Recently, a detailed review of over 500 words appeared on Trustpilot. The author, Dave, is a devoted Microsoft Flight Simulator enthusiast and also a longtime friend of Rowsfire. He shared his firsthand experience with the Rowsfire A107 V3 series overhead panel. Not only did he provide an in-depth evaluation of the product’s build quality, features, and software ecosystem, but he also brought readers into a fully immersive simulated flight experience through vivid storytelling.

The Rowsfire team read his review in full and immediately shared it with all members. Everyone was deeply impressed by the level of detail, the passion, and the heartfelt enthusiasm conveyed in his words.
 

Full User Review: Rowsfire A107 Overhead Panel

If you love Microsoft Flight Simulator and you're considering buying an overhead panel to further enhance your Flight Simulator immersion, in my case, for the Fenix A32X series, although other aircraft models are supported, Rowsfire have an exciting and affordable solution that ticks many boxes.

First to note is the build quality of the Rowsfire A107 V3, It's a solid unit and well weighted at 1000g out of the box, the rotary switches, switches and push buttons all react positively with a great sound to them, having the casing made from aluminium gives a very sturdy base for the VESA mount and along with just the one USB-C connector for both power and data will help to keep your system nice and tidy.

I started my A107 V3 experience using Mobiflight, which did work but required some tweaking. However, since then, as promised by Rowsfire, they have released their RF Connect Software, which, in my opinion, is miles better and far more intuitive to use.

The pricing point at which these are being sold is perfect for someone like me, who doesn't mind spending a few hundred dollars/pounds on a home desktop setup. In comparison to similar manufacturers, Rowsfire is smashing it.

Overall, in my opinion, this is a great product from Rowsfire that I would recommend to any Flight Sim enthusiast looking for a more immersive and hands-on experience.

If I may indulge a little more...

Let me set the scene, MSFS 2024 accompanied with the following software: Rowsfire RF Connect, SimBrief, GSX-pro and FSLTL Traffic Injector. Parked up cold and dark at Gate 41c EGBB in a British Airways Fenix A320.

The panel introduces itself with the battery voltages displayed and the EXT Power showing as available. A quick press on the EXT PWR and the system jumps in to life, running through the panel quickly gets the Fenix ready for flight, Left tank pumps on, pump 1 on, pump 2 on, right tank pumps on. ADIRS IR1 on, IR2 on, IR3 all confirmed with a quick 'ON BATT' notification, APU Bleed on, APU Master Switch On, wait a few seconds and start the APU, which switches from 'on' to 'AVAIL' when the APU is up and running.

Turn on the crew Oxygen supply, no smoking and Emergency Exit lights, turn on the Nav and Logo light, Tell GSX your ready to load and sit back and watch this fantastic combination do its thing, Catering vehicles, Fuel Truck and Baggage and passenger loading and boarding, upon completion flick the seat belts to on and turn the beacon on the A107 panel and GSX will push you back ready for taxiing, whilst the pre started APU will get your engines to AVAIL in a couple of minutes, then kill the APU.

Once free of the tug, switch the nose light to Taxi, Strobe to Auto and taxi out to your departure runway. The GSX cabin crew will confirm the cabin is ready for take off.

Turning on to the run way, on goes the Run way turn light, nose light goes from taxi to Take off, and turn lights go off and role up to the take off threshold, brakes applied, throttle to half, allow the engine to level out start the dash chrono throttles to flex, release the brakes and your off, dum, dum, dum, dum down the centre line and rotate, gear up with once a positive climb is confirmed. The daylights fading, nose lights to off, wing lights on, quick check that the strobe and beacon lights are on, BAT 1 and BAT 2 showing at 28.8 VOLTS, climb out to flight level 010 and take the seat belt signs off, and enjoy.

“For flight sim enthusiasts seeking a strong blend of realism, durability, and value, the Rowsfire A107 V3 is a clear standout choice.”
 

An Old Friend and a Co-Creator of the Product

This user is far from an ordinary customer. He was among Rowsfire’s earliest clients, accompanying the brand since its inception. More importantly, he has offered a wealth of valuable feedback, including improvements to backlighting, upgrades to knobs and switches, functional expansions, and simplifications to the installation and setup process. The Rowsfire team has always listened attentively, continuously refined the product, and maintained a transparent development process. Today, the A107 V3.1 stands as the result of this collaborative refinement between user and team. In other words, he is not merely an observer or a client; he is truly part of the evolution of the A107.

When the team read his detailed review, the reactions were unanimous: they were moved by the depth of detail, inspired by his passion, and motivated by the recognition he gave. He wasn’t simply writing a product review; he was sharing the joy of flight simulation, conveying that magical sense of a virtual cockpit where the world opens up before you.

The Rowsfire team unanimously agrees that he possesses exceptional expressive skills, keen observational insight, and an unwavering dedication to what he loves, qualities that command genuine respect.

Gratitude and Rewards

Rowsfire deeply appreciates this honest and heartfelt review. In response, the team has decided to:

• Offer him exclusive rewards and incentives

• Provide special gifts on future purchases

• Continue to listen and collaborate, refining products side by side

Because the growth of the A107 has never been purely about technology; it is also about human connections and the shared passion for flight.

Conclusion

This review is more than just feedback on a product; it reads like a love letter to flight simulation, and a story of mutual growth between user and brand. It perfectly reflects Rowsfire’s slogan: “By the Community, For the Real World.”

Rowsfire will continue to uphold its mission:
✔️ Listen attentively
✔️ Continuously improve
✔️ Work with players to make virtual flight more immersive

As this long-time friend wrote:

“When the lights come on, the systems start, and the throttle is pushed forward, you realize that immersion is worth every bit of effort.”

Finally, we want to thank everyone, whether your feedback is positive, critical, or balanced, for helping Rowsfire grow. We believe that, with your support, we will one day grow into a towering presence in the flight simulation peripheral industry, firmly rooted in this community, while our branches carry the dreams of all aviation enthusiasts.

More Rowsfire product reviews → Click here
Learn more about the Rowsfire A107 Overhead Panel → Click here

1. Bat on 2. Ext power checked, etc...

Until I learnt I'm not improving my understanding at all. Rather than seeing the physical connection, I'm stooped in a manual.

Then I learned about cockpit flows and it changed my life.

I found that cockpit flows and first flight of the day checks are done logically in a top down fashion (usually) using the instruments itself as a checklist.

Then, you can't miss anything, right?

This taught me key transferable skills between aircraft. The procedure in most cases is the same really: connect to power, check systems, start APU, APU Air, then the Engines, Etc.

Of course, for the aircraft that are vastly different, a bit of background reading can help.

I then went on to study Aeronautical Engineering which gave me a solid understanding of Aircraft Systems, Design, Structures, Gas Turbine Design, Low and High Speed Aerodynamics and more - and achieved first class Honors. I applied some of this to my flight sim.

I then started my YouTube channel with my first video being the final flight of a Jet2 757, G-LSAN...

... hence leading to my channel name Joshua757 

I share what I've learned and regularly fly a diverse range of modern and classic aircrafts, including concorde, which most simmers steer far away from!

Well, that's it from me.

Hope you found my experience useful  🙂

Greetings!
For more than ten years, I hadn’t touched an aircraft yoke. The last time I launched MSFS 2004 was back in 2005.
Back then, I dreamed of flying around the entire world in a small general aviation aircraft, without using time acceleration. But I never actually got around to doing it.

After such a long stretch of time, I came across a YouTube video with stunning graphics — and it instantly brought back the dream of my youth.

From this day on, I will be documenting my round-the-world journey. There will be stories, photo reports, and sometimes videos — in other words, it won’t be boring. The goal of my flight is not simply to fly over everything, but to visit every continent, see famous landmarks, meet friends, and experience the world along the way.

And one evening, in the company of friends, I announced my decision.

The next morning, still riding high on the support of my friends (and possibly a couple of overly optimistic toasts), I seriously set out to find that very airplane for our crazy adventure.
And that’s when the first unexpected surprise hit me: my girlfriend, Anastasia, suddenly announced that she wanted to fly around the world with me. Well then — just like that, the round-the-world trip turned into a romantic expedition.

So the two of us began the search for our perfect aircraft. After a short round of deliberation, our choice fell on the Cessna C400 Corvalis TT — fast, beautiful, stylish… in short, love at first sight.

But, as often happens with dreams, reality decided to have a little laugh at our expense. In our region, the selection wasn’t just small — it was practically nonexistent. We found only one airplane. One.
And it looked like it had already survived more than one world tour… and possibly a couple of apocalypses as a bonus.

At a quick glance, it felt like it might fall apart right before our eyes. This wasn’t just an airplane — it was an open-air museum exhibit that, for some mysterious reason, was still officially listed as “operational.”

And just when our hope was starting to slip into the category of “wishful thinking,” a true aviation-scale miracle happened. A friend called me and, in a completely casual tone, said that one company was being shut down due to bankruptcy… and their airplane was being sold at auction.
I won’t lie — at that moment, the universe clearly winked at us from cruising altitude.

After that, everything moved at takeoff speed. Within 24 hours, we gathered the documents, signed everything that could possibly be signed, and by some kind of aviation magic, we became the owners of this flying “treasure.” We didn’t even have time to properly panic — and suddenly, we had bought an airplane.

So…
Allow me to introduce the aircraft on which we will be flying around the world.

The one and only. The destined one.
The airplane that doesn’t yet know it’s about to see the whole world… and that we’re about to test it thoroughly

And just like that, without even fully realizing that we had become airplane owners, the next quest began — packing our bags.
After all, in just a few hours we would be heading out on our very first flight.

I was convinced that for a round-the-world journey all I really needed was a navigation tablet and a good mood.
Anastasia, however, insisted that without five dresses, three pairs of shoes, and “that one special blanket you absolutely need for watching sunrises”, we were not taking off.
The negotiations were intense. Like true flight planners, we tried to calculate the center of gravity of our future happiness so the aircraft wouldn’t dive straight down under the weight of cosmetics.

But the most important thing is — the suitcases eventually closed. And that alone felt like a small victory.

So…
We invite you to join us on this journey and follow the story of our flight with all the details — routes, adventures, stories, surprises, and everything in between.

With respect,
Mikhail & Anastasia ✈️❤️

I wanted to share a unique project I’ve been working on where I combine my love for Microsoft Flight Simulator and my vinyl record collection. I’m flying across the U.S., stopping in cities that tie back to legendary artists, and exploring the history and impact of their music along the way. It’s a journey that blends aviation with cultural exploration, and I think you might enjoy the scenic flights and the connection to music. 

The new tour Lord Of The Wings explores the locations on New Zealand which were used for various scenes of the "Lord Of The Rings" films. Hobbiton and Lothlorien, Minas Tirith and Mount Doom, Isengart and all the other fantastic sceneries can be explore in MSFS. And those who know the films inside out might even be able to recognize some of these spots, despite the fact that CGI did play a big role in the films.

Here's your checklist with recommendations & requirements

1. PLEASE DO READ about the tour: https://www.icefireair.com/flying-tours/lord-of-the-wings-over-new-zealand/
2. For various reasons we're currently using FS2020 - you have to have this as well if you want to fly along
3. Join the Discord server to get the latest information and notifications when a leg starts and to talk to us.
4. If you're unsure whether this tour is for you, watch a leg on Twitch while we stream.

Youtube playlists will be added later.

As usual: This is a hop-on hop-off tour, so you can join and leave at any time, even during flight. Easy as pie.

More information about this tour:

Pacific Edge: From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego – IceFireAir

Simulator: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. (Why not 2024?)

I’ll post details about all legs on our Discord server about an hour before each take-off.

As usual the legs will also be streamed on Twitch and archived on the Youtube channel.

Very much looking forward to your company!

After the Flight Of Passage (which was quite epic and took a while to complete), here comes another tour event based on a real story. This time we’re going to follow the aerial footsteps of Stephen Coonts who flew his Boeing Stearman literally all over the USA in 1991. And he wrote a book about it:

"The Cannibal Queen: A Flight Into The Heart Of America"

I’m streaming the legs on Twitch and there’s a YT playlist which shows the tour progress. For those who like to join the group flights it might make sense to visit our Discord server, so we're able to communicate more easily.

I encourage anyone to join in. Doesn’t matter whether you only come along for some short legs or the entire (very long!) tour. I’ll be flying a Stearman, but you’re welcome to use any single piston engine aircraft you like. Unless you have the same Stearman addon installed you’ll probably see me as a generic plane like a Cessna 172 or a Bonanza. We're flying several times a week, if the real world allows. My nickname on MSFS Multiplayer is StudentWolke4, so add me as a friend to make it easier to join me or the group if we're already in the air.

Here's your checklist with recommendations & requirements

1. For various reasons we're currently using FS2020 - you have to have this as well if you want to fly along
2. Read about the tour on this website to know what it's about
3. Watch past legs of tours on YT.
4. Join the Discord server to get the latest information and notifications when a leg starts.
5. If you're unsure whether this tour is for you, watch a leg on Twitch.

Blue skies to all of you!

More info about the book on Goodreads

More info about the Stearman Addon + Realism Mod

Experts from the University of Waikato in New Zealand found that men were more likely than women to think they could land a plane after watching a YouTube video. 

Some 582 subjects were divided into groups, with half shown a three minute, 44 second clip of a pilot making a sudden descent.

But the clip was purposefully made to be 'useless' – as you could not even see the aircraft controls – so it gave no extra insight into how to fly a plane. 

Nevertheless, men rated their confidence 12.24 points higher out of 100 at landing the plane than women after both sexes had watched the video.

Scientists from the University of Waikato in New Zealand published the study in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

'Men tend to be more overconfident in their knowledge and abilities than women—even in a high-stakes environment, such as competitive running and diving,' the researchers said.

'This gender overconfidence gap is most prevalent when people are asked to evaluate their performance on a masculine-gender-typed task. 

'By contrast, women do not show the same overconfidence for feminine-gender-typed tasks.'  

Despite men's more obvious cockiness, both sexes were overconfident in landing the plane 'without dying' after watching the video.

The authors said having a visual representation could help the viewer better imagine they could really land the aircraft.

However, im stuck with one in particular as Im sure at some point (Memory permitting) in the mid-late 1990s i flew on a rear engined quad jet with British Airways.

The only such aircraft i can find through Google search in their fleet would have been the VC10, but they were retired from commercial service in 1981 (The  year i was born).

Is there any chance BA could have leased / reactivated during a particulary busy period in the 90's? or is my memory failing me.

Thanks

Dave

I work at a fully distributed company with employees all over the world. Starting tonight, I will be taking the Beechcraft Bonanza to virtually visit each one of them at the closest airport, flying over their location and snapping pictures.

I will depart from my home in Lexington. KY and making my way to my first stop in Rochester, NY. Each session i plan to make at least one hop.

My route (may include stops in between)

Lexington to Rochester

Rochester to Ottawa ON

Ottawa to Portland, Maine.

From Portland I will go up and cross via Greenland to Iceland.

From there (complete route not determined yet) Sweden, Denmark, Belarus, Romania, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, Kazakhstan, Phillipines, up over the Bering Strait, Vancouver, San Francisco, Texas, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Boston, NYC, Iowa then home to Lexington.

I'm excited to try this and may share a Google Drive folder with pics from each stop for fun.

Fritz

PART ONE

“War in Korea and here we are chasing little green men.”

That was the last thing Major Clark Ruffler heard from his wingman as they jogged toward a pair of fighter jets. He had said something expected and serious to set the right tone, but he felt the same way.

“You got her ready for the dance, Airman Wells?” he asked the man waiting at the airplane. The July night was muggy and the dark face shone with sweat. It was easy to imagine Wells as Joe Lewis six rounds into a fight and looking just as mean.

“Yes sir. She’s ready for anything.” Not sure about you the eyes might have said.            

Ruffler chuckled under his breath. “Guess we’ll find out.”

He made a quick walk-around inspection, but he knew Wells would not hand him any problems. He reminded himself that his new fighter ran through fuel and ammo faster than his last wife ran through gin and cash. Much faster than his P-47 in a war from another age. He missed the old girl. The Jug, as the airplane was affectionately called, not his ex.

The F-94 shining beneath the hanger lights was not beautiful. The gorgeous swept wing F-86 Saber came to mind when people thought of the air war over Korea. His Jug had not won any beauty contests either. He seemed fated to be married to ugly word not allowed-kicking brutes.

The F-94 was more advanced than the Saber, though. She was a lean, boat-nosed two-seat interceptor with straight wings tipped with fuel tanks. The first American all-weather fighter, boasting her own on-board radar. Ruffler had little to do with that. But he could dump jet fuel into the tailpipe and rocket forward with an impressive 6000 pounds of thrust.

A new trick Mr. Lockheed called an “afterburner.”

The F-94 was designed to intercept Soviet bombers flying in over the pole. Ruffler knew her legs were too short and she lacked a heavyweight punch for that mission, but this was the jet age. Soon American designers and industry would provide something better. The F-94s would become Air National Guard hand-me-downs, then go the way of the Jug. Even so, the new airplane had earned the trust of Ruffler and he was looking forward to testing his ship—and himself—against this new enemy.

Clark Ruffler knew he was not much to look at, either. He had a compact build made to fit into a cockpit. The frame beneath his dark green flight suit looked like it had been cobbled together from spare parts. He had a barrel chest, long arms, and short legs. His eyebrows met over the bridge of his nose.

The call sign was inevitable.

“Caveman” was painted under his name below the canopy.

Behind, where his radar operator did his voodoo, Lt. Harold Brown had “Brownie” under his name. His habit of taking home movies with a wind-up Kodak made that inevitable, too.

“You didn’t short Ma Deuce any ammo, did you, Airman Wells?”

“No, sir. Four Browning M3s, 300 rounds each with tracers.”

The coveted Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun had been upgraded to an aviation M3 model since the war. Ruffler had scored four kills over Europe, though, so any .50 was “Ma Deuce” to him. His Jug had carried twice the number of guns and he was skeptical that trading half his guns for a higher rate of fire was a good deal. But times were changing. If rumors about radar guided missiles were true, the future belonged to Brownie and his gadgets.

Tonight, however, belonged to Caveman.

“Marylin Monroe came by and kissed every bullet for luck,” said Airman Wells.

“Is that right?” Ruffler said, more to himself than Wells, as he thumped the fuselage like a doctor thumping the belly of a patient. “She might have stuck around. But I don’t think we’re going to need it tonight. Just a spook hunt.”

“Ah,” Wells answered.

Ruffler climbed the ladder and settled into the cockpit and Wells helped strap him in. He began making his nest by finding a place in the cramped space for things he might need in a hurry. Behind him, Brownie was doing the same. He put on his helmet and watched Wells remove the ladder. The canopy closed and Ruffler grinned behind his mask. His last combat mission had been in 1945. A lot had changed in seven years. Jets, radar—an enemy from outer space.

As he and his wingman taxied to the runway, the brain behind the joined eyebrows was busy piecing together the events of the evening.

The two jets of Shirley flight had been scrambled at 2300 hours—11 p.m. civilian time—the 26^th, but if something was going to happen, it would probably be after the clock had ticked past midnight to the 27^th.

Brownie had a new baby at home. It would be asleep or maybe crying for its mama. Babies did a lot of bellyaching, according to the new papa. Ruffler used to have an ill-tempered dachshund named “Kraut,” but he had run off a couple of weeks ago. Calls to the dog pound and flyers for blocks all around had not brought him home. He kept telling himself maybe, but he knew he had lost another buddy forever.

Visual sightings of the word not allowed had begun a little after eight p.m. by the crew of a National Airlines flight. The captain and a stewardess in the four-prop DC-7 had told air traffic controllers at Washington National Airport “something like the light of a lit cigarette” was flying near them. Estimated speed: 100 miles per hour.

Twenty minutes later controllers at National alerted nearby Andrews Air Force Base. However, construction had halted operations there. The nearest interceptors were all here, in Delaware.

A half hour later an aerial display over Washington D.C. showed up on radar at both National and Andrews. The returns were confusing, but controllers had to vector an airliner around a large unknown aircraft in its path.

At 8:52 a dozen solid targets were confirmed over the nation’s capital, moving fast.

At 9:03 Andrews Approach Control placed an informal call to New Castle Air Force Base in Delaware. With Andrews sidelined, it was the first line of air defense for the capital.

A bored enlisted man with the weekend duty took the call. There being nothing else going on, he made some calls of his own, then shared his findings with the duty officer. Strange lights in the sky were not unusual these days, but if the word not allowed turned out to be something more than pretty lights, he would not want to explain why he had sat on the Andrews call.

The alert crew had been brought into the briefing room and unofficially informed of the events unfolding over Washington.

“Sky spook, huh?” Ruffler had asked. “I say pull chocks and go splash us some flying saucers. Maybe they’re allies with the Chicoms now.” Of course, that was not going to happen without the official call from the Pentagon.

Not that there were going to be any flying saucers to splash. This was old news. Just last weekend it had been the same. Jets had found nothing. There would be no fighters scrambled tonight, Ruffler had predicted with a yawn. Just some lights in the sky. Sure, they reflected radar, but the brass probably knew what was going on.

As the unofficial briefing was ending, two radar experts—an Air Force Major and a Navy Lieutenant—were arriving at National. They were met by reporters from Time and Life magazines who were already watching the show on the radar screens over the shoulders of air traffic controllers.

It was sometime after ten p.m. before the Pentagon Command Center or Eastern Air Defense Force were aware of anything. By then, the invasion had been going on for two hours. Good thing they aren’t Russian bombers, Ruffler thought as he passed the half-way point of his taxi.

An hour ago, while generals dithered, Ruffler had been stretched out over three chairs looking at a dog-eared Modern Man magazine, wishing he had somebody to go home to. Somebody like the blond in the bathing suit, he thought as the image intruded. “That’s what we’re fighting for, Brownie,” he said over the intercom as they neared the end of their taxi.

“Whatever you say,” Brownie replied.

“You got a full load of ammo for that little gun of yours?” asked Ruffler.

“What gun would that be?”

“Don’t tell me Brownie forgot his movie camera on a spook hunt.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Major.”

At 10:53 the blips and lights had disappeared after a three-hour show over the White House and Capitol observed from the air and ground, and two different radar stations, one civilian, one military.

Seven minutes after the show was over, at 11:00 p.m.—not too many minutes ago—the call had finally come from the Pentagon to scramble the alert jets. The briefing officer had quickly plugged the small holes in the unofficial information and a pair of two-man crews had jogged to their fighters.

Their orders were to observe and report.

Under no circumstances were the pilots to engage the unidentified objects without authorization. That had been repeated and Ruffler was certain the emphasis was for his benefit.

“Shirley Red 1, cleared runway niner,” he responded to the order from the tower. He made the 90 degree left turn at the end of the taxiway, then another without a pause and lined up for takeoff. He never stopped rolling as he advanced the throttle and accelerated down the runway. The two-ship formation would make a turning climb to the east then head south for the 100 mile trip from New Castle to Washington.

With luck, maybe the visitors would come back.

Just 15 minutes later, Caveman and Trigger checked in with Washington National control, code named Eggnog. National had the best radar returns so they were running the show. Civilian air traffic controllers would vector Shirley flight to the lights. All they had to do was point them in the right direction then Brownie and his all-seeing radar would take it from there.

“Eggnog, Shirley Red 1,” he called. “Waiting for vectors.”

“Shirley Red 1, Eggnog. Radar shows unidentified objects in restricted airspace over Washington. It’s hard to say… We get one, then we get a dozen or more. Then they’re gone. Speeds ah…”

Ruffler waited until he could not stand it.

“Eggnog, Shirley Red 1 didn’t copy speeds.” These civilian controllers were used to keeping airplanes away from each other, not putting them on a collision course.

“Shirley Red 1, speeds look like eight-zero knots.”

“Shirley Red 1 copy that. Eighty knots” So the problem would be how to get slow enough for a good look. Not much of a flying saucer after all.

“Shirley Red 1, speeds variable 80 to six-zero-zero-zero knots,” the controller pronounced with even more precision than usual.

“That’s a lot a zeros! Copy six-thousand knots?”

“That’s affirmative. Come to heading one-niner-five. Unidentified objects currently at an altitude of one-thousand-five-hundred feet. That will put you roughly in the middle of the pack. Sorry. That’s the best we can do.”

“Shirley Red 1, roger that. Heading one-niner-five, looking low.” He calculated he would be approaching the bogies in approximately ten minutes, or 2325 hours.

“Shirley Red 1, Eggnog,” the controller said. “You are cleared to enter restricted airspace and maneuver as necessary.”

“Thanks, Eggnog. Copy room to work. Red 2, Red 1. Acknowledge clearances.”

“Red 2, affirmative. Clear restricted, clear deck.”

“Trigger, you take the high road and I’ll take the low road. Keep it extra loose. These gophers can pop up anywhere.”

“Red 1, roger. You got plenty of room.”

“You’re awful quiet back there, Brownie,” he told his radar operator. “Nothing yet?”

“Too much ground clutter. This thing was designed for high-fliers. The lower you take us the better.”

“How tall is the Washington Monument?”

“Washington Monument.” There was a pause. “You should worry about National Cathedral. Chart puts it at 676 feet. Must be on a hill.”

“Hey, we still got a good 900 feet clearance,” Ruffler replied. “Eggnog, Shirley Red 1. Altimeter check.”

“Shirley Red 1, Eggnog. Three-zero-one-one inches.”

“Shirley Red 1, three-zero-one-one. Thanks.” He turned a knob on his altimeter two ticks so the window showed a barometric pressure of 30.11. The long needle that marked hundreds of feet corrected slightly as the mechanism behind the glowing face of the altimeter used the new entry to calculate the accurate number of feet above sea level.

“We’re at 2000 feet now. Talk to me, Brownie.”

“Nothing showing. I think I can get a lock on Truman from down here, though. Can you give me another 500 feet?”

“Heading down to 1500 feet,” he told Brownie. “Eggnog, Shirley Red 1. We could use some vectors up here.”

“Shirley Red 1 try heading one-two-five at 100 miles. Disregard, fifty miles.”

“Got him,” said Brownie. “Heading one-two-five. He’s real slow at 5000 feet and 20 miles. He must be huge to show up at this distance.”

Ruffler pushed the throttle forward with his left hand and unconsciously tapped the guard over the trigger on his joystick. After a few minutes, he broadcast: “Eggnog, Shirley Red 1. We have visual on bright white and red object at 5000 feet. Are you seeing this down there?”

“Shirley Red 1, affirmative,” answered the controller. “Unidentified contact appears to be stationary.”

“Object stationary, roger,” Ruffler confirmed. But a moment later to Brownie: “Lost visual.”

“Vanished,” Brownie confirmed.

“Eggnog, Red 1. Where’d he go? Gimme vectors.”

“Red 1, Red 2.” It was Trigger. “We just got a bogey back here, eight thousand feet. He’s about fifty yards off my starboard wingtip.  Jeez. This thing is big. You couldn’t park it in a baseball stadium.”

“Roger, coming upstairs.”

Ruffler advanced the throttle all the way to engage the afterburner and pulled the nose up in a climbing left turn until the G-forces were punishing. His Allison engine had been sucking fuel at an alarming rate during the low altitude chase. Now he was dumping even more fuel into his tailpipe. He glanced at the gauge. He was already nearing bingo fuel: the amount it would take to make it back to New Castle.

“Eggnog, Red 1," Ruffler grunted. "Good for now, but not making it home if this goes on much longer. Please think about alternate.”

“Red 1, Eggnog, roger on alternate. Please keep us advised.”

“Eggnog, just pick a long piece of concrete,” Ruffler shot back. “Kind of busy up here. We’re gonna to have to hand this thing off or take an alternate.”

“Shirley Red 2 with description," Trigger interrupted. "Lens-shaped, looks like unpainted aluminum skin. Diffuse white and red lights. No features visible. Closing for a better look. Now I see panel joints and rivets. No different from anything out of Boeing or Lockheed. Dropping down for a look underneath. Now that’s different! Big ring on the belly, with possible… could be a turbine nested inside. Guessing both are turning. Outside ring is shooting some sparks. Closing, ten yards!”

“Keep your distance, Trigger,” warned Ruffler.

“No, I mean it’s—” The transmission ended with an expletive. “Close call,” came the welcome transmission from Trigger a few seconds later. “Had to evade the SOB. Coming back around for another look at the belly. He seems a little ticklish.”

“Eggnog, Red 1. Vectors!”

“Shirley Red 1, nothing on this end. Standby. Multiple contacts. You should have visual. They’re everywhere.”

“I got the same thing,” Brownie said. “Now we’re out of ‘em. Come back around, boss.”

“Shirley Red 1, Eggnog,” radioed the controller. “They’ve all disappeared again.” Ruffler could tell the nerves behind the calm voice of the controller were fraying. He looped up and over on his back to reverse course, then snapped a roll to put the fighter right side up.

“You’re not makin’ me puke tonight,” Brownie said and Ruffler grinned behind his mask.

“Red 2 with visual again,” reported Trigger. “Same object just popped in off the port wingtip. Twenty yards. Object is matching my speed. I’m pulling ahead and waggling my wings. Executing a shallow climb. Let’s see if he follows.”

“Got him,” said Brownie with satisfaction. “Come two-zero-zero, 6000 feet. Ten miles.”

“Red 1 has visual now,” Ruffler radioed a couple of minutes later. “Just like Red 2 described," he continued as he got closer. "Closing from behind and below. Eggnog, Red 1 at bingo fuel. Repeat, bingo fuel.”

“Red 1, Eggnog. Roger bingo fuel. Orders are remain with object.”

“Red 1, Red 2. He’s matching my climb, maintaining distance. Somebody’s at the wheel of this thing. I’m going to make an easy right turn now. Let’s see if he follows.”

Ruffler pulled the throttle back and slowed as he approached the enormous object from below and behind his wingman. “Trigger, coming in behind and below you. Matching speed 200 knots. Observe object turning with you. Double rings on the belly, outside thinner, shedding sparks, inside wider. Now he’s gone again. How can he blink all over the place like that?”

“Red 1, Eggnog,” radioed the controller. “Unidentified object at your zero-three-five, fifteen miles, one thousand feet.”

Ruffler took a deep breath as he turned to the new heading. “Pretty spooky. Red 1 intercepting. Descending to 800 feet. Trigger, put some distance between you and the bogey then come back at me.”

“Roger. Extending and back on you.”

“Shirley Red 1, Eggnog,” radioed the controller. Ruffler detected something new in his voice. “Be advised object is stationary. We show it over the, ah, over the White House.”

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL328/history/20210220/1925Z/KDEN/KDEN

Can you describe what feels different?

Back in 2004, I was only 8 years old, barely two years away from starting middle school. Most of the flight is blurry but I remember making the connection to San Francisco on Southwest Airlines and waiting for the plane.

Once in San Francisco, we made our way to the international terminal of the airport to wait for our flight. At some point, our plane arrived, and I distinctly remember the plane being gray on top and blue on bottom, back then, United still had the battleship gray livery. 

Once we boarded, we sat in our seats, me in the window seat, my mother next to me and another family member next to her. I distinctly remember sitting on the right side of the plane at the very front of the right wing. My mother thinks we might have gotten bumped up to United First, and from that point on, everything is a blur.

15 years later, having done research on United Airlines, I realized that we were sitting in United Business and it seems likely that we flew to Hong Kong since United purchased the Pacific network from Pan Am before the carrier went bust in 1991.

Looking back on this and the second and last flight I ever did on United Airlines, and also taking into account the upcoming retirement of 747s the world over, I will cherish that flight forever and I have every intention on flying the 747 again one last time as a passenger.