Why Was This Product Discontinued?

In 2017, I made a major shift in the way DIY Flight Sims tutorials are delivered. Formerly, customers had to download large compressed folders filled with videos, instruction manuals, and printouts. Starting in 2017, I migrated the tutorials to an online streaming format. However, I couldn’t migrate every single DIY Flight Sims product.

Why Did You Move to Streaming?

I started the DIY Flight Sims products in 2007. Selling them as downloads was the best way I could think of to deliver the products. Keep in mind, it was a different world in 2007. For example, Netflix still mailed DVDs in 2007, barely anyone accessed the internet with a smart phone, there were no iPads or tablets, and only 47% of American adults had broadband internet at home.

What’s the Big Deal with Streaming?

An online tutorial format is much more organized and convenient. It’s a more robust and valuable product. One way it’s better is that I’m able to present each video clip with the instructions, pictures, and diagrams for each individual step. You don’t have to look through a 40 minute video or a 60 page instruction manual if you’re trying to find something.

Streaming content is great because its so much easier to view the content anywhere. All the instructions are available to you when and where you are actually building the project, like your garage or workshop. It’s easy to view the tutorials on an iPad or even your smart phone. Look at all these other reasons why streaming is awesome.

Why Didn’t you Migrate all the Products?

I had to re-edit and migrate every part of each product to the streaming website. This was a manual chore and very time-consuming. I didn’t have much time for this either because of my regular full-time job and I was going to school. I’m actually a volunteer, I don’t get paid anything to work for Roger Dodger Aviation. All the revenue goes to pay the company expenses.

Consequently, I only had the resources to move the best-selling products. This was a tough choice, because I love all my projects and worked hard to produce them. I let the market decide which products had value, and I discontinued the rest.

Can I Still Get a Replacement Download if I Lose My Files?

Yes… for a while. I keep all the product download folders on a service called PayLoadz. If you lose your product files, I can give you a PayLoadz link to get a replacement. PayLoadz charges me money to provide controlled access to the files. As a result, I don’t know how long I can afford to keep those old products on PayLoadz.

I recommend you keep a backup of your files in case your hard drive crashes.