Who's a pilot in real life?
 

I am amazed at the amount of technical knowledge being shared on these boards. Whether it be knowledge of WW2 era aircraft, aviation technology, or the mechanics of flight, there must be a fair number of pilots in the bunch.
It has come to the point where I would describe these boards as educational. I would love to hear about where the members attained this information.

Had one first lesson when i was 15 :) but that was it hehe.

Either this summer or the next I'm gonna starting hittin' the skies.:) I just need to find time to dedicate for this.

Understand that IL2 has been around for some time even though this title is brand new. The PC version attracted a lot of guys that still continue to play even as we write on these forums. Most of the folks I've come across are folks that are very much into flying as pilots or they love the history behind some of the great machines you fly in this sim. A lot of them read tech manuals and research squads for both the Axis and Allies. Some research the historal events and the major air operations and theaters.

I'm more of a PC guy because of simming but I've been keeping my eye open as other have on this Console release. It's my hope that it will keep this genre going and recruite some fresh eyes to what I consider to be my favorite type of game to play.

There are many virtual squads with their ranks filled with very knowlegable helpful people. You will also notice there is a US base group and several EU guys that frequent the forums.

I myself am a real pilot and I have several ratings... Finally getting close to finishing my Instrument but I have my High Performance, Complex and Tail wheel endorsements so if anyone has questions I would be glad to help out where I can.

I hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I do.

The other day i took my first pilot orientation and soon i'll start to take more lessons.I have also been lucky enough to have had a ride in a T6(WW2 trainer), and also a P-51 Mustang.

I used to fly Gliders when I could, but I haven't had the money or time for a couple of years, so I'm grounded for the time.

I am

I haven't been behind the controls for a while now... I started on the Cessna 150 and ended in the HS-125.

I have taken two glider lessons at Estrella Airpark, going to take my
third in a couple weeks. :-D

ooooooooh! envy! ;)

I hope to take my first total immersion flight this year, then I plan to fly a P-51 via Stallion51 in Florida. One day, I'd like to acquire my private license... but first I need to save some change. lol

They are very fun to ride in.

One more year till I can solo! I started when i was thirteen, but I only have around 60 hours, and it's a shame you can't solo til sixteen. I've been interested in towing gliders or something like that.

I got the chance to ride in a Yak-52 Trainer and a B-17G all in the same day. It was pretty cool, spent 100+ dollars that day for those rides. :D

I built an ultralight and have been flying it for a few years: http://www.youtube.com/flightstarpilot

I am an airline pilot and I would like to say this to everyone about flying a simulator or this game and feel they can't or that they need to know more about flying real airplanes. Real simulators are built for training purposes, they do not fly like the real aircraft even the full motion sims. they are very touchy. they are built for procedure purposes, emergencies etc. so do not feel like this game is too hard to fly or that you need to be a pilot to be successful at the game. My kid is 10 and he flies it fine he will not be and ace soon but that comes with practice.
if you want to know more about tactics and manuvers which will make you a better fighter pilot there are lot of books you can read, the most important of all in my opinion is called Aircraft Tactics and Manuvering, also Aircraft versus Aircraft. even some novels like The Blond Knight of the Luftwafe and I flew for the furer have some information on how they used to attack their enemies.

if you have any questions fell free to ask.

It's great to have such a wide variety of experience on here. My only flight experience was having the controls of a Cesna handed to me for about 15min. The pilot was a nice guy and just told me to keep 'er level". I concentrated hard on those instruments and managed to keep it going quite straight. I was feeling pretty good about myself until the pilot kindly suggested that I should look out the windshield occasionally :). My dad's uncle used to go to remote parts of the pacific and salvage fighter planes, bring them back to Canada and restore them. I know that one of the planes that he restored and actually flew was a Zero.
This game will be a ton of fun. Thanks for the responses to this post.

I am a commercial pilot, certificated flight instructor, and am a certified flight engineer- turbojet powered. I am actively instructing students and have flown as an FE for a cargo airliner. I enjoy flying whenever and wherever I can. It has enriched and rewarded me greatly over the years and I love to pass on the gift of flight to new students. I can happily give advice to anyone who is interested in taking that first step into obtaining a private pilot certificate, or anyone looking forward to pursuing an airline career.

And, of course, I love playing flying games in my time off!

I have a PPL and a share in aEV-97, not quite a Spitfire but it has it's moments! such as part of one of the prop blades breaking off on approach...interesting experience!!

Their should be a vote for going to be one. I plan to start my ground training next May.

I have a couple of hours on a cessna 150 some 7 years back...dows that count ? :grin:;-)
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Subaru leone history

I've got 22 hours in a Cessna 172. Close to soloing.

Lucky, i only got about 10 seconds in a glider :P

I got to take the controls of a Cessna 150 for 20 minutes or so. (thanks to NJROTC) I currently don't have money (College tuition costs too much), but after I get my geology degree I hope to get a pilot's license for taildragger planes. First I'll probably build a Boredom Fighter (link: http://www.adap.com/). It's a simple WWI-esque biplane that's cheap and easy to build. Another great thing about the BF is the large number of people who have built them, so there's always someone to answer questions.

Eventually, I'd love to build a complete 1:1 replica of an SE5a (a British WWI fighter), but I'm not sure I'll ever have the time & money.