It’s worth playing computer games just to look at the views.
Just So Pretty
Finally Uploaded
I finally managed to upload a video to YouTube after about a month of trying now and then. I don’t know why things didn’t work well for that time. But, I’ve managed to upload two videos recently. I’d been trying for ages to upload my V22 flying video. It’s now done.
AOA Simulators
There’s a company who design aircraft for flight simulators called AOA Simulations and I have to say they have the perfect mix of aircraft I really want to fly and excellent quality so I have, over the years, spent some money getting their aircraft. The most recent addition to my collection is the CV-22 Osprey. I owned this aircraft before on a previous version of X-Plane and so decided to get it again. The company do have an F35 but I have other fast jets and I’m not fussed about that.
Look at how ridiculously pretty this aircraft simulation is. I’m not sure the actual aircraft is pretty, I will need to reflect on that.
I’m slowly learning how to take off and also control the direction of the prop-rotors. I needed to assign extra buttons on my set-up to make sure that everything was within easy reach.
Today I managed to transition to vertical flight mode from standard flight and I will say it is not an easy conversion, you spend some time in a stall actually!
I’m looking forward to spending more time with this aircraft.
Interception!
I had a flight in X-Plane recently and saw a plane nearby so I thought I would check it out. It was and MD80 faffing around over Essex and Suffolk.
I had a fun time chasing this bird through the sky and trying to stay in formation.
Testing Flights
I’ve been testing the new PC set up by flying around places I’ve recently visited. It’s nice to see how these places are recreated in X-Plane. I think it looks pretty good, it’s good fun also.
I’ll soon write about a visit to this castle and some other places in Hampshire and Dorset. I flew over Hurst castle to see how it was created within the flight simulator.
I haven’t been to Portsmouth for quite a while but I am planning to head back there soon. It looks good in this early morning flight. Note the aircraft carrier.
Having stayed in the New Forest recently it was nice to fly over it. There’s quite a bit of air activity in the New Forest as it’s within the ILS of Bournemouth International. There are a few 737s, the odd Airbus A340 and some Draken Air Dassault Falcon 20s.
Video Upload Thing
In testing for video output and uploads on the PC I decided I would try flying a floatplane in X-Plane. I chose to take off from Rochester, UK and land on the river Medway. This is not as silly as it seems because eighty years ago the Shorts Brothers made seaplanes in Rochester and they slid down a gangway to the river Medway for their first flight. The whole area is now residential but you can still see the gangway which is a historical object. It would have been nice to still have seaplanes and floatplanes taking off from there.
Still Looking Lovely
Managed a flight this morning, I flew from Oban to Cardiff. These are some pictures I took, my it looks lovely.
Views Of Flight
I’ve been trying to fly in X-Plane a bit recently. I need to do more I guess. There’s a plugin called Volanta by Orbx which I’m using to track my flights and it has some challenges it can add to the simulator so that gives me things I can aim for. I recently took a dawn flight from Biggin Hill to Le Touquet and I flew under the QE2 bridge and alongside my village. In the second picture here you can see the village where I live, if you know what you are looking for.
Flight Sim Photos
This is just a page of flight sim photos.
Taking In The Views
I’ve spent a little time recently flying in X-Plane. Now that my journey around the world is complete I’ve decided to spend some time learning start up and shut down checklists to get a real feel for the aircraft. I’m currently playing with the T-6A Texan that the RAF uses as a basic jet trainer. It’s a good little aircraft. Here are some views that I’ve photographed recently:
I’m really enjoying the whole – potter about a bit – approach to exploring the UK. I’m trying to improve my take-off and landings at the moment, a little crucial you might think, but making them smooth and “butter” is taking some time.