Monday 2 April 2001
Take a virtual flight over Ottawa
Jennifer Campbell
The Ottawa Citizen
(A virtual
flight over Ottawa.)
|
Wayne Hiebert,
The Ottawa Citizen / Andy Johnston has supplied freeware
Ottawa scenes for Microsoft's flight simulator. It makes
the game 'a little more real,' he
says.
| In the
make-believe world of flight simulation, an Ottawa man has put
his home town on the map.
Andy Johnston, 25, of Kanata, doesn't fly but enjoys his
hobby of virtually soaring with the help of flight simulators.
During his adventures in the computer-generated clouds, he
noticed a void: There were few impressive aerial views of
cities within flight-simulation programs. He decided to do his
part for his city.
He scanned a few images of downtown landmarks including
Parliament Hill, the War Memorial, the National Gallery, the
Supreme Court and the Chateau Laurier and has created a
program that allows one to virtually fly over Ottawa's most
famous attractions.
"I decided to show off Ottawa because I live here," he
said.
His downloadable Ottawa program works with Microsoft's
flight simulation packages. His site
(www.crosswinds.net/~andysflightsim/) includes plenty of
flight simulation links and information, including a history
of the hobby and a proposal for an expansion of the site to
offer a gathering spot for Ottawa area flight-simulation
enthusiasts.
His site hasn't just attracted Ottawans. "FlightSimmers"
from across the planet have visited and signed his guest book,
which features hundreds of thank-you notes from those who
praise his work and thank him for providing the package as
freeware.
The modest FlightSim (as those in the know call it)
hobbyist just shrugs off their compliments.
"There are very few cities in Flight Simulator," he said.
"The airports all show in the right places, but they sit in
the middle of wide, open plains. All I've done is put
buildings on to those plains to give the impression of
something more.
"They're not complicated, or very exciting, but other
people do appear to agree they make things a little more
real."
Johnston planned to upload the newest version of his Ottawa
flight simulator yesterday.
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