I just wanted to drop a line real fast and give the SSM07 team a major BRAVO for all your work and tell you a little tale to lift your spirits.
So, a few days before SSM07 was released, I purchased a new plane for flight sim. Of course, before I could get a chance to install it and fly around, work got in the way and I wasn't able to do anything with it. By the time I was able to get to it, SSM07 was released. Naturally, I went right for SSM07 and left the plane alone for a while. It eventually got burried under "The Pile" on my desk and forgotten until a few days ago. By this time, I have nearly mastered all aspects of STS01 except the actual touchdown and braking. I was getting slightly confused by the runway markings. I guess I was a little too use to those wonderful asphalt runways that I'd been landing GA's on for years and years. Most of the time it doesn't take me this long to master something like this, but like I have said elsewhere, I start every mission at T: -1:50:00. So, anyway, with time being short for playing this week, I have only been able to pratice landing once more, but it was enough and later tonight I expect to finally ride that big, beautiful bird from launch pad to touchdown flawlessly. Anyway, back to my point. So, I installed this plane (it will remain nameless out of respect to the makers). The manufacture claims this is one of the most sofisticated add-ons on the market. I was a little intimidated, but went for it anyway. It came with a nice "getting aquainted" pdf file and I soon found myself working my way through the various instructions. Carefully pushing buttons and flipping switches. Before I even realized it, I had the engines started and I was waiting in line for take off. I was dazed. "That's IT?!?!?" I thought. That was really easy. And then it hit me WHY it was easy. I hadn't yet flipped 2 million switches and waited nearly 2 hours before any action happened! After reviewing the rest of the pdf, I realized that the rest of the flight should be about the same. No white-knuckle controling of the mouse and stick. No scrambling like mad to get all the proceedures completed before Apogee. No following a mysterious HAC (not a mystery to me anymore) to land. Thus, my high praise for the entire crew of SSM07. Your simulator had made an infinite impact on the rest of my simming enjoyment! I have DEFINATELY improved ALL aspects of simulated flight because your simulation has beat the crap out of me for so long now!
SSM07 definately has a learning curve not unlike the actual take off portion of a shuttle launch, but once you start "getting it" and everything starts to fall in place, it improves everything else you do. I just wanted to take a moment to offer a humble and genuine "Thank You" for reaching for the stars on this program.
Who will second me?
-Doc-
