[simpits-tech] Note to self: check camera settings before taking pics!

[KD]

My pictures from the Andrews AFB show didn't come out! Last time I used 
my camera was at my daughter's cheerleading competition indoors, and I 
didn't check the settings before shooting at the airbase yesterday! I 
think I'm going to die. I failed to get pictures of the F-15E flight 
which was awesome, AND the F-22 flight which, if you guys haven't seen 
one, you should, because the doctors that reattach jawbones need the 
work. I just stood there with the shutter held down as the plane did 
flips, rolls, tailslides, everything you thought couldn't be done in a 
jet. Once, it came right down the runway, about 100yds from us, with 
about 30 degrees AOA, and going what looked like about 30knots. I was 
astounded.

We weren't able to get up on the FSM at the show, because they didn't 
have power to it :( But, we hung around and talked with the Lockheed and 
P&W guys for a couple of hours.

The Fighter Demo Center was pretty neat. There were scale models of JSFs 
F-22s and F-16 friggin EVERYWHERE in that place. One of the absolutely 
coolest moments was when we were waiting for our contact to come in and 
see us, I was standing there, looked over and my elbow was leaning 
against a shelf with 4 Collier trophies. Of course, I touched and felt 
all 4 of them :)

We spoke with a Pratt& Whitney guy who was there, learned a lot about 
the STOVL setup, and saw a beautiful model of the engine and lift fan 
combo that they have there. It is a cutaway of the turbines, and spins 
slowly so that you can visualize what is going on when the engine is 
running. It was built by the P&W group for Lockheed to show off, and it 
looks like these things should. I didn't get to fly the F-22 sim, but I 
sat and flew the JSF one for about a half hour :D The guys got a little 
upset when I started measuring the thing up, so we didn't get many 
measurements.Actually, the sim was a bit crappy. Didn't look much like 
the JSF aside from the big touchscreen (which the guy working it for me 
didn't know how it worked, so I wasn't able to shoot back. Either I was 
shot down several times, or the missiles that the bogeys were shooting 
at me missed) and the weird slidey throttle and side stick. When I first 
got in, I noticed the gear handle was up, and the sim wouldn't let me 
take off but the thing never gave an error, it just failed until I put 
the handle down. I have seen much more accurate simulators at I/ITSEC.

The guy that got us in is a really neat guy named Craig McBurney, the 
owner and proprietor of Connecticut Corsair. He has a real F4U Corsair 
that he is restoring to flying status up in Connecticut. He has been 
trying to get that state to name the Corsair as the state airplane for 
Connecticut. He uses all volunteer help, and does research for people 
trying to restore old aircraft. Really a neat guy. He is also putting 
together a sim to help advertise the Corsair project. I'm hoping to be 
able to help him out some with that. Check him out at 
www.connecticutcorsair.com

It was an interesting trip. DC and Arlington weren't too bad to get around.

I dumped the pictures I have, and will probably upload them sometime 
today, depending.

K