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Flying is what flightsimming was meant for. Even to this date as I work part time as a charter pilot mostly flying a Piper Cheyenne IIXL for an air ambulance service, I can not wait to do some more flightsimming! In fact, my recent experience flying the real world again, has increased my need to flightsim. This was the complete opposite of what I had expected. I really thought getting more of the real thing would diminish the need for the fake thing. Not true! After shooting an ILS in a driving rain, battling crosswinds on Nantucket, I wanted more. More on a computer! Taxiing around airliners at Logan, only made me want to do the same at home. Flying in real life has given me a bigger appreciation for flightsims more than ever before. I now know what I want my flightsimming to be used for. And my flightsimming accuracy has increased more than ever, as a result of flying more complex aircraft that require more sensitivity and finesse. A bigger, more stable aircraft may not be as twitchy like a light single, but it requires more of a delicate touch and ability to trim better and use smoother control inputs.
What I love about flightsimming is what I love about real life flying. The view. The scenery. The weather. The traveling aspect. The fact that other people don't know how to pilot airplanes and are usually scared of them. The fact that you are going to go farther at such great speeds than anyone down below in a car can do in one day. Flying at 100 mph or 600 mph gives the same satisfaction. Well, if I could fly at 600 mph near the ground, that would be a different story! But in flightsimming you CAN do just that.
The fondest memories of simming get blended in with my best times in the real world of flight. Simming flights are so realistic that they leave the same impression in my mind. Often I may want to tell someone about my trip to Alaska, only to realize it never occurred. And that's really frustrating when talking to a real Alaskan bush pilot who has been there, and you know exactly what he's talking about, only you can't tell him how you know. I have been to the north pole, the Swiss Alps, the Sugarloaf in Rio, Australia, Cairo, and the volcanic islands of Japan. I have seen the alpine valleys of LaPaz Bolivia, and experienced landing at the world's highest commercial airport. But none of it is real. I can not share this with anyone (except you all).
One of the best moments occurred this past weekend. I was flying my Phoenix 777 over to London, from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. During the 6 hour flight over the Atlantic, I was doing work here at FlightSim.Com. That evening I got ready for the late night arrival into London. I took the ILS 27 approach in there, hoping to see parts of downtown on the approach. Having clear skies over Ireland, I believed as it always is when I go to London with real weather, that it would be clear. Descending down below 15,000 feet, I noticed a broken sky below. Not knowing what the ceiling was (I don't get ATIS because I like the surprise factor of not knowing ahead), I got set up for the ILS. Vectoring myself in on a downwind at 5000 feet I entered a partly cloudy sky. Then slid under the deck. Visibility was good. Then it started to rain! Wow! Hard rain! Turning base on the ILS, the rain stopped. I could see downtown off my left. It was lit up in all its glory. I could just make out some details. Then, without notice, I was back in the rain. Booooooooommmmmmmm. Lightning! Man, it was going to be a stormy approach into EGLL! Down to intercept the outer marker, I could see the field. No visibility problems, but it was starting to get windy. I was getting airspeed deviations of 20 to 35 kts! Windshears were getting worse. I took off the autoland and hand flew the big Boeing. Speed with flaps 25 for landing varied from 140 to 175. Then back to 130, then up to 155. I had to fight some up and downdrafts. I was rocking the wings a bit, worried about how the landing will pan out. Having a hard sink rate in FS2000 will give you an unrealistic crash. I had to get it on at less than that dreaded 1000 fpm. Since it's raining, I will not allow myself any braking (a simple way to simulate a wet runway). That meant touching down in the first 2000 feet and getting the reverse open fast. Crossing the pavement fast at 150 kts, I cut the power at the usual 30 feet. I settled on nice and smooth at about 138. I hit F2 once to get idle reverse. I pushed the nose down rather hard to get steering, as I was battling a slight crosswind. Nose down. Full reverse! Deceleration was increasing. I like this no brakes rule when the runway is wet, it makes for some excitement! The rain was pounding on the windows. I was making noise back there, and not slowing down very much. Steering was not easy. Airspeed was slowing now to under 60 finally, so I went to a low reverse setting and allowed an autobrake setting of 2. I made a nice turnoff at the end of the runway on the high speed taxiway. Whew. I made it in under very bad conditions with a tailwind! Most landings are not that much fun. The lightning and thunder made it even better. I was really excited that London had such wild weather that night. In fact, I was getting 50 kt gusts on the rollout! Now, considering this is using real weather, these conditions are really hard to come by. That type of severity is usually set by myself. I taxied into the gate area, admiring the airport knowing that I had traveled so far away. The darkness of night made it even more pleasing. Just so you know, I fly in a dark room at night, and adjust the monitor's brightness for varying levels of darkness.
>>>> On to part II
