Prices of a real Cessna 172.

http://skyhawk.cessna.com/pricelist.chtml

Wow..check out the prices of these babies. Not exactly the cheapest transportation and you can't park it in your garage either. $172,500 converts to roughly £92,060. And thats the basic, bog standard model. In car terms that's the one that no one really wants but most of the time ends up buying anyway.

Beta test these progams.

Finally Microsoft are starting to release some newer editions of their software that we have all been using for years. And actually they are doing a bloody good job of it as well. Here are the latest releases from the Redmond camp:

Windows Media Player 11
Quite a big change from MP 10. This now has an improved design and some new features. It takes a while to learn how to navigate through it so it isn't as easy to use as iTunes. However it does give the Apple program a run for its money, and to be totally honest WMP was always well ahead of iTunes in some respects... especially with the inclusion of video, pictures and recorded tv. Plus it doesn't lock you into having to use the AAC format!

Give it a try here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx

Internet Explorer 7
Finally after about 5 years (and more probably) and god knows how many security updates later we say goodbye to IE6. out with the old and in with the new. Here comes IE7 and what a complete change. There are many basic similarities to the king of browsers, Firefox. However, there are some new features and whole host of new security additions that practically make this a compulsary download! The Print Preview feature is nice, as well as the Quick Tabs button thats pretty cool too.

Give it a try here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx

Windows Messenger Live
This is the latest installment of messenger which is actually quite nice and lot prettier.

Give it a try here: http://ideas.live.com/

All these progams from Microsoft are still in BETA which means you are the guinea pig! Now, I would say download them at your own risk but to be honest all three are just about ready for public release. I will also add these programs will find their way into Windows Vista so it's the latest technology that you can try out right now.

Happy Downloading!

Back to the drawing board!

I recently made the decision to start designing a new chassis and enclosure for my simulator. The current build is a simple, clean design but i'm not altogether very pleased with it. It is a basic open cockpit structure that I put together after the complexities of building a full scale closed cockpit replica of the Cessna was causing my head to explode! However I have decided to have another stab at it and see where it takes me. Sleepless nights are coming! I'm sure of it.

When I first started this project I discovered a little program called Sketchup. A computer magazine called CustomPC was raving about it and I decided to give it a try. When the time limit was at an end, I was genuinely gutted. It is a very easy to use CAD program that produces quick results. Google, being the fantastic people that they are have now bought the Sketchup company and made it completely free. It is a "basic" version of the program, but, I mean "basic" in very loose terms. Because it is very useable and shares much of the abilities of the "Professional" program. This wonderful software, which used to cost hundreads of pounds, is now free to use. If you haven't given it a try, I whole heartedly recommend it. The link is below:

http://sketchup.google.com/

As the picture shows I am planning my project in SketchUp to give me a better idea of what the complete simulator will look like. Using the exact dimensions, I can see how to construct the complete enclosure without ever having to waste materials. It should give me a way to test the design and also give the ability to show others as well. The low file size can be distributed by email and as long as other people have the same program, I can get some feedback. I am already thinking of building the enclosure out of MDF. I need a light material because the instruments and aluminium panels themselves when brought together are quite heavy. The actual floor chassis will probably need to have some holes drilled into them to keep weight to a minimum. This is how real airframes are built. I need to stike a balance since I can't have the simultor top heavy or too flimsy. The last thing I want is to be sitting in it and all of a sudden it colapse!!! That would be very embarassing and it would give me a complex!!! Bye for now.