During Lesson 37, TO rode along.  TL asked me to perform a soft field takeoff.  I did much better this time, but still have some learning to do.  I held her in ground effect longer and better, still not long enough and not well enough though.  As soon as we took off and turned east, T had me put the hood on and most of the flight was under simulated IFR conditions.  We landed (my first turf landing) and took off at New Holstein and then headed right back to Oshkosh, again under simulated IFR conditions.  So I was entirely blind to my first flight across Lake Winnebago and back.  T had me perform the approach under simulated IFR up until 1 mile out.  That was a satisfying experience.

T says I am already performing IFR flight with some skill and strongly encouraged me to pursue an IFR rating down the road.  He also suggested my skills might come from time spent playing video games.  Well, I never spent a lot of time on video games, but I have spent a lot of time on flight simulators.  I suggested that my skills probably were developed flying a simulator on an Apple IIc in 1987, because the view out the window on that simulator (I think it was Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0) was of little value.  You had no choice but to fly the instruments!

I should like to take this opportunity to thank Mom and Dad for that first flight simulator.  I don’t know what they were thinking as they purchased one of our first software packages for that little Apple with the nine inch monochrome monitor, but I was in awe.

Apple IIc