NZFF

If you want pics... go look at Andew's pics and Alex's pics... I was with them for a lot of the show... and my camera is so cr@p I didn't bother trying to capture anything...

For me the highlight(s) of the day were...

The ride on DAK there and back, truly a lovely old gal and indeed the way to travel... I have decided that when I win Big Wednesday, I am buying it and turning it into my personal transport

The F-111 dump and burn... well duh! Was a little disappointed they didnt do the sneaky highspeed pass from behind (over the tower and hangars) tho... that usually catchs the crowd out

The 'You canna change the laws of physics, Jim' display by MXT... truly amazing... hmmm I wonder if the club aerobat can do that?

But the real highlight was 'geeking out' with the avionics guys... they have some VERY cool tools... like the FlightSim they rigged up using 5 (yes FIVE) 22" widescreen touchscreen displays... have you seen a 22" FMC??

And to top it off, we're standing there and a guy says (while looking at the NZFF T-shirt) "Flightsimming eh? you been on the Iroquois simulator?".... "errrr no"...."would you like a go?".... "HELL YEAH!"

So we waited around for a few minutes for an escort into the "secure" area... and then had a play on a $750,000 Iroquois simulator!!! (Mike, eat your heart out! ) I think I annoyed the instructor, with my relatively decent approach and landing... "Well you can just p!ss off with a landing like that!" hahahahah

It's fixed base, but still very cool... forcefeedback, they can fail individual instruments... they can even pop circuitbreakers... very very very cool.... and I got some of my tax dollars back in enjoyment! I wonder if I can log the time?

All finished off with a delightful ride home on the DAK with a glass or two of bubbly.... worth every cent of the $170!

Awesome.
You lucky bugger!

Was the sim set in a virtual cockpit with realistic controls or just basic with a joystick?

Pleased I met you yesterday. Just sorry it wasn't for long. maybe next time we can all catch up.

We didn't leave until around 4.30. Took over an hour after the show to go through the herc, What a plane.

Cheers

Yeah virtual cockpit... with cyclic, collective, torque pedals, overhead panel, full instrument panel, central console etc... had 3 projectors displaying the scenery... which was very average... like FS98 type average! no mesh... no photoreal...

Although I believe they're paying $20k to get NZ fully decked out in all its glory (Robin/Christian... you guys should call the RNZAF! )

all the instruments like VOR etc all work and are tuned using radio/nav panels etc...

Sitting in a darkened room with full-on aircon to keep the computers cold

Dude, we HAVE to get one of those Iroquois sims! I got a couple of snaps but none that really show it off:


The main control panel. I was too busy watching the world around me to marvel at the gauges whilst flying!


The, um, advanced graphics of the sim....


Our intrpeid HCP has control of the $700,000 sim setup! And god he was good!!!

This was a load of fun and I'd love to have had longer with it. Kudos to the RNZAF gents for taking us in for a play, very much appreciated!

Oh, and here's one I found which kinda gives and overview of the sim itself.


Apologies for the horrible quality, but I turned off the flash so I wouldn't distract the ATC lads at the controls!

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