The walk from Building 4838 to Simulator Alley was quiet, and calm. A beautiful day in the desert, the sun’s tender rays warming the lakebed to a delightful 76 degrees, with a whispering light breeze rustling the leaves in the trees, gently kissing you with welcomed coolness. It was a perfect day for an adventure. The group accompanying me was quiet, reserved, together, and well mannered. I, on the other hand, felt like I was jumping out of my skin. I find it hard to believe, even now, that these other people were not just as excited about the upcoming event, but I was the only one childlike enough in my exuberation to feel the sheer joy that shakes you from within, and makes children run in circles around trees in parking lots waiting for Disneyland to finally open. I truly get to work at my Disneyland Park, and this was my opening hour, and my ticket was at hand. I was going to go play on the F-18 Simulator at NASA Dryden’s Flight Research Center. A long a waited moment of sheer boundless joy. My boys have been, so have some of my friends, but I had not, until now, had the pleasure of going. This is not something you sign up for, it is a “by extended invitation” only event. And the person extending the invitation has to be one with connections. Me, I have no connections, I am the lowest (wo)man on the totem pole of Dryden, and I am thrilled to be on it at all.
I know I have told you the people I work for are brilliant, but today was just another piece to the puzzle of just how great they really are. In a trivial information turn of events, I found that most of the big dogs in the IT God Forum have come from Simulator Alley. In fact most of them built it themselves. Yes, I said built it! To fully appreciate this marvel one should really experience it themselves due to the simple fact that there really is no words that can adequately capture it with justice. However, for the sake of simplicity let me just say, the F-18 Sim has a half circle wrap around full view screen. It contains an in depth view of Rodger’s Dry Lakebed, the spaceport, runways, Boron, and even the mine. It is beyond amazing. I had Ken at my side coaching me all the way. He increased speeds, and lowered landing gear, while I tried to fly. All I can say is, it is so much harder then it looks, and it really showed me first hand how much skill and training these pilots really have. The coolest part is that these simulators can really be hooked up to the F-18 down stairs in the hanger. There is a large window that allows you to be in the simulator room and still be able to view the actual F-18 below. When the pilot rolls one way, or moves to another side, the actual plane moves so that the engineers can see first hand how the plane will react BEFORE they send one of our pilots up. The simulators are not just million dollar toys, they are huge educational learning centers, as well as invaluable safety nets.
This week we (The Edwards AFB Community) lost a pilot, not from NASA, but from the Air Force side, a Lockheed Martin test pilot in an F-22 raptor. A tragic loss of a gifted and skilled, dedicated, pilot. What these precision trained pilots do with the technology that is out here is truly inspirational. They risk their lives so that we, as a nation, have better, more functional air systems at the ready for so much more then just military applications. In fact technology being tested today for ACAT may have saved the pilot we just lost, by landing the plane safely when the pilot was unconscious or worse, unable to control the plane prior to crashing.
It is the entire elite team we call Dryden that is the vast melting pot I call unsung heros. The Engineers who think beyond the possible, the test pilots who make the missions come off without a hitch, even the IT Gods that make solutions that will work with problems not even thought of yet. All to stay atop of a game no one knows were it will lead, that is the amazing mushroom cloud of Dryden. It is the marvel of the machines, the technological advances, the people, the passion, and the path of uncharted mysteries. I got to fly a real piece of Americana history today and I truly loved it! How very grateful I am for the blessings of this place, of these people, and of this time I get to be a part of it. I am living my own American dream. Tuesday, March 31, 2009
F-18 Simulator @ NASA Dryden’s Flight Research Center
The walk from Building 4838 to Simulator Alley was quiet, and calm. A beautiful day in the desert, the sun’s tender rays warming the lakebed to a delightful 76 degrees, with a whispering light breeze rustling the leaves in the trees, gently kissing you with welcomed coolness. It was a perfect day for an adventure. The group accompanying me was quiet, reserved, together, and well mannered. I, on the other hand, felt like I was jumping out of my skin. I find it hard to believe, even now, that these other people were not just as excited about the upcoming event, but I was the only one childlike enough in my exuberation to feel the sheer joy that shakes you from within, and makes children run in circles around trees in parking lots waiting for Disneyland to finally open. I truly get to work at my Disneyland Park, and this was my opening hour, and my ticket was at hand. I was going to go play on the F-18 Simulator at NASA Dryden’s Flight Research Center. A long a waited moment of sheer boundless joy. My boys have been, so have some of my friends, but I had not, until now, had the pleasure of going. This is not something you sign up for, it is a “by extended invitation” only event. And the person extending the invitation has to be one with connections. Me, I have no connections, I am the lowest (wo)man on the totem pole of Dryden, and I am thrilled to be on it at all.
I know I have told you the people I work for are brilliant, but today was just another piece to the puzzle of just how great they really are. In a trivial information turn of events, I found that most of the big dogs in the IT God Forum have come from Simulator Alley. In fact most of them built it themselves. Yes, I said built it! To fully appreciate this marvel one should really experience it themselves due to the simple fact that there really is no words that can adequately capture it with justice. However, for the sake of simplicity let me just say, the F-18 Sim has a half circle wrap around full view screen. It contains an in depth view of Rodger’s Dry Lakebed, the spaceport, runways, Boron, and even the mine. It is beyond amazing. I had Ken at my side coaching me all the way. He increased speeds, and lowered landing gear, while I tried to fly. All I can say is, it is so much harder then it looks, and it really showed me first hand how much skill and training these pilots really have. The coolest part is that these simulators can really be hooked up to the F-18 down stairs in the hanger. There is a large window that allows you to be in the simulator room and still be able to view the actual F-18 below. When the pilot rolls one way, or moves to another side, the actual plane moves so that the engineers can see first hand how the plane will react BEFORE they send one of our pilots up. The simulators are not just million dollar toys, they are huge educational learning centers, as well as invaluable safety nets.
This week we (The Edwards AFB Community) lost a pilot, not from NASA, but from the Air Force side, a Lockheed Martin test pilot in an F-22 raptor. A tragic loss of a gifted and skilled, dedicated, pilot. What these precision trained pilots do with the technology that is out here is truly inspirational. They risk their lives so that we, as a nation, have better, more functional air systems at the ready for so much more then just military applications. In fact technology being tested today for ACAT may have saved the pilot we just lost, by landing the plane safely when the pilot was unconscious or worse, unable to control the plane prior to crashing.
It is the entire elite team we call Dryden that is the vast melting pot I call unsung heros. The Engineers who think beyond the possible, the test pilots who make the missions come off without a hitch, even the IT Gods that make solutions that will work with problems not even thought of yet. All to stay atop of a game no one knows were it will lead, that is the amazing mushroom cloud of Dryden. It is the marvel of the machines, the technological advances, the people, the passion, and the path of uncharted mysteries. I got to fly a real piece of Americana history today and I truly loved it! How very grateful I am for the blessings of this place, of these people, and of this time I get to be a part of it. I am living my own American dream. 
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