Hello everyone! I just wanted to introduce myself to the squadron. I have been flying DCS since 2012 where I had a Steam copy of DCS with the Frogfoot and P51 Training Mustang with the option to buy the A-10C Warthawg. I had a Saitek 52 and thank god it had a twist function because I had no idea I needed rudder pedals. I bought the A-10C module because I liked the idea of all of the switches working and Brrrrrrrrtttttt. My friend who introduced me to DCS and I began trying to start it up and take off for the first few hours. I remember there were a lot of crashes, being upside down, and lots and lots of fire. The addiction began...
As the addiction grew, I upgraded to a Thrustmaster Warthawg HOTAS and rudder pedals but it got to be such a pain to have to set them up each time on my main PC, I just had to have my own simpit with it's own dedicated PC build for DCS only. The addiction grew, the cost of the hobby grew even more.
Around 2014/2015, I began looking for others to fly with and found the 476th vFG and they seemed to be the number one group to do things in a realistic way. I eventually was accepted into the 476th vFG where the A-10C was the only platform at the time. Snoopy was my IP and I slowly made my way through IQT and MQT until becoming a full fledged pilot in the 476th. I flew the A-10C for three to four years until 2018 when the F/A-18 Hornet came out and I helped stand up the 476th wing of the Hornet. It was early access and we were going into battle with Mk-82s, no FLIR pod, and AIM-7's. It was a little rough but I really enjoyed the new airframe. I think I enjoy the procedural stuff like ILS and Aerial refueling as much as employing weapons.
DCS changed my life so much that I got my student pilots license and began pretend strafing Archer hangers in my Cessna 172 much to the chagrin of my instructor pilot. I've also become an FAA certified drone pilot and fly several times a month as part of my job.
Unfortunately in 2019, real life obligations took over and I had to step away from flying and I moved and lost the space for my dedicated sim pit. I ended up giving up DCS and the 476th for several years.
Fast forward to late 2023, and I was able to rebuild my dedicated gaming room and combine my two five year old PCs into one amazing PC with everything I needed to get back into DCS. I dusted off the Sim Pit and bought a 65" 120hz gaming TV and the addiction was back. After flying on my own, I decided that I really wanted the dedication and real life procedures that the 476th provided so I joined their discord and reached out to see what was going on? Within 2 min, Snoopy messaged me and I found out about the 303rd. Upon looking at the roster, I started seeing so many familiar names like Snoopy, Grunt, Reb, Reaper, Hiccup, Ski, and others. Everyone I used to fly with on a regular basis and I knew this is where I wanted to be. I just didn't know what I wanted to fly. I was thinking of being a Hornet Pilot again but there is no Navy here! I thought about going back to the A-10C but the draw of the fast movers still pulls at me. I had purchased the F-16C a while ago but never really did much with it aside from my experience in BMS. So for the past few weeks, I've been giving myself a crash course in the F16C and I'm really loving it. But who knows, maybe someday they'll let me dual qualify for the F-16C and the A-10C!
I've very excited to be here and thank you for having me!
As the addiction grew, I upgraded to a Thrustmaster Warthawg HOTAS and rudder pedals but it got to be such a pain to have to set them up each time on my main PC, I just had to have my own simpit with it's own dedicated PC build for DCS only. The addiction grew, the cost of the hobby grew even more.
Around 2014/2015, I began looking for others to fly with and found the 476th vFG and they seemed to be the number one group to do things in a realistic way. I eventually was accepted into the 476th vFG where the A-10C was the only platform at the time. Snoopy was my IP and I slowly made my way through IQT and MQT until becoming a full fledged pilot in the 476th. I flew the A-10C for three to four years until 2018 when the F/A-18 Hornet came out and I helped stand up the 476th wing of the Hornet. It was early access and we were going into battle with Mk-82s, no FLIR pod, and AIM-7's. It was a little rough but I really enjoyed the new airframe. I think I enjoy the procedural stuff like ILS and Aerial refueling as much as employing weapons.
DCS changed my life so much that I got my student pilots license and began pretend strafing Archer hangers in my Cessna 172 much to the chagrin of my instructor pilot. I've also become an FAA certified drone pilot and fly several times a month as part of my job.
Unfortunately in 2019, real life obligations took over and I had to step away from flying and I moved and lost the space for my dedicated sim pit. I ended up giving up DCS and the 476th for several years.
Fast forward to late 2023, and I was able to rebuild my dedicated gaming room and combine my two five year old PCs into one amazing PC with everything I needed to get back into DCS. I dusted off the Sim Pit and bought a 65" 120hz gaming TV and the addiction was back. After flying on my own, I decided that I really wanted the dedication and real life procedures that the 476th provided so I joined their discord and reached out to see what was going on? Within 2 min, Snoopy messaged me and I found out about the 303rd. Upon looking at the roster, I started seeing so many familiar names like Snoopy, Grunt, Reb, Reaper, Hiccup, Ski, and others. Everyone I used to fly with on a regular basis and I knew this is where I wanted to be. I just didn't know what I wanted to fly. I was thinking of being a Hornet Pilot again but there is no Navy here! I thought about going back to the A-10C but the draw of the fast movers still pulls at me. I had purchased the F-16C a while ago but never really did much with it aside from my experience in BMS. So for the past few weeks, I've been giving myself a crash course in the F16C and I'm really loving it. But who knows, maybe someday they'll let me dual qualify for the F-16C and the A-10C!
I've very excited to be here and thank you for having me!
