Richard wrote:

I am not a pilot but have the greatest respect for those you are.

Most here wish to share their pleasure with non-pilots and I thank you for
your posts. But some wish to maintain an elitist group. Perhaps that elitist
behaviour reduces the support you may have from non-pilot members of the
community when facing the current FAA proposals.

The pilots I have met in New Zealand are respectful and always willing to
answer even stupid questions.

I was introduced to flight sim in 1998 by an airline pilot who had an
elaborate setup that he said improved his skills. I lost interest after a
year or so but he maintains an expensive, powerful system. Flight Sim is not
an evil threat to real aviation and may promote an empathy for real aviation
issues.

I am often interested in the answers to the questions of Mxsmaniac but the
elitists here would rather deride. There are probably other non-fliers
lurking who are too scared to ask for fear of getting the Mxsmaniac
treatment. Yes, I know he has offended some.

Most of the pilots here don't deride Mx because
he isn't, they deride him because he behaves like
a horse's ass. Pilot after pilot has offered him
sensible advice and he has turned it around into
a continual debate about things he knows nothing
or little about. He argues with the logic of a
6 year old and has about as much sense.

There's an art to asking questions. I've asked
several over at pprune, a forum for professional
airline pilots, and I've always got respectful
and informative answers. When Mx learns to ask
and followup the the same way, perhaps the people
here would be willing to answer his questions
seriously.

Another thing that grates on real pilots is that
Mx gives advise regarding flying real planes. He
has no experience, training or qualifications to
do that. It's the opinion of some of the pilots
here that this is a dangerous practice.