We had a pilot and his wife with us at the hotel Sunday who was
waiting for the wind to drop before departing for home. The winds
were really howling here, gusting to over 30 knots, and they didn't
want to do the "imitation popcorn popper" ride all the way home to
Missouri.

While they were waiting, I set him up in our newly upgraded Kiwi
flight simulator (see it he http://www.alexisparkinn.com/flight_simulator.htm),
at their home airport. I knew he would want me to program in some
crosswind (to better simulate the landing at home) and while tinkering
I ran across a choice I had never used befo "Download real-time
winds and weather."

I clicked on it, not knowing what to expect. Well, quicker than I can
check ADDS weather, Flight Simulator X had gone on-line and downloaded
the current weather at their home airport. It then incorporated this
weather into the sim, and within moments our guest was getting tossed
around in real-life turbulence, fighting a stiff, 80-degree cross wind
to land -- at his very own airport -- EXACTLY like he was about to do
in "real life". Very cool!

I know there are those here who don't think sims are very useful, but
this new (to me) feature really enhances the overall experience. And
our pilot-guest certainly agreed!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"