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The year 1986...
It was secondary school, a time when teenage pheromones and hormones flew wildly in the air... A time when the movie Top Gun also came flying through the silver screens. Overnight, Tom Cruise became a Hollywood sensation... the heartthrob of every girl... the bloke-next-door whom young men wished they could be like! (ahem and I was one of them buggers hahaha)
I remember that the most awesome part of the movie were the dogfights F-14 Tomcat rookies had to survive during practice. Living to their reputation as the crème de la crème of pilots who vie their way to be the top ace of their class. When I was young, I always had that ambition of wanting to be a pilot myself. As kids we all were full of dreams, and that includes a date with that hottie Kelly McGillis as well (now that's definitely a blond ambition hahaha).
The Wilder Surprise!
Second Life is indeed full of surprises, and who would have thought that in one fine morning on sim Oak Grove I would end up being a "virtual" pilot.
Having chanced upon a showroom of various vehicles and crafts on sale at sim Balance (both the crappy and superb types), this marvelous detailed scaled-down model of an F/A-18 Hornet caught the corner of my eye. I am not into impulse buying but that fighter jet really had me going.
It wasn't easy flying the plane at first since it was my first time to ever try one. On top of that, I am not the type who is keen on reading manuals carefully, properly and patiently (with the belief that men don't have the need for such things hahahaha, reminds us of our dads doesn't it?).
Going for a test flight started as a bit unpleasant when a group of griefers got the better of me. Getting orbited several times was not funny at all. I barely had the chance to fly and enjoy the plane for over a minute, then boom... I end up being ejected off the sim again... and again... and... again. bluddy buggers
Angels In The Skies.
Niki was particularly helpful in showing me around this huge aircraft carrier, call it the USS Wilderwest if you wish. It occupies most of the simulator and creates the perfect free-flying haven (Class-A sim devoid of lag). Other magnificent birds of steel are on display, showcasing the awesome collection and talent of the people behind Wilder Skies Aviation.
Airmen uniforms both vintage and modern also can be found here. MeganAnn Mills, also a plane builder at Wilder Skies is fantastic in giving out basic instructions on how to fly the planes.
The Basics: Flying Wilder Skies 101.
stop to put the plane to a halt, both on ground or in the air.. and even underwater hehehe;
page-up to increase velocity for flight;
page down to decrease velocity, especially when landing;
left-mouse-click to fire your guns;
C view in dynamic camera mode and
G for gears up or gears down aka the wheels...
and of course ARROW KEYS for controls.
Intercepting a "bogey"... well make that a "friendly" on a test flight trying out the F/A-18 and the F-14 Tomcat.
Please do take note that with some other plane models, commands may be different: pressing C may actually open or close the cockpit window, replacing the dynamic camera command to CAM
Some Action At Wilder Skies.
There are tournaments being held weekly at Wilder West from dogfighting (yep shooting each others planes down... survival of the fittest and of the skillful) to airplane racing (like those RedBull sponsored tournaments you see on telly). As of this date, I still have to shoot down a plane despite having been downed at least 8 times already... quite embarrassing I know (but don't tell dad that all who had shot me down were women).
I do like to try racing these planes someday. The F-18 Hornet, F-14 Tomcat and the vintage BearCat F8F may be ideal as fighter planes, but their bulky size may not really be recommended for racing. I guess that that would mean getting a smaller but quicker plane, if I were to join a tournament.
It isn't as easy as it looks, and the challenge of doing a perfect landing can be as fulfilling as having to shoot down an opponent's plane. It was beginners luck as Niki Wilder (whom I didn't notice was at the carrier's bridge at that time) witnessed a good landing the first time I attempted it on the Tomcat. Like I've said, it was "beginners luck" as I haven't been able to do a repeat until now. hahaha
A supersonic jet using its speed as an advantage in the event of a dogfight, its agility and handling ability is superb and straightforward. This one-seater baby is quite easy to land on the carrier. It has functional gears and an amazing afterburner effect.
The F-14 Tomcat (Niki Wilder)
A very challenging jet with flying rockets as part of its on-board arsenal. The package contains three jets, with each variant having auto, manual or fixed winged functions. Apart from having fully functional gears and afterburners as standard, the jet's capability to take one more passenger as a co-pilot adds up to its appeal.
Just like the real McCoy, you can now relive those Top Gun memoires again! loud laughter
Fancy those cheesy tag lines from the movie? (yep that's Tom Cruise shitting on Val Kilmer's head hahaha)
Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kazanski: "You can be my wing man any time."
Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell: "Bullsh**. You can be mine."
Taking my Liz for a test flight... With terrible landing skills on the Tomcat, I almost drowned my babes when I crashed underwater... sorry my bad!
The Grumman F8F Bearcat (MeganAnn Mills)
The newest kid on the block. A post WWII navy plane dubbed as the successor to the F6F Hellcat (which saw all the action during WWII). It is the first to be built by Wilder Skies to have realistic responses to controls. More amazing features were included: cockpit window opens and closes (C); gears can go up or down during flight (G); actual machine gun sounds that guarantees an adrenaline-fused dogfight experience (left mouse click); acrobatic manoeuvrability; and of course that cinematic crash sequence as you get shot down. It is the first plane built to actually blow up on impact!
If these babies don't tickle your fancies, I wouldn't know what else would! OR perhaps go see you local GP just in case. hehehehe
New planes and much more!
Planes offered at Wilder Skies have now adapted to Linden Lab's Havok 4 platform change (much like the Windows XP migration to Vista) which means pilots won't experience any problems when Second Life rolls out the new servers.
A new vintage Russian MiG plane is already in its RC (Release Candidate) stage from just being beta a couple of days ago. Proof that the builders at Wilder are working round the clock to release it ahead of time. With that in mind, I can't help but have a picture in my head of a teams composed of Bearcat pilots going againts MiGs. Now that is one spectacular scene I would definitely want to be in!
The USS Wilderwest showcases a variety of planes of different generations. From the first true aeroplane: the Kittyhawk Wright Flyer; World War I and II vintage fighter planes; to famous modern day fighter jets as well as a roster of magnificent racing planes. Combat Helicopters can also be found at the east wing of the vessel.
The planes featured are just a few of the actual lot being offered at Wilder Skies. Come see the carrier and I guarantee you that one of the planes would definitely choose you as its new pilot!Flying can indeed be addictive (well just about anything else in Second Life) and nothing can be compared to flying unrestricted in the SL skies. More of the feeling of freedom in the air than there is on land I may say.
The race track can be accessible through a teleport hub at the carrier. Races are held weekly with cash prices up for grabs. Smaller planes are highly recommended. Try Wilder West and get yourself a great flying machine.
So where the bluddy 'ell are you? Come visit Australia ehrmm... I mean Wilder West NOW and add a bit of spice to your Second Life...
"Fly wilders skies anytime baby!"
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