It might be interesting to discuss some questions which compare this adventure to flight simming. Do not forget my perspective: Mr. PC-Pilot who just happened to make this small hop with the prop. My conclusions might differ from those of the pros in their Nomex suits, but might be even more so interesting for the readers of CSIM.

So how does this real thing compare to the sims, for all us silicon flyers out there this is some sort of a 64k-question, isn't it?

The bad news is: The overall experience of a real dogfight is so immense that we will never get it at home. The full integration of all sensory inputs into the brain creates an experience of its own, something which can not be simulated in the foreseeable future - maybe never.

The good news: It's amazing how many aspects of it is already covered by the PC and we all know its going to better every year. With things in the visual department improving so fast, we will catch up there soon. The bottom line will be those wide-angle VR-goggles which follow your head movements. During a dogfight you rarely stare straight ahead, but almost always UP (I expect some very real neck pain when fighting thru a rainy Sunday afternoon with such a device strapped to the PC!).

Before that flight, I was not aware how much force-feedback joysticks will contribute to realism (have to buy one for X-Mas!) and that more important for the immersion experience than rocking chairs (too jerky) would be a device to simulate Gs (e.g. an inflatable G-suit or compression straps). I can't wait to feel how close we will come to the real thing with gizmos like that.

Will a simmer be a good real-life dogfighter?

Another one of those questions. After my experience in Fullerton I would answer with a Yes. When talking to my adversory pilot, it quickly turned out, that I had flown orders of magnitude more dogfights than he had - and I did a lot of them with WWII prop planes - shooting AIM-7 at radar blips doesnt count in that ballpark. For me, thats the reason that I could down him every time with comparative ease. Things would have been diferent against guys like Dooley for example.

Where do you benefit from Sims:

The first is situational awareness and orientation: you know what it means to have the eyes padlocked on the enemy, while at the same time subconsciously tracking the 3D-world spinning around you. You have a feeling for your and the enemies position and the options both of you have, right now and in some seconds.

This flight confirmed my opinion that the most important view to improve SA in sims is [outside player to target], with [inside cockpit padlock] only able to catch up after the introduction of those VR-goggles. The brain input from the sensors and muscles in your neck, which you miss when staring at the screen, is so important that I don't consider outside views a cheat.

The simmer knows about BFM, energy management, is not afraid to pull Gs and being aggressive is second-nature to us anyway. But restrain yourself, according to Dooley he has to intervene sometimes when people try to ram the other plane head-on!

Where is simming counter-productive:

You pull Gs too easily, not caring about buffets, flat-spins etc. This comes from the simplified flight models of the past and the missing F-Feedback. I took Microprose EAW home from L.A. and after having used it for some hours now, with the flight model and spins set to realistic, I'm sure this will make me a much more cautious pilot in no time (Dooley would like it!).

Click to continue . . .

Our stick movements are too hard and jerky, reality requires a much smoother touch. Another interesting issue is deflection: three of my kills would have required me to pull some lead with real (and silicon) guns; not so here, you put the pipper dead on the plane and let fly (kinda the K-14 gunsight of the late P-51s). Deflection is so hardwired in my mind that it was difficult not to do it.

The Bottom Line

Can I recommend it? Absolutely. Do it. It may seem to be more money than sense, but it's on par in the thrill-seconds-for-the-buck-ratio with other things like bungee, free-fall parachuting or grade5-rafting. It is a thrilling experience for anybody, but so much more for us flight simmers. Believe me, pulling out of a dive on the 17" screen will never be the the same again. For most it will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime events, but it's worth it, even considering that you can buy a bucket full of sim-software and a lot of PC-hardware for the money.

But beware, I think it's very addictive, somehow I'm glad that I don't live in L.A., I probably would go through all their programs up to the Top Gun tournaments they have. Gee, terrible things could happen: I would have to sell the house, my wife would divorce me...

If you do it, just make sure you have a good opponent, the best would be a friend who you know from network play. There is also a pool of "frequent flyers" in L.A., customers (parking their Rolls-Royce near the Marchettis, no kidding) who should know all the tricks of the trade.

I talked to Mike Blackstone about switching to cheaper aerobatic airplanes like the Walter Extra. Mike has indeed thought about it, but expressed doubts if they will be accepted as "military" planes by the public. Also, the side-by-side seat arrangement of the Marchetti is a definite plus. He has already bought a cheap Yak-Trainer from Russia which would do the job, but it's a nightmare to get it FAA-certified. Still Mike has some plans with it ...

Are there improvements possible apart from making it cheaper? Well, I would like to actually hear the guns hammering away, a wide-angle camera on top of the rudder would be better than the side looking camera from the cockpit and there comes DVD now with its possibility to track all the three cameras simultaneously.

Where can you fly? Home base is Fullerton, but they tour the US in summer, just check their website. Others have jumped the bandwaggon, there are a couple of outfits in the US and Canada which use the Marchetti, T-6 or Beech trainers and have similar prices.

Being German, I asked Mike if he ever thought about starting a business in Europe. They had actually tried but were bogged down by the overwhelming bureaucracy there.

This means I have to go back to the silicon skies, but with a recollection that makes each virtual flight a richer experience than before.

Check Six! Martin Ilg