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

[Guest KFD]

Great Thread. I'm 52 and an air traffic controller - been flight simming since that old Commodore 64 sim where all you did was take off in a straight line, climb as hard as possible to clear a range of mountains then land straight ahead - took about 6 minutes and at the time we thought it was cutting edge stuff! PPL holder and glider pilot.KFD

[greeneg 0]

I am older than baseball (AKA 67) have been simming since my first computer which was an Apple III. The simulator was a program in basic that I hand copied into the machine......In the real world, I am a retired physician. (PD-ADM)In my second life, outside of simming, I read, my wife and I travel, and I've improved my French and started to learn some Spanish.I learned to build my last two computer systems. Hey, a dollar here, a dollar there. ;)There is also, of course, the Internet and it's various boards which of course, are another life of their own.The best part is being able to do exactly what I want to do when I want to do it ( subject to the wife's approval, of course. :))Ed GreenKCLThttp://www.panelshop.com/DEV.jpg

[pbenoit 0]

Wow, such a great group of people.I am 56 and a Business Ops Manager for a large multinational computer giant ... with whom I hope I can hang on and stay employed for a few more years. I have been a techie for the past 30 years ... programmer, analyst, designer, manager, project manager .. all kinds of loony stuff after being trained as a Rehab Counsellor and working as one for 7 years after grad school. As a 2nd job, I taught Psychology part time evenings, and then programming and data processing topics, and finally EXCEL, ACCESS, and Network Intro ... altogether for 32 years at two colleges in the Boston Area. Kids are grown, married, doing fine ... thank goodness!!! ... and my wife and I moved to San Diego 7 months ago.. and are moving into a new condo next week ... so our dreams of WARM and NICE weather are met although we do miss our old friends in Boston.Simming seriously since FS98 .. although remember SubLogic on an Apple IIe, a very simple F15 sim on my first PC a TRS-80 in the late 70's (can't remember.) Very much fun with a Fokker Triplane on a Mac in the early 80's when the Mac first came out ... and even had FS for the Mac. My first commercial addon for MSFS was the Maddog MD-80 which really started my interest seriously in large commercial aircraft .. then the PSS 747 ... and so on .. to now where we are all so spoiled with High Quality, detailed aircraft. Spent many years as a PS1.3 flyer, but now that the FS weather and clouds and aircraft system fidelity is so high in FS .. I have kinda let that one go ... although I swear I could fly a jumbo if needed (hahahaha ... how many of us say that?) .... particularly miss that JUMP TO WAYPOINT feature especually for those long flights I was priviledged to work with Ralph Tofflemire on the RFP 747 team where I did lots of testing and put together (read that as compiled and typed) the user doc. I have amassed a large collection of paper and cd based AOMs and system documentation for large aircraft ... which keeps me busy trying to understand it all!!! (and seriously wondering how they get off the ground ... ah ... physics!!!! ... did you all see the A380 movies? unreal)Well, as someone mentioned above, us older types some time ramble on ... and I think it's because WE CAN .. because for good or for ill we have been around for a while and have amassed a large amount of experience.FS is my primary hobby and has brought me years of great enjoyment and stimulation .. never had the $$$ or time to learn to fly for real ... but still continue to enjoy my virtual flying!!!Thanks for listening and I feel very lucky to be among such great company!!

[Guest Ed Lin]

I'm a field engineer for a "major online legal research engine". I'm also a a stage/television actor when I can get work. I'm less than a month from my 50th birthday but my agent calls me for work seeking late 30's/40's characters. (I'm presently playing a lawyer in this production in New York: http://www.theaterforthenewcity.net/homeland.htmI've enjoyed simming since FS5.0 and I've been an aviation and spaceflight buff since I can remember. I grew up in Ohio, north of Cincinnati but I presently live in Montclair, NJ (about a block and a half from Buzz Aldrin's childhood home).No, Ed Lin is not my real name. It's taken from an old DOS editing program that you can still call up from a command or "cmd" prompt in Windows ("edlin").:-wave Ed Lin, D.O.S.

[Guest Rockcliffe]

42 and a copy editor at a daily newspaper in Ottawa, having worked for years as a reporter here and in Windsor, Ont.Past jobs include navy radar operator and field geologist in northern Quebec and the Canadian arctic.Married with two kids.BlairCYOW

[gregger 0]

Nice to hear what everyone does! I'm 30, and a forester. I work for an organization near Ottawa that promotes sustainable forest management. My job involves a lot of Web development and GIS, and occasionally I get to go out in the woods :) Been simming a long, long time.Edit: Howdy Blair!

[netshadoe 144]

This IS a cool thread!I'm a fingerprint analyst with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Ottawa, Canada. I analyse criminal, civil and latent (crime scene) prints trying to figure out who's the good/bad guys!I'm 31, married with two children, fly 172's out of CYRO and CYOW since 1995, and have been simming since 1983 or so when I started with an old P-51 simulation written in BASIC on an old TRS-80 Radio Shack computer that I saved on a cassette tape since diskettes were not yet affordable!!

[Guest Rockcliffe]

Way cool. A CSI guy. Check your PM Devin.BlairCYOW

[jagabom 21]

Work in a electrical control centre just like the ones that put the power system back together during the 2003 blackout in eastern USA and parts of eastern CANADA.JimCYWG

[Guest Josve]

I'm an Electrical Engineer working for Aker/Kvaerner.Been in this business since 1987,married 3 kids 42 years old.Lives in Norway.Have been simming since FS3.....Johnny"I'LL BE BACK"[div align=center]http://www.avsim.com/hangar/fly/josve/aat.jpg ][/div

[Ben Johnson 3]

Mike - Good thread.I'm the Director of Quality Assurance for a commerical financial services company.I've been simming since FS4.Bob

[Mike T 208]

I do certain things for a certain government agency here in the United States. My job? Well...I guess...make sure that 280,000,000 Americans sleep well at night :-) *HOOAHHHHHH!!!!!*Used to be a pilot for COA, got laid off and did the sacrelious thing and moved on to another career. I've not stopped looking up at the skies since then. I have a beautiful wife and three children (including a 9 day old little girl).Hobbies are: Astronomy, Quantum Physics / Theoretical Physics, Moutain biking, Flying, BMW 7 Series car club, and getting on Clay Dopke's nerves.Been simming since 1988 when I found MSFS floppies that were bundled with my girlfriend's 8088 computer and I've been addicted ever since!!!Best regards,Mike T.

[Guest Mike Want]

Computer systems manager in a public library service.Aged 55 and living just outside Birmingham UK.Been simming since FS2!Mike

[Guest JimC1702]

I'm 52 and retired after 25 years in law enforcement. For 15 of those years I served as Police Chief in a city in upstate NY. Now to keep out of trouble, I work in the Parts Dept. at the local Chrysler/Dodge dealership.Jim

[Guest B52Drivr]

Hello All, again,Wow, now this is one of the most interesting threads we've had on this forum. It is so wonderful to 'meet' some of these people, and know what they do, and their age . . . and here I was thinking I was an 'old' guy. Heck, I'm a puppy!!!LOL. Seriously, I have read every post to this thread and we sure do have some fascinating individuals in our hobby, Dr's, Lawyers, Pilots, Students, actors, EMT's, and the list goes on, and on. And, where they are from . . . anyone who thinks Flight Simming is just cornered in the US is in for a huge surprise -- we truly are international!I just wanted to rehash that it is such a pleasure to be associated with such a fine group of people -- yeah, sometimes we get a bit hot under the collar on our forums, but in truth, I think deep down we get so involved in our hobby that its only natural that 'passion' comes through occasionally. Again, it is my honest pleasure to be associated with such a great group of human beings.My very best to all,Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"