User:Sek
Steve Knoblock
Currenly working on:
- Modeling an ultralight aircraft, based loosely on the Boorabee (although plans exist, I could not obtain them after contacting the original designer...no answer by email).
- A model of the Digitrak digital autopilot for experimental aircraft.
Other interests:
- Would like to develop a comprehensive set of scenery to populate the Chesapeake Bay/DelMarVa region. Some of the favorite airports needing updating are: KSBY, KTGI, KOXB, KESN, Bay Bridge, Dover, Newcastle, Cambridge MD, Accomack County, St. Mary's, etc. also, FG really needs a good Chesapeake Bay Bridge model and a Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel model.
I tend to tool around the bay, these are my favorites. The direct flight back from KOXB or KSBY to KMTN has nice viusals in the evening. Another interesting flight is from Accomack Co. via the Cape Charles VOR to Norfolk.
Favorite Flights
Sometimes I fly out of Wallops instead of Accomack. Would be nice to collect some NASA planes there.
Flying back from Ocean City, MD or Salisbury, MD to Martin State just outside of Baltimore Washington International in the evening can be visually spectacular. Begin just before dusk and at Cessna cruise speed you should arrive as the sun is setting at your destionation. If you like watching the stars come out and the lights come on, start a little later.
The flight from Elkins east over the Appalachian mountains is challenging and scenic, especially with real weather. The airport is nestled in the Tygart Valley surrounded by mountains reaching over 4,000 feet. The airport sits on the valley floor at a little under 2,000 feet MSL near the town of Elkins, West Virginia. [Elkins-Randolph Co. Airport http://www.elkinsairport.com/] official website. According to the website, the airport was built in the 1930s and "being on one of the early airways crossing the country, Elkins has seen a wide range of navigation facilities, beginning with the lighting of fires at night to guide pilots. Later, Elkins became a site on the Airway Beacon System. (The last of which is still operating on Rich Mountain west of the airport.)"
Another interesting flight is navigating from Accomack Co. airport to Norfolk by way of the Cape Charles VOR station. The scenery can be very dramatic in evening and the weather changeable.
The Chesapeake watershed area offers a great variety of flying from the mountains to the seashore.
What I like about ultralight aircraft is how they recall the early days of aviation at the same time employing novel and advanced technologies. Instead of wire and wing cloth they are built of carbon fiber and titanium, offer leading edge avionics and autopilots not seen in many general aviation aircraft. I am fascinated by how the various parts of the aircraft mechanism are visible, instead of covered up with streamlined panels. They give the pilot a taste of flying in the early day. Relatively low and slow, the pilot gets a good view of the scenery passing by and depending on the aircraft, it may seem as if the aircraft is not there at all.
Self reference: --Sek