Active runway

Model Airplane News, May 2001

Before you fly your model, you have to select the flying field and activities you want to experience. Again, there are several options. I flew most of my VR sorties at the "IFIC Club field," which has a few houses and trees, a paved runway and-of all things-a huge dirigible floating in the air some distance from the runway. Yes, you can crash into it; if you are skilled enough, you can even land on top of it as if it were an aircraft carrier. Other flying-field scenarios include simple and difficult balloon-busting missions, deadstick practice, crosswind (on takeoff and landing), simple and difficult dogfights and several others. You can select from many locations, too, from flat, grassy flying fields to cliffs and hills for slope soaring and even an ocean beach.

You can also select the viewpoints for each flight. By pressing the Fl, F2, or F3 keys, you can switch around among the Tower (normal ground-level) viewpoint, the cockpit view, or the chase-plane viewpoint. Each is fun, and you can switch from one to the other while on the fly. Another very nice feature is the Fl 0 key; it allows you to adjust model settings without having to end the flight session, which is normally executed by pressing the Escape key.