Ken Q

Really great news, Don. I can empathize. More than twenty years ago my wife dragged me to the E.R. in respiratory arrest, on the brink. In a coma for four days and intubated. But with the right care by a great pulmonologist I came through it fine, and at this point only use an inhaler rarely. Turned out that the cause was a reaction to Atrovent inhaler which my PCP had prescribed. I discovered this when in recovery the pulmonologist suggested I try it again. One puff was enough! It made me much worse. I now list it as an allergy. I mention this to support and emphasize Don's point, getting the right help and treatment can make all the difference. To that I'll add, while we have wonderful life saving medications not all are suitable for everyone. Be alert to what a medicine is doing and if it does not work as it's supposed to tell your physician immediately. Anyway, Don, this is great. Best wishes for a continued recovery. Ken

Me too. But unless or until Orbx comes out with new P3D stuff there is nothing left for me to buy.

Tough choice. Big ones, like Palm Springs KPSP and Santa Barbara KSBA, little ones like Kern Valley L05 and Pearsons all would be great. But I think I'd have to vote for Catalina, KAVX. But I like Paul's suggestion of one a month. Ken

Happy birthday, Rob! All the best. Ken

Funny thing! You've just invented the aircraft carrier. Except when flying from/to a carrier the runway heading changes as necessary. But the open area (A lot of water) Is on the left, and the "Building" (the "Island") is on the right. Ken

Like Gumby, Wayne and Jack I'm not big on war birds. I,ve played with #3 (P-51 Mustang) a little, but haven't flown it much. But in a previous incarnation (FS 5.2) I did fly the B-17 out of Stewart AFB quite a bit. Years ago Microprose had a F-117 game (not by any means a simulator) which was fun. Ken

I was just reading that Lake Isabella has receded in the drought so much that old Kerrville has reappeared. Years ago, when the Kern River was dammed the old town was abandoned and a new town built on higher ground, near the Kern Valley Airport (L05). This is beautiful Orbx airport, and a really challenging one too. The old town was used as backdrop for many Western movies, but was demolished when the dam was built. No buildings survive, but now the foundations are exposed. Ken

Happy birthday, Wayne. All the best! Ken

Happy birthday, Terry. Many happy returns! Ken

I do hope your girlfriend's recovery continues to progress, and the two of you can go out for a nice dinner to celebrate. And when you do, raise a glass of your favorite libation in recognition of the happy birthday toast all of your Orbx friends are offering! Ken

Happy Birthday, Comrade! Many happy returns! Ken (USN Ret)

A Reuben Sandwich: corned beef, A Swiss or jarlsberg cheese, saurcraut, on rye or pumpernickel. Traditionally the sandwich is topped with Russian dressing, but since I don't like Russian dressing I use a spicy brown mustard. The sandwich is cooked in a buttered skillet until brown and the cheese melts. Second favorite: A turkey club sandwich. Turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato with a little mayo on white toast. Ken

But not just X-Plane! Let's have it Fr P3D 4+ too!!! Ken

Saddened by this news. He was was a great contributor to this forum, and a good friend to all of us. He will be missed. Condolences to his family. He and his family and friends are In my prayers. Ken

I have both a Rugged and a Gulf Coast Avionics aviation headset. I prefer the GCA as being more comfortable, though the Rugged is fine too. Both retail for about $100. I use them with an FSX Dual unit by Flight Sounds ($229) from New Zealand, which allows me to "fly" with a "passenger" with said person also listening to ATC. I use PilotEdge, and I also have P2A (Pilot2ATC) for use outside of the PilotEdge area. I love the setup. Ken

Actually, while I don't fear the little, ordinary garden variety, I'm not stuck on them either. But they are a part of our world. Years ago I was at home with roommate, girlfriend and cat. Cat caught a garter snake and brought it into the kitchen. Cat wanted to play with it. Girlfriend wanted to study it. Roommate was absolutely terrified! I was merely annoyed. Though not fond of snakes, I bear them no animosity, OUTSIDE! I just wanted to get it out of my kitchen! The interplay between the various participants was like the Keystone Cops. But when I was in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm, sand vipers were a real hazard. Not harmless! BTW, I don't have an Aunt Emily, so I can't judge. I like spinach but can't eat much because it interferes with medication I have to take. Ken

At the museum where I work, we had, for years, a wonderful Theodore Roosevelt impersonator named Jim Foote. Jim sadly passed away recently. But Jim looked just like TR, and he knew his subject extremely well. Now, TR had a daughter by his first wife named Alice. While president, TR commented on Alice's outrageous behavior, "I can run the country, or I can control Alice; I can't possibly do both." Well, Jim came in one day with a garter snake in his shirt pocket, and introduced his pet as Emily Spinach. He explained that Alice kept a pet snake of that name, named after two things she hated most. Her Aunt Emily, and spinach! Ken

"B" for me. I love the mountains too, and if you'd featuring the D&RG narrow gauge it might have been my choice. But I love going through the woods! Edges out the mountains, but not by much. Ken

I should note also that once, several years ago, I had the pleasure of flying RW from this field. A co-worker had a friend who was a pilot who invited me to fly with him. We left the Millionaire FBO in a club piper Cherokee, did a nice tour past the south shore of Long Island, up the Hudson, along Long Island Sound, and back to land on RWY 19. Then lunch at the 52nd Fighter Squadron restaurant. This was a WW2 themed restaurant (now, sadly, defunct) adjacent to the airport. Decor was of an O Club in Europe, but also had headphones at each table tuned to the airport ATC. I also once flew from/to Brookhaven Calabro Airport, (KHWV) with another friend in a Cherokee. We flew to Martha's Vineyard (KMVY) for lunch and back. Both of these are in the Orbx freeware scenery. Ken

All very true, but there's more. In the Atlantic theater they did ASW patrols, largely covering the East Coast of the US, and cover for the convoys on the western part of the convoy route to Europe. By the beginning of the War they were considered obsolete, but since it's what we had they were put to work, and proved to be versatile and tough. Though slow, there were a number of jobs they could do very well. Ken P.S. The museum I mentioned in my "Meaningless Topic" post is restoring one, hopefully to flyable condition.

Like Jack, I have to say, sadly, none. But that must be qualified by a couple of "yeah, buts." 1. My nearest airport, and home the American Air Power Museum. Is Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY. I've been there a number of times. But it is not quite an Orbx airport. However, when I installed Global Base and Vector (for FSX) I found that New Highway ran right through the GA parking ramp on the east side of the airport. I pointed that out to the dearly missed Neil Hill, and he not only fixed it, but corrected and updated the airport so it is quite close to an Orbx Freeware airport. 2. KSNC, Chester Airport in Connecticut. I've never actually been to the airport, but we frequent one of the features included in the scenery: the Essex Steam Train. Haven't been there since the pandemic, though. Ken

Dave, indeed has been very helpful. I had an odd problem where pressing PTT button caused all sorts of strange things to happen. I finally figured out the problem, (conflict with Active Sky) but it was on the last day of the free trial period. Dave emailed several suggestions, none of which addressed the problem in the end. But he kindly extended the trial so I can run the program to be sure I don't discover other issues. Seem like a great product, and customer support is super. Ken

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this. Ken

For years I happily used VoxATC. But when I moved to P3D 5 VoxATC became unstable. I have just recently discovered P2A (Pilot2ATC), and while still testing it in the free trial period (10 days), so far I'm pretty impressed by it. I suggest giving it a look and a try. The program supports all of the Sims, all aircraft, and both VFR and IFR, including SIDs and STARs. Again, IMHO, worth a look. Of course nothing can beat real live, professional ATC, so this will never replace PilotEdge for me. But PilotEdge covers only the western one third of the U.S., and I like to fly the east coast and the rest of the country, too. VATSIM has its limitations, so I like to use an AI ATC program for the flights outside of the PilotEdge area. Ken

Me too. Ken