I have downloaded a plane like the first one I owned: a Piper Cherokee 140. This is a recreation of the first flight after taking delivery in San Marcos and flying to my tie-down at Austin Mueller. From the outside, it looks much like my Cherokee, except mine had wheel pants on the front gear as well as the mains. The paint scheme, of course, is different, too, but I am excited to fly my old plane on the computer. The interior looks much like I remember, except for a manifold pressure gauge. The bowtie yokes seem a little older style than the ones I had. Overall, it is a remarkable simulation. The view from the cockpit is very familiar. The take-off roll seems to be long, with almost 80 mph IAS before rotation, and the tachometer is way over the red line, but the performance seems fine. I plan to follow the freeway north to Austin, and find it without too much trouble. I occasionally lose it in the green fields, but soon I can see the river in Austin, and then the three yellow X’s of the runways at Mueller. I overfly the airport and make a left downwind for 13 Left. It is not too hard to look out the left window to know when to turn, but I lose concentration working the flaps and let my airspeed drop too quickly. I crash on short final! The flight analysis shows a nice rectangular pattern, and after the simulation resets, I take off again. This time I fly straight out and turn around to land on the big, wide, long parallel runway. The sight picture sits a little lower than the C172, and I hold a lot of power for a fast approach, but this time I land successfully. This will clearly take some getting used to.

VIRTUAL LOGBOOK

Piper Cherokee 140

PA28-140 OY-DHD

From: KHYI (San Marcos, Texas)

To: KATT (Austin Mueller, Texas)

Landings: 2

SEL: 0.7 hours

LOGBOOK

Purchase: Piper Cherokee 140

June 13, 1990

PA28-140 N55633

From: T98 (San Marcos, Texas)

To: AUS (Austin Mueller)

Landings: 1

SEL (Single Engine Land): .7 hours

Remarks: Purchased Cherokee 140 in San Marcos, flew to Austin

Total to Date: 93.8 hours