Pro-Log: I have always been fascinated by flight. As a kid, I made plastic models from kits and hung them from my ceiling. I flew balsa wood gliders and the ungainly rubber-band-powered prop planes. I read books about pilots and planes, and even cut out pictures from magazines. However, I never had the opportunity to even touch a real airplane until I was almost 19, and flew my first commercial flight from Houston to San Antonio for basic training in the Air Force. My face was plastered to the little oval window the entire short, parabolic flight. While serving in the Air Force, my job was on the ground but I loved watching the planes on the flight line. The roar of B-52’s and KC-135’s taking off, the long lines of C-130 Hercules practicing cargo drops, and the occasional visits of even more exotic aircraft (like the Thunderbirds or Air Force One) were a never ending source of wonder. The few times I flew commercially or on a HOP (space available transport on Air Force planes), I was enthralled. Never mind that in a C-130 I had no window, I sat on a bench supported by webbing, and I had to wear earplugs; I was flying!

After the Air Force, after college, after grad school, I was still fascinated by flight. I was married, with my first child less than a year old. My wife had inherited some money, and she generously offered to allow me to pursue my dream. I wasn’t really sure if it was a good idea, and I worried and pondered. One night, I saw a small plane top the ridge behind our house, and I wondered aloud, “Is this a sign? Should I do it?†Just then, the plane’s landing light came on! The next day, I called a flight school and arranged to start lessons.

I was hooked, and soon got my license. Then, I got a plane. Later, I got a bigger plane. I eventually flew around 1000 hours as pilot in command. Life happened. I got a divorce. I quit flying. I recently began thinking about it again, and decided to revisit my logbook, to see what I can remember, and attempt to recreate the flights using flight simulation software on my computer.

Virtual Pro-Log: I first saw a computer flight simulator in a video arcade. For a quarter, I could pilot a WWI biplane and attempt to shoot down the enemy. It was very simplistic, not even in color, but it was great fun, and I felt as if I were actually flying! When I got my first computer, a Commodore 64, one of the first games I purchased was a flight simulator. Soon, I had several, including one from Electronic Arts (which I think had an SR-71), and a program from a new company called Microsoft (MSFS – MicroSoft Flight Simulator). I spent hours and hours flying the computer. It was the obsession with simulators that led me to actual planes. However, I didn’t stop flying the computer when I started flying for real. (I was never able to land well on the computer until after I had learned to land a real plane.)

Over the years, I have had multiple computers and multiple flight simulators. I have had joysticks and yokes. I have “flown†all types of aircraft, but I still enjoy general aviation propeller planes. Even with all the practice, however, I feel that I am not very good at it.

Recently, I presented a workshop at the Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) entitled “Flight Simulators to Teach STEM.†(STEM is the acronym for science, technology, engineering and math.) In researching for the workshop, I found a local non-profit, Phoenix Arising Aviation Academy, that teaches STEM to kids in afterschool programs and summer camp using flight simulators. I had the opportunity to work with them recently, using FSX with yokes, throttle quadrants, and pedals. What fun! They even have a full-motion simulator, the Redbird FMX, which emulates a Cessna 172.

All this got me to the project of recreating my logbook. I will attempt to “fly†the computer from the same airports, using the same aircraft as I did almost 30 years ago, and I will document my journey. I do not know if it will be boring, or even possible. My second wife has ideas about “flying imaginary airplanes†being a waste of time. Oh, well.