Over the last few years I've had a great adventure with flying and Fly II has been a big part of it, so I thought I'd share my story. For awhile now, I've been looking for an opportunity to get my pilot's license. Along the way, Fly! and Fly! II have been a big part of what has kept my love of flying alive. I've really enjoyed the community here for Fly! 2 and have done my best to create the real flying experience with this simulator. I've also enjoyed reading stories from others in this community who have worked on their license. Last summer, I got a job right next to an airport and started working on my private pilot's license. It took me a little over 3 months to get my license and build up my hours. The next exciting step was to buy a plane. The last few years, a number of tax incentives in the U.S. have made owning a plane a possibility for those willing to put in on a line at a flight school. Last week I took delivery of a 2004 Skyhawk SP at the Cessna factory in Independance, Kansas. I'll be renting the aircraft at a fantastic school here in Colorado at Jefferson County Airport. I've attached a pic of the day I picked up my new bird.I've been involved in some Fly!2 efforts with others in the community like repaints of the Skyhawk and TBM 700. Some of you may remember I also did a lot of work on a Lancair Columbia 300 (a project thats been on the shelf for awhile). I guess I wanted to share my excitement of what flying has been to me the last few years and thank you folks for sharing that with me through Fly!II. I still use Fly!II to preview a cross country flight and getting a feel for how things will look before doing it in real life. The realism of the Cessna 172S cockpit in Fly!II has translated directly to my comfort with the aircraft I fly now. Thanks folks!

A fantastic account of your fullfilling your dream. Congrats to you, Im sure your more than over the moon.Send or post a side picture of your plane and I will do a repaint for you, so you have your plane in fly 2 ;-) All the very best, Steve.Website is now being updated!!!http://mysite.freeserve.com/ysomdesign/index.html http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/steve.jpg

Congratulations! How do you like that new plane smell - different than a car, isn't it? What instrument package did you put in?

G'day Dannol,Very, very, veerryy nice! Congratulations on living your dream. I remember the Lancair pics only too well. I know you have far better things to do now, but I hope you haven't shelved the project permanently!I also enjoy reading all the "feel good" post on the forum.Thank you for sharing your experiences.Cheers,Roger @YSSY

Dan,Welcom back!!! (If you know what I mean)... We're still waiting for you on the "other side"... :-)Take care,http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/dfdg/banneraa.jpg

I got what Cessna calls the Nav II package. It includes a KLN 94 Color GPS, Dual VORs, and two axis autopilot. I also added a KMD 550 Multi-Function Display. Using the MFD almost feels like cheating. While getting my private, I could only tell where I was looking outside and at the charts. Glancing at the MFD gives my exact position and shows terrain, roads, obstructions, etc. I've thought a little bit about adding a Mode S Transponder. Then the MFD would also show traffic.Now when I bring up the map display in Fly II, it doesn't feel like cheating because the MFD shows me the same information in my own aircraft!Dan

Dan,That's a nice setup - man, things have sure changed a lot since my flying days (early to mid-70s). As a pilot, you know how easy it can be to "get lost" when looking out the windscreen - a GPS would have made quite a difference.I must say that once I learned how to cross-reference the VORs I was able to reorient (and learn how to look "way out ahead" instead of straight down).Fly safe and enjoy!