FA-18 Simulator

Dan Poppe has connections! He did some electrical work for an FA-18 fighter ready room and the guys there invited him and anyone he wanted to bring down to play in their FA-18 Simulator. Lucky for me Dan let me play hookey from work, and join him along with his father and Josette for some stick time in the FA-18.

Everything in the simulator about the FA-18 was real! However the 360 degree surrounding graphics was a little reminiscent of MS Flight Sim 1995. I took on & shot down my Dan a half dozen times, however I did follow him into the ground shortly after blowing him up once. It was really a great stress relief to blow up my boss.

After dog-fighting for an hour I was allowed to shoot an ILS approach into Miramar to a full stop. Then I did a carrier catapult take-off which was quite fun. I was told to hold an o-shit handle with my right hand, keep my head all the way back to keep from getting whiplash, and with my left hand hold the stick all the way back so that it didn't slam against my family jewels during the rapid acceleration. Finally I did a couple of successful carrier landings on my first try. Shoot, they told me that would be tough! Overall I think I did pretty well for not having much multi-engine fighter jet time. I kinda want one for myself now, but I don't think Krystle will let me get one.