Flight and Flying [Friday morning, Flight Club shed]

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

The flight simulator had been reconfigured again--this time to something that should seem a bit more familiar to Earth-based students: The F-16 Flying Falcon.

Anakin clasped his hands behind his back and began speaking when the students had assembled in front of him. "This is one of the aircraft used by the militaries of this world," he began. "It's good in air-to-air combat as well as air-to-surface attack, can go more than 850 kilometers before it needs to be refueled and can withstand up to nine G's--pretty high tech for this world's standards."

He opened the simulator door and gestured to the controls. "As you can see, it's configured differently than the systems we've been using in the last few weeks, but the joystick and the trigger button are located in the same place. The F-16 just isn't as sensitive as the starfighter--you'll have to yank harder at the joystick to get the same reaction."

He was completely oblivious to any kind of innuendo that might've been found in that statement. "You'll also be dealing with the Earth's gravity, so turns won't be as fast, and if you make the plane go up too quickly, the machine's been equipped to simulate G forces, so you might pass out. Please make sure to keep any cute but clingy kittens--or frogs--out of the cockpit, just in case."

He smiled at Cedric and Draco. "And for something different, Cedric and Draco have generously agreed to let you all ride on their brooms--the traditional form of flying where they come from. Again, please make sure the animals don't join you as you zip around the island." He glanced at the sky. "We seem to be having conveniently handwavey some breaks in the pudding-ing, so we should be okay for visibility."

He snapped his fingers. "Oh. Veronica Mars--she's teaching the photography seminar--and I have arranged a field trip for our workshops to Washington, DC next Sunday. It's an all day thing, we'll be leaving the island early in the morning and returning late in the evening. You don't have to come, but there's a very cool Air & Space Museum that I thought you might be interested in seeing."

He walked over to the simulator and turned it on. "You can take a practice run on the F-16, then there are two different exercises: an air-to-surface that will test your accuracy and an air-to-air one that will test your reflexes." He smiled. "Have fun."

[OOC: If you could RSVP for the field trip here, that would make V-mun and I very, very happy. Thanks!]

Comments

Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

The weapons are simulated, the catharsis is real.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

It wasn't the first time Cameron had tried out the F-16 on the simulator, but that didn't stop him from being excited. He smiled as he ran a hand over the controls, taking a moment to become familiar with them again. Strange how a bunch of fake memories could make you feel perfectly at ease with something. His practice run went very smoothly.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory took a practice run, and due to the constant buzzing in her ears, nevermind the itching at the back of her head and slight soreness she could feel tugging at various spots on her skin, neither her accuracy nor her reflexes were the best.

As she stopped the pratice, she decided that she'd sit out of the actual exercise today.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin gave her a very worried look when she wasn't looking in his direction.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

Peter was also excited at trying out the F-16. It wasn't anything like a Spitfire, but it was much closer than the space fighter had been. He tried the run tentatively at first then with more enjoyment as he may have been visualizing Messerschmitts in his sights.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Nicely done," Anakin said, noting the improvement. "Were these controls easier for you?"

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

"Definitely," Peter replied. "I think the lack of sensitivity helps or something. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something, not just twitching and throwing it into a spin."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin smiled. "You should see what happens if you sneeze in a starfighter. Not pretty."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[once-a-king.livejournal.com]

"So you're saying pilots with allergies don't last too long in a space dogfight?" Peter said, grinning.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

These systems are completely different than what they'd been in last week. It's almost easier though to control with a joystick. Almost like a broom.

For the first time, Cedric does well in the simulator.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Good job," Anakin said, smiling. "This a little more familiar for you?"

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"I don't have to remember as much," he jokes. "The joystick is a little more what I'm used to. Control via one area on the device."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Do brooms come with weapondry?" he asked. "I've been curious."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[chasingsnitches.livejournal.com]

"Just the person's wand," Cedric says. "No broomstick I've ever seen has been outfitted with any kind of weapon. The person is responsible for controlling the broomstick's path and using the wand as your main source of power."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

Blair took his practice run, disappointed that there wasn't as much spinny fun with the F-16.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Nice work," Anakin said. "Or did you prefer the lack of gravity?"

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[lovechildblair.livejournal.com]

"Thanks, it was fun." Blair bounced a little. "But yeah, last weeks was cooler. Way, way cooler."

He leaned forward a little and whispered. "Might be because of the spinning. I think more planes should do that."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin grinned. "I agree. That's all I did, practically, the first time I flew a real spaceship."

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[can_be_more]

This one's different than Aeryn's used to, mostly. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the diffreneces, but otherwise she does just fine.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin gave her a pleased smile, but left her alone. He knew she could handle herself.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[demonbelthazor]

Bel does the practice run, eager to get to the blowing things up stage.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

Anakin watched from the side, but didn't offer any scathing commentary.

He felt as if he was growing as a person.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[demonbelthazor]

Bel felt a sense a disappointment for some strange reason.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[pure-blooddraco.livejournal.com]

Draco actually does pretty well on this sim. He was glad that this one wasn't as sensitive as the others.

Re: Practice Run on the Simulator

[emo-padawan.livejournal.com]

"Nice," Anakin said, smiling.