You are still young though!
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Yes - 1C8 it is - amazing you remember the ID! Coming into Cottonwood from the south we passed right over a local high school football stadium. I used to line up right btwn the stadium lights and āclearā the carb right over the field during gamesā¦
I only had the one approach into Meigs (Springtime as I recall).
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I think one of the biggest things to add immersion was the addition of the virtual cockpit, that and 3D effects, where it changed and allowed transparency to cockpits etc. Changed smoke trails from being pixellated balls to looking like actual smoke.
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Your airport was one of the fly near dead reckoning points that we used when I practiced for my private. My airport was Roselle/Schaumburg 06C.
Whatās really nice is I can fly that route anytime I want with MSFS.
Ohā¦ carb heat! I canāt tell you how glad I was when I started flying aircraft with fuel injection!!
See everyoneā¦with MSFS you can actually have Old Bold Pilots!
I guess I had better decode that last PIREP for the rest of the simmers on the forum who are not quite as close to TBO as we are ā¦
āThere are Old pilots, and there are Bold pilots, but there are No Old Bold Pilotsā
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The picture shows my wife and I around 1990, a time when I didnāt know anything about computers. Iām 88 now and I use my PC a lot. As a teen in 1950, I took a few lessons on Cessna 110s or 120s at Montrealās Cartierville Airport. No radios. The tower guys flashed red and green lights at the various aircraft. I stopped my lessons before I could solo, for some reason. Over the years, a friend who was a commercial pilot took me along a few times in the three or four private aircraft he owned and I enjoyed that greatly. This and several trips to Europe are the extent of my flying experience.
I was over 60 when I learned the existence of a flight simulator. This was around 1995 and I decided I had to have it but to do so I first had to buy a PC. Once I had one, I found learning to use it was extremely difficult. I started with Windows 3.1 as I recall, my first simulator was MFS 5.1 and I flew it with a keyboard and 14 inch screen. Meigs was the default airport and the scenery was blocky and sketchy, with solid colors only. Still, what a thrill it was!
Twenty-seven years later, I have a medium range Alienware PC, a yoke with a built-in throttle and a High Definition 70 inch screen and MSFS2020 feels very much like real life as far as Iām concerned. Programming an MCDU has almost become second nature, I enjoy starting the FBW A32NX Cold and Dark and preparing the AC with a Simbrief plan for a sixty or ninety minute flight, an eastbound flight at sunset if possible, as the changing colors then are so beautiful. I canāt believe the changes from the green conical mountains of MFS 5.1 to the scenery details, weather and aircraft systems complexity we have in the latest iteration. Iām looking forward to the improvements coming in MSFSā announced 10-year development cycle although I donāt see how Asobo and MS can improve it all that much because, despite the glitches, itās already excellent.
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I turn 83 on the 15thā¦ Single/Multi engine Land, Instructor, Commercial ratings. Owned: 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D, Cherokee 140, Ercoupe and Grumman TR2. Flew around 35 different models of aircraft while instructing, a lot of them taildraggers such as Luscombe 8A, Cub J3, Aeronca, Citabria, 140, 170, etc. Even flew an MX2 U;tralight one time and a PT17 Stearman one time. Iāve been very fortunate.
Much enjoyment. VR in the sim is great! G2 headset, RTX 3080 Ti.
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Do what you want (as long as itās legal), ignore society. Aside from simming, I also regularly team up with my 70 year old father on MW2. Sometimes he can get more kills than I do! Great thread this.
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Fantastic - good for you and best of luck for your check flights - the sense of achievement when you get your PPL is one of life highs - enjoy every moment!
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This thread has made me feel both young and old all at the same time - and a little bit warm and fuzzy 
Well, Iām 58, but they say you are only as old as you feel and the way I feel, I think I have you all beat as easily the oldest! 
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I agreeā¦I think we have a winner!
I donāt get to fly my real aircraft like I did when I wasā¦youngerā¦ and lets face itā¦MSFS is a lot less expensive to operate!
Besidesā¦where else can a barely still in his 60ās private pilot fly one of these?
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Schaumburg - that must have been an interesting area to do initial flight-training! I would think you would have had to deal with the OāHare TCA? The nice thing about learning to fly in Rockford was the moderate traffic, though I believe 06C was also an uncontrolled field. When we needed to practice our radio procedures in controlled space we simply flew the short distance into RFD.
We also had to fly out of RFD in the Spring as the turf field at Cottonwood would be fairly muddy for a while
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Yes Schaumburg was under the OāHare class B tiersā¦and even before the faa changed the air spaces in 1993 you had to get cleared into the class Bā¦and it was a pain to keep up with, but you quickly learned how to communicate with ATC and get very proficientā¦and how to avoid the dreaded message of ATC giving you a phone number to call when you landā¦
All instrument approaches were from the north only because of OāHareās class B with a circle to land for wind out of the north dependent upon minimums.
I am definitely going to fly this later today in MSFSā¦I have a navagraph subscription, so I should have all the correct data to fly IFR and also the missed if nessarry.
Ohā¦ for those of you that use Navagraph, they are doing a big upgrade early next weekā¦and now include the VFR chartsā¦No folding nessarry !
Yesā¦watch out for the old bold pilots on MSFS!
Ohā¦forgot to addā¦we all now have a lot of super nice paved runways to use everywhereā¦real and msfsā¦30 years ago a lot were as mentioned grass and mudā¦ try taxi and taking off with your yoke pulled all the way back against your chest until you got into ground affectā¦ and if you had faringsā¦you had a BIG mess to clean after flying!
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Yes.! All of us hoping that you have a great oral test and check ride!
FYIā¦Some advice from this old pilotā¦ the oral testā¦and the flying check rideā¦expect the unexpected! I donāt know how they do it, but they always know what your CFI 's have drilled into youā¦ and what they missed or lightly touched on. And watch for trick questionsā¦ I did my private (and instrument) in a steam gauge c172. ā¦ and I was one of the unlucky ones who got a passenger on my check ride flightā¦a FAA inspector. They (CFI) pound into you that your aircraft is not certified for flying in icing conditions ā¦so on the oral I was asked about my aircraft de-icing equipmentā¦and I argued that this Cessna was not certified for flight info known icing. After my rantā¦they re-asked the same questionā¦and I all of a sudden I realized that they were talking about pitot heat! ā¦ I somehow squeezed past that and then proceeded to the flightā¦adding the FAA passenger to my weight and balance chart. On the last and final landing he saidā¦your flaps just failedā¦what you gonna do? We (CFI and me) NEVER practiced thatā¦and they knew that the flight school I attended was known for this. Having that sinking feeling knowing that I just blew the check rideā¦my back seat passenger saved my tail and said āa slip works great in this situationā and I said Yes! ā¦ the slip was lousy but I did manage to kick out the crab right before I turned the 172 into a 172RGā¦ and safety landed. As soon as I exited the runway my DPE asked me if I minded him showing me his way. Iā¦ said sure, your airplane. He did one where looking out the windshield ahead was not an option ā¦my door was lined up with the numbersā¦then he had me do 2 myself. I had to wait until he finished talking to the FAA guy, and then said to meā¦your going to be an excellent pilotā¦ NEVER stop learningā¦and signed my certificate. Expect the unexpected!
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MAAMās B-25, Briefing Time, was also an excellent aircraft.
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This is great reading - I love flying (virtually) and have been doing so from back in the day Amstrad CPC 464 days (Harrier Attack? lol).
Things have changed quite a bit!
I genuinely sometimes donāt know if some of the photos in āWhat did you do in MSFS today?ā thread are real or the sim or both, the visuals are getting that good.
We are very lucky to be able to enjoy it and there is nothing better after a crazy week at work.
Friday Flyday!
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I flew my first FS flight on my Commodore64!!!
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well, that means I am just a young sprog at 73.
Even when I was a kid I was fascinated with flying.
I was given a massive balsam wood glider. I spend weeks in the cellar putting it together with a friend.
Eventually it was ready. I think I was around 13 years old. We had a great idea; lets cycle
to the highest hill outside town and launch it from there.
Off we went. Eventually we got to the top and went as close to the drop as we dared and launched.
Never saw it again.
Ah happy days.
Your rig looks so tidy. I seem to have a lot more wires.
My wife sometimes asks me if I know where they all go.
I say of course. I lied. These days if I need to change anything I have to ātraceā the cables.
Just bought a 4K curved 34" monitor. Streamdeck fully programmed (my past jog as ICT manager came in handy) 4 Saitek instrument panels, Radio and multi panels, Yoke and pedals.
Rysen 7 and Nvidia 2070TI
all works like a dream. In the air a stable 60 and on the ground around 50.
smooth as silk. I never thought in my wildest dreams using a flightSim since the 80s that
I would ever have such a ārealisticā flightsim at home.
We have come a long way.
So folks time to be extremely gracious and say thank you to MS team and Asobo.
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My first flight simulator flight was even earlier ā on a TRS-80 Model I.
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That reminds me of my first āflyingā experience. I was about 10, (20 yrs older than you). Several of us had built models from kits of thin balsa wood strips, tissue paper and airplane glue. They came in kits that must have cost pennies. My favorite was a Luscombe 50. Wound up its rubber-band powered prop and flew it several times off the roof of a six story apartment building (NYC) until it finally could not be repaired. We have come a long way, indeed.
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61 here. Lots of love to all.
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