Just like most of you, I am reflecting on what I have accomplished in my life in the past year. Apart from the personal things, many of my thoughts are drawn to what has happened with Angle of Attack.
And it goes without saying (maybe) that this year was our absolute best year yet!
I thought it would be fun to reflect back on see how far Angle of Attack has come as a team and company, and also show you Aviators that are a part of our training how fast things have moved along.
New Website
We started our blog in November 2009 and it became the basis of our new website. Over the past year we’ve REALLY improved things, and now we have a fully functional membership site where you can pay for your content and get inside within seconds; fully automated!
Aviator90
This is a big one, isn’t it? To be honest, Aviator90 changed AOA forever. It really got us focused again on what truly matters, which is the simmer, and we had a ton of fun doing it. It also got people familiar with AOA for the first time and really helped grow our business. That matters only because that means we can stick around longer and give you all new, great tutorials!
AviatorPro
After Aviator90, it was clear that many people wanted more. So that is when we came up with AviatorPro, which is our instrument course for Flight Simulator. This, like Aviator90, takes you through many lessons, some real world flights, and also gives you many, many cross country flights with are the best part of the training.
AviatorPro has turned regular ‘clear day’ aviators into guys that love weather and instrument approaches.
AviatorPro has been a true blast to do, and it’s still ongoing!
Personal-Aviation Related
Perhaps the most popular webpage on our site this year, to my dismay, is of a video I shot on a departure out of a small airport in Washington in which I almost clipped some trees, and potentially killed myself.
This experience was extremely scary for me, and I planned NOT to share this video, but I knew that I had to do it to give others a lesson.
And a lesson it was.
It seems that every aviation site was linking to this site, and as a result, I was under a lot of scrutiny and pressure that was well warranted and worth a hard look at my technique, skills, and so on.
Although this isn’t the time to share my conclusion, I do believe this to have been a major lesson in showing me personally how precious life truly is. And although all of us may not fly for real, we all have things around us we can be more grateful for, even if it’s that’s itself… even if that’s the chance to fly another day.
MD-11
Just in time for the New Year, we have completed our PMDG MD-11 Training. This product has been in production for over 2 years, but with that said, we’ve done basically 99% of the work in the past 4 months.
Earlier this year, when looking at the footage that we already had and everything that was already prepared, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn’t up to the quality AOA is known for.
So, what we have now completed is the absolute best product Angle of Attack has ever produced. The imagery is stunning and breathtaking, the HD quality of the video is unmatched, the online members area packed with information, and the lessons are top notch, fast moving, and challenging. What more could you ask for?
This is NOT a sales pitch at all, as this is not meant to be that. It’s simply recognizing how amazing of a product it is.
New Team
Perhaps for the first time, I must admit that Angle of Attack has a team that can really pump out great material on a regular basis. I’ve worked with many great individuals over the years, but never had a real team.
I absolutely must publicly recognize, as a cornerstone to all the recent success, Mr. Nick Collett from London, UK. He has been instrumental, pun intended, in getting Angle of Attack back on track. He truly works great as a team member, and I speak for all the AOA team and community in giving our thanks to him.
Nick, you are the man!
The New Year
What is in store for the new year? In short, we are looking to continue and improve AviatorPro, work on the PMDG 737NGX Training, and maybe something else. We’d also like to improve what we already have and we will be working on new website features and so on for everyone to take advantage of.
But for now, we’re keeping it simple and making sure that those of you that are already here are taken care of.
That is it for all of us at Angle of Attack. We wish you a Happy New Year, with many new blazed ‘airways’ in the sky.
Throttle On
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