Hey all, I figure I would share my connection to aviation and how it all started. I was born on September 18, 2003, in Guangzhou and I took my first flight in 2010. Of course, I didn’t realize I share the same birthday as the US Air Force at that time until like 2023ish but anyway, I also have a toy plane model back then but unfortunately, it was lost when we moved to the US in May 2012 and that December, I would visit the New England Air Museum and playing the flight simulators they offer which are FS2004 and FSX at that time until like 2023 when they replace FSX with DCS world. Anyway, I would like to start off with my gaming background on how I got involved in aviation:
On August 12, 2015, I would download some of my first aviation games on my iPad being Flight Pilot Simulator, Historical Landing and Air Navy Fighters lite by Rortos, as well as Aircraft carrier! by Quantum Design Group. Around that same year, I also played Battlefield 1942. I would also get Airfignters combat flight sim by Rortos and Flywings 2014 that same year on September 13 followed by Gunship sequel WW2 on September 20, 2015. Of course, I had also played a lot of browser games like airport madness, TU-95 and Battle of Britain: 303 squadron but anyway, throughout the rest of 2015 until March 12, 2016 when I got x-plane mobile, I would also get other apps on my iPad like F18 Carrier Landings (downloaded on January 31, 2016), Airport City (downloaded on November 14, 2015), Sky gamblers Storm Raiders, Airplane! by Quantum Design Group, New York flight simulator by tri one games, warzone emergency landing by Reludo, flight unlimited Las Vegas Lite, Flight alert impossible landings, and flight 787 advanced lite (all downloaded on November 7, 2015). I got Infinite Flight after on January 4, 2017 followed by Alliance air war 6 days later and Rortos made Frecce Tricolori on May 13 that same year followed by Aerofly FS 2 on July 11, 2017 and War wings on August 23, 2017 (game shutdown in 2019 so I got war wings chinese on July 4, 2020), Airport madness 3d and Unmatched Air traffic control on November 13, 2017 Carrier landing hd and Airline commander on June 13 and August 28, 2018 respectively followed by Sky gamblers: Storm raider 2 on May 28, 2019 alongside Battlefield 2. And on September 3 and 4 that same year, I got RFS and Airlines manager respectively followed by World of Airports on October 25, 2019. Of course, I also have wings of fury and wings of fury 2 plus war thunder on my PC by that time alongside Geo FS. In 2020, I would expand to other PC sims being DCS, flightgear, and FSX which I got in christmas that year to replace IL-2: 1946 and Tower!3d which I initially bought to try them out, alongside Armed air forces on my iPad on December 24 that same year. And of course, I also got simple planes on September 19, 2021 and YSFlight that same year. I have other games I also installed like Passenger airplane flight sim, easy flight flight simulator, air traffic tower 3d and Warplanes: WW2 dogfight but they pretty much last like a few months if not a few weeks. Of course since 2020, I did airshows in different sims especially war thunder and on May 14, 2022, I also managed to participate in roblox airshow as well and would continue to participate in other roblox airshows as well whenever I see an opportunity for me to perform at one. Of course, many of the mobile flight sims like F18 carrier landings and real flight simulator, I play them at school as well.
My real-world aviation background:
Following my move to the US in May 2012, in August 2014, I would take on my first domestic flight to Bozeman with Delta MD-90 from Bradley via a connection at Minneapolis saint-paul and I also had a photo with one of the pilots of that flight in which the photo was lost unfortunately. And later, while in vacation at Los Angeles and San Diego from December 21 to 26, 2014, I had the opportunity to visit the first carrier museum being USS Midway. Then while on vacation at Washington DC during April 11-13, 2015, I played a combat flight simulator at the Smithsonian air and space museum similar to the one in Intrepid Air And Space Museum which was somewhat scary to me while and after playing it, yet it was intense. One day, while visiting New England Air Museum, I came across a bookmark that says “Great New England Air Show & Open House featuring U.S. Navy blue angels, May 16 and May 17, 2015” so knowing my interest in military aviation, I went to see it and it was fun tbh, having to see the blue angels and the p-51 alongside the snowbirds and the Geico skytypers as well as F22. Then when we went to Mexico that same year for christmas from December 25 til January 2nd, 2016, I managed to get a selfie taken with the captain of the Aeromexico flight bound from Atlanta to Mexico city which the selfie was preserved. Then during April spring break in 2016 from April 16th to 22nd, we went to San Francisco but our flight to San Francisco was an interesting one because we were originally schedule for a connection flight via Los Angeles which we miss that flight so we were fortunate that we were redirected to a non-stop flight to San Francisco instead from La Guardia via Virgin America. Then on June 11-12 the same year, we went to a second airshow at Quonset point where I managed to get photos taken with an airshow pilot and a few navy personell there although the June 11 show was cancelled due to bad weather and on June 12, when we went to the airshow, we also managed to see the A-1 skyraider which was quite interesting other than the P51. On September 10, 2016, we went to the Intrepid Museum which was really fun (I would go there for the 2nd time on November 30, 2024, where I play the combat flight sim there) Then around like May 2018, I managed to see an Air Force cadet who happens to be the brother of a friend of mine (my friend, not the cadet, graduated from my high school in 2020) and on June 30, 2018, I managed to get a photo taken with the first officer of the Air Canada A320 flight from La Guardia to Toronto as part of the connection flight to Calgary as part of a 1-week vacation to Calgary and the day before we leave for home, we went to the hangar flight museum where we managed to see some of the WW2 planes as well. Then, on August 16, 2019, while flying nonstop home to JFK from Guangzhou via China southern, we caught one of their 787s at Guangzhou airport and a week later on the 24th, we went to the New York stewart airshow where we caught F35, B25, L39 and the Red arrows alongside Michael Goulian for the first time ever other than the blue angels and the skytypers and I have a photo taken with F35 demo dedicated crew chief Derek Leuzinger. In 2020, with everything staying at home, I would start watching live airshows and I would be watching airshow livestreams ever since, most of the time anyway and of course, dming airshow organizatios or aerobatic team or the team members themselves on instagram like Frecce Tricolori, CF Snowbirds, Commemorative air force, Patrouille de france, F-35 demo etc. Then, on June 13, 2021, when we were flying nonstop from Bradley to Las Vegas via JetBlue A320, I go on Instagram to take photo there since we got a delay due to certain issues with aircraft (probably air conditioning) so a passenger sitting one row to the back and one seat to my left decide to pose for a photo. On July 7, 2022, when we we were flying nonstop with United A320 from La Guardia to Houston, I had the opportunity to hang out with one of the flight attendants at the back which I’ve been doing ever since. Skipping to May 13, 2023, my dream to be always taking photo with a warbird pilot flying P51 came true when I went to Westfield airshow that day and met thom richard who was flying P-51 Jacqueline at the airshow alongside B-25 who I managed to have a photo with alongside a pilot flying one of the F15s at the show. Of course, I also saw the F35 demo. That airshow was my last in-person airshow since then. That same year, on July 25, aboard the Emirates A380 flight from Dubai to Guangzhou as part of the connection flight from JFK to Guangzhou while on vacation in China, I managed to get selfies taken with the flight attendants there and had the opportunity to go to the business lounge in the 2nd level and had photos taken there as well and of course, I did the same again last year on June 29 when I had selfies taken with the flight attendants of yet anoher Emirates A380 flight from Guangzhou to Dubai while on my flight home to JFK. Last year, on June 2nd, when I was flying to Guangzhou from JFK with a connection flight at Taipei, aboard the China airlines A330-300 flight to Guangzhou, I managed to get my seat switch to a window seat since my assigned seat is an aisle seat. And back on February 21 this year, I made contact with the Commemorative Air Force new york wing, saying how I want to apply to the New York wing at CAF and the guy who contact me added my name to the records, and it just so happens that he’s a college student himself like me. You all are encourage to share your own stories and how you got into aviation. If mods don’t allow for this topic, please feel free to delete it but I just want to share my full story on how I got into aviation. My purpose was intended to share a timeline on how I got involved in aviation as a whole
In-game screenshots
A photo editing I used to do in my digital art and media class back in Spring 2021 during my junior year of high school
an Air force A-1 skyraider flown by me executing a conventional takeoff from a carrier in Gunship 3
A SBD over Midway island in Battlefield 1942
A TBD in Flight Gear
P-51 after landing on a carrier in war thunder
Two f18 super hornets in FSX
A-4 in DCS
A p51 flown by me alongside a p47 flown by my friend in Gunship sequel ww2 combat flight sim. I was actually a beta tester for the combat flight sim at that time the photo was taken back on
Our own blue angels a-4 team in Gunship 3
Real world aviation photos
With F35A demo dedicated crew chief Leuzinger at the airshow
A china southern 787 at Guangzhou
Me with a p51 in the background
A TBF at the Intrepid air museum
Me with the air force cadet
Me with Thom richard at Westfield
Me with F15 demo pilot
Me with the Emirates flight attendants
Me with the first officer of the Air Canda A320
also gonna throw in this video of me flying a p51 on FSX