It was a great pleasure for us to meet Tom in Istanbul.We were 22 simmers met around a u-shaped table at dinner on 14th April 2005.http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom1.jpg[/image]After a short "welcome speech" guests started to enjoy delicious Turkish cuisine.http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom2.jpg[/image]http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom3.jpg[/image]http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom4.jpg[/image]http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom5.jpg[/image]http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom9.jpg[/image]Having finished the full menu being little tired, we started to discuss the current issues of Virtual Flying, San Diego 2005 Convention and so called future MS 2006.http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/tom8.jpg[/image]The final hit was a great but unavoidable one. The owner of the restaurant offered us a delicious cake designed in AVSIM logo.http://www.vateud-td.org/lib/imagesgeneral/avsim-cake.jpg[/image]I believe Tom and all valuable gests have spent an unforgettable evening.Looking forward to meet Tom again in Istanbul - Turkey.Serdar SualpVATSIM EUROPE DIVISIONTRAINING DIRECTOR

wow, looks like an awesome evening was had by all, I have always heard about the Turkish hospitality, but alas have never experianced it first hand, hopefully that will change soon.Nice one Tom, hopefully you'll make a stop in the UK sometime, I am sure some of us Brits would like to have a get together ;).Dan.

That is one nice looking cake!Timhttp://members.chello.nl/t.westnutt/realair1.gif

>wow, looks like an awesome evening was had by all, I have>always heard about the Turkish hospitality, but alas have>never experianced it first hand, hopefully that will change>soon.DanIf you're thinking of travelling to Turkey I'd recommend doing it independently. That way you can get to all the smaller, nicer places where the Turks go (not full of tour groups) and you'll find that Turkish people cannot do enough to make you welcome. Getting around is easy - inter city buses are very high standard and you can always do a 'price deal' when buying tickets. The food is superb, the scenery is stunning and the people are great. I used to really enjoy sitting in a nice tea garden just watching the world go by drinking delicious chai.http://online.vatsimindicators.net/916312/3.png

Serdar,Am posting this from 35,000 feet on Lufthansa #416 bound to KIAD. I would like to thank all of the simmers who showed up Thursday night. It was a fantastic experience and the food will be remembered for some time to come. As for the cake, it was beautiful! And the machinations and hard work that went into it made it almost a criminal act to cut it up. But, if you think it looks good, you should have been there to taste it! It was one of the best cakes I have had in some time.For any who reads this forum, if you ever get a chance to go to Turkey, jump at it. Istanbul is fantastic, and as someone else said, the hospitality is unmatched by any other. And if you get a chance to connect with Serdar and his folks, you will be amazed at what they are doing in terms of VATSIM, educating those interested in aviation, and spreading the gospel of flight simulation as more than a game.Serdar, again my sincere thanks to one and all for the dinner and friendship on Thursday night. You really left me speachless (okay, only for about 3 seconds, but that is rare) with your hospitality and the quantity of food!!! :) Thanks again. I will be back soon (as meetings on Friday proved out) and you may in fact get sick of seeing me if things go the way we are expecting. Anyway, I will send you an email tomorrow catching you up on the details of future visits.

Tom,It's a real blessing that your business takes you internationally and you are able to meet with simmers. The photos demonstrate how the passion for flight simulation has no international boundaries.The FS community is fortunate to have someone like you, in a leadership role at AVSIM, hear the opinions and thoughts of various international groups. I think it can only enhance the direction of AVSIM into the future.I spent part of my vacation last October in Turkey and it was an incredible country to visit. Good luck with the success of your real job and the venture in Istanbul!

It does look like a great gathering and Turkey is one of my favourite places, having sailed round its gorgeous waters one summer. But where are the women?We must do something about this male-oriented pastime of flight simulation. How can we attract more women into flying in general and sim flying particularly.Maybe we are a load of old boring anorak nerds not worthy of female company (yes I've dug a big hole for myself!).All the Best,Rob Young

That looks like an amazing time. I'm always floored by how flight simming breaks down borders. It's truly an international community.BlairCYOW

Mister the politicians, stop fighting! throw away your speeches and begin flying with us !!! Look how this world can be simple and warm, friendly and respectful when people forget the borders and share their passion together!!Istambul is a wonderful city, and the Turkish hospitality is sincere, traditional and so generous! Lovely people indeed.Serdar, you seem to be an excellent ambassador of your wonderful country :-) Best wishesDavid in Jerusalem

>But where are the women?Must be the 'boys with toys' thing, Rob. Women do like toys too but they'd have to be real.Up until some clever dev ( MS.. ? ) invents a 'Man Simulator'. Third party commercial and freeware add-on market will superceed that of FS in no time. 'GDPM Bratt Pitt', 'MSWorx Robbie Williams', 'RealMen Tom Cruise', 'Ma'am George Clooney' and for the older part of the market 'Feelhere Sean Connery' and 'Perfect Men Robert Redford' will sell like hotcakes. If this ever happens i want a cut of the revenues. Jan :+

>It does look like a great gathering and Turkey is one of my>favourite places, having sailed round its gorgeous waters one>summer. But where are the women?>>...>>Rob YoungLooking after the kids - where they should be! ;-) Andy bEdit: You think you dug a hole for yourself. My wife has just read this comment but I can deal with it - after all she is ONLY a woman! :-hah

Thanks once again Tom for the visit, it was a good opportunity to express our gratitude for your contributions to flightsimming . Avsim is the best flight-related site that I know of. Absence of women in our hobby is really weird, probably we are doing something wrong somewhere, I don't know. For instance we run a 300 membered forum in Turkey, with only one lady member who seldomly posts and during my Vatsim/Ivao flights very rarely I come across with a woman pilot. Interesting, probably that might be a topic for discussion at Avsim convention. best regardsbiber salsa , istanbulps: we will never be sick of seeing you again , its just pleasure!Next time you come over ,we eat fish together :9...

Hey... which one is Tom?

Tom when it comes to visits in Istanbul , Serdar and friends ares 100% delegates of Turkish hospitality.Check AOPA Hellas events -> Turkey 2003 Fly In -> Istanbul page ...http://www.aopa.gr/en/events.aspKyprianos Biris :-cool[link:hvacc.org]Hellenic vACChttp://vateur.org/staff/vateur_m.jpghttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/810309/3.png

Kalimera Kyprianos thank you very much for this link.very interesting web site indeed (fantastic photos and videos!!)I am very glad to see Greece, Turkia and Israel people sharing their passion hand in hand :-)best regards,David in Jerusalem