Back in 1983, I got a Commodore Vic 20 for my 16th birthday. I fiddled around with Commodore BASIC a little, even subscribed to Compute! magazine. But one of my favorite experiences then was IFR Flight Simulator.

I spent hours upon hours with that simulator.

Fast forward to 1999, and I reaquainted myself with the flight sim world with Microsoft Flight Simulator 98. It was the first time that I learned about computer upgrades, as my then not-too-shabby 1.6 MHz CPU / 2MB video card / 32 MB RAM machine couldn’t quite keep up with FS98′s graphics requirements.

Then came FS2002, FS2004, and FSX. Loved them all.

Screenshot of IFR for Commodore, circa 1983.

Screenshot of FSX, taken 2010.

I’ve tried my hand as a virtual airline pilot with Pacific Airways, but while I loved their board community and fellow sim pilots, the flying experience wasn’t a strong draw.

Cut to January 2011, when I installed JustFlight’s Air Hauler. This is how flight simming should be. Love the hobby so much, I decided to make a web portal for my fictitious Air Hauler based cargo line based in Hawaii with locations on the Big Island, Oahu, and Kauai, Mahalo Air Transport.

What makes this new web product significant for me is that I’m really digging into web technologies more than what I’m comfortable with currently. First off, I’ve decided to construct the website in a php framework. I’m relying on jQuery and javascript much more than I have.