On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:14:28 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:

One of the advantages
of simulation is that it's not constrained by money issues, which means that I
don't have to fly tin cans over grass runways at barely above walking speed.


Without intending to join the chorus, I respectfully submit, that you
have no concept of the joyous experience you are missing. Trust me.


A new student pilot flying solo is at last free to wander in the third
dimension unconstrained as the vast majority of Earth bound souls are.
He soars from the surface of the Earth, and effortlessly guides his
light aircraft higher with such nimble agility, that the machine
mentally melds into his nervous system in a rapture of pure Zen
integration of spirit, mind and machine. He was born with wings, and
is as skillful and free as Bach's Jonathan. The pilot's visceral
reaction to the sights, sounds, smells, and kinesthetic cacophony's
endless bombardment of sensory input result in a unique ambiance that
is aviation. The pilot's post-flight consciousness is clear and
refreshed as though just squeegeed, and the world is a bright,
cheerful home indeed. Although he walks the same flat plane at the
juncture of atmosphere and terra as his fellows, he carries the
knowledge and experiences of the joy of flight, and the power to soar
at will.

Get out to the closest uncontrolled field (I visited one north of
Othus in 2000*) at which is based an Air France Aero Club. Beg a ride
with one of the members on a fair Saturday morning. You'll thank me.




* The folks I met were a hail-fellow-well-met most polite, warm, and
almost avuncular group that more than tolerated this foreign pilot who
knew no French.