It has been ten years since SimAirline.net first took to the skies. Back in 2000 I never intended to create such a broad and far-reaching group, but it was difficult over the years to say no. We have come a long way together, achieved a great deal, and have a great deal to be proud of. Thank you for being part of the journey and for your support along the way.
If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to read the thirty articles in the Closing Section of Viewpoint that share our history, our accomplishments, and what we had still hoped to do. Even more importantly, I hope that you will continue your flying career, whether as part of the flightsim community or in the real world. To help you in that pursuit, we have prepared a list of suggested VAs that may interest you.
In addition, the SimAirline.net website will remain online for years after closing, so your listing on our Pilot Roster will remain available so you can smoothly transition to a new organization. The final version of our website content will also remain available. At this time, we expect the Message Boards to remain open through at least the end of August. However, management email addresses are no longer being regularly monitored, so please use this contact form instead.
If you’re interested in staying connected with anyone at SimAirline.net, I strongly recommend joining our Facebook fan page and LinkedIn group. Both will allow pilots to continue to stay in touch, and the LinkedIn one in particular will be useful for those of you interested in pursuing an aviation career. As I do travel frequently, I plan to list my travel on those sites in the hopes of meeting you in person one day—please contact me if I am in your area! I of course hope that others will do the same.
We will be having a SimAirline.net farewell dinner and weekend in conjunction with this year’s Airliners International convention in the New York City area. The convention is Thursday, 12 August-Saturday, 14 August. Our events would likely be that Friday through Sunday. If you think you may be interested in participating, please fill out this form. A full plan of events will depend on the number of members that express interest in attending.
What will I be doing next? I don’t completely know yet. I hope to travel even more, volunteer and become more involved at church, spend more time outdoors, read history and literature, exercise on a regular basis, learn tennis and Latin again, and learn French for the first time. I am certainly happy to support other flightsim organizations in some way in the future. Of course, I’ll also be focused on developing my real-world career even further. You’ll actually be able to see me in the Environment section of Delta’s blog.
I of course have to share my appreciation for the following groups:
-our management team, who have supported me and been so critical to our success;
-our moderating team on the Message Boards, who have done a fine job of ensuring order and tranquility there;
-our roster testing team who helped in the development of our fine Pilot Roster System;
-the 86 pilots that over the years contributed $3500 to SimAirline.net from their own pockets to ensure a secure financial future; and
-all other individuals that have helped this organization over the last ten years.
Special thanks of course must go to Ali Abou-Zeid and Nick Anderson. Ali was the one who ultimately convinced me of the need to construct a management team to effectively manage 27 VAs, developed our Pilot Roster System; and painting many of our aircraft along the way. Nick was responsible for so many areas, though his talents shone brightest when it came to graphics design and enhancing the website’s appearance. He never hesitated to give me critical opinions and share his opposing views, while ultimately deferring when I disagreed. Both have been and will remain dear friends.
Finally, I would like to thank all our 6000 pilots from 120 countries who have together flown 185,000 flights throughout the years for their dedication and support, especially those who chose to stay through our final days. You have all pushed me to make this an even finer organization. I wish you nothing but the best for the future. Thank you for the memories and for the great ride.