Dennis Hardy
Dennis has been an aviation enthusiast since getting his first
Biggles book for Christmas at the age of 10 (which he still
has on his bookcase!). Although not a qualified pilot, over
the years he has flown in a multitude of different light aircraft
from weight shift microlights to gliders and general aviation
aircraft. His most memorable experience was in a C150 aerobat
as the pilot was practicing his aerobatic routine. A flight
simmer since the mid 90s and a long time R/C modeller, he has
experience flying both R/C fixed wing and helicopters. He is
now retired from a career as a Quality Manager and Health & Safety
Officer in the pharmaceutical and packaging industries. Since
retiring he has built his own "simpit" - simulated cockpit
- based round 2 networked pcs. He joined the CIX VFR Club in
2011 and obtained the VATSIM P1 pilot rating shortly afterwards.
He obtained the VATSIM P2 Rating in 2012 and more recently
the P3 rating. His long experience has enabled him to carry
out the VATSIM P1, P2 & P3 training for the club.
Ken Greer
As a youngster still in short trousers, Ken cycled to Renfrew
airport and watched the aircraft there. He thinks they were
Vickers Viscounts and Vanguards. He was unable to pursue a
career in aviation, however. With regards to Flightsimming,
it was the Psion software simulator on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
that got him hooked. Trying to keep that little white square
in the ILS window drove him nuts. His son wanted to fly, so
in 1991 went to Edinburgh University for his degree. Whilst
there he purchased a desktop pc and promptly put FS4 on it,
which both he and Ken enjoyed. Ken's son is now a captain on
the Airbus 320 family. Flightsimming runs in the family, as
Ken's grandson Thomas is now a junior member of the CIX VFR
Club. Ken's own early simming was mainly with FS2004 flying
the Dash 7 for a VA, and also the Cessna 421 twin for another
VA. He made his first flight with VATSIM on the 1st October
2001 and co-incidentally with the CIX VFR Club also on the
1st of October 2010 in the C421. He wants to share his flightsim
experience with others and so he became an instructor with
the Club in 2013.