What do you do in "Real Life"..when you aren't simming?

[Guest Jetfan]

I'm 59, retired planning/forecast analyst for a major electric utility. Been flightsimming since FS98. At age 58, got restructured out of the corporation after 36 years service (hence the 'retired' part). Have been enjoying the hobby and traveling back and forth to see my kids and relatives since then, but it's seriously time to get back out in the work force. Advice for the future.. save more money, your company's pension plan is probably not as good as it sounds.Cheers,Bob

[Guest Ken_Salter]

Age: 35Profession: Director of Research and Development for a telephone company specializing in PC based custom PBX solutions using T1 and VoIP.Hobbies: I write freeware software on the side, I enjoy aquariums and travelling. I have some hours on my way to a private license but have suspended activities until prices come back down (if ever.) My main hobby is spending time with my daughter - age 3.Next goal: Live long enough to see Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy - so I just need about 12 hours! :-)

[Guest B52Drivr]

Lou, Ahhh, so you're the guy who is responsible for our kids staying in all those mall game rooms forever. Couldn't resist -- I'm sure that business keeps you more than busy as there are new games and machines popping up monthly. Still think you would have made a great lawyer, (compliment, not a slam), and any dollars created by the DF team are well earned as your products are first class and a credit to our FS hobby -- believe me, DF has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment to a guy who can no longer fly in the real world.My best,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

[Guest B52Drivr]

Hello All,Age 59, retired USAF combat pilot, (Vietnam Era). After the AF and woring in the Intelligence community I was involved in the Porsche racing and restoration business in the US Midwest for almost 20 years.Moved to Mississippi to retire in 98 and raise Quarter Horses. After WorlCom, Ennron and 911 found myself having to go back to work -- hobby of horses became a business -- still not sure if I'm making any money with my nags, but it's interesting and something I love to do. Been involved with FS since FS4 and am a certified FS junkie!Best to all,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

[elprim 10]

I wonder... Is 45-55 really an average age in the simming community, (at least here on the avsim forums), or is it just that we seniors especially like to participate in this kind of threads?Neven

[alastairmonk 0]

Well I'm currently just turned 43, and work in a scientific research & development facility in the UK as research scientist and Health & Safety Officer, as well as running the IT department ! (We're small, so a degree of multi-tasking is needed !)For some 20 years I've also been an active volunteer first aider with the UK's leading First Aid charity, St. John Ambulance, providing first aid cover for local events in and around London - anything from a local fete to the London Marathon, Trooping The Colour, Buckingham Palace garden parties etc.Alastair

[Guest jaapverduijn]

I'm 59 now, living in my native country The Netherlands. I started flightsimming only in 2001, with the appearance of FS2002.I earn my daily bread (and cigars!) as a minor politican, i.e. a city councillor. It would be quite nice to be re-elected in March next year, otherwise I would (shiver! shiver!) have to find a JOB and do some WORK (wide and wicked grin)!I do some volunteer stuff, like being the present head honcho of, and non-denominational chaplain (GEN) in the USCCA... so I'm just a bloody civilian who sometimes walks around with four rather embarrassing stars on my collar, feeling silly. Long time ago, in the sixties, I was for a very short but extremely interesting time the youngest bird colonel in the US Armed Forces, doing some cloak-and-dagger stuff for MACV. Fortunately for me, it was a lot of "cloak" and very little "dagger" (grin)!Also in the sixties, in some far away country, I took up gliding and around the same time, due to being on the right spot at the right time, I got the chance to throw around the sky a P51 Mustang which its owner had equipped with double controls. As only payment I had, before the act, to fill up the P51 with fuel, and after landing its owner with beer (LOTS of beer)! Later on, in Europe, I did some GA flying. Never got any license though, for several reasons, declining health being the final and irrevocable one.My main work has most of the time been journalism and the writing of books, of the latter eleven have been published, and I've still got a couple of manuscripts lying around that I might polish up one of these days and send to a publisher. As far as flightsimming is concerned: I'm deep into heavy WW2 stuff like the good old Lancaster bomber. My favorite at the moment is the Wings of Power Lancaster B Mk III, for which I totally revamped the 2D panel in order to get a more realistic view, in the process eliminating the slow running/cut off switches and changeing the engines form the Packard Merlin 28 to the RR Merlin 24, in fact making the panel look and the plane behave like a late model B Mk I instead of a Mk III for which the developer didn't manage to get the SR/CO switches to function right in the first place.I don't need to touch the keyboard or the mouse, everything is being handled by an assortment of GoFlight units working together with my CH yoke and pedals.So: when I'm not pretending to govern a large community or minister to the flock, I'm "simflying" Lancasters.Be well!Jaap Verduijn.

[Guest Lucky]

Im 43 and in rehabilitation after a head on collision with a 8 ton truck May 28/03.A victom of road rage.Had a buisness for 12 years installing commercial kitchens and restaurants all over Ontario Canada.Lost all of it that dayWorked on all the big casinos, The Air Canada Center.CNTower amongst thousands of others.But now im hard at work simming and working with my good friends at Flight Team Ontario doing the landclass and working with G2K.Enjoying my life .Big plans to move to the East coastLucky

[Guest panda234]

I'm 49 ( a few weeks from 50, to answer Neven's question in the affirmative, hehe) and am semi-retired after working in hi tech for the last 15 years. Did a lot of telephony stuff--sounds like Ken and I could share war stories--and got "lucky" when the company I started went public about 7 years ago. Living in a log house on a lake just outside Halifax with my 2 black labs (6 mths and 2 years going on 6 mths) and simming a lot. Been simming for 10 years on and off, but it wasn't until FS 2002 that I realized that you needed to throttle back and trim down and use flaps etc. to land, not just point your nose down towards the runway. Yes, reading the manual is good. And loving the boards, great bunch of people. Sounds like a pretty interesting group.billg

[oldbear 33]

Hi MikeYes, this is an interesting thread.I'm the wrong side of 40 and work for the British Government. I've been simming for only 3 years, but find it fascinating - especially the community of like-minded souls who gather on forums such as this. I started real flying lessons a while ago but at 160 quid an hour (that's about 300 dollars - yes that's right, 300 dollars an hour) I couldn't afford to continue. Hope to rectify that in the future, though.My other hobbies are riding motorbikes and annoying my wife. I've got a little boy who wants to join the Royal Air Force one day.Best wishesIan

[Guest deKoven]

Well, I find myself on the high end here...I'm 63, retired from Boeing and a full-time member of AFAS for which I take my meds religiously. ( one hour flights repeated 4 times a day )I was a Data Entry clerk (translation: I pounded keys for 8 hrs a day) since about 1970. Also had a stint as asst manager for a bowling alley, and was a baker for 8.5 years. When Boeing kicked me out I decided that was enough and retired. Now I do what I want, when I want, how I want. 'Nuff said. :D

[Guest jaapverduijn]

Greetings JP!"(...) being diagnosed Asperger (...)"Yeah, me too. Makes us both a bit of a weirdo, eh (grin)?!Be well!Jaap Verduijn.

[JP_Visser 3]

>Hi,>>I am 51, living in the northern part of the Netherlands and>working for a regional government. I am in international>cooperation (with regions from Germany, Sweden, Poland,>Latvia) and projects, EU issues and the like. >Music is very important for me: I am playing guitar in a>rockband (and I am the youngest, go figure...).>>Herrie>>Fryslan boppe!! :-hahtataJP

[hseilz747 1]

OK time to push the average age figure a bit :-hah I'm a 17 years old high school student from some little town in the dark forests of Western Germany. I'm planning to study aerospace engineering when I'm done here and hope to be able to enter the aviation business afterwards. Well, big words... for now I should concentrate on getting my PPL license ;-)Interesting thread btw...Edit: Especially proud to be a simmer since FS 3.0 / 1994 :( HolgerBAW0715

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

Interesting thread indeed!I'm 59, happily retired after a 32 year Marketing career in the hi-tech industry. Living in Toronto, but planning to move to the West Coast next year. Lovely wife and two grown kids.. lots of time on my hands and enjoying every minute!Flightsimming since the early 80's with FS on the IBM PCJr. From there to ATP, Propilot, Fly! and now exclusively FS9. A big thanks to all the participants in this great hobby! It really adds to my day!