A little old-guy perspective and gratitude . . .

[Skyhawk263]

I bought my first computer in 1990, a Packard Bell 286. My first flight sim was Chuck Yeagers Advanced Trainer 2.0 from then on I was hooked
on flight simulation. Next was FS4 and every version after that. Started R/C flying in '92 which lead to earning my private license in '02. Skip ahead
to 2013 and 375 hours later as flying was cut short, due to health issues. It was then back to R/C which ended in 2015 when my dad passed away.
That was our hobby together and I found out with out him I had just lost interest, it just was just not the same without him. Fast forward to 2020
and the release of fs2020, here I am enjoying flight siming again. I remember reading on so some flight sim site about authentikit 3d printed controls and dived in buying a 3d printer and built their P51 trim panel, with flap and landing gear control. Talk about alot of work learning how
to use a 3d printer, but the end result turned out totally awesome. I'd be lost without it now, I use it on every plane I have that uses a stick instead of a yoke. Keep up with the stories folks, I enjoy reading about other peoples life experiences and hobbies.

 

[Cazzie]

never stop doing what you love to do until you can't - then find something to love doing that you CAN do.
I remember a time when the finishing products, tape, sandpaper, adhesives, blades, and paint were never really a factor to me in the cost of building a project...now it's costing more than the kit even as THOSE prices go up - and if I buy aftermarket decals the cost is easily more than double the kit.
Always loved Hawker planes from the Fury onward...and that's a beautiful scale representation and finish, Cazzie

Just for you mate. Old Matchbox 1/72 kit.

Cazzie

 

[Priller]

View attachment 172022

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Just for you mate. Old Matchbox 1/72 kit.

Cazzie

Ok, seeing that makes me want for a Fury in that scheme for MSFS!!

Jan

 

[Fnerg]

A common theme here is how much our dads influenced our passion for aviation. I'm no exception. As a kid, I would always see warplane magazines around the house, especially in the bathroom! Reading through, looking at black and white photos of warplanes in action I always enjoyed. Dad got so mad at me once for cutting out pictures for a school collage. He got 2 weeks holidays every summer, and we'd usually drive around to different campgrounds. One time we camped near Goderich, and drove over to see the Lancaster FM213 mounted on a pedestal outside of the Legion. I didn't know at the time, but he had joined the RCAF in the early 50s and became an air-frame mechanic servicing Lancasters based at CYRO, 408 Squadron Rockcliffe ON. I knew every Tuesday night he would dress in his military uniform and head off to Air Cadets where he was Commanding Officer for the 447 Squadron at CYHM. Some Sundays we would go with him to watch parades on inspection days, sometimes it was to play in the linc trainer in the cadet hall, while he finished paper work or developed photos. I always attended the Hamilton airshows with him, and often he'd stick around after the airshow to drink with the airshow pilots at the 447 Club, giving us free run of the hangars. One hangar in particular housed a massive airplane under restoration I'd seen years prior in Goderich. This of course became our beloved VRA. Over the years I went with him to Cadet activities which included glider flying from a small airport in York. It was there I got to go up with cadets, and some days go up in a Petenpole, Cessna 150s, 172s. Many years later Dad had moved to British Columbia at it was at his house where I got to experience my first Commadore64 game Chopper Pilot, and my first Flightsim on floppy disk. Dad loved flying and warbirds so much, he passed it on to me, and in turn I passed it to my son. Today, my son and I are meeting up at the London airshow. I'll be thinking of my dad. And the cycle continues.

 

[Tom Clayton]

Oddly, my dad was never "into" aviation. I think I got the bug when I was 4 and my parents and I got a ride in a small Cessna on a Sunday afternoon out of W88. I've been hooked on flying ever since.

But I did get one thing from my dad... He sold and repaired all sorts of petroleum equipment, so I know the origin of the 0.9¢ that's tacked onto the end of every gallon of gasoline sold in the US!