Chance favors the prepared mind.
--Louis Pasteur
Isn't it fun when an unexpected opportunity arises? Doubly so when it involves aviation.
This week, I traveled on business to the humid heavy skies of the East Coast. Because I like to see the places I visit from the air, I frequently contact a local FBO and make arrangements for a flight with a local instructor (FBOs need to give pilot's checkrides before authorizing them to solo in aircraft...just another benefit of an overly litigious society).
Turns out...the plane I flew in was a shiny new Cessna 172SP. So what's the big deal, you ask? It had the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Because I "fly" FSX with the G1000, I was able to fly the real 172SP with the real glass cockpit with only minor instruction.
Now that's having fun because of Flight Simulator.
As for the web-site: too little time to work on it.
Keep the Shiny Side Up,
Plane Wryter
Putting the Fun into Flight Simulator
http://www.funflightsim.com/
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
What Fun is Not...
I'm determined to put the Fun into Flight Simulator...
...good thing...
...otherwise...
...the challenge of bringing up a website...
...is anything but fun.
Here's just a few of the issues I've dealt with this week.
Domain names; registering domain names; ISP hosting; Microsoft FrontPage; HTML; ASP; Inspecting 100s of website templates; selecting a template; buying the template; editing the template; soliciting bids on Elance for a music score; responding to bidder's questions on Elance; selecting a bidder; terms, conditions & payments; finding a Media Hosting facility; learning about Media Hosting; Adobe Premiere; recording FSX sessions to a DV camera; capturing DV footage into Premiere; editing in Premiere; encoders; codecs; compression; AVI, FLV, FLW, WMV, WMA, MOV files; bit rates (constant- and variable-); search engines; Google AdWords; Yahoo Search Marketing; ecommerce; shopping carts; payment gateways; payment processors; SSL Certificates; Windows Media Player ActiveX Plug-in; EMail Communication systems; just to name a few.
Maybe my next venture should be How to Create a Media E-Commerce Site?
Until then, I'll be pleased to answer your questions about what I've learned in the website/ecommerce/media realm. And then--sometime soon--this blog will get back to having fun with Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).
Keep the Shiny Side Up,
Plane Wryter
Putting the Fun into Flight Simulator
http://www.funflightsim.com/
...good thing...
...otherwise...
...the challenge of bringing up a website...
...is anything but fun.
Here's just a few of the issues I've dealt with this week.
Domain names; registering domain names; ISP hosting; Microsoft FrontPage; HTML; ASP; Inspecting 100s of website templates; selecting a template; buying the template; editing the template; soliciting bids on Elance for a music score; responding to bidder's questions on Elance; selecting a bidder; terms, conditions & payments; finding a Media Hosting facility; learning about Media Hosting; Adobe Premiere; recording FSX sessions to a DV camera; capturing DV footage into Premiere; editing in Premiere; encoders; codecs; compression; AVI, FLV, FLW, WMV, WMA, MOV files; bit rates (constant- and variable-); search engines; Google AdWords; Yahoo Search Marketing; ecommerce; shopping carts; payment gateways; payment processors; SSL Certificates; Windows Media Player ActiveX Plug-in; EMail Communication systems; just to name a few.
Maybe my next venture should be How to Create a Media E-Commerce Site?
Until then, I'll be pleased to answer your questions about what I've learned in the website/ecommerce/media realm. And then--sometime soon--this blog will get back to having fun with Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX).
Keep the Shiny Side Up,
Plane Wryter
Putting the Fun into Flight Simulator
http://www.funflightsim.com/
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Do You Think Flight Simulator Should Be Fun?
Rip! Thump! Crumple! Crash!
The blizzard of Christmas wrapping paper flew everywhere.
Our daughter was about five when Santa brought a Commodore-64 and laid it so-carefully by our Scottsdale-inspired Christmas Tree.
The computer was for the kids, of course. Education, literacy, mind-stimulating games.
Oh yes. There was also a cartridge for subLOGIC Flight Simulator.
Oh, come on. You too? Who could argue that Flight Simulator was anything but a mind-stimulating game?
Since it was there, might as well put it to good use. Thus began my attempt to master subLOGIC/Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Over the years, I've purchased a couple of copies of Version 3, something around 1997, 2004 Edition and now FS-Sim X.
On several occasions, I sat down and tried to work thru the lessons. That I didn't make it past lesson three is no reflection on the lessons (they are, and remain, great), it's a reflection that...well, it wasn't fun. I thought flying Flight Simulator should be fun...something like the joy of flying a real airplane.
The blizzard of Christmas wrapping paper flew everywhere.
Our daughter was about five when Santa brought a Commodore-64 and laid it so-carefully by our Scottsdale-inspired Christmas Tree.
The computer was for the kids, of course. Education, literacy, mind-stimulating games.
Oh yes. There was also a cartridge for subLOGIC Flight Simulator.
Oh, come on. You too? Who could argue that Flight Simulator was anything but a mind-stimulating game?
Since it was there, might as well put it to good use. Thus began my attempt to master subLOGIC/Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Over the years, I've purchased a couple of copies of Version 3, something around 1997, 2004 Edition and now FS-Sim X.
On several occasions, I sat down and tried to work thru the lessons. That I didn't make it past lesson three is no reflection on the lessons (they are, and remain, great), it's a reflection that...well, it wasn't fun. I thought flying Flight Simulator should be fun...something like the joy of flying a real airplane.
- In 2001, I earned my Pilot's Certificate. Today, I am an instrument-rated private-pilot with over 600 hours of logged flight time...including helicopters, aerobatics and seaplanes.
For years, friends would call me up with a familiar refrain: "I {bought/was given a present of} Flight Simulator...I don't have the time to take the lessons...can't you just tell me how to have fun with it?"
Yes. So much so that, today, I'm on a mission to put the Fun into Flight Simulator.
My new website offers a series of easy "Fun Flights." If you're like me--and my friends--and you just want to have fun with Flight Simulator, check out http://www.funflightsim.com/.
(I hasten to say, these Fun Flights are not flight training.)
After having some fun, if you want to be a serious student of aviation, there's always the great lessons included with Flight Simulator and available from other third-parties.
This blog is for you, me and everyone that just wants to have fun with Flight Simulator.
Thanks for reading this, and remember: keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down.
Have Fun,
Plane Wryter
Putting the Fun into Flight Simulator
http://www.funflightsim.com/
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