Way to go, Ben. Sounds like fun.

(I'll have to make sure I duck whenever I hear a small craft flying around just in case it'* you)

Yeah, man! Once I get my Private Pilot certificate and can legally carry passengers, I'll take you up sometime if you're interested.

Next time I am in town I will let you know so we can get together...I have some friends in Arizona that own airplanes and also a close friend that is a current FAA Flight Examiner.

Sounds great! I wouldn't mind getting some pointers from a veteran like yourself. And I definitely need to take my check ride with your buddy

By the way, I was out in one of the southern practice areas yesterday (near the town of Stanfield and the Standfield VOR) and while doing private pilot maneuvers a couple of A-10s flew about 2000 ft. above me. I always get a kick out of the fact that I'm in the same air as the traffic out of Luke AFB. They're a lot faster than I am, but no matter how you look at it, I'm doing the same basic thing as they are: flying!

Wow, congrats!! Thats so kewl.
I have flown flight simulators which is about all my fear of heights lets me get away with. So how close is a simulator to the real thing?

I haven't gotten any simulator time yet. Somebody else will have to field this one.

It depends on the simulator. If it is a full motion simulator, you will experience 98% of the actual flight. Full motion simulators have a panic button to shut down the simulator if someone panics or gets sick.
I took my uncle and aunt in a ride of the 747-400 simulator at work. I had to hit the panic button and stop it for my aunt. I was helping my uncle land the airplane at the airport in Hong Kong during a rain strom with wind shear during the simulation with a full load of passengers. It is cooler than a rollercoaster ride!!!

Again, there is no comparison flying a full motion simulator to a PC based game.

Where the heck do you work, and can I come fly that thing??? Seriously, my instructor and I will fly a Cirrus up to Washington if we can fly a full motion 747 sim!!! Holy buckets, that thing has to be awesome!

I work at Boeing. We have many full motion simulators all around the world and at our home base.
http://www.alteontraining.com/locati...ion.aspx?id=21
I will talk to my buddies at the training center to see how the schedule looks; paying customers are always first and I ususally can get in during tesing or down time.

...and this is what I do in my job...
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/777...ication_i.html

It was a full motion sim, I used to know the guy that was the cheif mechanic for the 174th FW @ Hancock airport and he got me in one years ago. I flew it just fine but the 3d realism just wasn't all that and never triggered my fear of heights. Maybe it was all pshcological siince I knew I was really mostly on the ground. never got that 'stomach in your throat' feeling either that I recall, but it has been a long time. BTW - they flew warthogs back then instead of F16'*

I've been on a few single and twin engine small aircraft, the last one being on my honeymoon over the grandcanyon. The pilot was worried about me and kept asking if I was alright, which I was since I was holding on for dear life and ONLY looking straight ahead, white as a ghost. I do the same thing when I ride rollercoasters except my eyes are shut tight until after the first drop.