Ken Q

Great news Iain! So happy for all of you! Ken

Best wishes on your birthday. Many happy returns! Ken

I should further note, Iain, to take lab reports with caution and common sense. At one point we had Chessie in for a urinary issue, and the vet ran a blood test. The liver enzymes were out of this world! He should have been at death's door. But he was eating well, active, affectionate, and in all ways normal. So note, lab results can be wrong. Don't panic, and double check, or just follow your instincts. Ken

My hopes and prayers are for you and Mr Rollo, Iain. Modern medicine is wonderful, both for humans and our beloved fur babies, and I hope that Mr Rollo's issue has been found early enough to ensure a complete cure. Our little Chessie has given us a few scares, but is doing well. He'll be sixteen next month. Has slowed down a little, but not much. We have had a number of kitties over our lifetime, my wife, I, and together. One sadly died at eleven, all of the others beat twenty, the oldest, almost 25. So hopefully you'll have Mr Rollo for many more happy years. But as he enters middle age, like other males in mid-life crisis, he needs a proper sports car to tool around in to impress the chicks. Maybe a Purrari? Chessie wants one, but it's out of our budget. Ken

By tradition it's nine!

I doubt the Prince flies this behemoth himself, and that takes the fun out of it. But on the other hand he obviously (and maybe not so obviously) has ways of having fun anyway. For me, I'd go for the Mooney "Bravo" I fly in the SIM. I've lusted for Moonies since the 1980s when I first got seriously interested in general aviation. Ken

From my Grandpa: A fly and a flea and a flue were in prison. "Lets fly" said the flea! So the flew through a flaw in the flue. Ken

Happy Birthday Graeme! Many happy returns. Enjoy your birthday vacation. Ken

Long Island, New York, USA. When visiting England we both fell in love with typical English bitters. Here simular beers are (erroneously) sold as IPAs. We have complained to our local distributor that this is false advertising. An IPA starts as a good English bitter, but must be put in an oak barrel and sailed to India in a sailing ship around the Cape of Good Hope. So semantics aside we have found a US brand that seems to come close. That is Founder's "All Day". IPA. Crisp, clear, reasonably hoppy, and fairly low in alcohol. Besides that we like some of the beers by our local micro breweries, but they vary from time to time. We enjoy a crisp white or red wine from.time to time, depending on the day's menu. Also enjoy a scotch now and again. Wife prefers Clan MacGregor, I like Lauders. But I have a soft spot for Curry Sark, which I get for really special occasions (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and my birthday). The year was 1969. At this time a great effort was being put into preserving some of the historic waterfront of old New York along the East River. A new museum, South Street Seaport, was just getting started. Then it was great plans, and a couple of historic vessels, and a few storefronts in Schermerhorn Row. 1969 though, was the 100th anniversary of the launching of the Cutty Sark. South Street Seaport and the importers of the whisky held a birthday party for the Grand Old Lady. There were interesting presentations on the history of the ship, capped by an address by one of the last surviving captains. And the whisky flowed! And Flowed!! I don't recall if there was an admission fee, but it if so, it was not enough to deter a couple of inpecunious college students. We (my buddy Jim and I) were young and foolish, and I'm surprised that we made it back to Poughkeepsie! I have a lovely Cutty Sark pitcher as a momento of the occasion. Ken

Back in the "olden" days of FSX and earlier I had and used a collection of freeware scenery and planes. But since I moved to P3Dv5 I don't use any. I have a couple of payware airplanes, but fly the stock Mooney "Bravo" almost exclusively. Nearly all of my scenery is Orbx, with a few other payware airports that Orbx doesn't offer. Ken

I agree with Rodge and Larry about the West Coast of the USA. But Sony neglect more southern airports. Try Blue Canyon-Nyack, at 5200 ft over Immigrant Gap, Dinner Pass. L05, Kern Valley is in tight river valley between mountains north of the man made Lake Isabella. Also KJAC, Jackson Hole, Wyoming by the Grand Tetons, and KTEX, Telluride, Colorado are great mountain flying experiences. All are Orbx airports in P3D, I don't know about other Sims. Ken

In general, I quite agree with the consensus that the landing is the most interesting part of the flight. I don't do bush strips, but mountain top fields like Catalina (KAVX) and Sedona (KSEZ) are part I challenging, and rewarding when done well. Ken

Congratulations to you and the Mrs., Rob. Ken

A few dates are worthy of note: October 1, 1991, retired from the Navy. Aug 15, 1986, finished my Ph.D. But the big one is our Wedding Anniversary, June 3, 1978. But in an odd way my 73rd birthday. At that point I had outlived every first or second degree male relative (father, two uncles, two grandfathers). Ken

My mother and grandmother felt strongly that a male presence was very important for a young boy who was an only child and who had lost his father at age two. That presence was filled by my grandfather; after my father's death Mom and I moved in with the grandparents. But then came Dad. Mom accepted an invitation for a date from Charlie, A young man she met at work. Charlie and I hit it off right away. March 22, 1958 he married Mom, (I was almost 10 y o)) and now I had a Dad, too. I was lucky to have two wonderful men in my life growing up. Ken

Heading to KRDD from Sacramento Executive, probably tomorrow. Will have to take a look. Ken

I fly the Mooney M20M (Bravo). I like flights of about 100 to 175 miles, or just about an hour to an hour and a half, with a bit more for preflight, etc. Shorter is not worth much of the prep time, longer can get boring. Of course there is pre flight planning which adds to it all. Ken

Happy Birthday, many happy returns! Ken

I have my Orbx libraries (2) on a second SSD drive, apart from the C drive where P3D lives. Works perfectly and easy to set up in Orbx Central. Ken

While I don't fly in Australia, I am still so happy to see a new airport for P3D. I hope this is a new beginning and we will see more. Ken

TWMT "date line" is Friday, even though Rodge gets a jump on by releasing it a day (or two) early. Today is Thursday, February 29, and tomorrow is Friday, March 1 here in the Western Hemisphere. Ken

Never been there, but I'd love to go to the Mesa Grill at Sedona Airport (KSEZ). The view even in the sim (Orbx scenery) is spectacular and I've looked at the menu on line. I'd choose either the bbq ribs or the pulled pork. Other choices are interesting too. In retrospect, A missed opportunity. Many years ago when my in-laws were snow birds wintering in Mesa, AZ. they treated us to a trip to the Grand Canyon. We joined a tour group in Scottsdale, and travel north by van to Williams. Along the way we had brief stops in Prescott, Jerome and Sedona. We had lunch at a nondescript luncheonette in Sedona. Oh! If only we had gone up to the airport! Of course the driver had his itinerary, and that wasn't on it. But the scenery is spectacular from Jerome to Sedona with the red cliffs and rock formations. After lunch we went up to Williams where we got the steam train to Bright Angel at the Canyon. So far the one airport restaurant I've recently visited is Paula's Airport Cafe in Poughkeepsie. Only stopped for a snack, but it was very nice. An old favorite, now defunct, was the 56th Fighter Squadron Restaurant at Farmingdale Republic (KFRG). The theme was a WW2 Officers' Club in Europe. Good basic food. Ken

I quite agree with Dean about MSFS,and his sentiments concerning Orbx. I am currently using P3D v5, but I would like to eventually move to v. 6, hopefully when Central is integrated with the new sim. I too would love to see more new scenery from Orbx for P3D v4-6. While MSFS seems to be dominant, there is still a large market for Orbx scenery. Over the years I have acquired every scenery (region and airport) I can use for the type of flying I do. I for one pledge to buy any U.S. scenery that I don't already have, as long as it has a paved runway 3000+ feet long. There are SO many possibilities! Ken

Great picture, Rob. From KMRY I'm heading north, KSAC next, then up to Medford and Redding. Rather than KRDD, I'll try O85 again. But I also see that the business side of Benton, including the cafe, is closed. Is that true? Seems the war against General Aviation continues. Ken

Well, yes, virtually. In the physical world I'm over 3000 miles east, on Long Island, New York. But in the sim I fly the west coast to take advantage of PilotEdge services. But with Orbx scenery it is not a great leap to imagine being there. Hence my comment. I love the PNW, but hate the more usual weather. I prefer to go VFR, which can be a challenge in Oregon and Washington. But I like your suggestions, Rob. Orbx KRDD is one of my favorite airports. But I have flown into Benton a couple of times. Actually this suggests a TWMT (Rodge!) Something about favorite airport eateries, SIM and Real World. Ken