Ken Q

Happy Birthday, Karl. Many more! Ker

Best wishes Carlos. Happy Birthday! Ken

Thank you very much, Gentlemen. I had the left knee done four years ago, but this was delayed by the pandemic. Finally done, and now I seem to be recovering well. Thanks again. Ken

Happy belated birthday, Smudger. Many happy returns. Ken

Happy Birthday, Don. Do hope your health improves and you can enjoy several more birthdays. Best wishes, we all missed you, Ken

Happy Birthday, my friend, and many happy returns! Ken

In one word: no. I had a few close friends in H.S. One I outgrew in the years I was i college. Another was a couple, Larry and Paula. We were friends in HS and remained so after I went to college Larry went into the Army, then married Paula. But Larry died young a few years later. I still have occasional contact with Paula. My one enduring friendship from my youth was a Navy buddy, Tom. A couple of years ago he was living in Indianapolis when I got a call from the city coroner that he had been found dead in his bed by the landlord. A shock! BTW, just got home from the hospital last night after knee replacement surgery. So far so good. Ken

Happy Birthday, Emsie! Many happy returns! Ken

I remain devoted to P3D and so far I am not tempted by MSFS. So I am very much saddened that Orbx and other devs have abandoned P3D and stopped releasing new products for it. I hope Gumby is right about the "back burner," but I fear that "under the sink" is more like it. Sad, because I have a LONG wishlist I would gladly spend money on, and I don't think I'm alone. Ken

I remember when the White Pages and the Yellow Pages were separate big fat books. As a little kid one or both books served as a booster seat at the dining room table. The new combo book would not serve that purpose at all; it's only 3/4 inch thick, if that! Ken

I'm not much of a sports fan. I do enjoy going to an occasional baseball game; I'm a fan of our local Minor League team, the Long Island Ducks. But here is an interesting turn, if you will: I am employed by Nassau County Museums, which is part of the Department of Parks. This summer the Department is hosting the World Cricket Championship at Eisenhower Park, and they are building a special stadium for the games. Now while we have a lot of recent immigrants fro countries where cricket is popular, so far the sport has not really caught on in the wider population. It is still considered rather exotic. Maybe that will soon change. Ken

I quite agree with John B, indeed John, we are very much on the same page. Back when I started with flight simulation, nearly thirty years ago, there was very little correlation with the real world; the simulator (FS5) and the computer that ran it did not have that capability. So if an airport lacked real world verisimilitude we accepted it, and accepted that our "real" airport was the one in the sim. Today, fortunately, it is quite different. We have all sorts of real world resources available, FAA charts, Skyvector, VFRmaps, and Navigraph Charts. These lay out airport diagrams, taxi routes, parking, etc. There are also approach plates, SIDS, STARS, and other procedures, all of which we should be able to use in our sim. Anyone who belongs to PilotEdge knows that the controllers assume the real world setting. Mostly we can. But there are limitations: Some airports are more faithful to the real world: Orbx payware, detailed, airports seem to be spot on, at least at the time the scenery was created. Orbx freeware and enhanced Region airports are quite accurate, but of course not as detailed. Default airports in P3D are a mixed bag. Based on old FSX scenery most are "OK" but they do have problems. In all of these a major, but insoluble problem is that our Sim airports are frozen in time at the time they were developed. The real world changes, and these changes are obviously not reflected. And there are just plain inaccuracies. Lately I've been doing a couple of real world flights out of Islip Mac Arthur Airport (KISP). I like to rehearse these flights in the Sim first. The plane is kept in a private parking area on the east side, connected to the airport by Taxiway "H." But from there the taxiway does not connect with "S" as in the real world. Also, the east/west runway in the sim has been closed for some time. These are frustrating, but ultimately not important. I just follow the path shown in Navigraph Charts, even if it has me taxiing over grass. Our Flight Simulators are still really incredible, and getting better. For the most part we can compensate for the glitches end enjoy a really realistic experience. Ken

I had a lot of fun playing with the interior of the recreation of Miegs Field in Chicago. Using "Bob" I spent about half hour exploring, going up and down stairs and so on. I enjoyed the novelty of it, for a while. That was fun while it lasted. It was several years ago, and I've never done it again. I have, however, explored the grounds of and around Catalina airport. Those details (all exterior) are nice, and exploring is fun and increases the immersion. I fully agree with Ryanm, that the ability to select on or off for interiors would be good. Then we can have it both ways. Ken

Exterior details and layout are very, very important. Interior details are nice, but I rarely explore them, so not so much. What I really want is an airport with recognizable buildings, accurately placed and identified FBOs and parking. The reason: I almost always fly on PilotEdge. Several years ago I flew into Reno (KRNO) with default scenery (this is just outside of Orbx region territory). On landing Ground instructed me to taxi to Atlantic (FBO). So, where was Atlantic? Quick look at AirNav, find the approximate location. No signs. No recognizable structures. After parking and closing out, I quickly found a good payware Reno scenery and bought it (sorry Orbx). It's so nice, and greatly increases realism and immersion to be parked at Signature at Palm Springs, for example, looking at the FBO with the aerial tram in the distance, and calling PSP Ground, saying "Palm Springs Ground, Mooney 2442Papa, at Signature with Charlie, ready to taxi..." A realistic depiction of the area immediately surrounding the airport is also great for VFR flying. Also now that my friend and CFII Bill is giving me some real world flying time, i like to preview the flights in the SIM before hand. And accurate Airport makes this much more productive. (We had planned KISP to KACK for yesterday, but defeated by the weather. Next Tuesday). Note, I'm using P3D v5 and no plans to change. Well, maybe 6 someday. Ken

I'm going to combine my response to this post, Adam, with Rodger's TWMT. Until it closed several years ago we had here a really fun restaurant called the "56th Fighter Squadron." The food was very good, basic fare. But the theme, ambiance, and location was perfect for a military veteran/retiree, history geeg, and aviation nut. It was located at the edge of KFRG, Farmingdale Republic Airport. The view out the windows overlooked the ramp.and Runway 14/32. But in the foreground there were a couple Republic P47s which had been built at this field. The restaurant was decorated as a WW2 Officers' Club in Europe during the War. And of course this was the music played over the sound system: Andrews Sister, Argue Shaw, Glenn Miller, and all the others. Wife and Mother indulged me, but it was a great favorite of mine while it lasted. Thanks for.sharing these. Great memories. Though I must say, my Mom could never understand why I liked this music. She pointed out that it was the music of her generation. Actually I never cared for most of the music from "my" generation. But then mom insisted that I was fifteen years older than she was. She was 25 when I was born, but she figured I was 40. Ken

Where I live, on Long Island, on the east coast of the US ( approx 41 degrees north), surrounded by the sea, we only occasionally get extremes of temperature. Temperatures in the single digits or over 100 Fahrenheit are very rare. This past week temps were in the mid teens, the lowest of the season. Being in a maritime climate we tend to get quite a bit of precipitation, especially in the winter, but a significant snowfall has become somewhat rare with global warming. Last really big one was Christmas, 2010. I don't mind snow or rain. What I really HATE is "wintery mix." That gets to be so dangerous. Our greatest meteorological threat is a tropical weather system in the fall. By the time they get to us they are weakened by cooler sea temperatures, but they can be devastating. The last bad ones were Irene in 2010, and Sandy the following year. We lost trees in the area, but the worst was no electricity for almost two weeks. After Sandy (end of October) it got cold, too, and we had no heat, either. Next year I had a fireplace insert installed (a woodstove that fits in the fireplace and uses the chimney, but throws a lot more heat into the room. Incidentally, using it regularly has reduced our fuel oil bills significantly). Stay warm, or cool, and safe! Ken

There is not a Denny's anywhere near here, but my wife remembers the restaurant fondly, as there was one near her when she was growing up in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I did go to one once. We were attending a conference for Medievalists at the University in Binghamton, NY. The hotel had a full service restaurant, and we and our colleagues went there for breakfast the first morning. One of our colleagues was just recovering from a heart attack, so he requested one egg and toast for breakfast. No, he could not order that, he had to get the three eggs with bacon and the works. And pay for all of it too. So he got, ate the one egg and toast, and the rest went back. This, of course was witnessed by all of the attendees. The next morning, as we walked past the restaurant it was empty; the Denny's across the street was packed with all of the conference attendees. And we all had a good breakfast prepared as desired. Even before the Pandemic diner style restaurants were having a rough time and closing. Now there are only a couple left. Now we rarely eat out, though we regularly patronize a number of restaurants for take out. Among our favorites is one specializing in Afghan food called Kabob Express. Another is a taqueria called MI Vieito Pueblito. There's a good Indian/Pakistani place, and finally, after several years, a GOOD pizzeria. Gumby, congrats on the new arrival! Ken

You've outdone yourself Rodger. Sorry you'll have to move across the country, but I'm nominating you for the New York State Board of Regents. They need your input on writing Revenge Exams required for H.S. graduation. (I wrote "Regents Exams" but that darned Auto Correct changed it. Maybe the Auto Correct is right). Ken

Nice picture! This is the Kingdom of Mercia? My regards to King Raedwald (whether or not he actually is in Sutton Hoo)! Beautiful. Ken

My father was born in Atlantic, Iowa, and in WW2 joined the US Coast Guard in Council Bluffs, IA. Unfortunately, he died shortly after the War, when I was two, so I never heard about growing up there from him. As a young child I visited his father (my Grandpa) in Omaha. Some memories, but rather vague. In P3D "go to..." is in "Navigation," in FSX it was in "World." It allows for selecting a starting point for any flight. ATC is minimalist "online flying." Do need a minimal capability USB headset. The Logitech is satisfactory, and quite cheap. I got started with an online friend known as "Basement Fly Guy" who is no longer active. But being introduced to it by someone familiar with it is helpful. Now I'm willing to do likewise, so if you like to try it with a flight together, I'm willing. Ken

I've gone through Nebraska on this trip too, stopping at Grand Island and Lincoln along the way. But I'm quite serious about SimVenture. This is a wonderful event. It's designed, with the cooperation of the controllers for AirVenture, as a practice/dry run for pilots flying into the show at the end of July. Since this relatively small rural airport has over 10,000 arrivals and departures in a little over a week, it is beneficial to have a practice run to understand routes and procedures. So while it is aimed at R/W pilots planning on attending, it is open to all, real world and SIM pilots alike. While a PilotEdge membership is required, the service offers a free trial which is generous enough to experience this program. Besides, I recommend PilotEdge to anyone who wants real, professional ATC as part of an immersive flight SIM experience. Unfortunately they only cover the western two thirds of the US. I should note that I (almost) always fly point to point, and hardly ever use the go-to-airport function. I'll be leaving SoCal for.Wisconsin in mid June. Actual dates, scenery and the "Notice" (formerly the "Notam") will be posted on the PilotEdge website. And if actually talking to ATC makes you uncomfortable, don't worry. They do all the talking, unless it's quiet enough for a little chit-chat. We just have to follow instructions. The event can have a few hundred SIM pilots engaged at a time. Ken

Yes Gumby, I suppose so. But here John has a couple of months to do this. In your case we only had a few days, so we had to get creative. Since the Concordes have become museum pieces, the best I could come up with was the Air-o-doodle. Fortunately no one has religated that to a museum, but the only one built was not available. But since we have over six months, I can meet you in Fond du Lac too. Ken

Well, John, once you get to Seattle, here's a thought. Plan to get there by June, then send that tired old 737 to the shop for some much needed maintenance. Then acquire a good low and slow, or perhaps a not so low and so slow, aircraft and head east. You could do it an a 172 or 182, but a Mooney Bravo or Ovation would be faster. Enjoy the scenery and the challenging mountain flying. A stop at Cle Elum, then visit Rodger (if he's home) landing at Felts Field. Then a stop at Glacier Park, and then dip south to Jackson Hole. East again through South Dakota, Minnesota, and finally into Wisconsin. Meet me at Fond du Lac by mid July, and we can fly the Fisk arrival into Oshkosh together. Great fun! Check the gas prices at every stop, and be glad you're not paying them! Ken

My annual long cross country in the Mooney, from SoCal to Oshkosh to participate in PilotEdge's "SimVenture". In the past I've gone a northern route, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, or a more central route through northern Nevada, Utah and Iowa. This time I think I'll go a more southern route via southern Arizona, New Mexico, then slant northeast through Kansas. SimVenture is a great event held every July two weeks before EAA's AirVenture. Fly the Fisk or Warbird Arrival (depending on aircraft) with actual Oshkosh ATC controllers. I always take some vacation time and fly the Fisk Arrival several times. Then.fly.back to SoCal by a different route. Ken

This seems like a very nice tradition. I'm surprised, not only that my family did not observe it, but that I've not heard of it before this. For most of my childhood I lived with my grandparents, both of whom were born in England (Southampton and West Hartlepool). We also celebrated the New Year 1991 in Beccles with friends, but no mention of this custom, either. Then again, we celebrated the turning of the year in the bell tower of the 14th century church where our friend was a bell ringer ringing in the New Year. Is this perhaps a more regional custom? But this is a wonderful story. Happy Birthday to your wife! (My mother's birthday was also New Year's, my grandmother's was Boxing Day, and my wife's is Christmas Day). Happy New Year to all! Ken