Ken Q

For the rest of the week (and leftovers). Three days (evenings) of Candlelight Evenings left, then three months off. Getting tired. Looking forward to the break. Love the (PT) job, but wonder how much longer we can keep it up.

Very quiet Christmas here, but thoroughly delightful. Started Christmas Eve with a nice dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu. Then the midnight (10:00 PM) service at church (Episcopal), where both of us are assisting ministers. Home, then open presents. Sleep in LATE! Today, my one annual really traditional family dinner (English). Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with all the trimmings. A nice Bitter to wash it down. (Here in the states they label it as an "IPA." But to be a true IPA it must go from the UK to India on a sailing ship in oak casks). But this is very close to the bitters we enjoyed in England, at dinner and pub hopping with cousin Morris in 1990. Stilton and Double Gloucester cheese with brandy and coffee for afters. Wonderful. Delicious. But most important, after all these years, A connection with the past. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, later Dad, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins. All gathered around Grandma and Grandpa's dining room table. Separate table for the children (I hated that! My one year older cousin got to sit at the " grown up table, in my place, in MY house. Oh the indignantly!) Most now long gone. The few left have drifted off. But yet we carry on. A lovely day of celebrating the birth of the Christ Child, of reminiscences, of good food! Just the two of us now, but rejoicing in the power of this special time. A happy, merry, meaningful Christmas, Hanukkah, or whichever feast you celebrate, even just a family Sunday dinner, to all. While this date for this celebration may, on the surface, seem arbitrary, note that the Sun has stopped its retreat, and will return (to us in the North-sorry Oz, now it's our turn). Darkness has its limits. Love and joy to all in this season! Ken

Has anyone checked to see if there's a relationship to R2D2? Cousins, perhaps?

Who's Tom Brady? Never heard of him.

Thanks Derek, and a merry Christmas to you and your family Ken

Like John, I really appreciated a gift from my Naval unit during Operation Desert Shield: 12 days leave at Christmas 1990. While we were offered the opportunity to catch a military flight home, I got to thinking that if I went home going back would be too painful. So my wife and I arranged to meet in London. We spent a wonderful Christmas with my cousins in Hythe, then New Year with a school chum of my wife and her family in Beccles. In and of itself a wonderful Christmas present, but came with wonderful "stocking stuffers." Visits to Portsmouth (HMS Victory and Warrior), The Hastings Battlefield, Salisbury Cathedral, London Tower, and concluding by ringing in 1991 in a 14 th century church tower in Beccles. Sadly my older cousins have passed away, which makes this an even greater Christmas present. But the really great Christmas present: my wife! Christmas is her birthday. Ken

Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you and your family, Don. And to Rodge and Trudy. And to Pete, Gumby, Flyingleaf, and to every one. And a Happy, Healthy and Safe 2023 to All. Ken

The gradual return to normal: Midnight Mass (but ours starts at 10:00 PM), and my annual roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (Grandma's "recipe" "until it looks right") Christmas dinner. Also Candlelight Evenings at work. That part is a tough one because a) I don't like to drive at night, and b) being 'Old Coots' it's exhausting. But we've got a masochistic streak, we do enjoy it and I get shift differential pay. We'll have to see how this year works out. 2020 was cancelled outright and last year it was cancelled after two evenings after several staff members came down with Covid. Wife and I roast chestnuts. Christmas dinner is quiet just the two of us. We like to have a " Twelfth Night" party with friends for dinner on or about January 6 (and yes, the Christmas Tree stays up, and Christmas doesn't end until Epiphany, January 6). Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Happy Hanukkah to a!l who celebrate this wonderful feast! Got Jule! And a happy Holiday Season to all!!! Ken

Happy birthday, and many more! Ken

Living in the northeast, I have a couple of options. To start, of course, nothing (in the US) can beat the upper Midwest. The Christmas before we were married my wife (to be) went "home" to central Minnesota, and then to Moorjead, MN, near Fargo, ND for me to meet her family. Wonderful trip, and though pretty cold (officially "brisk" according to Dad, only about -10F), being forewarned I was prepared, so it wasn't too bad. But the overcoat I bought in preparation for the trip was never worn again. But the most memorable cold snap was a few days before I reported to active duty in the Navy. On my way to Newport, RI I visited a friend who was in graduate school at Albany (NY) University. Albany, located about 140 miles north of New York City is in interior New York State, and can get pretty cold. Well, my friend and I decided to go to an on campus concert. It was so cold (below zero) and very windy that we opted to drive, though it was just across campus. Everyone else had the same idea, so parking anywhere nearby seemed impossible. But I had an old 1962 VW with a sunroof. We found a space where a parking space hog parked over the line, taking two spaces. But there was still room, barely, for my little car, as long as I didn't open the doors. So I let my friend out, pulled into the space, and climbed out of the sunroof. Ah, to be young. Now I have enough trouble getting out of a car through the door. Ken

Milan This is a totally unofficial response to your question. I love L35 Big Bear. I used it often in FSX, and now in P3Dv5. It's a beautiful and challenging airport. But I have SoCal region as well, which makes for a great immersive experience. Without SoCal region scenery, but with Open LC NA and the other base scenery you have, I would expect results the same as with KPSP: full airport, and basic scenery around the airport. Better than the default, but not as detailed as with the regions. A possible problem might be with the elevations and the mesh, but with Vector, I don't think that is likely. I'm an experienced Orbx product user, bit by no means am I an expert. This is what I would expect in your situation, but I'd like this verified by someone who knows more about it than I do. Ken

I had Instant Scenery with FSX, and loved it. Best thing I did with it was to make a decent representation of the American Airpower Museum at Farmingdale Republic Airport (NY) KFRG. I am glad to see that it is compatible with P3Dv5. I'll install it! Thanks, Ken

Can't beat (most) of the codes mentioned above, but I'll add this: Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Ken

One problem with P3D and the survey is that it lists the use of each version separately which makes MSFS use appear to wallop P3D. However, while total use of MSFS does outnumber P3D, if the use of v.4 & v.5 are added together the difference is not as great. At least it wasn't last year. We'll have to see what this year brings. Ken

A very nice thought, John. Thank you. I already own all of the Orbx products that I can use: all of the U.S. Regions and True Earth, and almost all of the U.S. airports. But there are so many more sceneries that could be done. And I acknowledge that MSFS is the mass market darling. But P3D and X-Plane have a large following with money to spend on quality add-ons. Ken

When I had my new Jetline computer built last March I had two 2TB hard drives installed. I'd like to fill them with even more Orbx scenery. Ken

Thank you Karl. We will drink a toast, with Thanksgiving, to all my Orbx Forum friends throughout the world. Best wishes to all! Ken

I too am a P3D v5 loyalist. As pretty as it seems to be, for a number of reasons I have no interest in MSFS. Therefore I am very, very disappointed that Orbx and other developers seem to have abandoned P3D. I too would love to see the airports Dan mentions released. In addition I'd very much like to see Camarillo, and Fresno and any other airports that are controlled in PilotEdge. Add to that, Bullhead AZ. The enhanced version in the SoCal region has serious elevation issues making it unusable, and it's such a great airport. I scoff all of these up in a heartbeat! So much for the current Black Friday sale. There is nothing left for me to buy. Ken

Best wishes for a happy birthday, many happy returns. Ke

I have to assume,Gumby, that you're referring to watching on the TV. Amusing occupation, but I can't see paying for it. Which brings up another topic, only loosely related.. TV! I've long had Verizon "triple play", phone, Internet, and TV. I've grumbled to myself about the cost, because TV is not a "thing" for us. We are probably in the .0001% of the world who NEVER watch TV. Last time I turned on broadcast TV was 9/11. Before that was the Challenger disaster. Just not something we do, though in the winter we enjoy watching a selected DVD on our nice home theater system. So, coincidental, A Verizon person came to call, and I got to revamp our service, eliminated the cable TV we never use, and saved $100 A month. Ken

I'm not a fan of football or futbal, however one might spell it or play it. My freshman year in college Phys Ed was required, and I had a professor (if you can call him that) who was a soccer nut. This was in the late '60s when the game was largely unknown in the US. He made us play it. I hated every minute! So in response to the question, my happiest soccer moment was the last P.E. class ever! Ken

Hello Frank! Very best wishes for a happy birthday, and MANY happy returns! Ken

As I mentioned above, I use an Amazon Fire 7 tablet which sells for $50 US. I don't know of its availability or price in other countries, but it's cheaper than an iPad and quite adequate. Ken

For years I have been downloading and printing plates, plans and charts from SkyVector. I have books of them, all neatly punched and arranged in their several binders. As time has passed, and the technology has improved, to say nothing about about my growing ability to used this technology, I've gone to using my (cheap) tablet for all of this. Navigraph makes access of these plates so easy. I'm probably saving more than the €8.30 on printer toner and paper. Besides, it's the "modern" way to fly. All in all, much more realistic. I'll note though, that I have a full blown "sim-pit" with the capacity for multiple displays. Ken

A,C,D,E,F,G - IMHO, nothing beats the Mooney M20M Bravo. One caveat for A, I don't land on unpaved runways. For B I have to vote for RMS Queen Mary (1-the old one). Unfortunately she's a deteriorating hotel/museum in Long Beach CA. How are the mighty fallen! Another choice for B, if flying is the only option, would be an airship like the Hindenburg, but with helium and modern carbon fiber technology. Or an SST like the Concord, if even remotely affordable. Or one of the luxurious classics from the days when long flights were made comfortable by good service and good food, like the Connie or the DC7- 7 Seas. My favorite Mooney can't do it, and even if it could, I couldn't endure it. Based on my limited transatlantic experience, all other options are forbidden by the Constitution as "cruel and unusual punishment.". If getting there isn't at least half the fun, I'm not going. Ken