Heheh nice to meet you too @sgtoinkz!
Yeah I know what you mean- when the time is right this job is really interesting and captivating.
On the other hand when things go sour- it wears you out really thin, really fast.
I had to take a break after my first 15 years, as people here maybe remember, and did a couple of different activities before inevitably bouncing back right to it.
Itās a long and sad story but I can usually make it fun enough.
I ended up making even weirder sh!tā¦ (sotry for another time and another thread too probably) but then I got the honor of being head-hunted by my actual company all the way from Germany.
Needless to say- working for the German side of a world-sized sector-leading company is a game changer compared to its paler Italian imitation.
Iāve always appreciated what you guys do (especially when lightning crashes the sim and youāre left hanging in your straps) and my flying surely has tested a gimbal or two!
Maybe the simplest but most impressive ones I recall were the old T-2C and TA-4J sims down in the Training Command. They barely moved (if at all) and had no visuals. But the number of computer cabinets and arm thick cables it took to run that thing (we wonāt even talk about the hum) made it look like it was being launched into orbit, and not ridden for a Radio Instrument hop by 2nd Lt Whitehelmet.
Nice to see you representing the Harrier as well. I didnāt fly it long, but it will always have a special place in my heart!
@Stormy801 Whew, what a beast! Our setup is a similar curved dome. None motion though out here. Pilots get sick as it is, I could only imagine if ours was full motion! We run 5 Christie projectors as our visual onto a mirror bowl.
@komemiute, yepā¦same here with the photos. One the same page of a meet and greet! I lucked out and hired onto the bigger outfit. It is interesting though to see how all of the individual sim companies rigs work.
@Deacon211 Oh man, the first aircraft I learned on was a scooter! Cool aircraft! I was in the schoolhouse in Pensacola for Airframe schoolā¦which in turn lead me into the Harrier Community. I was in VMA-214 and 513. I take it you went through VMAT-203 then!
Nice to meet everyone on the forums! @clutch got to see the sim I work on and spent a few hours flying around at an airshow we had on base. Glad to link up with a member and share my side of the community!
Ole Wake Island Avengers! I do miss the Harrier, dare I say even wing and engine removals. Glad I chose it over a few other options. Great aircraft. I was working at VX-31 with the Harrier crew before moving into the sim community. Spent some time on the Essex and Tarawa as well. Comes with Harrier territory, boat dets!
I want to say that one had 3 Christieās, but it might be 4. The cool thing about it (as well as the King Air FTD) was that it was built from a real flight deck. So we had to go into the visual bay (VERY tight fit for somebody 6ā4 and not 100 pounds) and put brake fluid inā¦and it leaked so the whole sim smelled like it. The best part were the gigantic 19" screens they used at the instructor station. Iām talking early touch screens. Probably weighed 40 pounds. One actually died and it took us a week or so to find a replacement.
The motion system usually worked pretty good, except in summer. It was in an airport hangar and was the only sim at that location, so youād watch it move around and all of a sudden you hear the hydraulics quit and the legs coming down, then the BEEP BEEP BEEP of the draw bridge. Instructor would stick his head out of sim āItās ok. weāre just gonna stay off motion.ā
BTW, if motion is making your crews sick, you need to get the visuals guy a kick in the pants. The reason they get sick is usually because they didnāt set up the collumnation properly.
If you were OK with the engine changes, you must have really liked the Harrier!
I had no end of respect for you guys. The Harrier was a great aircraft, but she did not suffer fools gladlyā¦in or out of the cockpit!
I did the Iwakuni thing with 211, but did a stretch on the Essex as well after my first fleet tour, when I was a FAC with 3rd Bn 1st Mar.
She was a nice ship, at least back when I was on her, especially compared to some of the horror stories I heard from guys on boats like the Saipanic!
Might be before your time, but a guy named āHawkā from 211 spent a good number of years over at VX-31. He may have moved on, depending on when you were there.
I must be crazy then! It was always a good opportunity to train. I totally agree with not suffering fools gladly. I lost count of some crazy decisions made during maintenance and on the flight line. Saw some odd things and have a few good stories, I am sure you do as well.
The Essex was a good ship by Naval standards I suppose! Essex was my first cruise so it took a while to learn the inās and outās of ship life. Tarawa was my secondā¦as a civilian working with the AV-8ās. Totally different lifestyles!
Iād have to know his last name, the callsign doesnāt ring a bell. I was only in China Lake for a few short stints as a civilian. A few years each time. I spent time in the USMC and the US Army during my active duty career, China Lake was my home away from home per se. Lots of crews passed through VX-31 when I was there. Great pilots and aircrews for sure, always was a pleasure working with the Dust Devils.
āOpen the door, close the door, open the door, close the door, knee knocker, knee knocker, knee knocker, knee knocker, open the door, close the door, open the door, close the door, knee knocker, knee knocker, knee knocker, knee knockerā¦ā
Just out of respect for his privacy, Iād probably just leave his name to him. Would have been in the ā90s in any case.
This makes three people I āknowā who were on Essex. No idea on timeline but anyone know a āCudaā or āBarracuda?ā Not sure what role he had but was enlisted, served on Essex, was here in Japan for a couple years so we linked up and played DCS fairly regularly until he moved back to the US.
So Iām bumping an old thread but I think you guys might be the only ones whoāll be able to understand thisā¦ does anyone remember being stunned by the āhall of mirrorsā effect the first time you actually went into the forward section of the sim?! I had to stand there for a minute before I could decipher the illusion that the mirror was between me and the cockpit shell (doesnāt help our cockpit is painted black on the outside)!
but I can usually make it fun enough.
