tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180523022024-03-19T05:20:06.434-04:00Music of the SpheresSpace flight, simulators, astronomy, books, flying, music, science, education: whatever the obsession of the moment might happen to be.FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015886527228889332noreply@blogger.comBlogger1559125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-53783484850643104502023-01-15T11:29:00.001-05:002023-01-16T09:10:49.516-05:00Mendelssohn & Monet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUz_c0NmeTHfR3U_5SCGt-sk4EN2TApGnL_Oj21mG4W4VDux8V4mMRp-OUj6k7F7Y8hqOQFJfadfAEfFDDPz5Ff-zUyNeyLYxlBB7B2FIH2YFUftEOmqb74yIbxbCJxDCB58m9dlTHnJxZ52xXMm-QkiBjfJeXYrZP_aZD23D9YObX_gfzg/s8499/IMG_6181.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1882" data-original-width="8499" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUz_c0NmeTHfR3U_5SCGt-sk4EN2TApGnL_Oj21mG4W4VDux8V4mMRp-OUj6k7F7Y8hqOQFJfadfAEfFDDPz5Ff-zUyNeyLYxlBB7B2FIH2YFUftEOmqb74yIbxbCJxDCB58m9dlTHnJxZ52xXMm-QkiBjfJeXYrZP_aZD23D9YObX_gfzg/w400-h89/IMG_6181.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>I was listening to a favorite symphony this morning, Mendelssohn’s Fourth, <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=XMLyJNgd6LA&feature=shares">the Italian Symphony</a>. The first movement is as sunny as I’ve ever known it to be in Italy, even in Tuscany. I started wondering about all the little details that make it sound that way, and I decided to have a look.</p><p>Recently I have rediscovered a free music notation software called <a href="https://musescore.org/en">MuseScore</a>. Version 4 was released late last year, a major upgrade in many ways, especially the orchestral sounds that are bundled with it. It can render audio from a score with astounding realism, though there are occasional glitches and instruments that don’t sound so perfect. Of course it will improve -- and it’s already amazing. The quality of the “engraving” (the way music is presented on the page) has also greatly improved, sometimes to the point of beautiful (see example taken from a PDF below). And did I mention it’s free?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUPdqsZToXSzYD6JRHvbFgZBPHWo7AJLk6H_i0CQ93p9pn1pUkYtR_4wyUWv26qemyRIJ83Fdv_nNEuq-4XPIUFmnqxDTkjHLDxbeuZsMsmBYc7XLH0oO2JGboJELKmvi0FmFUm69ZX-G2Lam1_V6fPjn5SoRs5BecudjCJrdWTO0m07ALw/s3605/IMG_5296.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2028" data-original-width="3605" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUPdqsZToXSzYD6JRHvbFgZBPHWo7AJLk6H_i0CQ93p9pn1pUkYtR_4wyUWv26qemyRIJ83Fdv_nNEuq-4XPIUFmnqxDTkjHLDxbeuZsMsmBYc7XLH0oO2JGboJELKmvi0FmFUm69ZX-G2Lam1_V6fPjn5SoRs5BecudjCJrdWTO0m07ALw/w400-h225/IMG_5296.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>I wondered if any of the many users on MuseScore.com might have entered and shared the score for the Italian Symphony. <a href="https://musescore.com/user/34745720/scores/6386598">Someone did</a>, at least for the mostly sunny first movement, and they did an excellent job. I downloaded it to my PC and listened with headphones as the score scrolled in time with the music. Still beautiful and even more amazing to watch as the notes and dynamic markings turn into music.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OSka2pL5oCgW6CYXP19RZVzyiEXemw3qICafiJk5g12mx9anRCK6-UuCIIPbODrDhsGJXMtfK-GK6R4dXf04Mj1ieiXn9vLsiw9xU9ec7VBxFMkQi3S2maOzhk-fqnp0l586BCSF7uSVweaCoFfwa9AScPjaseAUQQmou_7vHxma3V2Kwg/s3605/IMG_5293.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2403" data-original-width="3605" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7OSka2pL5oCgW6CYXP19RZVzyiEXemw3qICafiJk5g12mx9anRCK6-UuCIIPbODrDhsGJXMtfK-GK6R4dXf04Mj1ieiXn9vLsiw9xU9ec7VBxFMkQi3S2maOzhk-fqnp0l586BCSF7uSVweaCoFfwa9AScPjaseAUQQmou_7vHxma3V2Kwg/w400-h266/IMG_5293.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>I listened again, this time selecting individual instruments or combinations to see how the pizzicato on the celli played against the fast tremolo on the second violin and viola, and how high melodic fragments in the woodwinds brightened the sound with splashes of color.</p><p>Hearing the parts in isolation, it was clear where Mendelssohn had left holes to be filled by other instruments. And how he had used the dynamics from <i>p </i>(soft) to <i>fff </i>(very loud) to vary the texture and and create contrast.</p><p>Texture, splashes of color, contrast -- these sound like visual references, and for some reason I thought of Monet’s Water Lilies series. I’ve been lucky to see a number of those amazing works in the US and in Europe over the years, most recently at the <a href="https://www.kunsthaus.ch/en/sammlung/">Kunsthaus Museum</a> in Zurich in 2016. A room there displays three of the gigantic paintings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WaCUACSIgr7VdJOY21AvRqdXBad03ZLfQtjY10HXC4ULhEVPc9oQMLP7sYSv6OQPyTxuE74Hq1xeRVMxZOzcpEjujLxvpiIXPmS4ntTKrBuznLYIfJeVUX5VBQTL4xXmeaRKL4nRvDe767RC6JOpbgB7IBM1NFf_XE-hi0OsJ__ZIPVQbQ/s4032/IMG_6184.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WaCUACSIgr7VdJOY21AvRqdXBad03ZLfQtjY10HXC4ULhEVPc9oQMLP7sYSv6OQPyTxuE74Hq1xeRVMxZOzcpEjujLxvpiIXPmS4ntTKrBuznLYIfJeVUX5VBQTL4xXmeaRKL4nRvDe767RC6JOpbgB7IBM1NFf_XE-hi0OsJ__ZIPVQbQ/w400-h300/IMG_6184.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>I’m not a painter, but whenever I see any great painting, I will get close and marvel at how very small or even tiny applications of paint have combined to create the overall look of the painting, in whatever level of detail the artist chose to depict.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eK1jZD3rg147lB3hnaS4AudDS1XnuUUG2tGia_kXbDTCJEejrifsPZX28qP_TwP2GRAgyuOGC9tXpKtRhvXAYyS7MrnZtIWtH4J6asF2Vn98cnLZWSBa30Uc8TRx39FnjgraKCnrqBp01henvYk6bA-_f7J8Mc8unx_W7kHsCT-mXvUqzw/s3605/IMG_4597.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1803" data-original-width="3605" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eK1jZD3rg147lB3hnaS4AudDS1XnuUUG2tGia_kXbDTCJEejrifsPZX28qP_TwP2GRAgyuOGC9tXpKtRhvXAYyS7MrnZtIWtH4J6asF2Vn98cnLZWSBa30Uc8TRx39FnjgraKCnrqBp01henvYk6bA-_f7J8Mc8unx_W7kHsCT-mXvUqzw/w400-h200/IMG_4597.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>Artists clearly must learn to keep “the big picture” in mind as they work on the small details, but in the case of the Water Lilies, the big picture is <i>really </i>big. The Water Lilies I saw in Zurich are 6 meters in width and 2 meters tall. I visited Monet’s home in Giverny many years ago, and I have seen photos of the artist working on these gigantic canvases in his large studio, so I have some sense of the environment in which he worked. Clearly, he could only see a small part of the canvas as he worked on it. This “artistic scaling” of thousands of brushstrokes into a huge, coherent, and beautiful painting still seems like magic to me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHpEi2YZlTB6QZjFawSPl22BZKp_jkMX1p8_AYzyQcBL0hFZlCteLl6CLiGD1fUZ4jT3qo-FRmf4j0GEfj3DP0UHGN7lnIwE0wWcPSczlHgs7wfC5fqohgRS_ZOsXSRdK57Di-4CXR-xHMdt-9kgqQKtRNiMac_cQvgrlNjhDybi3gES8sg/s1633/Monet%20photo%20Water%20Lilies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1633" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQHpEi2YZlTB6QZjFawSPl22BZKp_jkMX1p8_AYzyQcBL0hFZlCteLl6CLiGD1fUZ4jT3qo-FRmf4j0GEfj3DP0UHGN7lnIwE0wWcPSczlHgs7wfC5fqohgRS_ZOsXSRdK57Di-4CXR-xHMdt-9kgqQKtRNiMac_cQvgrlNjhDybi3gES8sg/w400-h297/Monet%20photo%20Water%20Lilies.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I feel much the same about the way Mendelssohn and other composers can conceptualize a large, complex piece like a symphony and then construct it from thousands of notes and other musical elements. Until recently, this could only be done by writing the score on paper and having musicians play it. A piano might serve as an aid in trying out harmonies and rhythms, but the only way to “hear” the interactions of multiple instruments would be to “play it” in your head from the written score. This is a skill that experienced musicians may develop, but not me, unfortunately. Luckily for my composing efforts, there are now tools like orchestral sample libraries, recording software like Studio One, and of course notation programs like MuseScore 4 that will allow me to hear a score at any point in its development without needing this skill.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrszgwU3_Swg8tXaqI4VnF6ApDZdXuh0LbogdDG0o-Hj_HflyKFNRwZzgnhHkBRIMlS52if6mIPv--x9EGzVrAaoy-H2TsryAZ0_u9o0ueQlmbHnhsReirCDs7PQIHVAEBdlcBVG8rp-85LsQptGH1xcmZSdjiViqSdwDRZZ2cCyeA_FP29w/s3293/IMG_6128-PANO.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1835" data-original-width="3293" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrszgwU3_Swg8tXaqI4VnF6ApDZdXuh0LbogdDG0o-Hj_HflyKFNRwZzgnhHkBRIMlS52if6mIPv--x9EGzVrAaoy-H2TsryAZ0_u9o0ueQlmbHnhsReirCDs7PQIHVAEBdlcBVG8rp-85LsQptGH1xcmZSdjiViqSdwDRZZ2cCyeA_FP29w/w400-h223/IMG_6128-PANO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>It’s always fun to find connections among my various interests, and to be reminded of a wonderful place like Zurich. Hard to believe that was almost seven years ago. I’d love to go back. I’m also happy that MuseScore 4 has come along to help me explore some of favorite music in more detail, and to even create some of my own.</p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-82253527225540210762022-07-09T10:49:00.004-04:002023-01-15T10:38:14.542-05:00England Aviation Vacation, Part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQEn7F45qAYi6qfDNYdI-eRG0G0g07wJRLQDiONqkNKNCUSFapYMjEjqcYc2QvfdOGiD3DScASwyFHAgs-Um5MLvcXAFKWa_hNdaGgsiMrimfE3wuLNZZn6jVJ2jjvVLY96pi-UoggEJx__HybswhC55tVQzFPCCiLHaSSvjOZXOCt23Cww/s4032/IMG_2159.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQEn7F45qAYi6qfDNYdI-eRG0G0g07wJRLQDiONqkNKNCUSFapYMjEjqcYc2QvfdOGiD3DScASwyFHAgs-Um5MLvcXAFKWa_hNdaGgsiMrimfE3wuLNZZn6jVJ2jjvVLY96pi-UoggEJx__HybswhC55tVQzFPCCiLHaSSvjOZXOCt23Cww/w400-h300/IMG_2159.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><br />After I got back to North Weald Airfield from my “Castles
& Coasts” flight down to Dover, my taxi friend Ali drove me back to Epping Station
and I caught a train for Cambridge, stopping for the night at Duxford, the site
of another Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airfield, the biggest air museum in
Europe.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35_AnhKrDRsL4gZskPRh1td7jU-Mins9xmyaBddkyaU5VPsaX1ArXm8SqPdub8LfXjYTNpSFhOaJF2IVh6rjKxKQ7-A1Fse_cyUWp3lEYlU8-ZvQhzH8GfD950Qo24Wq6b7wM2S_oE_e0Z3pn2lju5bwJ-HPUzlqZBvC30i0pLgtmqlUBiA/s5472/IMG_3741.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35_AnhKrDRsL4gZskPRh1td7jU-Mins9xmyaBddkyaU5VPsaX1ArXm8SqPdub8LfXjYTNpSFhOaJF2IVh6rjKxKQ7-A1Fse_cyUWp3lEYlU8-ZvQhzH8GfD950Qo24Wq6b7wM2S_oE_e0Z3pn2lju5bwJ-HPUzlqZBvC30i0pLgtmqlUBiA/w400-h266/IMG_3741.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">My Tiger Moth lesson flight was set for 3 PM, but I entered
the IWM at 11 AM on a beautiful, clear morning so I could explore the hangars
and ramps brimming with historic airplanes.
In the Air & Space hangar I found many favorite jets including the Vulcan
bomber, the swing-wing Panavia Tornado, and the Concorde, which I walked
through.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cFtbYNJUg_Z0u3gqF3Z3Vyr0pkqdYatV5AM8tuIn6B0POPt7x81PAaccSmTzvoGh3PGhTDoVTfoj4QAEtLjJS-eGK8rBsp3m9h2NfykVahymM4Dp0DYWeiPJ_vpBF19_ZGR4WgFNZk-4qR4-9Gs4KqbU_uGHy8qLm01e21wzhjwSDj_VUg/s8347/IMG_1755.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1917" data-original-width="8347" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cFtbYNJUg_Z0u3gqF3Z3Vyr0pkqdYatV5AM8tuIn6B0POPt7x81PAaccSmTzvoGh3PGhTDoVTfoj4QAEtLjJS-eGK8rBsp3m9h2NfykVahymM4Dp0DYWeiPJ_vpBF19_ZGR4WgFNZk-4qR4-9Gs4KqbU_uGHy8qLm01e21wzhjwSDj_VUg/w400-h91/IMG_1755.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">In and around the other hangars I found Spitfires,
Hurricanes, a PBY Catalina, and a WWII twin-engine RAF Mosquito made mostly of
wood, among many others! I walked into a hangar where workers were rearranging
aircraft for the upcoming airshow. I wasn’t supposed to be in there, but I
spotted an RAF Eurofighter Typhoon before they kicked me out.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistIG3rfp4p1x11RZgB-7eETMLCATaGa1uJLMcynloiwgctDi0r91bWLF8Pxb5ZpxKafb3XdPzjPkKslRdtwT-_htEYMw4fn2h5hbH5ovGe7MkvDl1b6x5OkP-c6hQzD0M4vUQ4vtIYAztGDDA7M6snILUTh-yi-VSgOgEewLw-N2P5uSd_Q/s5472/IMG_3669.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistIG3rfp4p1x11RZgB-7eETMLCATaGa1uJLMcynloiwgctDi0r91bWLF8Pxb5ZpxKafb3XdPzjPkKslRdtwT-_htEYMw4fn2h5hbH5ovGe7MkvDl1b6x5OkP-c6hQzD0M4vUQ4vtIYAztGDDA7M6snILUTh-yi-VSgOgEewLw-N2P5uSd_Q/s320/IMG_3669.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">In addition to all the amazing ground exhibits, several of
the flight performers for the weekend Duxford Airshow were rehearsing their
acts low over the runways. Practically a private airshow! <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAdhk4-qU-AFRZGRB4kY8iNMQPqjCW3E1uPVs81hs_h0gUgE30--GbFTlJ2uDODrUAEPEp7vdHjzEJQSXszfiE9F_6iZ95MccZCNJdq1weRsd8YXYsI0gO_T7O9zeFa659b-GpJW7CR1JcFdrigrq6o8_qMDTbQWF05tEWgMcrYINcQZfUg/s5472/IMG_3643.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAdhk4-qU-AFRZGRB4kY8iNMQPqjCW3E1uPVs81hs_h0gUgE30--GbFTlJ2uDODrUAEPEp7vdHjzEJQSXszfiE9F_6iZ95MccZCNJdq1weRsd8YXYsI0gO_T7O9zeFa659b-GpJW7CR1JcFdrigrq6o8_qMDTbQWF05tEWgMcrYINcQZfUg/w400-h266/IMG_3643.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">There was a great Battle of Britain exhibit with Spits and
Hurri’s and a crashed Messerschmitt Bf-109 in addition to a recreation of the control
rooms where they directed those epic aerial battles in 1940 using telephone and
radar reports, with a big map table where they pushed around markers to track friendly
and enemy aircraft positions. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAhKHFGt9E9E2CYTmDcBWJUoynwTe6X9ZituePOjISsmctc3t8jrKf9oWLFe22-WAbrCDPbdqRK6Lbe9cXjmpvLumRF8puDDScnNP6cIZT6YBrHhJT3Peq88aRXIPaqklgXHl2Pw9VFYR2r3CzWqf8sVacU6LsBEKCbGbjL6f_khtCdZTpw/s5472/IMG_3862.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAhKHFGt9E9E2CYTmDcBWJUoynwTe6X9ZituePOjISsmctc3t8jrKf9oWLFe22-WAbrCDPbdqRK6Lbe9cXjmpvLumRF8puDDScnNP6cIZT6YBrHhJT3Peq88aRXIPaqklgXHl2Pw9VFYR2r3CzWqf8sVacU6LsBEKCbGbjL6f_khtCdZTpw/w400-h266/IMG_3862.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">I loved the American hangar where dozens of huge airplanes
were parked and hung from the ceiling, starting with the big iron – B-52, B-29,
B-24, and B-17 as well as all the major fighters from P-51 to F-15 and even the
Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujn3ZhTwHJaE1lmxTOWFVEF9ciHQqw0z1n1GikiyWOi2wHqTSa7pPx-E-226dEBKB84SJ08QlwNVx1Ez_PANbuXh2R8ldmqmJ1S9_TTSDaaQJymG_auruZk1GkDz9_UKdvmKgBoQt253zep7hRcWSBmRE8nUi3aHMbcPDW0uxO7_paPhx5g/s3129/IMG_2273.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2303" data-original-width="3129" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujn3ZhTwHJaE1lmxTOWFVEF9ciHQqw0z1n1GikiyWOi2wHqTSa7pPx-E-226dEBKB84SJ08QlwNVx1Ez_PANbuXh2R8ldmqmJ1S9_TTSDaaQJymG_auruZk1GkDz9_UKdvmKgBoQt253zep7hRcWSBmRE8nUi3aHMbcPDW0uxO7_paPhx5g/w400-h295/IMG_2273.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">Before my Tiger Moth lesson, I had also signed up for a 15
minute flight around the airfield in the Dragon Rapide, a small passenger
biplane from the late 1930’s. This was great because I got to take some good
aerial shots of Duxford which wasn’t possible in the Tiger Moth (<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Yu Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">no personal cameras). It was also very cool to taxi
out next to a Hurricane fighter! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vcSWupnfFTW559OE-bGg1b7LFzfo8EGfr1uqlw7_L43dpLl4PIa_UQ9u6m_iyP3RI8T09Z4JpajmNKX_yV-pXx4M4eNLO9P_Ca2qcLWnO8DGLafAa6uj8o9RpNb4Yfdsy41qvdj_WB7fXT-o-iGeuVSoLlSzuGKcLkkQonOZG3xK7Yijvg/s5472/IMG_3896.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vcSWupnfFTW559OE-bGg1b7LFzfo8EGfr1uqlw7_L43dpLl4PIa_UQ9u6m_iyP3RI8T09Z4JpajmNKX_yV-pXx4M4eNLO9P_Ca2qcLWnO8DGLafAa6uj8o9RpNb4Yfdsy41qvdj_WB7fXT-o-iGeuVSoLlSzuGKcLkkQonOZG3xK7Yijvg/w400-h266/IMG_3896.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">Finally it was time for the 40 minute Tiger Moth lesson I
had booked months before. I had to empty my pockets for the open cockpit flight
(and to remove any competition for the in flight video they would later sell me).
I donned a leather helmet, headset, and goggles as well as a fleece-lined
leather jacket. I was strapped into the front seat, and after a radio check, we
took off on the grass and headed southwest. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmipc-kEDei9WMyzMEV_WmdBE3d0tmpk1_bH27UZIUusSDPcOuqeXoUIJC7sGHYz59Qs2ZJQjBWupqNAOJ_YiiJOE9BUr0Gv7lBuNOMjXGvdOX3jfD8lE0XuX1yrNDAtLtdjitCf3SZOOBGHSzG8UaXUsFsfdH9bgqLbQ8LrIA9pGC-H8RKQ/s2223/IMG_3982.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="2223" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmipc-kEDei9WMyzMEV_WmdBE3d0tmpk1_bH27UZIUusSDPcOuqeXoUIJC7sGHYz59Qs2ZJQjBWupqNAOJ_YiiJOE9BUr0Gv7lBuNOMjXGvdOX3jfD8lE0XuX1yrNDAtLtdjitCf3SZOOBGHSzG8UaXUsFsfdH9bgqLbQ8LrIA9pGC-H8RKQ/w400-h223/IMG_3982.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">Clear of the airport area, the pilot soon gave me the controls
for the cruise and a few turns. The stick forces were amazingly light (the
pilot was likely trimming for me), so “fly with two fingers” worked quite well.
Instruments were minimal, and the forward view was obscured by the nose, so I
used the left and right lower corners of the windscreen as reference points to
keep the wings level with the horizon. Visibility was otherwise excellent, and I enjoyed the beautiful
Cambridgeshire countryside from 1500-2000 feet. We flew over several towns
including Royston, as well as the radio telescopes of the Millard Radio Astronomy
Observatory, just 5 miles SW of central Cambridge.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5PWsHY5gXtXb7fjqFqsVqu7V4hPz8RNADPDAUar953upVn301RjezQMILDa4dtcubAY7RGn-rLmg5yqT8orWpwDVyzW7lv26jqZh1L3Er_3Yu3ASteAFJk7cNOMa52HWVZMSxiB0aNgfPwoHYO2vyzuws_bQ26qm90NhBX7GnzKRZ-7aNA/s4032/IMG_1847.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5PWsHY5gXtXb7fjqFqsVqu7V4hPz8RNADPDAUar953upVn301RjezQMILDa4dtcubAY7RGn-rLmg5yqT8orWpwDVyzW7lv26jqZh1L3Er_3Yu3ASteAFJk7cNOMa52HWVZMSxiB0aNgfPwoHYO2vyzuws_bQ26qm90NhBX7GnzKRZ-7aNA/w400-h300/IMG_1847.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">After landing, exhausted from hours of walking around
huge Duxford Airfield, I took a taxi into Cambridge and checked myself into my apartment
hotel for the remainder of my stay. It was a great little flat although I
wished I picked one a little closer to central Cambridge. I spent Friday morning exploring the excellent<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fitzwilliam
Museum, although I mainly visited the art galleries, including a special David
Hockney exhibit.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjE9RubfdSsWo3US2r9QM76NxvaerXxlo5FmEsCpvuRPunoUiMvuxz3BAjKQhG68Z0bJ9mXLbVo45YerSs6TnfhsZohchEPFfJA8vM3vhAzBCp5TWKPayZmgefqm2zUH2DM9t1t2DwAVtjxaqgdIphA5pfbDa_KUUq3K1gV08XIJyvsxprA/s2048/IMG_2047.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKjE9RubfdSsWo3US2r9QM76NxvaerXxlo5FmEsCpvuRPunoUiMvuxz3BAjKQhG68Z0bJ9mXLbVo45YerSs6TnfhsZohchEPFfJA8vM3vhAzBCp5TWKPayZmgefqm2zUH2DM9t1t2DwAVtjxaqgdIphA5pfbDa_KUUq3K1gV08XIJyvsxprA/w400-h200/IMG_2047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t have time for the many galleries of Egyptian,
Greek, and other antiquities because I was keen to get to the pub for lunch and
a pint of DNA. Specifically, a pint of DNA Ale at the Eagle Pub, famous as the place
where James Watson and Francis Crick (above left) popped by from their nearby lab in
February 1953 to announce that they had discovered <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Yu Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">“the
secret of life,” otherwise known as the double-helix structure of the DNA
molecule. They were regulars so they shared the news at the pub prior to actual
publication. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA1N24K2A3HlFcuiHSSGNdQwzB6mYAy9S4MD-Fgch3IG0-JeCJUti_4lQn6rKj-ZsL7MqZph1VGaK6CbHAKbyZze8VactQu9PXgGrLVF8pu4JD-cfSUERoWB4Vq_FpzLVrHVZNE7bpew5FBRtUkWfXFPXj8lUrRtdIP_mLmpbuZ0It_8_Mw/s5472/IMG_3965.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA1N24K2A3HlFcuiHSSGNdQwzB6mYAy9S4MD-Fgch3IG0-JeCJUti_4lQn6rKj-ZsL7MqZph1VGaK6CbHAKbyZze8VactQu9PXgGrLVF8pu4JD-cfSUERoWB4Vq_FpzLVrHVZNE7bpew5FBRtUkWfXFPXj8lUrRtdIP_mLmpbuZ0It_8_Mw/w400-h266/IMG_3965.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Yu Mincho"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">After lunch I signed up for a “guided
punt” on the Cam River. This classic Cambridge experience takes you for a
couple of hours up and down the Cam, gliding serenely along the “backs of the
colleges” of Cambridge. The weather remained perfect, and our punter guide was quite
informative and funny as he related history and gossip from ancient up to
modern times. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2wWbro6e6dKLju2R36fkGcA8qkGM9gOPeYH07PuRLRhe9azSuaBaOTKPtGXLJ8JZ1YQBf7rbkqkS1TnoNmOCJ14WiM-Hp7wKF1UQB7nAZdu1rTCNtjOOz62Chb5xpGk4_dD-4BrpBlcTJsDENtosNrz3yadMdUo5_5Kyz2tGdb_WMqFJsA/s4032/IMG_2022.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2wWbro6e6dKLju2R36fkGcA8qkGM9gOPeYH07PuRLRhe9azSuaBaOTKPtGXLJ8JZ1YQBf7rbkqkS1TnoNmOCJ14WiM-Hp7wKF1UQB7nAZdu1rTCNtjOOz62Chb5xpGk4_dD-4BrpBlcTJsDENtosNrz3yadMdUo5_5Kyz2tGdb_WMqFJsA/w400-h300/IMG_2022.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">By Friday evening, walking had become very hard, and I soon
found the reason – two enormous blisters on my big toes. Although I did my best
to treat them, it was clear that another 5–8-mile day at the airshow the next
day was not going to be feasible. I texted my regrets to the friend I’d planned
to meet there and spent Saturday relaxing and looking at pictures. It was cloudy and raining, but fortunately I had a kitchen and had bought some food and beer, so survival was not at
stake. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6PNJGRdGZl7vKyLZ664WutXtgS7Se-CeLqCDx4Va_DOnDnk2nWSgnExJZJT-P8pc2NmBAo6Y19eKYmrZo09jC3MNQO1E8rLslWfNnvYhmZE5jDLrZY9P-YjRglmwW21xy5kWHl_eJ_-Dm_i0hD71LCHH5-DMPqi31lrbBnqQpqii_pGFCA/s4032/IMG_2098.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6PNJGRdGZl7vKyLZ664WutXtgS7Se-CeLqCDx4Va_DOnDnk2nWSgnExJZJT-P8pc2NmBAo6Y19eKYmrZo09jC3MNQO1E8rLslWfNnvYhmZE5jDLrZY9P-YjRglmwW21xy5kWHl_eJ_-Dm_i0hD71LCHH5-DMPqi31lrbBnqQpqii_pGFCA/w150-h200/IMG_2098.HEIC" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-Sw9faY6oFSwbcZyZDtksVmN5fkADkeXbZIZrFTMASxbjyQvCN1WI-TOAOxUA0xe84iFP8YVHJh1SKr6aS8Y_iYwEINiJVVnel-14jSMgyjkOkpQBs0imBWwNZSg4I17Zev2U2I7bAqZexk7W-Os2SPaZkwxRoHp2JxPES43lAQIDoki4g/s4032/IMG_2152.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-Sw9faY6oFSwbcZyZDtksVmN5fkADkeXbZIZrFTMASxbjyQvCN1WI-TOAOxUA0xe84iFP8YVHJh1SKr6aS8Y_iYwEINiJVVnel-14jSMgyjkOkpQBs0imBWwNZSg4I17Zev2U2I7bAqZexk7W-Os2SPaZkwxRoHp2JxPES43lAQIDoki4g/w150-h200/IMG_2152.HEIC" width="150" /></a></div></div><p class="MsoNormal">By Sunday and Monday my first aid and foot padding strategies
allowed me to venture out with the help of buses and taxis to minimize my steps.
I went out to eat and explored two small but historic museums. The Sedgwick
Museum is one of the oldest in Cambridge with a focus on paleontology and
geology. The museum also had an excellent exhibit on the life and scientific
accomplishments of Charles Darwin. Always a Darwin fan, I really enjoyed this
exhibit and all of the fossils and displays at the Sedgwick.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFTzQvJocbFmPV4ywZUFLczdlJ1LQqIdnuKgdkdh8bdoPv8QXE4LghchZyV6OomfBqrWLSBoQL3dvbntxihpRB80ucwXTCt0tYQcnlNAXOriiSqbKNWB95R0s5gUU84dIaMPIVG6u6abeI7_59k60zgb_G3k2kuIFLdiFgKuj5tmbpsMEXQ/s4032/IMG_1843.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEFTzQvJocbFmPV4ywZUFLczdlJ1LQqIdnuKgdkdh8bdoPv8QXE4LghchZyV6OomfBqrWLSBoQL3dvbntxihpRB80ucwXTCt0tYQcnlNAXOriiSqbKNWB95R0s5gUU84dIaMPIVG6u6abeI7_59k60zgb_G3k2kuIFLdiFgKuj5tmbpsMEXQ/s320/IMG_1843.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally, I spent an enjoyable couple of hours at the nearby Whipple Science
History Museum which was dominated by my old specialty, optics. There were
hundreds of telescopes and microscopes from various periods, as well as a
fascinating collection of globes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0ddlUdHG-tKzL1mQAvpuU95S2-fG_xP22EUU7zOJ0QOTFhDLH1-XodwXfI3ETavvgkrq-esacJdQ06o25Mn87zkwujHE5MAqB0tQ_mYnrXnoOMCMq39bxHQtd2aYjlgxjYymm6xuGZx-Y55MqwJt1GRo79ws2grejbzkiUhNfomdtlaBEQ/s5472/IMG_4007.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0ddlUdHG-tKzL1mQAvpuU95S2-fG_xP22EUU7zOJ0QOTFhDLH1-XodwXfI3ETavvgkrq-esacJdQ06o25Mn87zkwujHE5MAqB0tQ_mYnrXnoOMCMq39bxHQtd2aYjlgxjYymm6xuGZx-Y55MqwJt1GRo79ws2grejbzkiUhNfomdtlaBEQ/w400-h266/IMG_4007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I recently read a brief biography, <i>The Reluctant Mr. Darwin</i>
by David Quammen. In it, the author describes the various reasons that it took over
20 years from the voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836) to the publication of <i>The Origin
of Species (1859)</i>. A big chunk of that time was devoted to detailed studies of
barnacles. Why? At the time, little was known about barnacles, and Darwin
thought he might spend a year or so identifying and organizing barnacle
species. This might aid his understanding of variation in characteristics
between closely related species, as well as contribute to zoology. It turned
out to be more complex than he imagined, taking eight years and four books to
complete to his satisfaction. Barnacles are small so a microscope was his
constant companion, and that very microscope is on display in the History of
Science Museum (above).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aQuRdJy3e7F2vAoIh0j5bnCq6b2vptaXCJ1JuAbiT9uPCwyft7o8TBbp--eElW8IYZfyrOPerQNBDm7vxFHZhJO-zXBxHXEkoPjrCxKGBjin2wHKaYedPAp_jfW5mc5Yxu-avqXMKUH213Xc7kI8hxOb1aI6UV-su76KoxzoxsRqKUWQYA/s4032/IMG_1993.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aQuRdJy3e7F2vAoIh0j5bnCq6b2vptaXCJ1JuAbiT9uPCwyft7o8TBbp--eElW8IYZfyrOPerQNBDm7vxFHZhJO-zXBxHXEkoPjrCxKGBjin2wHKaYedPAp_jfW5mc5Yxu-avqXMKUH213Xc7kI8hxOb1aI6UV-su76KoxzoxsRqKUWQYA/w400-h300/IMG_1993.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">My flight for Boston was Tuesday evening, June 21, and I
planned to take a National Express bus from Cambridge directly to Heathrow. But
I had forgotten about a planned rail strike that day, and when I went to book my
ride, the only available seats were on the 5 AM bus, since rail travelers were using
every available option to get to London. Oh well, I can kill ten hours at an
airport. </p><p class="MsoNormal">But there was a further adventure in store when the bus failed to show.
So I shared a two-hour taxi ride with three other Heathrow-bound travelers who
were congenial and funny. It was a wonderful vacation, right down to the last
near-disaster.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-38267589075458007412022-07-05T11:29:00.002-04:002022-07-05T11:29:27.188-04:00England Aviation Vacation, Part 1 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJI9VJeUPVWcJzIdtrlkx4AFfiUHuTZv6ZArooYhyaAcs32rS8o9MwnwCE58pLB6Gct_1DmYnsQ_gXQ4v6SRV_lEyWo8xX-SMxaDjOnlO_OlMy1dRf117IUvQJJ6ADPsiKaLN2lAJSioK9Ih4V2XOVJxbQWvBaWt-4oPVnA86FTW7sJGywFw/s4032/IMG_1389.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJI9VJeUPVWcJzIdtrlkx4AFfiUHuTZv6ZArooYhyaAcs32rS8o9MwnwCE58pLB6Gct_1DmYnsQ_gXQ4v6SRV_lEyWo8xX-SMxaDjOnlO_OlMy1dRf117IUvQJJ6ADPsiKaLN2lAJSioK9Ih4V2XOVJxbQWvBaWt-4oPVnA86FTW7sJGywFw/w400-h300/IMG_1389.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p>For the last two years, virtually all my travel has been… virtual. I’ve spent countless hours exploring the world in Microsoft Flight Simulator, either on my own or in online group flights with friends from California, Australia, Finland, and other places, each of us firmly anchored in his or her office or living room. While this has been great fun, it doesn’t quite match the thrill of real flying, even with the help of an excellent VR headset. But one of these days… </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Axi9Weu5fZJVxUnwxC8Mg7-z9flomvJw6U85p3hiJ4iDn3pjtsGGBQEDyA9GDmZ7l71m7Cb67gOia-liOvMvhVVequ0uxublllEnQLaOvBk9a2xGqBrYcUnxnB_CAUwTKXltqPyxuQ0633Y8qyfKwYFrjtaBHWu-q2WTcsjW2C7XI27Epg/s5472/IMG_3166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Axi9Weu5fZJVxUnwxC8Mg7-z9flomvJw6U85p3hiJ4iDn3pjtsGGBQEDyA9GDmZ7l71m7Cb67gOia-liOvMvhVVequ0uxublllEnQLaOvBk9a2xGqBrYcUnxnB_CAUwTKXltqPyxuQ0633Y8qyfKwYFrjtaBHWu-q2WTcsjW2C7XI27Epg/w400-h266/IMG_3166.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>On June 9 I departed from this pattern and departed from Boston on a real United flight to London Heathrow. I spent nearly two weeks in England, first in London and then in Cambridge, exploring a few of my favorite simulator haunts for real. I stayed in London proper and used buses and trains to get around the city and out to the suburb of Epping for two amazing Cessna 172 cross country flights from North Weald Airfield. The photo below is the "M" bus stop from my Bermondsey flat kitchen window. My daily starting point was luckily close at hand. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXS6YUCRrMaSMqGqFUXGVlIcOuaCG4Kx0oHnEPV4pSiiMtShjm1xzPqt0z727sTv9mX0S9DPrW01MnJnS4eGdLVJlfP622939glPK6zRmyEkM7VlGbe9K_ppXUMjHx4BiesAdq9DRhH6Rw2Ae5-jRsuTwlKoiel2Gsv-WC6nfJxgfaeC8mQ/s4032/IMG_1257.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXS6YUCRrMaSMqGqFUXGVlIcOuaCG4Kx0oHnEPV4pSiiMtShjm1xzPqt0z727sTv9mX0S9DPrW01MnJnS4eGdLVJlfP622939glPK6zRmyEkM7VlGbe9K_ppXUMjHx4BiesAdq9DRhH6Rw2Ae5-jRsuTwlKoiel2Gsv-WC6nfJxgfaeC8mQ/w400-h300/IMG_1257.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><p>I then moved to Duxford, just south of Cambridge, where I spent a day exploring the enormous Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airfield and flying in two historic biplanes, a Tiger Moth trainer and a Dragon Rapide, a small passenger plane active in the 1930’s and 1940’s. I spent the remainder of the second week in a lovely flat in Cambridge, exploring the historic city on the ground. </p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UixtkYbGmnkpqqTSES0XRsqYWWqUyktE7yWZ-38JZb3DN6zCBI0t0pBpgSZyG97TM_ZghCaQyTsSpUkEcVdWRkQ8iquLCRyA67rfjSnuNAsTaRDgHXifK7IG3-WswdPPxWQu1YVUOU-_fMLO4nzBSlGcOQqKKWA2o--JkU-6_qk0_RRHOQ/s4032/IMG_1465.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UixtkYbGmnkpqqTSES0XRsqYWWqUyktE7yWZ-38JZb3DN6zCBI0t0pBpgSZyG97TM_ZghCaQyTsSpUkEcVdWRkQ8iquLCRyA67rfjSnuNAsTaRDgHXifK7IG3-WswdPPxWQu1YVUOU-_fMLO4nzBSlGcOQqKKWA2o--JkU-6_qk0_RRHOQ/w400-h300/IMG_1465.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I’ve been to London many times over the years, usually on business, once on vacation with my wife, who decided this time that COVID wasn’t quite “post” enough for her to feel comfortable traveling. But she encouraged me to go and scratch my aviation itch, so I started planning back in March. In addition to the flying, there were a few museums I wanted to visit. And parks. And pubs. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLaiI4IKKIjmcZe8ji8wftX8a1jK0VacvM7loBxWsGRl8waZ3e9tLRVuGXGu9VnSwjL7N3KHBMY8mM2xDjfH7h9kd0Pdi2oAdTxZ7ijbuaeMyy4pgsBf8b6iEVKBx1DsL1U1MlOwvfHPG4kJb85Y9kDC-bFDw960tcHjHP5oVTAQ2L9dRAg/s4032/IMG_1340.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLaiI4IKKIjmcZe8ji8wftX8a1jK0VacvM7loBxWsGRl8waZ3e9tLRVuGXGu9VnSwjL7N3KHBMY8mM2xDjfH7h9kd0Pdi2oAdTxZ7ijbuaeMyy4pgsBf8b6iEVKBx1DsL1U1MlOwvfHPG4kJb85Y9kDC-bFDw960tcHjHP5oVTAQ2L9dRAg/w400-h300/IMG_1340.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The first museum I explored was the HMS Belfast, a WWII-era Royal Navy cruiser now anchored in the Thames close to Tower Bridge and my temporary neighborhood. I’ve always been fascinated by ships and their history and the Belfast was great for that. The Tower Bridge and the London skyline looked stunning from the upper decks of the Belfast. </div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kBl1cuC2c0LT-LpWL-GqVY2Nv5xqTXAvrTrgE1K56KiWqhd9RbrbUnV8hRlJUs5FJpQHA7WKFR4C9uUKyndWmpY6FCcL83bJkEfYls40550NggUk_BOsrH9-_DIqky1QjiZ1NbpEMCcQBfhj4WoHR2aXJ3PDDCjxKTatxZ_Abhmx9eWvrg/s4032/IMG_1443.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kBl1cuC2c0LT-LpWL-GqVY2Nv5xqTXAvrTrgE1K56KiWqhd9RbrbUnV8hRlJUs5FJpQHA7WKFR4C9uUKyndWmpY6FCcL83bJkEfYls40550NggUk_BOsrH9-_DIqky1QjiZ1NbpEMCcQBfhj4WoHR2aXJ3PDDCjxKTatxZ_Abhmx9eWvrg/w400-h300/IMG_1443.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Later that Saturday I took a bus to Trafalgar Square to attend a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at the surprisingly small church of Saint Martin in the Fields. I’m not religious, but the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields Orchestra and Choir gave a heavenly performance of Mozart’s final masterpiece. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhLXTJV0socpjVdeckBR1xZfAwyI36QuDKeH2RSsfBpe2Dk_kIYOwYuydp082oEZqkX5gATWcUnr1uWmTJc-zM17M0zp4wYMbQt5nC68S7H1N40wm1Iq_5P-_B7-fiX3ILT1iF2Tl-RW4avyQGQhrJD1xoEf6zoJ2WKtiQ8bt3zwjexerXA/s5472/IMG_3083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhLXTJV0socpjVdeckBR1xZfAwyI36QuDKeH2RSsfBpe2Dk_kIYOwYuydp082oEZqkX5gATWcUnr1uWmTJc-zM17M0zp4wYMbQt5nC68S7H1N40wm1Iq_5P-_B7-fiX3ILT1iF2Tl-RW4avyQGQhrJD1xoEf6zoJ2WKtiQ8bt3zwjexerXA/w400-h266/IMG_3083.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Next up was a Sunday afternoon Cessna 172 flight from historic North Weald Airfield to the even more historic Duxford Airfield, just south of Cambridge. The plan was to land at Duxford, but my instructor couldn’t get approval for the landing, perhaps due to preparations for the big air show the following weekend. So we just circled the Duxford/Cambridge area before heading back towards London. It was a bit hazy and we couldn’t see much in detail, but I got to do all the flying on the 1.2 hour flight other than the landing and radio calls. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUrczeoPaiX328DESIqCQAObE23GgrBwW2CCvAiVRU-mSFW3r3x3lGre8JXhj2kJBCH-GvfYFzYRn__69VPDQRUtY9b1hPwxBILvW3_xsiBQQGj7Dh_9jzXIWu0J8FZcQVu-SNEW7qy6PLInHWMpVn5y7lfyNPv-GKZre0SHru9w4Wk2jyQ/s5472/IMG_3148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUrczeoPaiX328DESIqCQAObE23GgrBwW2CCvAiVRU-mSFW3r3x3lGre8JXhj2kJBCH-GvfYFzYRn__69VPDQRUtY9b1hPwxBILvW3_xsiBQQGj7Dh_9jzXIWu0J8FZcQVu-SNEW7qy6PLInHWMpVn5y7lfyNPv-GKZre0SHru9w4Wk2jyQ/w400-h266/IMG_3148.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, there’s more to history than airplanes and war, but my next stop was the main Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London. There were a few cool airplanes on display, as well as many artifacts and explanatory exhibits, with a major focus on WWI and WWII. I’ve read a lot of history, but I was reminded of and saddened by how much the descriptions of Hitler’s brutal actions in the 30’s and 40’s coincide with the recent actions of Putin in Ukraine. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7f0r6DsIfNo2Erw-h2bvTYDyup4SNduWY5-mu8HBzFu2GF0xxH3ZszdVHRDdIkILzbO9PVqR3D7E0_ZblQDk1oa_wsCe1adcVYy6Re90KwIT4GxvsQr2JdQ_q-_xj5ibRzufympYV-eRgkgEEZ1clvgCiLr-A4rN3Y01TkPXNF0Jilpjtg/s5472/IMG_3187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7f0r6DsIfNo2Erw-h2bvTYDyup4SNduWY5-mu8HBzFu2GF0xxH3ZszdVHRDdIkILzbO9PVqR3D7E0_ZblQDk1oa_wsCe1adcVYy6Re90KwIT4GxvsQr2JdQ_q-_xj5ibRzufympYV-eRgkgEEZ1clvgCiLr-A4rN3Y01TkPXNF0Jilpjtg/w400-h266/IMG_3187.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>In Flight Simulator, you are free to ignore airspace and safety restrictions, so I have often (virtually) flown low along the Thames and around the historic buildings and high rises of central London. This is not possible IRL, so I decided to ride the London Eye and take a River Thames tour to get as close as possible to my sim viewpoints. The Eye views were wonderful, though I wished I could see around the river bend to Tower Bridge. The boat took care of that nicely as we passed under the bridge. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS_aSN6D-jc4659GylakXtPG9BmuGzg88FQ50twHoLW2pdSqyfrqEzizXaMZExQz1cIqHkJvddQTt2H16BgXYY4i2EteMLmF1yJohE6yE7HvMeJyBY4Vu_OqkzkjMELg235ploIL4mAqfqQ0ZuSeRR5ogDjQelsA9Q8OGBd7EJdHCTVSIEA/s5472/IMG_3273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS_aSN6D-jc4659GylakXtPG9BmuGzg88FQ50twHoLW2pdSqyfrqEzizXaMZExQz1cIqHkJvddQTt2H16BgXYY4i2EteMLmF1yJohE6yE7HvMeJyBY4Vu_OqkzkjMELg235ploIL4mAqfqQ0ZuSeRR5ogDjQelsA9Q8OGBd7EJdHCTVSIEA/w400-h266/IMG_3273.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>On Wednesday, June 15, I went back to North Weald for my 2+ hour “Castles & Coast” C172 flight down to Dover. For this one, I was in the right seat since the tour route was planned for right-hand turns around the points of interest. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-FGqT-nv21RU9M6JodLHoUo3Fmf3V01G9uz9ZNmI09vCIPRauxrwUlo7P_Dsrj8_1JWCnqTylZWCqXsA3TmXLQNxkBBoycdZhGqsxeYcsUILJytV7RjdKyzdOhaqPNUIHtrRcI1gRGUjmNmqeFjpexfl7BuaWV2R53wvasxbHSB-69qYtw/s5472/IMG_3460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_-FGqT-nv21RU9M6JodLHoUo3Fmf3V01G9uz9ZNmI09vCIPRauxrwUlo7P_Dsrj8_1JWCnqTylZWCqXsA3TmXLQNxkBBoycdZhGqsxeYcsUILJytV7RjdKyzdOhaqPNUIHtrRcI1gRGUjmNmqeFjpexfl7BuaWV2R53wvasxbHSB-69qYtw/w400-h266/IMG_3460.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>We flew down to the Thames, circling historic Tilbury Fort, then followed the coast to the east and southeast to the fabled Cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle. As my instructor John and I flew low over the lush countryside of Kent, we circled lovely Leeds Castle and flew close enough to Canterbury for some nice views of its famous cathedral. I kept thinking of "Cambry" in the post-apocalyptic novel <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riddley_Walker">Riddley Walker</a></i> I read many years ago. That strange and wondrous book <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2017/nov/14/finding-your-way-around-riddley-walkers-world">takes place</a> in the area. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yVPCQqT8IWWj82440wQRZeHld3URC86wf5u6dLsPYpf8R_wB9-y5zhlMxR8S6xEP35yPIpzqhoB0SA7f8Zsq-W8aUQniB154odhQdIE-QpAGvKEjRYAvEd9bvDH67kfquCqlyE2_rWJYggyRC6maZoTiDQSKmck-gJT_NhU_Y_NuJIy69A/s1920/IMG_3513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yVPCQqT8IWWj82440wQRZeHld3URC86wf5u6dLsPYpf8R_wB9-y5zhlMxR8S6xEP35yPIpzqhoB0SA7f8Zsq-W8aUQniB154odhQdIE-QpAGvKEjRYAvEd9bvDH67kfquCqlyE2_rWJYggyRC6maZoTiDQSKmck-gJT_NhU_Y_NuJIy69A/w400-h225/IMG_3513.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I let John do most of the flying so I could focus on the sights and take pictures. Back at North Weald, I took a taxi and caught a Cambridge train, stopping for the night at Duxford, the site of another IWM at Duxford Airfield, the biggest air museum in Europe (that's North Weald in the photo below). </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokqm1GbSCmt-pqDNS8OFbb7XREDq6lGX4yV0K5hUE5OsdWDHTFHfLZg9Cr3XohqXY8o0-LjgJyzEwkTxi2XgrrBLccDw-cf6lmKjG7Yaf0fGDvekWswUj_j01SAjsS8tS7DwMCJ5qHocA4DBdvfEUibJJgFXne-sxueOdNLANu0ZKEWBatQ/s5472/IMG_3550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokqm1GbSCmt-pqDNS8OFbb7XREDq6lGX4yV0K5hUE5OsdWDHTFHfLZg9Cr3XohqXY8o0-LjgJyzEwkTxi2XgrrBLccDw-cf6lmKjG7Yaf0fGDvekWswUj_j01SAjsS8tS7DwMCJ5qHocA4DBdvfEUibJJgFXne-sxueOdNLANu0ZKEWBatQ/w400-h266/IMG_3550.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Up next: Duxford flights and a pint of DNA with Watson & Crick...</div>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0London, UK51.5072178 -0.127586223.196983963821154 -35.2838362 79.817451636178845 35.0286638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-44206191879818740582022-04-16T15:37:00.002-04:002022-04-16T15:46:06.102-04:00Earth Simulator (with Airplanes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GL9cGIxEUi80BT0-HaNkVOAf8d2rZ2BX_mqeZ74Yei1BL4uJ1AYB7TR4SklvZzBJy7-zQExIUEimJSoapB8crqQYsK4heAOpl2d4MWAo8-3Cc7_7GBWVpQMIdKwt3EvpPXtv317XQCy0_bSwd8ehb0u41ZtXuAotyUwgBqWB1rffkGyCpg/s3440/PT17%20Silver%20Phare%20de%20Gatteville%20FR%20(11).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GL9cGIxEUi80BT0-HaNkVOAf8d2rZ2BX_mqeZ74Yei1BL4uJ1AYB7TR4SklvZzBJy7-zQExIUEimJSoapB8crqQYsK4heAOpl2d4MWAo8-3Cc7_7GBWVpQMIdKwt3EvpPXtv317XQCy0_bSwd8ehb0u41ZtXuAotyUwgBqWB1rffkGyCpg/w400-h168/PT17%20Silver%20Phare%20de%20Gatteville%20FR%20(11).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I've resuscitated this blog to write occasionally on my continuing infatuation with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. If you've read any of my earlier posts, you will know that I am a lifelong "airplane nut" and that MSFS does a very good job of simulating the experience of flying an airplane, as well as any simulator I have tried that doesn't move. It's actually better in most ways than the few I've tried that </span><i style="text-align: left;">did </i><span style="text-align: left;">toss me around in a small capsule with a screen in front (I have not yet tried a full motion simulator with VR, which could be great or sickening or possibly both). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEzzaKZFBuXfF9Gd5W9tNlOmjuEn56tuhqdyjeaMN_G1kv8vFgQtQ04XHiUgd29dRPYx_PBbz4QwUvYiTc3DMLR_y5V5WjX9OsfW43zwatkwSoYiNIc3A2HreNUi8_dwFyy_W3Lv6bneegKnNopCPMAHIAIYxbORehvDNmWv4BwEO-Do6LA/s3440/MB339%20PAN%20GoPro%20Tests%20Cardiff%20Wales%20(17).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEzzaKZFBuXfF9Gd5W9tNlOmjuEn56tuhqdyjeaMN_G1kv8vFgQtQ04XHiUgd29dRPYx_PBbz4QwUvYiTc3DMLR_y5V5WjX9OsfW43zwatkwSoYiNIc3A2HreNUi8_dwFyy_W3Lv6bneegKnNopCPMAHIAIYxbORehvDNmWv4BwEO-Do6LA/w400-h168/MB339%20PAN%20GoPro%20Tests%20Cardiff%20Wales%20(17).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Even after hundreds of hours in the simulator, I am still finding new and wondrous things in the experience, and especially in the beautiful visual world as modeled within the simulator. As I have noted elsewhere, it is the combination of cloud computing, fast internet connections, fast computers, and advanced graphics processing that makes it all possible. Modeling the entire planet requires petabytes of data that can be selected and streamed "on demand" to your PC or XBox. There it is combined with flight modeling, weather modeling, sound modeling, and more to create the 25-60 high-res images per second needed to fool you into believing that you are in control of an airplane moving at extreme speed. One for each eye if you are in VR. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98Ys7k422lAma12ZcI6pE-omgQz0H0DMQXuOxaF2J7ef679s2yA-IWSOBXzWIQ14EozZg-AtZhLZAii5mb93X7OqgRzI7i_1l6_USlJjGxjeARFx_sm1MQTuuX33NtaFeIYmQwDHeOzA2_4JNocg2Mq6fB69tERLB3rRKLXsdWVVJ-PuWBg/s2719/PT17%20Silver%20VR%20Bryce%20Cyn%20NP1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="2719" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98Ys7k422lAma12ZcI6pE-omgQz0H0DMQXuOxaF2J7ef679s2yA-IWSOBXzWIQ14EozZg-AtZhLZAii5mb93X7OqgRzI7i_1l6_USlJjGxjeARFx_sm1MQTuuX33NtaFeIYmQwDHeOzA2_4JNocg2Mq6fB69tERLB3rRKLXsdWVVJ-PuWBg/w400-h188/PT17%20Silver%20VR%20Bryce%20Cyn%20NP1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>I sometimes like to fly amphibious planes so I can land in water or on a runway. If I'm using Live Weather or if I decide to crank up some wind at ground level, water operations can be challenging. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenPNWX5UbLxrYuyoOg2vO8AWeiFBIHLS5yoJuJH6nXbIJsdWzQQ5UpLas_z0E5TfMo0Ov3CPn1LL4qK_b_axAmoF1of8-LhNeELQOXK9Ps_PY_oqDhm9H7h5oEQzKfR5TvvLWoR7bbnPB4n3GdcUgnfJ_l3L5AwXFmfCEB29Mv1VS1YMyvg/s3440/Goose%20BluYelJB%20Green%20Isl%20AU%20Not%20a%20helo%20(8).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgenPNWX5UbLxrYuyoOg2vO8AWeiFBIHLS5yoJuJH6nXbIJsdWzQQ5UpLas_z0E5TfMo0Ov3CPn1LL4qK_b_axAmoF1of8-LhNeELQOXK9Ps_PY_oqDhm9H7h5oEQzKfR5TvvLWoR7bbnPB4n3GdcUgnfJ_l3L5AwXFmfCEB29Mv1VS1YMyvg/w400-h168/Goose%20BluYelJB%20Green%20Isl%20AU%20Not%20a%20helo%20(8).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I devoted <a href="https://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/2021/11/light-and-weather-in-microsoft-flight.html">an earlier post</a> to my amazement at the way light and weather are modeled in the sim, but sometimes I find new surprises. as when I was flying a silver PT-17 Stearman biplane near the Phare de Gatteville on the north coast of France, just after sunset. As I circled low around the lighthouse, the rotating beacon illuminated my wing, and the reflection was blinding! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GUaatx9s7mHpt4Jh60oqR4iIE8Mp5mdvPPgCps_uCVMSaD3A8r9BmrTLdWDmwqyO7xN4Oaw6hXRfbTN3_jjClZC9yIAiiNZeZKuGKZ9aXGiRwJXg4mr5Jx-Wwgml5OaOvoRE_YNmLXjFYQtJWalgmAC3ExuAq9DLj7KEBTMrenmlQCwE-w/s3440/PT17%20Silver%20Phare%20de%20Gatteville%20FR%20(23).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GUaatx9s7mHpt4Jh60oqR4iIE8Mp5mdvPPgCps_uCVMSaD3A8r9BmrTLdWDmwqyO7xN4Oaw6hXRfbTN3_jjClZC9yIAiiNZeZKuGKZ9aXGiRwJXg4mr5Jx-Wwgml5OaOvoRE_YNmLXjFYQtJWalgmAC3ExuAq9DLj7KEBTMrenmlQCwE-w/w400-h168/PT17%20Silver%20Phare%20de%20Gatteville%20FR%20(23).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Even as I have started to take some real-life refresher lessons in a Cessna 172, I continue to be fascinated by what is really more of a dynamic "Earth simulator" than a "mere" flight simulator. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlaYSfIefvYSTQp08S2tgofMAT4yDTChLy79JzlaYfVXHHfluuNuXaKNUkvqiC5TnhrengYcojegVhS7VNkdVAp5JqXqUNxXJYTI2P463q3gSZGXOL0D4eHfWfUxjPpjny20etyIMHwmzoulJCq_WIQdlqHddlL1LOldkJ5TTsAZ1TF0enw/s3440/F-104G%20RCAF%20Edwards%20AFB%20playtime%20(26).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTlaYSfIefvYSTQp08S2tgofMAT4yDTChLy79JzlaYfVXHHfluuNuXaKNUkvqiC5TnhrengYcojegVhS7VNkdVAp5JqXqUNxXJYTI2P463q3gSZGXOL0D4eHfWfUxjPpjny20etyIMHwmzoulJCq_WIQdlqHddlL1LOldkJ5TTsAZ1TF0enw/w400-h167/F-104G%20RCAF%20Edwards%20AFB%20playtime%20(26).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-38563191956965734472022-03-28T11:35:00.001-04:002022-03-28T17:02:12.319-04:00Mind the Power Lines!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11JDbZ9BAWUErI_BjqoslxjM_-csmU8WLyl2htMLWYh-JOcWzj9G2tD3DO0U5JoDrj_up6Dp2dhrKahi37DMp1RW8ad8SMri9rVb9srlvHASdjtq9gQAAkwMYdw9f-1Sb_tfPL6Mqj-a8xcAOMWyjcpxyM2w6IwIy5SlpEhfghL1cFUoSHQ/s3440/MB339%20MiGMan%20x2%20Pete%20Cardiff%20UK%20(9).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11JDbZ9BAWUErI_BjqoslxjM_-csmU8WLyl2htMLWYh-JOcWzj9G2tD3DO0U5JoDrj_up6Dp2dhrKahi37DMp1RW8ad8SMri9rVb9srlvHASdjtq9gQAAkwMYdw9f-1Sb_tfPL6Mqj-a8xcAOMWyjcpxyM2w6IwIy5SlpEhfghL1cFUoSHQ/w400-h168/MB339%20MiGMan%20x2%20Pete%20Cardiff%20UK%20(9).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) continues to provide a range of enjoyable distractions as I explore various corners of the world, usually in VR and often with online friends who share the virtual skies with me while sitting in Australia or Finland or wherever they may be. Recently I did some flying in Wales with my friend "<a href="http://www.migman.com/">MiGMan</a>." We tried out a new "low and slow" airplane on his <a href="http://www.migman.com/locale//cardiff.php">flight plan from Cardiff</a> (EGFF) and then went back to our usual Italian jet trainers, this time with a new custom paint job. He has posted excerpt videos from our flights <a href="https://youtu.be/QtKUgWl6qkw">here</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/jfl6gM92Etg">here</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/P-CN506Acls">here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1NaQyW2Apv3S2gSkIRzq-TeU4JLwjwCv9ShPnMU7nY5ygHZagMYYDSMzGcIfzBdoLtmJG-VQsYyWy8seB2aqI-N6Ln45DdIo7tYLY1XaNl7tEytuMG6oUf_5FBYAQ99WLe1G0Y9yCxA0hBmlhwsWozNoAMlwnov5H9XUQJ0_0ezKxhspKGw/s3160/Optica%20Cardiff%20UK%20Pete%20Multi%20VR%20(10).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="3160" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1NaQyW2Apv3S2gSkIRzq-TeU4JLwjwCv9ShPnMU7nY5ygHZagMYYDSMzGcIfzBdoLtmJG-VQsYyWy8seB2aqI-N6Ln45DdIo7tYLY1XaNl7tEytuMG6oUf_5FBYAQ99WLe1G0Y9yCxA0hBmlhwsWozNoAMlwnov5H9XUQJ0_0ezKxhspKGw/w400-h391/Optica%20Cardiff%20UK%20Pete%20Multi%20VR%20(10).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The <a href="https://orbxdirect.com/product/optica-msfs">Edgley Optica</a> is a slow, rather bug-like airplane with great visibility through its bubble canopy. Quite nice to fly in VR. In lieu of a copilot, it offers animated pets, a dog and a cat. Fortunately these can be turned off with a switch. The image above is a screenshot from one eye of my VR headset. The per-eye field of view is pretty small, but since the left and right eye images are offset and overlapped to produce a 3D stereo view, and since the view continuously updates as I turn my head, the headset gives a convincing illusion of a 360-degree world around me with no sensation of "tunnel vision."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxjhhiLbch6pgLlfoW2WwtPvG7mkFl84sy5QmZSKNSBxjZADKtULEpTu0G0p3X5maK30llEqEvvBYQxBeiRyZ9mLaIKlVuyZQQVcDi8MaQlZPMuySZVusYtkgV0KFQZxzLiiTsTUQOHstRCBsPoeDEO2BZFdqdWQacoS2CqQHrP8VoF3rqw/s3440/MB339%20PAN%20GoPro%20Tests%20Cardiff%20Wales%20(17).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxjhhiLbch6pgLlfoW2WwtPvG7mkFl84sy5QmZSKNSBxjZADKtULEpTu0G0p3X5maK30llEqEvvBYQxBeiRyZ9mLaIKlVuyZQQVcDi8MaQlZPMuySZVusYtkgV0KFQZxzLiiTsTUQOHstRCBsPoeDEO2BZFdqdWQacoS2CqQHrP8VoF3rqw/w400-h168/MB339%20PAN%20GoPro%20Tests%20Cardiff%20Wales%20(17).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Although VR is great while flying, it doesn't produce the best screen shots and videos, so I often use my wide screen when I want to take pictures. I'm experimenting with offset "GoPro camera" views like the one above, flying low over the Welsh countryside while avoiding terrain, <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/16674/we-love-vfr-region-2">radio towers</a>, and <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/26186/powerlines-and-solar-farms">power lines</a> like those shown here. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwP8KXz0hD_pe9pCvL_u9qDfZU-RX1S4E4iYtVCQEKV8ZlFWsRSjLgR1-_pgIwYvi8ZVXItnsPFqjBk6ky1lLY6lEtkHDK4vyEvUN-oDgoIpBOWla5Yoho3i0Nay0vMV7Toec0YANNqZA38SJkDgFlELPtTRVfPJRG058ZGsAbnN0wAmexg/s3440/MB339%20PAN%20GoPro%20Tests%20Cardiff%20Wales%20(23).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwP8KXz0hD_pe9pCvL_u9qDfZU-RX1S4E4iYtVCQEKV8ZlFWsRSjLgR1-_pgIwYvi8ZVXItnsPFqjBk6ky1lLY6lEtkHDK4vyEvUN-oDgoIpBOWla5Yoho3i0Nay0vMV7Toec0YANNqZA38SJkDgFlELPtTRVfPJRG058ZGsAbnN0wAmexg/w400-h168/MB339%20PAN%20GoPro%20Tests%20Cardiff%20Wales%20(23).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Here's another "GoPro" shot from the tail of the aircraft while in a loop over Cardiff. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS60Iw-HPOvZCHFxb-G9HtnKTxUgWFcZQ1nSKlu7n3B1vj0g8hJUdxuqKdTgDhfShULhw_bMP9AP58nOaJLJqtfhr7PoRiTqwQLX3zf_7WVlo3eM3EoT59HnGclmz1g7JeEuWDOkR6ZAkZduynEfl4CkAGZZFu_tM3j7kyVnDfkvY6kNJQRQ/s3001/MB339%20MiGMan%20Cardiff%20UK%20Pete%20VR%20Formation%20(12).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1871" data-original-width="3001" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS60Iw-HPOvZCHFxb-G9HtnKTxUgWFcZQ1nSKlu7n3B1vj0g8hJUdxuqKdTgDhfShULhw_bMP9AP58nOaJLJqtfhr7PoRiTqwQLX3zf_7WVlo3eM3EoT59HnGclmz1g7JeEuWDOkR6ZAkZduynEfl4CkAGZZFu_tM3j7kyVnDfkvY6kNJQRQ/w400-h250/MB339%20MiGMan%20Cardiff%20UK%20Pete%20VR%20Formation%20(12).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Formation flying in multiplayer is an interesting 3D motion problem. While 250 knots is slow for a military jet, you can get separated pretty fast at 4+ miles per minute. So you really need to pay attention to your throttle, trim, and position, making frequent small corrections to stay in sync with the other aircraft. This is a VR frame that was cropped. Fortunately the resolution is high enough to allow this, roughly 3100 pixels square for the HP Reverb G2 headset I use. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVevzFmhgUiRAAsnXxQNsb3h_h8874Mcc4JYyP5oBWtMbUP0eYTuvIhckCm4SBA7XxeeE1iIv-DkOanrGiTDLraRw20BKYuS_EdSM8FCkIXZRjM15wZb72q3kG0-qThiHpkOBVTrc_tIE1SXV1raNzGxtH7gPcW8eMgi5bRhIPUbmBjyEi3Q/s2048/IMG_2525.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVevzFmhgUiRAAsnXxQNsb3h_h8874Mcc4JYyP5oBWtMbUP0eYTuvIhckCm4SBA7XxeeE1iIv-DkOanrGiTDLraRw20BKYuS_EdSM8FCkIXZRjM15wZb72q3kG0-qThiHpkOBVTrc_tIE1SXV1raNzGxtH7gPcW8eMgi5bRhIPUbmBjyEi3Q/w400-h200/IMG_2525.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>Microsoft Flight Simulator lets you use location-based "Live Weather," or you can choose any weather and time of day you like (you can also choose the date which gives you the proper sun position for seasonal lighting changes). For multiplayer flights, we usually choose decent weather with few clouds and mild winds. But if you're up for an IFR challenge, you can fly in a thunderstorm if you like. We took a look here and went back to mostly blue skies. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI67pL4Z5k9F7fRV-np1bxlr8Kcgn7ZOhhsjp0dsuKaGOOxGyAN2gGc4pH1Few2H840UAyrC8852JivUK6ygWOdPZUQL0svjT0TuTqfAO4-i0MxJTChz2IP9_lVuL2cisi3LnAzHG9A4SQNnwIKYCZakfOSzYp2WjD_7Pt3j4FXv-DbDU0TQ/s3440/C172%20Blue%20N%20Weald%20Canterbury%20Clouds%20(3).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI67pL4Z5k9F7fRV-np1bxlr8Kcgn7ZOhhsjp0dsuKaGOOxGyAN2gGc4pH1Few2H840UAyrC8852JivUK6ygWOdPZUQL0svjT0TuTqfAO4-i0MxJTChz2IP9_lVuL2cisi3LnAzHG9A4SQNnwIKYCZakfOSzYp2WjD_7Pt3j4FXv-DbDU0TQ/w400-h168/C172%20Blue%20N%20Weald%20Canterbury%20Clouds%20(3).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Microsoft continues to update MSFS with new content every couple of months. Just last week they released a big "Iberia" update with new and enhanced scenery for Spain and Portugal. Looks good, but I've been more focused on the UK because of a "special project" coming up in June. I'll write more about this in the coming weeks. </p><p><br /></p></div>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-73261413361272164922022-03-06T16:10:00.000-05:002022-03-06T16:10:28.229-05:00Guns, Guns, Guns! (Not Really)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1NVupZuN2vMBtf8qKUrd-M7yco7ekVOqcX18AfU1E2p3sHLyodLQQJzFXNj7owUqBVmj_tjdhzWKmJfygLt-KL_9Iganix0aRpIRpSqKS_qNb4Ej0zL6-x97KMGUYKi3Aj6kfhwnzcHBPNhuFUsXtVWkcdnQ11dXw9bxr5Dr3fcpCze3S-Q=s2544" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2544" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1NVupZuN2vMBtf8qKUrd-M7yco7ekVOqcX18AfU1E2p3sHLyodLQQJzFXNj7owUqBVmj_tjdhzWKmJfygLt-KL_9Iganix0aRpIRpSqKS_qNb4Ej0zL6-x97KMGUYKi3Aj6kfhwnzcHBPNhuFUsXtVWkcdnQ11dXw9bxr5Dr3fcpCze3S-Q=w400-h226" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><p>One of the cool things about Microsoft Flight Simulator is the ability to do multiplayer flights with other players over the internet. I have done quite a few of these, most often group flights where we explore some interesting part of the world while we talk about flying or other things, over Discord or Skype. I've also done flights with my Australian friend Pete (a.k.a. "<a href="http://www.migman.com/">MiGMan</a>"), often testing out routes in his ongoing <a href="http://www.migman.com/sw/migman-world-tour/index.php">MiGMan's World Tour</a> (MMWT) Series. This is an enjoyable social aspect of flight simulation, where airplane nerds can talk with other airplane nerds about airplanes as they pretend to fly them!</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzaYHfb3YUEAmKui4N6pBrpL3DBOY3s55rZ5K0WMlecRz8Rijorn_8gMqk9rwHwTJlmop5DsU-8YrE1OhbELOVe1CD7-OoxXlvlATomXS9s6oBfGXzIs5WBGRTQOuT9EubJMztNHG_skFNzzENqB1zD389PJl_v0bHwMqIJb8_OuzMcBedrA=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzaYHfb3YUEAmKui4N6pBrpL3DBOY3s55rZ5K0WMlecRz8Rijorn_8gMqk9rwHwTJlmop5DsU-8YrE1OhbELOVe1CD7-OoxXlvlATomXS9s6oBfGXzIs5WBGRTQOuT9EubJMztNHG_skFNzzENqB1zD389PJl_v0bHwMqIJb8_OuzMcBedrA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><p>The other day we did some flying on a <a href="http://www.migman.com/country/italy/naples-211028.php">MMWT flight plan out of Naples, Italy</a>, visiting Mount Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast, and the lovely island of Capri. Pete captured and posted some pretty <a href="https://youtu.be/yw5bGXeGszU">cool videos</a> from those flights. Appropriately enough, we were both flying an Italian jet trainer, the Aermacchi <a href="https://orbxdirect.com/product/indiafoxtecho-mb339-msfs">MB-339</a> by IndiaFoxTecho, which is quite a sweet little airplane. </p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXeU3Naxt4Jg1tMbPPPbZIwkc3jmyFeyesqjSDA_w8cszMaFBI6hwdkhs_CPdJZXKdnTw-u5ZQ9eBo921dtuXQR3eX5NbtIwbKhDSjVWyuJhxDUvI-5iwERu0Fpf-UYuAWSrg5aiNpNypGxZcfwWkC_z9BX-fsKnVke-WZCuxsraKbhVaQYw=s2538" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2538" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXeU3Naxt4Jg1tMbPPPbZIwkc3jmyFeyesqjSDA_w8cszMaFBI6hwdkhs_CPdJZXKdnTw-u5ZQ9eBo921dtuXQR3eX5NbtIwbKhDSjVWyuJhxDUvI-5iwERu0Fpf-UYuAWSrg5aiNpNypGxZcfwWkC_z9BX-fsKnVke-WZCuxsraKbhVaQYw=w400-h228" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">One of things we work on is formation flight. This is something of a brain challenge since there are many things to keep "happy" if you want to fly two planes close together at 250+ knots. Military pilots do it all the time, but it's harder than it looks, even with VR or head-tracking hardware to simplify looking around. </span><span style="background-color: white;">We don't always fly tight but we have some fun moments. </span><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMGuHhZc0iQrhE_rCjnsjtbKoe-3fhD_KeRHPx-EfkyLwV7vUpU3mUcAg4w4XZvvnjAh5pLHDMUeaQd9btnX1y2dqjik4Me9bMkvL-k1Zd3ZxYIdxmoj3oWKNDlII7X0ng01USiOndphxsDDZXvyFj1LnZSJKKFQbs8kKDLFN7pmqHfwIeqw=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMGuHhZc0iQrhE_rCjnsjtbKoe-3fhD_KeRHPx-EfkyLwV7vUpU3mUcAg4w4XZvvnjAh5pLHDMUeaQd9btnX1y2dqjik4Me9bMkvL-k1Zd3ZxYIdxmoj3oWKNDlII7X0ng01USiOndphxsDDZXvyFj1LnZSJKKFQbs8kKDLFN7pmqHfwIeqw=w400-h200" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">Of course things </span><i>do </i><span style="background-color: white;">go wrong at times, as when I pulled too hard, stalled and </span><a href="https://youtu.be/oCPRmy_8cAg">"landed" on Mount Vesuvius</a><span style="background-color: white;">. It's a simulator so no harm done.</span></div><div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFGOKR1aX79LnBPHDDoJX6HSufYIAtVycvOhuhF5Y-hoWmk7K_By0BbIIIw8agqj04EH0pLQZK1QCvnWmdgizO4a7N4OCjbh4igxH4kC1wGjWmc0hxbEGMd3vFU-cwKVoMfZ6XNIX8n7b4yXW7Hbrx4w73vSZNfx-dCejBdQcmYlxQ7rc9Hw=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFGOKR1aX79LnBPHDDoJX6HSufYIAtVycvOhuhF5Y-hoWmk7K_By0BbIIIw8agqj04EH0pLQZK1QCvnWmdgizO4a7N4OCjbh4igxH4kC1wGjWmc0hxbEGMd3vFU-cwKVoMfZ6XNIX8n7b4yXW7Hbrx4w73vSZNfx-dCejBdQcmYlxQ7rc9Hw=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">We also did some <a href="https://youtu.be/MleEDhTBivk">simulated ACM</a> ("air combat maneuvers, a.k.a. "dogfighting") over and around the island of Ischia which was really fun. In VR, I can actually look all around </span><span style="background-color: white;">and up</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">simply by moving my head, and I try to keep the other plane in sight while maneuvering. As the "host," Pete was setting up the time of day and weather for both of us, but for some reason, mine was considerably more cloudy than his, and when we got above 5000 feet, I could lose him in the clouds. It looked so much like realistic semi-hazy VFR conditions that I didn’t mind. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipizjQQxReK99S5rVZ_Wf8lzO_iKh3IfsSKUfUoa_BUK4-GqKhfohCy4bs4016t6TeaAvtYKdfBD07RWXji3v6jTs7BVWMM4wJFuT2M8h_MwbOqEYMhThFINx9IZGkzBknLWQrsPqSvQKjixUSDmAgUxNjnNnAkPPSMud2TJ8HD2croOAeXA=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="1024" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipizjQQxReK99S5rVZ_Wf8lzO_iKh3IfsSKUfUoa_BUK4-GqKhfohCy4bs4016t6TeaAvtYKdfBD07RWXji3v6jTs7BVWMM4wJFuT2M8h_MwbOqEYMhThFINx9IZGkzBknLWQrsPqSvQKjixUSDmAgUxNjnNnAkPPSMud2TJ8HD2croOAeXA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">There are no weapons in Microsoft Flight Simulator, but you can pretend, as real pilots do in training. I even got to say cool fighter pilot stuff like “fight’s on,” “guns, guns, guns” and “knock it off.” The audio from the MB339 includes the sounds of your virtual pilot breathing hard and grunting to resist the effects of pulling 3 to 5 G’s, while I stayed at a comfortable 1G the whole time (I could have turned on the blackout simulation to force myself to limit the G more realistically).</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcuYznMDbSvJY2xNdr88ucnNEB-pN-rZsWqVNWBvOMDitpHrcFOcf0kKBhLTbNNz-7ENFJUc-HLH6zF1TMq6HJs8xhQdmR9CigPhdIlx_bsjQp9JO6yNtotV_nky23zFJgs8EbZxfX-LlDi4lIdKZ7yoDuHqU2h9u84uXRaZDDeXy9CNC8Mw=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcuYznMDbSvJY2xNdr88ucnNEB-pN-rZsWqVNWBvOMDitpHrcFOcf0kKBhLTbNNz-7ENFJUc-HLH6zF1TMq6HJs8xhQdmR9CigPhdIlx_bsjQp9JO6yNtotV_nky23zFJgs8EbZxfX-LlDi4lIdKZ7yoDuHqU2h9u84uXRaZDDeXy9CNC8Mw=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">Is all of this a waste of the beauty of coastal Italy? No, you can still enjoy the Mediterranean and all the beautiful beaches, towns, mountains, and volcanoes. You just have to try to not crash into them. </span><p></p></div>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-55119058022587018372022-01-26T11:01:00.001-05:002022-01-26T11:05:09.283-05:00Exploring Switzerland with MiGMan<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXuo9gGSUUSPPd93m5VAl8lgxguLq-Q_k9UWNpuEMI43QK_zUivaZ8WwB2dDYfEqbSidBEjMLCMgpL26hLdIN-8GdQ5qwL1itqTvMRYTXaKFlh3w-FspfkblKSCLlCejgWAfxAYacUiGOTZWKhspceWi9JKVCd2x6qepvT8NkXh6q3tEFJ-Q=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXuo9gGSUUSPPd93m5VAl8lgxguLq-Q_k9UWNpuEMI43QK_zUivaZ8WwB2dDYfEqbSidBEjMLCMgpL26hLdIN-8GdQ5qwL1itqTvMRYTXaKFlh3w-FspfkblKSCLlCejgWAfxAYacUiGOTZWKhspceWi9JKVCd2x6qepvT8NkXh6q3tEFJ-Q=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div>I've been virtually exploring many cool areas in Africa and Europe with the help of a new series of VFR flight plans for Microsoft Flight Simulator, <a href="http://www.migman.com/sw/migman-world-tour/index.php">MiGMan's World Tour</a>. They include a large number of locations with richly illustrated guides to help you decide where to fly next. The flights are fairly short (depending on the aircraft you choose) with an emphasis on the scenic and the unusual in the huge, detailed world of MSFS.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY4J2pnvNyI7I5mdp0I7SFv25qi6bEzLQNmaxnskq2IGdI2ha24VSsZnqtBzAKFwfC1WhnPXQ5vPWitQBt3iw-55YYt8GD0-gJzD0n-AoURG32xkS32gbUhckCfiR-wFoWdq1XaNbyorKhIDXncL-P8NxBHv1upOAt_HxMsm_xO1lLMS-1WA=s1920" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY4J2pnvNyI7I5mdp0I7SFv25qi6bEzLQNmaxnskq2IGdI2ha24VSsZnqtBzAKFwfC1WhnPXQ5vPWitQBt3iw-55YYt8GD0-gJzD0n-AoURG32xkS32gbUhckCfiR-wFoWdq1XaNbyorKhIDXncL-P8NxBHv1upOAt_HxMsm_xO1lLMS-1WA=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br />I made a <a href="https://youtu.be/6fyKP_II4IQ">new video</a> (music by <a href="https://soundcloud.com/flyingsinger/cumulo-nimbus-in-f-minor?in=flyingsinger/sets/instruments">me</a>) from a series of screen captures done on two flights around Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, both based on the same flight plan from MIGMAN'S FLIGHT SIM MUSEUM - <a href="https://secure.simmarket.com/migmans-flight-sim-museum-europe-visual-vol.4-msfs.phtml">EUROPE VISUAL VOL. 4</a>. I first flew the plan in the "wrong" order, crossing icy Lake Lucerne to the east at fairly high altitude, and with Live Weather - lots of snow and frozen lakes in January. Then I flew it again in the published way point order, this time at low level, with "cloudy horizon" weather and with the date set to late fall. So different! Here's <a href="https://youtu.be/6PovvEbnFhk">another version</a>, full video flown and narrated by MiGMan. <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIgje8grkN6WKzz-xEwe5CTTumPcEuQy87tRsvhVkWgy8z0vdMTON0ZwUvwrpBiiqtcrnwPDgElxjDVW6d2wgY6zQWVs5LjY_lyJzgJt5eh3OWTVFU8DUK0coJQ0M1XKWBHui27Pueqqhd-Ucer8j2DZy7q3DoKh-RDIaTTG71uTVWig31yQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="2048" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhIgje8grkN6WKzz-xEwe5CTTumPcEuQy87tRsvhVkWgy8z0vdMTON0ZwUvwrpBiiqtcrnwPDgElxjDVW6d2wgY6zQWVs5LjY_lyJzgJt5eh3OWTVFU8DUK0coJQ0M1XKWBHui27Pueqqhd-Ucer8j2DZy7q3DoKh-RDIaTTG71uTVWig31yQ=w400-h200" width="400" /></a></div><p>I was using <a href="https://secure.simmarket.com/bijan-habashi-4-season-pack_free-lod-for-msfs.phtml">Bijan's Four Seasons</a> addon to add variety to the vegetation, as well as addons for <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/26186/powerlines-and-solar-farms">powerlines</a> and <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/14840/project-litfts-europe">lifts </a>(ski lifts and cable cars are everywhere in Switzerland). You can see those (and avoid them) when flying down low. I was in VR which makes it easy to judge your position when flying low in valleys and around obstacles. I chose a new aircraft I just bought, YSIM's <a href="https://secure.simmarket.com/ysim-subsonex-jsx-2-msfs.phtml">SubSonex JSX-2</a> “personal jet” which is really fun in VR. A cozy little jet. I might build one! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN4gqAxfrOersNDJtIMPntHb9Yl4xdnzW4M-SoPuH1vJfKp3WzS2DGLwMU7tna72dir7eJLzzAo5xB-jPzOF5nK5HO9fB3UcGFHy0nk4toUCKVDFS7FnTy6wZqLU9YDnccFxaijwkP0JHRH9hBZci6k3YYVv4tmjmykrHwS4OxPIIKEqVi5g=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN4gqAxfrOersNDJtIMPntHb9Yl4xdnzW4M-SoPuH1vJfKp3WzS2DGLwMU7tna72dir7eJLzzAo5xB-jPzOF5nK5HO9fB3UcGFHy0nk4toUCKVDFS7FnTy6wZqLU9YDnccFxaijwkP0JHRH9hBZci6k3YYVv4tmjmykrHwS4OxPIIKEqVi5g=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvRR_EBUpuaevnZJzabCQFw">MiGMan’s World Tour</a> series has many great flight routes throughout Europe and Africa, so there’s no special need to fly the same one twice. But as you can see from these screenshots and especially in the video, changing the weather, the altitude, and the direction brings out different aspects of the beauty of Switzerland’s mountains, valleys, lakes, and towns. I also enjoy getting familiar with the terrain as I explore an area from different perspectives. So the “replay value” of these flight plans is excellent.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY-gkiu6T5wROllv77Z-v95NskB4oGBEImsb4V3BuRSoXHvLY2yc7XemL3c6-1w-HGpJca1guEBUrFldXL78KJubjkiBnWGN3SrWKIDm7rJKOAtayrDkY-csjCB9FOO46wSmPiQYMqqPK6NjKJaBqTinxzbOLj5k_n5glc4Rn_trsDu2H87g=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY-gkiu6T5wROllv77Z-v95NskB4oGBEImsb4V3BuRSoXHvLY2yc7XemL3c6-1w-HGpJca1guEBUrFldXL78KJubjkiBnWGN3SrWKIDm7rJKOAtayrDkY-csjCB9FOO46wSmPiQYMqqPK6NjKJaBqTinxzbOLj5k_n5glc4Rn_trsDu2H87g=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div>Of course Switzerland is amazing and these flights show that well. But there are hundreds of less famous but still beautiful places all around Europe and Africa, and this series has surprised me many times with unexpected wonders. If you love geography as I do, Microsoft Flight Simulator is the biggest and best playground ever, especially if you also like airplanes (as I apparently do). <p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvXvJElF-tFgR_DzwBlLLpgYkvWmyPBJgOnH2fW3XH83GTwmYJszYlAf0fAf-yoBgfgwOmeC4xueDsAp4B6ulS9gC1FHd0CPCzPd2HnCQS9_asYL_DvCmNwIs0NqNhwjS99JAW40rtsonjWPcdCBoLTloZEr4V4_8Tk9vXjxy0H4l0EMDmDA=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvXvJElF-tFgR_DzwBlLLpgYkvWmyPBJgOnH2fW3XH83GTwmYJszYlAf0fAf-yoBgfgwOmeC4xueDsAp4B6ulS9gC1FHd0CPCzPd2HnCQS9_asYL_DvCmNwIs0NqNhwjS99JAW40rtsonjWPcdCBoLTloZEr4V4_8Tk9vXjxy0H4l0EMDmDA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div>Microsoft points out that you can fly anywhere in the world, but as with real-world travel, it’s helpful to have an experienced guide who can lead you to incredible places you might never think to visit otherwise.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_jiTAi_3TZ2ui3R3a_hz2RuoGHlGoSQCErbPmfzIGbSU8FS6TpVDKzNfO3E_uixBg7bsFybu_mVrLN4eBfLOd1brClOZfZOU0JcwFIxBWjcdAoQcq3Ssfs1v59lpLBaGnkOqZ-Z0HMbAI_xTZhzlQXoy2JaBpTL43OOku7-RoP0pTIErM2A=s3440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_jiTAi_3TZ2ui3R3a_hz2RuoGHlGoSQCErbPmfzIGbSU8FS6TpVDKzNfO3E_uixBg7bsFybu_mVrLN4eBfLOd1brClOZfZOU0JcwFIxBWjcdAoQcq3Ssfs1v59lpLBaGnkOqZ-Z0HMbAI_xTZhzlQXoy2JaBpTL43OOku7-RoP0pTIErM2A=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-6358632306363417412021-12-22T20:53:00.003-05:002021-12-23T12:13:27.318-05:00Twelve Planes of Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9wKZfF1_xNQ-_iXnWtqcHnKqo1hi1Mn16IzspCONETKAlYhy5CUexqfgwaOucDo7NOMtpkzGTSrsOYO4shR6cl2k6UnXUmkDYJqhg57UB48fsUJuHODfwjDWEJgnfCOfLJJXVTw50w1zThTA4sVA61sbPqe_ELcb1IFVDUfwfmn1O7V_kNA=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9wKZfF1_xNQ-_iXnWtqcHnKqo1hi1Mn16IzspCONETKAlYhy5CUexqfgwaOucDo7NOMtpkzGTSrsOYO4shR6cl2k6UnXUmkDYJqhg57UB48fsUJuHODfwjDWEJgnfCOfLJJXVTw50w1zThTA4sVA61sbPqe_ELcb1IFVDUfwfmn1O7V_kNA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p>One of the great things about virtual stuff is that it doesn't take up much room. Take my fleet of airplanes, for example. Microsoft Flight Simulator starts you off with a pretty decent set of flyable airplanes, from the trusty Cessna 152 I used to learn to fly in real life to the Boeing 787. The "Premium Deluxe" edition includes 34 different planes, ranging from ultralights to general aviation standards to business jets and airliners. A recent update even added a jet fighter, the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, but there is no air combat support (there are other simulators for those who like to blow stuff up). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDTVQKGItDNrK2XanpIwf_u4ktiL93EVcfMKD1sb-dS7THWye6DAntWrChPFQIq-YmM-Pl8K9DykgxmXARfZSagZC0SVo5loL6ikv5q6unfKsZD-Nflp5VKbKS2-LnypKTYqt15oC7SOgavMgvO0pFbRrjwAJlxNj2vbdpY4uO1OaTT7iBBQ=s1303" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1303" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDTVQKGItDNrK2XanpIwf_u4ktiL93EVcfMKD1sb-dS7THWye6DAntWrChPFQIq-YmM-Pl8K9DykgxmXARfZSagZC0SVo5loL6ikv5q6unfKsZD-Nflp5VKbKS2-LnypKTYqt15oC7SOgavMgvO0pFbRrjwAJlxNj2vbdpY4uO1OaTT7iBBQ=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><p>Surely 34 airplanes is more than anyone can fly, right? Perhaps, but that doesn't stop third party developers from creating even more. I have bought quite a few of them and downloaded even more from freeware developers, some of whom do amazing work. I do like to fly a few of the standard planes, though I am not much into airliners and business jets. I tend to favor general aviation planes, bush planes, warbirds (older military planes, mostly props), and military jets. So in no particular order, here are twelve of my favorite planes for Microsoft Flight Simulator.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY23aRZCx_FjTG_Pn8QO5u8HwRM3h1AZolkPSsNqhZd9mKQ6v9tqOFyUoImnz-PkRACVeNrZSd_A_zE-9AoXOBoJ_XdAkx5xLgHRrK38pEe0FC5YWaaZi0QEX2GYJNrW2HwHLfKhMNg6Txx2ITuviCGN4hxTbV5SaHdvbqxx61G7ylAvuw2A=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjY23aRZCx_FjTG_Pn8QO5u8HwRM3h1AZolkPSsNqhZd9mKQ6v9tqOFyUoImnz-PkRACVeNrZSd_A_zE-9AoXOBoJ_XdAkx5xLgHRrK38pEe0FC5YWaaZi0QEX2GYJNrW2HwHLfKhMNg6Txx2ITuviCGN4hxTbV5SaHdvbqxx61G7ylAvuw2A=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>1. Cessna 172:</b> The 172 is a classic, essentially a four-seat version of the Cessna 152 I used to really fly. It's quite easy to operate, and I usually choose the "glass cockpit" version with the big color screens of the Garmin 1000 navigation system in place of the classic "round dials" for airspeed, altitude, etc. The <a href="https://bushtalkradio.com/">Bushtalk Radio</a> livery is promoting a cool free add-on that provides audio narration for thousands of points of interest around the world as you fly near them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3qNw5e8Hmca2IOFqGCewuZUL16aW9Y86TmMesPToCZrtr8uLSJ5VHsj2CdNHjaks_h8XRVvKYtvPpPysrvMsjaekYK_EgaG7GNtn-g67GU1nOMQ7bez2PrG9h7ahX5uN05PS6BPncZqdlyXhZX6jc0qDJWYM2IFZce-qe4wjh4ad9wGAXTA=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3qNw5e8Hmca2IOFqGCewuZUL16aW9Y86TmMesPToCZrtr8uLSJ5VHsj2CdNHjaks_h8XRVvKYtvPpPysrvMsjaekYK_EgaG7GNtn-g67GU1nOMQ7bez2PrG9h7ahX5uN05PS6BPncZqdlyXhZX6jc0qDJWYM2IFZce-qe4wjh4ad9wGAXTA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>2. Cub Crafters XCub:</b> The XCub is an updated version of the classic Piper Cub which I first flew as a Civil Air Patrol cadet back in 1967. I like the screenshot above which reminds me of how we would fly the Cub with the door open on warm days. My mother didn't like that but she still let me fly. The image at the top of this post is the XCub fitted with amphibious floats, flying near the Golden Gate Bridge. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi91Ns4jkSgVnJydshMp373IQ2PDH-Emm8dTyWtwj45O4VFu56vNvAfjZG7xOtKxW5q5mCt1DVW03J12ooGmqE-spnBI-FWFUaWEVS6yqcZexvQhwuJudOLUx42OzWnnrx4XzLAcv_CDx_-0uTA_k6BLKf0YmmDEywL47pbLK33WdCT13dxVg=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi91Ns4jkSgVnJydshMp373IQ2PDH-Emm8dTyWtwj45O4VFu56vNvAfjZG7xOtKxW5q5mCt1DVW03J12ooGmqE-spnBI-FWFUaWEVS6yqcZexvQhwuJudOLUx42OzWnnrx4XzLAcv_CDx_-0uTA_k6BLKf0YmmDEywL47pbLK33WdCT13dxVg=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>3. PT-17 Stearman: </b>The Stearman is a true classic, a tail-dragger open-cockpit biplane that first flew in 1936. It was a standard trainer for the US Army and Navy in WWII and was used for many years as a crop duster. It is capable of aerobatics, and I was fortunate enough to experience this myself on a flight in Chino, California in 1996, before I had started my flight training. The DC Designs model in Flight Simulator feels pretty real and has great sounds, including the creaking sound you get from the wing braces when you pull G's. Two silver PT-17's are also pictured above flying near Key West, Florida. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggcoqceTTG53JUdzb5iPeK7NcfZZAsSx6mXd0AyDPrs6-Bsujv3j4w1IHkZC_g3rIqnXSccRkjTJtDSUpgAo1y03dmmspM7bVyLD0jnUeOowCYtswGW0ko3fw0NdL0wSCx4rtIIAEG7bG-tF-_sm1j8I4MyBu3Bg4OlNvdc9NIlyWgdhzf9g=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggcoqceTTG53JUdzb5iPeK7NcfZZAsSx6mXd0AyDPrs6-Bsujv3j4w1IHkZC_g3rIqnXSccRkjTJtDSUpgAo1y03dmmspM7bVyLD0jnUeOowCYtswGW0ko3fw0NdL0wSCx4rtIIAEG7bG-tF-_sm1j8I4MyBu3Bg4OlNvdc9NIlyWgdhzf9g=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>4. Aermacchi MB-339A</b>: This Italian-made jet trainer by IndiaFoxTecho was the first paid add-on I got for FS2020 and it's still one of my favorites. It's got old-style "round dials" and support for traditional navigation methods like VOR (but no screens). It's not the fastest jet but it's very maneuverable and has been used by the flight demonstration team of the Italian Air Force as shown in the screenshot above, flying in the Swiss Alps. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiDiqDlUBGhlsg5FO0_s-fAM9OInPeSAbL9qFAss9cKVb4fqo5AlSp3NCjjN8GvLw0R3Yd1XBT-eWrmtiK0xLpBuxUDwnOfB_x802Dix6tQ0rJ8gMmOcRPwiz--LT0uXtk7giLvHIxTG5c4I9M5XVTEdW2f10cO2FSoMFdAQIBGJlX6XY_vg=s3208" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1397" data-original-width="3208" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiDiqDlUBGhlsg5FO0_s-fAM9OInPeSAbL9qFAss9cKVb4fqo5AlSp3NCjjN8GvLw0R3Yd1XBT-eWrmtiK0xLpBuxUDwnOfB_x802Dix6tQ0rJ8gMmOcRPwiz--LT0uXtk7giLvHIxTG5c4I9M5XVTEdW2f10cO2FSoMFdAQIBGJlX6XY_vg=w400-h174" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>5. Beechcraft Bonanza G36</b>: The Bonanza G36 is a modern version of a low-wing general aviation plane popular for many years. It's got the same avionics system as the Cessna 172 (Garmin G1000) but it has a more powerful engine and retractable landing gear, making it a lot more speedy. I would love to have a real one! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4pL2nQ5zwf9GqDMrkbzV6axsnyB3lrWMrJ_vQecOixMumBvrP5NVh4YVYl6oXrojkAMkYF3AdA5PxzHGCHYbr7SUL6Ha1g9P9FUKdpVWjBicHBzyshRT23jRmQw5w1F7TTOisbDJi6gTzWmIq2KvLPAHSKLPadcAKKfj4IF3LIoroEfeoeg=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4pL2nQ5zwf9GqDMrkbzV6axsnyB3lrWMrJ_vQecOixMumBvrP5NVh4YVYl6oXrojkAMkYF3AdA5PxzHGCHYbr7SUL6Ha1g9P9FUKdpVWjBicHBzyshRT23jRmQw5w1F7TTOisbDJi6gTzWmIq2KvLPAHSKLPadcAKKfj4IF3LIoroEfeoeg=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>6. Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX:</b> The Spitfire is one of those airplanes that can justifiably be called iconic. First flown in 1936, it was one of the heroes of the Battle of Britain in 1940, alongside the Hawker Hurricane. I don't fly the Spitfire in the sim as much as many other planes, in part because it is realistically tricky to land and handle on the ground. But every time I fly it I realize it's one of the most beautiful machines ever made, and Flying Iron has recreated it in fine detail. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJlQd2eULtZMm62w7SiCscRTS58twYZSXlSxDA6xC2-jIy9aWq7p1GMxjiTmfT54pVP-RD8LCPMGZbxBb_laoPAfoD7O01z37gymEiTcgq82wfcxsCmotFd3kOre56NPeHUZntMNO7Fdr4RLaj2xrhy6MMG68So7GcMkFhOwqumQP-erBcKA=s2824" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="2824" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJlQd2eULtZMm62w7SiCscRTS58twYZSXlSxDA6xC2-jIy9aWq7p1GMxjiTmfT54pVP-RD8LCPMGZbxBb_laoPAfoD7O01z37gymEiTcgq82wfcxsCmotFd3kOre56NPeHUZntMNO7Fdr4RLaj2xrhy6MMG68So7GcMkFhOwqumQP-erBcKA=w400-h186" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>7. Top Rudder 103 Ultralight: </b>I have never flown an ultralight in real life and I'm not sure I would. I bet it would be great fun, but I like the feeling of a fuselage and windows around me, not just a lawn chair with a seatbelt and a bunch of metal tubing. But in the sim it's great for when you want to get low and slow and explore the scenery. Here I was flying over the Cerne Abbas Chalk Giant in Dorset, England. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCQv9xNC0M9ILWbcuppdWshGDjoNLUzG6g2kjAiD-P7ixWBEmD2eJzZ7ROwQbMNd_Coyz9GIYnTjKSfrSpU4nbnRvuFwdHkYq6ibe5awY0F7cyuHfLn6Y_RfDEaajgPpSertxMFEoWZdGWF2r93QIFK5Ep4vnzpeYZApotbdghQc33MMwQ8Q=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgCQv9xNC0M9ILWbcuppdWshGDjoNLUzG6g2kjAiD-P7ixWBEmD2eJzZ7ROwQbMNd_Coyz9GIYnTjKSfrSpU4nbnRvuFwdHkYq6ibe5awY0F7cyuHfLn6Y_RfDEaajgPpSertxMFEoWZdGWF2r93QIFK5Ep4vnzpeYZApotbdghQc33MMwQ8Q=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>8. Daher Kodiak 100:</b> This is my latest toy, a single-turbine-engine, short-takeoff-and-landing utility plane that I first learned about from the great YouTube videos of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/MissionarybushPilot">Missionary Bush Pilot</a> in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Ryan flies passengers and cargo to remote jungle airstrips in all sorts of conditions while calmly explaining it all to his YouTube fans. So I was very excited when this plane was announced for FS2020, and SimWorks Studios has done an amazing job simulating the many details and the flight characteristics. The interior is pretty nice too (see image at end below). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCukOncK5Wk9wRif0Aiu2-NAxRZj8ILOqD9Jd-1IWEe923XMVGKpwOlJZIV8-GWySI5t1IbIlNFgPh2pVZoHrJxR6a1lRDyE2G0Uc2EjMC1QPpKbJBWELjShDIK-nkTFIvxQiBZ_5Fc2C5OzHVFbVmeBWuSJR8o5Q6w7xsz666SxgzXWR4lQ=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhCukOncK5Wk9wRif0Aiu2-NAxRZj8ILOqD9Jd-1IWEe923XMVGKpwOlJZIV8-GWySI5t1IbIlNFgPh2pVZoHrJxR6a1lRDyE2G0Uc2EjMC1QPpKbJBWELjShDIK-nkTFIvxQiBZ_5Fc2C5OzHVFbVmeBWuSJR8o5Q6w7xsz666SxgzXWR4lQ=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>9. General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon:</b> The F-16 is one of my all-time favorite airplanes and was the very first one I ever experienced in a flight sim, way back in 1994 with Falcon 3. I also spent time with the much more detailed Falcon 4.0 late in the 1990's. Those were combat flight sims and though I wasn't all that great at air-to-air or air-to-ground, it sure was fun. This version of the F-16 by SC Designs is visually amazing and flies very smoothly. It can carry weapons but they are for visual effect only. In the screenshot above, a two-seat F-16D is making an uncomfortably low pass over the mountaintop <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleakal%C4%81_Observatory">Haleakalā Observatory</a> in Maui, Hawaii.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnciRreiRNqMRbiaDevGMS_EMtON4ueo0WiRS_kxUH0wtU8-Lbb4FRFBo9qioAlAevi6xX6HfuidztEZLI1-Jz3w21Ar9G55d9ZJ7cMk31hch74dlxpQYEkZRQi0aq99Olve6Z4dBUBtJLGdjXFsYCuSjApZ1uJE2DEOLOX10WLvOJ9pUMiw=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnciRreiRNqMRbiaDevGMS_EMtON4ueo0WiRS_kxUH0wtU8-Lbb4FRFBo9qioAlAevi6xX6HfuidztEZLI1-Jz3w21Ar9G55d9ZJ7cMk31hch74dlxpQYEkZRQi0aq99Olve6Z4dBUBtJLGdjXFsYCuSjApZ1uJE2DEOLOX10WLvOJ9pUMiw=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>10. Grumman Goose:</b> Although I am not big into water sports or boating, I've discovered an unexpected love for amphibious float planes since FS2020 came out. Several of my smaller single-engine favorites such as XCub and Cessna 172 have float options, as does the recently added Pilatus PC-6 Porter turbine single. But I also love this <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/19718/grumman-goose-g21a-redux-ii">freeware version </a>of the classic twin-engine Grumman Goose which first flew in 1937. Sure it looks like a cartoon airplane, but it's really fun to fly. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioJqxMrz7VSLpBye_CNfJt997SAENRhLFGtD0ya9BnuI6-jb7SPrejRh74s3mvWnLGU8-tKdRLFWLfsPHsC15VW6HE_RChZJqT9XGRcZBxTxuVZRu3HyR6lJduY7S6iPdaZSlNiwQUCW6bkVB1DEImSEGWdezWL7Ge4DyuSiYlm0lHlZ6MsA=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioJqxMrz7VSLpBye_CNfJt997SAENRhLFGtD0ya9BnuI6-jb7SPrejRh74s3mvWnLGU8-tKdRLFWLfsPHsC15VW6HE_RChZJqT9XGRcZBxTxuVZRu3HyR6lJduY7S6iPdaZSlNiwQUCW6bkVB1DEImSEGWdezWL7Ge4DyuSiYlm0lHlZ6MsA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p><b>11. Lockheed-Martin F-22 Raptor:</b> This is another surprisingly good <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/16413/lockheed-martin-f-22a-raptor-top-mach-studios-freeware-edition">freeware airplane</a>. It's very fast and easy to fly. The real one is also supposed to be easy to fly, which it should be at something like $300 million per plane. It's also pretty in menacing predatory reptile sort of way. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9pBgHJfoum2K_WN1NvhHa5acYgWWW5KX_CCd5XUhb1jIPAcHZWmGplLG8y8CZzjsbqHkRiVo0pl7iSEHSA-U8jwabsOAlIbXIVZDO9NgFd9GS1uxIH3wndBZfnkT6wOYb4folwJ71YwVAG38dOtjA5z4Z6IREjpH0eQDeTjPdAjBJtAyuCA=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9pBgHJfoum2K_WN1NvhHa5acYgWWW5KX_CCd5XUhb1jIPAcHZWmGplLG8y8CZzjsbqHkRiVo0pl7iSEHSA-U8jwabsOAlIbXIVZDO9NgFd9GS1uxIH3wndBZfnkT6wOYb4folwJ71YwVAG38dOtjA5z4Z6IREjpH0eQDeTjPdAjBJtAyuCA=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div><p>12. <b>Nieuport 17: </b>Number 12 already? How can I leave out the P-38? The P-40? The Long-EZ? The T-45C? The Hawk T.1? All the beautiful Diamond airplanes? All the business jets and airliners? The truth is I rarely fly biz jets or airliners. I'm more a VFR-fun-flying kinda guy, though I do enjoy planning a longer IFR flight now and then. But my final entry is a French sesquiplane (one-and-a-half wings) that first flew 105 years ago, in January 1916. Only replicas of this classic WWI fighter exist today, but Big Radials made a very nice virtual model that's quite fun to fly, especially in VR. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgQrEoeDIzmso3euMSUtsnQf0bIMTA4k6cWnHDk-dK6WnML5VMgsAqABGcB3kpKlBgvha9Ks8m-V3jVungBpFK69Z5AlQYaj6Erd7V9dZoQ1CEWkvlcK4v9JIftzElNUjMsNii3Dk_z6JtOIZV_ceKmYoAJ-8oTDD4uP51s7EJWkfOukbIlg=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgQrEoeDIzmso3euMSUtsnQf0bIMTA4k6cWnHDk-dK6WnML5VMgsAqABGcB3kpKlBgvha9Ks8m-V3jVungBpFK69Z5AlQYaj6Erd7V9dZoQ1CEWkvlcK4v9JIftzElNUjMsNii3Dk_z6JtOIZV_ceKmYoAJ-8oTDD4uP51s7EJWkfOukbIlg=w400-h168" width="400" /></a></div>Interior view of the Kodiak 100 parked at the airport at Milford Sound, New Zealand.<br /><p><br /></p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-17133564948313540352021-11-09T15:45:00.010-05:002021-11-10T10:29:30.171-05:00Light and Weather in Microsoft Flight Simulator<p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0d15QraEiNjUm24G3vqyYhKZ0dA1gOwwMob0VQ5SvZWdAzG4LTfj6Kc2FTxGXiR7tYLdcSrHFv80hWz-Cfl-kJNDK3RJcwUQm_mzO3O51rP-WuQAKm5bndv55XDU4DytkO_yP/s3440/1CE9E1CA-8AFB-4C6E-A3F4-3AD2634F084D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0d15QraEiNjUm24G3vqyYhKZ0dA1gOwwMob0VQ5SvZWdAzG4LTfj6Kc2FTxGXiR7tYLdcSrHFv80hWz-Cfl-kJNDK3RJcwUQm_mzO3O51rP-WuQAKm5bndv55XDU4DytkO_yP/w400-h168/1CE9E1CA-8AFB-4C6E-A3F4-3AD2634F084D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Fans of flight simulators often talk about how “immersive” a sim
is. It’s about how much the sim experience makes you feel like you’re flying a
real airplane. Visuals are obviously a key component, and VR can take this to a
higher level in terms of feeling truly surrounded by a 3D environment made up of
the structures of your aircraft as well as all the natural and human-built objects
in the simulated world around you. Sound is also very important, as are
physical controls like yokes and rudder pedals (controlling an airplane with a
keyboard is definitely an immersion killer). Realistic ATC (Air Traffic Control) communications are
important especially for airliners and military flight sims.</p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: "UICTFontTextStyleTallBody",serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivetZu3DixriLTq9YZwwGQkw1Z_DLdlJr1rMGYh9MTy39Yytx55aFE2SnKmU8TPPqOFZcwBDvesFYaKw2Bl9cOS4bmBHNkmMJy7oE-IXNZCM01VeTUNUvkgjhpKlTb-pQqTVpI/s3440/1F43441C-EB4D-44AF-BAEB-AC88846CE2E1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivetZu3DixriLTq9YZwwGQkw1Z_DLdlJr1rMGYh9MTy39Yytx55aFE2SnKmU8TPPqOFZcwBDvesFYaKw2Bl9cOS4bmBHNkmMJy7oE-IXNZCM01VeTUNUvkgjhpKlTb-pQqTVpI/w400-h168/1F43441C-EB4D-44AF-BAEB-AC88846CE2E1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 addresses all these components,
but to me, lighting and weather are the pieces that really pull it all
together. Things we take for granted in real life like shadows, reflections,
transparency, refraction, and color shifts are all well-simulated in MSFS. Making
things look real also requires careful attention to materials and to how light
interacts with them, including their colors and how shiny or rough they appear
to be, which also affects color. </p><o:p></o:p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv9NujMWZI5BJPvfjBdRL1LZblJ0ZbbQYik_T59G5uMGBvz8L0zwqJZN_5BSU_1aM4J0zwqIw8xLE6qJO5lPcrScTwFhe2Wq_sQdt-gmZAqmHZkc5XBtCD9O5zVnlC8RwS9_6/s3440/PT17+BTR+Bungle+Bungle+N+Australia+%252811%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv9NujMWZI5BJPvfjBdRL1LZblJ0ZbbQYik_T59G5uMGBvz8L0zwqJZN_5BSU_1aM4J0zwqIw8xLE6qJO5lPcrScTwFhe2Wq_sQdt-gmZAqmHZkc5XBtCD9O5zVnlC8RwS9_6/w400-h168/PT17+BTR+Bungle+Bungle+N+Australia+%252811%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">MSFS uses techniques called PBR (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physically_based_rendering">physically based rendering</a>) to
pull this off. Notice how the yellow features in this Stearman paint scheme (above) are
reflected and distorted in the shiny blue fabric panels of the wings. The
colors are shifted by these reflections as well as by shadows and by the angle
from the sun at which you are viewing the surface. PBR techniques are also used
to make buildings, runways, and other surface objects appear more realistic,
often in combination with photogrammetry. </p><o:p></o:p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5bb5UNX2adSdgvSGrcizc3anANzH56KG1k2nrleaSeemYtr-O409CJuWnow3R_HUnJAmP6lJm1fJEaxw8AMH92qLS5BBvA6Uvtb1RJJUlIeS8S07Ed4tPoS8YsZo9GRAAwg_/s3440/XCub+BTR+Italy+coast+Naples+to+Capri+%252817%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5bb5UNX2adSdgvSGrcizc3anANzH56KG1k2nrleaSeemYtr-O409CJuWnow3R_HUnJAmP6lJm1fJEaxw8AMH92qLS5BBvA6Uvtb1RJJUlIeS8S07Ed4tPoS8YsZo9GRAAwg_/w400-h168/XCub+BTR+Italy+coast+Naples+to+Capri+%252817%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogrammetry ">Photogrammetry</a> uses photographic imagery for measurement purposes,
and in MSFS, this real-world data allows many cities to appear nearly
photorealistic. Based on the resolution of the captured data, objects as small
as signs on buildings may be readable, depending on your position and altitude.
Technologies such as radar and lidar can also be used to accurately measure the
height of terrain, and such data is often available to simulation modelers. Although MSFS recreates the entire surface of the Earth, the
level of available detail varies by location, with many major cities covered by detailed photogrammetry (like New York City, shown in a VR stereo pair below), while many others depend on AI-based “autogeneration” of 3D objects
including buildings, mountains, trees, etc. </p><o:p></o:p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyQ30oXWM6c37PKxm06Ud1sUou1zEtW6Ay3zxigkrXt6ktUntSdRms2nUXJvS_Hr7ysKAF_4YCfYaRSxPsPs9s_4EuztvbIy_HsQCkhrbvO87aB4G99ZDFP-mw_KkPATzNIs-/s2833/F6227850-CEDF-46F3-8BCC-132D04731D84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1305" data-original-width="2833" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyQ30oXWM6c37PKxm06Ud1sUou1zEtW6Ay3zxigkrXt6ktUntSdRms2nUXJvS_Hr7ysKAF_4YCfYaRSxPsPs9s_4EuztvbIy_HsQCkhrbvO87aB4G99ZDFP-mw_KkPATzNIs-/w400-h184/F6227850-CEDF-46F3-8BCC-132D04731D84.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The appearance of objects in a simulation naturally depends on
light sources, and MSFS incorporates multiple light sources starting with the
sun and the moon (both accurately positioned based on the location, date, and time
of day). I believe starlight is also modeled. Human-made light sources include streetlights,
vehicle lights, light from building interiors, airport lighting, etc., and what amazes me is when
light sources interact with surface properties (reflecting or scattering) as
well as with atmospheric properties like clouds, mist, rain, and snow. The resulting scenes can be uncannily realistic.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCH3pjMKdW9QMIvbXvlNwxVyEadVsGQWwMkjIdP9t5G1DgAEIFG8UGmJff8d0T-Bn5A-tL1NHiR7D-cJNfJYjQ43En5iHh70HXiwGpQqgVJnPsuKLUxloIwsRQ76mkqt3RQ4J/s3440/MB339+PC+Pilot+UK+tour+part+3+Test+%252811%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCH3pjMKdW9QMIvbXvlNwxVyEadVsGQWwMkjIdP9t5G1DgAEIFG8UGmJff8d0T-Bn5A-tL1NHiR7D-cJNfJYjQ43En5iHh70HXiwGpQqgVJnPsuKLUxloIwsRQ76mkqt3RQ4J/w400-h168/MB339+PC+Pilot+UK+tour+part+3+Test+%252811%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;">Speaking of rain and snow, weather is the other big piece of “immersiveness”
I wanted to briefly discuss here. It’s a critical subject in real life aviation
and in the sim. Microsoft and Asobo and their partners have placed huge
emphasis on making weather look and feel right, and the system they developed
is incredibly detailed, flexible, and easy to control.</span></p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span><p></p><p>
</p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilH4qIauATLy1CoM0dAzQ2jX5TzKdKDau2m95T7_aKvwBXqiCgj1YGiTNzd7sP_hXl_ic7m9LX9CUQ1b6plnsd2oWAPMumg4JvZMLDGgjd2TMwtUDYB0yDZRLYHM37RDFSMvlw/s3440/Icon+A5+Kenmr+Olympia+WA+weather+Testing+%252839%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilH4qIauATLy1CoM0dAzQ2jX5TzKdKDau2m95T7_aKvwBXqiCgj1YGiTNzd7sP_hXl_ic7m9LX9CUQ1b6plnsd2oWAPMumg4JvZMLDGgjd2TMwtUDYB0yDZRLYHM37RDFSMvlw/w400-h168/Icon+A5+Kenmr+Olympia+WA+weather+Testing+%252839%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Not only can you adjust any location's time and weather to your
choosing - from clear skies to heavy clouds, to snow and storms – with “Live
Weather,” you can even set it to match real conditions taking place in that
part of the world. But if you don’t like the time of day, the wind, the height
of the clouds, the height of the waves, or the depth of the snow cover, you can change any of that without
even stopping your flight, using the interface shown above. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif; font-size: 13pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9BL5xa0IVbWalTRBYfF4eiDYj2Ewo6yS0wsdhXoCUIdld1XN1qYynNNHEvBFkYprEMsVIA01DQW6O71wGkAj5SIzHGDaJHGe2kocbG7BrUDhvbviBE5_RyvLhO4HIlh4rkWZ/s3440/Icon+A5+Kenmr+Olympia+WA+weather+Testing+%25285%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9BL5xa0IVbWalTRBYfF4eiDYj2Ewo6yS0wsdhXoCUIdld1XN1qYynNNHEvBFkYprEMsVIA01DQW6O71wGkAj5SIzHGDaJHGe2kocbG7BrUDhvbviBE5_RyvLhO4HIlh4rkWZ/w400-h168/Icon+A5+Kenmr+Olympia+WA+weather+Testing+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Rather than drone on and on about this, allow me to recommend two brief developer videos that clearly explain how they managed to make the weather so real, it can get scary at times. Fortunately I can switch to clear skies anytime and (usually) not hit the mountain that was behind that cloud!</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17.3333px;">Feature Discovery Series, Episode 2: <a href="https://youtu.be/i8TGT87Fxyw">Weather </a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleTallBody, serif;">Partnership Series: Meteoblue - <a href="https://youtu.be/3AfQGA8i7uQ">Weather Forecast System</a></span></p></div></div>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-74857937020057451462021-11-01T16:29:00.002-04:002021-11-01T16:32:09.146-04:00Why Things That Fly Are Cool<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_e_3mh4eDPJ0AV_AClWPWcHJRBSeSyYxMlOsgsQNQwI0J-gpDY_1oWVD8sp0Xj6R-Y-K403UDOEWdEy5zf2mh5IeS5LOzE_fEfuM8offIQNu86FUVIdEvdeFxd2pE1bQjGYc/s2451/IMG_1062.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1838" data-original-width="2451" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_e_3mh4eDPJ0AV_AClWPWcHJRBSeSyYxMlOsgsQNQwI0J-gpDY_1oWVD8sp0Xj6R-Y-K403UDOEWdEy5zf2mh5IeS5LOzE_fEfuM8offIQNu86FUVIdEvdeFxd2pE1bQjGYc/w400-h300/IMG_1062.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I blame my main life obsessions on John Glenn and the
Beatles: things that fly and making music. The flying bit started first, in 1962.
In February of that year, John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit
the Earth. I was nine years old and for reasons I don’t fully understand, the
whole space thing was immediately very exciting to me. I must have watched the
launches on TV and seen the pictures in LIFE Magazine. I started reading
everything I could about the astronauts and soon learned that they were first
military jet pilots. So I decided that’s what I would be. I’m sure around a
million other American kids decided the same thing. The Beatles and making
music came a few years later.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSPonTE_IbkC0b1nGm6YOkriJSxBoFHpn7nbBG0rjSdW_KIPGdmldEq_NCuF8vJoxBoQ9KU1z7igDFSKtoDWoD1wffkyGWMXebaglCmcfzem1zdjpLUXVywlP7ISiTby1vgyX/s1979/26_Original.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1484" data-original-width="1979" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSPonTE_IbkC0b1nGm6YOkriJSxBoFHpn7nbBG0rjSdW_KIPGdmldEq_NCuF8vJoxBoQ9KU1z7igDFSKtoDWoD1wffkyGWMXebaglCmcfzem1zdjpLUXVywlP7ISiTby1vgyX/w400-h300/26_Original.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I stuck with my Air Force Academy, jet pilot, test pilot, astronaut
dream for around three years until it was shattered by myopia. I get that
military pilots must have uncorrected 20/20 vision, and even though I was too
nearsighted to fly for the Air Force, my interest in space and aviation
continued. I decided I would be an aeronautical engineer. I read books and built
dozens of model airplanes, and when I was around 12, I joined Civil Air Patrol
(CAP). It was something like boy scouts sponsored by the Air Force, but even
better – they had airplanes! Cadets could go on demonstration flights in a
Piper Cub! They would even let you fly the plane! It was the best thing ever.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8A8dQIR2txcqNI245-dAZw0zdoliucFlZZDfYhqmDdQlMOnCFamjdRy485eBiJQe3CC9m1ApiB44mlglH5DjjYu3UzzK_PWIHrxTGMEbkU2foj8xwa4260hKNC0AcLTJCqHn/s4032/IMG_7809.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8A8dQIR2txcqNI245-dAZw0zdoliucFlZZDfYhqmDdQlMOnCFamjdRy485eBiJQe3CC9m1ApiB44mlglH5DjjYu3UzzK_PWIHrxTGMEbkU2foj8xwa4260hKNC0AcLTJCqHn/w400-h300/IMG_7809.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><br />CAP faded in high school as I developed other interests
(e.g., the Beatles) and my parents got tired of schlepping me to the airport. I
still built model airplanes and loved everything about flying, and I still
assumed I would study aeronautical engineering and get a private pilot’s
license as soon as I could. Of course, “life happened” and I tried a few
different majors, quit college for a while to try being a singer-songwriter, and
ended up studying physics and optics instead of aerospace engineering. A lot of
other stuff happened too of course, like a family and a career. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I eventually did get a private pilot’s
license, but not until I was 48 years old. That was great, but for various
reasons, I couldn’t fly as much as I had hoped I would.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukiwp3ozMl3WiA0R8UeAkikeszOjraak7cqmnb0HFWR5NdKXMg5_Hkyq7NGbtURu59xQ4SEw3py5TyIyjDWjvnsEEF_YjHx1MzJEE_mTQjoEWZQ1WH_n2eRalvHJ3t4Rckbmf/s2272/NYC_flight0040_Original.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2272" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukiwp3ozMl3WiA0R8UeAkikeszOjraak7cqmnb0HFWR5NdKXMg5_Hkyq7NGbtURu59xQ4SEw3py5TyIyjDWjvnsEEF_YjHx1MzJEE_mTQjoEWZQ1WH_n2eRalvHJ3t4Rckbmf/w400-h300/NYC_flight0040_Original.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Which finally brings me to PC flight simulators. I played
with a few in the mid-90s, military ones that were fun but not very much like
real flying. By 1999 when I started taking real flight lessons, PC flight
simulators had improved enough to be useful for some aspects of flight training,
e.g., practicing some specific tasks like VOR navigation. But they didn’t look
or feel very much like a real airplane, and I only used sims for a few things
like preparing for a cross-country flight.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4zbyWCyb5FW551QtIAf-LClBd02cptEF9Mlynb0Y8pnl0ljeLLHWtSFCD9p39ATpsyWKGy0GIlTgIbuEHhPSrahF6Oo64N8yi1OD4ZKCOazRDtrBXkZ_3s3pEeNaRbshhEfW/s1920/Image11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4zbyWCyb5FW551QtIAf-LClBd02cptEF9Mlynb0Y8pnl0ljeLLHWtSFCD9p39ATpsyWKGy0GIlTgIbuEHhPSrahF6Oo64N8yi1OD4ZKCOazRDtrBXkZ_3s3pEeNaRbshhEfW/w400-h225/Image11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />For a couple of years, the flying bug seemed to fade, other
than reading my monthly AOPA Pilot Magazine and listening in to the cockpit
audio on my United Airlines flights. In 2005, I discovered the free space
flight simulator Orbiter, which reawakened my interest in space and in flying,
since some of the simulated spacecraft in Orbiter had wings, like the space shuttle.
This “space phase” lasted for a few years. It launched this blog and led me to
become a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, a volunteer educational outreach
program for space and astronomy. I’m still a sucker for a rocket launch or
landing, and I would go on a space flight in a heartbeat if I could manage it.<p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Flight Sim Renaissance </h4><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Throughout the 2000s, flight simulators continued to
improve, but I didn’t pay any attention until sometime in 2020 when I heard
that an amazing new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) would be
released in August. I started reading articles and watching preview videos,
thinking that it might be interesting to play with, since like many people, I
was stuck at home due to the pandemic. Early in 2020, I had also started to get
heavily involved in orchestral composition with sample libraries, so I decided
I would wait a while before trying MSFS 2020. I was working with a composition
coach and had started entering some competitions.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoK6phFONExyJYnnwSIdRgPAA7Ou03rsOItTvznN-HJieO7bWZ_A-z24ZaJxHMMXCsR7RP_0bEq2-GpFkGbQ7YZKpxS2MDicoSN8oidR_9wwxJ8FUt_6OpcKhOt1ANaH_DUlTu/s3440/9E736ABB-7D0B-4617-94B2-EDD6D95F0E51.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoK6phFONExyJYnnwSIdRgPAA7Ou03rsOItTvznN-HJieO7bWZ_A-z24ZaJxHMMXCsR7RP_0bEq2-GpFkGbQ7YZKpxS2MDicoSN8oidR_9wwxJ8FUt_6OpcKhOt1ANaH_DUlTu/w400-h168/9E736ABB-7D0B-4617-94B2-EDD6D95F0E51.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />But by mid-September, the MSFS videos I was seeing were just
too exciting. It was clear that MSFS 2020 was something entirely new and
different, using modern cloud computing to model the entire world in incredible
detail and with beautiful graphic quality. Not to mention airplanes! So I
bought it, and within a month, I had upgraded to a new computer and monitor to
run it better. My music took a back seat.<p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Why Is This Still Interesting? </h4><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Human dreams of flight started long before the Wright
Brothers, and my personal dreams of flight started early in my life. Since I
was also interested in travel and in foreign languages, I guess I hit the
jackpot with the job I recently retired from, which would send me on
international trips 6-8 times a year over many years. I spent a <i>lot </i>of time over
the Atlantic and Pacific. And I spent some 120 hours at the controls of small
airplanes (including flight instruction time) – a “low time” pilot for sure, but
I’m grateful for the experiences and the memories.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbxUWQybf49NaK69yvZRqKA-i-1ABmMHrkTQIPUk0krhLxAh8Haoaey-pzFRfpbsYSLXipBGGpzLmQXo0mT_p0PqY5TQ-f3s7Gwzz_0Njs-SlHmV4DYtDn61dRJEFVmkhOAaR/s3440/XCub+Float+BTR+Mount+and+Lake+Baker+WA+%252831%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbxUWQybf49NaK69yvZRqKA-i-1ABmMHrkTQIPUk0krhLxAh8Haoaey-pzFRfpbsYSLXipBGGpzLmQXo0mT_p0PqY5TQ-f3s7Gwzz_0Njs-SlHmV4DYtDn61dRJEFVmkhOAaR/w400-h168/XCub+Float+BTR+Mount+and+Lake+Baker+WA+%252831%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />With all that, you might think a flight simulator would pale
in comparison. It’s definitely not the same as real flight but it still holds
my interest for a few reasons:<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It exercises the same “muscle memory” as real flight – the
simulation is accurate enough to follow similar flight procedures and see similar
results, both good and bad.</li><li>The simulated world and systems are accurate enough to allow
for realistic flight planning, including “Live Weather” based on real-world data.</li><li>If I choose to navigate visually (VFR) in a familiar area,
my real-world knowledge applies directly, which is quite satisfying. So I can navigate
by "IFR" (“I follow roads”). </li><li>I never learned to use advanced GPS flight navigation systems that have
become widespread in recent years, but now I have – and the simulated systems are
very close to the real ones, which is fun to experience. So I can navigate by
IFR (“instrument flight rules”). </li><li>Using multiplayer features and communication software, I can
fly and talk with other sim pilots from anywhere in the (real) world. On many group
flights, I have toured national parks and various international destinations, adding
some of them to my “must visit” list for future real travel. New Zealand is at the top of my list once it opens for international visitors. </li><li>I can learn what it’s like to fly airplanes I could never
experience in real life, from a Stearman biplane to an F-14 Tomcat to a Boeing
787. Is it exactly the same? Of course not, but the better models highlight the
critical flight characteristics and flight systems, rewarding you for handling them correctly, and "punishing" you for mistakes (RTFM to minimize this). </li><li>The childhood model airplane builder in me appreciates that
I can easily acquire a collection of visually stunning airplane models that I can also fly
in the simulator, unlike the plastic models from years past (though I still
have a few die cast models of favorite airplanes). </li><li>As I mentioned in an earlier post, virtual travel is also a
big attraction for me. It’s especially fun to fly around cities I know well
from years of business travel, especially Tokyo, Paris, Seoul, and London. I like to recognize familiar sights and discover new ones I plan to visit.</li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Finally there is VR, a totally different way to experience simulated
flight, where you feel like you are inside a cockpit and where clouds and
buildings look 3D and startlingly real and massive mountains truly look massive.
<o:p></o:p></p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-61326694725674815362021-10-28T12:27:00.005-04:002021-10-28T16:39:22.536-04:00The Joys of Virtual Travel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkBMSkkt_yJY4VI9mSAE9AZ55oMNQoInoSxELZiTki2Pykbs6MMdDg_u7mwVjyjz8jslPtThpjmmxUfAS4LxUmWBN-UoHfFZIdy156eC0HdsXavbOOakAPVHHYEI-JwmqV79d/s3440/PT17+BTR+Bungle+Bungle+N+Australia+%252811%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkBMSkkt_yJY4VI9mSAE9AZ55oMNQoInoSxELZiTki2Pykbs6MMdDg_u7mwVjyjz8jslPtThpjmmxUfAS4LxUmWBN-UoHfFZIdy156eC0HdsXavbOOakAPVHHYEI-JwmqV79d/w400-h168/PT17+BTR+Bungle+Bungle+N+Australia+%252811%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Is this thing on? This blog I mean. Since I haven’t written
a post since 2018, I thought maybe the whole blog thing was over and nobody
told me. We certainly seem to have passed the heyday of blogs if there ever was
one. It was sort of cool back in 2005 when I was excited about <a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/">Orbiter</a>, a new
space flight simulator I had discovered, and I decided to share my fascination
with real and virtual space flight with anyone who cared to read those early
posts. Cool to me anyway. I met a few other space bloggers and Orbiter fans and
there was even a small online community of sorts for a while. Woo-hoo! If there are
still any blog readers or old space blog colleagues around, welcome! Leave a comment! All my old
posts seem to still be out there and we’ll soon see if this one joins them. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTg-H1wbWrxWD1AiNTCI-AHgKDeba0qwx3KyAggOXIjNWOcNrj32gJyX7IuuxECXoY1MS9eOfok531dIERdzadUtuA-4pGcetCgeBXgZkdhZPXV37T0BjdIRnb2XpmfjNI41mp/s3440/Dorand+Lt+Blue+over+I-90+Ridgeway+MN+%252836%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTg-H1wbWrxWD1AiNTCI-AHgKDeba0qwx3KyAggOXIjNWOcNrj32gJyX7IuuxECXoY1MS9eOfok531dIERdzadUtuA-4pGcetCgeBXgZkdhZPXV37T0BjdIRnb2XpmfjNI41mp/w400-h168/Dorand+Lt+Blue+over+I-90+Ridgeway+MN+%252836%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Of course, now it’s late 2021 and things have changed. You
know what many of them are, but in addition, I retired from my job a few months
ago, and between that and COVID, my travel has been sharply curtailed. But
things have come full circle in a way. Last year I rediscovered an old interest,
non-space flight simulators, and specifically Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020
(MSFS). I had played with various flight sims from 1994 to 2004, and between
1999 and 2004, I got my real private pilot’s license (2001). I didn’t fly as
much as I hoped I would, but I feel lucky that I got to fly at all. For more
information on that, please visit my other moribund blog, <a href="http://flightschoolretro.blogspot.com/">Flight SchoolRetrojournal</a>.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoc1i5lMYkuZp-T4IhIRq0E0wa4hMjwgyYv0uZ0uQRWXdR0s82dCRbwVDd8i9MLM_EYHiFq1tnWKdIvh5od_-o1X1bVTDIYj23HlQrPy4JtGQ779GAKQFIykz-LW-AdG4JpZH/s3440/PT17+Yellow+RAF+London+WU6+Orbx+Test+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoc1i5lMYkuZp-T4IhIRq0E0wa4hMjwgyYv0uZ0uQRWXdR0s82dCRbwVDd8i9MLM_EYHiFq1tnWKdIvh5od_-o1X1bVTDIYj23HlQrPy4JtGQ779GAKQFIykz-LW-AdG4JpZH/w400-h168/PT17+Yellow+RAF+London+WU6+Orbx+Test+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">When I say I didn’t fly much, I meant only as a pilot. As a
passenger I flew constantly from 1983 until late 2019, just before COVID started.
Hundreds of international business trips and a few cool vacations. I do miss
that part of my working life, going places, seeing things, meeting people, doing things. It was
great. In retirement, my wife and I plan to do some fun domestic and
international travel once things settle down with COVID and a few other issues.
Maybe next year.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JOvKDyo06EJkSbWRhyphenhyphen78zAs6kkI4vU48ouBgE_s2aDo2yb_JgLybPIYqgFlstL_QjIftNHesiz7c5hqW24NiZV7-URio-0vxCdF564VItDH5iiQ-epbhyphenhyphenI63nUsPq_hspiC3/s3440/801B415E-39B7-4FF5-BAE6-23081EE8F440.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JOvKDyo06EJkSbWRhyphenhyphen78zAs6kkI4vU48ouBgE_s2aDo2yb_JgLybPIYqgFlstL_QjIftNHesiz7c5hqW24NiZV7-URio-0vxCdF564VItDH5iiQ-epbhyphenhyphenI63nUsPq_hspiC3/w400-h168/801B415E-39B7-4FF5-BAE6-23081EE8F440.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">In the meantime, MSFS allows me to experience some of the
joys of flying and “virtual travel” from the comfort of my own office chair,
with or without a VR headset. I’ll spare you the details you can learn from any
number of <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/microsoft-flight-simulator-2020">websites </a>or <a href="https://youtu.be/x2C3d4pMo40">YouTube videos</a>, but MSFS takes full advantage of the
power of fast PC’s, graphical accelerators, and <a href="https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/head-in-the-cloud-i-flight-simulator-i-s-cutting-edge-tech-today-and-tomorrow">cloud computing</a> to create a
highly detailed simulation of the entire world, complete with “<a href="https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/flight-simulator-weather-change-live-weather-night-time-of-day-7043">Live Weather</a>”
and stunning depictions of terrain, human-built structures, many different
airplanes, and even other simulator pilots sharing the skies with you over the
internet. It’s an amazing experience with a large high-res monitor, but even
better with a modern virtual reality headset. I have the Hewlett-Packard Reverb
G2 which works great with MSFS.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-blui8ggr-25WCErajtTdzh99QbXNAy4qlhQ71wRlELb3usUfDbBjLK0Aolit1CFqM7uux18UltYY3Wwm0s7DWhPtw4XOxJHYG7qy1DKmJe72umrVRfKb_LsMQ8HWhZEu1wKB/s3440/XCub+Floats+BTR+Milford+Soungd+WITH+NZ+FLORA+%25285%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-blui8ggr-25WCErajtTdzh99QbXNAy4qlhQ71wRlELb3usUfDbBjLK0Aolit1CFqM7uux18UltYY3Wwm0s7DWhPtw4XOxJHYG7qy1DKmJe72umrVRfKb_LsMQ8HWhZEu1wKB/w400-h168/XCub+Floats+BTR+Milford+Soungd+WITH+NZ+FLORA+%25285%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Where Have I Been?</h4><p class="MsoNormal">I have spent some simulator time in a Cessna 152 flying
around Central Massachusetts as I did in real life 15-22 years ago, and it’s
fun to see how well Asobo has done recreating airports, towns, and terrain familiar
to me (Asobo are the French makers of Microsoft’s current flight simulator). It
is detailed enough to navigate “VFR” using familiar landmarks. You can usually even
find your house! But with the whole world at my fingertips, and with a stable
full of airplanes from ultralights to business jets to a Boeing 747, I’m not
usually so close to home. When not flying a Beech Bonanza G36 or a tail-wheel
XCub, I tend to favor an old Stearman biplane or the Aermacchi MB-339, an
Italian-built jet trainer, both bought from third-party developers. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAsQcOzmvHlrRu8SOCCtpRogFvInS8AagbnTbJ3k3tQuRM-Sz-BgCGhFwHZHkJFgeMF0xfWs3O4ytur6OvJTA8vvzl36nRXvUABMY9Qo-1K0ZP2M-ZN1uaszcRXwMtyCGMQ3I/s2902/C208+Iceland+group+flight+with+Jules+08-31-2021+%252812%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="2902" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAsQcOzmvHlrRu8SOCCtpRogFvInS8AagbnTbJ3k3tQuRM-Sz-BgCGhFwHZHkJFgeMF0xfWs3O4ytur6OvJTA8vvzl36nRXvUABMY9Qo-1K0ZP2M-ZN1uaszcRXwMtyCGMQ3I/w400-h165/C208+Iceland+group+flight+with+Jules+08-31-2021+%252812%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Human and Robot Tour Guides</h4><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One thing I have enjoyed is a weekly group flight organized
by Jules Altis, who happens to be an active private pilot as well as a
simulator enthusiast. For months he focused on US National Parks of which there
are many worth touring from the air. He would research the history and special
features of each park and share those presentations and videos along with the
flight plan for all of us to follow in the simulator and on Twitch or Discord. Olympia
National Park, Washington, was my personal favorite. More recently he switched
to a more informal format with international destinations like the Amalfi Coast
of Italy, the Great Rift Valley of Africa, and the Tokaido Road in Japan. He
makes use of a great free add-on developed by others called <a href="https://bushtalkradio.com/?">Bushtalk Radio</a> which provides
computer-narrated tours within the simulator of over twelve-thousand points of
interest around the world. I’ve helped in small ways with Bushtalk Radio, especially
with this <a href="https://youtu.be/jKkIlsS876Q">brief trailer</a> video that introduces it in the same synthetic “English lady”
voice used for the actual tours (the music is mine).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5W5WT7JoiDQ3G5Pn0Q3JFm4U1myPzolu2hDysQfUDyYtg3rqxi9O6vQtj6NvkEimsgGwctgFgPOvW8OLDtrtWjj_n4BenE2AqQ9jHrot10oHVa5XjgMjOqzaf2oC5X5Lreux/s3440/XCub+BTR+Argentina+Jules+7Lakes+Mountains+%252815%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix5W5WT7JoiDQ3G5Pn0Q3JFm4U1myPzolu2hDysQfUDyYtg3rqxi9O6vQtj6NvkEimsgGwctgFgPOvW8OLDtrtWjj_n4BenE2AqQ9jHrot10oHVa5XjgMjOqzaf2oC5X5Lreux/w400-h168/XCub+BTR+Argentina+Jules+7Lakes+Mountains+%252815%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Favorite Places</h4><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the “standards” like the Grand Canyon, Mount
Fuji, and New York City, there are so many lesser-known mountains, lakes,
cities, bridges, and dams, not to mention so many great airports. If you love
airplanes you’ve got to love airports! Many of these sights are beautiful right
out of the box, but there is also a facility for “add-ons,” both free and paid.
In addition to an expanded air fleet (fancy a Spitfire or F-14 Tomcat?), you
can find hundreds of airports with added details. <a href="https://flightsim.to/file/21755/duxford-airfield-egsu">Duxford Airfield</a>, England is a current (free) favorite of mine. Scenery enhancements are also popular, many free, but many
great commercial ones that are well worth a few dollars, like this improved
version of <a href="https://samscene.com/products/seoul-city-wow-for-msfs">Seoul, Korea</a> which reminds me of my many visits there over the years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNx5mUgPT4dnGoHrIb0Pb6e8OQBF_cVTp6-_YhoXBACQatLpDp4hc0Go-07XTl3U9bIGNAluafETN7b68K-jLWBbVQM5RPB3AWMvV9sI_iHI6CxCgdzaJnIH5RmJOEAdTCtrOi/s3440/65198662-FD4B-4831-849C-DB02C6BDE433.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNx5mUgPT4dnGoHrIb0Pb6e8OQBF_cVTp6-_YhoXBACQatLpDp4hc0Go-07XTl3U9bIGNAluafETN7b68K-jLWBbVQM5RPB3AWMvV9sI_iHI6CxCgdzaJnIH5RmJOEAdTCtrOi/w400-h168/65198662-FD4B-4831-849C-DB02C6BDE433.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">I have created many videos which are usually short flights in
some cool area I’ve discovered. I’ve experimented with adding my own music to a
few, like this one of a <a href="https://youtu.be/UNd-miXYSvU">Spitfire</a> (White Cliffs of Dover, of course) or this <a href="https://youtu.be/GlZAI3JMJqs">flight around Tokyo</a>. One of my
favorite videos is <a href="https://youtu.be/HI8WQGVpWxs">this one</a> (not mine) of many beauty spots, set to an
instrumental version of “What a Wonderful World.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKM47HXnUtFDnBpf08kel6ixxf3ncnbITKkWewjxms0N8Y0Gjq0YYNzKsC4z3HZ015xh76Fcq67yY_Juaxu6P8FWcvK6mDqbUEAfZRElF-ihbizertvMIRdaM1fHM2Lr_EiKH/s3440/Nieuport+17+Duxford+Airport+UK+%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKM47HXnUtFDnBpf08kel6ixxf3ncnbITKkWewjxms0N8Y0Gjq0YYNzKsC4z3HZ015xh76Fcq67yY_Juaxu6P8FWcvK6mDqbUEAfZRElF-ihbizertvMIRdaM1fHM2Lr_EiKH/w400-h168/Nieuport+17+Duxford+Airport+UK+%25283%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">This is already a long post so I will end here. I’ll
probably write another one talking about what it is that makes the Microsoft
Flight Simulator experience so engaging for me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRktDlM0ddTkGCmaHY1aFOVj3LbXeJthEEwEpryPXu-Gnogx5X4YvtTFb09vGqNMOLDLDHjsQnr71Bpl950QVmQ_KR3xSR1dEWsA56LgK069PYRzck78M2-HJtpMlei-HEcoP/s3440/MB339+with+Silver+Irish+Air+Force+Livery+%25288%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="3440" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRktDlM0ddTkGCmaHY1aFOVj3LbXeJthEEwEpryPXu-Gnogx5X4YvtTFb09vGqNMOLDLDHjsQnr71Bpl950QVmQ_KR3xSR1dEWsA56LgK069PYRzck78M2-HJtpMlei-HEcoP/w400-h168/MB339+with+Silver+Irish+Air+Force+Livery+%25288%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">MSFS screenshots above, from the top (* add-on aircraft):</p><p class="MsoNormal">1. Stearman* over north Australia; 2. Dorand AR.1* (WWI) over Minnesota; 3. Stearman* passing through Tower Bridge, London; 4. Diamond DA-40NG over Sphinx Observatory, Jungfrau,
Switzerland; 5. Cubcrafters XCub, Milford Sound, New Zealand; 6. Cessna 208 on a group flight in Iceland; 7. XCub on floats, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina; 8. Beechcraft G36 near Lotte World Tower, Seoul, Korea; 9. Nieuport 17* (WWI) over Duxford Airfield, England; 10. Aermacchi MB-339* somewhere over Ireland</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Here's a link to a shared <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/7bwEpPk9dCvPsVFG8">Google Photos album</a> with a few other screenshots from Microsoft Flight Simulator.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><br /></div>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-17976193027587236772018-08-07T18:02:00.002-04:002019-03-14T08:15:03.452-04:00My Inner Space Child<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9UkOC6327A_qoEHgNI9Z3BF6WOj-R8SH6xSe5M7W8kRfVZ0CDN3vuYOxmMA7i76Hah7w8n5NIGJd5IXWDCe1o9YrQDzgdWaKZDrzWXq0ZfsO4-L2Zz_IGk5pRYSQ2GL7VXAQ/s1600/Orbiter+BFR+Mars+Dragon3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9UkOC6327A_qoEHgNI9Z3BF6WOj-R8SH6xSe5M7W8kRfVZ0CDN3vuYOxmMA7i76Hah7w8n5NIGJd5IXWDCe1o9YrQDzgdWaKZDrzWXq0ZfsO4-L2Zz_IGk5pRYSQ2GL7VXAQ/s400/Orbiter+BFR+Mars+Dragon3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Not very
deep inside me is a still-space-obsessed Inner Child who thinks space flight is
the coolest thing ever. As a kid in the sixties, I was super-excited to follow
the Mercury and Gemini and Apollo missions as they happened, and I covered the
walls of my bedroom with the space posters NASA would send me by the ton
whenever I wrote to ask. Space was real then. Apollo 8 orbited the moon in
1968, and in that same White Album year, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2001:
A Space Odyssey</i> convinced me that space ships full of people would be
tooling around the solar system before I was even 50 years old. I wanted to go!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course it
didn’t quite pan out that way. The moon landings ended in 1972 and I never got
to be a test pilot and an astronaut which was my plan since I was ten. We did
have a cool space shuttle for a while, and astronauts on the International Space
Station (ISS) still circle the globe every 90 minutes. We’ve also sent a bunch
of amazing robots to tool around the solar system on our behalf. This isn’t as
exciting as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2001</i> movie, but I
like all of that stuff too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even though
my obsession is usually turned down to a low simmer, every once in a while
something will trigger my Inner Space Child and I will get super-excited again.
Sometimes it’s a book, often by Kim Stanley Robinson. Sometimes it’s a movie
like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Martian</i> in 2015. But most
often it’s something Elon Musk says or does. NASA is still doing lots of
important work but it seems that SpaceX gets all the glory. That’s probably
because of Elon Musk’s hyperactive Inner Child, and because Elon (yes, I call
him Elon) has huge ambition, a huge fortune, and a huge ego, so he can say,
“wouldn’t be cool if we could build a rocket that’s bigger than a football
field that could fly dozens of people to Mars” and the SpaceX engineers will all
say “I’m on it.” And they are. That’s the already-in-work “BFR” which stands
for “Big Falcon Rocket” (sure it does). I’ve also seen it called BFS for Big
Falcon Ship, and if it really happens as planned, it will certainly be the
first true space SHIP, huge and fully re-usable. Elon says that “short test
flights” will begin in 2019. That probably means 2020 or 2021, but still. They
are seriously building a space ship to colonize Mars (it will do lots of other
stuff too). <o:p></o:p></div>
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This week I got
excited when I learned about a new SpaceX add-on for the <a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/">Orbiter 2016</a> space
flight simulator. Orbiter is a free space-flight simulator that runs on a PC. It
has accurate physics and beautiful graphics and it is a Space Nerd Inner
Child’s dream come true. I spent about a year obsessed with it when I first discovered
it in 2005. I even wrote a book about it, <i><a href="http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Go_Play_In_Space">Go Play In Space</a></i>, which teaches you
how to do just that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still fire up Orbiter
on my PC every now and then, usually when I hear about some new features or
some cool new add-on developed by someone in the Orbiter community. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The new
add-on is a model of the <a href="https://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=7198">SpaceX Crew Dragon</a> spacecraft that is set to start
carrying astronauts for NASA in 2019 (an “add-on” is a user-developed set of 3D
models and computer code that work within Orbiter to simulate a specific
spacecraft). This one was the latest work of “BrianJ,” a talented add-on
creator who has also made an add-on of the<a href="https://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=7091"> SpaceX Falcon 9</a> rocket needed to
carry the Crew Dragon or other payloads into virtual orbit. In late 2017
another prolific add-on maker (“francisdrake”) created a model of the <a href="https://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=7121">SpaceX BFR</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To capture
the picture above, I created a scenario in Orbiter 2016 with the Crew Dragon
docked to the “top” of the BFR in low Mars orbit (BFR's "wings" are actually solar panel arrays that deploy like Japanese fans). For scale, the SpaceX Crew
Dragon with its “trunk” is about 27 feet or 8 meters long, taller than a
two-story house. So you can see that the BFR is indeed a Big <i>something</i> Rocket. Search for "BFR size comparison" and you will find many illustrations of its incredible size. Also check out this speculative but suggestive <a href="https://www.humanmars.net/2018/06/cutaway-diagram-of-spacex-big-falcon.html">cutaway diagram</a> of the interior of the BFR's second stage (the part that will go to Mars). <o:p></o:p></div>
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But Orbiter
add-ons are more than just pictures or even 3D models. They are working models
of the spacecraft, so they can be launched, flown to orbit (or to Mars), maneuvered, entered in the atmosphere, and landed. The Falcon 9 first stage and the BFR are
“tail sitters” so they land with rockets blazing. I haven’t tried this yet with
the BFR, but I have flown BrianJ’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy a few times (the
built-in autopilot makes this rather easy). If you’d like to see it without
bothering to install Orbiter, you can watch a video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByEjsVFuKgg">like this one</a>. It's really amazing to see the first stage boosters turn around and fly themselves back to their landing pads. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Is it weird
to be so obsessed, still space-crazy after all these years? Maybe. But I prefer
to think that I’m nurturing a sense of wonder that never quite left me. Or something like that. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHn2ml67viGyaYHPXPNsdqQa3-ZyptQw2WIQ7puY8ifAzaooq6o7ndZkdxYqEwoPxIXZOq1JbbTvinJFmcKTTpeK4dQVx482GfANQXjrXhvuTIAOnsTdSe8jyuaRLwwKoM6mwy/s1600/Dragon+Moon7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHn2ml67viGyaYHPXPNsdqQa3-ZyptQw2WIQ7puY8ifAzaooq6o7ndZkdxYqEwoPxIXZOq1JbbTvinJFmcKTTpeK4dQVx482GfANQXjrXhvuTIAOnsTdSe8jyuaRLwwKoM6mwy/s400/Dragon+Moon7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This picture shows BrianJ's SpaceX Crew Dragon orbiting the moon in Orbiter 2016.</div>
<br />FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-55357872240859257642018-06-03T09:47:00.000-04:002019-03-14T08:18:29.493-04:00Center Of It All<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaAUIcV_gzQqVU-puduFalnDsXOtfMXu16jKyLvkj5y5v4cw20W6cauoGDmV2zC-dXm_WVoMbEYZF-q-1-YJKnNBx4CFbTSHLhm7VNSa9kFEnLuvnMNEYHzDcuPK7hNowddq8/s1600/CoIA-Web-Black-Border-2000px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgaAUIcV_gzQqVU-puduFalnDsXOtfMXu16jKyLvkj5y5v4cw20W6cauoGDmV2zC-dXm_WVoMbEYZF-q-1-YJKnNBx4CFbTSHLhm7VNSa9kFEnLuvnMNEYHzDcuPK7hNowddq8/s320/CoIA-Web-Black-Border-2000px.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I have a new album! <i>Center Of It All</i> is available for <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/bruceirving4">download on CD Baby</a>, and actual CD's will also be available there within a couple of weeks. It is also available on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/lu/album/center-of-it-all/1393788981">Apple Music</a>, <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Center-All-Bruce-Irving/dp/B07DHBZ43P/">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/40OZwhnVqfvGmuFUDld9TZ">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZPe36Yy9-Yu7UM0p0TD2R6Cmcre7sJZw">YouTube</a> and other download and streaming sites.<br />
<br />
I'm really pleased with how the album came out. I've been working on this project on and off for six years, since my last album <i><a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/bruceirving3">Look At You</a></i> in 2012. This is the <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/BruceIrving">fourth album</a> produced by my friend Roger Lavallee, and as usual, Roger also came up with great arrangements, played most of the guitars, programmed the drums, and accomplished what still blows my mind every time I hear it -- he made it sound like a <i>record</i>! I also want to thank my friend Craig Collins for designing the cover graphics. He did a beautiful job of integrating my interests in music and space and in visualizing the idea of the "center of it all." Thanks also to my two co-writers (Rob Simbeck on "Center Of It All" and "Saving the World" and my brother <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/DougIrving">Doug Irving</a> on "Foggy Morning London Town").<br />
<br />
Here are the album notes I wrote for the <a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/bruceirving4">album page</a> on CD Baby:<br />
<br />
Writing and recording songs can give you a rich fantasy life. Like when you watch an episode of "The Americans" (great show) and out pops the song "Rough Days." Or when you imagine being so down and out that you wish someone would airlift you away and voila, "Angels Are Hiding." Think you're tired? Try flapping your wings 1500 times a minute like the characters in "Hummingbird." How about a pep talk from a quasi-Rastafarian? That's "Hey O Way O." An early morning stroll down Abbey Road? "Foggy Morning London Town." A helicopter getaway? "When Charlie Went AWOL." There's a song just called "Who?" What's <i>that </i>all about? Or who?<br />
<br />
It's not all crazy talk. There's some of the usual sensitive guy "what's it all about" stuff too, like "In the Name of Love," "No Second Chances," and even "Saving the World." "Center Of It All" was inspired by memories of my Mom who passed away just recently - she really was the center of it all for me and my family.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of rock, a ton of harmonies, a bit of folk and country, and just a dash of jazz. An album 6 years in the making with twelve very different and dare I say rather good songs (yes, I dare say). And I must ALSO say that if you like cool guitar solos, my producer, friend, and Local Guitar God Roger Lavallee has really outdone himself on this project. Smoking.<br />
<br />
It's a good album. You'll like it. Trust me. Why would I lie?<br />
<br />
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FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-87023964728589654512018-04-24T10:30:00.000-04:002018-04-24T10:39:44.384-04:00What If Space Really Sucks?<br />
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<br />
I read an interesting essay on <a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/">The Space Review</a> by Dwayne Day, titled “<a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3225/1">Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids</a>,” quoting Bernie Taupin in Elton John's song “Rocketman.” That 2017 essay was inspired by the SF TV series <em><a href="http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse">The Expanse</a></em>, which is now in its third season (I bought the first season and watched a couple of
episodes on Amazon Video -- I liked it but never returned to it since it’s not
my wife’s thing and I have so many other time sinks). He doesn’t talk too much
about <em>The Expanse</em> except to describe it as “gritty” and to say that it
depicts a settled solar system a few hundred years in the future, and guess
what? There’s politics and war and crime and inequality and oppression of
asteroid colonists by Earth and Mars people, and resentment of Earth by
Martians who are struggling to make their planet livable, and not just a place
defined by its independence of Earth. There are many other problems too, e.g.,
agriculture collapses on Ganymede because the engineered environment is not as
robust as natural environments of Earth. This is something that Kim Stanley Robinson addresses
in his colony-starship novel <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(novel)"><em>Aurora</em> </a> which <a href="https://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/2015/08/aurora-generations-through-void.html">I read and wrote about back in 2015</a> and found really fascinating (as I do most of KSR's books).<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I guess the bottom line is that people are people, and that moving to Mars
or a space colony or anywhere is no magic bullet. If there are multiple people
anywhere, there will be conflicting needs, priorities, goals, etc. that will
need to be managed. Even if you build a seemingly robust, prosperous, and
somewhat fair and democratic society like the United States, it won’t be
prosperous and fair to all its people, and a scam artist like Donald Trump can
come along and try to ruin it for everyone except himself and a few of his wealthy
supporters and Russian friends. That’s our now. I don’t think Trump will ultimately succeed in ruining the American Experiment, but he might (or
he might drag us into wars that will screw up everything for everyone).<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
To me, space is not a religion or a utopia or even a next frontier that is
needed to inspire humanity to be better. I think it is a source of materials,
energy, and yes, space for future populations to exploit, in ways that at least
have the potential (in the very long run) to relieve pressure on Earth-bound
ecosystems and societies. And for now at least, exploiting those resources will
not displace or destroy anyone else as the Europeans did when they invaded the
“New World.” I think the profit motive will play a key part in having a reason
and the means to get more people in space, even if it’s not the only reason, with Elon Musk and SpaceX serving as Exhibit A for this approach.
Having a long-run backup plan for humanity doesn’t seem crazy to me – as long
as it isn’t coupled with the idea that we can just abandon this planet. Earth is really perfect for us, because we co-evolved with it. So as KSR and many
others suggest, we have to make this planet work. That doesn’t preclude also
using asteroids, the Moon, and other planets for their living space and
resources. But we shouldn't expect them to be perfect societies or utopias. They will be imperfect,
human creations, just like everything else humans have created (with the exception of Mozart's music). <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
But I also think that AI is going to have a very big part to play in space
and in every aspect of life going forward, which may be bad news for old
fashioned flesh-and-blood humans like us. If engineered “mind children” are the
ones that reach the planets first... well, I don’t know what I think about it. For sure
they won’t need life support, just energy sources. And maybe they won’t need
meat machines like their parents to slow them down. I hope they still like us and remember to send us a postcard now and then.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-88538788353204669492018-03-09T22:15:00.003-05:002018-03-09T22:15:45.510-05:00Finding My Muse (Score)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
It's funny how things happen. A few months ago, I switched from Sonar to Studio One as my main music recording software. I got a special Black Friday deal from Presonus. I really like Studio One and I've been writing and recording songs with it, so I'm happy, right? Then in January Presonus sent me a special offer on another piece of music software for Windows, Notion 6. It's a music notation and composition program which also interfaces with Studio One. Of course I didn't really <i>need </i>it but I'm always musically curious, so I bought it and started to fool around with writing little instrumental pieces to learn the interface. I learned that they have an iPad version, even cheaper ($15) and file compatible with Notion 6. Cool. I can write music anywhere, even on my iPhone.<br />
<br />
So now I'm writing simple stuff and searching for scores to learn from. I found a site called <a href="https://musescore.com/">musescore.com</a> and learned that this is an active community of composers and classical music enthusiasts of all levels. In addition to many classic scores, I quickly discovered several rather impressive amateur composers to follow. There is also a free, open source composition and notation program called <a href="https://musescore.org/en/download">MuseScore 2</a> which I downloaded. It turns out to be better on Windows than Notion 6 in many respects, not least of which is the fact that you can upload your scores to musescore.com to share and discuss them with others (you can also import/export MusicXML, MIDI, and other file formats to transfer scores between different notation programs, including Notion). .<br />
<br />
What's funny about this is that I can barely read music. Actually I know the notes and quite a bit of music theory, though I don't read and write notation fluently. I rely mostly on my ears. But with programs like Notion and MuseScore, this doesn't matter too much. Much like writing songs, I can try things, hear them instantly, and fix or improve them interactively. It's fun and educational. I've always regretted not being stronger with theory and notation, and this gives me a reason and a means to improve. When I told my friend <a href="http://www.inglisacademy.com/index.php">Peter Inglis</a> that I was embracing notation, he said "finally!" He's been urging me to learn to read and create musical "source code" for years! So I finally am. I've already noticed improvement in my ability to follow and understand scores. And write some too.<br />
<br />
My early exercises are mostly brief pieces in string quartet form just because this gives you a small number of voices to explore. One I especially like was inspired by the fictional oboe player Hailey Rutledge on the Amazon Prime TV show "Mozart in the Jungle." It's called "<a href="https://soundcloud.com/flyingsinger/for-hai-lai-oboe-quartet-exercise">For Hai Lai</a>" (watch the show).<br />
<br />
<iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="250" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/407766717&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="75%"></iframe><br />
<br />
I am <a href="https://musescore.com/flyingsinger">FlyingSinger</a> at musescore.com if you want to check out any of my scores -- or skip those silly things and go right for compositions by those <a href="https://musescore.com/user/20360">who</a> <a href="https://musescore.com/user/43726">really know</a> <a href="https://musescore.com/anes">what they're doing</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-71911019040017218442017-12-30T13:03:00.001-05:002017-12-30T19:19:43.722-05:00Hey O Way O<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Do you remember the children's book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Terrible-Horrible-Classic-Board/dp/1442498161">Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day</a></i>? Just substitute "year" and that pretty much sums up 2017. I don't want to talk about it.<br />
<br />
My readership (both of you) may have noticed that I haven't written a blog post since April 2017. Yeah, I have pretty much stopped blogging in favor of writing in my journal. I use an app called <a href="http://dayoneapp.com/">Day One</a>, and if you have any interest in keeping a journal on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, I can heartily recommend it. I started in July 2014 and now, 1,266 days and 3,055 journal entries later, I'm still writing two or three entries a day. I guess I still like to write.<br />
<br />
And I still like to make music, even when things are crappy. I've written maybe a dozen songs in 2017 and recorded a few with my friend and producer Roger Lavallee. Roger and I have been working on music together since 2002 and he is totally amazing as a guitarist, drum programmer, arranger, producer, and engineer. I decided to share our latest "nearly complete" song on SoundCloud today. It's part of a long-rumored 2015, oops, 2016, oops, 2017, oops, 2018 album project.<br />
<br />
This song is a quirky sort of pep talk to a friend. Or something. It's called "Hey O Way O" because, why not? I say that a lot in the song. The lyrics are on the <a href="https://soundcloud.com/flyingsinger/hey-o-way-o">SoundCloud page</a> if you're interested. This happens to be the first song we completed in <a href="https://www.presonus.com/products/Studio-One">Studio One 3</a> after using Cakewalk Sonar for many years (Roger is a ProTools guy but he adapts amazingly well to new recording software). The goal is to make music, whatever the tools, but Studio One (S1) has a clean and modern interface that really makes it easy to learn and use. I jumped ship when I heard that parent company Gibson is stopping development of Cakewalk products. A half-price Black Friday sale also helped ($200 for the Professional version). It's nice that most of the plugins I have for Sonar work with S1 too.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/376606061&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>
Let's all hope that 2018 will be a better year for all of us. Cheers!<br />
<br />
<br />FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-62078633871425717812017-04-27T20:24:00.001-04:002017-04-28T13:30:38.008-04:00Conscious AI as a Feature, Not a Bug <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyVR4ba9XxaZnNEg-NqC6xjbX6bKRSgpp9z-hF53K5w0-QOcSSOvnqXkNrOA6bYnTptNyibAEg-849muI0SV1CfrUUgiQgcj4SvRpMIf5qNviq4cO7jmy15HzGgNpYytYnCR5/s1600/Humans+Season+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWyVR4ba9XxaZnNEg-NqC6xjbX6bKRSgpp9z-hF53K5w0-QOcSSOvnqXkNrOA6bYnTptNyibAEg-849muI0SV1CfrUUgiQgcj4SvRpMIf5qNviq4cO7jmy15HzGgNpYytYnCR5/s400/Humans+Season+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I really like the SF show <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humans_(TV_series)">Humans</a> </i>and its depiction of an alternate
present-day UK where in addition to iPhones and super-fast internet service,
humanoid “synths” have come into widespread use as servants, workers,
caretakers, and companions. The basic premise is that while these robots are
sufficiently human-like to engage in conversation and even sex (complete with
body warmth and fluids, apparently), they are “just machines,” and people are
not supposed to consider them as “persons,” though many certainly develop
relationships with them, as humans do even with dogs and cats. And as with pets
(and people), some humans will abuse their synths.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The big plot driver in this show (spoiler alert!) is that some of the synths
have secretly been “upgraded” to possess consciousness and emotions, and when
some far-fetched circumstances lead to this upgrade being pushed over the
network to all synths, we have the makings of an uprising. That’s where they
leave us hanging at the end of season 2, with thousands of synths “waking up”
and abandoning their dreary posts as gardeners or whatever. There's a lot to swallow to really enjoy this show, but the writing and characters are good, and they manage to earn my <o:p></o:p>suspension of disbelief most of the time. I'm looking forward to season 3 (I hope it's renewed). </div>
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What always bothered me about the show is that despite their
stilted speech and claims to not understand many “human things,” normal synths
function at such a high level that it’s hard to imagine that they are not
self-aware above and beyond whatever technical self-diagnostic systems they may have (so they
can know when to recharge their batteries and recognize when another synth is
not broadcasting as they apparently are supposed to do). Their ability to
converse smoothly, navigate messy home and family environments, to even read
human emotional states and anticipate needs, and to explain why they do things
(when asked)… these suggest they are much more than “mere machines.” But would
this mean they are “conscious?” What does that even mean? <o:p></o:p></div>
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This <a href="http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/we-need-conscious-robots">Nautilus article</a> by a Japanese neuroscientist and AI
researcher delves into this: “We Need Conscious Robots: How introspection and
imagination make robots better” by Ryota Kanai. He emphasizes that
something like consciousness or at least self-awareness will be needed to allow
AI systems to explain their “reasoning,” decisions, and actions to people, so people can feel more confident in and safer with these entities. But
he suggests a more immediate need for such awareness – to allow for simple and
common delays in their interactions with people and objects caused by
distractions or other factors. Sometimes I forget why I walked down to the
basement or that I put my coffee cup in the microwave, but most of the time, I “know what
I’m doing” at least over a brief time period. This seemingly simple knowledge is connected to
consciousness. As Kanai writes:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In fact, even our sensation of the present moment is a
construct of the conscious mind. We see evidence for this in various
experiments and case studies. Patients with agnosia who have damage to
object-recognition parts of the visual cortex can’t name an object they see,
but can grab it. If given an envelope, they know to orient their hand to insert
it through a mail slot. But patients cannot perform the reaching task if experimenters
introduce a time delay between showing the object and cuing the test subject
to reach for it. Evidently, consciousness is related not to sophisticated
information processing per se; as long as a stimulus immediately triggers an
action, we don’t need consciousness. It comes into play when we need to
maintain sensory information over a few seconds.</blockquote>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>He also talks about the need for some level of “desire” or
curiosity in robots or other AI systems to avoid humans needing to spell out every detail of the simplest request.
One aspect of this is “counterfactual information generation” (i.e., thinking
about or modeling past or future situations, not only the here-and-now). Kanai
writes, “We call it ‘counterfactual’ because it involves memory of the past or
predictions for unexecuted future actions, as opposed to what is happening in
the external world. And we call it ‘generation’ because it is not merely the
processing of information, but an active process of hypothesis creation and
testing.” He gives an example of one of their test AI agents learning to drive
around a simulated landscape and deciding that climbing a hill would be a useful
problem to solve in order to drive the most efficient route (without being
taught or specifically asked to do this, as would normally be needed).</div>
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In the context of my home, this makes me think about how our aging dog Gracie would always like to
go upstairs to sleep in our bedroom during the day, but we keep the gate closed
at the bottom to limit her stair-climbing due to her arthritis. She will
sometimes push open a loosely-closed door but has never tried to pull open the
loosely-closed baby gate (if she learned this, we would just have to keep the gate latched). If we had a <i>Humans</i>-type “synth” and I wanted it to go upstairs
and get me my wallet, it would have to know that if the gate or bedroom door
were closed, or if something on the stairs were blocking access, it should open the gate
or door or move the object. That could be some simple logic programming I
suppose (if door closed, open it, unless it's locked, or something), but the more human-friendly approach would be to
remember and “want to” complete the goal, independently solving any minor sub-problems along the way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kanai writes in conclusion: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If we consider introspection and imagination as two of the
ingredients of consciousness, perhaps even the main ones, it is inevitable that
we eventually conjure up a conscious AI, because those functions are so clearly
useful to any machine. We want our machines to explain how and why they do what
they do. Building those machines will exercise our own imagination. It will be
the ultimate test of the counterfactual power of consciousness.</blockquote>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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This makes sense to me. If we are to interact comfortably with future robots or other AI systems, it will be helpful if they can maintain a "mental model" of our household, workplace, or other relevant environments, not so they can feel good or bad about themselves, or fall in love or whatever, but because these are things we unconsciously expect in social interactions. Simpler systems or apps, even voice-driven ones like Siri and Amazon's Alexa, can get by with being strictly transactional, to tell me the weather or play me some Talking Heads music as soon as I ask. But conversation and predictability will be a lot smoother if these systems have at least some level of self- and other-awareness and some ability to learn how things work around here. We can decide later whether this is the same as what we call "consciousness," but it is certainly like it in some ways. As AI systems improve, they will behave more and more like conscious entities, whether they are or not.<br />
<br />
Then of course we can have that long-anticipated war between the humans and the machines. May the best entity win. But would you mind getting me my slippers first? </div>
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Nautilus is a great web-based science magazine that features essays by various writers, often touching on the societal aspects of science and technology. There's a theme for each month's issue to which the essays are at least loosely tied. This month it's <a href="http://nautil.us/issue/47/consciousness/consciousness">consciousness</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-15183666318255984012017-01-27T11:31:00.000-05:002017-01-27T11:47:07.957-05:00Nothing Is Unbelievable Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaEb5r7mxORyBfcCS-hSeH3F0Vs_QBA3v3MVYjqw__oq9sJD4l2di4cbt-4fvCSAfDcxvSwJUraUT0MGtgUnHUZPqFbIvVHIGSIl-DtMEELJ_RwVXR6yyQG5NPqkFs-sz6gkA/s1600/an-embarrassment-of-leaks-1-1ffcdd.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIaEb5r7mxORyBfcCS-hSeH3F0Vs_QBA3v3MVYjqw__oq9sJD4l2di4cbt-4fvCSAfDcxvSwJUraUT0MGtgUnHUZPqFbIvVHIGSIl-DtMEELJ_RwVXR6yyQG5NPqkFs-sz6gkA/s400/an-embarrassment-of-leaks-1-1ffcdd.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
The word “unbelievable” is obsolete now that Trump is president. Any horrible thing you can imagine someone in government doing or saying is believable now. Trump's appointments and actions seem calculated to hurt the
most people possible, especially if they are brown, female, or immigrants. Some
of this is ideological but most of it seems more like mean-spirited bullying, a
Trump specialty. It doesn't seem that these actions actually HELP anyone, not even
Trump's misguided yet hopeful supporters, but he's fulfilling his wild campaign promises, so
his fans are like, “hell yeah!” Many of Trump's actions will end up hurting his
supporters much more than they will educated know-it-all liberals like me.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p>
But to see this requires accepting facts and sometimes complicated
reasoning. Take for example building a wall with Mexico and (maybe) imposing
20% import tariffs on goods from Mexico to “force them to pay for it.” This
will raise prices on many goods for Americans (including vegetables and fruits) and probably cost jobs in
industries that rely on imported parts. We could have a trade war. <i>Americans
</i>will pay for the wall through higher prices and job losses. It will also damage
the Mexican economy which will likely <em>increase</em> illegal immigration
regardless of any wall. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
As was the case during the campaign, there's such a flurry of batshit-crazy
"alternative facts" coming out of Trump and his cronies that it's hard to keep it all in focus. And it's only
been one week! This is all bad, but it's just the tip of the iceberg because he is also saying and doing scary things in the international arena, like saying again that we "should have kept the oil" in Iraq, and maybe we will get another chance. Statements like this are lighting up social media in the Arab world and putting at even greater risk the thousands of military personnel we still have in place helping our Iraqi allies to fight ISIS. And as Trump has been so fond of saying about others, there is clearly "something going on" with Russia to explain why he has criticized everyone from the US intelligence community to John Lewis to Meryl Streep -- but never Vladimir Putin.<br />
<br />
Here are a few other examples just from today's NY Times. <o:p></o:p><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Gail Collins</strong> suggests that Trump actually has no strong
views on abortion and women's rights (or perhaps on anything but himself) but
that he's just following Pence's toxic anti-woman agenda on this. He's a puppet for both
Putin <em>and</em> Pence. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2017_01_26_opinion_mike-2Dpence-2Dpulls-2Dpresident-2Dtrumps-2Dstrings.html&d=DwMFAA&c=DPL6_X_6JkXFx7AXWqB0tg&r=K-1ofoiA1_zFN2NDFsEcT57-S4iXhlpU9HekoMP4hNo&m=zBfoPsagXRFKFgXnS2m2VF5aTqD4NaqzLPYMuN0AAOA&s=ux3iMT6hahe4sytexSWHlepuoU3yaKlEO5wCjdZfRJY&e=">http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/opinion/mike-pence-pulls-president-trumps-strings.html</a><o:p></o:p><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Nicholas Kristoff</strong> points out that the stupid lies about inauguration crowd sizes and nonexistent electoral fraud are acting as a smokescreen for
real damage caused by early actions like the abortion “gag rule” that blocks US
foreign aid to any care-providing organization that even discusses abortion. This goes farther than gag rules from earlier presidents in that it will apply to all health services, including for example efforts to combat the Zika virus. Direct US funding of abortions is already banned, but this expanded policy will kill
poor women in places like Africa and lead to <em>more</em> abortions. But Pence
and Trump won't see or care. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2017_01_26_opinion_president-2Dtrumps-2Dwar-2Don-2Dwomen-2Dbegins.html&d=DwMFAA&c=DPL6_X_6JkXFx7AXWqB0tg&r=K-1ofoiA1_zFN2NDFsEcT57-S4iXhlpU9HekoMP4hNo&m=zBfoPsagXRFKFgXnS2m2VF5aTqD4NaqzLPYMuN0AAOA&s=4b4JFyrUOgl2o2KDgDaSeNzzcC1LiIEgvsZrLbETtRc&e=">http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/opinion/president-trumps-war-on-women-begins.html</a><o:p></o:p><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Charles Blow</strong> focuses on Trump's use of lies and criticism
of the press to try to control all narratives, supplying “alternate facts” when
the truth is too inconvenient, as it usually is. In addition to this, the Trump
team is blocking US government agencies that deal with science from using
social media and removing references to climate change from government
websites. Charles Blow writes in part:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<i>[Trump] is in fact having a running war with the truth itself. <o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Donald Trump is a proven liar. He lies often and effortlessly. He lies about
the profound and the trivial. He lies to avoid guilt and invite glory. He lies
when his pride is injured and when his pomposity is challenged.<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Indeed, one of the greatest threats Trump poses is that he corrupts and
corrodes the absoluteness of truth, facts and science.</i><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2017_01_26_opinion_a-2Dlie-2Dby-2Dany-2Dother-2Dname.html&d=DwMFAA&c=DPL6_X_6JkXFx7AXWqB0tg&r=K-1ofoiA1_zFN2NDFsEcT57-S4iXhlpU9HekoMP4hNo&m=zBfoPsagXRFKFgXnS2m2VF5aTqD4NaqzLPYMuN0AAOA&s=xogFw2nek3iRXt94hpIO1Sq_H8zG7mNDkDftDepJ1iw&e=">http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/opinion/a-lie-by-any-other-name.html</a><o:p></o:p><br />
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</div>
<br />
Welcome to <em>1984</em>.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p>
<i>The cartoon by Nomi Kane is from The Nib, a great political cartoon site:</i><br />
<i><br />
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__thenib.com_an-2Dembarrassment-2Dof-2Dleaks&d=DwMFAA&c=DPL6_X_6JkXFx7AXWqB0tg&r=K-1ofoiA1_zFN2NDFsEcT57-S4iXhlpU9HekoMP4hNo&m=zBfoPsagXRFKFgXnS2m2VF5aTqD4NaqzLPYMuN0AAOA&s=3o_gknFj2Sayn2sVVa34S4wze7wOJzHHtsrDEDeQF7U&e=">https://thenib.com/an-embarrassment-of-leaks</a></i><o:p></o:p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-44820199099339251772017-01-24T10:10:00.001-05:002017-01-24T10:10:36.989-05:00Fermi Paradox Explained?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4wVJgIUFbzOFjiKx7t9_6McYHYH6ZVfa3a4FUEo7aAuKpg5_lx99eyR6FwbOOcQ9-9AMd9LLROhz0v-kt0vfafJCfbz6WeQiPzgspv-6DImUYXRIShBG9Pf7bbrotYyHOlt3/s1600/ACD+SETI+simulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4wVJgIUFbzOFjiKx7t9_6McYHYH6ZVfa3a4FUEo7aAuKpg5_lx99eyR6FwbOOcQ9-9AMd9LLROhz0v-kt0vfafJCfbz6WeQiPzgspv-6DImUYXRIShBG9Pf7bbrotYyHOlt3/s400/ACD+SETI+simulation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve often thought that the whole “where are they?” question about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_for_extraterrestrial_intelligence">SETI</a>
(i.e., the <a href="http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html">Fermi Paradox</a>) is bogus, both because the universe is just so BIG,
and because we still understand so little about it, even though we have learned
in recent years that planets and even “Earth-like” planets seem to be quite
common throughout the Galaxy. As smart as some of us may be, it seems likely
that we are still as clueless about major chunks of physics as scientists in
the 1800’s were about quantum mechanics and the scale of the universe. If there
are wormholes or quantum foam or gravitational technologies we won't develop
for another 200 years, there could be aliens popping in and out all the time,
and we wouldn't even know what to look for. It would be like an airliner
passing 37,000 feet above some remote tribe of people who have never
encountered other humans or modern technology, as unlikely as that may be
today. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Such advanced beings might find radio wave communication to be as quaint as
rubbing sticks together as an energy technology. I’ve also read articles
suggesting that we ourselves are probably approaching the end of our “radio
age” due to fiber optics and other technologies. Though we still send out a lot
of radio waves, they tend to be more directional (like radar, microwaves, etc.)
or short range (cell phone towers, Wifi, Bluetooth, etc.). Maybe technical
civilizations only use radio waves for a few years and any continued or
specialized use eventually becomes very efficient with very little leakage to
space.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Somehow I wandered over to <a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/">Centauri Dreams</a>, a blog that periodically blows
my mind with advanced space exploration ideas. I found an article “<a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=36802">CitizenSETI</a>” about a couple of guys (Roger Guay and Scott Guerin) who decided to work
out this Fermi thing. A key part is the lifetime of an IC (intelligent
civilization), which really means the DETECTABLE lifetime. If that is very
short (e.g., humans have been broadcasting for about 110 years and listening
for only about 60 years), and if such civilizations are widely separated in
time and space, you will have a big “synchronicity” problem – finding times and
places where someone is broadcasting AND someone in range is listening. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Roger Guay created a simulation with LiveCode, a modernized version of my
old, beloved HyperCard for the Mac (screen shot above). In his <em>Advanced
Civilization Detection</em> (ACD) program, he can set various assumptions about
the spacing, lifetime, and other factors and run this simulation at high speed.
Under most reasonable assumptions it creates a sort of “firefly” effect with
detectable IC’s flashing in and out of existence and only rarely being seen by
other IC’s. If these assumptions and simulations are reasonable, IC’s could be
plentiful and it might still take hundreds of years of observation to catch one
of these “fireflies” before it flickers out.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIqXkfPN0vmRBPrNJS7jU_4pcM3jJF0x8depM3gSoMiiyy3g7Xw6fkyouIkATo439Vs5U5gHiIeTCCA5AKNK4mEXSMmojb7pAzcq5aT_yZFvABI2HSNMhL9oaiQBX5a0EIimX/s1600/Intelligent+Life+in+the+Universe+Paper+1966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIqXkfPN0vmRBPrNJS7jU_4pcM3jJF0x8depM3gSoMiiyy3g7Xw6fkyouIkATo439Vs5U5gHiIeTCCA5AKNK4mEXSMmojb7pAzcq5aT_yZFvABI2HSNMhL9oaiQBX5a0EIimX/s200/Intelligent+Life+in+the+Universe+Paper+1966.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been interested in this subject since I read </span><em style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Life-Universe-I-Shklovskii/dp/189280302X">Intelligent Life inthe Universe</a></em><span style="font-family: inherit;"> by Carl Sagan and Iosif Shlovsky back in 1974. This was a
pretty early work on exobiology (or perhaps astrobiology), a field that still lacks data but provides an
interesting framework for thinking about everything we know about ourselves. My
guess is that unicellular life has probably evolved in many places but that the
leaps to multicellular, intelligent, and technological stages are much rarer,
though certainly possible (current sample size is N=1 if you give humanity the
benefit of the doubt as an IC).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Based on this simulation work, we are not likely to expand that sample size
anytime soon. Here is Roger Guay’s final paragraph on <a href="http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=36802">Centauri Dreams</a>:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusions? The ACD simulation dramatically demonstrates that there is
indeed a synchronicity problem that automatically arises when ICs attempt to
detect one another. And for reasonable (based on Earth’s specifications) Drake
equation parameter selections, detection potentials are shown to be typically
hundreds of years apart. In other words, we can expect to search for a few
hundred years before finding another IC in our section of the galaxy. When you
consider Occam’s razor, is not this synchronicity problem the most logical
resolution to the Fermi Paradox?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course this is hardly the last word on the subject of the Fermi Paradox.
In fact, while reading the blog posts that triggered this one, I discovered a
recently updated book that goes into much greater depth, <em><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Universe-Teeming-Aliens-WHERE-EVERYBODY-ebook/dp/B00XVTG1NC/">If the Universe IsTeeming with Aliens … WHERE IS EVERYBODY?</a>: Seventy-Five Solutions to the Fermi
Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life</em> (2015) by Stephen Webb.
I've read the Kindle sample and I may have to buy it despite my insane backlog
of books already waiting to be read. Author Stephen Webb also has an interesting <a href="http://stephenwebb.info/category/fermi-paradox/">blog</a>. </span><o:p></o:p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-8195450493100869032017-01-11T18:16:00.000-05:002017-01-13T17:00:13.499-05:00Obama Farewell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I watched President Obama’s farewell speech last night with my wife. It was an
incredibly hopeful and moving speech, and the part near the end when he spoke
to and about his family and his VP and friend Joe Biden was hard to see without
crying. The presidency is huge, an unimaginably high-pressure job in which you
are pulled in a million different directions and challenged every day to keep
thousands of balls in the air. Obama did it with grace and often made it look
easy, which it was not. I truly believe he is one of the most decent human
beings ever to hold this office and that when he had to comfort the families of
children murdered in Newtown or order military operations or drone strikes that
took lives, often including innocent lives, that this responsibility truly
weighed on him. I don’t want to contrast him with what is following him in just
over a week. There’s no comparison. But at least we had this great and decent
man as our president for eight years.<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p>
This is not to say he was perfect in office – he would be the first to say
he was far from perfect. He made mistakes, some of them very costly, but very
few people are in the position to judge the trade offs a president is forced to
make to keep our country mostly safe and mostly free most of the time. And I far prefer the
coolness of Obama to the impetuousness of… certain others.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
For those of us who believe in facts, who believe in the Constitution, who
believe in science, who believe that all people deserve a chance, who believe
that America is a great country but not the most important one in the world –
wow, he was our president. For those who hate him for whatever reason, whether
it’s because they didn’t prosper while much of the country was getting better
after the near-disasters of the Bush years, or just because they choose to
believe that this country is somehow intended to be Christian and White, I feel
sorry for them. They missed out on something great.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
His speech suggested that we need to keep working for what is right even in
the face of the evil that has wormed its way into Washington and will be in
charge for at least four years (assuming we make it that long). He says he’s
optimistic, and I want to believe him, I want to try, but it’s very hard, even for a natural rational optimist like me. I’m
giving money. Can I do more than that? Can I be an activist? Can I stomach the
noise of politics more than a few months every four years? I don’t know. I'm
glad I volunteered for the small amount of campaign work and donated the money I did in
2008 and 2012 (and 2016), but now I can barely stand to watch MSNBC for more
than a few minutes. My wife watches it a lot and she’s anxious about
the coming time. I get that, wanting to be informed but scared to death of what
you see happening. I'm fortunate that I am able put it aside and focus on other things –
sometimes anyway.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I don’t know what to do. Reach out to the other side? Try to cross that
shaky bridge? I'm not sure I can, and that in itself is a bad sign. I need to think more about it once the dust has settled a bit. But I know
I will miss having a president who is smart and who I can trust to lead our
country for the benefit of its people. That is a huge and scary loss.<br />
<o:p></o:p>FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-6479790969173727872016-11-26T15:51:00.001-05:002017-01-01T17:22:59.677-05:00Orbiter: 2016 vs. 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvld8LMdoC3ryEaqYMpOtfAGzoJhjurhr2csh81lpcRZmTGFptM6gb41oW9Q29auzAxJPFnEUwuq_AznFCPCm-PDsY3nklsSiiIq7ClnZhDB26hDYJP9XP1IBZYo0hX_yAQ-F/s1600/Orbiter+2001+Wheel+and+Pan+Am+shuttle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvld8LMdoC3ryEaqYMpOtfAGzoJhjurhr2csh81lpcRZmTGFptM6gb41oW9Q29auzAxJPFnEUwuq_AznFCPCm-PDsY3nklsSiiIq7ClnZhDB26hDYJP9XP1IBZYo0hX_yAQ-F/s400/Orbiter+2001+Wheel+and+Pan+Am+shuttle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As I wrote recently <a href="http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com/2016/10/orbiter-2016-is-here.html">in this blog</a> and in an article in <a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3091/1">The Space Review</a>, <a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/index.html">Orbiter 2016</a> was released in September. This is the first major release of this freeware space flight simulator since Orbiter 2010, and as I mentioned, not all of the many third-party addons for the 2010 version are working in Orbiter 2016. If you are familiar with Orbiter, you know that it's quite easy to have multiple installations of the software on the same PC, so there is no need to replace the 2010 version with the 2016 version -- as long as you have the disk space, you can keep multiple copies of both versions installed in separate folders and just run the one that has the features and addons of interest at the moment. In the picture pairs below, the top screenshot is from Orbiter 2010, the bottom one is from Orbiter 2016. </div>
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You should also know that although there are some user interface changes in the 2016 version, they are really quite minor, so even if you are new to Orbiter, you can install and use both the 2010 and 2016 versions quite easily. Some developers have already updated their addons for 2016, and others no doubt will when they have the time and inclination. But Orbiter 2010 is still readily available, so if you are interested in the Apollo program, the advanced Shuttle Fleet, the fictional spacecraft of <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i> (sample screenshot at the top of this post) or Colliers Magazine, and many other addons, there's no need to wait for 2016 versions to come along. Note that the final version of Orbiter 2010 is often called 2010-P1 (patch-1) or 100830 (August 30, 2010).</div>
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Here are some observations and tips for working with both Orbiter 2010 and the new Orbiter 2016:</div>
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1. The biggest user interface difference is that the "no-cockpit" full screen pilot view has a control bar that appears when you hover the mouse near top edge in the 2016 version. In the 2010 version, the F4 key will pop up a small menu bar with same controls (in the 2016 version, F4 will toggle the top edge menu between "on" and "auto-hide"). See "no-cockpit" comparison screenshots above. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDibY5LBO_tPUYgTI6Yf3sRtbBMo3JdJzkr4HN2jjebGSkF36fmbW79RQtVRVVdWmD4czckdq8tAUYoOINvvR_ImIWtEQ-XqVoxKp-wWgWRzwwq3SmXcpQdYt_pgMb_sfBg92j/s1600/Orb+2010+v+2016+DG+Moon+terrain.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDibY5LBO_tPUYgTI6Yf3sRtbBMo3JdJzkr4HN2jjebGSkF36fmbW79RQtVRVVdWmD4czckdq8tAUYoOINvvR_ImIWtEQ-XqVoxKp-wWgWRzwwq3SmXcpQdYt_pgMb_sfBg92j/s400/Orb+2010+v+2016+DG+Moon+terrain.jpeg" width="370" /></a></div>
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2. The biggest visible difference in the 2016 is in its support for highly detailed surface terrain data complete with elevations, so mountains and craters are true 3D objects. This makes for some incredible eye-candy especially when you are flying low over the terrain, but in most situations in Orbiter, you are orbiting (oddly enough) 200 km or more from the surface, and the flat 2010 terrain textures look just fine. </div>
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3. In addition to the general high-res 3D surface data for all of Earth, the Moon, Mars, and some other bodies, Kennedy Space Center (cockpit view above) and the Edwards AFB/Mojave region (see shuttle final approach screenshot below) have been given super-detailed makeovers in Orbiter 2016. Again, this doesn't matter much if you are in orbit or cruising to the Moon or Mars, but it does add a lot to the realism before you launch or when you are landing at Edwards AFB. </div>
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4. There is a <a href="http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=37446">thread on the Orbiter Forum</a> that reports addons that are known to work in Orbiter 2016. There are quite a few and there are probably many others that have not been tested but may work. <a href="http://orbiter.dansteph.com/forum/index.php?page=download">Orbiter Sound 4.0</a> works with Orbiter 2016 though there are a few minor glitches such as incorrect audio feedback for some actions (e.g., the G key for "landing gear" in the Deltaglider will deploy the gear but audio will say "radiator deployed"). </div>
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5. Some popular addons that currently seem to work only in Orbiter 2010 include <a href="http://www.acsoft.ch/AMSO/amso.html">AMSO</a> (Apollo program in great detail), <a href="http://simviation.com/1/browse-Orbiter+Addons-142-1">Shuttle Fleet V4.8</a> (which is freaking amazing), and the excellent "<a href="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=1932">World of 2001</a>" and "<a href="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=407">World of Colliers</a>" addons by "Sputnik." Note that even for 2010, some addons may only work with Orbiter's "native" graphics (not the D3D9 Orbiter_NG client which offers better graphics quality and frame rate). I'm not sure how to know this for sure, but if you find that your spacecraft are invisible in the D3D9 client, you should try the native graphics version. </div>
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6. One addon I especially like is the <a href="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=4864">videnie module</a> for orbital path drawing by "artlav." It renders orbital paths for spacecraft, planets, and other bodies in exterior views (green, red, and purple lines around Earth in screenshot above from Orbiter 2010). This is super cool and very helpful in understanding orbital paths, but it only works in native graphics mode (not orbiter_ng) with Orbiter 2010.</div>
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7. If you have plenty of hard drive space available, a good general tip is to create two separate "clean" installation folders, one for Orbiter 2010-P1 and one for Orbiter 2016, including whatever terrain data you prefer, and perhaps with Orbiter Sound 4.0 installed. Make a copy of the clean installations and install any desired addons there. Note that Orbiter 2016 installations with full terrain data can be very large (I have one installation that is 58 GB). </div>
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8. Orbiter Sound supports mp3 playback with control over when the music plays (e.g., exterior views only). But since modern versions of Windows support multi-source sound multiplexing, I tend to just stream music from Amazon or iTunes while running Orbiter. An album of Strauss waltzes is a particular favorite, especially with the World of 2001 addon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoxtPqDZckh8a2hbsFDUNSQycIxEbI3hyphenhyphenSlbr1ePNMrQqDc5AJrewdE5g4JvvQ1rNZgdVbR4xUAEAyyXc5ljCG3ah2TOO01WPqIBMKq9imDotDnd6bOq7v-q5RFbpcrbjK9cc/s1600/Orb+2016+Shuttle+New+Edwards+Approach4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoxtPqDZckh8a2hbsFDUNSQycIxEbI3hyphenhyphenSlbr1ePNMrQqDc5AJrewdE5g4JvvQ1rNZgdVbR4xUAEAyyXc5ljCG3ah2TOO01WPqIBMKq9imDotDnd6bOq7v-q5RFbpcrbjK9cc/s400/Orb+2016+Shuttle+New+Edwards+Approach4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Note: The screen shots here are from Orbiter 2010 and Orbiter 2016, without modification. You can find them and various others in full screen resolution in <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskMrLyGf">this Flickr album</a>. </div>
FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-49486378542766772352016-10-29T13:25:00.000-04:002016-10-31T20:49:02.035-04:00Orbiter 2016 Is Here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezn-TWyjc7Ta8bzXIBKiPaJGEg9rwCpHufFXiRn1YtHIeMwO7u1khYn04-IDrpDDX-cWagDgjvBnGZ1nWCO9Xm9XpU75T1gjO9wdQN7srWIxEOEvsF3aY5bfDFsyOe64TWl1p/s1600/Orbiter+2016+Flickr+Picture+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezn-TWyjc7Ta8bzXIBKiPaJGEg9rwCpHufFXiRn1YtHIeMwO7u1khYn04-IDrpDDX-cWagDgjvBnGZ1nWCO9Xm9XpU75T1gjO9wdQN7srWIxEOEvsF3aY5bfDFsyOe64TWl1p/s400/Orbiter+2016+Flickr+Picture+Collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/">Orbiter 2016</a> is the latest version of a space flight simulator I have been playing with on and off since 2005. And while I'm now old enough to be a grandfather, I find that Orbiter still brings out the "space kid" in me. The sixties were a great time to be a space- and aviation-obsessed kid, and I was a NASA fan from Mercury to Gemini to the Apollo moon flights and beyond. Aside from TV coverage, my only space resources back then were books from the library, plastic model kits, LIFE Magazine, and a huge trove of "NASA Facts" and other free publications I would write to Washington to request. Fortunately NASA had a pretty big public relations budget in the sixties and they were happy to send bulging envelopes of space info to a kid in upstate New York.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiZX548wC_JeEYNwwO3cjVUOhWufnvPd8_JVl125WMTkF62rMdi68wMjv1wJCZoknsZz3nKSwyzPe1mFcp_QHBr79gSTI-AEB1MWdvj9YkGL8YVCoA3dMrUFMqAvV1kg65I_M/s1600/Mars+Olympus+Mons1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiZX548wC_JeEYNwwO3cjVUOhWufnvPd8_JVl125WMTkF62rMdi68wMjv1wJCZoknsZz3nKSwyzPe1mFcp_QHBr79gSTI-AEB1MWdvj9YkGL8YVCoA3dMrUFMqAvV1kg65I_M/s400/Mars+Olympus+Mons1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I never really lost my fascination with space and aviation, as I have often discussed in this blog (though not so much recently). Thanks to personal computers and the internet, there are now more space and aviation resources than ever. I spent a lot of time in the nineties playing with various flight simulators, and I got my real pilot's license in 2001, though I ended up not flying nearly as much as I had hoped, and I am not an active pilot now. Orbiter was a great find in 2005, because it allowed me to combine my interest and experience with flight simulators with my long dormant goal of being an astronaut, albeit only a virtual one. And Orbiter was free (it still is).<br />
<br />
Orbiter even inspired me to write a book called <i><a href="http://www.aovi93.dsl.pipex.com/play_in_space.htm">Go Play In Space</a></i> (free Orbiter tutorial ebook), and to volunteer as a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador to do some space and astronomy-related educational outreach programs, often using Orbiter in my presentations as a dynamic extension of PowerPoint slides and words. The years 2005 to 2010 were probably my "golden age" for space related study, play, conferences, and educational outreach, but shortly after the release of Orbiter 2010, my company was acquired, and my professional workload greatly increased. Side interests like Orbiter largely fell by the wayside. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpf8pjzewDWUGbR_h0bry6n7Y6AzLsbutAcbKe_ggc8_dVjp9cyPHut3k1fKnn8qm6H0reg0pK1EaBrgVuMe1WhCROaUtFKRiN2z2He3FWLVbo92Zm47n6NFyYbctPaN_6Lse/s1600/Orion+Low+Moon+Orb9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpf8pjzewDWUGbR_h0bry6n7Y6AzLsbutAcbKe_ggc8_dVjp9cyPHut3k1fKnn8qm6H0reg0pK1EaBrgVuMe1WhCROaUtFKRiN2z2He3FWLVbo92Zm47n6NFyYbctPaN_6Lse/s400/Orion+Low+Moon+Orb9.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Things are still busy at work, but I do again find time to pursue hobbies like music and space, and with the recent release of Orbiter 2016, I'm getting fired up again. The biggest visible change in the 2016 version is built-in support for detailed 3D terrain on planetary surfaces, with gigabytes of data available for the Earth, Moon, Mars, and some smaller bodies. This doesn't matter much visually from a 300 km orbit, but when you are down low, it makes a huge difference, especially for the Moon and Mars. <a href="https://flic.kr/p/Nfcwwh">Earth terrain</a> is nice too -- though not as detailed as in Microsoft Flight Simulator, it covers the entire globe (clouds are modeled too). Orbiter is primarily a space flight simulator, and although atmospheric flight is modeled reasonably well, if you are mainly interested in flying airplanes and understanding realistic flight operations, a dedicated flight sim like MSFS or X-Plane is probably a better bet.<br />
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Orbiter 2016 includes some other updates, and thanks to user interface improvements and a wide range of community-produced video and other tutorial materials, it is easier to learn and use than earlier versions, though the learning curve is still pretty steep.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNJnETYs4xgdSaXETsCeCdwu899SGr70epeLYXnbKmdDcvfsE62IzDtaqprzVFUKVnEcExsVyEKOsMdgwILYpGuXRxiEMoXmo499dDH3iJmSgLyV2TwKbMa-NQbIM66VDBvtB/s1600/Shuttle+HAC3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNJnETYs4xgdSaXETsCeCdwu899SGr70epeLYXnbKmdDcvfsE62IzDtaqprzVFUKVnEcExsVyEKOsMdgwILYpGuXRxiEMoXmo499dDH3iJmSgLyV2TwKbMa-NQbIM66VDBvtB/s400/Shuttle+HAC3.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I will be writing more about Orbiter 2016 in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are some possibly helpful links, including a collection of Orbiter 2016 screen shots I have placed on my Flickr site.<br />
<br />
My review of Orbiter 2016, Kerbal Space Program, and Space Simulator (iOS app) on <a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3091/1">The Space Review</a><br />
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Orbiter 2016 <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHskMrLyGf">Screen Shots</a> on Flickr<br />
<br />
Main <a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/index.html">Orbiter</a> website with free download links<br />
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Orbit Hangar: Most
Orbiter add-ons are hosted <a href="http://www.orbithangar.com/">here</a> for free download<o:p></o:p></div>
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Home
page for the <a href="http://www.orbiter-forum.com/">Orbiter Forum</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Download my free ebook <i>Go Play In Space</i> <a href="http://www.aovi93.dsl.pipex.com/play_in_space.htm">here</a> (PDF, 2006 version, Wiki version <a href="http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Go_Play_In_Space">here</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
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David Courtney has a large number of Orbiter tutorial videos <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidWCourtney">here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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TexFilms has many Orbiter videos including tutorials <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5B3D428F68E0A23C">here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-39706457721274668312016-07-30T11:06:00.000-04:002016-07-30T11:15:30.455-04:00100 Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90vxwq4r1vObyjA2R9nqIR3XklAhQfPXWQOGSbCKkbpRuzQqa6JUofs_zNHHPJrMiC_De3yGFgG8o128DBhFJoYBYTG-wYQ3Sidldm5pdwy2YoqVHufb9gdtPl8CY9if9aG58/s1600/Hillary+69+PCT+07-29-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90vxwq4r1vObyjA2R9nqIR3XklAhQfPXWQOGSbCKkbpRuzQqa6JUofs_zNHHPJrMiC_De3yGFgG8o128DBhFJoYBYTG-wYQ3Sidldm5pdwy2YoqVHufb9gdtPl8CY9if9aG58/s400/Hillary+69+PCT+07-29-16.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
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One of the most encouraging things I looked at in the NY Times this morning was the interactive "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/upshot/presidential-polls-forecast.html">Who Will Be President?</a>" feature, part of their numbers-oriented Upshot section. It says that based on current polling, as of yesterday, Hillary Clinton has about a 69% chance of winning the presidency. With Donald Trump continuing to double down on his crazy statements and his traitorous flirting with Putin, I have to believe that Clinton's odds will improve over the next 100 days. There will be debates (that will certainly be bizarre) and probably more surprises from Russian hackers, but I'm hopeful that Hillary's team is ready for all of this and that the Dems' convention bounce will exceed the one Trump got from the RNC. I think the DNC did a masterful job of making the case for optimism about the country and for the qualifications of Mrs. Clinton.<br />
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Of course there are always ways to look on the dark side. I also read <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/backing-donald-trump/493619/">an essay in The Atlantic</a> summarizing the typical Trump supporter's view of "what is really going on" and why they believe he will win. It seems to hinge on voter turnout and male support. Supporters believe there are many people, especially men, who normally wouldn't even vote but who secretly support Trump and who will turn out in droves to vote for him. They believe this latent "surge" of disgruntled people is invisible in polls. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe these closet Trump supporters are embarrassed and lie to pollsters but will choose him in the privacy of the voting booth? Some of these Trumpsters even believe that many black and Latino males will go for Trump because they would feel emasculated by a woman president -- the machismo vote?<br />
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This reminds me of similar ideas in 2008 and 2012 about President Obama. It was called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_effect">the Bradley Effect</a>. It posed the idea of what you might call "embarrassed racists," people who would tell pollsters they supported Obama but who would actually refuse to vote for a black man for president. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06poll.html">Subsequent analysis</a> found that this did not occur -- the polls were pretty reliable. But could it be different with secret Trump supporters? I hope not.</div>
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In any case, I am excited that Hillary Clinton is the nominee and I plan to do whatever I can to support her against the very real threat of Trumpism. I can see more donations and some New Hampshire front doors in my future -- at least in the next 100 days. </div>
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FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-12853740122587307072016-07-16T12:18:00.002-04:002016-07-16T15:37:52.597-04:00Perspective<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXShm2n0JliYsw1zHDPkELn9YTd864uW_1a6ib1zZlNa0SuGfvGgz_XvertryMNimnIGW8FCNpxD70x6UbvdcnuEFa2bFH2x8haX1VEm9qcDNIfIOldXa40NzgK9vgpgbv01av/s1600/Earth+-+Atlantic+ocean+in+Orbiter+2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXShm2n0JliYsw1zHDPkELn9YTd864uW_1a6ib1zZlNa0SuGfvGgz_XvertryMNimnIGW8FCNpxD70x6UbvdcnuEFa2bFH2x8haX1VEm9qcDNIfIOldXa40NzgK9vgpgbv01av/s400/Earth+-+Atlantic+ocean+in+Orbiter+2007.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My heart
goes out to the many people who have been injured or lost loved ones in
terrorist actions around the world, most recently the horrific Bastille Day truck
attack in Nice, France. These actions are unconscionable and the people who
perpetrate or support such acts must be brought to justice. Terrorism is obviously intended to terrorize, and
these attacks are certainly scary, with the scariness amplified by instant and
repetitive news coverage that makes Nice or Paris seem as close as Orlando or
Boston (and for my friends in France, recent attacks have been all too close).
It is a small world thanks to global communication and the internet, and we
know that terrorism, like other types of crime, can happen anywhere, so we shouldn’t
be complacent. But we shouldn’t panic either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Terrorism is
a real problem, but it is not the end of the world, which is currently home to
some 7.2 billion humans and countless other species. For perspective, note that
in the US, something like 100 people die in car accidents each day. Worldwide,
over a million people die annually in car accidents, and there are over half a
million “intentional homicides” each year. So many lives tragically cut short
every day, yet we hear nothing about most of these millions of deaths.
Commercial plane crashes are rare, and when one does occur, many people may die,
so it’s big news. The same with terrorist attacks, which have become more
common worldwide, though nations like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Nigeria continue
to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3322308/Number-people-killed-terrorists-worldwide-soars-80-just-year.html">bear the brunt</a> of those attacks, even though attacks in Western countries
get much more news coverage. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You can
Google for statistics as well as I can and find that you are <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-terrorism-statistics-every-american-needs-to-hear/5382818">more likely to be killed</a> by falling furniture than by terrorism. My wife has recently told me she’s
getting more concerned about my business travel, especially to Europe. But I am
far safer on a business trip to anywhere in Europe, Japan, or Korea than I am
driving my car to work. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be concerned about
terrorism. It’s an awful thing if this is the “new normal,” and we shouldn’t
simply accept that. We can and should come together worldwide to make progress
against this threat, though it is certainly not the greatest threat to civilization
that we face (that would be climate change). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/12/the_world_is_not_falling_apart_the_trend_lines_reveal_an_increasingly_peaceful.html">Steven Pinker</a> and others have pointed to extensive data to show that even as terrorism
and crime fill the headlines, the world is not falling apart, and on an overall
basis, violence in the world has greatly decreased, and not only because there
are fewer wars. Other forms of violence
and cruelty are also greatly in decline, though they have not reached zero and
probably never will. I’m optimistic that we can still build a better world for
my grandchildren -- and for everyone else. We should not be complacent about
terrorism, but we shouldn’t freak out, change our way of life, or start another
war over it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The image above has nothing to do with it except that this is the planet we all happen to share (a screen shot from the free <a href="http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/">Orbiter space flight simulator</a>, and one of my most popular pictures on <a href="https://flic.kr/p/HpcrT">Flickr</a>). </div>
FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18052302.post-17791719073651475592016-05-11T15:31:00.000-04:002016-05-11T17:33:48.248-04:00Sunspots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsKVgKvhQ0zJwz7NxMfdfW55uPW50S_THJsMR3Y2RyyVKqeImX2gI5AcvyjT87Ue1Euyh7Lcf9cM83WTosADR_ppuNmTl4sEuEmt51pG1TJXWlRhSPyZDzhJIxvcrHMXxi6HZ/s1600/sunspot+Earth+NASA+v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsKVgKvhQ0zJwz7NxMfdfW55uPW50S_THJsMR3Y2RyyVKqeImX2gI5AcvyjT87Ue1Euyh7Lcf9cM83WTosADR_ppuNmTl4sEuEmt51pG1TJXWlRhSPyZDzhJIxvcrHMXxi6HZ/s320/sunspot+Earth+NASA+v2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I love to write, though you might never guess this from my recent blog activity. While this is my first blog post of 2016, I used to blog a lot more -- some 1500 entries since I started this blog in 2005. Most of my writing these days is in a journal I keep on my iPhone and iPad using an app called <a href="http://dayoneapp.com/">Day One</a>. I like keeping a journal, but recently I started to think about getting out of my comfort zone and doing something a little different with writing. Looking around, I found a wonderful organization called the <a href="http://sevenbridgewriters.blogspot.com/">Seven Bridges Writers' Collaborative</a> in Lancaster, Massachusetts, just 20 minutes from me. There was an opening in one of their weekly creative writing groups, and I joined the spring session in late March. It's a small, informal group led by Winona Winkler Wendth, an experienced, insightful, and supportive writing teacher. I've enjoyed the writing exercises and the lively discussions each week with the group. And it has successfully gotten me out of my comfort zone, writing things I would never have thought to write, sometimes well, sometimes not so well.<br />
<br />
Here is a new one that is very different for me. The prompt was simple -- write 300-500 words starting with "I counted. There were 27." It gave me some trouble for a day or so until I started thinking about the recent transit of Mercury, and about sunspots.<br />
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<b>Sunspots</b><br />
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<i>I counted. There were 27. Shining the sun on a paper plate with your telescope works great. I’ve never seen the sun like that. Is 27 a lot of sunspots?</i><br />
<br />
Not really. Sometimes it can be over a hundred. It goes in cycles over something like eleven years. Twenty-seven is actually a pretty low number.<br />
<br />
<i>What do they mean?</i><br />
<br />
What do you mean, what do they mean?<br />
<br />
<i>Sunspots. If you can’t see them without a special trick like this, why are they even there?</i><br />
<br />
Well, they don’t <i>mean</i> anything. They’re just something that happens because of the way the sun works. Astronomers have figured out that sunspots are cooler areas on the sun, though they are still hotter than anything on Earth, and often they are as big as Earth. They only look small because the sun is so far away.<br />
<br />
<i>But how can they not mean anything? Isn’t there a reason for them?</i><br />
<br />
There’s a difference between a reason and a meaning. Scientists can study the sun and figure out why events like sunspots and eclipses happen from information they can see and measure. In the past, people didn’t know as much about how the world works. They might see sunspots or eclipses as special signs, warnings about something bad. Some people still think this way, figuring that anything so strange and different from normal must mean something.<br />
<br />
<i>But isn’t that right? Grandma says everything happens for a reason.</i><br />
<br />
Let’s think about what she means. Is she talking about science when she says that?<br />
<br />
<i>I don’t think so. She usually says it when someone gets sick or dies or something and people are sad.</i><br />
<br />
Right. If everything were random and unpredictable, that could be pretty scary. But some things in the world happen pretty regularly, like day and night, right?<br />
<br />
<i>Sure.</i><br />
<br />
And other things are not quite so regular, but we know something about them. We have weather forecasts, and we expect it to rain sometimes, and we know most summer days will be warmer than most winter days. If it rains and your baseball game is canceled, you might not be happy, but you don’t think it rained because someone didn’t want you to play your game, do you?<br />
<br />
<i>Of course not.</i><br />
<br />
Rain happens for reasons you can study and learn about. But those reasons don’t have anything to do with what people want. And the rain doesn’t mean anything by itself, though you can find meaning in it. To some people rain means joy because it helps their flowers grow. Some may write poems and songs about the meanings they find in the world. Other people may be scientists and find joy and meaning in understanding the reasons for rain or sunspots or brain cells. People are the most complicated part of this complicated universe. Everyone studies people, but psychologists, writers, and some others do it in special ways.<br />
<br />
<i>Can we get ice cream now, Dad?</i><br />
<br />
Yup.<br />
<br />FlyingSingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15293105558659376603noreply@blogger.com0