Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am French, born in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Paris</st1lace></st1:City>, 46 years old. I have been married for 15 years, and have 3 children, (two daughters definitely not interested by aircrafts, and one boy who spend too much time on computer), and recently divorced. So I live now alone with a kind of freedom feeling, and also all the housekeeping to manage.
I’m an IT engineer, with a career in a car manufacturing company, and now I’m a freelancer. I’m specialized in roll out management of information systems. And I also have some fun making videos...
How long have you been a flight simmer and what attracted you to it in the first place?
Flying experience is a long story for me. From the earliest age, I liked to fly. At about 12, I began to pilot aircrafts and gliders RC models. From 15 year old, I flew real gliders to championship level.
My first flight sim experience was during my studies, with an Amstrad computer (8088 processor) with a "harrier" simulator, monochrome screen and wired modeling. Then we have the arrival of personal computers with 68000 proc, for instance an Amiga, color screen, and a flight simulator with colored polygons. Great !
In the late 90', I had still no time and not enough money for real flying but I came back to flight Sims, with the ability to fly online, with Flight simulator and Combat flight simulator 1. With another French guy, we began a squad, "FAFL342", the Free French Air Force, and its historical RAF squad number 342, specialized in low level bombing. We began with CFS1, and some add on as "TailGunner2" and "BombRunHost". It was great time of Interlaken BombRun over internet, and also some homemade missions and aircrafts (the A20 Boston).
Even if we tried to migrate to IL2, we are regular to M$ simulators and we still fly online with CFS3, majorly with missions, inspired from historical facts. By now, SOH is the only place where we can meet CFS3 online pilots and organize flights. Thanks also for the permanent Team Speak 3 which is a real opportunity for our community.
Do you have any animal companions? If so, please describe them or say what you want about them. If you do not have any pets, then what one animal would you pick if you had the choice of a pet?
When I was a kid, I had fish, mice, a snake, a cat.
During our family era, I had up to 3 medium dogs.
Now, being single, I appreciate other’s pets. I like to be in the air, travelling, and there is not so much place or time for pets.
If you could have any special magic, what would it be?
Wow ! I think most important is to be in good health.
So, I would like to be able to heal any pain or illness. Unfortunately, it would be then be an exhausting job...
What are you most proud of?
For sure, it’s my children! Seeing them growing, educate them, teach them, make them independent. That’s the meaning of life.
If you could become anyone's friend that you want, who would you choose?
Friendship has to be shared, mostly with someone who have same hobbies, same vision. Well, it would be some Pilots, real or virtual to share passion, some stories, some events, some flights
I would like also to re-build a love relation, someone I can trust in for long time. I hope I do find her.
If you had to pick one place in your town to bring a tourist, where would you go?
Well ! I live in Paris Suburb. So if it’s only about my village, it would be quick : the river "la <st1lace w:st="on">Seine</st1lace>", the park, the RAF memorial, the town hall, the church, the baker....
But about Paris and all around, there so much to see, to do !
If you are a "Pilot" tourist, I would bring you to all airports & air museum around Paris (lol), if you are a "standard" tourist we would go to "Ile de la Cité" with Notre dame de Paris, to Beaubourg and "le Quartier du Marais", to Eiffel Tower and Trocadero, to "les Champs élysées" La Concorde and l'Opéra Garnier", le Sacre Coeur and la butte Montmarte, le Grand Palais and les Invalides, Montparnasse, le parc de Luxembourg, le Pantheon, Le jardin des plantes, le musée d'Orsay.... Well a lot to see in <st1:City w:st="on">Paris</st1:City> intra muraux, but also <st1:City w:st="on">Versailles</st1:City>, <st1:City w:st="on">Fontainebleau</st1:City>, Chantilly ...
Come to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Paris</st1lace></st1:City>, I will drive you around!
What are some of your family's traditions?
I’m from a catholic family but not a churchgoer. I still have a relationship with my father’s family, who lives about 200 miles from <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Paris</st1lace></st1:City>. There is not much tradition surviving, except Christmas with family and New Year’s Eve with friends. Summer holidays is a good opportunity to visit each others, have a BBQ party, cook some pie with fruits picked up in the garden or in the fields, and fly RC models, or kites if its too windy.
What is your greatest strength?
Well ! Surviving ? And going forward with whatever happens. Keep strong and positive relations with some friends and some family.
I like to design projects and make them come true. And when I am motivated, there no problem to share goals and ambition, and nothing can stop it. I appreciate team work and I don’t mind volunteering to lead.
Who is the one person that helped to make you who you are today?
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>As we say in French "dogs don’t make cats". So it’s mostly my parents that helped to make me who I am now. My father was a mining and industrial engineer, travelling around the world. He shared with me his passion for technology and open mind with progress and new technology. With him I learned to fly, I made my own electronics systems, I designed my first software. My mother, a bank employee, was managing homework duties and housekeeping.
Do you ever feel that ‘real’ peace on this planet is attainable? (This is the question that MOTW #12 wanted to be asked to the next MOTW.)
What is "real" peace on this planet ? No more war ? No more conflict of any size ? It seams to be utopia. Except if a major disaster happens that would increase humanity wisdom, reduce freedom and community diversity, re enforce laws and control over the world... however, human behavior will always make a place for ambition, jealousy, lust.
What we can do : Lets work for a better world, give love around us, give meanings, live in peace and harmony.
What question do you want to be asked to the next MOTW?
Personal Flight Sims began with personal computers in the 80's. What will Flight Sims be in 30 years ? Which place could it take socially?
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