Flying

My dad was a pilot. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1941 and became a flight instructor. After WWII my father used to supplement income by teaching civilians to fly. He got posted to Hickam Air Force Base and this photo was taken by one of his students on Oahu. The aircraft is a Cessna 120 and it's interesting because the wires that control the ailerons ran up the wing struts through guides, i.e. they are external.

This photo was taken in Yakima and that's my uncle Frank holding my little brother. Dad says he took Frank up that day for a look around the old town. My brother and I didn't get to go, but we had opportunities later on. I can remember flying in New Mexico, when Dad was scouting places to duck hunt along the Pecos River - the sky was clear and blue, but the aircraft bounced around uncomfortably. Much later, I learned about thermals, and how eagles, hawks and vultures could ride thermals for hours looking for prey, and that gliders could do the same thing.
I got away from flying when I grew up and then I bought a computer, and some flight simulator software. Now I could get the sensation of flying without the bumpy air caused by the thermals and wind gusts. And it is a lot safer.
This screenshot is from a game called Combat Flight Simulator Version3. The aircraft is a P-47 C, and earlier version of this great fighter - it has a greenhouse canopy, and less performance that the P-47 D, but it's a good test to fly it against opponents on single missions. In fact it's my favorite in this game, but the only way you can take this screenshot is to successfully complete your mission.
This screenshot is from a game called "Fighter Ace" and I used to play this game quite a bit. I was never feared by the other gamers, but occasionally I got lucky. In this case, there are two 'stars' after my nickname, indicating I had 10 kills in a row, without a loss at this moment (soon to pass :) You can see the flight data at the top of the screen and some instruments at the bottom left. Digital data is perceived better (i.e. faster) than analog, so I always kept the instruments to minimum. The aircraft is a special Folke Wulf 190 with two anti-tank cannons mounted under it's wings. It was difficult to fly (i.e. turn) but it was hard on enemy tanks and bombers.

There is one star in the upper right hand corner of this screenshot. I used a variety of nicknames in this game, and 'LeatherStocking' was on of my favorites. This aircraft is an F-4U Corsair (later version with four 20mm cannon) and it's loaded with two bombs and 8 rockets. There are many different levels to Fighter Ace and in this middle level screenshot you can see a yellow T in the distance indicating a US tank (the same color as my nickname). In the higher levels there are no visible nicknames over aircraft (making it hard to pick out the guy to shoot first, and difficult to spot tanks).


This is an example of a Level 9 screenshot - no nickname, and there is a cockpit in front of you all the time when you are off the ground. "Padlock" is available in Level 9 but in Level 10 (the top level) the flight model is difficult to use, and there are more restrictions, making it very challenging. I spent most of my time in Level 9 as there were more people in there. This aircraft is a Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (also called a 'Tojo') and I got a star with it (you can see it in the upper right corner). This aircraft is a good interceptor in Fighter Ace.

I highly recommend flight simulators although fighting online against a human being is far more difficult that playing the game on your computer against the software's AI (Artificial Intelligence). But remember, it's just a game :)

This is me in an old Navy SNJ, which the Army Air Corps called a T-6 Texan (or AT-6). My wife gave me this flight as a birthday present, and I have to admit, it was one of the best presents I ever got(well, I mean birthday present :) Anyway, the pilot did some aerobatics in this SNJ and he made every effort to keep 1 'G' on the aircraft most of the time. For instance, he did a barrel roll, but kept a little pull on to simulate the one 'G' he was after. Of course, to do a loop, we had to dive a bit, and pulled a few more 'G's at the bottom in order to gain enough airspeed to loop. It was a great day, and I didn't take a camera with me, but they made a VHS tape of the flight, so that was pretty cool. This activity is highly recommended!