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Name this propeller aircraft – Answer below in Terry's Trivia and Travel Tips |
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Bob built a cockpit simulator in his Alberta backyard. Next stop … Hawaii From CBC News – www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/pilot-flight-simulator
Once an avid recreational flyer, Roberts made the switch to the flight simulator about 10 years ago. Flying any distance is expensive and he grew weary of making short flights. “I got tired of doing that, so I decided I would stop,” he said. Now, he said, he can fly to wherever he wants, when he wants. Roberts connects with other simulator enthusiasts around the world through groups like Virtual Air Traffic Simulator Network and PilotEdge which act as virtual air traffic controllers. “We talk on the radio and we get clearance,” he said. “They have vectors in different airports and stuff like that. “There’s thousands of courses across the world that are doing some desktop simulators and some cool sims like I have. It’s very, very immersive.” But with motion sensors, Bose speakers, screens that wrap around the entire cockpit to look like windows, and real people acting as air traffic controllers, it’s hard to tell what the difference is between the real airplanes and the flight simulator. “You can feel everything. Every single switch, every button works the same as a real jet,” he said. “There is no faking anything on the plane other than you’re on the ground, and it’s the only fake thing about the whole experience.” |
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“I call the Boeing 737 MAX the sports car of the airline industry,” Roberts told CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active. “It’s very nimble, very fast now with the new Max,” he said. “They’re extremely efficient. They’re very powerful. It’s just a nice airplane to fly. And all the components are very modern.” The simulator replicates the nose of the plane as seen from the cockpit, complete with windows and a screen projecting an outside view. Roberts, a retired engineering manager for Syncrude Canada, has been flying since he got his licence at the age of 18. “I used to go to the local airport and watch guys fly, and I was just fascinated at the age of five years old,” Roberts said. For many years, he flew a Zenair Zodiac plane that he built himself. Now the simulator makes it easier for him to fly to places he’s always wanted to. “I’ve flown to Alaska, I’ve flown to Churchill, Man.,” he said. His next stop…Hawaii. |
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Taken in April 1985 the cool photo in this post is the only picture of Concorde flying at supersonic speed. The image was taken by Adrian Meredith who was flying a Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado jet during a rendezvous with the Concorde over the Irish Sea in April 1985. Although the Tornado could match Concorde’s cruising speed it could only do so for a matter of minutes due to the enormous rate of fuel consumption. Several attempts were made to take the photo, and eventually the Concorde had to slow down from Mach 2 to Mach 1.5-1.6 so that the Tornado crew could get the shot. The Tornado was stripped of everything to get it up to that speed as long as possible. Source: theaviationgeekclub.com |
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