BendyFlyer
Charter Member
The black swan of Covid has alighted and blown us all out of the water, the ramifications are going to last a long time. I have the good fortune to not to have got the bug nor my family but I know some who were not so lucky. But at my age having traversed the big pistons to turbines and other stuff and seen the history close up it to see it end this way was simply tragic and for old crusties like myself this is it, there is no comeback now. I had been ready to retire for some time but rather it was of to be of my choosing rather than an inglorius end like this. No chance of a few ales or even a meal together just a wave and exchange of contact details.
So. Goodbye to big wide bodies, new designs and it will be very difficult for those with older and or more interesting aircraft to keep them going if at all. Only those still in the military at the moment have a secure berth. My heart went out to my younger colleagues as we took our last pay checks and said good bye, I looked at the aprons full of aicraft and paused to think of those young men and women who had reached their goals a command on a decent aircraft with a decent company. Those of us lucky enough to have spent our life in the sky have seen plenty of busts before but this is different - very different. It has been a wonderful time but its over, which of course will have major impacts on aircraft manufacturers and the general aviation sector both, the whole industry top to bottom from big cities to small rural fields and bush operations. I cannot see a return to the heyday of aviation so flight sim has become very precious and I want to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all those involved who have kept FSX alive and the hope of us boosting into P3D or maybe even the new MS sim, though I will probably stick to FSX and now upgrade to a new rig to run P3D. From an entertainment, interest and historical point of view flight simulation which I have been involved in even prior to MS is now a very robust and splendid resource but if we want to continue then we will need to support developers of all types and splendid sites like this as best we can, it is not a large cost but critical.
I have formed a few friendships with a lot of members here who I know were in the business but their silence speaks volumes.
The reason I even penned this was to express how I feel the simulation world had captured and will keep alive those memories for all of us. It is precious and it was a wonderful era. So simulation will keep my passion alive and my head in the clouds!
Thanks to all of you!
So. Goodbye to big wide bodies, new designs and it will be very difficult for those with older and or more interesting aircraft to keep them going if at all. Only those still in the military at the moment have a secure berth. My heart went out to my younger colleagues as we took our last pay checks and said good bye, I looked at the aprons full of aicraft and paused to think of those young men and women who had reached their goals a command on a decent aircraft with a decent company. Those of us lucky enough to have spent our life in the sky have seen plenty of busts before but this is different - very different. It has been a wonderful time but its over, which of course will have major impacts on aircraft manufacturers and the general aviation sector both, the whole industry top to bottom from big cities to small rural fields and bush operations. I cannot see a return to the heyday of aviation so flight sim has become very precious and I want to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all those involved who have kept FSX alive and the hope of us boosting into P3D or maybe even the new MS sim, though I will probably stick to FSX and now upgrade to a new rig to run P3D. From an entertainment, interest and historical point of view flight simulation which I have been involved in even prior to MS is now a very robust and splendid resource but if we want to continue then we will need to support developers of all types and splendid sites like this as best we can, it is not a large cost but critical.
I have formed a few friendships with a lot of members here who I know were in the business but their silence speaks volumes.
The reason I even penned this was to express how I feel the simulation world had captured and will keep alive those memories for all of us. It is precious and it was a wonderful era. So simulation will keep my passion alive and my head in the clouds!
Thanks to all of you!
