This blog opened with a video: a cockpit view, the airplane steady, and On the Road Again playing.
I just like the feeling of that song. Nelson’s voice, the rhythm, the forward motion - simple, familiar, and in my case, perfectly suited to simulated cruising. No drama. No instruction. Just the joy of moving through space. For the record, I don’t play it over-and-over again; I mix in other easy-going tracks to keep cruising moments light and enjoyable.
However, once the flight moves into preparation for landing, my musical choice changes. Relaxation's over - time to focus!
L’Arena is my go-to when setting up for a landing.
Sparse instrumentation. Morricone's lone whistler. Repeated motifs - brass, strings, percussion - building in layers. It's a highly structured and disciplined piece - one that creates momentum through texture, not speed - mirroring exactly how I want to enter this flight sequence: configure, pause, verify, act.
A good movie without a soundtrack feels moodless and unfinished. For me, flight simulation is no different. By adding music deliberately, I can add weight and positive tension to a simulation that can sometimes feel - weightless.
My adding the soundtrack isn’t decoration. It’s a tool - and when used with intention, it helps me make the flight simulation feel more deliberate - and fun.
Early in my career, I worked as an in-house consultant for the Milwaukee Road Railroad. My boss at the time was Steve Lupe, who has since passed away. One day I brought him what I thought was an “unsolvable” problem. He smiled and said, “I’m not the one you should be asking.” Then he gave me sage advice: "Go find people who have already been successful in the field. If you play your cards right, they’ll usually be more than willing to share their knowledge, judgment, and experience."
He was right!
With that in mind, I thought I’d try a little experiment.
Over on the right-hand side of this blog page, you’ll see links to several YouTube influencers I follow. I go to them looking for exactly what Steve talked about: knowledge, judgment, and experience. But that got me wondering - who do they follow? Who inspires them? Who are they willing to invest their time with?
So let’s take this one example and see where that trail leads.
I don’t offer this exercise as a roadmap, or even a recommendation - just an observation. Once you start paying attention to who people in the flight-simulation community learn from, you begin to see patterns, influences, and quiet lines of mentorship.
Flight simulation has a deep bench of experience behind it. If you’re curious enough to follow the trail, there’s a lot to be picked up along the way.
The end of 2025 arrived quickly - but it was an exceptionally good year for FSG@.
Year in Review
In 2025, the group established a new home in the Centurion Hangar, launched two ongoing flight simulation room projects with Shoreland Lutheran High School (SLHS) and Nexis-Onarga Academy (NOA), and held seven monthly meetings - including a hosted session at SLHS.
Along the way, members helped design and install two new home simulators, participated in a joint CAP/FSG@ demonstration day at the Discovery World Science Museum in Milwaukee, and gathered for nearly twenty Friday luncheons with members across the Racine-Kenosha area.
And yes - several of us even managed to log some real flying time as well!
STEM Initiatives Still in Play
Several important initiatives remain active. These include the development of a four-day, STEM-based flight-simulator supported training program for high schools, as well as a one-day STEM-based simulator program for Civil Air Patrol units in Southeast Wisconsin.
These efforts were intentionally placed on the back burner while we focused on getting our current school-based STEM projects up and running. Just as importantly, we wanted time to better understand what works well - and what doesn’t - when integrating STEM concepts with focused flight simulation as a teaching medium.
The New Year
Looking ahead, several new initiatives are already taking shape.
The FSG@ Flight-Sim-Saturday “Try Before You Buy” Fly-Off at KRAC - Batten Intl. Airport, as discussed in the December 2025 Newsletter, appears to be a real possibility. We will continue to explore this idea and will keep members informed as plans develop.
A new project - the collection and repurposing of donated flight simulation hardware - has officially begun. The first donation, consisting of various hardware items, was generously provided by EAA Chapter 838 and is scheduled for pickup in January. If you have older or no-longer-used flight simulation hardware you would like to donate, please contact me through the communication portal on this blog site.
We are also planning a group trip to St. Paul to attend the Flight Simulation Association’s FSExpo 2026, scheduled for June 12-14, 2026. Additional details will be shared as plans are finalized.
Also adding Virtual Private Pilot Training (VPPL) into our monthly meetings should further support our newly-minted simmers as they build skills and confidence.
Finally, beginning in 2026, FSG@ ESWI-NEIL will hold ten official monthly meetings, running from January through October. Experience has shown that the Thanksgiving-to-New-Year holiday period is simply not conducive to effective scheduling.
If you're not already a member, why not join us - and have some fun!
Over the past several months, I’ve been closely following Microsoft’s announcement that FS2024 would be ported to the PlayStation 5. And now it's finally happened - and after recently viewing a YouTube comparison of the PS5 and Xbox implementations -
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X Comparison
- it just seems like the right time to see for myself what all this hoopla is about, and whether the PS5version is something FSG@ might reasonably recommend to its members.
The quest also led me down another interesting path this morning.
I landed on this blog site that I believe supports our mission: to help our members build home flight simulators and share knowledge and ideas.
Connecting flight simulation enthusiasts across Southeast Wisconsin and Northeast Illinois
About Us
The FSG@ Network is a volunteer-driven family of local flight simulation groups. It only takes three simmers to start your own group - and it’s free! Our mission: build home simulators, enhance flight safety and training, and foster camaraderie. Interested? Email us using the email form to the right of this screen.
Projected Meeting Highlights
As mentioned in our last post, the December 2025 meeting was cancelled. Even so, we felt the planned material could still be useful, and we wanted to share it with the community for review.
Member Build Projects
Two ongoing simulator builds reached completion - one based on X‑Plane, the other on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Both represent excellent examples of what dedicated members can achieve with thoughtful design and persistence.
Mike's New FS2020 Simulator
Scotts New X-Plane Simulator
Flight‑Sim‑Saturday-Flyoff - (Planning Underway).
We are in the early planning stages for a Flight‑Sim‑Saturday-Flyoff - our regions prelude to FSExpo-2026 (Minneapolis/St. Paul) is tentatively scheduled for this April or May. The event will feature side‑by‑side comparisons of - FSX, Prepar3D, DCS, X‑Plane 12, Microsoft FS2020 and FS2024.
To make this event even more valuable, we plan to include addon hardware for Xbox, PS5 and PC's from: Saitek, Honeycomb, Thrustmaster, CH Products, and Turtle Beach - including yokes, throttles, and rudder pedals and more - so attendees can try before they buy. We are keenly aware of this projects size, and it's a stretch, but with a little help from our friends... More details coming next month.
Education & Outreach Projects
Shoreland Lutheran High School (SLHS) - simulator project enters its train‑the‑trainers' phase in January, with instruction continuing as needed through June.
Nexis‑Onarga (NOA) Project - Room buildout is scheduled for completion by year‑end, with the hardware build phase beginning in January. Testing and initial training are planned for late February.
For both schools, we are recommending Navigraph Academy materials to support structured, modern training.
Note: Donations, and volunteers with STEM, CFI or teaching experience welcome. Interested? Email us using the email form to the right of this screen.
Community Support & Donations
We are grateful to EAA Chapter 838, which has generously offered to transfer donated flight simulation hardware to FSG@. These components will be refurbished and redistributed, extending their useful life and expanding access across our network.
Looking Ahead
2025 has been an exciting and productive year for FSG@, and that success rests squarely on the dedication of our active members. With a little luck - and continued enthusiasm - 2026 promises to be even better. I can’t wait to see what we build together next.
Want to join us to see what we're about?
Our next meeting is Wednesday, Jan. 21, 18:30–20:30 at Centurion Hanger.
Use Golf entrance
Time: 18:30 through 20:30
Bring a folding chair
Water and soft drinks on us!
RSVP to Ken Butterly for a one-day entry codeif you lack a KRAC pass.
Like many pilots doing the same, his first concern was storage - particularly once high-resolution scenery packages from developers such as ORBX enter the picture.
The solution is straightforward: use a fast SSD and install Prepar3D there, rather than on the system drive. Done correctly, there is no downside.
You Are Not Locked to the C: Drive
By default, the P3D installer targets C:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin. This is simply a default - not a requirement. Prepar3D can be installed on a secondary drive (for example, D:\Prepar3D v6) with no loss of functionality.
This approach preserves space on the system drive and keeps the simulator environment logically separated from the operating system.
Installing the Core Components
Prepar3D installs in three parts: Client, Content, and Scenery. Each component will prompt for an installation location and each defaults to C:.
When installing to a secondary drive, change the path for all three and ensure they point to the same directory. The installer writes this location to the Windows Registry, allowing add-ons and utilities to locate the simulator automatically.
Files That Remain on the System Drive
Even with P3D installed on D:, certain files will remain on C:. Configuration files such as Prepar3D.cfg reside in the user’s AppData folder, and saved flights are stored under Documents. This behavior is normal and expected.
Add-On Management
Current best practice is to avoid installing add-ons directly into the P3D root folder.
Instead, place aircraft and scenery in a separate directory - such as D:\P3D_Addons - and use the add-on.xml method. This keeps the simulator stable, simplifies updates, and makes troubleshooting far easier.
Final Thought
Performance depends on drive speed, not drive letter. A modern SSD - whether C: or D: - will provide faster loading times, smoother scenery, and a cleaner, more maintainable setup.
Prepar3D runs just as reliably on a secondary drive when installed with intent and discipline.
Dual Yoke Experiments in FS2020: Progress and Challenges
Near the end of my last blog, I summed up the two-yoke setup under FS2020 with:
“Not perfect yet - but workable!”
And that’s exactly what it was: workable, but far from seamless.
Digging Deeper into the Problem
In the second test video (repeated from the last post), you’ll notice something subtle but important.
When turning the Alpha yoke on the left, the on-screen yoke hesitates and fails to move smoothly. Let’s call this the submissive yoke. By contrast, the CH Yoke on the right - the dominant yoke - communicates fluidly with the simulator.
Through repeated tests, I confirmed that this dominant/submissive relationship is dictated entirely by the software. No matter how I plugged or unplugged the devices, the CH Yoke consistently assumed dominance.
Visible Consequences
This imbalance isn’t just noticeable on the instrument panel - it’s obvious from the external view as well.
Attempts at a Workaround
Over the past few days, I’ve invested significant time trying to engineer a software-based fix. Unfortunately, no luck so far. The simulator simply doesn’t handle dual yokes as equals.
Of course, one alternative would be to build a mechanically linked twin-yoke setup, like the example below:
Despite these challenges, my vision remains unchanged. I still plan to use my simulator as a two-seat, side-by-side trainer. This environment is central to my broader idea: integrating flight simulation into real-world training as a way to lower the cost of flight instruction. I’ll share more about that in future posts.
For now, I’ll pause this experiment and revisit the subject after the first of the year.
