Building - Flying balance

[Paul G]

To what extent are you a builder or a pilot. Take the poll and let others know.

[Tomlin]

Paul, that is funny- I was JUST about to post such a poll myself. I dont see it here though?

[Paul G]

Hi Eric, just had to word the questions in the poll. I didn't realize it had posted the thread so quickly.

[Michael Carter]

I'm a real world pilot who can't afford a 727 so I'm building my own.

[aviaparts]

same for me, real world pilot, building a twin prop and can't even afford to buy that :-)

[AndyT]

Real World Almost legal Pilot building my sim to keep my skills sharp.

[Paul G]

I suppose what is also of interest is whether you would have responded differently when you first started, compared with right now. In my case I only saw building as a means to an end and had no interest. However I pick up a few skills without too many limbs lost, and suddenly I'm also interested in the building and innovating side. The implication with this is that, like most, my sim will never be finished. But hey, if you enjoy the journey then never reaching the end is not such a bad thing.

I also wanted to bump up the poll LOL

[Michael Carter]

Building a flight simulator is somewhat like model railroading. I used to do that too years ago before FS and computers had come as far as they are now. Personal PC's barely existed back then.

I built several railroads that were never quite finished. There were always details to add, much the same with a flight simulator.

I started with building panels to see if I could do it knowing I was getting into building an aircraft no one else would supply parts for. A few trips around the web and e-bay revealed a host of suppliers for surplus parts that made the job that much easier.

Now if someone could write some software that would be icing on the cake...but I'm not holding my breath.

[zenandzen]

I had to really think about this poll question.

If this was a practical test , i would qualify as a pilot as being allowed into the visitors lounge to view postcards of planes.

As a builder i would probably be permitted to start a teardown/removal of systems & equipment but asked to make coffee when time comes to assembly(somehow there's always extra screws left over)

Good poll though.
Cheers
Gerry

[super80]

I am a Private Pilot, but building a 737NG in my basement is just as cool :)

[Paul G]

Yeah the poll was a difficult one. I didn't want the usual 1 - 5, 7 or 9 rating where my 5 would be completely different to yours. I tried to put context around each response to help narrow down different graduations of builder : flyer profile. Not perfect but better than a number scale.

Most people will struggle to answer this because they may feel they're both extremes. This poll is mostly about where the bias lies, than simply black and white builder or flyer.

I guess the golden question is this. If you weren't building a cockpit simulator, would you be flying something or building something. Perhaps best left for another poll but something to mull over.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I've been wanting to know the answer to this question for ages. If we reach 100 responses then we start to have a good profile of members of this group. Everyone should take part in this poll to give maximum objectivity and coverage. So if you didn't already, please vote.

Cheers

Paul

[pdpo]

Hi all,

i am not a real world pilot. But had since long a real interest in aviation. The time I graduated from high school eye glasses were not allowed in the cockpit :-) so the day the doc told I had to get those to continue seeing clear was the day my world turned upside down. From that day I somehow turned away from aviation hoping I would never return.
However, ones bitten by the bug.....
After a visit to the cockpit (A340) on my way back from China to spent holidays at home in Belgium (even stayed in the cockpit during landing at LFPG) I got sparked again. Resulting in a new desktop which could run FS98, the EFIS98 extension, then PSS airbus, then flying online with 2 PCs (one for PSS with 2 screens, one PC for online flying)...then project magenta....
and the building started....
Now I am looking to start flying for real on ULM (somewhat easier on the wallet then PPL here in belgium).... lets see where we end up....

Greetz Peter

PS : for those I have put too sleep with my post of evolution....you must have had a revolution so tell us about it....

[mgdaviso]

Couldn't get in the real air force due to medical reasons, but I am in the reserves. Went solo at 17 in a powered glider and now getting in some SEP flying training in the RAF's Basic trainer. Interested in Mil flying only (Not just the FJ's but the trainers, helo's and large transports too). I've handled a Nimrod at 30,000ft over the North Sea. Love the smell of buring jet fuel - esp around the pan of an airforce base. Spent a week at RAF Marham last year amongst the GR4's :D

[Paul G]

Everyone has their story. It's really good to hear some of them here. The poll is proving to be a bit of an eye opener. Why not share your story here too.

Thanks

[Crescent]

I'm a commercial helicopter pilot. I've always been interested in flight sims...ironically only the fixed wing ones hehe. 90% of my flight sim experience is geared towards ww2...mainly flying the bombers. The next logical step is to build a sim, so that's what I'm starting.

[Paul G]

I'm sure there's loads here whose sim building is to support an existing interest in flying. But did anyone get bitten by the flying bug first from a simulator they built?

[Michael Carter]

Why would anyone build a simulator if they didn't already have an interest in flying or aircraft?

[jmig]

I am a former pilot. Flew military and GA aircraft. Lost my medical so this is the only flying I do now.

I hope to eventually share my cockpit with young people and give them an idea of flying a fighter.

[Paul G]

Perhaps I should reword my question. What I meant was "Did anyone end up becoming a pilot when they only intended to build and operate a simulator?"

Of course few would build something so complex & expensive as a flight simulator without some kind of underlying interest in aviation. The survey results support this.

[MLeavy737]

Real 737 (3,5,7,8,9ER) pilot for CAL, Cant get enough on the real thing so im building one in the garage. I actually started building the sim before i ever though i would be flying the real ones.

The sim helped during the interview with CAL and it really helped during training when i would come home on weekends. I would sit in it for hours going over flows and flying profiles.

People always ask why in the world i would want to come home after flying all day and work on a sim?? They just dont understand the type of people we are ;)

Mike Leavy
www.737BBJ2sim.com

[Paul G]

]People always ask why in the world i would want to come home after flying all day and work on a sim?? They just dont understand the type of people we are...

That summarizes it so well. There's few careers where it's so in the blood as yours/ours. Sim building for me supplements my 'obsession' with flying. But it also supports it. My last Instrument Rating renewal, I hadn't flown a real plane for a few months, and then only a couple of hours a year or so. Despite this, I absolutely walked the renewal, and was able to run rings around another much more highly experience pilot who was only a month or two out of practice. I feel my flying skill has never been so sharp. That's a really good feeling and somewhat justifies insomniac like sleeping behaviour and alarming credit card bills

[jytte]

Perhaps I should reword my question. What I meant was "Did anyone end up becoming a pilot when they only intended to build and operate a simulator?"

Didn't see this post/poll till now, so too late to vote. There are probably as many stories as there are simmers, but I may be one of the few(?) who came into this hobby slightly backwards :wink:

7 years ago I wouldn't have known a Cessna from a Boeing xxx. Then I met my husband, who was a real world pilot. Since he's not flying for real anymore, I got him FS for Christmas. Now, he's an ace pilot, but not much of a builder or computer guy, so I had to set everything up, meaning I had to actually start flying the sim, and then it bit me. I also wanted to build him a real nice sim (I love building things), but of course that takes a lot of research and planning, so again I had to do quite a lot of flying and studying, and the more planes I saw (real and otherwise), the more crazy about them I got. I'm no ace, but I love flying the little Cessna in FS, and I've been flying a real one too. I don't know if I'll ever get a PPL, but I know for sure I will fly again (for real).