Bruce FlyingSinger Irving

Great State of Maine Air Show 1997 Brunswick NAS USA about: The Great State of Maine Air Show 1997 was held on July 19th and 20th at Brunswick Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine, USA. It was a great day for an air show, with blue skies and plenty of warm sunshine. Tags: Airshow
Can I learn to fly in a flight sim? Worcester Regional Airport Can I learn to fly in a flight sim? USA Worcester about: Yes, and also no. Follow the entertaining journey of FlyingSinger as he gets his PPL, with the aid of some flight sims! Tags: Training Beginner Civil
Aircraft Carrier! (VHS) USS Independence CV-62 USA Tags:
Apollo 13 (movie) Tags: History
Discovery: Carrier: Fortress at Sea USA Tags: Carrier Ops Navy Video
Magic of Flight about: "The Magic of Flight" was shot as a super-size-screen IMAX feature for the Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. " Tags: Video
October Sky (movie) about: October Sky (1999) is the true story of Homer Hickam, a young boy growing up in a West Virginia coal-mining town in the 1950's. Homer eventually became an engineer for NASA, working with the astronauts in the Space Shuttle program. A very inspiring movie! Tags: Space
Gravis Eliminator Aftershock Gravis about: The Gravis Eliminator Aftershock. It's USB and has two small, very smooth joysticks plus a bunch of buttons. It's HOTAS for the road! Tags:
Yesterday my TrackIR3 (pro) arrived Track IR Naturalpoint Enemy Engaged Comanche vs. Hokum about: Yesterday my TrackIR3 (pro) arrived and I spent about an hour playing with it in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. It is AMAZING. Tags: Controller Review Track IR View
Deutsches Museum - Flugwerft Schleissheim Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim Tags: Field Trip
New England Air Museum: Image gallery. 2006 1/2 USA New England Air Museum Tags: Museum
New England Air Museum: Image gallery. 2006 2/2 USA New England Air Museum Tags: Museum
Gerald Astor: The Mighty Eighth \| The air war in Europe as told by the men who fought it Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress USA about: A wonderful oral history based on hundreds of interviews with WW2 airmen. A good companion to to B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty Eighth and a great read Tags: World War II
Ironclaw by Sherman Baldwin Northrop Grumman EA-6 Prowler about: Sherman ""Tank"" Baldwin, the author of Ironclaw, completed his 2-1/2 years of Navy pilot training in December 1990, just prior to the start of Desert Storm. He reported to the USS Midway as a nugget pilot of the EA-6B Prowler. Tags: Carrier Ops
Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific by Eric M. Bergerud USA Pacific Theatre WWII about: I recommend this book to anyone who wants a detailed treatment (626 pages!) of the air war in the Pacific. Tags: Carrier Ops World War II
Fighter Boys: Saving Britain 1940 by Patrick Bishop RAF United Kingdom European Theatre WWII about: This 2003 book is a sort of "oral history" of the BoB, little on the strategy/politics and hardware, mostly personal stories based on conversations, old letters, diaries, etc. of the fighter boys themselves. Plenty of flying and action, but focused on the personal stuff. Tags: History
Clash of Wings - World War II in the Air by Walter J. Boyne about: Fairly detailed overview of the entire air war from the 1939 Blitzkrieg in Poland to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. Tags:
Rinker Buck: Flight of Passage about: Flight of Passage is the story of a flight across America by two brothers in July 1966. The flight is really the heart of it, a funny, inspiring, and occasionally hair-raising adventure story. Tags: Non Fiction Civil Pilot
Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier by Tom Clancy (1999) USA about: In typically Clancy fashion, Carrier is full of details on every aspect of aircraft carriers, from the process of building one, to the organization of the battle group (CVBG) to the aircraft and weapons themselves. Tags: Carrier Ops
A Citizen Soldier in the Air: Lt. Charles Cook Consolidated B-24 Liberator about: Charles H. Cook flew a B-24D named "Cookie" with the 90th Bombardment Group in the southwest Pacific in 1942-1943. At that time, Allied forces were greatly outnumbered, and Japanese invasion of New Guinea and Australia was a very real threat. Bruce Irving has interviewed Charlie Cook and composed this valuable record of his aviation career. The entire article is also available for free download. Tags: World War II History Pilot
A Citizen Soldier in the Air: Lt. Charles Cook (download) Consolidated B-24 Liberator Tags: World War II History Pilot
War in the Air about: FlyingSinger reported: True accounts of the 20th Century's most dramatic air battles by Stephen Coonts as editor. Tags: Non Fiction History Air to Air
Going Solo by Roald Dahl United Kingdom about: It's an excellent account of Dahl's hair-raising flying career and other adventures as a young man. One of my favorite flying books. Tags: Pilot
B-24 Liberator Units of the Fifteenth Air Force by Robert F. Dorr and Mark Rolfe Consolidated B-24 Liberator USAF USA about: The B-24 was heavily utilized in the North African and Mediterranean theaters by the USAAF's Fifteenth Air Force, with operations over the Ploesti oilfields in Rumania being some of the most famous missions undertaken by the big American 'heavy' in World War II. Tags: History
Aircraft versus Aircraft by Norman Franks about: Although the text and photos are great, it's the "diagrammatic paintings" that are the heart of this book. They clearly illustrate many of the great battles and aircraft match-ups from WW1 to the Gulf War (showing the set-up and maneuvers in an easily understood format). Very educational and nicely written as well. Tags: History Air to Air World War I World War II
The Wright Brothers: How they invented the airplane Wright Brothers Wright Flyer USA about: What impresses me about the Wrights is the combination of inventiveness and persistence that they applied to solving the problems of powered flight. They were pioneers in wind tunnel testing, flight control design, and many other challenging disciplines. They also taught themselves to fly, of course, and then became the first flight instructors. They were too stubborn to give up! Tags: Engineer History Hardware: Historic
GABBY: A Fighter Pilot’s Life by Francis Gabreski and Carl Molesworth USAF USA about: This is one of the best accounts of a flying career that I have ever read. A wonderful book by a true hero. Tags: Fighter Ace World War II
Bogeys and Bandits: The Making of a Fighter Pilot by Robert Gandt McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet USAF USA about: Gandt (a former A-6 pilot) follows one class of advanced jet students as they learn the intricacies of flying and fighting in the F/A-18 Hornet. Good stuff. Tags: ACM Training
Front Row Center: Inside the Great American Airshow by Erik Hildebrandt about: I love air shows. As an aviation freak, air shows really get me excited, from the static displays to the aerobatics performers to the military demonstration teams. Every summer I go to at least one major show. I take pictures, and some of them are pretty good, but I can never quite capture the excitement of being there. Probably nothing can really do this, but I recently got a book and a DVD that come pretty close. Tags: Airshow
Fuddy Duddy' - a B-17 Flying Fortress still flying. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Tags: World War II Bomber
Flying Singer about: Engineer, Singer and Simmer! Tags: Author Engineer Flight Sim Fan SuperGeek
Bizarro's B-58 Convair B-58 Hustler Tags: Museum
F-22 in the subway Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor USA Tags: Art: Press
F/A-18 radar dish McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet Tags:
MiG-28 at the New England Air Show, 2000 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-28 (From the Top Gun movie) USA Tags:
P-47 and P-51 at Chino North American P-51 Mustang Tags:
Gravis Eliminator Aftershock: a HOTAS for the road! Gravis Tags: HOTAS Review
Sim vs. Reality McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle Tags: Airshow Comparison
MiG-29 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum about: The MiG-29 Fulcrum is a formidable point defence fighter. I wouldn't get into a turning battle with one of these! It's smaller than the Super Hornet and excels at low speed manoeuvering with sufficient thrust-to-weight ratio to rescue it from some very deep holes! Tags:
North American P-51 Mustang about: This was the fighter that Gabby Gabreski got most of his kills in. Tags:
My ride in a Stearman Boeing Stearman about: Here's a shot of me in the Yellow Peril and also a cockpit shot of the approach to Riverside (CA) airport. This was on my first (20 min) Stearman ride at an airshow. Tags:
Su-32 at Farnborough Tags:
What is a SUPERgeek? Tags: People SuperGeek
About BFM: the song Tags: Music ACM
MP3 of BFM: the song Music ACM (download) MP3 of BFM: the song Tags: Music ACM
Snaps of my house from the air Tags:
Hardware Tags: Hardware
Software Tags: Software
Astronomy Magazine Award Tags:
The good news is that I can run MSFS 2020 on my PC Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Tags: Review article updated: 2020-09-08
MSFS 2020 is fun and impressive, but frustrating too. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Tags: Review article updated: 2020-09-09
Upgrade worked! (installed the new 4 GB GTX 1650) Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: I no longer get the "your PC sucks" message on startup and I'm getting 39-59 FPS with moderate but not totally ugly settings based on a few quick tests. Tags: Review article updated: 2020-09-12
Hawaii Canyon Adventure USA Hawaii Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: I just tried flying into and out of that same canyon in MSFS2020 in a couple of different planes. It's really cool and the lighting effects are amazing. Tags: Review article updated: 2020-09-13
K.I.S.S. about: After a frustrating MSFS2020 session early this morning with the Cessna 172S and the Garmin G1000 auto pilot and unflyable frame rates (15-24 FPS), I decided to change a few things and go back to basics with the C152. Tags: Review article updated: 2020-09-13
Low-key words about the wonder of flight. about: This song by Bill Callahan wasn’t on Apple Music a few years ago when I first found it. But here it is now. Low-key words about the wonder of flight. Tags: Review article updated: 2020-09-13
Small blasts from the past North American F-100 Super Sabre Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: Over the weekend I did a lot of MSFS2020 flights in several areas including around Stockholm where I took my first and only hot air balloon flight on May 31, 2014. Tags: First Flight article updated: 2020-09-16
Flight with Peter MiGMan Inglis, Sept 14th, 2009 USA Worcester Dell Tags: Review Civil article updated: 2020-09-18
Simulated Flight of Passage? USA Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Tags: VFR article updated: 2020-09-22
Gliders in Sterling, October 2007 USA about: I joined a glider day at Sterling with WAPA in fall 2007 (Worcester Area Pilots Association) and that I had taken a ton of pictures that day, on the ground and in the air. Tags: IRL: In real life article updated: 2020-09-24
Multiple windows & monitors in Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Tags: Tips Multi Monitor article updated: 2020-09-26
Flight of Passage movie (not quite) and MSFS Test Flight USA Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: I found a 2015 journal entry where I wrote about a planned movie of Flight of Passage. \| This morning I decided to do some testing of the VFR Flight of Passage re-creation idea in MSFS using the Savage Cub. Tags: VFR Pilot notes article updated: 2020-09-28
Air Force One NOTAMS USA about: I still get these notices when Trump is taking one of his frequent golfing weekends in Bedminster, NJ. It doesn’t affect my sim flying though. Tags: NOTAM Pilot notes Navigation article updated: 2020-10-01
New in the hangar! Dell about: First thing I installed MSFS, natch, and did a quick test flight in Innsbruck. I only had 10 minutes so I didn't look at everything but it seems to have defaulted to High settings for everything and I got 58-60 FPS in the mountains with nice detail. Tags: article updated: 2020-10-02
Boston! It’s perfect! USA Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: Boston! It’s perfect! And check those frame rates! Tags: Scenery article updated: 2020-10-03
C172S Buzzes Itsukushima Shrine (MSFS2020) Japan Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: Experimenting with NVIDIA video recording features with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, I flew a Cessna 172 around the Itsukushima Shrine in Japan. I trimmed it to 51 seconds using Windows 10 Photos app. Tags: article updated: 2020-10-05
Flight of Passage re-done in 2014! about: I’m making plans to try the Flight of Passage flight in MSFS 2020 now that I’ve got good graphics and can capture video etc. While searching for info on one of these I found an AOPA article about a couple who bought the Bucks’ old Cub, restored it again, and flew the route in 2014! Tags: article updated: 2020-10-07
I built me a tiny airport! Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 Tags: Scenery Utility Mod article updated: 2020-10-19
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EuroSpaceFighter Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: I found a new free navigation map mod that’s integrated with MSFS called FSPM VFR MAP. Tags: article updated: 2020-12-25
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about: (FlyingSinger links below this point are in the software gallery - the last to be re-engineered. They'll be good again soon.) Tags:
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How to Fly and Fight in the F/A-18 Hornet by David Isby McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet about: Very good photos and illustrations and solid, sim-like 'you are there' perspective based on a hypothetical Middle East scenario (strike Iranian gunboats). Generally accurate terminology and plausible situations. Tags:
Check Six by Bob Norris. McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet about: Check Six, a novel that combines realistic information about aircraft carrier and F/A-18 operations, exciting air combat, and a suspenseful story line. Tags: Carrier Ops Navy
Vipers in the Storm by Keith Rosenkranz General Dynamics F-16 Falcon USAF USA about: If you fly Falcon 4.0 or other F-16 sims, this book is recommended reading - it can help you to learn real F-16 tactics (it's THAT detailed - avionics and weapon information, altitudes, air speeds - but it's not purely a combat diary, it is also not a bad read). Tags:
Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert L. Shaw USA about: It's the real thing, over 400 pages of analysis of the fundamentals of Air Combat, illustrated with examples from history. Tags: Training ACM Ace Air to Air
Daughter of the Air: The Brief, Soaring Life of Cornelia Fort by Rob Simbeck USA about: It succeeds as a flying book, as a biography of a woman who was ahead of her time, and as a fascinating slice of pre-war and war-era American life. Tags: Pilot World War II Biography
Warthog and Strike Eagle by William L. Smallwood Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt/Warthog USA about: Subtitled "Flying the A-10 (and F-15E) in the Gulf War", these books are based on many interviews with the pilots. They present a detailed picture of what it was like to fly these airplanes in combat over Kuwait and Iraq. Many of the missions are described in great detail - wonderful stuff for sim pilots and other air combat aficionados. Tags: Pilot
The Simple Science of Flight: From Insects to Jumbo Jets USA about: From insects to 747's it's all the same simple rules. Tags: Physics Non Fiction
Skyfaring: a Journey with a Pilot USA about: This is a fantastic book I read in 2015. Mark is an American who ended up flying 747’s for British Airways (now 777). He’s also an excellent writer. Tags: Pilot Pilot notes article updated: 2020-09-19
Air Warriors: The Inside Story of making a Navy Pilot USA Tags: Training
Hunters in the Sky - Fighter Aces of WW II Tags: Ace Air to Air
Total Air War Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Total Air War about: Tips and tactics for this classic simulation of the modern Air Warfare environment. Tags: AWACS Air to Air
Installing Pacific Fighters Pacific Theatre WWII Pacific Fighters about: (copy protection hell) Tags: Install
Missions based on my favourite books about: I have always enjoyed reading military novels and techno-thrillers, especially those in which air combat figures heavily. I also enjoy building and flying missions for combat flight sims. A few years back I decided to combine these interests and build some missions based on scenes from a few of my favorite military action novels. Tags: Mission
F/A-18 by Janes F/A-18 (Janes) Tags: Review
Editing scenery in FLY! FLY about: Editing scenery using Terrascene. Tags: Scenery Guide Mod
Flight Commander 2 Tags: Review
Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero versus B-24 Mitchell about: Something about the lighting and rendering in this sim just blows my mind -- although European Air War is very "painterly" (as you said in the museum, like flying in a Robert Taylor painting), Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 2 is approaching photo-realism. Tags: World War II Air to Air
Orbiter: First impressions about: Orbiter is a amazing free 3D Space Simulator written by Dr. Martin Schweiger, Ph.D. Orbiter contains accurate math and orbital physics, and has an extensive community support base. Tags: Space Review
Apollo 14 missions about: The addon people for this thing are maniacs, and the Forum is the one of the most multinational I have ever seen. Tags: Space Mod
International Space Station about: So I spent a good 90 minutes orbiting the earth for the views in the ISS (usually at 10-100x time warp) while listening to some classical theme music. So far I've been pretty literal - Strauss's Blue Danube - Holst's Planets - Mozart's Jupiter Symphony -- all seem suitable for space. I also have the Ravel Daphne and Chloe (suite), very nice moon mood music. Tags: Space
Pitch trim is easier with keypad num 7 and 1 than the joy stick buttons. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: Great tip! - MiGMan Tags: Tips HOTAS article updated: 2020-09-13
1942 The Pacific Air War Tags: Review
IL-2 Forgotten Battles Tags: AA: Gun
Go play in Space Orbiter about: This Introductory Tutorial manual is a colorful picture book about humans going to Mars, how they might realistically go about this, and where this might lead in the future. Tags: Space pdf
Go play in Space Orbiter about: This Introductory Tutorial manual is a colorful picture book about humans going to Mars, how they might realistically go about this, and where this might lead in the future. Tags: Space Downloads
Mars: Just Imagine Orbiter about: A colorful picture book about humans going to Mars, how they might realistically go about this, and where this might lead in the future. The missions were simulated with specially developed add-ons in the freeware Orbiter space flight simulator, and most of the graphics are screen captures from Orbiter, though some are real photos from NASA. Intended for ages 10 to adult, the book includes an appendix with details for each page, including information on the add-ons used in Orbiter to create the images. Tags: Space
Orbiter Tags: Space Reviews
In orbit over the USA and Australia. Orbiter about: I think Orbiter should really be flown in a dark room up close to a big monitor. It's like looking out the window of the Shuttle, with Bach, Strauss, and Ravel cycling in the background. Tags: Space Reviews
Apollo 14 Orbiter about: "Here are some Apollo 14 pics from a tutorial on recreating Apollo missions. The craft is a few years old now but still cool (the look is still much the same - I downloaded a lot of the Apollo stuff but have not tried any yet, as I'm still trying to achieve the orbit I want and maneuver with thrusters). The addon people for this thing are maniacs, and the Forum is the one of the most multinational I have ever seen -- 12 year old kids in India to retired USAF guys in Colorado to all sorts of people around Europe, some Australia, etc. Tags: Space
Orbiter Tags: Space Add-on Link
International Space Station Orbiter Tags: Space Flight Test
Orbiter about: "Orbiter (available from www.orbitersim.com) is a freeware space flight simulator for the PC that is fun, powerful, realistic, expandable, and educational. The download page directs you to several "mirror" sites that actually host the program zip files. " Tags: Space Link
Apollo 14 Orbiter about: Apollo screen caps from Apollo Lunar Mission Tutorial by John Dunn. Tags: Space Link
Search for Orbiter mods Orbiter Tags: Space Mod Link
Navigation \| Sectional charts for the USA. Great to have displayed in your home cockpit! (external link): Sectional charts for the USA. Great to have displayed in your home cockpit! about: Have you seen this site? It’s US charts only and I don’t think it’s set up for flight planning per se, but it’s great to have a zoomable sectional chart right on my iPad or PC for general orientation and planning. I used to buy these things on paper for my region and others like when I flew in California. The density and clarity of information on these charts is a work of aviation art!' Tags: Navigation VFR article updated: 2020-09-27
Official Site \| (external link): Orbiter Tags: Official Site Space
Space \| More Orbiter (external link): More Orbiter Orbiter Tags: Space
Add-on \| Dan's Orbiter page, sound and other add-ons (external link): Dan's Orbiter page, sound and other add-ons Orbiter Tags: Add-on Space
Image Gallery \| Apollo screen caps from Apollo Lunar Mission Tutorial by John Dunn. (external link): Apollo screen caps from Apollo Lunar Mission Tutorial by John Dunn. Orbiter Tags: Image Gallery Space
Image Gallery \| (external link): Orbiter about: "Other screen caps by me, FlyingSinger, with standard Orbiter 2005 installation, plus high-resolution ""level 9"" earth textures, well worth installing (free of course, all Orbiter stuff is, amazingly, free). Tags: Image Gallery Space
\| Many Orbiter Addons at www.orbithangar.com (external link): Many Orbiter Addons at www.orbithangar.com Orbiter about: Often more recent than www.avsim.com which probably has the most files. Tags:
\| Many Orbiter Addons at www.spacesimmods.com (external link): Many Orbiter Addons at www.spacesimmods.com Orbiter Tags:
\| Orbiter tips and tricks plus FAQ (external link): Orbiter tips and tricks plus FAQ Orbiter Tags:
\| Trevor Johns' Training Tutorial Guides (external link): Trevor Johns' Training Tutorial Guides Orbiter about: (dates on page look old but tutorials work with 2005 version, worth installing from two zip files, probably the best intro to the basics, conversational style, starts on Mars, less gravity and atmosphere to deal with than earth - print it out and go find Phobos!) Tags:
\| Orbiter Mars (external link): Orbiter Mars Orbiter about: Duncan Sharpe, author of TransX MFD for interplanetary flight planning, good stuff Tags:
\| Orbiter tutorials (relatively advanced) (external link): Orbiter tutorials (relatively advanced) Orbiter Tags:
\| Tutorials (external link): Tutorials Orbiter Tags:
\| Tutorials (external link): Tutorials Orbiter Tags:
Buck family home movies of Kern Buck’s first solo in 1964 Tags: Civil Pilot notes article updated: 2020-10-08
Flight of Passage recreated in 2014. about: A couple bought the Bucks’ old Cub, restored it again, and flew the route in 2014!. This zoom event remembering the trip in June 2020 with Rinker Buck as a special guest. Tags: article updated: 2020-10-08
MSFS 2020: How to improve the control sensitivity Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 about: I still felt that some of my landing problems are controls related so I went looking. This guy is long winded but the gist is to find flight_model.cfg (I think) for your aircraft. Save a backup copy then edit elevator_effectiveness from 1 to maybe 0.1 and similar for pitch and rudder. Fast forward to find this part of vid. Then set the sensitivity to 0.0 so all are back to linear with no dead zone (for me). With my stick, this makes it feel and act much more realistic to me in the XCUB and C152. Tags: article updated: 2020-10-29
\| 281 cool places to visit in MSFS with links to photos, map, weather and the airport codes. (external link): 281 cool places to visit in MSFS with links to photos, map, weather and the airport codes. Tags: article updated: 2020-10-16