FS2002 and Baby

[Guest]

Well, my wife delivered our first baby 3 months ago (a girl). She's really cute.One thing interesting is that she is constantly saying "airplane". It's probably just babble but it still feels great since I am a big flight sim fan.This past weekend, my wife got sick so I had to pull full-time baby duty for 2 days. That's hard work! During a few feedings though I had the baby in front of my computer while I attempted a landing. I would feed her in one arm and occassionaly change the settings on the autopilot with the other hand. It's tough but it was fun. I couldn't do the "on final" or touchdown with her in my arms. When I got to that point, I put the sim on pause and when I could put the baby down, I would finish the landing. She seemed facinated by all the great scenery. It was fun.I look forward to a couple years from now when she can sit next to me and fly the plane.Just thought I would share the experience.Peteman_RBoise, Idaho

[Guest]

Its great isn't it!"Plane" was one of my (now) 2 year old boys first words. He could actually make the jet sounds before he could talk! If you were walking outside and one was passing overhead, he would make the jet noise and make his hand like a wing in the air! Very cute. That was about a year ago.But!Now he is a horror show. I can't fly when he is awake or around. He grabs the yoke and reefs it around (while making jet noises!), climbs under the desk and pushes the pedals backwards and forwards, hits the keyboard at random, presses the reset button on the PC, turns the monitor on and off, grabs and moves the second joystick (which, when connected, sends the A/C into turmoil). Yesterday my wife caught him standing (yes standing) on my flat bed scanner! Argggghhhhhhh!Sometimes he will sit on my lap while I am simming but it only lasts about 2 minutes before he's looking for the gear or flaps switch (not good at 450 knots)!But!Its worth it...Andy (YSCB)

[Guest]

Now thats what I call multitasking!! I hope I can have the honor of doing that one day :-)http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/edenw/fs_banner_je2.jpg Think highly of yourself, for the world takes you at your estimate -Anon

[N562Z 4]

Pete:Your story resonates loud and clear with me too, new father to a baby boy of 5 months! Early on, I would tell my friends it wasn't possible to feed the baby and fly heavies in the SIM, but now I'm not so sure!! With a bit of practice and heavy use of autothrottle-accept after the outer marker-I've been able to hand fly the ILS (good visibilty only with one hand on the yoke, the other holding my son. I wouldn't risk my passengers' virtual lives with a small baby on the flight deck in bad weather!). On-line flying is next to impossible, but once, going into Arizona's Phoenix Sky-Harbor, the controller actually was very understanding (probably a dad}and let me pause the sim for a feeding as I flew base in the pattern. So many times I do what you do and pause the sim until such time thatI can come back and finish the approach.Alex CN562ZMinneapolis

[Guest GeorgeDorkofikis]

Must be natural!My son is now 6yo and he can fly alone the sim after just a couple of 'lessons' from me. He's having trouble with the landings but we're working on it. He has to learn not to move the controls too much.But that's not all! I usually use yoke & pedals for flying and that's what he first flew with. For a couple of weeks I was using my old joystick instead, and when he tried it, he turned around and said (in free translation) 'Hey, dad... Why did you put this on? It's much harder than the wheel!'Oh, he also prefers to fly the 767 PIC (!!!!) istof the nice slow & easy Cessnas!The best that came out of this is that now he's not a bit scared or even nervous when we are flying for real (no, I'm not a pilot, flying as passengers I mean). His first flight was before I got him to try the sim and he was pretty scared. Now we are 'fighting' who is going to sit next to the window!Like father like son/daughter I would say!Good luck to all the fathers and their daughters and sons pilots to be out there!George DorkofikisAthens, Hellas

[Guest]

Everytime I

[Guest]

Thats great! Found a smile on my face as I was reading.Back in the eighties I did a fair amount of instruction and on the weekends the kids were with me, it was never any problem to get one of the many "regulars" to keep an eye on them while I was in the air with a student. They knew that if they were good that at the end of the day, momma would take them flying. Never had a bit of trouble. They loved the airfield and knew the "TRUE" meaning of being grounded.They especially loved aerobatics with the only drawback being that they would practically give me a heart attack when I would look out the window at home and see them trying to perform the same maneuvers on the swing set. Aieeeee!!!!!!Reading of your baby makes me feel old now. Watched my daughter graduate high school just a few weeks ago. Look forward to many pleasant times Peteman. Heather "Bad Weather" Sherman

[Dark Moment 0]

It won't take a couple of years. My 23-month old, Katherine Grace, has had her own airline since she was ten-months old and albeit that she's not too hot at following ATC's instructions, she's pretty handy with the yoke now. Just can't reach the pedals ... more recently, she's into my joystick and the helicopters so I've had to replace the pilots in a couple of recent uploads with "Blue" and "Dora the Explorer".This was her first 'plane - an old (and poignant) FS2000 screenshot nearing KLGA on the East River approach ...http://www.swiremariners.com/kgbgrace.jpgMark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/cxkaitak.htmlhttp://www.swiremariners.com/cxkaitakv3.jpg

[Guest]

Wow! Our baby girl's name is Grace Jessie. That's an awesome screenshot of that plane.Do you have that "GraceAir" plane still and if you do, could you upload it here or send it to me at pvring2@icehouse.net? My wife will love it and so will Grace when she gets a year older.Thanks!Peteman_RBoise, Idaho

[Dark Moment 0]

Thanks yours. Katherine Grace changed liveries on Graceair shortly after the above screenshot: here's one of her L-1011s over Hong Kong (again in FS2000)!http://www.swiremariners.com/kgbgrace2.jpgI am emailing you the relevant texture file you asked for - it's for the default FS2000 737-400 and I haven't moved it over to FS2002, although I retain FS2000 on my hard drive. These days it seems more important to Katherine to have "Bob The Builder" or equivalent flying her Piper or Cessna, so my work is in the cockpit now!I don't know if you're a painter ... but if you'd like an aircraft emblazoned with a piccie of your lovely little Grace on the tail and the Graceair brand on the fuselage, just zing me over a decent JPG to MABeaumont@aol.com and I'll find something suitable in my hangar for you! Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/cxkaitak.htmlhttp://www.swiremariners.com/cxkaitakv2.jpg

[Guest]

That's great! I used to do the same with my grandaughter. From birth on she has sat on my lap and flown the flight simulator. Two months ago I got my PPL. Now she flies with me for real....and she loves to take the controls! For a rewarding experience, take a kid flying!David