I'm retiring..

[warchild]

I owe some people here the courtesy of this post, but yes, i'm retiring. Its come to my attention that the quality of work i'm doing is no longer up to the standards that it was even a few months ago.. I dont know what happened, but something changed and i simply can no longer do flight modeling.. For those of you i made promises too, I'm truly sorry. i wont be able to do them. I simply will not distribute bad work.. As of this moment, the P-61 is my only and final project.. Hope you all enjoy it when its done.
Again, my apologies to all..
For the others, I'll still be around here.. You cant get rid of me that easily, so yeah, you'll see me hanging around the forums..
Always..
Pam

[Hurricane91]

I wish you all the best in whatever path(s) you chose Pam. I am glad you are staying around, you add a lot to this community. Take care.

John

[Felixthreeone]

Pam, please tell me you are kidding?? I refuse to believe that one of the best FDE creators in FS today is retiring. Doesn't make sense. And what of your payware dealings? Will you be continuing them?

[warchild]

No felix, I'm not kidding.. The past several years have been incredible and ive enjoyed every single moment of them. This is an awesome community with some awesome people in it, but i decided a long time ago that when i couldnt do good work any more, when i couldnt give you my very best, it was time to step aside.. That time has come.. No, I wont be doing any more payware either.. The P-61 will be my last flight model..
Look at the bright side.. I'll finally be able to sit back and actually spend time flying these things and having fun like a normal fs junky :) :) ...
Pam

[Matt Wynn]

sad news 'big sis' hope you enjoy your developing retirement... be warned these buggers coax you out... i tried retiring from painting once... and was coaxed back...

i'll speak to you in future too Pam, probably on Minecraft... i've been AWOL from that for a while, be good to see how your projects in that are developing...

again... a sad day, wish you the best in your future endeavors! :ernae:

[Lionheart]

This is bad news Pam! I hope it isnt forever. Your work on the Skylark was brilliant!

You are one talented person in this field, and in a section that is the most difficult, the section I call 'pick up sticks'... Move one setting, and 3 or 4 other settings change. Making airfiles do the right thing is the hardest part of FS.....

[BillgjCook]

Supper sad to see your not doing flight models anymore, but as you said you can now enjoy flying the world of flight sim. Best of wishes.

Bill

[Cag40Navy]

Well Pam, i knew you talked about this day. Good luck Pam, knowing you, you will be around. :mixedsmi:

[skyblazer3]

Bon Voyage :salute:


Does anyone have a list of the aircraft Pam has made FDEs for? I think that would be interesting to see.

[Paul K]

Pam, thanks for your work on the Iris Vulcan. I lived on a number of RAF V-Bomber bases as a boy, and its a great pleasure to now have a Vulcan 'of my own'. Thanks again.

[warchild]

The way i see is that, the A-7s were mywork, so was the A-10, the pasped, the BD-5, Most of the p-36, The Iris F-14 and Vulcan and a few others, and I pioneered the flight physics behond the SU-37 and showed the world it could be done realistically. The result of that last being a fantastic little SU-27 and Now Davids F-22. I have a lot of pride in my works. they're loved by a lot of people.. I didnt want to retire under these conditions, but i knew it was inevitable.. A glass only holds so much water and sooner or later it runs out.. I had a very tall glass, and its been a true honor..
Always
Pam

[paulb]

Hi Pam

Just a note to wish you all the best in your 'retirement'.

Cheers

Paul

[Timbohobo]

I love the work you did for the Goose

Much respect :salute:

[roger-wilco-66]

Sad news for the community, but a very personal descison that demands respect. I wish you all the best, Pam, and thank you for your great contributions to the FS community!

:ernae:
Cheers,
Mark

[dvj]

The way i see is that, the A-7s were mywork, so was the A-10, the pasped, the BD-5, Most of the p-36, The Iris F-14 and Vulcan and a few others, and I pioneered the flight physics behond the SU-37 and showed the world it could be done realistically. The result of that last being a fantastic little SU-27 and Now Davids F-22. I have a lot of pride in my works. they're loved by a lot of people.. I didnt want to retire under these conditions, but i knew it was inevitable.. A glass only holds so much water and sooner or later it runs out.. I had a very tall glass, and its been a true honor..
Always
Pam

I don't know you at all, but I own most of those aircraft and they are a regular part of my sim experienes. Best wishes on the next adventure.

[teeboy]

Now that is very sad news indeed. The A-7 and A-10 are still among my favourite jets to fly in FSX - lovely behaviour. Something about them just feels 'right' , fast but heavy, responsive but not twitchy in a 'paperlight' sort of feel.

I had a look at airfiles in the SDK and a few threads on dev forums - they look like scary, scary things to play with. Enormous respect for the work you have done, Pam.

Wish you well - but I'm hoping you change your mind :salute:

[Roger]

Sorry to hear this Pam. Just take a break for a while and see how it all looks in a month or two. Hope you're staying as staff...we need you!

[Dag]

What sad news Warchild. I just love what you did to the A-7 and A-10. They are incredible FMs. Anyway, whatever you do, have fun :-)

Thanks for your efforts

[stansdds]

I'm sorry to hear of this, but I do understand. I feel the same way about my profession, I love it dearly, but when I either stop loving it or my skills deteriorate, it's time to retire. I wish you well and hope that you enjoy flying instead of just programming the flight model. Best of luck in everything.

[JayKae]

Oh man, there goes the Gooselady :( Kudos on you though Pam for calling it quits at the high of your career rather than the low :)

Come and fly with the OZx boys one night lady, we'll spin your Goose out alright ?

[mike_cyul]

Sometimes we need a break, whether it's short or long term or even permanent. Whichever way it goes: all the best!

Mike

[jankees]

oh dear, that's sad to hear..

I do understand tough, I haven't touched any paintbrushes for a while now, no time really...and no time in the foreseeable future either. Too much (real) work, too much travel, moving house this summer...The only thing I occasionally touch is...the P-61, but things are slow, very slow.
But we'll get there, Pam, let's make the widow the best one yet!!

[fox18delta]

The way i see is that, the A-7s were mywork, so was the A-10, the pasped, the BD-5, Most of the p-36, The Iris F-14 and Vulcan and a few others, and I pioneered the flight physics behond the SU-37 and showed the world it could be done realistically. The result of that last being a fantastic little SU-27 and Now Davids F-22. I have a lot of pride in my works. they're loved by a lot of people.. I didnt want to retire under these conditions, but i knew it was inevitable.. A glass only holds so much water and sooner or later it runs out.. I had a very tall glass, and its been a true honor..
Always
Pam

Sorry to hear...you've modeled wonderful FSX platforms. I went ugly early, falling for the A-10 back in the mid-80's, you brought it to me in FSX and I can't thank you enough.
I'm really enjoying the F-22 too. What a challenge that must have been. That jet is a RW monster with corners of the flight envelope that would have been considered "arcadish" a few years back, but not for this machine. Now we know a lot more about its "numbers" and can fly it in FSX to get a feel for whats going on during RW displays. Thank you for all that.
Here's a link you'll enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Z_Eg5QFbM

[peter12213]

Terrible News!

[michael davies]

Hello Pam,

I know exactly how you feel and did exactly the same thing just after xmas and retired from commercial modeling, I gave up the dream job (Aerosoft) and dream aircraft (F-14) under the illusion that I was no longer good enough or competative, truth is, and like you, we are still good enough. However there comes a point where the reality of what we do finally sinks in, the reality that every new project that stretches in front is going to eat up many many man hours. Not only does the mountain get higher but it gets steeper and we have to climb it faster.

I'ver 'retired' many times before LOL, think this'll be my third :), we never retire just fade into the back ground to bounce back later, sadly though this time I don't think I will, I just don't have the drive any more and commercial work is getting harder and harder and I suspect like me and quite a few I've spoken too, it has outstripped peoples needs and wants. The minority who crave the utmost detail are drivng along the market, reality is most people just want to have fun and would gladly accept default plus a few extras as their means of flight, sadly though if you made commercial models to that level either FDE or mesh, you'd be picked to pieces by those that crave utmost detail. I've no issue with those who strive for this perfection, just less than impressed when its labled as what everyone wants.

A break is good, its been three months now and I caught myself looking at books and such the other day, not for long but long enough to recognise that some glimmer of interst remains, and also long enough to realize that what went before will not happen again. for me the killer was the deadlines, the pressure of completion and the added weight of dependants whos work was also tied up in the project.

I wish you well and if you do come back, do not make the same mistake that I did and try to drop right back into the same old routine, you just end up getting more dis-illusioned faster and for longer, try to change something to make it appealing again. What ever you do, make sure 'you' are happy not every one else, because that's what commercial work is all about, making every one else happy and usually at your own expense.

Have a safe one.

Michael

[heywooood]

cheers Pam - take a break from the code, I'm sure it is much needed and well deserved.

Thank you for all you have done for us FSX'ers

[butchm]

Hi Pam,

You know I've been semi-retired from painting as well. The high point being when we did the Goose with Steve. (it was a great team project)

I've done quite a bit of painting since but did not for the life of me have the energy to publish what I did. It was then that I knew I needed more than just a break, the magic was gone.

I've read Michael Davies reply and I know...

Who knows one day when we have had the chance to rest and recharge we could all get together and put together the best freeware package for Flight.

I still want to do the default Maule and I need someone to fix the FM, one of these days I am sure I'll find someone. :)

Don't be hard on yourself, enjoy your break.

Cheers
Butch

[Warrant]

Thanks for all the effort you gave us. Time to relax and just enjoy flying! :salute:

[fsafranek]

I was hoping this was an old post from April 1st that I had missed but now I see it is not. Sorry to see anyone leave part of the hobby without a light heart. Hope to still see you involved in the forums in any case.
:ernae:

[Paul K]

I think Michael Davies and Pam should get together in their contented retirement and, at a leisurely pace, make a Curtiss C-46 Commando for us. No rush, no rivet counting, just a nice thing to dabble with, and keep those joints supple. That or a Vickers Valiant...I'm not fussy..:)

[padburgess]

Hi Warchild

I just want to say best wishes on your decision. I know how hard these are to make. I once built models for a hobby and was acknowledged as one of the best in my region. Then one day life took over and I just stopped. I never gave up the passion but the need to continually raise the bar just meant the desire to start a new project wasn't there. Every time I looked at my stock of kits I didn't see completed models any more, I just saw the hours of work doing research and striving to achieve the level of perfection that others, and myself had placed on my work. The burden became too much and removed the joy of the hobby.
It has been 15 years now and I am finally at a point that I can look at the kits (I still have them) and see joy again in creating the replicas that live there. However one of the things that has changed is my eyesight. So now I need to allow for that. However I am now in a place that I am about to start a project for me. For the shear joy of working on a physical thing and turning raw material into a crafted finished product. For me.

So. Enjoy your decision. Live for yourself for a while and don't fret the loss to this hobby. There is no loss as your existing work is still here to enthrall us all. And at some time in the future, maybe you can look again at this space and see the joy that it once was creating something from raw material with your skill.

Cheers and thanks for everything you have done.
Paul

[modelr]

Pam, enjoy yourself, you deserve it. Glad to hear you're going to hang around the forums, it's always good to hear (read) your comments. Enjoy the flying just for the fun of it. (Something I need to get back to, someday.)

Like Paul, I have so many irons in the fire, time get's in the way. I have a huge stash of models that I hope to get back to, someday. Right now, my R/C is getting all my time. I can feel another break coming up for it, in another year or so, tho'. Then I'll go back to one of my other hobbies, including the flightsim.

If you don't have one, start another hobby, maybe remotely connected to the flightsim, in some way. It helps.

Enjoy.
Don

[michael davies]

Hi Warchild
Then one day life took over and I just stopped. I never gave up the passion but the need to continually raise the bar just meant the desire to start a new project wasn't there. Every time I looked at my stock of kits I didn't see completed models any more, I just saw the hours of work doing research and striving to achieve the level of perfection that others, and myself had placed on my work. The burden became too much and removed the joy of the hobby.

Paul

Bingo, thats exactly how I felt, it wasn't insidious or a slow process, suddenly one day whilst working on the F-14 that was it...just not interested. I even went so far as to cleanse my hard drive of old projects I knew would never be done, threw out about 60% of my books (couldn't even be bothered to ebay them) I had never looked at in years and knew would be of no use in the future, just virtually wiped the slate clean.

Like Don I just changed to something else, I already had several other hobbies but took up a new one on a whim after just seeing one thumbnail on the web, R/C warships and I've never been happier, when the sawdust settles and you can finally touch something you have created, you loose that satisfaction in a virtual world.

It is very hard to step away from something that as been such a large part of your life, but sometimes you have to be brutal, because staying is often more damaging than changing.

Kindest

Michael

[michael davies]

I think Michael Davies and Pam should get together in their contented retirement and, at a leisurely pace, make a Curtiss C-46 Commando for us. No rush, no rivet counting, just a nice thing to dabble with, and keep those joints supple. That or a Vickers Valiant...I'm not fussy..:)

Actually.... I was more in mind of a B24, B29, B36, KC97 if it had to be a prop LOL.

Best

Michael

[joanvalley]

My heart's broken Pam...

Jose.

[Paul K]

Actually.... I was more in mind of a B24, B29, B36, KC97 if it had to be a prop LOL.

Best

Michael

Well yes Michael, any and all of those would be very welcome, I'm sure. My father was a flight engineer on RAF-operated B-29s, and I hold out hope that one day we'll have a native FSX one.

[warchild]

My heart's broken Pam...

Jose.

Dont be Jose :).. Ive known for a couple years my brain was going away. I had some incredible fortune and times in those two years.. Dont be sad.. Its a good thing i'm doing..
Pam

[HouseHobbit]

Hi Pam,
Yea a Hobbit here, I don't fly FSX but I know when we lose a wonderful person in the sim family.. Retirement sounds Great.. I do pray you enjoy yourself and have the time of your life.. Now you can wreck planes like I do all the time.... Okay maybe not..
May your retirement be wonderful.. And I pray all the happiness and peace possible for you..
Thanks for all the fun, I shall keep a eye open for you in the forums..
God Bless you..

:salute: :salute: :salute: