Does anyone remember "Dambusters" for the Coleco Vision system?I am 47 now and I remember playing with that when I was about 24... if my memory serves me correctly that is.MurrayEDIT: I just did a check here...http://www.classicgaming.com/colecofaq/Dam Busters came out in 1984 so I was 26 not 24. Still, that's 21 years ago. I guess I REALLY get it! :)

"It also made me reflect a little on how much Flight Simming can really mean to folks."All I know is that because of my color vision, I will never be able to become a professional pilot. Thanks to PMDG, I'm getting as close as I can to the real thing. I take it very realistically and have a TON of fun. Every time someone makes something for FS9 to make it a bit more real, I greatly appreciate it. Means the world to someone who has ZERO chance at doing it for real.Matthttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

Bob,You really jogged my memory. From FS4 days, around 92 or 93, I believe, I was on Compuserve's forums. There was a guy in West Virginia named Rick Lee and he used to organize fly-ins using Multiplayer and on dial-up. Imagine a fly-in at 9600 Baud! One I remember was to KSTL. I flew the default Cessna from KMDT (living in Hershey, PA at the time). Took most of the day, what with getting landing slots, lost connections, etc. We must have had 100-200 people. Remember when downloads were large at 100k? Ah, those were the days.Anyone remember Sunair Express, a VA using SubLogic's ATP? I was a member and it was a blast. My first into to the 737.We've certainly come a long way!

Steve and friends. I'm With you all. When I look At my self...16 years of flight simulation I remember When I started I couldnot even find my way back to the airport. I am a serious pilot.I have spent so much mony and time learning and studying to be able to fly in FS. that at 52 I'm also working on my PPL. last weekI got 95% on my FAA test. Man I'm proud of my self. My wife is proudof me. My children Are Proud of me And still some people make funof what I have work so hard to achieve. I'm sure I am not the only oneBut you want to know? I take-off on My Pss 747-400,PMDG 900,Level D,A340 or even the 172 sp. on 1/4 mi visibility,fog you name it...then come back And land whith Instruments And you should see theirfaces WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Luis.....

Here's a question for my fellow enthusiasts...Here's the scenario... my wife supports my FS habit... and she's proud.. so we go out for dinner with friends and she tells them proudly " Paul is a virtual pilot..he spends hours flying all over the world...".Here's the question... How do you explain your passion for a simple "game" to friends/collegues?I normally try and blind them with technicalities to try and show it's more than a game. I throw some barometric pressures, transition altitudes, flight management cost indexes at them....Paul

My friends are supportive of it because they know my situation...can't do it for real so this is as real as it'll get for me. My g/f thinks it's cute. ;) She doesn't like it (she'd never fly...well, she tried landing the PMDG 737-700 but crashed spectacularly), but she supports my interest in aviation 100%.I explain it by talking about my stupid annoying color vision deficiency, and try to give details on how realistic FS9 can really be. There are people out there, however, that will never understand.Matthttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg

Hey Paul, Just my .02 but if your wife supports your FS habit and is proud screw everyone else, who cares what they think :)...my .02,I usually just explain to people that it is not a game and that the US Navy and Boeing have actually commented on the realism of the sim. I know it is an absolutely horrible way to think of FS even though it is a true testament to the realism of the sim but think about how the 9/11 terrorists became familiar with the 767 cockpit... It's not just a game and most people will not understand that but like I said, if your wife does and she is proud of it, be happy with what you got and screw the rest of em if they don't get it.-PaulSelf BuiltLiquid CooledAMD 64 3400+2 Gigs Kingston HyperX DDR4006800GTRaid-0 Dual SATA Maxtor 120 Gig Hd'sDual Samsung 997 DF monitors

Paul!! This is not A game.... This is serious stuff!!!!!!!!!!!Last week My wife told some people at church that I was A virtualpilot I didn't know where to put my face.,,,, But this morningThat couple Told my wife that their son would like to meet me..He is A capt. with LanChile 767-300............ now what?????????? Luis...Miami Fl.

Steve and Everybody else First I'd really like to take sometime to thank you for sharing these stories. You have showed me the extend of dedication we can have for a hobby with little or no support from the people all around us. Honestly, though I might not be nearly as much of a veteran as you (just 2 and half years of intense simming experience), but I can safely say I am and probably will continue to be devoted to Flight Simulation as well as Aviation just like you have. The excitement when I get my hands on a newly released quality-orientated sim product simply never diminish . The joy of getting hundreds of printed pages delivered to my door are always a bit overwhelming. I just turned 17 and I am really glad to know people like you and really have someone to look up to.Paul While I don't know if I have the best solution to this question you raised, believe that you are not along, throughout the last 2 and half year I have been trying exceptionally hard to distinguish what I do on the computer with those who spend their time with Video Games. Though a mild video game fan myself, I never ceased struggling to define and seperate "gamers" from "simmers". The real challenge in making people understand however, as I perceive it, is how much technical jargon should we feed our friends and families before they decide to stick with the word "bull*%@$" and neglects our efforts completely. In one instance, I was in the library checking some screenshots posted by other simmers before a friend approached me and gave me his usual "omg you with your freaking airplanes again" greeting. I quickly found two screenshots of RFP and PSS Concorde's flight decks and it almost single handedly got him with his mouth wide open. Later I was called "crazy", for claiming that operating 500+ switches, levers, and rotaries is actually rewarding. When I showed my entire shelve of Flight Simulation manuals (neatly organized in lethal binders) to some friends, again I was called "nuts". They just didn't want to believe I actually read those things. Of course he was astounded again to see my 200+ printed SIMChart TPP when I presented it to him. Still rarely does anybody lend me any support or kind words for my hobby. Most regard it nevertheless a "game". And some of the more interesting responds are:"I bet you are training to become a terrorist, unless you can prove you actually care to land" (And then they change the topic of the converstaion)"Are you learning to fly virtually because you are afraid to fly for real?"or just downright stupid "Aircraft bores me", "good for you dude, I bet you'd crash if you flew for real"I simply counter them with a smile if we are close, and often challenge them to name a hobby that make them unique. When they are speechless due to their lack of passion for anything, I think I pretty much won the argument right there.