Second Life: Airplanes, Seaplanes and The SL 99s

In SL

Source: Linden Labs

A short Introduction

This article is about one person's journey through Second Life and her thoughts along the way. I hope you enjoy it and are possibly even enticed to begin a similar journey!

Curiad.

My Bio Part 1

My name is Judy Dressler. Aka (Purple or Lady Purple) in SL Aviation. I was SL born on May 5th 2008. Guess that makes me an oldie :-)

Surely we were worse looking noobs than those we see today!

When I was done with my infant silliness; getting decent hair, something that actually looked like a skin, my first bikini, and of course high heels! I wandered a bit then started rapidly to study clothes design and opened a first small shop in September 2008. I then went on with creating and designing. Not yet building.

I managed JD Boutique ("Where Kindness Matters"), for almost two years with various successes, and a small population of recurrent clients knowing about my free update policy. Attention to details and building prim skirts, then assembling sculpties to make shoes and fur jackets would prove helpful later. Always learning on every new outfit I was making.

The world of fashion being what it is in SL I finally "burned" myself to the job, falling into the trap of the "I must have something new every week or I'm dead". Plus groupies gifts of course.

Somewhere around March 2010 I lost interest and nearly left SL. Friends told me to take a break and enjoy SL a bit more instead of tearing my hair on layers and textures and worrying about my land rent and sales revenues not matching, with more stress each week passing.

So I did. My next move was to learn to sail at TRYC. I learned on a Nemo with a good and patient teacher, Patrick Leavitt. Next I bought two sail boats from Trudeau, met other sailors (Orca, Kitten, Moon, many others), and went off to wander at sea. How relaxing!

Steam Angel

See all 3 photos

Steam Angel, an original artwork by Fae Varriale

Source: Josh Noonan

My Bio Part 2

One day, pushing my lonely cruises ever further I passed De La More and discovered something that seemed at the time as big as an ocean, The Blake Sea.

I crossed it to the West, then South West and moored in Sailor's Rest. I will always remember that day. That name also as you will read later. There was no one there; the place was beautiful and calm. There was just the clap of water under the pier.

Then I heard it and turned my head toward Honah Lee Island. And a plane came up, Magnificent in the sunrise heading toward Crow’s Nest a place I had discovered only a few hours before.

And I went O Woooow! (Well the French version of it which is much less decent..."You can fly in SL?”.....

Of course I jumped to Honah to see more. It was Pirate Air who was at Honah at that time. I climbed on a freebie mono seater plane and I was on my way to something totally new. Yes I did not know AO had to be turned off on most of them and so I looked as a noob in SL aviation. :-)

When you have been flying FS for 6 years and suddenly discover you can fly in SL (albeit with les details and accuracy) you take a second shot of the flying virus!

One year later I have discovered the skies end at 4090Meters. Lag storms blow often over Nautilus and some heavy traffic airports. Skyboxes pile up everywhere, especially on your long flight routes, at any altitude. Security Orbs can shoot you down, as does age verification parcels (hey SL I'm an adult!). There is no such thing as safe air corridors (let’s say between clouds tops and 600M), sailors have right of way in Linden protected seas (guess Lindens don't fly but are all members of very chic Yacht Clubs or have ranks in the SLCG), you better not change plane attitude on a sim border, you can eject noobs that jump on your plane without asking, and ... the Blake Sea has become very small... Seen from above, sim squares do look ridiculously small!

The "world" has shrunk.

Pilot's Rest

Source: Josh Noonan

Pilot's Rest 2

Source: Josh Noonan

My Bio Part 3

And of course I could not avoid to do something myself. So I started a female pilots group, The SL Ninety Nines based on their counterpart the 99s in Real Life. To bring a female only, no guns, no drama group to SL Aviation.

I also looked closer on how these freebies planes were made and I disassembled an Air Camper to understand components and scripts. I'm an IT nerd in Real Life so looking at SL scripts was not very different from looking at C, PHP, or Java code. A function is a function. A FOR loop is a FOR loop. What was totally different was to understand the vehicle engine model (I’m sure I did not get it all yet). O girls (and boys) did I get wet before my first seaplane decided to float and fly decently!

Next, over a few months period, I made four planes for my female pilots group. From JD C991 to JD C994 (last number indicating number of engines, the "4" is a big boat plane). I made those free for my group only. Not for sale. And they will never be.

My head did not swell in the process (I think). There are so many brilliant plane and helicopter designers out there I will always stay humble on this and admire what they do. One of them is my first critic of what I build. And she leaves no space to junk. For this I have to thank Tig Spijkers who is hosting our hangar at Kinrara.

Then came the Harriet, a milestone and turning point again. The Racer Seaplane I made for my group, in honor of Harriet Quimby (1875-1912). The first licensed US pilot in 1911. And little know, the first lady to cross the British channel 3 years after Bleriot in the Britain to France direction!

This plane designed and tested in a few weeks has become one of the flagships of the 99's and has been remarked by other groups and pilots due to its very particular design and fast looking bird.

So I decided to make a version for the "boys", as many had asked me to be able to have one (even if they had to wear a skirt for that!) and did put it out for sale.

Not for my own profit. But to fund the SL 99's group and the land parcel I rent for them each month; Pilot's Rest and it's house were Amelia may have been last ( her trace is everywhere in there). We have our hangar next to it and now my show room for the Harriet's (and coming new planes for sale) on the flying carrier I did build for them also.

The Harriet Racer Seaplane is available in Black, Red and Blue schemes. A "Harrietiny" is also available for tinies and one for the Japan relief action.

Next in flying tests now as I write are the Nancy Bird (a wheeled bi-plane made in honor of Nancy Bird Walton) and the Solar Dream One.

I will end this long "bio" here to say one can go "From Skirts to Wings" if you decide you want to do it for the fun of it; provided you are still open to learn, and learn, and learn always.

I love my planes as much as I did love my dresses and jackets. With all their imperfections as a mother loves her babies. The difference is that if I can still wear my own clothes today (rarely) I get much more attention flying aircrafts. And "attention" can go from getting new members or making sales for them all.

Its way more fun to build planes and fly them as your own marketing tool than to compete with 6,000+ clothes designers and some infatuated "big fishes". I burned myself in fashion design.

I fly the skies relaxed each time I test a new plane I made. And every oil stain on my "Lady Purple" flight suits is a reward in learning.

Clear skies and tail winds to you all!