Hobby Thread - June 27, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is taking flight. It spun and spun and landed on a flight simulator theme for this Hobby Thread.

[Photo credit: National Air and Space Museum Dulles annex at the Udvar-Hazy Center]

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Flight simulators are not just for those that are into gaming. Many have tinkered with basic flight simulators on a home computer. Many have crashed in the virtual world, but others have gotten the flying bug and built foundations that took them into the real life skies. "I believe I can fly..."

Technology has advanced. Flight simulators have become more sophisticated and capable with graphics sharp enough to rival the real world.

As with anything else, flight simulators can be basic or complicated. A basic home computer can get you flying but you can spent a lot of money on a rig. If you get really fancy, you get into the world where the seat or floor moves along with the movement of the aircraft. Auto racing simulators are no different.

While flight simulators can be entertaining, they also have become training grounds for pilots. Better to learn in a simulator than encounter problems for the first time in the real world. The correlation between the simulated and real worlds have become closer and closer.

Are you wise in the ways of flight simulators? How did you get started? Do you have a fancy home rig? Have you flown in a larger commercial training simulator? Do you have a favorite simulated flight over a landmark or landing at an airport? Did flying on a computer spark a journey to flying in real life? If you fly as a hobby or profession, how big of a role did simulators play in your life? For the gamers of the bunch, have you gotten into dogfighting games or other flying games?

Large dinosaurs are not known for flight. A small brain and short arms means that TRex will need help in the gray boxes for this one.

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What are you hobbying?

The thread is not limited to to the theme. Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something. If not, find something else or offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

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Evolution of Microsoft Flight Simulator (1982-2023):

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Pretty amazing:

This is the most realistic LAX landing simulator video I could find:

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Simulating specific real-life routes and aircraft:

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Learn from Lufthansa - an inside look at Lufthansa's Frankfurt training facility:

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As with anything, better equipment alone won't make you a better sim pilot, but this seemed like a methodical overview for people looking to get a little deeper into the hobby:

This guy is way, way down the home flight simulator rabbit hole:

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Why let the fixed wing gang have all the fun? Try helicopters (aka beating the air into submission). Besides the simulator aspect, this is a good tutorial on helicopters in general.

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Never realized that there were air traffic control simulator games, but here we are. Playing a game where you are ATC at Chicago O'Hare seems a bit mad.

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I like projects that take the worst materials and turn them into something good. This video should appeal to both the woodworkers and the drummers of the group.

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More an old school craftsmanship theme than a hobby theme, but thought this group would appreciate:

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"Got any hobbies?"

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an candle theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Bonus notable comment from the Thursday night ONT with space knowledge:

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

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Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Welcome Hobbiests

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 05:31 PM (Ia/+0)

2 I recognize that view! SiD and I got to see that a few NoVaMoMes ago. Lots of cool and lots of fun.

Posted by: GWB at June 27, 2026 05:32 PM (kU0PQ)

3 Evening, hobbyists!

I don't much like flying, even in the big buses known as airliners. I've never been in a smaller aircraft even as a passenger. So a flight simulator would be way out of my ken. A auto driving simulator, now, that might be interesting.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 27, 2026 05:35 PM (wzUl9)

4 Udvar-Hazy is AWESOME. They have 1 of the shuttles there. The SIZE of that thing is unreal. The best part is the overlook of the restoration room where you can see what they're working on

Posted by: Stacy0311 at June 27, 2026 05:37 PM (BfTZK)

5 Believe it or not, I played around with a flight simulator on an Apple IIe computer when I was a wee little squirrel.

It was tough. I could usually manage to take off, but the details of landing were always tricky.

And being an Apple IIe in the mid-1980s, the graphics were crude at best.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 27, 2026 05:37 PM (gnNyN)

6 I don't much like flying, even in the big buses known as airliners. I've never been in a smaller aircraft even as a passenger. So a flight simulator would be way out of my ken. A auto driving simulator, now, that might be interesting.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere
***********\
Try flying in a helicopter with no doors...and short armed, small brained one who booked the flight KNOWING, suddenly became hard of hearing.....
Result: I lived!

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 05:37 PM (IQ6Gq)

7 The lesson: double check what Dino reserves/schedules...

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 05:38 PM (IQ6Gq)

8 Never realized that there were air traffic control simulator games, but here we are. Playing a game where you are ATC at Chicago O'Hare seems a bit mad.
----
I dunno.

Seems like it might be helpful to have a little bit of experience before you start your on-the-job training.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 27, 2026 05:39 PM (gnNyN)

9 Falcon 4.0

Period.

Flight manual was nearly 500 pages. It set the benchmark for everything that followed. IMO. Which is correct.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 27, 2026 05:39 PM (jehhT)

10 They need to get the air traffic controllers at Logan some extra time on the simulators, too many near misses...

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 05:41 PM (IQ6Gq)

11 Try flying in a helicopter with no doors...and short armed, small brained one who booked the flight KNOWING, suddenly became hard of hearing.....
Result: I lived!
Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 05:37 PM (IQ6Gq)

That is how my step-brother got his hearing loss. He was a crew chief. Then he was a logger.

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2026 05:46 PM (rbvCR)

12 Dang, and I almost got a FIRST!?

Posted by: GWB at June 27, 2026 05:48 PM (kU0PQ)

13 Biplane to rockets. Satellites. Amazing

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 05:49 PM (afJtY)

14 Thanks to the foresight of Gen. Hap Arnold, the NASM has one of the most extensive collections of Axis aircraft in the world.

The only complete Heinkel He 219 Uhu in the world. Roughly half of one was pulled out of the North Sea off Denmark and has since vanished into private hands.

The only Dornier Do 335 Pfeil. Only Ta 152H-0. Sole Arado Ar 234 Blitz bomber.

The Navy, not to be outdone, donated an Aichi M6A Seiran submarine launched floatplane that was surrendered to them. Now the only one left in the world.

Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 05:49 PM (2GVsD)

15 Many years ago I accumulated between 2500/3000 in recip helicopters. Mostly Hughes and Bell, VFR only, commercial ticket. There were not as many people from the government showing up to help. IYKWIM.

Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 05:50 PM (LHPAg)

16 Never realized that there were air traffic control simulator games, but here we are. Playing a game where you are ATC at Chicago O'Hare seems a bit mad.
----
I dunno.

Seems like it might be helpful to have a little bit of experience before you start your on-the-job training.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 27, 2026 05:39 PM (gnNyN)
====

I remember watching a YT video of a young man who, in RL, landed a single-engine prop plane at O'Hare airport.

He had to reserve a landing time and meet several other criteria to do so, but he met all of the requirements, and with veteran pilot in the Right Seat, made a perfect landing. A helluva entry for the log book. The best part was all of the pilot chatter going on as the prop pilot entered the landing pattern and made his approach.

Posted by: mrp at June 27, 2026 05:50 PM (rj6Yv)

17 Seems like it might be helpful to have a little bit of experience before you start your on-the-job training.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at June 27, 2026 05:39 PM
***
Agree, but seems like (at least some) people play the game for fun rather than prep for doing the real job in the future. More power to them, but it is an interesting choice for entertainment.

Posted by: TRex - clear to land dino at June 27, 2026 05:52 PM (IQ6Gq)

18 After retiring from the army, I went to work at Boeing. I worked on the Comanche helicopter program for awhile and got to actually fly the simulator. (While I learned to fly in high school, I am not a helo pilot.). The test pilot was actually impressed as I only crashed once and after that did pretty good.
I came away thinking helos are tools of the devil that seek to deprive unsuspecting aoldiers of their lives. But it sure was fun!

Posted by: Hawaiian Docs at June 27, 2026 05:53 PM (2WIwB)

19 Hello

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 27, 2026 05:53 PM (rklOU)

20 I had and played MS Flight Simulator, but that was 30 years ago.

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 27, 2026 05:54 PM (rklOU)

21 Try flying in a helicopter with no doors...and short armed, small brained one who booked the flight KNOWING, suddenly became hard of hearing.....
Result: I lived!

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 05:37 PM
***
That trip was awesome.

Posted by: TRex - rotary dino at June 27, 2026 05:55 PM (IQ6Gq)

22 I actually was in a B-52 flight simulator at Barksdale once upon a time. That was fun, even as the pilots were talking smack to us cadets the whole time. : )

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 27, 2026 05:55 PM (rklOU)

23 There was a fellow here in town that was a master at both car and airplane restoration. My business partner bought a Stearman biplane and they restored it. There is a mural of it on a building here in town

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 05:55 PM (afJtY)

24 Fun fact, the plane that is spied in the foreground by its Boeing emblazoned roof is the granddaddy of every 707, KC-135, and 720 built.

That is the fabled Dash 80 prototype.

Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 05:55 PM (2GVsD)

25 A few years ago went to Udvar Hazy museum

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 05:56 PM (Ia/+0)

26 I had a computer based sailboat racing simulator way back when. The graphics were pretty crude by today's standards but you still "sail" the boat, trim sails, steer the boat, etc.. And you could adjust the wind and sea conditions. It was fun and helped with tactics.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 27, 2026 05:57 PM (viF8m)

27 15 Many years ago I accumulated between 2500/3000 in recip helicopters.

Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 05:50 PM
***
Good evening Mr. E. Always good to see you here.

Posted by: TRex - autorotation dino at June 27, 2026 05:58 PM (IQ6Gq)

28 24 Fun fact, the plane that is spied in the foreground by its Boeing emblazoned roof is the granddaddy of every 707, KC-135, and 720 built.

That is the fabled Dash 80 prototype.
Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 05:55 PM (2GVsD)

Let's roll!!!
-- Tex Johnson

Posted by: Hawaiian Docs at June 27, 2026 06:00 PM (2WIwB)

29 I have said many times I never had a bad plane ride, from a couple small 1 engine flights around my immediate area, trips to Hawaii, England, Germany.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 06:02 PM (Ia/+0)

30 Anna Puma, you could be to air mysteries as Dick Francis was to horse racing.
I'll bet you could write one hell of a thriller

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:03 PM (afJtY)

31 Flight simulators hurt my head. I get this weird disconnect between my balance and what I am seeing that makes me loose where I am entirely. Sort of a motion sickness from no motion. I can't play or watch them.
I so want to though. I want to fly for real. To expensive.

Posted by: Reforger at June 27, 2026 06:04 PM (0dsIZ)

32 I recently built a PC and acquired the bits for a flight simulator because I think I want to get a PPL and I also think the flight sim will help.

Also I think I may have found a new calling in locational arbitrage. My Facebook marketplace search settings/memory had flight sim stuff. In the DC area I got a really good deal on my stuff. Now I am in Florida and I see the same stuff I got in DC way cheaper! I am thinking I need to load up the truck with yokes and throttle quadrants!

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:05 PM (cD7Zt)

33 And never been in a helicopter, no reason not to, just haven't.
Best ride was in a C-130

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 06:06 PM (Ia/+0)

34 Good evening Mr. E. Always good to see you here.
Posted by: TRex - autorotation dino at June 27, 2026 05:58 PM (IQ6Gq)
No doors unless freezing, then the doors went on and the muff heater (haha) opened.

Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 06:06 PM (LHPAg)

35 We took a six year old and a 2 year old to Udvar Hazy a few months ago.

Love the sense of wonder.

The two year old (who calls Sra blaster "Nina") kept saying "Nina look! Nina look!"

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:08 PM (cD7Zt)

36 29 I have said many times I never had a bad plane ride, from a couple small 1 engine flights around my immediate area, trips to Hawaii, England, Germany.

----------

I've had a lot of bad rides, the worst of which was in a Vietnam Airlines 737 making multiple unsuccessful attempts to land at Da Nang in solid fog before giving up and returning to HCM City. Two hours later we re-boarded to try again.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at June 27, 2026 06:09 PM (XjKiU)

37 No doors is fine, until you seriously bank! They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger....and Dino has no hearing loss, he just "loses" it when it becomes convenient....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:09 PM (IQ6Gq)

38 Tex Johnson was part of Bell Aircraft's unofficial race team. Flew the modified yellow and black P-39Q Cobra II which won the Thompson Trophy Race in 1946.

Cobra I in striking red and black was the other part of the race team until it was involved in a fatal crash.

Cobra II would race for several more years before crashing. Unlike Cobra I it would be saved, even fixed up for static display. That is until the early 1960s when it was brought back to flight status and even more radically modified. On its first test flight on Aug 10, 1968 it crashed, the pilot Michael Carrol was killed after bailing out. Thus ended the life of Cobra II.

Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 06:11 PM (2GVsD)

39 Mr E, how is Mrs E doing?

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:12 PM (IQ6Gq)

40 36 29 I have said many times I never had a bad plane ride, from a couple small 1 engine flights around my immediate area, trips to Hawaii, England, Germany.

----------

I've had a lot of bad rides, the worst of which was in a Vietnam Airlines 737 making multiple unsuccessful attempts to land at Da Nang in solid fog before giving up and returning to HCM City. Two hours later we re-boarded to try again.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at June 27, 2026 06:09 PM (XjKiU)

Worst ride I had was a flight out of BGR that was en route to Shannon when one hour in - I could smell electrical insulation burning - an IFE was declared and we had to go to NL.

Posted by: Cow Demon at June 27, 2026 06:12 PM (gfO9L)

41 Other hobby, went to scrap yard again, still not all cleaned out with a few more trips to go.
And was cleaning up solder for my medallion, I don't have enough I think so pondering melting som minatures not being used.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 06:12 PM (Ia/+0)

42 I have a friend who used to fly for 160 SOAR. He was in Iraq over a firefight while in 101st. A trench with bad guys and good guys on either side of the trench. His copilot says what do and he says I have access to techniques he told the door gunner to strap in tightly.

Rolled it 90 degrees and the gunner pointed straight down out of the open door as he flew the length of the trench.

It worked.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:13 PM (cD7Zt)

43 Ben Had

You mean the missing He 219 wreckage? *

It simply vanished from the salvage yard and no one is talking.

*It was thanks to this plane that the NASM could duplicate the wiring and stag antlers for the FuG 220 radar.

Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 06:13 PM (2GVsD)

44 I have a friend who used to fly for 160 SOAR. He was in Iraq over a firefight while in 101st. A trench with bad guys and good guys on either side of the trench. His copilot says what do and he says I have access to techniques he told the door gunner to strap in tightly.
Rolled it 90 degrees and the gunner pointed straight down out of the open door as he flew the length of the trench.
It worked.
Posted by: blaster
********
I can appreciate that, especially from afar....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:15 PM (IQ6Gq)

45 Anna Puma, ok, I'm hooked

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:19 PM (afJtY)

46 BIL has built 6 STOL planes, only the 1st 2 were from kits, then he bought the tools and now makes the pieces from plans. He is now building a WW1 replica Biplane.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 27, 2026 06:21 PM (B0dAE)

47 42 I have a friend who used to fly for 160 SOAR. He was in Iraq over a firefight while in 101st. A trench with bad guys and good guys on either side of the trench. His copilot says what do and he says I have access to techniques he told the door gunner to strap in tightly.

Rolled it 90 degrees and the gunner pointed straight down out of the open door as he flew the length of the trench.

It worked.
Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:13 PM (cD7Zt)
The best of the best.

Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 06:21 PM (LHPAg)

48 The rain has stopped, and I need to feed the furry thugs. Linda and I are venturing out to the mall on this side of the river; she wants to look for something, but swears she won't be long. Yeah, I've heard that one before, I been married twice. . . .

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at June 27, 2026 06:22 PM (wzUl9)

49 Helicopters are fun! As long as they keep the eggbeater going.

Guard friend scored me a flight on a UH-1H for a training mission. Medivac Huey. And the pilots really wanted to show the Air Frace puke, me, what real flying was all about.

So we zip up to Camp McCain for some NOE amidst all the pine trees. Troop compartment doors open and they are banking the thing at like 45 degree angles when nice. And all that was keeping me in the door gunner position was a government contract seatbelt.

How low were we when doing all this? I had to lean out and look through the rotor just to see the tops of the pine trees as they whizzed by.

Good news is, it was during daylight and I did not toss any cookies.

Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 06:23 PM (2GVsD)

50 But back to flight simulator stuff. If you watch some YouTube's there are people who spend a LOT of money building home cockpits. A LOT.

I have refrained from going overboard. So far. I use a 50inch 4k tv for a monitor and it's quite realistic.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:24 PM (cD7Zt)

51 Hi, my name is Crash and I will be your flight instructor

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:28 PM (afJtY)

52 England 2-0 over Panama.

Posted by: gKWVE at June 27, 2026 06:28 PM (XWPh2)

53 My favorite computer games , when I had one, were flying games

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 06:28 PM (Ia/+0)

54 Ben Had

The He 219 is not the only war relic which has vanished.

The Panther tank that was found in that old German guy's basement with a Flak 88 and torpedo. It was sold off and no one knows where it went. Though a couple of photos have surfaced that might be the Panther now residing in a certain museum near Seattle Washington.

See people, it's not only paintings that can vanish.

Posted by: Anna Puma at June 27, 2026 06:28 PM (2GVsD)

55 Thanks for a simulating Hobby Thread, T Rex!

Wow. I remember when Air France was a big deal in the commercial aircraft industry. The Concorde was the ult in air travel back in the day, until it wasn't. Nice to see one at the Air and Space Museum.

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at June 27, 2026 06:30 PM (D/6p1)

56 Big storm here in Florida. Internet is out. But phone still up.

@The Grateful ask the Dino what I found for you guys in Ocala. Will pick it up if you want.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:30 PM (/JY7j)

57 The 160 SOAR periodically buzzes our place.

Usually with a friggin regiment of helicopters. At nape of the earth. Blacked out. You just hear them, when they're like 100 yards away.

Wild.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 27, 2026 06:31 PM (jehhT)

58 That Lufthansa flight simulator was information overload if you weren't familiar with a cockpit.

I don't know if you could get a stewardess in there to bring it in for a landing.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:32 PM (04gcy)

59 @The Grateful ask the Dino what I found for you guys in Ocala. Will pick it up if you want.
Posted by: blaster
********
I'm sitting here debating whether to ask him......you have a history, you know.....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:32 PM (IQ6Gq)

60 My dad was an aeronautical engineer who worked for the FAA reviewing airworthiness and crashes. He got called in on ‘hush hush’ overtime the weekend JFK Jr. crashed his plane.

He brought an old instruments-only table top flight simulator home one weekend and we got to try it out. It was about the size of an old large tube TV, and was basically the joystick and instrument panel from an airplane (altimeter, horizon, etc.). It could be programmed to simulate weather, providing pushback on the yolk. Nine-year-old me successfully crashed the plane, if I’m remembering right.

Thanks for reminding me of that fond memory.

Posted by: KSB at June 27, 2026 06:32 PM (ao2T5)

61 My buddy was flying for 160 back in the day when "black helicopters " were all the rage in conspiracy circles. He had a bumper sticker that said my other ride is a black helicopter.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:33 PM (/JY7j)

62 have a friend who used to fly for 160 SOAR. He was in Iraq over a firefight while in 101st. A trench with bad guys and good guys on either side of the trench. His copilot says what do and he says I have access to techniques he told the door gunner to strap in tightly.

Rolled it 90 degrees and the gunner pointed straight down out of the open door as he flew the length of the trench.

It worked.
Posted by: blaster

Sweet.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at June 27, 2026 06:35 PM (H/+a9)

63 I'm sitting here debating whether to ask him......you have a history, you know.....
Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:32 PM (IQ6Gq)

A history of providing consistently useful information. That's what you mean, right?

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:35 PM (/JY7j)

64 I would like to experience a helicopter simulator. Helos are the only aircraft that tries to kill you before you leave the ground. I find them utterly fascinating!

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at June 27, 2026 06:37 PM (D/6p1)

65 I was really close to having my wedding reception at the Udvar-Hazy center. They'll set up your shindig under the wing of the Blackbird.

Decided to go elsewhere but it was really tempting!

Posted by: ballistic at June 27, 2026 06:37 PM (oqH4h)

66 My dad had a pilot's license and I can remember him taking us on a couple of flights. I remember the family dog always going along.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:37 PM (afJtY)

67 Actually, that air traffic control simulator sounds like weightlifting for your "cool under pressure" muscles. I might have to give it a shot when I have settled a few ongoing issues, and I can handle adding optional stress.

Posted by: SciVo at June 27, 2026 06:38 PM (Sy6m/)

68 My father worked for Lockheed after he retired from the service and worked on Cobra helicopters at Chenault AB in Lake Charles, LA during the Vietnam War. I had a lot of fun experiences as a kid at that AB that I wish I had been older to appreciate it more.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:38 PM (04gcy)

69 Blaster,
A big, fat, solid No on what you were going to pick up, but thank you for thinking of him...

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:40 PM (IQ6Gq)

70 What's cool in MSFS is I can take off from the local airport near blaster acres and fly over it.

My neighbor has a 3000ft grass strip across the street. I can land there!

Well I could if I could land.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:40 PM (/JY7j)

71 The closest I have been to flying in a long time is with a kite.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:41 PM (afJtY)

72 55 Thanks for a simulating Hobby Thread, T Rex!

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at June 27, 2026 06:30 PM
***
He he! You're welcome.

Fwiw, supersonic commercial flights may return. The company is called Boom Supersonic and is actively working on it.

Posted by: TRex - mach one dino at June 27, 2026 06:41 PM (IQ6Gq)

73 My neighbor has a 3000ft grass strip across the street. I can land there!
Well I could if I could land.
Posted by: blaster
*******
Wait, you have a plane?

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:43 PM (IQ6Gq)

74 I have another friend (both of these friends were roommates at school) who used to work rehabbing Cobras for foreign military sales. He had a batch he was doing for Jordan. One of them the pilot seat was red velvet with real gold stitching....

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:43 PM (/JY7j)

75 You can see my only aviation painting I did in nic.

It's from the ending credits of the sitcom Wings.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:43 PM (04gcy)

76 Fwiw, supersonic commercial flights may return. The company is called Boom Supersonic and is actively working on it.
Posted by: TRex - mach one dino at June 27, 2026 06:41 PM (IQ6Gq)
Where the instructor is named Crash.

Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 06:44 PM (LHPAg)

77 "And being an Apple IIe in the mid-1980s, the graphics were crude at best.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel"

When the Macintosh first came out, there was the Space Shuttle Simulator. Hi-res black and white graphics on a 9" screen. It was a cute little thing with, at the time, cool graphics.

The shuttle was easy to take off, not so easy to land.

Posted by: fd at June 27, 2026 06:44 PM (MWfyi)

78 Wait, you have a plane?
Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 06:43 PM (IQ6Gq)

Not yet. I have a simulator! (It's what the post is about. I know I know no one reads the content)

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:44 PM (/JY7j)

79 polynikes that is amazing.

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 06:45 PM (Ia/+0)

80 68 I had a lot of fun experiences as a kid at that AB that I wish I had been older to appreciate it more.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:38 PM
***
Thanks for sharing the background. The dichotomy of age - when you're younger, you don't know. When you're older, you realize but time has passed.

Posted by: TRex - mach two dino at June 27, 2026 06:45 PM (IQ6Gq)

81 >>You can see my only aviation painting I did in nic.

>>It's from the ending credits of the sitcom Wings.

Here's a fun fact. On summer weekends the little airport on Nantucket approaches traffic levels of midsized US airport. Private jets out the wazoo.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 27, 2026 06:46 PM (viF8m)

82 Youth is wasted on the young

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:47 PM (afJtY)

83 75 You can see my only aviation painting I did in nic.

It's from the ending credits of the sitcom Wings.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:43 PM
***
Nice! You're quasi famous adjacent!

Posted by: TRex - mach three dino at June 27, 2026 06:49 PM (IQ6Gq)

84 >>Youth is wasted on the young

I don't know. I had a lot of fun.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 27, 2026 06:49 PM (viF8m)

85 I had to work a Workers Compensation fatality claim for IBM back in the late 80's. Unfortunately the head mechanic for the IBM air fleet ( based in the Poughkeepsie area) decided to take his single engine plane into work that morning and crashed into a communications tower.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:49 PM (04gcy)

86 82 Youth is wasted on the young
Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 06:47 PM (afJtY
I sure wasted a ton of it.

Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 06:50 PM (LHPAg)

87 #1 son has a flight simulator rig with 3D goggles. It will make you dizzy after a few minutes.

Posted by: fd at June 27, 2026 06:50 PM (MWfyi)

88 It's getting a bit hazy given the number of years now, but the first flight sim I ever touched was a demo model on a Sun workstation back in the late '80s. After that, it was Microsoft, starting with the 98 version, followed by 2004, X and 2020.

I use it to complement my flying skills and to fly aircraft I'd never actually get my hands on.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 06:51 PM (/HDaX)

89 The shuttle was easy to take off, not so easy to land.
Posted by: fd at June 27, 2026 06:44 PM (MWfyi)

A flying brick.

I love Space Cowboys. I don't care what anyone says😀

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 06:52 PM (04gcy)

90 We have a small, grass runway airport here. There are a couple houses on the grounds with hangers for small planes, and the airport has several shelters for others. One guy has a plane he does aerobatics in around the area.

Free periodic air shows.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at June 27, 2026 06:52 PM (jehhT)

91 I took the plunge last week and purchased a coffee roaster. It's not a commercial set-up. This one had glowing reviews, but only does a little over 4 oz of beans at a time....standard bag you buy at the store is 12 oz...so 1/3 the amount. Not a problem...it's not like it's labor intensive to roast coffee.

My take on it so far is that you play around with temps and time, and your selected "green" beans until you get it just the way you want.

I am looking forward to the experimentation.

Posted by: Orson at June 27, 2026 06:53 PM (dIske)

92 My father was an Army Aviator and so was my stepfather.

I had the opportunity to fly on Huey Blackhawk and Chinook in the Army. The heaters in the Hook are amazing just pull a little bleed air off the turbine and heats up the whole cargo area real quick.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:53 PM (/JY7j)

93
I am looking forward to the experimentation.
Posted by: Orson

Cool, I worked with a guy that used a popcorn air fryer. He made good coffee.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 27, 2026 06:57 PM (B0dAE)

94 >>We have a small, grass runway airport here. There are a couple houses on the grounds with hangers for small planes, and the airport has several shelters for others. One guy has a plane he does aerobatics in around the area.

My folks had a condo in FL, west of West Palm Beach. It was in one of those condo villages with a golf course that are all over FL. Right near their development was a community built with a landing strip and almost every house had a plane garage. That was pretty cool.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 27, 2026 06:57 PM (viF8m)

95 My folks had a condo in FL, west of West Palm Beach. It was in one of those condo villages with a golf course that are all over FL. Right near their development was a community built with a landing strip and almost every house had a plane garage. That was pretty cool.
Posted by: JackStraw at June 27, 2026 06:57 PM (viF8m)

Neighbor nearing 80 and has no kids. His family is vying for the property. A nephew wants to turn it into just that - a fly in community.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 06:59 PM (/JY7j)

96 Doesn't it seem like AI Autonomous piloted cargo planes would be less dangerous than Autonomous cargo hauling Semi trucks.

I'm still a little uneasy of the recent report of a non test Autonomous cargo delivery from Houston to Dallas for a paying customer.

It's probably safer than a human driver ( these days) but it's still freaky.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 07:00 PM (04gcy)

97 93
I am looking forward to the experimentation.
Posted by: Orson
***
We've never done a coffee theme. I'm not a coffee drinker. Would that be interesting for the Horde?

Posted by: TRex - mach loop dino at June 27, 2026 07:00 PM (IQ6Gq)

98 I wish DBCooper would drop in with tales of fire fighting by air.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 07:02 PM (afJtY)

99 This stuff is bringing back fond memories before I had to hang up my license for medical reasons.

I spent a year out in Manhattan, KS and my aircraft mechanic (Gordon Smith)'s father owned the 1100' grass strip, (Pvt) Smith just a hop and skip SW of Wabaunsee.

Fun to fly in and out of since there was a steep hill on the south end. So, land to the south and depart to the north.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:03 PM (/HDaX)

100 My only comment on a coffee thread is that Keurig has ruined coffee. I say that as a one cup a day drinker. I've not enjoyed a good cup of coffee in a decade. I drink one in the morning with my breakfast like taking medicine.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 07:04 PM (04gcy)

101 It's probably safer than a human driver ( these days) but it's still freaky.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 07:00 PM
***
Agreed - but I am surprised at the volume of self-driving miles Waymo and Tesla are logging without issues.

Posted by: TRex - dino driver at June 27, 2026 07:04 PM (IQ6Gq)

102 Good grief, I am getting old. 1100' is the field elevation, 2800' is the field length.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:05 PM (/HDaX)

103 We've never done a coffee theme. I'm not a coffee drinker. Would that be interesting for the Horde?
Posted by: TRex - mach loop dino at June 27, 2026 07:00 PM (IQ6Gq)

He is not of The Body.

I would say coffee is not a hobby. Coffee is life.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 07:05 PM (/JY7j)

104 >>I wish DBCooper would drop in with tales of fire fighting by air.

Did you see any of the footage of the fire at the warehouse in LA last week? I guess a combination of things made it dangerous for firefighters to enter the building while it was burning so they brought in helicopters they use to fight wildfires and dropped load after load of water on the building. Never seen that before.

Posted by: JackStraw at June 27, 2026 07:06 PM (viF8m)

105 Autonomous cargo delivery from Houston to Dallas for a paying customer.

It's probably safer than a human driver ( these days) but it's still freaky.
Posted by: polynikes

autonomous works until anything out of the ordinary occurs.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 27, 2026 07:06 PM (B0dAE)

106 Elevation of the grass strip across the way is 9 feet.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 07:06 PM (/JY7j)

107 Good grief, I am getting old. 1100' is the field elevation, 2800' is the field length.
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:05 PM (/HDaX)

I'm not getting in a plane with you! 😃

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 07:07 PM (04gcy)

108 60
Thanks for reminding me of that fond memory.

Posted by: KSB at June 27, 2026 06:32 PM
***
Great post. Thank YOU!

Posted by: TRex - simulated dino at June 27, 2026 07:07 PM (IQ6Gq)

109 Fwiw, supersonic commercial flights may return. The company is called Boom Supersonic and is actively working on it.
Posted by: TRex - mach one dino at June 27, 2026 06:41 PM (IQ6Gq)
Where the instructor is named Crash.
Posted by: Eromero at June 27, 2026 06:44 PM (LHPAg)

Is the chief engineer named Bam Bam? Butterfingers?

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at June 27, 2026 07:08 PM (qx7Zg)

110 Coffee is life.
Posted by: blaster

Drip coffee, medium roast.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 27, 2026 07:09 PM (B0dAE)

111 I'm not getting in a plane with you! 😃
Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 07:07 PM (04gcy)

It's only the sim these days. I sold the 182 off back in 2000. >8^>

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:09 PM (/HDaX)

112 Elevation of the grass strip across the way is 9 feet.

Take off only at low tide?

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:10 PM (/HDaX)

113 JackStraw, I did not but about a week ago DBCooper said he was busy fighting fires.

Posted by: Ben Had at June 27, 2026 07:10 PM (afJtY)

114 I worked with a guy that loved to fly. He would fly his neighbors' Air Coupe. Guess his neighbor sold the plane, so my friend set out to build his own plane. The engine he chose was a Corvair engine. On his test flight he crashed it. Didn't kill himself, but his wife put an end to plane building. I think it was mostly shoddy workmanship on his part for the failure.

Posted by: Ronster at June 27, 2026 07:11 PM (Wr7co)

115 Thanks Trex.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 27, 2026 07:11 PM (B0dAE)

116
We have a number of residential airparks near us. Airstrip flanked by houses, each with a hanger. Only seen one takeoff, though.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at June 27, 2026 07:11 PM (O0L8i)

117 Soon we will have commercial suborbital air flights and international flights will take about two hours at most. At least that's the plan.

Posted by: polynikes at June 27, 2026 07:12 PM (04gcy)

118 > The company is called Boom Supersonic and is actively working on it.
Posted by: TRex - mach one dino at June 27, 2026 06:41 PM (IQ6Gq)

They flew a human-piloted test article at > Mach 1 not too long ago.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at June 27, 2026 07:13 PM (IG3/x)

119 We've never done a coffee theme. I'm not a coffee drinker. Would that be interesting for the Horde?
Posted by: TRex - mach loop dino at June 27, 2026 07:00 PM (IQ6Gq)

_______________

I'll come clean. I'm an coffee addict, but that wasn't my only motivation for trying to do the whole process myself....(Roasting to Drinking). I don't get any small bit of satisfaction sticking it to Starbucks, and all the other overpriced, over-roasted brands. Nope, I get a whole LOT of satisfaction from that.

The catalyst was that there are four coffee importers in my area who sell unroasted beans. Most are your usual Colombian, Indonesian, etc. So you can make your own blends, and at a nice low cost. I can't speak for the rest of the horde, but without coffee I'd be a serial killer.

Posted by: Orson at June 27, 2026 07:14 PM (dIske)

120 My father was an Army Aviator and so was my stepfather.

I had the opportunity to fly on Huey Blackhawk and Chinook in the Army. The heaters in the Hook are amazing just pull a little bleed air off the turbine and heats up the whole cargo area real quick.
Posted by: blaster
------

FWIW, the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation offers free rides at various air shows. Their site is well worthy of a peek: https://armyav.org/

We here are particularly indebted to them for their contribution post-Helene. They had two Huey's in the area immediately, delivering critically needed food, water and supplies to inaccessible areas.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2026 07:15 PM (XeU6L)

121 I worked with a guy that loved to fly. He would fly his neighbors' Air Coupe

Ercoupe? That's what I want.

Posted by: blaster at June 27, 2026 07:16 PM (/JY7j)

122
Best:
Grandma's course ground stovetop pot with eggshells in it for leveling, served in equal portion with whole milk served on the front porch of the log cabin with a friendly "You're a big boy now!"

Worst:
Folger's crystals in an aluminum 1 gal percolator, without the percolator mechanism. Blended with yesterday's left overs, heated to temp with water from the faucet next to the trash can in the woman's bathroom.
Factory coffee Saturday morning style.

Posted by: Auspex at June 27, 2026 07:16 PM (Y8DZL)

123 I can't speak for the rest of the horde, but without coffee I'd be a serial killer.
Posted by: Orson at June 27, 2026 07:14 PM (dIske)

You'll appreciate this meme if you haven't seen it already:

https://tinyurl.com/coffeekill

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:16 PM (/HDaX)

124 > Agreed - but I am surprised at the volume of self-driving miles Waymo and Tesla are logging without issues.
Posted by: TRex - dino driver at June 27, 2026 07:04 PM (IQ6Gq)

Tesla, at least, has been collecting ALL the video from their cars, whether auto pilot or human pilot, for many years. Current Teslas have 9 cameras, all recording all the time (this also confirms that the idiots who thought it was cool to key Teslas because they didn't like Musk were, in fact, idiots).

That's a lot of data to crunch. I would guess that by this point it is extremely rare to encounter a driving scenario that their AI hasn't seen before, probably dozens/hundreds/thousands of times.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at June 27, 2026 07:19 PM (IG3/x)

125 Coffee for some can be a hobby, I its more a addiction, though summer seems to be less of one

Posted by: Skip at June 27, 2026 07:19 PM (Ia/+0)

126 I can't speak for the rest of the horde, but without coffee I'd be a serial killer.
Posted by: Orson

I wanted to post the chem formula for coffee, I found this: There are more than 1,000 chemical compounds in coffee.

"It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion." - The Programmer's Mantra (parodied from the Mentat Mantra)

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at June 27, 2026 07:19 PM (B0dAE)

127 https://tinyurl.com/coffeekill
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at June 27, 2026 07:16 PM (/HDaX)

_____________________________

I grade this as "TRUE"

Posted by: Orson at June 27, 2026 07:22 PM (dIske)

128 "Thank you for flying with AoS Airlines. We know you have a lot of interweb options and we appreciate you spending your time here. Once the Hobby Thread comes to a halt, you are welcome to stay aboard for a while. Please do not leave your personal belongings when you exit. As a valued passenger, your patronage earns you an invite to Club ONT later. We also look forward to serving you on a future Hobby Thread."

Posted by: TRex - frequent flier dino at June 27, 2026 07:24 PM (IQ6Gq)

129 We've never done a coffee theme. I'm not a coffee drinker. Would that be interesting for the Horde?
Posted by: TRex - mach loop dino at June 27, 2026 07:00 PM (IQ6Gq)

I will send you some insane links

Posted by: Kindltot at June 27, 2026 07:24 PM (rbvCR)

130 I can't speak for the rest of the horde, but without coffee I'd be a serial killer.
Posted by: Orson
--------

For most others, it is merely a flavorful hot beverage. For me, it is life support.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at June 27, 2026 07:26 PM (XeU6L)

131 Soon we will have commercial suborbital air flights and international flights will take about two hours at most. At least that's the plan.
Posted by: polynikes
**********
I believe I can live with that plan....especially to the Asia Pacific region!

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at June 27, 2026 07:26 PM (IQ6Gq)

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