Am I Lost?

In this large “simulated” world of flight, it seems (even after 30 years) that there’s always something to learn and explore. An online friend encouraged me to join him the other day in a flight exploring the Alaskan bush country. We actually didn’t venture too far off the path, but when exploring sparsely populated areas (whether in real life or the simulator) there are two items that should bubble right up to the top of your list… number one, running out of fuel, and number two, getting lost.

Running out of fuel can be a deadly situation in real world aviation, but in the simulator, it can be easy to fix (click, click, filled up!) Another online friend does a great job, every flight, planning his trip, fuel burn, etc. and it shows he’s very aware of all the elements that go into planning a successful flight. Here’s a link to a great video he’s posted about his process for the sim. And the live streams he produces are top notch. Check him out… Slant Alpha Adventures.

Now for number two. To the casual observer the idea of “getting lost” when you’re up in the real or virtual sky is ludicrous. “Can’t you just go a bit higher and look around?” they might ask. And the answer is… maybe. Is the weather clear enough? Will the plane climb high enough? Do you even know what you’re looking at? I give some of my streaming friends a hard time for using virtual binoculars (zooming in) to see airports and landmarks far off in the distance, but if we’re simulating real life, seeing things off in the distance is probably not realistic, as the humidity in the air makes it difficult to see clearly. Then there’s the issue of not being familiar with what you’re looking at. Unless there are very large and easy-to-see landmarks, the world tends to look the same from above… fields, trees, roads, etc. I’ve enjoyed trying to fly with just a sectional chart and trying to keep track of where I am (with ortho scenery for X-Plane, of course), just by looking out the window. Give it a try the next time you fire up the simulator, but be careful… don’t get lost!