Bruce (a.k.a. brian747)

Thank you for the compliment, Geoff, but in fact I am in awe of *all* simmers. OK, I have speciaised in a niche situation for a very long time becuse I happen to love the 744 almost exclusively, but all of us face challenges (lack of time being perhaps the foremost). Mid range or any range, we're all united by our love of aviation, and it's great to be able to share our... Hobby? Passion? Addiction? (Whatever) ...with others here at the Hangar. All power to your elbow, my friend, and I would love to hear more of your experiences, because we're all on a continuous learning curve. I

Nice one, Pete — well flown! A study in contrasts indeed: I especially enjoyed your pre-landing checklist: > Gas: Yup. > Gear: down, and welded. > Mixture: Yup. > Prop pitch: Yup. Love it! And sincere congratulations on finding that, er, strip (?) in the middle of nowhere. <gulp> Oh, and could you please let me know when you've finished with the 'cub, incidentally — my lawn mower could do with a new engine. (Sorry, couldn't resist it...). Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

That's useful info — thanks, Geoff! Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Nissed as a pewt, not!

Many thanks, guys! @Matt I wish I'd known that was your house, I would have waved..... But my humble thanks — any comparison to Professor Sagan is a huge tribute indeed! @John Strange — I would have thought that someone with your taste for the military would have been aware that on such occasions, rather different rules apply..... @Steph That sounds like a brilliant deal, I'll take it! All the best, B.

Thank you for your kind comments, gentlemen! @brett > "(I have a twin named Brent, my mother wanted us to grow up tough )" Ah.... I borrowed the name from a great guy I got to know whilst I was in the U.S. I always wondered why he kept a .44 Magnum handgun in his airing cupboard — I think I now understand a little better, perhaps. @Micke > "...the detail you pour in..." <grin> Well the rules do include the statement that "...you can never post too much detail!", and I always try to stick to the rules. I'll try to cut it down a bit next time.

Some days before the flight, I had a chat with Geoff Swanson, my First Officer and world famous wind-up merchant, mainly to give him an outline of our next trip. When I mentioned the word “Hawaii” his face lit up. I made the most of the moment, because I like to wind him up occasionally, just to even the score a little. Then I said “But it’s Hilo”, and his face fell a mile. “You are definitely kidding me, right?”, he begged. But I wasn’t kidding, to his huge disappointment. As you can see from the map, Hilo is about as far east of the island chain as you can possibly get without falling in

Bang bang chicken with Szechuan peppers

Hi Martin! That's great news, and good to hear. Well done, and many thanks for letting us know! I'll mark this topic as Resolved, if that's OK with you. Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Hi Ardy! That's great — I'm happy you got it sorted out. I'll mark the topic as Resolved, if that's OK with you. Many thanks for letting us know! Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Found them, thank you, and much else, besides. It doesn't pay to ignore the fsdevelopers' forum for long, that's for sure! Cheers, B.

Senior? Nothing so posh, in my case. B.

Well done, Gavin! B.

Oops.... Hula dancer??? (Looks wildly around for the nearest exit...).

@brett (I should have known it was a mistake to give you the slightest encouragement...). You're a brave man, my friend! Far be it from me (on account of simple cowardice, you understand) to comment publicly on someone else's dress style, or indeed their coloured grass accoutrements. Not to mention (which is why I didn't) their coconuts, of whatsoever hue. Besides, I think she looks just lovely in an A330. Cheers, B.

@brett Hmm, is there anything you want to share with us about this thing you have with grass skirts?? @Jess Well done, great flight - I particularly enjoyed the shots of your night landing at Hilo. I landed this morning, but since we're carrying cargo for our onward flight they directed me across to the cargo area, which is the old (and slightly seedy, TBH) passenger terminal by the other runway. I'll give the lads the evening off and look forward to meeting up for a chat. Hair of the dog or whatever, we have to make quite sure that you're fully recovered... Cheers, B.

Thanks for that, James. I hadn't heard about SODE, but I'm just googling..... Cheers, bruce a.k.a. brian747

Hi, James! > "...when I program the flight into the FMCU (Airbus driver) inputting the Airways and VOR it by-passes some waypoints." That seems strange. Could it be a "fly by" as opposed to "fly over" thing? Cheers, B.

> "My VA however requires me to accurately file my flightplan..." <DEEP sigh> That makes life difficult indeed, my friend. I'm not sure what to suggest (except perhaps, change your VA? ). > "I'll have another beer..." *Always* a good idea. > "... and see if I can fly this mother." Good luck, Martin (although I have to say that some VAs are run by people who know little of these matters, unfortunately). Being forced to compromise for practical reasons is one thing, but being forced to fly it wrongly just because the VA doesn't know about how thin

@brett You're welcome, my friend! @Martin <grin> Roger that! > "Should I ask ATC if I can stay on an even level the 12 miles from BRENO to INN ?" I'm not an ATC expert, but I reckon that's exactly what would happen. My guess would be that after a brief chat with the Austrians they would surely permit you to stay at your present level (unless a conflict would result, of course) and then report leaving their airspace a very short time later? On the wider question of flight levels with PFPX, though, I too tweak them as required to be as fully compliant w

Heckler & Koch

Still weird, but I'm glad you have a work-around! Cheers, B.

That's great — well done! And many thanks for letting us know: that helps anyone else with similar problems in the future who does a search.... Clear skies, and all the best, B.

Thank you for that, John, I hadn't seen any references to the incident previously. It does sound grim for the ambulance flight, indeed. Our thoughts go out to the families of the seven who were (we have to presume) lost. The circumstances are unpleasantly reminiscent of the depressurisation problem that killed everyone on board the ill-fated flight of the golfer Payne Stewart in 1999, except in that case it was a flight from Florida to Texas, and no other aircraft was involved. However the military pilots who chased the Learjet reported the presence of frost or condensation covering mo

Hi Gavin, and welcome to Mutley's Hangar! Intermittent faults are always a pest, since you can never be entirely sure whether you've solved them. I wouldn't rush into P3D just yet (it's not so hugely different to FSX, in many respects), let's see whether we can sort out what's going on. You didn't actually say what you use to control the speed brake: is it the default slash key, or are you using something else that you've programmed yourself? My initial guess would be that you're right, it *is* something to do with the "programmed button to the controls" (what is that, inc