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Thanks for the great product


tcd223

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I finally decided to take the plunge into real world aviation after hundreds of hours in FSX and more recently a few dozen hours in the Katana on VATSIM.

I arrived at KLDJ, which is six miles south of KEWR, for my introductory flight at a flight school which trains with two DA20 C1s and a DA40. I booked one of the DA20 C1s.

After a lesson on the basics of flight, the instructor took me out to the plane to run through all the preflight checklists. Lets just say he was impressed when I knew where to find the structural temperature indicator sticker between the seats and had a good idea of where switches were and how to read the engine gauges. We went through the left wing checklist, moved onto the fuselage checklist where I was shown the high tech dowel used to check the fuel level when we stopped for a moment and realized the ceiling had dropped to 1,000 feet.

The instructor asked if I wanted to do pattern work (having successfully named the various legs of the pattern during the lesson, much to his surprise) but I didn't feel comfortable maneuvering through a pattern that already had several other people training in small craft and a few helicopters in it. So unfortunately for me and fortunately for people on the ground, it'll be another week until I get into the air and start the journey towards a PPL.

Anyway I just wanted to express my gratitude towards the developers of this great FSX add-on that spurred me to seek out as close to the real world aircraft as I could find. The level of detail in the way the preflight checklists are done was realistic as far as i could see (short of actually pulling out the ARROW docs in FSX). When you are ready to release the 4x Eclipse, I'll be at the front of the line with a fistful of money.

Thanks,

Tom

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Nice story, Tom. Amazing what can be done in FSX (with that dedication driving the dev) and actually pays off when approaching the real plane. Thanks for posting. :)

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Interesting stuff. If you could, keep us posted on how the flight training goes. I always enjoy reading these stories. I was hoping to take a few lessons over this summer, but I got sidetracked buying a car and fixing it up. ^_^ I don't have enough money saved up yet to complete a PPL. (I know buying a car didn't help that any, but it wasn't too expensive; it's an '89 Civic. :P) Anyway, I'm trying to decide if it would make more sense to just go ahead and take a few lessons, or to wait until I can afford to complete my PPL. Oh well, maybe next summer. . . .

In the meantime, good luck with your training! :clapping_s:

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Hi all, just a quick post-flight update for everyone.

This morning at 1200z, after two weather related reschedulings, I was finally able to get into the air. Again, the level of detail of the katana 4x's preflight checklists came to light as the instructor and I checked the fuel,oil, inspection ports for the flaps and ailerons, ect.. A slight issue arose once we strapped in and closed the canopy though. Unfortunately, being 6'4, I did not have the clearance needed to comfortably fit in the plane. I had to take my hat off, set my headset at an outrageous angle, and have then cock my head to make it work.

My instructor off the bat said it wasn't likely I could continue training in the Eclipse, but it would be fine for one flight.

Taxiing was very swerve-y compared to my usually smooth taxiing in FSX. The first thing I noticed was just how firm the toe brakes were, and how much harder it is to track the taxiway center line in the real world. Went through the run-up, called our intentions, and took off. The airport is under the ceiling of the class B around Newark, so it was really neat to be taking off on RW 09, and being a few thousand feet below commercial traffic on approach into KEWR. So we stayed at the appropriate altitudes till we got clear out from under the Class B and started running through some basics.

I imagine first flights are similar no matter where you go for your training, so we did what most students would do their first time in the air. Several turns, climbs, descents, all felt familiar. Of course, my bad FSX habits came up. I kept trying to fly with my right hand, as my HOTAS setup has the stick on the right and throttle on the left. I also spent more time looking at my instruments during turns to make sure I was holding my altitude. I did manage to pull of a few steep turns that would have gotten me through a checkride though. Steep turns are much more fun when you can feel the G's. Of course, my precariously placed headset kept on falling off during these maneuvers which was not fun. We also did a few stalls, both power off and on, and I can confirm that the stall horn sounds just like the one in the virtual Katana.

We came back to the airport and flew a tight left traffic pattern back to runway 09. I got the plane down more or less on the centerline to about 100 ft off the ground, when a flock of geese ran across the runway and we had to go around. The instructor was running a little late for his next lesson, so he asked if he could fly the next approach and get us back to the hangar. He came in high and showed me how to slip down to the right altitude which I understood in principle but had never experienced first hand. He greased the landing and the quickest hour of my life was over.

I guess my journey towards a PPL will have to take a different route, but at least I can open my logbook and remember that my first hour was in an awesome little plane that I wish was the tiniest bit bigger. Unfortunately now I need to go find a new flight school which has bigger aircraft, until I'm ready for my Instrument rating at which point I'll be back to fly their DA40.

Aerosoft, thank you for a great simulation of an incredibly fun little plane.

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