Finnish Virtual Pilots Association, also know as your always friendly Überfinns Perkele squadron, is participating in the Finnish Aviation Museum's annual Aviation Hobby Days exhibition. We have captured the auditorium / movie theatre of the museum and have been showing the fine art of online flight simulators for the whole day. We're running non stop video on the movie screen from one of the PCs and either flying all machines on same online arena with same sim, or showing different sims.
So far we've talked with hundreds of people, handing over fliers and spread information, even recruiting some interested people to join the association.
We've also met loads of big, important names in the Finnish aviation history circles and spoken about possible future cooperation. Our work is getting to be quite known here, it seems, and we've made interesting new connections on that...
And of course - met some very fine old gentlemen. The leading alive Finnish fighter ace of 32 victories Kyösti Karhila (Curtiss Hawk 75, Me 109 G) visited us and spent couple hours chatting. Mr. Mr. Martti Uotinen, a Junkers Ju 88 bomber pilot, came to meet us and told they in the Finnish war pilots association, Pilvenveikot, have talked in lenght about the work of Finnish Virtual PIlots Association - and answer "good things" when I asked if they've been speaking good or bad things about us We'll meet him next months for a full interview. Another Blenheim bomber war pilot also came around to see what kind of guys we are, and that's another interview for the future.
Who knows what the second day brings...
Greetings from --my--'s place - we got here myself, Julle, Netfly, Koko, Murmur and Perttt gathered for an easy evening with few beers and aviation films
We've been running WB2, WB3, WW2OL, IL2 and AH - the association promotes ONLINE flying - not specific sims. It's then the squadrons and the guys who fly specific sims.
The new Finnish skins for WB3 109s have been in very heavy use
Here's the report from last year's event:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/photoreports/ilmailuharrastepaivat2001/One fun thing what happened today was when I asked mr. Karhila to visit the civilian simulator people, who were our guests in the museum theatre. On our way past our stand we noticed that Koko and Julle were flying World War II Online - and Curtiss Hawk 75s. Well, I just had to stop right there and point out the situation to "Kössi" - because he just happens to be the world's leading Curtiss Hawk 75 ace! It was very fun watching them two flying Hawks against 109 Es - with mr. Karhila commenting on the Hawk behaviour and us watching Koko pour and pour bullets on one very persistent 109 until it finally succumbed to its face. It was amazing!
Finally I had to then drag mr. Karhila away and get him to the civilian virtual airliners. Karhila has "only" some 27000 flying hours in the Finnish airline company Finnair.
Photos later.
Take care all!
Grendel
