Top Ten Reasons NOT to build a Simulator Cockpit Project!

[blueskydriver]

10. If you're married or have a significant other, then plan to be single again! ...sooner or later!

9. Just because it has C.o.c.k. in it, doesn't mean you'll get sexual pleasure from the Cockpit! ...knowing that you have tried already, it will never happen!

8. If you like vacations, then don't plan any; unless you like virtual ones! And, YOU still have to drive!

7. You will have to take out a loan, sell your kids off or do away with partner (see item 10 above); unless, you're a member of the Millionare's Club, your rich Uncle left you his money estate, you're a Wall Street broker who made off with the money, or your Father's name is Peter or Steve Cos!

6. Unless you like repeatedly doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over! Due to the repeating factors of Buy Simulator Software, Buy Faster Computer to run new simulator software, Buy New Simulator Software because the last one looks antique in 3 weeks, Buy Newer Computer because running newest Simulator Software is now slower on the first computer than the antique ENIAC computer (that first big room size computer from the 50's and 60's)!

5. Unless you want to become a member of the online Social Websites worse than your kids (and/or see item 10 above). No, not Facebook or MySpace...it will be Cockpit Builders and others like this one, where you will talk, debate, and learn the meaning of REFRESH button, as well as be worse than an old nagging lady or drunk swearing salior.

4. If you're not already taking a psych medication...you will soon enough!

3. You will have to learn to urinate in a bottle, while holding a Yoke with one hand, a Throttle in the other, while speaking to another person, because you cannot or will not believe in the words "Pause Button"

2. You'll have to watch endless hours of Youtube videos where every video you watch has someone flying a better cockpit than you. Even though you know yours is better because it is made from cardboard, duct tape, an Etch-A-Sketch, a keyboard with no letter "P" key (see 3 above), and an old console TV without the cabinet, but it has an "As Real As It Gets" sticker from Microsoft on it!

1. The number one reason NOT to build a Simulator Cockpit Project, because you will never be able to stop an additiction that is worse than drinking alcohol, taking drugs (legal and/or illegal-for some people), eating non-stop junk food, and listening to whacked out people named Blueskydriver, 727737Nut, Mau...uh...rice, JackPilot, Warren, Mike L, Joe, David, Don, Bob, uh... TREVOR (where ever he went) and all the other 947 members of this forum; including, number 948 who just joined and adequately named themselves
"delirium_knight"
Funny, they used DELIRIUM as a name...just goes to show what happens when you join this insanity and why you should not build a Simualtor Cockpit Project!

[shaneb]

 Well that was a good Saturday morning laugh!     

[DaveC]

Funny.  You should have posted this BEFORE I started building.

[Maurice]

Very, very good & very funny & accurate summation BSD, BUT you are preaching to the already afflicted & infected crowds. Anybody new reading your post is already curious about flight decks and unless they run like hell right now & retreat to their desktop sim immediately and never ever return here, they will soon join the ranks of the mad men & their magnificent or not so magnificent flight decks but flight decks nevertheless.

They may delude themselves by adding just a few switches here & there like landing gear or flaps for instance but this is equivalent to a first heroin injection. Damn!.. it feels so good so just one more switch and I'm done.....etc...etc...

So, to all would be flight deck builders, go ahead, just interface one switch. I promise it won't hurt and you'll immediately have so many new like minded friends. 

Maurice

[Joe Lavery]

I blame my affliction on PC Pilot, I happened to tell the editor about these strange folk who build cockpits in their spare time, (spare Huh). Anyway after he'd stopped laughing he said why don't you build something for an article. So I waded in with a throttle quadrant, it seemed a small enough project and I have quite a decent toolshop so that settled it. 

So I have this thing finished and I quite liked pushing the levers and changing the flap settings, but it looked so lonely sat there on its own...... 

Regards from another addict

Joe.

[fsaviator]

This post needs to be pinned...

Thanks for the laugh, and the look-back at why I got into this hobby.

I blame my parents...  father in the Air Force, mother a stewardess (yes...  I said the bad word).  I Grew up around planes back when I could walk around the flightline without being shot, when I could ride the jumpseat without a crew badge, and back when my house was next to the Golf course in Glyfada, Greece...  that put me right in the approach path at the end of RWY 33.

And of course can't forget...  we had a Commodore 64.  The rest is just the natural progression of things.

Warren

[Bob Reed]

Once the thought of adding just ONE switch enters your head..... It's too late, you are infected. There is nothing you can do. It will start to grow like a parasite getting bigger and bigger. There is no cure the only thing that relieves it is working on your sim...... In fact if you are reading this it is probably too late for you. Oh and one more thing.... It is very contagious...

[MLeavy737]

Haa, thats a great one! Good laugh!

Sick hobby indeed but its fun. Real or sim ill never get sick of it!

Mike L

[Joe Lavery]

It gets even worse, this afternoon I just cut the first part on my new CNC machine, Oh my God I've got another hobby. It's all Gwyn's fault, ever since he paid us a visit I've been on the trail for a CNC.

The wife says she'll never see me now... 

Joe.

[Maurice]

The wife says she'll never see me now... 

Joe.

Guess you'll have a much better chance of staying married since you'll be out of her hair 

Maurice

[rhysb]

Bang on Maurice!!!!

[Drewsta]

OMG!!!!!  my wife!!! ....I totally forgot.  I'll go check the house now.

[blueskydriver]

Sitting here taking a break and was going through some of my old post, and this one from nearly two years ago jumped right at me! After reading it and the replies, I could not help too think that those 10 items still hold true today.

Therefore, I figure that the last few hundred new members who missed or ignored it have now found out for themselves... So, for the new members who just come onboard, if this will save you from jumping into the cockpit building ring of fire, heed my warning. However, I rather you go ahead and jump in...why? Because the more people we have getting into building the longer the hobby/community would survive. Besides, some of us old guys...cough...cough...clears throat...uh, I mean mature gentlemen (and ladies) will need someone to load our stuff onto someday.

Of course there will be people crazy enough to buy it just like did and because there is no way we can convince a cemetery director to allow us to be buried with our cockpits; he or she might say "are you playing with words on me?" (thats for the "holding my yoke" crowd to get...lol). Anyway, another reason I hope you jump in, is because I hope that someone will list 10 items as too why you SHOULD get into cockpit building. Funny, there is no list for that...

All kidding aside, I really do love cockpit building, much like many of the other folks here. Besides, what else would we do? We've all tried many other things...some crazier then this...uh, then again, maybe not....

John