Rupert

I basically agree. FSX is a very good program! Having said that, I find I'm happier with the similar, but I think somewhat better, P3D. First off you don't need to learn a whole new group of keyboard controls with P3D as you have to with MSFS. It's the same format you've used for years. Regardless of which boxed program you prefer I'd hugely suggest you look into buying some ORBX add-on scenery for the specific places where you really want accurate scenery. ORBX scenery isn't quite as complete or "picture perfect" as MSFS. But it's much closer to correct and much more detailed than what I've found in any of the box based sims I've tried, You can download what scenery pack/s you choose from ORBX without tying up your system for hours and sometimes days at a time. Also you won't worry about losing days at a time loading "Updates" which I found often happened when I tried MSFS!

Plus one!!

It's because of the mechanics of the chopper. The Collective (the lever on your left) raises and lowers all rotor blades the same amount by raising the stationary swash plate equally so it requires by far, the most leverage. By setting the pilot on the right, the linkage from the collective lever is almost straight up to the swash plate making the extra leverage needed, more practical to apply. With all blades set at the same angle for a full rotation, the aircraft should hover. Having said that, a single main rotor aircraft would rotate in the opposite direction from the rotation of the main rotor because of the torque involved. Thus at low speed or hover you need another force to prevent unwanted aircraft rotation. On a single main rotor craft you often have a smaller side mounted tail rotor to cancel out the torque spin, However with a dual main rotor aircraft torque rotation isn't nearly so much of an issue because the main rotors rotate in opposite directions from each other so the torque reaction is cancelled out. The Cyclic (what you might call the joy stick) raises and lowers only parts of the swash plate(s) on the fore and aft planes and side planes to lessen or increase the blade pitch depending where the blades are in their rotation to make the aircraft go forward, aft, or sideways. Since the Cyclic needs much less power to make these changes, the linkage doesn't need to be nearly as straight as that of the Collective. On a multiple main rotor aircraft you move the plane forward by using more rotor tilt on the aft rotor than the forward one and vice-versa. Hover is with both rotors pulling equal load,

She's coming along! Still trouble walking after her knee replacement that didn't go well. Plus some other issues probably age related. But then we all have those. So neither of us can really complain! Thanks for remembering and asking! Michael

GOOD ON YOU BOTH!! Molly just turned 80. I will do the same in a few months as well. Which also means we will have been married 50 years at that time. I remember marrying when I was thirty because after all, my life was pretty much over by then anyway.

Great info! Molly and I dreamed of making a round trip-one way on the Queen Mary II, the other on the Concorde. We've made several round trips on the QMII but the Concorde was sadly shut down before we could take it.

SWEET!! Plus the sound of Rolling Thunder! Well chosen!

That started out like an interesting film clip. Having said that, it's way toooooo long before takeoff to be an effective post! Even in the Real World that would have been a hugely draggy takeoff sequence unless it was on Derby Day, Spring Break Day or some similar event, especially to the passengers aboard!!! From Nashville many popular destinations could be reached faster traveling by car other than going through the TSA Precheck and then this hugely long take off. Next trip I'll rent a car and drive!!

And yes, that's always one way data! On any flight if your range isn't enough to complete the flight as planned,you might (probably will) end up dead! HELLO!!

OK, After looking at your photo again and pulling up some old pictures of my own I'll give my opinion of what's happening. It appears to me, considering the altitude and the view looking aft, that flight was going South, probably from around Phu Bai or Hue to Chu Lai or so. They're probably hugging close to Da Nang so as to not interfere with flights in and out of Marble Mountain air space. Marble Mountain would be on their port side right about when the picture was taken. Michael

WANT A BEAUTIFUL FLYING CHALLENGE!?? I know a lot of folks are flying in and near Australia after this challenge. I suggest you turn all your scenery slides way up and fly from NZQN to NZMF in New Zealand! It's only 41 miles as the crow flies. Let us know how your landing at NZMF went! If I were flying RW I'd be dead there at least twice before I got it even half decent! But, at least with the ORBX New Zealand scenery, it sure is beautiful! Michael

Actually Da Nang was a pretty nice city even back then. Lovely beaches. Lots to see and do and most of the general public was friendly to us. They were more scared of the Cong than they were us! And like most of Vietnam, there were almost as many people there who spoke French as spoke only Vietnamese. I always intended to go back there as a tourist but life and making a living got in the way.

Been There Seen That! On the faces of General Walt and General Krulak! Each was on different occasion. But still you could tell neither one was at all happy at the time!! Of course during Vietnam we had a huge advantage over peace time Juggies. Anything they did to punish or get even with us would only delay us from getting shot at. You don't Down a squadron in a combat zone or about to be deployed to one, just because you're mad at them.

That's nicer than any King Air I have!

I don't think so. Marble Mountain wasn't really a mountain. In Kentucky I'm sure we'd even have called it a knob. But it was definitely a rise from the rest of the area and not nearly that populated. It also was surrounded by water on three sides. That view appears to be looking North and West on the coast and the water's edge of Da Nang itself. The outcropping at the top of the coast shown should lead to the base of a mountain range (whose name I can't recall) and was on the road way up to Phu Bai.

Been there Done That! With Yankee Whiskey and Yankee Tango.

The plane looks great to me! Though after years of flying in and out of Detroit, NorthWorst is what I always call that airline. If they put their domestic gates any farther away from the main terminal they'd be in Ohio.

True. But I was just reading on BLOOMBERG about a 737-800 going off the runway due to issues caused by recent maintenance! Yet another 737 issue! Perhaps it's time every airline starts looking at each and every alternative to a 737! BTW: The screenshots are great.

I wasn't able to actually fly the event. But I have surely enjoyed all the comments and flight data it created. Should any entrants decide to describe their various return trips I feel it'd be really a great addition to the already successful Rally!

This is certainly an interesting topic! As an old pilot reading the continuous accident reports my thoughts of flying commercial have changed hugely in the last several months. After all the recent news coverage of mistake after mistake, I'm not sure I'd be real comfortable in the back of any commercial aircraft today. And just when I think it can't get any worse, I just read an article in FLYING magazine bragging on how wonderful the Joby Aviation prototype eVTOL aircraft is. If you thought the Osprey was complicated you ain't seen nothing yet! "Six rotors driven by 12 motors direct both vertical and forward thrust, as well as the means of flight control." "The aircraft also uses ailerons and ruddervators (Akin to the Vision Jet.)" "But those are sectioned, with two sets of aileron-style controls on the wings and three sections of ruddervators on the V-shaped tail." And yes, this entire device is also battery powered with electric motors of a home fashioned design which apparently no one else has used before!! Check out FLYING issue 946. The cover picture by itself scares me! I've enjoyed living almost directly under a huge designated aircraft practice area for years. But I don't even want that thing flying anywhere near where I live!

Makes me glad I'm not flying in the Corps today! I'd rather chance my life in an inverted flying observation chopper, yes they tried to sell the Corps on a model of chopper that did exactly that in the 1960's and I was a passenger once on s demo flight, than an Osprey.

I got so used to flying 46's with an aerial .50 pointed out each side, they almost don't look real without them. But speaking of logos. We Purple Foxes all had fox stencils and tones of cans of purple spray paint. And we marked anything that wasn't moving in Vietnam on a regular basis. Everyone there at the time knew who HMM-364 and our H-34s were. But they never were able to stop us from painting a Purple Fox on their stuff!!

Sweet Shots! Having said that, RW the spate of OSPREY incidents has put me off the swing motors, and props process.

+1! More proof that flight simming isn't just around, it's still growing and improving! Michael BTW: No longer being stationed in So. Cal, I miss a lot of friends and sights, But I sure don't miss the smog!

As well as any I've found as well.