Too old my Ass

[dave j]

i dont get to fly / crash as much as i would like to plus there are no clubs close to me that i could join either i suppose it helps if you have others to fly with that can help you out too

Dave

[AcidDrink]

Nothing to do with age IMO. Remember these youngsters have alot of time on their hands and spend hours on the sim as they do when they game it on ps3/xbox.

That always wonders me when people say that gaming helps with flying.
I don't know, I play a lot of different games (PC and consoles), I also make games for my living (not much playing at work tho ), but I can't really find a connection between games and flying. Simulator doesn't feel like a game at all, real flying even less so. I don't pinch my ps3 or xbox controller like I do with rc tx, maybe I should try and improve my kill to death ratios .

[Cagey]

This is person specific like in the left and right turn thread. Everyones brains and reactions are not the same, and age will play a significant part the older you get, like it or not you'll have less grey cells to throw at whatever your doing. Concentration became a 100% more apparent to me when I found I was more easily distracted from the task in hand. I ain't a natural by any way whatsoever and do find progress to be painfully slow and progressively more expensive, that won't stop me trying, just more conscious of the fact that I'm not as quick to learn new tricks anymore. When it stops being fun and the zimmer frame gets too heavy to get out of the boot then you are too old.

[cjcj1949]

Not really. Then you need a carer. That physics bod Hawking has to speak like a Dalek, but he's still doing it. Probably need a nurse to hold your joysticks eventually. That's one of the benefits of aging. The nurses get younger and do more and more for you. Also, when coming round after an op, you can say anything you like, as they know your powers of inhibition have been disabled. They don't know how long this lasts. Although I did go out with a nurse when I was younger and the things they did to troublesome patients were a bit frightening.

There was an episode of Red dwarf that featured a game called Better than Life. Basically they connect straight into your brain and feed this into the sim. You can do anything you want as often as you want. There's a religous version too, that makes you feel guilty as well.

Everything we see and do is just an illusion generated by our brain. Pain is just an illusion, there is no such thing as real pain. If you are strong enough you can ignore it.

You also get given more and more drugs as you get older. I had a great benzo thing the last time and the time before I felt better after the op than before because of all the morphine. You do need grandchildren though as in South Park when it all gets too much, or perhaps we'll all end up being plugged into Phoenix.

[moyesboy]

I've just turned 49 (I know I know nobody believes me, it cos I have a picture in the attic )
I think I'm still progressing but it is hard to move on to new stuff as its such fun doing the stuff I know faster and lower....

For example today I worked my way down to a personal best low inverted hover of minus half an inch!
But I was in that zone of not having crashed for 6months...so I am still smiling

The key it to be able to balance the worry about crashing with the motivation to progress. As people get older they generally become more risk averse so it canbe more of an effort to progress for us old geezers

I recommend getting a complete tailboom assembly and a spare set of laces and a load of shafts. You are less likely to crash if you have all the spares ready. A complete spare Heli is not the same thing psychologically...I tried that!

[waveydavey]

I'd like to put a bit of a spin on the young pilot not having to repair their own machine. Maybe they just dont crash, no repairs needed. Connor winner at Grass Roots 2011 hasn't had a meeting with mother Earth since he started flying, not even close. His 450 span itself into the floor down to his Dad having the gyro reversed (put me right on that one Graham if I'm wrong).

[Kwickkwack]

As a paid up member of the over 50s club I believe my limitation in my progress is two fold
1. I simply don't fly enough
2. I don't like the sim, and get bored too easily at which point I mess around which I am sure is counterproductive
But neither things bother me, I set no goals to achieve and enjoy many aspects of the hobby not just the flying. I admire people like Tim who practice both on the sim and fly a lot and it is obvious this is the reason they can progress regardless of age.
I just wish I had started years ago, not because I would be that much better, but I have missed years of being involved in this hobby, it's great.

[Vanquish]

I see no real reason why age should be a factor in progressing your flying. IMO its more about your determination to progress and push your flying to the next level that really makes the difference. I'd agree that some people may have to work harder to improve their flying than others but it all comes down to sim/stick time. Not everyone is keen on the sim but IMO it is an essential tool if you want to progress quickly. And as Tim says, if you have a particular move your trying to master on the sim its much more rewarding than throwing the heli about until you crash and not learning much.

Tim, I remember in January last year you said you goal for 2011 was to get to grips with piro moves, at which point your speciality was more towards big air flying. The last few times i've seen you fly in the latter part of 2011 you were piro flipping no problem. I will be expecting to see reverse pirouetting wall of death figure of eights by the end of 2012

Personally for me its a lack of actual stick time at the field that holds back my flying rather than sim time, I wouldn't like to know the number of hours i've spent on the sim but im sure it would be a ridiculous number. Hopefully I can get my ass in gear and improve my lack of stick time in 2012. When the weather improves of course

If you really think age is an excuse, i know of a certain gentleman in his mid 70's up at Stainburn heli club who would put a lot of the youngsters on here to shame with his flying!

[AcidDrink]

I'd like to put a bit of a spin on the young pilot not having to repair their own machine. Maybe they just dont crash, no repairs needed. Connor winner at Grass Roots 2011 hasn't had a meeting with mother Earth since he started flying, not even close.

But crashing is part of the hobby, is it not?

[Darwil]

But crashing is part of the hobby, is it not?

If you resign yourself to that you could easily end up like me - only confident enough to fly the indoor stuff; wish I'd have not been so analytical about what I was doing - thing may have turned out differently.

[waveydavey]

But crashing is part of the hobby, is it not?

Oh, it's certainly part of my progress in the hobby

[Tim Procter]

If you really think age is an excuse, i know of a certain gentleman in his mid 70's up at Stainburn heli club who would put a lot of the youngsters on here to shame with his flying!

That's very true Sam, Carl came to Stainburn just over two years ago where he spent every flight tail in hovering with his Raptor 50.

He has passed both his "A" and "B" heli test since.

He is doing more moves than most I'll bet due to his determination and time spent at the field pushing himself with the help from us.

This craft is about stick time and the "Want" to do it, nothing to do with the age barrier.

[mattie-lodge]

It's a great testament to the hobby that it can bring all ages of people together.

Since starting to fly I've never looked back and have made some life long friends :-)

@Tim:- Too old.....My ass :-)

[Wheels]

good idea for a thread......enjoy the journey what ever age....

[chris jones2.4]

I think that it is the effort that you put in , i find spending lots of time on the sim and giving yourself one thing to practise at a time makes a big difference.

as the saying goes, practise makes perfect, no-one needs super fast reactions!