Mac_Maddog88 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 What do all your families, be it parents, SO, etc, think of your hobby? Being younger, I of course have parents I live with (duh!). My father is fairly supportive of the hobby, being an airline pilot, and also takes a plane for a spin once in a while. Helped me a ton while building my rig, very thankful of him. It was a good experience for both of us, he went from your average tech illiterate family member who took your word for granted but trusted his tech illiterate friends and retirees 110% to having a good bit of knowledge about computers. Mom is still trying to wrap her head around it! In fact, when I expressed desires to build a rig, she struggled with the fact that building a computer was a better choice performance and price wise than buying an OEM computer which she deemed "good enough for everything", web browsing, and email being "everything". Asked me what I'd be using my rig for and explained how the complexity of scenery and aircraft requires a better computer than the laptop we'd just happened to buy. Her response to this was,"Why would you pay so much money for "pointless" scenery and planes? Wouldn't you rather fly the plane than do all the stuff your father does?" Then comes the discussion on how much a laptop, even one of highest end under-performs a desktop in many ways. Gotta love parents! Just thought it would make a good laugh to see your family's misconceptions on simulation, addons (and the money spent on them , all of mine in fact! ), and computers in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taph Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 My son lives with me (Duh!) he uses his laptop for all that other stuff and is reasonably computer literate. Its horses for courses my wife has no interest in computers and cannot see the attraction. I have a reasonable amount of knowledge and act as tech support for other members of the family, and friends. but still learning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac_Maddog88 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 I have a reasonable amount of knowledge and act as tech support for other members of the family, and friends. but still learning First thing I always ask is if they've tried rebooting it! AKA, turn it off and on again! My uncle builds computers and happened to have a slightly used laptop, which he gave to my grandma. It's alright, I know for one it has an i5 and 8GB of RAM. Now, this is a classic story, all because of what happened a week later. Grandma calls up my uncle claiming the laptop has "slowed down". Many of you will know what comes next. Uncle came over and saved himself quite a bit of time doing a system restore on the thing. And that was the day grandma got an antivirus, and learned not to download shady attachments off of Hotmail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflygary Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I have a son that immediately gets into the "pilot's seat" when I'm not in it and vice versa. My wife could care less about it until I forget to delete a receipt from the flightsim store or any other purchase I've made , and then she yells at me for spending so much money. I've gotten better though at immediately deleting the purchase emails and fortunately, she never checks the CC statements! Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CathyH Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My sister understyands that I am a retired pilot, and now a forcibly retired nurse with arthritis! Simming and reading are my two hobbies. She ius a reader but not a simmer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripcord Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Well done, Gary. I do the same. As long as she gets her shoe shopping paid for, we all get along fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrix961 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife is very supportive as long as I stay supportive of her jewelry obsession, and shoes, and cloths, etc lol. I was also given the rights to a portion of the basement where I built my cockpit. That took some delicate negotiation and was finally signed into household law just after the Xmas of 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife is of Argentinian decent, so if it has nothing to do with fashion or if it doesn't sparkle she's not interested.....lol.....My Dad thinks my hobby is pretty cool but only because he is a RWP, all others think I'm nuts for flying pretend airplanes all around the world...........until they try it, then they love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife and my daughter don't bear computer simulation but they appreciated when I config laptop and tablets for them. I learnt computer assembling all by myself. It's funny and a continuous challenge as technology evolving. I don't buy OEM machine since my first purchase 15 years ago and I build all my rigs now. Where I live, I don't have much place but I manage to set 3 machines with multiple displays. My wife yells a lot so I make my best to make discret all my flying stuff. Nevertheless, she's keen on flying for real with me whenever possible. I'm not a private pilot yet but intend to become in the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLonger Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife couldn't care less in every regard as long as whatever needs to be done or purchased gets done or purchased. I really feel sorry for all those guys (and when I look at the forums it almost seems to be 99% of the simmers) that have to account to their wifes for every minute and penny they spend on their hobby. BTW I also am 'the computer guy' in the (entire) family and even at work: might this have anything to do with all my building and tweaking systems for flightsims…? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocBird Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I am one of the lucky guys whos wife is not to worried about my hobby. I have shifted my hardware from the office room to the basement last year and the cockpit grows ever since. Sometime she wonders about the uggly and funny head (TrackIR) but everything else is fine. My kids love to fly on my rig and are learning fast. So it sometimes is quite a battle about who is entitled to fly... After just flying around for some time I now started to demonstrate/teach them the basics of aerodynamic, physic and navigation and (most important) showed them what math is good for. At the moment both would like to become pilots but that is certainly a long way to go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 As for now im living alone in my flat so nobody is complaining when im home simming. But that will change as my girlfriend will move into my flat in a few months. She´s cool with it but cant understand why im simming besides my job as an airline pilot . I think im possessed in some way . I mean hey where in the world do you get a chance to fly aussie helicopter bush operations and switch in no time to high performance fighter jets to go low level flight in Goose Bay or even Carrier Ops off the shore of Hawaii in different weather conditions. I am one of the lucky guys whos wife is not to worried about my hobby. I have shifted my hardware from the office room to the basement last year and the cockpit grows ever since. Sometime she wonders about the uggly and funny head (TrackIR) but everything else is fine. My kids love to fly on my rig and are learning fast. So it sometimes is quite a battle about who is entitled to fly... After just flying around for some time I now started to demonstrate/teach them the basics of aerodynamic, physic and navigation and (most important) showed them what math is good for. At the moment both would like to become pilots but that is certainly a long way to go... The TrackIR is really funny but the best add on for simming and teaching the kids in these fields cant be wrong and thats real cool i like that but gotta say phyiscs i quite liked in school, math was some kind of magic and aerodynamics hmmm lets say it that way -i am a believer and just a plain user Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife always tells me I spend to much time on the computer (flying) and not enough time with her.....It's a hard choice. Hope she doesn't read this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boetie Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife.................sorry got to go she's just walked in..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My wife.................sorry got to go she's just walked in..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAM Hunter Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I’m generation three of flight simmers, but not in the correct order… This started back when my daughter was injured and she had nothing to do while recovering… So she got a copy of FS2002 and started simming… I help her work the bugs out and build her first simulation suite… She loved simming and I like watching her and her best friend argue and work with one another while simulating… When she past away everything was put up and placed in storage for a couple of years… After building up the nerve I unpacked her computer to sell, but after turning it on to see if it still worked I found the messages she had corresponded with her online friends at FlightSim.com and her intention to make FS2002 a better simulation… But by this time most simmers have progressed to FSX so I decided to fulfill her wishes… I packaged her favored plane and updated it to work with FSX and uploaded it to FlightSim along with a video not only showing the aircraft but her only message to me that I had recorded by accident on my phone it is at the end of the video titled “Because†as I continued I became more and more involved with her peers at FlightSim… They have helped me recover from her loss and I with there grief, then when I found the Orbx scenery that hooked it for me… The realism had me at this point the scenery matched what I wanted in a simulation… So I continued updating Aircraft and posting them as freeware on FlightSim, Simviation, AVSim, and FS2000 along with the videos I have posted with every package… Now there is generation three If you followed my daughters post on FlightSim.com then you may have seen photos of her daughter as a younger child, well she’s growing up and is in her preteens now… And has her own system, using some of her mother’s controllers with updated computer and software… Although not as hooked as her mom, she has talent and loves to fly… She wanted to present her skill for everyone to see so over the holidays we made a film titled “BlueJay517†which shows her flying skills on her system at her home in Texas… So this why I sim and why our family has it …. Respectfully: David…. >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9V2y_7f17U&feature=plcp >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AskYcoAi5Zs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUKFYbDe0mheZ-llBTVQnHrA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Kae Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I am not going to say a word ... not.. a .. word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Emms Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Their is only Emmsie and my Daughter she says if im happy flying around ORBX land then she is happy. cheers Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuisong Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 A truly touching account David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuisong Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 My wife is very supportive of my hobby, indeed encouraging. Though she dislikes computers with a passion, and cannot understand why I put up with all the hassle I have when things aren't going right. Mind you, she hates small planes too. By the way, a friend of mine had to get out of my cockpit yesterday as he was feeling air sick. A first time for everything I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aviator49 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Hello Outrage, What an interesting topic. Thanks for everyone's amazing journey. As I am retired from the Military and at almost 54years on, I could not think of a better hobby than to fly. All kids have left the nest. Been around aviation most of my life. My uncle was a Captain for TAA many moons ago based in Launceston so flying to YMLT from YMEN was always a thrill. My wife is very supportive of my hobby and I support hers as well. She is into Roller Derby, and just love to go and watch the girls hash it out on the track. A lot of my friends think it is cool, and they love to watch, and are blown away be the quality of my sim and the scenery. As always I have ORBX to thank for that. As for me, if it is released by ORBX, then I am at the flight sim store ready to download. It is an expensive hobby, and so is Roller Derby, so we have an equal relationship and a happy one at that. If we need to get something, then we just buy it. Regards Sam Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Hall Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I am one lucky SOB, my wife, is a real treasure, she is happy with whatever makes me happy, trusts my judgement on purchases, we joke that whenever I buy something it gives her more to spend on buying books, she buys them from Indy authors for a few dollars, I'm way ahead, never tries to guilt trip me, he'll she even plays flight attendant and brings me in flight snacks refreshments and a great smile. And NO she's not for sale, she is a keeper, so don't even think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibo Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 My wife thinks that I spend too much time on the computer so I developed VacPack. I tell her to sit down and read a book whilst I do some housework. I then turn the volume up on my PC. The longer I spend with VacPack the happier she is! >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Hhgrj65Oc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexF389 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 My Dad is all for making it look cool with Orbx scenery etc. Although after me taking up real flying lessons, he's starting to wonder why I'm always flying a plane (be it virtual or real). Mother just enjoys coming in and shaking my head to make the virtual vc head move. She also thinks there's something permanently wrong with the engines on my B-17. Bless her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortspecialbus Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 My wife thinks that I spend too much time on the computer so I developed VacPack. I tell her to sit down and read a book whilst I do some housework. I then turn the volume up on my PC. The longer I spend with VacPack the happier she is! >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Hhgrj65Oc It took me a moment to figure out what the heck you were on about, even with the video. Then about 2/3 through it clicked what the engines sounded like. Well played. -stefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miloguy Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I only have a budgie and Cannery to argue with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike A Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 First a little background... I'm 57, and my favorite hobby as a kid was building plastic model planes and painting them. You know how it is, when you do something like that, how absorbing it is, you get in a "zone", lose track of time, etc. ? One of my favorite things about simming is doing repaints, as I can now digitally paint planes, and get that same feeling. I'm making this post as a cautionary tale to benefit you younger guys out there. I suffer from Male Clueless Syndrome. Don't let this happen to you! My wife and I have been married 11 years. One evening, 2 months into our marriage, I was working on a repaint. I was in the zone, lost track of time. Several times, my wife came in the room where I have my computer to check in on me, "Are you still doing that?" "Yes, just a couple more things, I'm almost ready". Finally, she came in, wearing her nightgown, and with more than a little annoyance in her voice, said, "Will you be coming to bed? Why do you take so long with that?" Annoyed with being knocked out of my zone, I replied, "Because this is my PASSION!!" I won't go into details, but I'll just say that it took a LONG time for me to live that one down . Lucky for me, when my wife was 19, she was employed as a stewardess (Politically correct translation: "flight attendant") for PSA, a regional California airline that no longer exists, so she does have some affinity for aviation. Otherwise I would have been kicked out on the street. She even loves going to the airport (KSFO) to watch the planes. Moral of the story: Balance in everything you do; happy wife, happy life! Mike A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesIceland Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 My fiance has put up with my hobby for some years now - I think she is happy if I am happy although my attempts to teach her to fly were met with very unenthusiastic attempts to fly - think someone looking at the screen, getting a bit bored so looking out the window, crashing the plane and leaving things with an "oh well, I tried". I have never seen someone look so disinterested when pushing forward a throttle lever. My current increased level of interest in flight simming, as a result of discovering XP10 and P3D 1.4 and 2.0 over the last year, has seen me spending more time in my cockpit and less time annoying her. As a consequence she has used this free time to self publish her first novel (currently available on Amazon - if you all want a link for your FlightSim widows let me know! ), finish a second (which is being edited as we speak) and start a third! The irony of all this could well be her hitting the bestseller lists (she is actually very good), as a result of my flight sim habit (I like to make this tenuous connection) and in the future fund my home build cockpit/flight sim needs (in my dreams!). So in conclusion she is probably extremely grateful that my love of flight simming has allowed her to follow her dreams... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I tell every one who wants to get into this how it really works . Right now I have a friend who wants to get in this and is a millionaire so the buying the computer part is no problem, but I'm trying to talk him out of it . First of all he is old school and doesn't really much knowledge and computers, and I warned him this is like the old Harley Davidson's before the belt drive came in " you fly an hour and you tweak for 3" and there always seems to be one thing or another that goes sideways. I've said it before and I'll say it again , there's a big difference with a computer teck and a gaming teck . The family- do they know how time consuming this is ? I will admit that I am retired and I do this and am a musician in lounges and if I wouldn't have this to spent my time I would be lost and would have to go back to work to keep my sanity. I have 7 Go-Flight modules and with this custom coding the developers are coming out with most of my switches in the PMDG - the Duke and the Aerosoft Twin Otter don't work . So now there is this a program called GO-Flight Interface which you use to reprogram the switches. I've been trying and reading for a good 8 hours or more and still having a hard time to get some of them working, why cant they put it on U-Tube so we can see. I know I sound like John in the" Fed up" post but there is times I really feel like selling every thing and getting out of it .As far as the family being ok with it it's no problem but my friends --well they don't understand what we do Ha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac_Maddog88 Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 I tell every one who wants to get into this how it really works . Right now I have a friend who wants to get in this and is a millionaire so the buying the computer part is no problem, but I'm trying to talk him out of it . First of all he is old school and doesn't really much knowledge and computers, and I warned him this is like the old Harley Davidson's before the belt drive came in " you fly an hour and you tweak for 3" and there always seems to be one thing or another that goes sideways. I've said it before and I'll say it again , there's a big difference with a computer teck and a gaming teck . The family- do they know how time consuming this is ? I will admit that I am retired and I do this and am a musician in lounges and if I wouldn't have this to spent my time I would be lost and would have to go back to work to keep my sanity. I have 7 Go-Flight modules and with this custom coding the developers are coming out with most of my switches in the PMDG - the Duke and the Aerosoft Twin Otter don't work . So now there is this a program called GO-Flight Interface which you use to reprogram the switches. I've been trying and reading for a good 8 hours or more and still having a hard time to get some of them working, why cant they put it on U-Tube so we can see. I know I sound like John in the" Fed up" post but there is times I really feel like selling every thing and getting out of it .As far as the family being ok with it it's no problem but my friends --well they don't understand what we do Ha. I taught my family, which seemed daunting, I'm sure you could teach your friend easily. BTW, what instrument do you play? I myself play trombone, love music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miloguy Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 some muso's cool ! I play guitar , write the odd tune , www.miloguy.com if your interested... just getting back with a mate from an old band and hopefully cutting our second album (only taken 14 years!) but I guess thats life, a season for every thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I owned a 100 seater pub and grill with 5 slot machines for 16 yrs. so I'm done with the bar crowd and just want the hi venues - hi end lounges and restaurants, and classy crowds. I run a Taylor 314ce - through a Fender Passport 500 and a vocal Harmonizer Digiteck 3 . Have a heck of a time getting into the new stuff , it just doesn't work for me and I'm a baritone vocalist doing mild country -contemporary-like "My way -classics. like "Sounds of Silence " it works well for me .Money is not as good as the Canadian oil patch but the scenery is way butter that looking at a pipeline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripcord Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 My sister understyands that I am a retired pilot, and now a forcibly retired nurse with arthritis! Simming and reading are my two hobbies. She ius a reader but not a simmer! Cathy I did not know you were a retired pilot, that is cool! David SAM Hunter -- I am hurting so bad for you after that first video I think I am going to hug my kid for a few minutes before I start watching the second one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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