DesertFox4
03-08-2020, 12:33 AM
Had a chance to experience something unique last Tuesday evening and, if not for being a part of the Kitfox community, this and so many countless other life enriching experiences would never have presented themselves.
DesertDave joined our ranks a while ago triggered by the purchase of a very nice Kitfox model Six and he hangars at the same field as me. I learned early on he was a Check Airman for Southwest Airlines. With his busy schedule and me living an hour away from my Kitfox, we haven’t been able to coordinate much flying yet but hope to remedy that aviation injustice soon.
One day not long ago, Dave asked if I’d like to fly the 737 simulator over at the Southwest Training Center in Dallas. “Heck Yes” I think was my almost instantaneous reply. I’d never been to Dallas and I sure as heck never had the chance to get my grubby little private pilot hands on any airline equipment. I had flown the F-16 sim. at Luke Air Force Base here in Phoenix some years back thanks to the generosity of DesertFox6, another friend and fellow Kitfox driver. Thanks to DesertFox6 and my keen aerial shooting skills there are 9 less Mig 29s in the virtual world.😉
Dave set everything up for the evening of the 3rd and coordinated all travel arrangements. I felt like a V.I.P.
After checking in to the hotel right on Love Field in Dallas, myself and another friend of Dave’s, also named Steve, took a short hotel van ride to the Southwest Airlines Flight Training Center. What an impressive complex. Really amazing facility. Dave gave us a guided tour of the facility culminating in the huge room housing the 737 flight simulators. I believe there were 20 sims. in that room.
I think Dave had reserved number 9 for our use right in the center of the huge sim. room. We had the whole place to our selves due to the 7pm reservation time and Dave had finished his training flights just minutes earlier. He had worked a full day in the sims. already and then spent over two hours with Steve and me. This is someone who really enjoys what he does.
24198
(Just before entering the sim.)
24196
( S.W.A. Sim facility.)
24197
( Full motion sim. One of twenty.)
I took the first round in the Captain’s seat. Strapped in as this is a full motion sim. and you just know not every landing will be
a greaser. First scenario was take offs and landings at Honolulu. Nice low level tour around the island, past Waikiki Beach and Diamond head. Climb to do a stall and experience the stick shaker and a recovery. This is fun with a capital FUN. My first landing went very well. The equipment was still serviceable and both engines remained attached. Steve’s turn at the controls. We made a low pass over Waikiki beach which would in the real world would almost certainly result in some small reprimand I would guess, but as it was, no one complained, that I know of anyway.
Both Steve and myself were asked if there were anything specific we wanted to do. The flight over Hawaii was Steve’s request. I had watched a few 737 videos on Youtube with approaches flown with very brisk crosswinds. I wanted a challenge like that. Dave teleported all of us with the push of a few buttons to Midway Field in Chicago for my next approach. 30 knot crosswinds from the right were dialed into the sim. Watching the Youtube videos of the amount of control inputs needed to keep wings level throughout the landing so as not to remove the very pricey winglets on the wingtips or drag an engine cowling and maintain the glide path while crabbing into the crosswind and timing a rudder correction just at flare to remove the crab looked impossible for a successful outcome. Well my first attempt went pretty well. A touchdown only slightly left of centerline. Nose wheel down quickly and get those reversers working. At 60 knots you come out of reverse thrust to prevent blowing debris off the runway and up into the engines. Pretty darn cool. I think the Boeing would have been reusable.
I arrested the decent just a little bit early and missed that smooth touchdown by the least littlest bit.
https://youtu.be/v47o2Enqo5Y
We had the chance to try many scenarios and one I really wanted to experience was severe wind shear on final approach.
Dave queued up a real good one. I was briefed on the recovery procedure which sounded straight forward enough.
Let’s give it a whirl.
Stabilized approach early. Check wind direction indicator. It was 15 knots almost right down the runway two miles out. Bumpy approach as thunderstorms in the vicinity are making themselves apparent. Short final the “Wind shear” alert fills the cockpit. Immediate full throttles and pitch for no more than 15 degrees nose up. I keep 15 degrees maximum nose up and fly out of the shear. Attempt no landing. This is a go around only. It worked. I briefly caught a glimpse at the onset of the wind shear audible warning of a 54 knot headwind.😲
A big thanks to DesertDave for allowing Steve and me to experience a glimpse of the goings on behind those locked airline cabin doors. Much appreciation for the crews that safely move us through the skies while we nap, watch a movie, eat a meal or finish up that paperwork before an important business meeting. Thank you Southwest. Not sure I’d let a stranger operate my $20,000,000. flight simulator but they did and it is very much appreciated. I’d love to do it again. I think I could really nail that 30 knot crosswind landing. Maybe a rejected takeoff. Maybe an engine flame out after V2 or an engine fire. Maybe a Cat 3 landing using the h.u.d.
I gotta get one of these sims.👍
DesertDave joined our ranks a while ago triggered by the purchase of a very nice Kitfox model Six and he hangars at the same field as me. I learned early on he was a Check Airman for Southwest Airlines. With his busy schedule and me living an hour away from my Kitfox, we haven’t been able to coordinate much flying yet but hope to remedy that aviation injustice soon.
One day not long ago, Dave asked if I’d like to fly the 737 simulator over at the Southwest Training Center in Dallas. “Heck Yes” I think was my almost instantaneous reply. I’d never been to Dallas and I sure as heck never had the chance to get my grubby little private pilot hands on any airline equipment. I had flown the F-16 sim. at Luke Air Force Base here in Phoenix some years back thanks to the generosity of DesertFox6, another friend and fellow Kitfox driver. Thanks to DesertFox6 and my keen aerial shooting skills there are 9 less Mig 29s in the virtual world.😉
Dave set everything up for the evening of the 3rd and coordinated all travel arrangements. I felt like a V.I.P.
After checking in to the hotel right on Love Field in Dallas, myself and another friend of Dave’s, also named Steve, took a short hotel van ride to the Southwest Airlines Flight Training Center. What an impressive complex. Really amazing facility. Dave gave us a guided tour of the facility culminating in the huge room housing the 737 flight simulators. I believe there were 20 sims. in that room.
I think Dave had reserved number 9 for our use right in the center of the huge sim. room. We had the whole place to our selves due to the 7pm reservation time and Dave had finished his training flights just minutes earlier. He had worked a full day in the sims. already and then spent over two hours with Steve and me. This is someone who really enjoys what he does.
24198
(Just before entering the sim.)
24196
( S.W.A. Sim facility.)
24197
( Full motion sim. One of twenty.)
I took the first round in the Captain’s seat. Strapped in as this is a full motion sim. and you just know not every landing will be
a greaser. First scenario was take offs and landings at Honolulu. Nice low level tour around the island, past Waikiki Beach and Diamond head. Climb to do a stall and experience the stick shaker and a recovery. This is fun with a capital FUN. My first landing went very well. The equipment was still serviceable and both engines remained attached. Steve’s turn at the controls. We made a low pass over Waikiki beach which would in the real world would almost certainly result in some small reprimand I would guess, but as it was, no one complained, that I know of anyway.
Both Steve and myself were asked if there were anything specific we wanted to do. The flight over Hawaii was Steve’s request. I had watched a few 737 videos on Youtube with approaches flown with very brisk crosswinds. I wanted a challenge like that. Dave teleported all of us with the push of a few buttons to Midway Field in Chicago for my next approach. 30 knot crosswinds from the right were dialed into the sim. Watching the Youtube videos of the amount of control inputs needed to keep wings level throughout the landing so as not to remove the very pricey winglets on the wingtips or drag an engine cowling and maintain the glide path while crabbing into the crosswind and timing a rudder correction just at flare to remove the crab looked impossible for a successful outcome. Well my first attempt went pretty well. A touchdown only slightly left of centerline. Nose wheel down quickly and get those reversers working. At 60 knots you come out of reverse thrust to prevent blowing debris off the runway and up into the engines. Pretty darn cool. I think the Boeing would have been reusable.
I arrested the decent just a little bit early and missed that smooth touchdown by the least littlest bit.
https://youtu.be/v47o2Enqo5Y
We had the chance to try many scenarios and one I really wanted to experience was severe wind shear on final approach.
Dave queued up a real good one. I was briefed on the recovery procedure which sounded straight forward enough.
Let’s give it a whirl.
Stabilized approach early. Check wind direction indicator. It was 15 knots almost right down the runway two miles out. Bumpy approach as thunderstorms in the vicinity are making themselves apparent. Short final the “Wind shear” alert fills the cockpit. Immediate full throttles and pitch for no more than 15 degrees nose up. I keep 15 degrees maximum nose up and fly out of the shear. Attempt no landing. This is a go around only. It worked. I briefly caught a glimpse at the onset of the wind shear audible warning of a 54 knot headwind.😲
A big thanks to DesertDave for allowing Steve and me to experience a glimpse of the goings on behind those locked airline cabin doors. Much appreciation for the crews that safely move us through the skies while we nap, watch a movie, eat a meal or finish up that paperwork before an important business meeting. Thank you Southwest. Not sure I’d let a stranger operate my $20,000,000. flight simulator but they did and it is very much appreciated. I’d love to do it again. I think I could really nail that 30 knot crosswind landing. Maybe a rejected takeoff. Maybe an engine flame out after V2 or an engine fire. Maybe a Cat 3 landing using the h.u.d.
I gotta get one of these sims.👍