I am a second generation pilot, I grew up at an airport. Counting sleep hours I have somewhere between 10 and 12 thousand UNLOGGED hours in GA aircraft starting when I was 8 months old. I, sadly, am grounded due to lack of funding, however....... I am a high time simmer, thousands of hours. I have owned countless FS platforms, currently I sim on both FS9 and FSX. I sim the most advanced aircraft software money can buy from PMDG, Level D, Wilco, Capt. Sim and Deamfleet, many have FMC/FMS's photo real cockpits, EFIS and full functioning autopilots. FS passanger provides my "people" and they "grade" my take-off, flight, and landing. Satisfied "passangers" allows my "airline" to turn a "profit". I sim with real world weather from Jeppessen, and real world traffic from FSNAV, using real world airports and routes. When simming on-line I use ATC hobbist as controllers throught an orginizaition called VATSIM, we then must use real world procedures and charts. Yes, I can fly both a SID and a STAR and I can fly a CAT IIIa ILS approach with 0/0 IFR conditions in an "aircraft" with autoland, flare, and rollout. Folks.......I would have sawdust in the windmills of my mind if I thought for one minute I could fly a 747-400 from KJFK to KLAX, or a 767-300 from KLAX to KMIA although I sim those routes on a weekly basis. Albert my heart truly goes out to you, I know what you went and are going through, I have lost family and friends of the family when aircraft went down. I hope that the passing of your friend does not go in vain. In closin it is a simulator, a simulator....... I want to discourage any pilot from using it as a prep tool unless using it on 100% realism and VATSIM as ATC. If things go south on you computer you walk away and live to "fly" another day, not so in the real world. I am begging you guys and girls, never think that just because you can sim it means you can fly it. Don Thomasmadcrowd@hotmail.com
Message Edited by madcrowd on 08-06-2007 09:10 AM
Message Edited by madcrowd on 08-06-2007 09:10 AM