Flying the Helo Simulators at NAS N. Island

The San Diego 99s had a rare treat on May 30, 2008. Thanks to the time and effort of Chapter Vice-Chair Diana and her colleagues at North Island Naval Air Station, the San Diego 99s had the pleasure of flying a helicopter simulator! It was very realistic and a few of us found ourselves feeling a bit queasy as we tried to hover…a little up…a little down…up again…down a bit…slipping sideways…whoa, stop turning in a circle…just hover in one place! After hovering, we each flew around in the San Diego area. In my group, one member expertly flew us under the Coronado bridge, another flew us around the buildings downtown narrowly missing some of them, and another landed us on an aircraft carrier in San Diego Bay. LT Pat Cliggett assisted us with the simulator by providing us with traffic, weather and ships upon request. We found it quite funny when Pat made an aircraft carrier appeared on dry ground and had it plow across the land into the bay!