Las Vegas - Saint George / Cessna 182RG II (N7166V) / VFR

A nice little flight in a different Cessna, which has been parked on the Signature ramp at Mc Carran for days. The airport was quiet (not unusual on VATSIM, although it would be very strange in real life), and so I just announced my intentions, taxied out to 7L, and went on my way, after filing VFR for Saint George. And yes, I did check the weather in advance this time.

The flight was uneventful. I went straight out east and then turned slightly north to put me over Lake Mead at 5500 feet. I turned up the northern arm that goes past Echo Bay, the one into which the Virgin River empties, and went up to Mormon Mesa and then back out roughly on the 070 radial. From there I just followed Interstate 15 through the mountains, turned towards St. George, after I was past them, and landed very smoothly indeed.

Along the way, I happened to check my control settings, and discovered that I had large null zones defined for my aileron and elevator controls. That explains why I've had to move them so much lately to get a response from the aircraft. I set the null zones to zero, and now the aircraft is much more nimble and realistic, since any movement at all of the controls also moves the control surfaces.

I think I'm going to add another Cessna or two to my fleet and base them in Seattle and perhaps one on the East Coast. I can just have Scotty beam me from airport to airport when I want to change from one aircraft to another.