazed that it nearly went exactly the same way as he had praticed in FS98.Blue skies to you Mel!

Oh No.....I remember "Cap'n Tarmack" well. Hadn't seen anything by him in a couple years. Now I see why. A "prolonged illness"....Is there any more info somewhere about his passing? Until I was referred to this post, from another one in the FSX forum, I had no idea he was even ill. :(He and I exchanged Emails several years ago. I couldn't help but to immediately like the guy, even though we never met face to face.His hangar, at least at one time, contained his "favorite" plane: A Grumman Lynx.RIP, Mel. You brought a LOT of enjoyment to a LOT of people over the years, me included. You'll be sorely missed.

I still remember Mel from the old compuserve days.Back then it never occured to me that I might as well become a longrange captain like Mel!He will be missed and BTW, 65 is WAY to young :(GodspeedBernt Capt 767

I'm truly saddened reading about Mel's passing! I remember writing back and forth to him back on Compuserve's FSForum and trading emails regarding flight dynamics modeling on those early Flightsim models we were building with Project Freeware. Mel was personable, friendly as ever, witty as ever. Some of the stories he shared with me via email and how I was relating some of the things I remembered from my former USAF career had me in stitches many a night reading the unbelievably funny stuff he encountered and how similar it was to ones own aviation experiences if you've ever worked in this profession in real-life. I am -totally- TOTALLY sunk today reading this news that he is gone!!!! I just have to ask what happened? I have no idea what hit him. It's been many years since I last read from Mel online. I have an uncle facing terminal esophageal, liver and lung cancer all at the same time right now and have been offering up all kinds of support to my cousin who is trying very much to keep everyone in my family informed what is happening. He cant eat and drink any fluids voluntarily now. My mother faced breast cancer back in 1990 and it was removed successfully. When I read the words "long illness" that is what it means to me. I can only hope that he was without any pain. Rest in peace Mel. You will be missed so much and never forgotten! You gave us so much joy in this hobby. You shared with us your experiences aloft and what it was like flying. You taught and gave us insight that carries through to this day in this most enjoyable hobby and passion so many share. Your talent for wit and the ease of sharing so much you learned and experienced with all of us to expand and make this hobby better will be treasured forever!God Speed and God Bless You Mel and to all of your family!John KeaneTainan, Taiwan

Way too young is right. A sad day for simmers!All the best to his family.http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/1b5baf...b9f427f694g.jpgMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

John, it is great to see you here again. Stick around for a while this time. :)To answer your question about what killed Mel, well, simply put, cancer. He died from brain, lung, spinal and liver cancer, according to Rob. He was in a hospice up until two weeks ago, and was at home when he passed.

Y'know, I hope that I live long enough to see humanity kick cancer's ####.

Early into his adventures into flight simming, I had the pleasure of exchanging many emails with Mel. Always found him to be a class act with a great sense of humor and one who truly loved aviation.He will be missed.My sincerest sympathies to his family.So long Captain, may the wind always be at your back.

One of the things I can share about Mel is that his passion carried over into everything regarding flightsim. He was without any doubt the most outspoken member of the beta team...I have no doubt that some of his "holding feet to the fire" was in no small measure responsible for some of the fixes we all enjoy now... :-bigangel

Yes, I do remember that also...hehe.

>John, it is great to see you here again. Stick around for a>while this time. :)>>To answer your question about what killed Mel, well, simply>put, cancer. He died from brain, lung, spinal and liver>cancer, according to Rob. He was in a hospice up until two>weeks ago, and was at home when he passed.Thank You Tom so much for that *very* kind note! Cheers to you and many thanks! And indeed I am planning to stick around here very much!Gawd..I was afraid to hear that cancer got him and it was so incomprehensibly fatal..brain..lung..spinal...liver cancer. My God!How long ago did this happen? How long was he battling this? This sounds so familiar to what is happening to my Uncle Greg in Vining, Minnesota right now. He is facing an almost exact battle with cancer and the way the insurance covers things, the hospice part doesn't enter in until it's terminal and there is no hope of recovery. Flying is a profession where you are exposed to extreme levels of UV radiation especially on long haul flights, and that it takes its toll rather fast. I remember he went quiet not long after 9/11 and he was spooked out after what happened back then.I'm really completely sad this day..Here we are in the middle of the joys of Chinese New Years in Taiwan..people are full of happiness and joy with the New Year but now one filled with a Double Irony of Tragedy: That is, on Monday I will go visit a friend of mine, Doctor Hsu, Wen Chen that is 47 years old, a student of mine of many years working on his English in the past, he ran a very successful and thriving OB/GYN Hospital in the east district of Tainan in Yung Kang City. Last Monday night I called his number looking to see if I could get a prescription for epsom salts from him as you cannot buy that product over the counter. It wasnt for me, but for an ailing fish in my 448 liter aquarium that was suffering from edema/dropsy. Getting this prescribed would be the only way I could get this material to save that fish. It had been many months since I last saw him and looked forward to talking with him. A rather short guy, around 5 foot 7 and very skinny, not an ounce of fat on him at all. Well. No answer on his cell pjhone. No answer at his hospital that he ran either. I was stumped. I rang up his alternate cellphone number and his now teenage son answered. Who was this guy? I hadnt heard this voice before. He then handed the phone to his mother. She said she'd call me back in 10 minutes. Sure enough she called back in the middle of class and told me what happened. That her husband suffered a severe brain aneurysm in June last year and had been forced to close his hospital and retire from his profession completely. I almost dropped the phone on the floor. I didnt know what to say. Only that we are going to come and visit them during the Chinese New Year. Tomorrow we are going to visit him and his family. Now this tragic news about Mel. A double whammy for me just this week.I see this tragic news of a guy that I remember communicating with so many times in the past...the email and messages he sent were treasures..sigh...I'll always remember him and never forget the insight he gave..his wit was something else..man I had to get up and run to the bathroom I was laughing so hard with some of the stuff he wrote to me...it was that funny..he will always be a treasure to me and all of us.. Oh how I wished I knew what was happening to him much earlier...God Bless you Mel!!Thanks Tom!..I'm going to be around here much more..Kind RegardsJohn

That's a damned shame. He was already here in the community when I arrived, and I found his stories and input fantastic for a then rookie. I hope his final flight is a great one.Don

At one of the MiroWINGS conventions, Mel was going to demostrate how to roll a 747 in FS. This was using the old FlightSim Flight Shop models, of course - nothing like today's models. He was flying from spot view, on a giant projection screen so everyone could watch. And as everyone WAS watching, the real world 747-400 captain dragged the tail big-time on takeoff. As you may know, those convention crowds can be pretty tough. It was a hilarious moment for all, and he took it all with a great sense of humor. He did eventually perform that roll, too. ;-) Thoughts and prayers to Mel and his family. He will truly be missed.

Tom (Allensworth),Perhaps the family would be interested in receiving from you a link to this tribute thread, which will be airborne in cybersky as long as there is an Avsim.

Was it a roll or a loop? One of the things that Mel was known for was doing a loop in a level D sim after having completed a required check flight on the system. Seems the IP was a bit nervous about doing it - being afraid they would "break" the sim. But, after a bit of thought and probably some infectuous encouragement by Mel, he agreed. They then proceeded to loop the 7 4 and history has never been the same. There are many stories like that about Mel. I wished we had some old timers here that would post their additions to this thread. :)