Great post and nice to put some context around the names!I'm 29 years old, born and raised in Gisborne, New Zealand. I've lived in Wellington (NZ's capital) for 12 years now..........

Hey Mark, Kia Ora.I'm flying home to Greymouth from the States in just over 2 weeks to see my Mum, I'll toast you as our ANZ plane overflies NZWN (off to the west of Wellington as I recall the southbound track to be) on the way from NZAA to NZCH.Bruce (Knight) (KDEN-KSFO-NZAA-NZCH-YMML-NZCH-NZAA-KSFO-KDEN starting in 2 weeks time- but sadly no MD11's).

Hi I am from Melbourne australia western subs. I have my PPL and was going to get my CPL but run out of money. And now I am too old. I have worked for airlines i worked at a budget airline called jet star and I have just moved up in the food chain and now work for emirates.Been into flight sim since 1998.

Interesting thread as others have said. However, I'm boring by comparison with some here. I'm 66 and a retired Commercial Engineer from a large European electrical manufacturer. I live in Warwickshire in the UK which is close to being the middle of England.I have all the PMDG models for FS9 and also have the JS41 which I've tried in FSX but it hits the framerates. My favourite a/craft is the 737NG but I'm not looking forward to the NGX as my experience with the JS41 indicates it'll be a poor performer on my rig. In addition, with all the scenery enhancing add-ons I have for FS9 I simply prefer it.My first foray into MS flightsim was FS95 and I've been addicted ever since. I'm also involved with my local volunteer hospital radio service and broadcast to patients mainly at the weekends. I've also written two novels for my own amusement (as I'm an "unknown nobody" publishers aren't interested). They are available, however, at www.lulu.com.As far as RL flying goes I've had one hour trial lesson in a Cessna 152 after which I was told I could achieve a PPL but here in the UK the cost is somewhat prohibitive, especially for a pensioner! I've also had hundreds of flights as a commercial passenger, mainly on business trips when at work. I've been to USA, Canada, most European countries and Pakistan.Iain Smith

26 yr old professional photographer from New York City. BlakeWilliamsStudio.comLove this thread.

That's a nice guitar, you a Dream Theater fan? I got to meet them a couple of years ago in Atlanta. I also play guitar but It's been a couple of years since I really played them, my chops really suck now. Still pretty good with the trumpet though.

Yeah, I actually know the band well - I've done the official guitar transcription books for their last 3 albums for John. There's nothing more humbling as a guitar player than getting to sit down and watch that guy play right in front of you, he is unreal.

I'm nearly 21 years old, currently following an integrated ATPL(A) course in Lelystad (EHLE) here in the Netherlands. Almost done with the theory, and I currently have about 80 hours on single engine piston planes like the Socata TB-9/TB-10/TB-20 and some time on a Fuji FA200-160. Completed the VFR phases with good result, moving on to IFR after the last theory exams in two weeks. Right now, most of my spare time also involves doing stuff for school, preparing flights and learning learning learning.Jasper

I'm 36, have done software development and testing for the last decade or so. I've been into computers since the early 80s as a kid.Tried the original subLogic FS on the Commodore 64 back in the 80s, but never really got into it. Oh, how I do miss Meigs Field, though... :-)I developed a nasty fear of flying in the 90s, but I had a job a few years ago where I had to travel a lot. I began to read voraciously about the whole process of flying, with the belief that knowledge and understanding conquer fear. A friend of mine showed me FS9 a few years ago, and I was really impressed with how realistic it was compared to older products. I was hooked, and have been a FS junkie ever since.I would love to take up aviation as a hobby, but family, time, and financial constraints limit my ability to do that now. Maybe someday when the kids are grown. I don't have any direct connection to aviation IRL at the moment, though my sister actually works for a FBO at KADS.Musically, I sang in the chorus once upon a time...

Yeah, I actually know the band well - I've done the official guitar transcription books for their last 3 albums for John. There's nothing more humbling as a guitar player than getting to sit down and watch that guy play right in front of you, he is unreal.

That's freakin awesome; I own all of their albums and both John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy are very friendly. I listened to their Train of Thought album constantly while I was deployed in Iraq back in 03-04.

They're all super friendly guys - we probably know Jordan Rudess the best out of them all - he was actually at my band's CD release show a few years ago, happened to be in Arizona on vacation when we did it. You should have seen the look on some people's faces when he showed up haha.

I'm 51, and an architect practicing mainly in the northeast US.I have logged countless hours "flying" since Sublogic's FS1 on an Apple II (you want to see some stutters? :( ) and also have a couple hours of C152 (dual) and skydiving time (both stutter free :() back in the 80's. My wife and I are contemplating a move to the southwest now that the kids have left the nest and I hope that there might be an LSA in our future one day in less crowded skies than we have here around NYC.Great thread.Brett Linker

I am 37 Years old and have been in the Navy since 1990. I am currently stationed in Connecticut onboard the USS Missouri which is the newest ships being commisiioned. I have been into flight simulators since C-64 days but really didn't get serious about it until around 2002, of course I have may older versions of FS I just had no idea what to do with them. Now that I have located the market I am hooked. I would love to fly for an occupation after retiring from the Navy but I also realize that I am about 20 years to late to start.I enjoy all things airplane and computer related. Enjoy sailboats (sailing since 1991), and I also have my Commerical Drivers License.Navy Man

I'm 18 years old.I'm working on a BSME from TCU to hopefully get into propulsion engineering in the future.I'm also working on my private pilot which has taken me far too long for what I have done.

I am a retired K-9 handler with the Quincy Police Dept. Quincy, MA. Had two beautiful GSDs both gone now, but last year we bought a Bernese Mountain dog. Been flying for over 30 years and now doing the ground portion of my instrutment rating with the King family. I served 4 years in the Army 2 tours in 'Nam, 1 with 1st Cav (68-69) then joined the USMC reserve and retired as a Gunnery Sgt.. I have spent literally thousands on this hobby, from almost every new aircraft made to new platforms to run them on. Helps to while away the hours during the dark and cold New England nights. I truly believe that my continued proficiency in flying is in direct correlation to my seriousness in sim flying. And I thought golf was addictive!Richard S. Churchill

I'm 51, and an architect practicing mainly in the northeast US.

Hi, another architect here! :( 39 (oh well, almost 40), married with an architect (!!!), two children.All from Naples, Italy.Ciao!

Im a 34.5 Year old from South Georgia, USA and have been into proper simming since 1998, and using FS98 although I was introduced to FS in 1992/FS3 I believe. Loved it so much I changed my major from Audio Engineering (yes, another guitar player here among all the others) over to Aviation Operations and Admin, going to FCCJ in Jacksonville, FL. I followed with great interest all the full size home built sims and finally with great determination I was able to begin working on my project on 7-8-7, the day the B787 was rolled out at Boeing. Except, my project is a full size Learjet 45 sim. I am the admin for Hangar45, a site dedicated to building LJ45 sims and basically the internet "mecca" on the subject of home built LJ45 sims. I have recently gotten back into playing guitar again and enjoy mostly contemporary Christian praise and worship plus traditional Irish music (and actually play those tunes on guitar, wooden flute, whistle, mandolin, low whistle). Ive been able to do a little real world flying with friends, but my real interest lie in simulation and sim building/flying for so many reasons. I also like MilSimming (airsoft) and was Sr. Team Ldr for our group here that hosts no less than 1-2 medium sized MilSim events a year.