[ Susan/NASAChatHost 10:00:41 ]
Good morning Estela, I enjoyed your journal about the radar altimeter.

[ Estela/Ames 10:02:25 ]
Good Morning!

[ Estela/Ames 10:03:59 ]
RE: [Susan/NASAChatHost] How is the radar altimeter model coming along?
It's slowing coming along.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 10:05:27 ]
Why is it coming slowly

[ Estela/Ames 10:07:22 ]
I'm having a little problem with the model.

[ Estela/Ames 10:10:26 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] What kind of flight simulators do you use? What is the radar altimeter model?
Research for future aircraft like the civil transport, Space Shuttle, and helicopters. The radar altimeter lets the pilot know how high the aircraft is above the ground.

[ Estela/Ames 10:14:22 ]
RE: [Susan/NASAChatHost] Are the simulations very different for different aircraft?
Yes, there are five different type of "cab". For each simulation they redo the inside of the cab to look like that type of aircraft.

[ Estela/Ames 10:16:51 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] Is it hard to build flight simulators?
It takes a about 20 people to make the simulators work that does not include the people that help out with the graphics and the engineers.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 10:18:44 ]
RE: [Carl-Carl/homeschooled] Hello. Does a solar maximum interfer with the radar altimiter like it does with cellular phones and repeters.
Good morning Carl!

[ Alex-Alex/homeschool 10:19:18 ]
Yes, I am very, very interested in Aerodynamics! One of my dreams is to make a very realistic flight simulator for the SR-71 Blackbird and the XV-70 Valkyrie and the F-117A Nighthawk. I want to feel the feeling of going to tremendous heights, speeds, and feeling like your really flying in the world's greatest aircraft and like you're undetected in the real battlefield flying in a Stealth Aircraft.

[ Estela/Ames 10:19:48 ]
RE: [Megan/DenverElementary-Megan/DenverElementary] Estela: Your job sounds fascinating! Have you ever thought about becoming a pilot? Do you think that would help you in your job?
As a matter of fact I would like get my pilots license. I will probably start in about a year. It would help me out with my job by understanding how a real plane flys.

[ Estela/Ames 10:21:08 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] Would you ever consider flying to the moon or become an astronaut?
No, I have not considered being an astronaut.

[ Estela/Ames 10:22:24 ]
RE: [Carl-Carl/homeschooled] Hello. Does a solar maximum interfer with the radar altimiter like it does with cellular phones and repeters.
No the radar bounces of the ground and comes back up so it would not interfer.

[ Megan/DenverElementary 10:18:55 ]
What are your favorite simulations-- helicopters, fighter planes or the shuttle? And, which is the hardest to simulate?

[ Estela/Ames 10:24:04 ]
My favorite simulators are the fighter airplanes because you can do a lot of manuevering.

[ Estela/Ames 10:27:00 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] How many women are in your profession?
There are 4 women out of 15 that do the same type of work I do.

[ Estela/Ames 10:28:52 ]
RE: [Megan/DenverElementary] I think it's totally cool that you want to make your very own flight simulator for the Blackbird, etc!!! Have you written a proposal to NASA yet? (BEFORE someone else does?)
No, I have not written a proposal yet.

[ Estela/Ames 10:31:05 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] What kind of flight simulator plane have you been doing? Could you tell me if you do any interesting flight simulators for like real cool future looking planes?
Lately I have been working on High Speed Civil Transport and there is some work being done on the Camanche helicopter. I think those are pretty cool looking aircraft.

[ Estela/Ames 10:33:49 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] What do you need to get a job as a flight simulator?
Most people that I work with have a bachelors degree in one of the following: mechanical, civil, and aeronautical engineering. Most people have an interest in aircraft.

[ Estela/Ames 10:36:26 ]
RE: [Susan/NASAChatHost] Are the astronauts good pilots?
Most of the astronauts pilots are test pilots from the military althought there are mission specialist that have degrees in science,medicine and engineering.

[ Estela/Ames 10:38:34 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] Do you want to make your own flight simulator for the Blackbird like Megan said, or did she get that confused with what I said about it?
I think that she got confused some NASA facilities work on the blackbird.

[ Estela/Ames 10:40:10 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] What part of the flight simulator do you build?
I do mostly progaramming so we build the computer math model to work with our simulator.

[ Estela/Ames 10:42:23 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] How fast does the Camanche fly? It's really cool that you're working on it! Have you been doing any simulators for any new commercial aircraft like the Concorde?
The comanche flies pretty fast I'm not sure how fast. The High Speed Civil Transport is the next generation of the Concorde.

[ Estela/Ames 10:43:44 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] Have you heard about the planet alignment? If so, are you going to watch it in an observatory?
Yes, hopefully this weekend I will see it. I think that we'll be able to see it until Dec. 8th.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 10:45:31 ]
RE: [Jayson-Wurnig/SMS] Goodbye! It's lunchtime.
Bye Jayson, see you soon!

[ Estela/Ames 10:47:35 ]
RE: [Megan/DenverElementary] Since one of your responsibilities is to fly the simulator, it sounds like you definitely know more about flying it than the astronauts! Does this put you in the position of having to actually instruct the astronauts in the simulator's use?
The astronuats know a lot more about flying than I. We help them out with the different tasks that we have them practice.

[ Estela/Ames 10:48:03 ]
RE: [Carl/homeschooled] What programing language is the simulater programed in?
Most Fortran and some C.

[ Estela/Ames 10:54:24 ]
RE: [Carl/homeschooled] Why c and not c ?
Fortran and C are more efficient for what we do because we do formula transfermations. C++ would slow us down.

[ Estela/Ames 10:50:16 ]
RE: [Megan/DenverElementary] Are you on schedule for completing the new radar altimeter model by February? And, when you're in "production" mode, how many hours a day, on average, do you work?
Yes, the radar altimeter model will be done by February. We work about 9 hours a day but I get every other friday off.

[ Estela/Ames10:51:19 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] How does the Apache helicopter and the Camanche helicopter differ in their speed, agility and simulator?
That is not my area of expertise.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 10:52:56 ]
RE: [Estela/Ames] That is not my area of expertise.
Alex if you want you can send this question in by email to http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/question/ask.html

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 10:54:22 ]
Carl what languages do you know?

[ Carl/homeschooled - 73 - 10:56:39 ]
I know some java and c and c++ and a couple of old languages no one uses any more

[ Susan/NASAChatHost10:56:17 ]
This has been a great chat!! Thank you Estela I've learned a lot, I hope you all join us next time. With more great questions!!!

[ Estela/Ames 10:57:41 ]
RE: [Alex-Alex/homeschool] Will you make another flight simulater for the X33 and the Venture Star?
There might be some simulators for the X33 but we don't do that here (yet).

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 11:00:14 ]
RE: [Estela/Ames] Goodbye!
Goodbye Estela, thanks so much!!

[ Susan/NASAChatHost 11:01:56 ]
RE: [Carl/homeschooled] Thanks for all the answers goodbye Susan
Bye Carl!