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.

Hi Richard, I have a GSD who we love a lot, but he's getting up in years. I've always been intrigued by the Bernese. How do you like them?

Brilliant idea indeed, this poll ... Aged 46, law school professor at Linz/Austria (ICAO: LOWL; IATA: LNZ). Special areas include -- surprise, surprise -- air and space law. Freelancing as ground instructor air law with AeronautX flight training organisation, also based at LOWL. Got my glider pilot licence in 1981 (aged 17) and my PPL in 1991 (kept it current ever since and converted to a JAR-FCL-conformal PPL in 2007). Some 800 missions and over 600 hours on C150/152/172/172 Rocket, PA18/28/28RT/38, AC112, BE33, DA20 and DA40 in real life, Sim experience from the early 90s on, starting with early MSFS versions and subLogic ATP, recently on PMDG737, 747, J4100, MD11 (discontinued), LevelD767, SimCheck A300B2/B4, ATR (discontinued), PA31T and Aerowinx PS1 (discontinued). Married, two children (aged 15 and 17), and one cat (aged 6, catching lots of mice...)Sigmar Stadlmeier

Hi Guys,What a good thread...I am 49yrs old (fifty this year boo hoo) and I am a Prison Officer in the UK and have been for the last 18years....and still enjoy it...Of course I always look skywards and think "I wish...."My aim is to try and get my PPL...Thank youDave

Cool, good to know there's lots of "experienced" people in this thread (nice way to say older hehe)Me - 26 - Air Traffic Controller + PPL ASEL (though not current)Livin' in Duluth, MN at the present. Also love photography and my dog and better half ;)

All from Naples, Italy.Ciao!

My amazing wife took me on a surprise three week tour of your wonderful country for my 50th. We spent most of the time off the beaten tourist path in Volterra, but also drove up through the vineyards to Florence and then on to Venice (wanted to stay there forever). All the time we were there Alitalia was threatening to go out of business, not that I would have minded an excuse to stay longer. Alas, it would take a lifetime to visit every place I'd like to see in Italy, but I saw enough to for me to long to return as soon as possible. Ciao!Brett Linker

I live about 30 minutes SW of KABI in my V35B. I pay for my FS by writing and economic research. My aviation career started over 42 years ago in the military. My only claim to aviation fame is flying over 2000 hours in SE Asia. I've flown everything from O-1's to a DC-10's, and H-47's to a SK-65's. My favorite flying job was the 24 months I spent teaching insturments and the U-21 qualification course in the military. Bill Bridges

Bill, did you catch the great article in the Smithsonian Air & Space magazine on the OV-10 Bronco? One of the best planes of that era.

A vehicle mechanic in real life - anyhting from bottle jacks! bikes to tanks and everything in between for the MOD UK :( Always been keen on flight simming though - even had one on a TRS-80. Btw Bill and Dan - one of the next projects for Aerosoft is the OV-10 Bronco (FSX)... funny how some things just crop up.John Ellison

I'm 21 and live near KPBI (Palm Beach International Airport). I'm currently attending college and working towards a degree in Computer Science and hopefully someday will work on getting a PPL.I've been flight simming since FS98 but FSX has driven me to start purchasing payware addons to expand my fleet, hell, I don't buy computer games anymore, just music and FSX addons!The most with music I've done was screw around and attempt to make hardcore techno, or just mix my music together to play on m iPod.

I am 40, married with two kids. I emigrated from Ghana W. Africa to the US where I live in Minnesota. My day job is trading bonds (as someone said earlier, I don't get the bonuses you hear about on the news). Anyway, growing up in Liberia, I went to boarding school, there was an airstrip right behind my dormitory with a Cessna 170 Skywago (or something similar), that was what started this love with aviation. It took me two years to convince the pilot to give me my first ride but I haven't looked back since. Unfortunately, due to one thing or the other I didn't follow my first love so I went with the second best thing, simming. I do catch a lot of grief from my coworkers and friends but hey who cares...

It's not like being a real pilot but I still get to fly upto 400 feet.Here's a picture of the balloon:

That's really cool SteveI would crap my pants there since I suffer from vertigo :D

Believe it or not I am a bit scared of heights too :( (really) :(

38 y/o Venezuelan w/two kids, master magician and miracle maker ;) ... joking aside, I'm a Software architect, have my own company doing consulting for clients.(freelancing) and worked 15 years in the corporate world as Director of Engineering for a big Internet company, got pink sliped so I'm on my own now living la vida loca in Miami, FL... (emigrated LONG ago from Caracas) too much crazy stuff going on there... ;)

Believe it or not I am a bit scared of heights too :( (really) :(

Fear of heights and fear of flying are not the same. I am completely at peace and relaxed flying along in my plane But when I am over a tall drop, (like, say, at the Cliffs of Moher), I'm not so comfortable. My wife on the other hand, not so fond of flying, but completely happy to do dance along the edge of a 1000 foot cliff.