I have always been an aviation buff. When I was growing up I lived in the country and during the spring and summer it was not uncommon to see a crop-duster at least once a day. I marveled at how skillfully the pilot manuvered so close to the ground and just when it seemed he would clip the tops of the trees or the power lines, the craft would swoop up and around and he would make another pass. I would lay on a lawn chair with binoculars and watch the aircraft passing overhead on their way to DFW or DAL. During the summer of 1989 I worked at LNC (Lancaster) as a lineman (A lineman refuels aircraft and does other aviation-related chores) and general handyman. But the cost of obtaining my private pilot's license is what has kept me grounded. So, I do the next best thing. I'm an armchair pilot.
When I fly I use the same charts that real-world pilots use. You can usually get them for free if you ask for the outdated ones. I also use a program that downloads and inputs real-world weather into the sim. And I am able to see other users of Flight Simulator 98 (FS98),FS2K, FS2K2. And now we have Flight Simulator 2004. And on top of that, I can have real-time ATC as long as I am flying in an area that someone is working. Geesh, now all I need is to get my wife to dress up as a flight attendant and bring me food and drink and everything would be complete. Just kidding. I got into flight simulation back in '96, a couple of months after I got my first computer. I quickly became bored putt-putting around in a Cessna 182 so I moved up to the LearJet 45. That was fun but I quickly became bored with that. I needed a reason to be flying. Then I "got on the 'net". I discovered that there were virtual airlines. What the heck is a virtual airline? Well to put it in a nutshell, a virtual airline is a make-believe airline composed of flight sim pilots who emulate a real-world airline. Some VAs, as they are known as, try to emulate actual real-world airlines, such as Southwest, Delta, British Airways and others.
Currently, I am a Senior Captain at American Virtual Airlines. You can visit us by clicking on the picture below.
I have also listed a few links to other flight-sim related
websites. Thank you for your time and hope to see you in the air soon!!
Use the handy search engine below to find a pic
of your favorite aircraft. Brought to you by:
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I enjoy taking pictures of aircraft and collecting pictures from off the 'net. Click here to view them. Please be patient while the images load.
There are two freeware, yes freeware programs out that are simply kickbutt. SquawkBox and ProController. Now you can have real-time ATC with your flights. If you are flying you start Flight Simulator, log on to the internet, start SquawkBox, connect to a server, and have fun!! But first you ned to register. It's free, of course. If you want to be a controller, you would log on to the internet, start ProController and then connect to one of the servers for it. You have to be a VATSIM member in order to perform the duties of a controller, (obviously) but if you aren't certified, you can still watch. We also have voice capability with Roger Wilco. Go to the VATSIM website to find out more about online flying/ATC
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Click here
to visit a website dedicated to the
Cold War's most effective nuclear deterrent, Convair's B-36 Bomber--The
Peacemaker.
This page will be updated from time to time so
check back often and thanks for stopping by!
Last updated on 11 Sep 03.
HTML ©2001-2003 Cliff Mullican. All images are copyright by their respective owners.
