Virtual Education Journal Winter 2013

Page 106

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Santa Catalina/171/130/22

Heading north, we soon strike a rather busy sim that is filled with planes taxiing, taking off and landing. This is Hollywood Airport, on the simulated parcel of Santa Catalina. There are of course lots of airports in SL, but few that are this busy and none that are quite this... serious about aviation. A quick look at Parcel Details shows that this sim is set to the Flying Tigers aviation group. This means nothing to me... but a proffered note card explains the history and significance of the Flying Tigers. Prior to the US entrance into WWII, the Japanese military was wreaking havoc in the Pacific. Although the US was not officially involved in hostilities at the time, a group of volunteers (ok mercenaries) from the US and other countries formed the Flying Tigers... several squadrons of fighter aircraft that were defending Chinese and Southeast Asian targets from Imperial strikes. Apparently these fighters made quite a name for themselves before becoming an official part of the US military after Pearl Harbor. They were the ones who came up with that snaggle-­‐ toothed shark face that could often be seen painted on WWII fighters. The Flying Tigers in SL is composed of aviation aficionados, veterans of the US and other countries' armed forces and anybody else who is

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