I just found this article on MSNBC.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14033493/
It talks about how there are fewer private pilots now and that many who are flying now are getting gray and are in their fifties. The article also mentions that it’s an expensive hobby and kids nowadays can’t afford it. Vidoe games are also blamed as a culprit.
Sound familiar?
Tom
I think when it comes to hooby profits Sony/Playstation or Microsoft/XBox would be raking in massive amounts of money compared to Model Railroad manufacturers, I guess the next would be the Eyeware People, I think these video games have been responsible for the downturn of many hobbies, funny thing about all this its not just the young ones that are hooked, I used to work in a shop that sold this stuff and used to marvel at the Pensioners that used to gaze into the glass cabinets trying to figure out what shoot em up game to buy, I wasnt very kind in my thoughts. I would mention to my workmates, “we have another brain dead person at the games cupboard, who wants to sereve them”
Thirty or so years ago kit-built personal aeroplanes were relatively affordable. I live not far from a small private air field and back then on summer evenings like tonite one could often see up to half a dozen of these machines in the air at one time. There was even a local precision flight team that flew on weekends! However, their numbers trickled off to the point where I haven’t seen even one machine in at least ten years now. Likewise, the airport, which also saw a large amount of conventional light plane activity (Pipers and so on) is now essentially closed. Just another example of a hobby that pretty much priced itself out of existance.
CNJ831
My son is really into Nintendo, yet he loves the train, too. I just limit the number of games he has and then he tires of them and plays with the train. Once we start construction, I’m sure he’ll be right in there.
I’ve got my private pilot’s license but haven’t flown in awhile. I can say part of the problem is that post-9/11, flying’s not so fun anymore. Security is so tight at the airport, and you can’t fly in huge chunks of formerly accessible airspace, and you actually have to worry that if you miss a controller’s instruction when there’s a lot of radio chatter you could end up with an F-16 on your wing. A 1500-pound airplane can’t bring down a 110-story building or collapse part of the Pentagon, but that’s how the planners think. Always ready for the last attack (which, by the way, didn’t use single-engine civil aircraft!).
However, the main reasons I don’t fly are the money (my hobby budget goes toward model railroading almost exclusively now that my wife stopped working fulltime) and I had some unpleasant flying experiences (as a passenger) in helicopters during the Iraq war. I can get over the latter and suck it up (I racked up a few not as enjoyable and more tense hours after I came home) but the former is the obstacle. For me, given the choice between model railroading and flying, the trains win!
Who ever researched that article, hasn’t been to a local Air Force Base of late. In my position, I encounter hundreds, age 10 to 80 that are members of the Civil Air Patrol…True, it could be beyond one’s means, if not for the military aspect which provides uniforms, all necessary tarining and specific duty assignments. I don’t see the hobby succombing anytime soon, once upon a time it was thought slot car racing would be the seed of our hobbies extinction…We survived and prospered in spite… I do see a trend to allianate those not in the popular scales (Ho-N) I often wonder how it will effect choices made by new modlers who choose the road less travelled and the scales less modeled… Enough of my soapbox!!! Dave
“Brain dead person”…I love that one…It’s right on target no doubt.It’s easy to blame video game companies or car manufacturers or whoever is offering but we should remember that we,the consumer,have the final say so.
When it comes to investing,most people don’t shy away from spending money,since it’s not so hard to get.But if a hobby requires extra efforts,then it’s another ball game.We,and I count myself in,want it easy whenever possible.Model railroading,just as many other hobbies,requires a form of dedication,patience,skills,etc, and many times a kick in the …to get to work on the layout.
There are also choices…with a few exceptions,nobody can have or do everything.We all have to decide what is most important to us and base our investments on this.There are the “mandatory” like a roof and food,clothing and so on,but what about the car,for one.I’m always amazed at how many people earning $30,000 a year who are driving $60,000 cars…what’s left for a hobby then?
My father’s a pilot and has some insite into this issue:
In today’s litigation happy society, it’s extremely expensive to carry the insurance needed to operate a flying establishment. In addition, like anything regulated by the Federal Government, there are fees, inspection requirements, licencing issues, reams of paperwork to handle. All that increases the cost, in both time and money, to the user. Plus the NIMBY’s dislike having airports nearby.
Airplanes cost alot of money, because for the most part they are built by hand, one at a time. There’s also the astromonical cost of getting a new airplane model certified for flight. Kit planes are still around, but fewer people have the skills necessary to assemble the kits.
And lets not forget the cost of keeping a plane in the air. Aviation fuel is something like 6 dollars a gallon. Plus the cost of maintaining the engine, airframe and avionics, and costs accociated with the 100 hour, 500 hour, and 1,000 hour inspections.
The next time you shake your head at the cost of General Aviation, thank the FAA, and your local injury lawyer.
It takes a lot of time to learn to fly, Time alot of people are not willing to invest, so the pool of instructors shrinks, and the cost of those left goes up. And like most skilled hobbies, it seems to be dying, beacause, far more people appear to prefer the instant gratification of a video game.
Nick
You can also blame the model railroad manufactures for some of this also. A dad buys his 8 yo a trinset at walmart for xmas only to find out the quality is way below par and it becomes frustrating for the whole family. And then there goes another prospective hobbiest. Ive had coworkers ask me about trains and the first thing I tell them is buy a better locomotive or Ill let them borow one of my BB atherns. Anything you can do to promote the hobby is a plus. The junk that comes in sets should be outlawd!!!
Pete
Pete, this is universal. My other (dormant) hobby is astronomy. There are many el-cheapo telescopes out there that deserve the name only in terms of their function and form, not in terms of how well they do what they are purported to do. The Wal-mart $69 special at Christmas does few favours for the hobby, believe me. Forgetting the horrid view that they offer due to their simple and highly imperfect optics, the mount on which they place these pseudo-instruments do not afford the newbie a controllable view, particularly if the mount if of the altazimuth type, and not the equatorial type that tracks the sky at a given latitude.
So, this hobby, model planes, stereo equipment, cars, bicycles, they all have the same limitations at the…ummm…ah yes, “entry” level. Thank God I had done a small bit of pre-reading before I spend the huge bucks I did, with Frau’s permission of course, on my first BLI Hudson.
-Crandell
Flying is not dying, perhaps as a hobby.
From where I am from, I have more students than I know what to do with. I do not have enough time in the day for all the students that I have that want to fly.
I have been flight instructing for about a year and half, and I have been flying as a whole for ten years. The Hobby side is likely the best it is going to be for a while, but it is still there, and still going strong in terms of how it looked 10 years ago, not thirty years ago.
Most of the students are learning to fly because the are doing the same thing that I am doing is looking for a job with an airline or charter carrier.
in the state of indiana I have about 7-9 people that can do checkrides for my students so they can get some new rating for certificate. I have students ready to go now, and there so many others that I cannot get dates untill september.
Sure I will agree flying is lacking in terms of a hobby, but it is not dead.
Reeves
Just for laughs I went down to a new marina and started counting boats(mostly sail), I live in a rural area so there are not too many 150 foot schooners, I counted 75 boats, I’m sure an estimate of at least a minimumof $100,000 each (possibly more, talking to a local) so I must think there is far more hobby money out there than ever in history but a lot is NOT going into the model railroading hobby. Just take a trip to your local marina or boat store or count the mobile homes in everyones driveway(especially those people over 60) I guess it’s a lot better to flaunt your sailboat to your neighbors than it is to show them your new $150.00 locomotive. keep 'trainin.
Flatfan,
With respect to you I understand your view but the tittle of this thread is misleading.
Yes, this hobby has shrunken, as has the RC car and aircraft hobbies, but it is not “dying”. With the new innovations in DCC/Sound and highly detailed models on the market this hobby is going to be around for some time. The teenagers here on this and other forums are a sure sign that model railroading, while leaner, isn’t going away anytime soon.
Peace[:)][;)]
I dont think we are a dying hobby I see kids at the local hobby shop buying trains etc with their parents.
If we are dying the issue remains that Model Rairoading is getting to expensive. Just to build benchwork wood has gone up, then everything has inflation is the cause.
Just as every hobby has inflation, things do slow down. I remember in the late 80’s-90’s I was more a comic book guy got money and bought comics highest price of a comic new was 1.75 now they are more from what I am understanding. everyone needs a cut artist printers publishers etc etc. Same for the hobby business Resalers need to pay employees for the shippment which then the manufacture has to pay their employees and get mahines repaired.
we arent a dying hobby and dont blame video games if your a parent dont let your kids play them get them outside or in the train room. Remember your suppose to bringing the kid up not TV of video games. I have a PS2 and a nephew he likes trains plays the PS2 for maybe an hour but rather be working on trains or shooting of his bb gun.
I really don’t see flying small aircraft a “hobby,” but just as something different to due in your spare time. And everyone keeps saying Model Railroading is dying, but I think everything is going ok.
I agree the hobby is not dying, as some topics in the past have speculated. I just found it ironic that many of the same concerns expressed about our hobby are being expressed by those in another hobby. Cost, no young people, xbox, instant gratification are all reasons which have been given as to why our hobby is shrinking.
If I gave the impression that I think our hobby is dying, I certainly apologize. I just thought the similarity was interesting.
Tom
I’m 16 and play video games but not as much as I work on trains.
We are in a hobby that is alive and growing more than ever in the last ten years.
The addition of RTR sound models for all of us to use without special installations came about just three years or so ago with BLI’s new models. Before that time, the sound modules had to be installed and many did not feel comfortable doing their own.
The addition of the Genesis line along with P2K, BLI, PCM, Tower 55, Trix and many other older lines being upgraded has made this the best ever times. Yes, prices are higher than ever but so are wages and everything else.
In fact, there are so many great models available today, it is hard to decide on which one to buy.
i do not believe it is a dying hobby. i have recently begun to back away from video games as the price of games is going, but quality is going down. i told myself if the 3 games i am reviewing (to see if it is worth shelling out $50 a pop) aren’t any good i would switch mainly to trains. as of now,two of the games aren’t worth getting. it appears i shall be jumping into the hobby with both feet and more spending funds.
till the cowboys win the super bowl,make mine model trains!
stephen
I don’t think the hobby’s dying.[:)] Model trains are more affordable now than they ever were before. A Mantua train set in the early 50s was about $60, which would maybe be between $400 and $500 now.[:O] A brand new Athearn diesel in the early 60s was between $10 and $20, which would be maybe $60 or $70 now. My dad bought a Rivarossi Deluxe Dockside for $10 in the early 60s, which would be close to $60 or $70 now.
Right now, you can get a high quality Spectrum train set for between $200 and $300, and a brand new Athearn BB GP7 for $35 to $45. This website has about 25,000 members right now, and I’m sure that’s just a fraction of how many MRRs there are in the world.[:D] So I’d say the hobby’s never been doing better.[:D]
I like some video games and computer games, but model railroading is still my favorite hobby.[:D]