I always thought it would be fun to be the captain coming into (or out of) SXM, St. Maarten. I know AF flies heavies into there, but the beginning and end of the runway is the water, and on departure you have to turn to miss the mountains.

It was before you officially joined and logged on as a FlyerTalk member, but most of the FlyerTalk members who have been privileged with flight simulator time did so as a part of The Delta Air Lines FlyerTalk Event — and knfenimore was critical in making that all possible. In fact, I am convinced that without him, access to the flight simulators would never have happened.

I am grateful for his efforts to give many FlyerTalk members memories to last a lifetime.

Unfortunately, the flight simulators at Delta Air Lines are not open to the public.

In part it was my fault. In part the organizers of the Delta Do in October 2010.

Going way back to the days of "Keep Delta My Delta" I contacted Blind Squirrel, who was heading the movement for Delta, and asked him for buttons which could be passed out at the Third Annual PBI-FLL Meet in 2006.

As a result, we became friendly and, the following year, he joined a group of us for a mini-Do landside in ATL. He told us that he could arrange for a limited number of people to use the sims and left it up to me to decide who they would be.

Those present at the mini-Do got first priority and I decided not to give out the remaining one or two spots because it could only result in hard feelings for those who did not get them. (I, incidentally, could not take advantage of the offer because I was flying back to Israel that night.)

Connections made at that time by Canarsie and others who got into the sims allowed them, when arranging the 2010 Do, to have the offer extended to all those who attended.

I was fortunate enough to be able to be there and promptly crashed my sim into the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge when the instructor suggested I attempt to fly under it.

I managed to kill all of us aboard, severely damage the bridge, and make Delta reconsider the wisdom of allowing idiots like me to fly, even in simulations.

Photos from event.......

http://jamesgregory.smugmug.com/The-...65201150_5gdxy

The DO was a very memorable experience and one that will not easily be forgotten. Canarsie and atldlff went above and beyond with this DO, and I know hold a special place in the hearts of the attendees! ^

+1 ^

+2, and I'm glad I'm flying to TLV 11/2 on a 744 in seats 73 A/B right by the cockpit so I can make sure Dovster is not the pilot! I, on the other hand, had a perfect takeoff & landing at DCA in the SIM.

My one (C-130) sim experience was my friend cutting three engines and me crashing somewhere in the mountains near Albuquerque.

So that was not an errant missile launch in the Fort Bliss, TX/White Sands, NM area.

How much have they changed since the 80s... I was lucky to spend a lot of time in them in the 80s... got a lot harder to get in after the Western deal...

** Update: The 777-200LR simulator has been returned safely back to Delta OCC # 3 after complaints from my wife when the sheetrock in the ceiling cracked after multiple and unsuccessful attempts to recover from a Flat Spin.

However; I am pleased to report that I did successfully learn to land on I-285 and creating the opportunity to greatly improve the transit time to off-airport parking for ATL O&D customers. Customer service at its best!

Question, do you know what happened to the 747-400 simulator that was NWA's Eagan training center...circa 80's-90's

I have 54+ hours in that sim, also 747-100

thnx