Too much fun at Rancho Vallecito tonight

[Keith Smith]

Tonight was pretty special. Totally unplanned, I hopped on to return Chris' 407 from L18 back to 46CA on FSE. I arrived at the destination and saw Peter in a 737 (seems about right). 2 hours later, we have 5 Bell 407's, a King Air, and 4 737-200's (plus a 757 at one point) practicing precision landings. The 407's were buzzing around watching all the action...it was epic.

And now, the award ceremony...

Gold Medal Winner: Josh "Mark It!" G, 1st place (nosewheel at Bravo)

Silver Medal: Ty "Welcome Aboard!" S, 2nd place (nosewheel at the 4th light from the end)

Bronze Medal: Keith "This viewpoint still doesn't look right, you see it's because my second monitor is broken..." S, 3rd place (right nacelle at the 4th light from the end)

Participation Award (Crumpled up Aluminum Foil Replica Medal): Peter "How Do You Stop This Thing?" Grey.

Actually, PG gets an honorary mention for the coolest landing because he came closest to the end without rolling off early in the night.

Once again, I'm blown away by the community and fun that can be had on a network, all the while there are serious VFR and IFR operations taking place elsewhere on the network. Good times. I can't believe how much I learned about helicopter flying tonight!

[Rush]

So glad to stumble upon this tonight after doing a VFR flight out of KLGB. Great to see lots of fun being had on the network in between the training flights. Can't wait for Keith to show me how to power slide the 407 next time!

So much growth for PilotEdge these days! Can't tell enough people about what a wonderful training tool this is. Awesome community!

[stevekirks]

Tonight was pretty special. Totally unplanned, I hopped on to return Chris' 407 from L18 back to 46CA on FSE. I arrived at the destination and saw Peter in a 737 (seems about right). 2 hours later, we have 5 Bell 407's, a King Air, and 4 737-200's (plus a 757 at one point) practicing precision landings. The 407's were buzzing around watching all the action...it was epic.

I pulled one abysmal landing in an A310 (freeware/X-Plane) with Reece watching, but that was before the events you described...maybe around 9PM Central, 7PM at 46CA. I'm heading back there now to try to get a bead on that landing...

[Pieces]

I pulled one abysmal landing in an A310 (freeware/X-Plane) with Reece watching, but that was before the events you described...maybe around 9PM Central, 7PM at 46CA. I'm heading back there now to try to get a bead on that landing...

Ahh, that's who that was. I heard the calls, saw a plane zoom by, then lost control of my helicopter for a bit. When I regained, the mysterious plane was gone.

[stevekirks]

Ahh, that's who that was. I heard the calls, saw a plane zoom by, then lost control of my helicopter for a bit. When I regained, the mysterious plane was gone.

Rapid disconnect out of embarrassment. I shot the approach in different aircraft this morning, getting as far as a King Air before wiping it out. That A310 as freeware isn't too bad, but I had a hard time controlling airspeed. I'm going to watch Peter's vid of his approach in the 737 a few more times before I attempt it again. I need to set up for slow flight, full flaps and gear at maybe 3000 feet and then stall it over the ridge and let it sink to the runway.

Peter, I want to say with all seriousness, that video of a 737-200 landing on 2500 feet of narrow runway after cresting a ridge is some of the best flying (real or sim) I think I've ever seen.

[Rush]

Where is this video you speak of?

Ahh, that's who that was. I heard the calls, saw a plane zoom by, then lost control of my helicopter for a bit. When I regained, the mysterious plane was gone.[/quote

Rapid disconnect out of embarrassment. I shot the approach in different aircraft this morning, getting as far as a King Air before wiping it out. That A310 as freeware isn't too bad, but I had a hard time controlling airspeed. I'm going to watch Peter's vid of his approach in the 737 a few more times before I attempt it again. I need to set up for slow flight, full flaps and gear at maybe 3000 feet and then stall it over the ridge and let it sink to the runway.

Peter, I want to say with all seriousness, that video of a 737-200 landing on 2500 feet of narrow runway after cresting a ridge is some of the best flying (real or sim) I think I've ever seen.

[stevekirks]

Where is this video you speak of?

Peter, I want to say with all seriousness, that video of a 737-200 landing on 2500 feet of narrow runway after cresting a ridge is some of the best flying (real or sim) I think I've ever seen.

Here's the source post:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4818&start=40#p31488

Here's the actual video link:

http://youtu.be/BSZwXHn6jg0

Slow flight, crest the ridge at 50 feet to spare and throw out the spoilers and you might make it. Remember, Peter made the commentary for that video LIVE while flying it. Cool as a frozen cucumber.