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Have you ever, at some time during the day or evening, simply stopped
whatever it was you were doing, and had the thought, "Why on earth do
I spend so much time playing a kid's game?!" Let's be honest. We
are not actual pilots. While we may have a slight edge over a
non-simmer (aka a "normal" person) in the event that both pilots
should become incapacitated, it would take nothing short of an act of
divine providence to enable us to bring an aircraft safely to the
ground. For the most part, we derive no income from our time spent.
To the contrary, we gather unto ourselves untold debt and no small
amount of animosity from those who go without because we really,
really needed that throttle quadrant. So, to put it in the
vernacular, "Whassup with that?"I'm coming to learn that a majority of we FSSimmerSicko's are an older, sedate bunch. I do note that the members of the Aviator Society do not quite fit this bill, having the appearance not unlike the band N'sync during the days that they made my daughter swoon. But, I think they are the exception. And, if contemplated, they are truly the fortunate ones.
You see, part of the reason we do what we do is that it affords us an opportunity to continue learning. The younger set, when they are fortunate enough to get bitten by the flight bug, have gobs of time in which to hone skills and gain inspiration from their time spent caressing their joysticks (shame on you!), as from there, the entire world of aviation remains open to them. As for we older guys, well, with more time behind than in front of us, our options diminish about as quickly as our bottles of pain pills and supplements. For us, this IS our world of aviation.
Simmers and Real World (becoming axiomatic, isn't it?) aviators share a common love. Of course, there are many such as myself who are unable to board a commercial carrier without having first ingested a virtual pharmacy of, shall we say, attitude modifying medication designed to convince one that he is sitting comfortably in his easy chair with the channel changer, rather than screaming along at FL 330 at six hundred knots. Hey, one does what one must in order to grab the gusto, as they say.
But, it's this shared joy that brings us together as a community. The thrill of acceleration down the white lines, while perhaps less visceral to we sim pilots, is still a thrill. And of course, should an engine start throwing blades, we can always hit pause and go have a sandwich, whereas you Real World flyboys have what I believe you refer to as a "situation".
There is certainly a fun factor that we simmers experience. Sure, we're not shooting at things, but after all, we know this when we buy the darn program. If we'd wanted a shooter, we'd have gotten a whole host of alternate titles. I think that for us, flight simming is a mental puzzle. Procedures, checklists, a ton of things easy to forget that really should be addressed before going wheels up. Somehow, I find it quite thrilling when I remember to turn on the landing lights and strobes when I line up and wait. And to execute a hold when so directed by ATC? Nirvana! This is not to say that we'd prefer these experiences to the days with The Bosses under the boardwalk of some secluded beach at night, but I think you catch my drift. At our age, not only would we find it difficult to even find said beach/boardwalk, but we're most likely to have forgotten the bottle of water with which to ingest our little blue motivator. Boy, getting old stinks, doesn't it?
So let's face it. Flight simming is a blast. It keeps us thinking. It challenges us. We can do it without taking medication first. And, somehow, it is comforting to know that we have an old friend, one that we've seen grow through various stages of genesis, upon whom we may rely to always be there, ready willing and able to test our abilities.
Of course, it does become a bit of a drag when we hear for the umpteenth time from The Boss, "Haven't you got some place to fly right now?"
Three Green!
Chip Barber
rfbarber@optonline.net
