Life in 2006, and 1940

In yesterday's post I mentioned that one of the things on my to-do list was to learn to fly the DC-3 a bit better. Well, this being 2006, to think is to Google. Actually, in this case to think is to search the major flightsimming web sites. Within minutes, I found myself with a new paint scheme (vintage TWA) and a "fix" to make taxiing the plane easier. Did a little pattern flying. It took 3 attempts to make a landing (two go-arounds due to the approach being too high).

A little more searching turned up this really neat site: the DC-3 Airways Virtual Airline. This is an example of one of the things I love about this hobby-- you find groups of guys (almost always guys, one of th things I don't like about the hobby) who join together out of a shared passion, and do all kinds of neat work. Then they make it all publicly available on the web. This particular group is dedicated to flying the DC-3 the old fashioned way, using only those navigational aids that were available back in the day. Lots of educational info and resources. Looks like I'll be visiting this site often.