This is not my first creation. Back in the early 80s while working as a commercial diver I built this box to carry equipment. All my friends wanted one so I took it to a patent attorney and manufacturer. They both convinced my it was a waste of time. Too bad I listened to them. What would the patent on suitcase wheels be worth? i've several other inventions and presently I'm working on a yoke for the "Dream Flyer", a diving helmet and a submarine.

This simulator project started when a friend in the aviation business gave me that ejector seat. I love flight simulators and thought I could simply mount this seat on an office chair base to be used as a neat seat.

Friends told me of cockpits they had seen on the net and I started searching. The motion simulators really caught my eye, but the price, then I found www.acesim.com and Ken Hill's incredible "Joyrider". I was hooked! It added a whole new dimension to simulated flying.

The original Joyrider simulator was good, but not perfect. I had visions of improving it! I liked the lack of expensive components like actuators, hydraulic rams, gearboxs etc but

• At 200 pounds, I'm on the upper end of its capabilities.
• Climbing in required a certain amount of gymnastic abilities which many of my friends don't possess.
• It was also too large to fit through a normal doorway without major disassembly.

A total redesign was in order, so when Mark Yarnell tried it and insisted that I build him one, I offered a redesigned and streamlined flight control simulator and the "Ultimate Joyrider" was created.

The first aluminum Joyrider that was featured in "Maximum PC" had all welded joints. It was strong, stiff and good performing, but it was super expensive to build and ship.

I had the idea of using bent tubing and looked into having the parts built. It is amazing how much some people think you will pay for their expertise when you know nothing about it. I was quoted $350+ by two companies to bend the roll frame and they wanted to do it in six pieces so I bought my own bender. It took 15 minutes to learn how to use it and 15 minutes to bend the first frame.

Microsoft and X-Plane Flight Simulators makes the graphics very real and the appearance of flight is perfect, but the control with every joystick I have ever used is like an arcade game. My flight control cockpit is just like the real thing, definitely not like a video game. "Pilot Induced Oscillation and Pilot Lead" are both factors. If you over control, it porpoises, spins or just plain bites you. My piloting skills have blossomed. A local flight school is going to let me fly one of their Cessna's to see if a person can really learn to fly without ever setting foot in a real airplane.

My true love is acrobatic and combat flying. I installed an LCD screen for the instruments and a projector for the scenery. WOW! The excitement of spins and inverted flying took on a whole new meaning. With a single screen in front, the scenery moves behind the dashboard but, one does not feel the full effect. Separate the scenery and play it on the large screen behind the LCD dash and the real sensation is felt. Experienced pilots have flown the "Dream Flyer", pushed it too hard and required a barf bag.

My biggest thrill is flying in my local air space in a fast jet, like a F18. No one will ever really fly what I simulate... Mach 2, inverted and snap rolls 50 feet above the lake. Good thing it's only a simulation! Otherwise, I'd never get out of the hospital... or jail.

Airforces and Airlines realize the importance of motion simulators. A small amount of movement will fool your inner ear into believing that you really are flying. This a cockpit, feels and acts just like a real aircraft. You can fly anywhere, have more aircraft than the US Air Force, more lives than a cat and it burns less than a pint of fuel (Rum) per hour.

(Cessna eat your heart out!)

The "Dream Flyer" project has evolved over the last several years into what we are now building. I'm sure it will continue to develope as we go on. At present I find it easy to enter, comfortable to sit in and very accurate in how it simulates aircraft flight.

Stay tuned for more details as we further advance the flight simulator model. It is in production as the Dreamflyer and more info can be gotten at www.mydreamflyer.com.

Here's a link to further information: http://www.flightcontrolsimulator.com