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Interview with Doug Linn Original Creator of Misty Moorings Conducted by Dominic Smith Doug, could I first ask you how you got involved in flight simulation? For me, getting into flight simulation was probably driven by the same factor as many people. I always dreamed to fly, my life requirements just didn't allow it, so the next best thing is a simulator. Result? Dream come true! Especially with the amazing quality of today's simulators. My first simulator was on a Radio Shack TS-80. We used a little tape recorder to "load" the program into the computer. We flew inside a 5 mile square of territory, and at the time, that was a thrill. Telling me then what I would be flying today, I would not have believed it. How did the idea for Misty Moorings come about? A trip with my wife to Alaska brought about Misty Moorings...the original site for FS2004. Standing on the dock at Ketchikan and watching the busy Beavers coming and going hooked me. I was well into flight simulation by that time. Having been to such a magical place, we all dream to return there so the love of the simulator and the memory of the Misty Fjords came together to create Misty Moorings. Now, not only could I go back any time I liked, but I could also have fun sharing it with other people at MistyMoorings.com, which as we know, has now become Return to Misty Moorings. How did you end up working with Brad Allen? Misty Moorings was fading away as FS2004 was fading. The updated Microsoft simulator came along and as people moved to the new platform, Misty Moorings fell into disuse by the community. One night a fellow named Brad Allen called me out of the blue and asked if I would be interested in working with him to create a NEW Misty Moorings that would use the new platform. I converted to FSX, and Brad and I went to work on it together. So the "RETURN" was added ... resulting in "Return to Misty Moorings." Brad and I have continued to work together throughout RTMM's history and it has been a lasting partnership. Could you tell us about the "From Here to There" philosophy at RTMM? Why do we fly (simulation)? It is simply the thrill of taking off, navigating and landing safely. Of course it is also thrilling to have a "location" to land at and one that is also pleasing to the eye. RTMM adds that eye candy. But the focus is not on the scenery location, the focus of RTMM is "getting there." (Here2There). First we find a stunning location, one that is fun to fly to, one that graphically takes your breath away and that is relatively easy to find in the Misty Fjords area! Then we build a little scenery location there. The simmers, in order to see it, are led through some of the most beautiful geographical mazes on earth. With our autopilot flight plans, you can turn on the autopilot and just look at the scenery going by (as you would on a flight-seeing tour). Or you can fly that maze by following the GPS track just as a real bush pilot does. Although we offer people hundreds of scenery locations, we focus on "getting there" ... hence Here2There. Do you have a favorite aircraft in which to explore the world of RTMM? I mostly fly the "Misty Beaver" and the "Misty Goose". The Beaver is Aerosoft and I think the Goose is freeware. Adding the Misty repaints adds yet another dimension to the experience. Doug, in Brad's interview, he mentioned that you have created something called a Trip Ticket. Could you explain to the readers what this is? Yes, this is to sharpen our focus on the "here2there' aspect of the flight simulator experience. If you fly with a pilot/tour guide in Alaska, he will be "talking" to you during the trip. They are more than taxi drivers, they are guides and are very knowledgeable on the area. We try to duplicate that experience with our Trip Tickets (TripTics). We have created TripTics that allow you to follow along with the flight. On some of them, we add historical information on what you are seeing, and almost always point out geographical features. We are attempting to, like a flight/tour guide, give you information on the area and make it more than just a flight... it becomes an experience. You can see examples here: http://return.mistymoorings.com/triptics/TripTics/last_resort_bear_island/last_resort_bear_island.php http://return.mistymoorings.com/triptics/TripTics/owikeno%20lake/trip_owikeno_lake_trip_ticket.php These are used by bringing them up, and putting them into a window beside your simulator window. Then you can fly and follow the TripTic for information on what you are seeing. It's yet one more way of getting people excited about the amazing scenery in the RTMM area. You can learn more about the TripTics here: http://return.mistymoorings.com/faq/#t What aspects of RTMM are you most proud of? The RTMM team! Without the talented team of people we have working on the site, there would be no RTMM. We are located world-wide ... yet we work together as though we were neighbors. Each person brings a special expertise to the team. Often when they are discussing a technical issue, I simply sit back and watch the emails, totally in awe of their knowledge. RTMM has become known as a trouble-shooting site for many. Getting on to RTMM has a learning curve (well worth the effort in the end). If you ask a question on our forum, you will get an almost IMMEDIATE response. Our people are like hawks sitting in the trees watching for the mouse. And when they spot someone with a problem, they respond quickly and lead that person through the problem to its solution. You can learn a great deal just by watching how problems are solved on the RTMM forum. RTMM is FREEware. We are very proud of that. As extensive as our site is, our team is made up of volunteers that freely give their time to create this FREE asset to the flight-simming community. Obviously one has to purchase some other software packages which are the "base" for RTMM, but all of our contributions which are layered upon those are free. We have over 450 locations, we've also added all of the "missing USFS" cabins and we have over 800 flight plans TO and FROM all of the locations. We have no advertisements, and the only money we get for supporting the page is from donations from our fans, who most generously keep us in business! Doug, I know that your son Dan is also part of the team. Could you tell the readers about his important role? My son, Dan, makes everything the RTMM team comes up with work. Dan also designed the web site and keeps up with the forum "oddities" that can happen with registration, etc. He is an expert in programming a site like ours (he has designed commercial web pages, working for very large I.S. companies). We make the stew, Dan makes the pot! All of the graphics you see on the site are his. I simply "place" them, but he creates them. He's rather shy about this and stays in the background but all our folks know the amazing contribution he makes to the success of RTMM. (Makes dad proud too!). What new/future projects and ideas are you most excited about at RTMM? We are always exploring the latest "edge." When we saw DX10 and P3D coming over the horizon, we acted quickly to be ready for these formats so we would not be left behind. Our object design team converted all of our objects so they will work for FSX, DX10 and P3D ... few sites have done that. One of the learning barriers are adding the object libraries, however, the team helps people through this. So our future depends upon what comes over the horizon next. I'm also exploring TwitchTV. This is a new endeavor for us. If you look at the Microsoft Flight Simulator X channel there, you will see 15-20 broadcasters running (mostly you will see the panel of a big jet). What these people do is amazing, but it also lacks something RTMM has ... a low and slow view of the amazing scenery on the ground! I broadcast at 1200 feet above the terrain, often right down into the scenery! It's not uncommon to experience the thrills of trees passing sometimes only feet from your left or right wings, and then landing on a glacier or lake! If you want to SEE Alaska ... you will not see it from 20,000 feet...but you will see it watching MistyMoorings TV. You can find our TwitchTV channel here: http://www.twitch.tv/mistymoorings This is the main channel. If you would like to see the most recent auto recordings, you can go here: http://www.twitch.tv/mistymoorings/profile We believe this, low and slow approach, is an unexplored niche in this medium. I rarely fly in the cockpit while broadcasting, except for landing purposes. The rest of the time I am flying "outside" and moving the "camera" so people get the best view of the passing scenery. This new endeavor fits perfectly with RTMM, focusing on the low and slow flights from "Here2There." Many thanks Doug for taking the time out of your schedule to talk to FlightSim.Com. We can't wait to see what the future holds at RTMM! External Links: For those interested in more information about "Return to Misty Moorings" and all they have to offer for free, you can visit their web site at: Return To Misty Moorings http://return.mistymoorings.com Return to Misty Moorings Forum http://forum.mistymoorings.com Misty Moorings Twitch TV Channel http://twitch.tv/mistymoorings "Alaska Adventures" virtual airline http://www.flyaka.com "St. Paul Airlines" virtual airline http://www.stpaulairlines.com Return To Misty Moorings Aircraft Aerosoft Beaver X Flight Replicas - Super Cub: Extreme OZx Grumman (Freeware) A2A Piper J3 Cub Carenado Cessna 185 Nemeth MD 500 DodoSim B206 Manfred Jahn's Basler BT67 (Freeware) Polish Trainer RWD8 (Freeware) Pasped Skylark Aerosoft - Wilga X -
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