Are you 'out ' of the closet ?

[virtualstuff 754]

>Actually it's only around real pilots that I may get a little>squirmish. Most are very pleasantly accomodating of my>armchair enthusiasm, but it's around the pros that I feel self>concious :)>>Most other 'games' I look down upon with insufferable>arrogance :-lol>>regards,>Mark>http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/a320/custbanner2.jpg>PC Power Silencer 470/3.2HT/2048mb/ATI X1950pro/SB AudigyDon't forget they use software that we IT guys build in real life :-lolAndr

[Mike T 208]

"They were inthralled(?) to hear about this hobby"I bet they were! And as soon as you completed the interview and left the room they put you on a terrorist watch list and you will no longer be able to get on a commerical airliner ever again! :-xxrotflmaoJust a little intergovernmental humor to help you to ignore the fact that I've just erased your identity.

[Max Kraus 338]

How good does Easter look! Simming and watching the US Masters!

[jagabom 21]

WOW. Lots of guys comming out of the closet.JimCYWG

[fsx 0]

Loud and proud! :-)

[ideoplastic 86]

Sometime ago I mentioned to some colleagues at work the fact that I spent a great deal of time and money on the Flight Simulator. Mostof them said: that's a game isn't it? - Needless to say I wascrestfallen by that comment and haven't mentioned the subject eversince, except when in the company of people with a similar interest.On the home front, family leaves me alone and wife is delighted that I am usually at home in the evenings and haven't turned into amiddle age monster trying to recoup his youth at any of the manyLondon pubs and nightclubs, something I have in common with oneof the previous posters to this thread. :-halo

[Guest hjs]

Hi everybodyI regularly browse the forums, looking for info and reading what other simmer had to say and the questions they ask. I am a South African and this is my first post. I am a member of my local flying club here in Bloemfontein(FABL, FATP). I do not have a PPL, nor do I have the means to ever get one. It is too expensive. Our club consists of about 60 members, all of them real world pilots, except 2 of us, both simmers. Most of the guys own their own aircraft. No one in the club ever look down, or even make snotty comments about the fact that we are not "real" pilots. In fact, they all enjoy the fact that us 2 are part of the club. Whenever there is a club event, the chairman insists that there should be a similar Virtual Aviation event as well. I was elected on the managing committee of the club. My portfolio includes the editing of the news letter, and all VA matters. I am the regional representive of the Association of Virtual Aviation of South Africa(AVA). I even navigated for club members in air races, not to bad for flight simmer! No animosity from anybody! They except me as a "pilot", and everyone will always give advice if you ask for it. A lot of our members fly FS as well. We are the only "real" flying club in the country, maybe in the world, affiliated to the AVA, which means our whole club can participate in VA events. When I joined the club, the chairman asked me whether I have a PPL. I told him I am a simmer, and he and the rest of the club made me feel welcome. It is about the general interest in flying. The "closet simmers" in the club even ask me for help with FS, and there are a lot of them! The guys use FS for keeping up to date with their IF flying. I am not an English speaker, I am Afrikaans. Please excuse the grammatical mistakes!Hennie StanderBloemfontein (FATP)Republic of South Africa

[Guest Rob Hirst]

I too am an FS fan - Golf too. Most people "tease" more about the golf to be honest!I am only 28, so when most of my mates are in the bars and pubs 5 nights a week I spend most of my time split between college (professional purchasing degree) and FS9 (plus one night at the pub.) My mates don't understand why I do either.I've only been simming for the last 18 months or so as me and the missus have just bought our first house - so no cash for the computer for the first year!My girlfriend thinks I'm a little sad (only in a jokey way) and generally only gets frustrated if I spend too many hours over to many nights "playing pilot". However FSX really put a spanner in the works. The missus bought it me for my birthday last December and then decided she would like a go too. Obviously, as this version is a pile of cr*p on most systems, mine especially, this did not do too well for my FS relations with Hayley, when all she saw was stutters and jumps.Glad the forums like this are available, we can all out together!!RobEngland

[Guest Brad757]

I must admit the reaction of some people hasn't been to positive, especially when the wife tells everyone who visits when the sim is running that her husband thinks he's a pilot flying a real aircraft! As you can imagine that makes me feel pretty embarrassedPaul.

[Chuck_B 2]

I tell my friends and visitors right up front what I do for a hobby, and I do it with joy and enthusiasm so they know it's what I enjoy. And since, at my age it doesn't make much sense any more to care what people think of me, I just shrug off any odd looks or wry comments I may get. Besides, it's hard to hide from visitors the fact that I've got a big ol' flight sim yoke bolted to the computer desk in my office at home, so why try to deny it? :+ And my wife is incredibly supportive of me in general and my flight sim hobby specifically, as long as I'm supportive of her and I spend balanced, quality time in the relationship. She's just happy that I'm happy, and while I'm flying it gives her time to watch her gory "CSI" shows that I just can't sit through.I think they call that "Serendipity".Chuck B.KPHL, KVAY

[Chuck_B 2]

No sooner did I post my last comment, but a friend emailed me the attached -- he doctored an existing cartoon strip to reflect just how much into this hobby he knows I am. I wanted to share it with those of you who have "come out" in this thread. I hope you enjoy it. Talk about timely . . . I was ROTFLMAO!(FYI, the first panel refers to a political debate we attended on Tuesday night with this friend and his wife, and of course, Lori is my wife's name.)Chuck B.

[StamPilot 4]

>No sooner did I post my last comment, but a friend emailed me>the attached -- he doctored an existing cartoon strip to>reflect just how much into this hobby he knows I am. I wanted>to share it with those of you who have "come out" in this>thread. I hope you enjoy it. Talk about timely . . . I was>ROTFLMAO!>>(FYI, the first panel refers to a political debate we attended>on Tuesday night with this friend and his wife, and of course,>Lori is my wife's name.)>:-) :-) :-) Very nice topic BTW

[curt1 79]

This can be a very delicate subject to bring up in public. Do it wrong and it can be a major embarrassment. Here's how I explain it."Microsoft came out with a flight sim many years ago, a game for the masses. There were many aviation enthusiasts that wanted much more than a game, so with Microsoft's blessing third-party developers started creating reality based aircraft, scenery and weather. The best developers ignore very few details and reality is always the main goal. Instrument panels, flight dynamics, systems etc.. are created to match the real world aircraft. Current weather conditions may be downloaded into the sim to match the real world weather. This hobby also attracts real world pilots, and that in itself adds to the credibility of the sim. There is a large learning curve, but it's very gratifying to advance your skills and complete a flight. It's not real, but it sure seems that way." If I say the above, I get no weird expressions or jokes, just respect and some questions out of curiosity.Curt

[Guest TomOOO]

No, staying in here.

[Johan_Dees 84]

nice thread..since they know i flightsim, all aviation questions are for me, like if i know all!anyway, closet? dont care.. it my hobby, theirs are more silly.JohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE..