This is not my first creation. Back in the early 80s while working as a commercial diver I built this box to carry equipment. All my friends wanted one so I took it to a patent attorney and manufacturer. They both convinced my it was a waste of time. Too bad I listened to them. What would the patent on suitcase wheels be worth? Shame I didn't learn from this screwing, might have handled the flight simulator project better.

The simulator project started when a friend in the aviation business gave me that ejector seat. I love flight simulators and thought I could simply mount this seat on an office chair base to be used as a neat seat.
Customers told me of cockpits they had seen on the net and I started searching. The motion simulators really caught my eye, but the price, then I found Ken Hill's incredible "Joyrider". I was hooked! It added a whole new dimension to simulated flying.

The original Joyrider simulator was good, but not perfect. I had visions of improving it! I liked the lack of expensive components like actuators, hydraulic rams, gearboxes etc but

* At 180 pounds, I'm on the upper end of its capabilities.

* Climbing in required a certain amount of gymnastic abilities which many of my friends don't possess.

* It was also too large to fit through a normal doorway without major disassembly.

A total redesign was in order, so when Mark Yarnell tried it and insisted that I build him one, I offered a redesigned and streamlined flight control simulator and the "Ultimate Joyrider" was created.

The first aluminum Joyrider that was featured in "Maximum PC" had all welded joints. It was strong, stiff and good performing, but it was super expensive to build and ship.

I had the idea of using bent tubing and looked into having the parts built.

 It is amazing how much some people think you will pay for their expertise when you know nothing about it. I was quoted $350+ by two companies to bend the roll frame and they wanted to do it in six pieces so I bought my own bender. It took 15 minutes to learn how to use it and 15 minutes to bend the first frame.

Microsoft and X-Plane Flight Simulators make the graphics and simulation very real and the appearance of flight is perfect, but the control with every joystick I have ever used is like an arcade game. My flight control cockpit is just like the real thing, definitely not like a video game. "Pilot Induced Oscillation and Pilot Lead" are both factors. If you over control, it porpoises, spins or just plain bites you. My piloting skills have blossomed. A local flight school is willing to let me fly one of their Cessna's to see if a person can really learn to fly without ever setting foot in a real airplane.

My true love is acrobatic and combat flying. I installed an LCD screen for the instruments and a projector for the scenery. WOW! The excitement of spins and inverted flying took on a whole new meaning. With a single screen in front, the scenery moves behind the dashboard but, one does not feel the full effect. Separate the scenery and play it on the large screen behind the LCD dash and the real sensation is felt. Experienced pilots have flown my simulator, pushed it too hard and required a barf bag.

My biggest thrill is flying in my local air space in a fast jet, like a F18. No one will ever really fly what I simulate... Mach 2, inverted and snap rolls 50 feet above the lake. Good thing it's only a simulation! Otherwise, I'd never get out of the hospital... or jail.

Air Forces and Airlines realize the importance of motion simulators. A small amount of movement will fool your inner ear into believing that you are flying. This a cockpit, feels and acts just like a real aircraft. You can fly anywhere, have more aircraft than the US Air Force, more lives than a cat and it burns less than a pint of fuel (Rum) per hour.

(Cessna eat your heart out!)

The  project has evolved over the last several years. At present I find it easier to enter, comfortable to sit in and accurate in how it simulates aircraft flight.

In January 2008 I started working on an entirely new design, borrowing very little from the old. The "Cloud Flyer" arrived after several false starts and has every improvement I can think of. I'm sure more improvements will materialize as the project progress, but at this state it is finally perfected.