Our usual weather is temperature 98, humidity 95, winds 3-5 knots variable from the sides, 6 to 12 up and down.



Throw in some nice gusts and it's a good time to learn.

That's what I mentioned in the article - Rise of Flight does a really good job on gusting. The best is when it gusts just after takeoff.

Brilliant article Dart, very enjoyable!

I took up gliding after playing IL-2 for many years (this was before RoF came out). My experiences were quite similar, I could fly around quite well and had an intuitive feel for how the aircraft handled, but landings were a bit harder. You probably felt the first one across the Atlantic as a gentle ground tremor.

Cheers,

RD/Nick

Highly enjoyable read, Dart. Good luck on the future flying lessons.

Loved this article, thx!

Why do they make a 7/8ths scale and not just a full-scale?

Weight and price.

By going 7/8ths scale, the weight of the airframe puts it into the ultralight category - and the engine/prop combo required goes way down. In my case I'll bust the ultralight weight (which is fine, I want more than a five gallon tank) by going to a nice four stroke 1800cc 90 HP VW engine with a reduction gear for the prop.

A modified VW engine (basically hotrodded with special camshaft, polished heads, etc) costs about 2500 USD. Add another zero on the end for a "certified" engine.

Plus it's a helluvalot less expensive to make. Area increases a lot over just a little bit of scale.

Rudder kit showed up this week. Now I just need to gather the stones to make that first bend in the tubing.

Sounds like you are well on your way Dart.
Good luck.


Wheels

Post #5025

That was a great read Dart! I had been simming for several years before I learned to fly and your observations are spot on. Good luck with your training and airplane project!

May every landing be a greaser!

Here's a video I took while doing practice takeoffs & landings Sunday. (And no, I wasn't trying to both fly and take the video at the same time... my instructor was at the controls).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E11hoxgTyPo

Notice the various landmarks (small fields, lakes, water towers, buildings) used to mark turn-points and headings for the pattern. I've modified my FSX version of Ft. Meade airport to include those, so I can better practice my pattern work at home. In FSX I fly the France-VFR Socata TB9, for which I've adjusted the flight characteristics and instrument layout to better represent my training airplane. Also, I use Track-IR, EZdok camera addon, and NVidia 3-D Vision for more realistic visuals.

If only I had a 3-D motion platform....

That is an interesting observation there BigC. I did my first solo in 12 hours, had my restricted in 40 and full pilots licence in 52 hours. Actually got quite bored after I first solo'd because I had to do a block of 10 hours of touch and goes...but the cross country flights were da bomb!

When someone asks me about learning to fly I always tell them to make sure they buy hours in blocks because in the long run that works out cheaper and their learning is much more efficient than doing an hour here and an hour in 6 weeks time!

For me I used sims for a couple things;

1. Learning my pre-flight checks and cockpit familiarisation. The less time spent on the ground meant the more time spent in the air cause lets face it, you pay as soon as the engine starts until it stops (ignoring the engine stopping in the air of course:) ).

2. Airfield familiarisation. In NZ I was quite lucky to have access to some VERY accurate terrain! If I was flying somewhere Id never flown before Id have a look at the approaches using the sim (which If fly to using my navigation charts).

Actually...thats it really.

What amazed me when I started to fly was how much harder it was to land in a flight sim!

Regards

Mailman

Dart,

Great read! I couldn't agree more about your first real flying experience. A friend of mine is a Cessna flight instructor. He knew I flew as a hobby Microsoft Flight Simulator for 15 years, and he also used it himself for brushing up on his instrument flying. He told me he would fly in some time where I live and let me fly. Well one morning about five years ago, he knocked on my door and drove me to the airport and up we went. Once in the air he turned the aircraft over to me. It was quite an experience and yes it is difficult to spot other aircraft even on a clear day flying at a slow hundred and twenty knots. The radio chatter was more than I expected and the need to stay in my own air space was also a new experience. My pilot friend said I did very well in banking the Cessna and keeping it at altitude as I flew for about twenty minutes.

I look forward to more articles about your transition from Sim pilot to sport pilot.

Wired