Having scanned the Internet for tips on flying the FS98 helicopter, the most recurrent piece of sage advice is "do not attempt to fly this machine with a mouse and a keyboard".

Ignoring this, I spent a good many hours destroying many millions of dollars worth of helicopters before I managed to get one off the ground and gently back down again. Since then, months of persistence has paid off culminating in my recently achieving something which I had hitherto thought impossible. More on that later.

But firstly, let's face it, the helicopter is poorly suited to transcontinental travel which is my main interest, so why bother with it?

The fact is, I take flight simulation far more seriously than the mental health authorities would be comfortable with. I carefully plan each leg of my perpetual circumnavigation of the virtual globe. I obtain the current weather information from the Internet before embarking on each segment of my journey. If Paris is fogged in on the day I arrive there, bad luck! I've learned how to do an ILS approach. I always fly according to current real world weather conditions. If extreme weather prevails, then I always have sufficient fuel on board for an alternative destination .

I navigate using Jeppesen maps (courtesy of en ex-QANTAS friend of mine). For intercontinental flights, I use the 747-400 (courtesy of the FSTraffic program). I then switch to the 737 400 for shorter hops. I record my landings, push-backs, taxiing and takeoffs on FS Traffic.

So where does the helicopter come in handy? I use it as a shuttle service between the international and domestic airports at the major cities.

Best of all, the chopper allows me to indulge in a bit of international terrorism by flying up the glideslope of the active runways, dodging the approaching traffic. The best fun you can have with your pants on I reckon. (Yes, I've been married a l-o-n-g time.)

Anyway, at first I needed an area the size of a football stadium to put the chopper down. Trouble was, I always needed to be moving forward fairly quickly to keep it stable. Being used to flying jets I found it extremely unnatural to take the pitch off the main rotor (F2 key) whilst simultaneously hauling back on the cyclic control (mouse) watching the speed wash off rapidly while counteracting the reduced torque effect with the left rudder pedal (0 INS key).Three hands would be very useful.

As soon as the speed dropped below 10 kts, panic would set in and death became inevitable. (It is anyway I'm told). But dogged persistence is my middle name and eventually I managed to put it down on something the size of an aircraft carrier.

After a lot more practice I decided to go for broke. So on Wednesday September 6th 2000, with a 20 kt north easterly blowing across New York city I headed from JFK out to Manhattan, in search of the Holy Grail. I tentatively approached the top of the World Trade Centre, and landed. No it wasn't a fluke, I took off went around and did it again. Now I just had to find someone to tell.

So what's the next challenge? Maybe I'll get Lago's Mad Dog or maybe I'll get a life!

Bill (dogged persistence) Smith
Perth, Western Australia
Email: Bill Smith