lwestdal

I'll be 77 in a few days and have been simming since a former US Navy Skyraider pilot introduced me to FS95. I was licensed as a glider pilot in 1965 and over the years have accumulated a few solo hours in power planes but never completed license training. My first flight simulator came from Jack Armstrong, offered just after WW2 on his 15 minute radio program. The device looked like a little cardboard Apple IIe and cost fifty cents with two or three Wheaties boxtops. The airplane was a two inch J-3 suspended on strings inside the console. The joystick was a wooden sucker stick connected to the strings and actually moved the airplane, if everything was assembled according to the directions. Years later, I saw a full scale mechanical version of this toy in the San Diego Aerospace Museum, complete with pilot's seat, rudder pedals, instrument panel, and a huge fan to move air and simulate motion.

I don't think this survey asks the right questions to discover why there is a decline in participation in general aviation in this country. I don't know all the right ones, but these seem wide of the mark.

Fisheye -- This B-25 and its panel are almost the same as the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum (MAAM) B-25H "Briefing Time." I've had both the MAAM and Chaffin versions for years, in FS9 and FSX. Roy Chaffin worked on the MAAM models, I believe, and then got into a beef with the MAAM folks and offered the B-25 on his own. I remember reading about it on Chaffin's website while still living in San Diego. Both versions are excellent; Chaffin's has the advantage of being free. Good to see your post, Norm. Keep your emails coming and greet everyone in the flight sim group. Linc Westdal (On a personal note, Norm, I had a beautiful real-world flight yesterday from Camas 1W1 to Tacoma Narrows KTIW. Flew up in a Mooney and back in a Beech A36. My friend was asked to get the A36 and fly it back for the owner. Now I'm flying this same flight in FSX with Orbx PNW.)

Fr. Bill: In your attempts to perfect your aerobatic skills, have you had any difficulty spinning the Stearman? I get a steep spiral every time. I know how to put the plane into a spin and how to recover; I've done it many times in a real-world glider. I can get the RV to spin without a problem; airspeed hovers between 80 and 85 knots without increasing beyond that. Using the same technique in the Stearman, however, gets me into a spiral with airspeed shooting up toward 130-140 very quickly. Any suggestions?"Having done all the landing challenges already, I'm trying to perfect my aerobatic skills now."

A question for Fr. Bill:Having done all the landing challenges already, I'm trying to perfect my aerobatic skills now

A question for Juicehead:After a few disastrous landing attempts in the RV, I tried coming in a bit high, forward slipping and easing back on the stick, letting the airspeed and altitude drop to an appropriate level, then straightening out for the touchdown, using a bit of throttle if necessary to avoid coming down too hard. Would this technique be appropriate in your real-world RV? It has helped me get into some of the rougher dirt strips in "Flight." I have noticed, incidentally, that twisting the joystick to simulate rudder input works far better in "Flight" than it does in FSX or FS9.

Capt. KC -- I have the Saratoga for FSX and can't get the panel lighting switches to work, even when I turn on landing lights. I can read the instruments when the sun is in the right position relative to the cockpit, but otherwise I need the red lights to see instruments and even then it's a problem. I've contacted Carenado, but they were no help. They told me to re-download, which I did, but the problem persisted. That suggests the problem might be in my system, but I can't imagine what it is. I have several other Carenado aircraft, including the F33, and panel lighting works fine in all of them. Have you found any solution since your original post?

I will miss David's voice of reason and common sense, as well as his willingness to share his considerable knowledge and experience. We have lost someone special. Thank you, Opa.

I have FZ02 KPDX in FS9 and PNW with the Portland add-on in FSX. I added the patch for FSX just as the instructions described and tested it at KTTD Troutdale. It was mostly satisfactory there, with a few spots that didn't blend properly at the corners of the airport area. I could probably live with that, but there were far too many false shore lines in the Columbia River. That I found unacceptable and immediately removed the patch. I'd be happy to hear that someone else tried it and had better results than I did. If someone else makes it work, I'll try it again in a heartbeat. I live across the Columbia River from KTTD and would dearly love to have FZ02 in FSX.

Apology to Bill Womack: Sorry for the premature panic. For reasons I can't explain yet, the Portland scenery is working fine now. FPS pushes 24 where I have it locked, with momentary dips to 14-15, depending upon what part of the scenery I'm looking at. Anxious to see KPDX when it's completed. Thanks for a good job on this and Twin Oaks.

A Question for Bill Womack: Greetings from across the Columbia, north of Camas. I have a good computer that runs PNW and PFJ nicely; Stark's Twin Oaks, Concrete, Darrington, and a couple of other ORBX offerings run well also. But the new Portland scenery brings my system to its knees. This scenery is too good and close to home to tolerate at 5-7 FPS; I have to find a way to make it run more smoothly, without moving sliders fully left. Have you any suggestions? Are there adjustments within PNW that could help? Desperate on runway 25 at 1W1.

I have the same problem with the instrument lights. Can't see to fly in the VC. I found no help on the Carenado support site. Haven't noticed the aileron twitchiness yet.

Thanks, David

Greetings from across the river. Excited to hear you might work on Pearson Field. I volunteer at Pearson Air Museum and have conducted summer aviation camps for kids there, using FS9 as the teaching tool. Any chance you'll one day do Grove Field north of Camas? I live not far from 1W1 and do my aviation summer camps there now. My pilot friends have been telling me about flying into Stark's Twin Oaks. I've never been, but I'll visit soon, virtually and in the RW. Congratulations and thank you for your great contributions to virtual aviation.

Opa is definitely the #1 "go-to" guy when you need help solving fs9 difficulties. His posts are always thoughtful and instructive; I look for them, regardless of the topic. Thank you, sir, for your time and dedication.