Ok -it is Thanksgiving here in the US-first Happy Thanksgiving!Now I had the typical family gathering here at my house. We all had a few beers and then those left knowing I am a pilot and a flight simmer wanted to see my flight simulator.These were people that had never seen/experienced such but were curious...I brought them up to my computer-put their home airport in-and then had them fly around-they were blown away by the resembance to reality.Then one of my relatives said-"I was stationed in Libya in the 1960's-that for sure is not in the sim.."With a menu click he was flying around Libya-he was amazed. I explained that the whole world was there in detail but somehow he/they could not comprehend this-it was just too overwhelming.Then I explained that I could download real weather from anywhere in the world, they would be seeing real world terrain,weather, and that I could put any real world aircraft from a C172 to a 767 and it would be just about 100% real.I also explained (since these relatives are from 600 miles away)-that we could get together on a typical night-connect-and that I could teach them how to fly an airplane thru the shared cockpit feature of fsx..They didn't believe me...they were stunned and amazed..They went to bed with a mixture of amazed and not believing.....and I once again realized what an amazing piece of software we have ..how much we can do for such a low price to simulate reality....and how truly lucky we are....period...and yet it seems there is so much complaining..just as amazing.Seems rather stunning...(disclaimer-not spoken as a moderater but as a simmer of almost 30 years)Every time I fly a rw airplane I always shake my head in amazement of the experience-but the same goes for the sim-how lucky, and amazing it is that we have this ability to get a reality that in some cases even surpasses reality...and imho it seems many lose perspective of how lucky we are...and if this rubs the complainers the wrong way-so be it...In the meantime-despite having many hours of rw flying in Ga aircraft-I have been spending the last few days working on, simulating, and flying a real working complex jet for the cost of the meal I had tonight with my family.Wow! Wowsers! Am I unique in constantly being amazed at what we get for a minute cost of the real thing that is is so rich in experience? How many things in life give such pleasure at so little cost. There is no better value in life than flight simming-I'll stake a bet on that. Name one thing that gives so much for so little in todays world!

Ok -it is Thanksgiving here in the US-first Happy Thanksgiving!Now I had the typical family gathering here at my house. We all had a few beers and then those left knowing I am a pilot and a flight simmer wanted to see my flight simulator.These were people that had never seen/experienced such but were curious...I brought them up to my computer-put their home airport in-and then had them fly around-they were blown away by the resembance to reality.Then one of my relatives said-"I was stationed in Libya in the 1960's-that for sure is not in the sim.."With a menu click he was flying around Libya-he was amazed. I explained that the whole world was there in detail but somehow he/they could not comprehend this-it was just too overwhelming.Then I explained that I could download real weather from anywhere in the world, they would be seeing real world terrain,weather, and that I could put any real world aircraft from a C172 to a 767 and it would be just about 100% real.I also explained (since these relatives are from 600 miles away)-that we could get together on a typical night-connect-and that I could teach them how to fly an airplane thru the shared cockpit feature of fsx..They didn't believe me...they were stunned and amazed..They went to bed with a mixture of amazed and not believing.....and I once again realized what an amazing piece of software we have ..how much we can do for such a low price to simulate reality....and how truly lucky we are....period...and yet it seems there is so much complaining..just as amazing.Seems rather stunning...(disclaimer-not spoken as a moderater but as a simmer of almost 30 years)Every time I fly a rw airplane I always shake my head in amazement of the experience-but the same goes for the sim-how lucky, and amazing it is that we have this ability to get a reality that in some cases even surpasses reality...and imho it seems many lose perspective of how lucky we are...and if this rubs the complainers the wrong way-so be it...In the meantime-despite having many hours of rw flying in Ga aircraft-I have been spending the last few days working on, simulating, and flying a real working complex jet for the cost of the meal I had tonight with my family.Wow! Wowsers! Am I unique in constantly being amazed at what we get for a minute cost of the real thing that is is so rich in experience? There is no better value in life than flight simming-I'll stake a bet on that. Name one thing that gives so much for so little in todays world!

Geof, this post should be made a permanent sticky!I knew from our Oshkosh meeting that you were one of the finest FS Ambassadors around but this post is outstanding.Thanks for the post and the goodwill contained here. :(

Am I unique in constantly being amazed at what we get for a minute cost of the real thing that is is so rich in experience? How many things in life give such pleasure at so little cost. There is no better value in life than flight simming-I'll stake a bet on that. Name one thing that gives so much for so little in todays world!

I've got to agree with you Geof. I'm amazed by what we can do with digital technology, and I'm amazed that some are so short sighted as to complain about it. If we can steer our way through our present environmental troubles then what a future awaits us!Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Seriously... great thread! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Geofa.Cheers.

Yes! Cheers Geofa!Peter Sydney Australia

"I also explained (since these relatives are from 600 miles away)-that we could get together on a typical night-connect-and that I could teach them how to fly an airplane thru the shared cockpit feature of fsx..They didn't believe me...they were stunned and amazed..They went to bed with a mixture of amazed and not believing..."Can anyone take you up on that offer or is it just for relatives :( I have used fsx and various addons to help me in my PPL training from the outset and I am constantly blown away by how functional it is and how close it gets to reality.

"I also explained (since these relatives are from 600 miles away)-that we could get together on a typical night-connect-and that I could teach them how to fly an airplane thru the shared cockpit feature of fsx..They didn't believe me...they were stunned and amazed..They went to bed with a mixture of amazed and not believing..."Can anyone take you up on that offer or is it just for relatives :( I have used fsx and various addons to help me in my PPL training from the outset and I am constantly blown away by how functional it is and how close it gets to reality.

When fsx came out I made the offer-but it was not taken up. I'd be glad to get together with anyone anytime as I am sure many more experienced than me would be willing to also.

What a great post, and perfect timing for the Thanksgiving holiday! Just last night I was talking to a friend about FSX, as I just installed it again after a two year hiatus. I was showing him screenshots of the upcoming FTX Pacific NW scenery. He stopped me at the Mount St. Helen's picture... "Hey, it's Mount St. Helen's! There's the ridge we climbed!" I'd forgotten he climbed the mountain a few years ago with his wife. It's amazing how far this sim has come, and the quality addons available. I would have had a hard time finding the airport during my first XC if I hadn't flown it in FS the night before. And now that funds are tight and I haven't flown a real plane in years, it

I agree great post Geofa.I always hate to tell people that I use the sim as a low cost alternative to pleasure flying. They always laugh and say "oh, I didn't know you were into computer games?" After which I explain that I am not. I don't own any games, don't know the first thing about games like Doom and Crysis if that's what they're called. I always explain that there is nothing to shoot down, no points scored. They always say "wow, that must be really boring". That is until they come over and I fire up FSX and fly an approach into FlyTampa's St. Maarten using the LDS767, or fly the Cera Bell 412 thru New York city with ASA weather loaded. Generally they are amazed at the realism, even more so when I load a flight around a good photoscenery area like MegaScenery SoCal, Phoenix, or Las Vegas.Most say they have never heard or seen such a thing that was available to the regular consumer. Often they think I must have shelled out 5 to 10 thousand for a set up like that. After I explain that aside from the cost of the computer, FSX and all the addon's I showed them can be had for under $500.On a last note, considering what we have and how far flight sim has come since the 80's it's still hard to believe the complaining we see in the forums on a regular basis. If everyone could step back to the subLogic days for a day or two it would probably shut a lot of mouths. I would also bet that a lot of the complaining comes from users that were born in the early 80's or later and didn't have a C64 with subLogic sim and don't have anything to compare what we came from to what we have now.

Good morning,I do agree with you and would like to emphasize or enlarge what you are stating here.Each time I use one of the digital or electronic devices I use in my everyday life, I am amazed to what has been achieved during the last 50 years.Our kids today consider this as normal devices and will never be able to realize the incredible change in our life we have been living during that period of time.I'm a classical music lover for instance. I remember the 78rpm records I used to listen to in the late 40s, a 20 minutes concerto would need 5 records!! More than that the first time in France we received a stereo broadcast from one of Paris main theater:You had to set two radios one for the left channel and one for the right one!!!!And you were here in your drawing room instantly put into the atmosphere of the concert.Speaking of flying, just let's remember that it took 7hours to fly from Paris to Cairo (if the weather was on your side! It took me once 17hours with stopovers in Rome, Brindisi and Tunis to try to escape the huge storm which could have blown us and the TWA Constellation to pieces and made the attendants as sick as the passengers!!!!When I hear the Air France attendants complaining for their work, I just get furious, they have no idea what it was at that time. During that flight we were told that the crew was the same since New York after nearly 20hours flight with a stop in Shannon!!!!!37hours non stop work without respite! Today "the poor dears" complain for an average 35 hours work per week!).And I could go on with such examples for many lines.All of this seems to all of us as totally normal today and we are insatiable for new developments and get crazy if a little add-on does not work properly!In fact we have been terribly spoiled but this huge technical development which we have been so lucky to witness.This is perhaps for me what is the most amazing fact, I've been so lucky to face and I just cannot imagine what is ahead of us which will be probably beyond our imagination today.Claude Paris

Yes! Cheers Geofa!Peter Sydney Australia

Peter -knowing your flying carrer-as the one who got me into rw flying whose carreer matched yours.I am truly humbled...beyond belief..Claude-what can I say,.

Happy Thanksgiving Geof! :--)You probably have very strong beers in your region!!! :(

...and David-humbled at your experience

Our kids today consider this as normal devices and will never be able to realize the incredible change in our life we have been living during that period of time.

I think that Claude has hit the whiners... umm, make that "nail," on the head! :( It's a matter of perspective: only those of us old enough to have experienced the Dark Ages of Antiquity (i.e. the barbaric world before ubiquitous cellphones, Twitter, Blackberries, universal rudeness, "no problem" instead of "you're welcome," affordable PCs etc. etc.), plus a few rare gems like cmpbellsjc who, although (apparently) too young to remember those awful, dreary days, are contemplative and thoughtful enough to understand how mind-boggling all of this really is... can attain any grasp whatsoever of how truly amazing it is that we ordinary mortals can own and use such things as personal computers and realistic flight sims.I'll bet if someone graphed the inverse of age-groups (youngest at the top, oldest at the bottom) against levels of stridency and complaining on Avsim and similar fora, the two plots would pretty much coincide...Just sign me "Archaic Flatulence" :(

Happy Thanksgiving Geof! :--)You probably have very strong beers in your region!!! :(

David, I know that you would have enjoyed witnessing my futile attempts to squash the gnat that kept crawling across my monitor as I read your posts.My knee-jerk response was Pavlovian and happened not once, not twice but 3 times. Obviously, despite having nailed my first RW solo with 3 hours of instruction (Herlong Field (grass), Jacksonville, Florida, 1964, Cessna 140, Joe Ring, CFI) I must have since devolved into a slow learner. Sorry you weren't here to ROFL at me.Now, I have to go find something to take all the finger smudges off without scratching the plastic... :(