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Every now and then you get to do something extra special. My "now and then" came when a chiller went down out near the airport. This chiller cooled hydrolic fluid used in a 12 million dollar flight simulator. At $700 an hour the company was anxious to get things up and running again, so I went to work. On completion of the repair, I informed them that they needed to operate the system- to test my repair.

To my delight they suggested that I come along for a flight. Next thing I knew I was in the pilots seat behind the controls. This absolutly amazing machine is such an accurate representation of the real craft and motion of flight- with sound, vibration, and G forces- that you actually feel the seams in the runway concrete as you pass over. An agent for the FAA actually flies with the pilots and they get real credit for performing dangerous manuvers- such as aborted take offs and non powered landings all within the safety of the simulator, .

How did I do? Well after one crash landing- I started to get the hang of it. In the three occasions I got to do this I eventually was able to fly a passenger airliner under the Fremont Bridge at 380 miles an hour avoiding the next bridge and surrounding buildings! Whew! -- Was I sad, when they moved the operation to Texas.