B
Blue Nose
Guest
Finally got round to installing P3 last night. In what I like to think of as my 'pre-flight ground school' it took 4 hours to set up my machine (making HD room, installing CFS 3 etc.) but only 5 minutes to get my pre-flight checks completed (re-programming the buttons). C'est la Microsoft 
Anyway, by this time it was late so 2nd Lieut. Greg Hunt was told by his C/O to take a Pup for his first quick solo before dinner. Took off from the 46 Squadron training field outside London (can't remember the name) in the bright Spring sunshine, looking down the cowling to check all was clear. A few bumps and the light machine gently lifted off, slight back pressure to maintain a climbing attitude without losing speed I reached 300 feet and began a gently turn around the airfield, rejoicing in the view of the little houses beneath and the cumulous on the horizon. Gentle turns demonstrated the degree of slipping inherent in the design and the power of the rudder. Hard turns with increasing bootfulls of rudder to keep the nose down revealed the beauty of the flgiht model, with the fly-by viewing demonstrating the 'oversteer' turns so characteristic of bi-planes.
From above it became apparently that the wide field was actually narrower than had first appeared. It now began to dawn on me that landing was an unavoidable responsibility. Quick check of the windsock revealed that it was blowing 'cross field so there was nothing much to be gained from approaching from either end. Reduced power and began to descend, but unfortunately I was still mentally in a 1940s-era aircraft and realised too late that my approach as too fast. Despite vicious side-slipping I was aware that a lack of brakes might see me trundle gently in to the hedges round the field. As writing off a kite on my first solo might not look good I poured power on again and overflew the field. Power fully off and a semi-stall turn brought me back with the entire length at my disposal. The unorthodox circuit had brought a crowd of observers so I was determined to make it a good touchdown. At 40 mph and about 50 feet I cut the switches and floated in, prop gently windmilling. The Pup, light as a feather held off for a rough 3-pointer and rolled to a gentle stop though slighly shorter of the hangers than I had intended. Happy and exhilerated at 20 minutes solo, I headed back to the mess.
I'm aware I've only scrathed the top layer of the surface of BHAH, but it's already worth far more than I paid from sheer presentation, fidelity and enjoyment. Cannot wait for this evening and some free time to get to grips with the whole sim. The last thing I did before switching off was look at the pdfs that come with the game - they alone are worth £5 for the effort that went in to them (but opening in game caused some freezing problems - I guess they can be views from Windows?).
Thank you to the whole OFF team for a superlative product which is a tribute to their time and dedication. I would not hesitate to recommed this to anyone. Congratulations to you all, you must be very proud
:ernae:
Anyway, by this time it was late so 2nd Lieut. Greg Hunt was told by his C/O to take a Pup for his first quick solo before dinner. Took off from the 46 Squadron training field outside London (can't remember the name) in the bright Spring sunshine, looking down the cowling to check all was clear. A few bumps and the light machine gently lifted off, slight back pressure to maintain a climbing attitude without losing speed I reached 300 feet and began a gently turn around the airfield, rejoicing in the view of the little houses beneath and the cumulous on the horizon. Gentle turns demonstrated the degree of slipping inherent in the design and the power of the rudder. Hard turns with increasing bootfulls of rudder to keep the nose down revealed the beauty of the flgiht model, with the fly-by viewing demonstrating the 'oversteer' turns so characteristic of bi-planes.
From above it became apparently that the wide field was actually narrower than had first appeared. It now began to dawn on me that landing was an unavoidable responsibility. Quick check of the windsock revealed that it was blowing 'cross field so there was nothing much to be gained from approaching from either end. Reduced power and began to descend, but unfortunately I was still mentally in a 1940s-era aircraft and realised too late that my approach as too fast. Despite vicious side-slipping I was aware that a lack of brakes might see me trundle gently in to the hedges round the field. As writing off a kite on my first solo might not look good I poured power on again and overflew the field. Power fully off and a semi-stall turn brought me back with the entire length at my disposal. The unorthodox circuit had brought a crowd of observers so I was determined to make it a good touchdown. At 40 mph and about 50 feet I cut the switches and floated in, prop gently windmilling. The Pup, light as a feather held off for a rough 3-pointer and rolled to a gentle stop though slighly shorter of the hangers than I had intended. Happy and exhilerated at 20 minutes solo, I headed back to the mess.
I'm aware I've only scrathed the top layer of the surface of BHAH, but it's already worth far more than I paid from sheer presentation, fidelity and enjoyment. Cannot wait for this evening and some free time to get to grips with the whole sim. The last thing I did before switching off was look at the pdfs that come with the game - they alone are worth £5 for the effort that went in to them (but opening in game caused some freezing problems - I guess they can be views from Windows?).
Thank you to the whole OFF team for a superlative product which is a tribute to their time and dedication. I would not hesitate to recommed this to anyone. Congratulations to you all, you must be very proud
:ernae: