Still here, still got eye problems, still hanging in though.

My latest projects are still on the slow burner.

Sick, lame and lazy...

Well, I am back again...

Oh? You didn't notice I was gone? Oh well, never mind, you weren't to know. So what has happened in the interim? Moved house, changed jobs - to a job I have yet to start. Rebuilt the PC to a Vista 64 bit system... You know - the usual stuff in the life of a nomadic PC addict. Spring is finally looming after a fashion, the mornings are still fresh but this afternoon was gloriously sunny out on the balcony. Got a decent one this time with enough room for a lounger and table for the cocktails. All I need now, in my quest for the perfect domicile is one that faces the afternoon and evening sun - I just get the morning sun here, which is a bind for someone who has to go to work.

Anything new on the flightsim scene? Not really. I have been "down" a lot recently with that IKEA building, furniture arranging, living out of a suitcase... It's been almost three months now, since I packed up at my last home and started all this move thing, and now I am slowly reaching that stage, where I can say comfortable.

Still - I have set out my library and am working through the Pratchet section again.

I'll keep in touch.

Once more into the breach, dear friends...

Bloody Blogs, you start 'em and then, ages later, you realise you haven't said much in a while. But in the meantime, my forum post counts have shot up beyond count. I have passed five and a half thousand on SimFlight and almost eighteen hundred on Aerosoft plus thousands elsewhere - and no, they aren't all pithy "one worder" posts either. I usually write pithy thousand worders *ggg*



Here and above, you can see a couple of shots of my "Don't mess with Texas" paint for the Iris Raytheon T6. Basically an American redesign of the Pilatus PC9, but a bit more modern. A real fun plane to blast down the Grand Canyon in.









I have been beta testing like Billy O until recently, I have been "threatening" forum posters with all kinds of dire consequences (big nasty moderator that I am) and I have been painting too. One thing that pleases - and puzzles - me is that I get a lot of "fan mail" asking to do someone a paint. Either I am getting better, or folk just don't know better. I also find myself answering all kinds of questions about how to do "this, that or the other trick" on a skin.


The Aerosoft Twin Otter was a real fun plane to beta test and to paint. These two are proving very popular on the downl0ad fora. I wonder? Should I write a book and solve everyone's problem? Good scheme! Make some money...


So, let's catch up with the "now" in my life. Real world wise I have been busy too. I landed a new job with Eurocopter - Hoorayyy! I am back working on helicopters. Well, I am doing it primarily to keep "off the dole" and the fact that I am "tech clerking on helicopters" is a coincidence. There are better things I could be doing - like simming. But that evil Mammon just keeps pulling at my soul and the needs are there. So that also means another move to another home in another town. All that is keeping me rather busy real world wise these days, more's the pity.

Anyway, let's see about tagging a couple of screenshots of recent paints to this post. The Harvard above is another fine plane to have in the Hangar by the way. As for painting, this offering on the left is a real challenge - to the artistically minded. Who on earth would do a photo paint like this on a real world 747?

It was an excercise in seeing what can be done with the default 747... oh well. "It's Cool to be Hot"

Another day, another year

Happy New Year to anyone who stumbles across this blog. I don't expect it to be too many ;)

So, how did you spend your new year's eve party?

I went way off the beaten track and flew a "Tube" - shock, horror, dismay! Some youngster had pestered me enough with an interesting challenge to repaint an Embraer 170, so in the end I did. I am not overly happy with the result, but I wasn't too unhappy either, so in the end I caved in and let him have it "as-is".

But those of you as knows me (and my little grammatical and authorial idiosyncrasies) will know that I don't fly tubes. That is not real flying. It's bus driving... Horrible ghastly thing to do.

Anyway, I painted the beast, so I had to go fly it, didn't I? Gawd 'ow borin'!!!

Set cruise altitude, set height hold on the AP, set speed on the speed hold, push the throttle forward. Retract gear once up, set bearing on heading hold. Keep your radios n and follow ATC instructions. Set flaps, switch AP off, lower gear, land and follow taxi instructions. Shut down.

Enjoy the slide-show: