I'm still working on some final posts about my experiences at Air Venture, but in the meantime I thought I'd share something which I just learned of via a co-worker.

The BBC is airing a new documentary series called "Britain from Above." Among other cool things, the show features visualizations created by combining aerial and satellite imagery with three-dimensional GPS tracks of various land, sea, and air vehicles. The results are both fascinating and spellbinding.

See for yourself on Gizmodo.

I can't seem to get the videos on the BBC site itself to run for me right now ... maybe you'll have better luck. Two aviation-related clips there in particular seem worth checking out:

Secret Jams Above Us
Motorways off the Coast

[Update: Seems the BBC only will allow computers in the UK to view that content,  so you may have to find and use a UK proxy in Internet Explorer.]

Similar work was released a few years ago by San Francisco-based artist Aaron Koblin, who "creates software and architectures to transform social and infrastructural data into artwork." You can see Koblin's art based on Federal Aviation Administration pattern and density data on both his old and new Web sites. I just may have to buy a print myself!

I spent a good part of Saturday night watching Barrington make his way from Asahikawa, Japan (RJEC) across the Pacific to Shemya, Alaska (PASY) on our Virtual Earth-based Flight Tracker.

As Barrington explains on his blog:

"I finally made it safely to Shemya, Alaska after crossing the North Pacific. What an experience it was, with shifting winds, different layers and types of clouds, and the possibility of icing on the wings. It was critical to avoid the visible precipitation that can cause icing, which forms rapidly at near-freezing temperatures and high aircraft speed. There is no real way to describe the experience of that flight; I'm simply grateful to be on U.S. soil again."

The reported weather at Eareckson Air Force Base was:

SPECI PASY 100722Z 19008KT 10SM OVC030 06/03 A2993 RMK.

Not too shabby. I kept refreshing the weather report with an eye on the ceiling since the Aleutians are known for nasty weather. At one point, I saw Barrington climb to about 20,000 feet.

During the crossing, Barrington was in touch with his team at Universal Weather, friends, and family via satellite phone. His videographer Juan Rivera (who's already in Seattle) told me that Barrington was also in radio contact with airline pilots making the crossing at higher altitudes. Times have certainly changed since the first around-the-world flights!

In case you missed it, below are some screenshots from the Flight Tracker. Note that the aircraft symbol does not reflect the aircraft's heading.

 
Almost there....

 
Land ho!

 
Descending toward the Aleutians.

 
Approaching Agattu Island.

Maneuvering for the approach.

 
On final for runway 28.

 
Safely on the ground!

 
The "Arrival" report.

Next up: weather permitting, Barrington plans to depart Shemya on Wednesday and fly to Cold Bay, then Anchorage. From there it's on to Juneau, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Mobile, and back finally home to Miami for the big gala!

Barrington Irving is slowly winging his way around the world, and in his latest blog post on Saturday, he had this to say:

"I’m glad to say that after being delayed by monsoons and a tropical storm, I made it safely to Hong Kong. Flying into the city was exactly how it is replicated on the Microsoft Flight Simulator--with 4,000 foot mountains below, you fly over the magnificent buildings of this extraordinary city.  As I came in for landing, I decided to do a missed approach and fly one more time into Hong Kong through the haze. What an experience!  After landing, I felt exhausted and couldn’t wait to get some rest. I think being 12 hours ahead of Eastern time has finally caught up with me and I must be careful now to get as much rest as possible. I am literally on the other side of the world and day and night have traded places."

Great to hear! "As Real As It Gets," indeed! (And particularly appropriate since Barrington credits Flight Simulator with a playing big role during his flight training!) If you haven't been following Barrington's flight, check it out. And I highly encourage you to follow along in his propwash and fly some legs for yourself in Flight Simulator X! (It's a long trip, but it'll be a little faster now that SP1 is out!)

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending Barrington Irving's launch event at the Opa Locka airport near Miami. Barrington is a 23-year old pilot who's attempting to set a world record by being the youngest person to ever fly solo around the world, and the first person of African descent. As Barrington always explains though, it's not about the record: it's about the kids. He's making this flight to inspire kids, and it's already working.

The ramp at Miami Executive Aviation was filled with thousands of kids bused in from all over southern Florida. Before the festivities they wandered around an aviation career fair. Dignitaries from all over the country (well, world really, since a representative from Barrington's native Jamaica was present) spoke once the formal launch event started. Everyone had amazing things to say about this kid and what he's accomplished for himself, for aviation, for kids, and for his community.

I was there because the Flight Simulator team is a sponsor of the flight. Among other things, we put together a tracking map that "mashes" GPS data from Barrington's plane into the Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping engine. The result is very cool, and provides everyone with the opportunity to see exactly where Barrington is at any moment during his flight. Everyone seemed really impressed with this technology: his staff, his friends, and especially his family.

Unlike many aviation events I've been to, this one was not about macho bravado. It was about community, hope, and dreams. Watching Barrington climb into his Columbia 400, start the engine and taxi to the runway, I was awe-struck. Not because he was about to embark on a record-setting flight around the world, but because I have never seen a finer example of a dream turned into reality. There he was, this 23-year old kid sitting alone in an airplane I can only dream of flying, surrounded by a cheering crowd, about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

I couldn't help but wonder: how did he do all this? How did he make this happen?

The first step to achieving a dream is having a vision. You need to know what you want. Barrington figured that out at the age of 15 when Gary Robinson, a captain for United Airlines, invited him down to the airport to see the cockpit of a 777.

Then, you need to give yourself permission to dream your dream. Barrington--headed for a career as a football player--found his parents and teachers supporting him in his decision to do something a little more off the beaten path.

Next, you need to put your dream out there. You need to tell the universe what you want. And (if you believe in such things) the universe will respond. There's an interesting albeit new-agey documentary about manifesting what you want in life called "The Secret," and I couldn't help thinking about it as I watched Barrington start his airplane's engine. If a kid from Jamaica who grew up in inner city Miami could make something this big happen, then what's my excuse? What's yours?

I watched Barrington sitting in the cockpit, and as the plane started to move, I saw his mentor Gary Robinson give him the thumbs-up. In that moment, it all became clear to me. Barrington had a vision, he gave himself permission to dream his dream, and he put his intentions out there for the universe to respond to. He took one more step though, and it's arguably an even more important step than any of the previous ones: he took action.

The years leading up to this flight were busy ones for Barrington. He was attending college. Taking flying lessons and using Flight Simulator to practice at home. Starting a non-profit foundation to inspire kids to get into aviation. He wrote letters. Made phone calls. Scheduled meetings. And he refused to take no for an answer. Slowly over time, one by one, individuals and organizations came on board. He realized one of the great truths all successful people know: just because you don't know how to do something yourself doesn't mean you can't do it. You can learn. And you can associate yourself with people who know more than you do.

Barrington didn't know how to fly an airplane, so he learned. He didn't know how to write a business plan, so he found Philip Mann, the Director of the Entrepreneurial Institute at Florida Memorial University, who walked him through the steps. He didn't know where to base his Experience Aviation Learning Center, so he approached Miami Executive Aviation. He didn't know how to create a tracking map, so he approached Microsoft. And on and on, until he had a plane, fuel, flight planning, a staff of volunteers, and this amazing day in March.

Watching Barrington take off into the late-morning sky, watching him make several low passes in the fastest certified single-engine piston plane in the world, watching him finally leap into the sky and turn north as thousands of kids watched--this was without a doubt one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen.

Go to the search engine of your choice and type in "Barrington Irving." You'll be inspired too.

You can learn more about Barrington and his flight at www.experienceaviation.org, and you can read his blog at http://barringtonirving.spaces.live.com.

Also be sure to visit the dedicated section of FSInsider.com. You'll find the tracking map we created, as well as information on how to take your own virtual around-the-world flight using Flight Simulator. While Flight Simulator doesn’t include the Columbia 400, you can use another plane. Or, you can visit Eaglesoft and get a Columbia 400 of your own.

If you do decide to follow Barrington virtually, let us know how it's going!

I was looking at the contrail-like plumes emanating from AI aircraft in FSX last night, and I couldn't help but wonder: are those really just contrails, or are they something more sinister?

Arriving early at work this morning, I took the elevator down to the basement and conned my way into our new high-security Contrail Development Center. Not a single one of the 13 hard-working lab-coated technicians I came across had any comment. As I was leaving, one guy wearing a clean suit whispered through his respirator: "I'd love to tell you the truth, I really would. But it's not worth the risk. They'd take away our free soft drinks."

Moments later I was escorted back to my office by corporate security. Apparently the guy at the Dev Center door who accepted my offer of two vegan donuts for a look around ratted me out. Next time I'll bring beef jerky.

For now, all I can offer you in the way of an explanation is this: Flight Simulator X is "As Real As It Gets." If you believe the chemtrail conspiracy theorists speak the truth, then all those AI planes are indeed spreading chemicals across our beloved virtual landscape. Why our fictitious airlines would be involved in such an evil plot is a mystery to me, though I did notice that if you look at the Global Freightways 747-400 in just the right lighting around dusk in springtime, you can barely make out the hazy outline of a grilled cheese sandwich on the outboard side of the number one engine cowling.

Interesting stuff. For more on the real-world chemtrail controversy, check out this article from The Virginian-Pilot. It mentions that tonight's episode of "Best Evidence" on the Discovery Channel will be about "Chemical Contrails."

I read somewhere a while ago that people who judge their progress by only looking into the future will always be frustrated, that it's important to occasionally turn around and take a look at where you've been.

Over the years I've come to describe aspects of my Microsoft experience to friends like this: "It's like pushing a barge through molasses. Every day you come to work and you push as hard as you can, and you can see your goal looming out there on the horizon, but it seems like the barge just isn't moving at all. It's only when you stop pushing for a minute and turn around that you can see that yesterday you were way back there, that the day before you were way over there, and that a week...a month...a year ago...you were way back there on that other horizon. And then, with a new perspective, you turn around and start pushing the barge again, with a smile on you face.

There's lots of molasses in life. Tons of it in a huge corporation. Even one composed of smart, creative, talented, and well-intentioned people. (Remember, molasses is a byproduct of making sugar!)

I've worked on Flight Simulator here at this huge corporation since 1998, and ever since I got here, I've been representing the "hardcore user" to anyone who will listen. At first, it was admittedly an uphill battle. At the time, there weren't many people on the team who "got it," who understood why I could possibly find staying up late at night learning the ins and outs of the first complex airliner add-ons interesting, let alone "fun." There were even fewer folks who understood why we as a team should focus any attention on third-party developers or the small niche of people who bought these products.

Well, times have changed. We're more involved with our community of users and developers than ever before. Yeah, some would argue that we're not as involved as we should be, and yes, we have a long way to go. But it's all relative. I've seen a lot of molasses drift by over the years.

Now while I certainly can't take credit for the change of direction, I know for a fact that all of my ranting and raving over the years helped. I ranted and raved because I cared, because I was a passionate Flight Simulator user long before I got a job working on the team that makes it. And I continue to rant and rave because I continue to be a passionate user.

There's always a little hump to get over though. Whenever we ship a new version, there's a period of burnout during which I don't really have any desire to sit down and fly at all. At work, Flight Simulator becomes something I use as opposed to something I experience. In time though, I always find my way back to my old passion, and I start exploring what we created from the inside out.

In recent months I've been experiencing Flight Simulator X anew, and I'm amazed by what I see, what I hear, what I feel. The missions in particular are something I'm very proud of. I flew most of them during development, but I was so caught up in all the molasses we were pushing the barge through that I never actually experienced them. I'm starting to do that now, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. Especially at 2 am.

Sometimes you just need to stop pushing and turn around.