FLIGHT SIMULATOR
(Colin Gissing presented this at our October meeting.)
I have been flying model aircraft since the age of 14.
In my mid twenties I build my first Radio Control set, which then used valves in the transmitter and receiver. The control then, was a press switch which gave (1 press for left, 2 presses for right and next press back to neutral). Commercial versions (using transistors) of the same so called single channel soon followed.
Within a couple of years technology changed fast and equipment advanced to multi-channel, enabling control of all flight surfaces rudder, elevator, engine, retract wheels and flaps on on scale versions of planes.
I built my own equipment for a few years before buying commercial equipment.
For a number of years I was keen on Pylon Racing and even represented Australia against New Zealand.
20 years back I found a model flying club at Mannerim.
Dusted off the old 20 year radio equipment and planes returning to the hobby
Another club member had been also Flight Simulator flying on the computer and internet and suggested myself to take part. Now also doing this since 2009.
Due to our age demographic our flying group has shrunk 4 -5 regular Wednesday flyers.
Our group are members of the DC3 Airways Club thus flying the DC3 or the DC4.
I have 1300 hours flying the DC3.
I use a windows PC with three monitors and a program called Prepar3D from Lockheed Martin.
There are a number of programs available, but limitations re DC3 being usable. There is a package called XPlane that is available for the MAC.
We use an App called JoinFS that links our group together to see each others aircraft.
An App FSTramp that loads into the Flight Sim app provides Flight Plan and GPS tracking of planes.
We talk with each other via use of head sets using an App called Teamspeak and one of the group runs a server program to provide the communications link.
I have flight controls clamped to computer desk with rudder and brake pedals on the floor.
Below is a link to the Flight Simulator DC3-SD 480p.mov file I created by taking photos and video with iPad, editing video with iMovie and using Keynote app. to produce the presentation and adding speech: