After about a year and a half, everything was starting to look pretty orange. So, now it’s not as orange. This is kind of a live redesign (possibly even a realign), but not much has changed, and the basics have been pretty much been ironed out. The last version did away with sidebars in favor of one column; this time, I’m getting rid of the menu. Search is more prominent, up top, and the archives are accessible from there as well. I like to think that it’s a little more usable, but I’m open to suggestions.

On a vaguely related note, we’ve started ‘flying’ the CRJ flight training device (what normal people will call a ‘flight simulator’), and it’s extremely different from general aviation aircraft. Everything is simultaneously simplified and more complicated. Engines and speed control? Beyond simple, thanks to FADEC and the primary display’s trend vector. There’s a lot more ‘fiddling’ than in a piston aircraft, but it’s more intuitive and takes no time. The FMS is an extremely complex computer, but it also automatically tunes navaids and can intelligently enter holding patterns. In short, it’s a lot of fun to fly.

If you’ve got thoughts on the site’s new look, do please leave them in the comments.