Subject: PC flight simulators
From: Andreas Maurer
Date: 11/20/03 7:24 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

On 20 Nov 2003 02:47:43 GMT, (ArtKramr) wrote:

When we climbed
into it the pilots went into the cockpit, and went through turning on all
their
switches and starting and running up the engines as if for a real takeoff.

Real engines or simulated ones?

Simulated

On course we had extensive flak
that shook the simulator violently.

How was that simulated? Hydraulics? How were the visuals of exploding
flak shells simulated?



Hydraulics I think. We never saw wthe bursts only heard thenand felt the
concussion.


We were jumped by fighterand returned
fire.

Cool... how were the visuals of the fighters done? Did you use real
guns t return the fire (I'm sure yur gunners needed something to aim
at)?


Projected on a screen


opened the vent and a strong relative wind blew the nose clear of smoke.

Interesting.. so your sim was mounted in some kind of wind channel?

No. It was just a blower motor that went on when the flap was opened.

I got on the intercom and asked Paul to hold us steady through the
run.

How could he do that? Did he also have visuals or was he relying on
instruments only?

He could't.But I forgot that in the excitement of the realism. We laughed about
it later.

I forgot that the simulator was pre-programed and there were certain things
that were going to happen that was beyond our control.

I see... pre-programmed. So you were more or less sitting in a movie
theatre, correct?

Well in a sense yes.But how we navigated and bombed was not pre programmed. The
results were real scores in real time.

Interesting stuff... you'd love to see one of the custom cockpits that
have been built for the "game" MS Flight Simulator. These days people
are using cut-off Boeing-737 noses.


Yes I would. But it is not likely that I ever will.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer