[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":377},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f4k2zboi0j48w7ZYA9hQAo61mrDQWnBM5B1lmzQKahQ0":3},{"success":4,"data":5,"relatedPosts":376},true,{"id":6,"title":7,"slug":8,"content":9,"category":374,"createdAt":375,"updatedAt":375},"7rwSGgAldFH1rltrPtpc4W","How it started","howitstarted",{"nodeType":10,"data":11,"content":12},"document",{},[13,22,30,48,65,72,88,104,111,145,152,159,175,182,189,196,203,210,217,233,240,256,272,279,295,302,314,321,337,344,351,358],{"nodeType":14,"data":15,"content":16},"heading-1",{},[17],{"nodeType":18,"value":19,"marks":20,"data":21},"text","✈️ How a 14‑Year‑Old Kid Became the SimFlyingDutchman",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":24,"content":25},"heading-2",{},[26],{"nodeType":18,"value":27,"marks":28,"data":29},"My Journey Into the World of Flight Simulation",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":32,"content":33},"paragraph",{},[34,38,44],{"nodeType":18,"value":35,"marks":36,"data":37},"Some passions start with a spark. Mine began when I was a 14‑year‑old kid who stumbled upon ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":39,"marks":40,"data":43},"Flight Simulator 2002",[41],{"type":42},"bold",{},{"nodeType":18,"value":45,"marks":46,"data":47},". Our family computer was anything but powerful, yet somehow it managed to run MSFS 2002 just well enough to pull me into a world I had no idea would shape decades of my life.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":49,"content":50},{},[51,55,61],{"nodeType":18,"value":52,"marks":53,"data":54},"Back then, we didn’t even have proper internet at home. So there I was, sitting in my room, flying offline with zero knowledge of procedures, checklists, or aviation theory. I didn’t know what I was doing — but I ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":56,"marks":57,"data":60},"did",[58],{"type":59},"italic",{},{"nodeType":18,"value":62,"marks":63,"data":64}," know I was having the time of my life.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":66,"content":67},{},[68],{"nodeType":18,"value":69,"marks":70,"data":71},"From Keyboard Pilot to Joystick Hero",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":73,"content":74},{},[75,79,84],{"nodeType":18,"value":76,"marks":77,"data":78},"Like many simmers, I started with the basics: keyboard and mouse. Eventually, I upgraded to a cheap Trust joystick — a brand many Dutch readers will recognize. That joystick opened up a whole new world. Suddenly I could fly helicopters, small planes, and of course… the legendary ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":80,"marks":81,"data":83},"Learjet",[82],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":85,"marks":86,"data":87},", which completely stole my heart.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":89,"content":90},{},[91,95,100],{"nodeType":18,"value":92,"marks":93,"data":94},"I played MSFS 2002 for years before moving on to ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":96,"marks":97,"data":99},"MSFS X",[98],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":101,"marks":102,"data":103},", still using simple hardware and a tiny screen. But none of that mattered. I was hooked.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":105,"content":106},{},[107],{"nodeType":18,"value":108,"marks":109,"data":110},"Leveling Up: My First Gaming Laptop",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":112,"content":113},{},[114,118,123,127,132,136,141],{"nodeType":18,"value":115,"marks":116,"data":117},"When my old PC finally gave up, I bought a gaming laptop. Not ideal for flight simulation, but it worked well enough. This was my first encounter with the ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":119,"marks":120,"data":122},"Airbus A321",[121],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":124,"marks":125,"data":126},", and the ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":128,"marks":129,"data":131},"Beechcraft King Air",[130],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":133,"marks":134,"data":135}," which quickly became one of my favorites. Later, I bought ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":137,"marks":138,"data":140},"Flight Simulator 2020",[139],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":142,"marks":143,"data":144},", which gave me countless hours of joy.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":146,"content":147},{},[148],{"nodeType":18,"value":149,"marks":150,"data":151},"And then… everything changed.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":153,"content":154},{},[155],{"nodeType":18,"value":156,"marks":157,"data":158},"The Announcement That Changed Everything",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":160,"content":161},{},[162,166,171],{"nodeType":18,"value":163,"marks":164,"data":165},"Microsoft revealed ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":167,"marks":168,"data":170},"Flight Simulator 2024",[169],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":172,"marks":173,"data":174},", and I was sold instantly — especially because of the mission system. By then, I had already upgraded to a Saitek Pro Yoke and throttle.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":176,"content":177},{},[178],{"nodeType":18,"value":179,"marks":180,"data":181},"But my laptop was struggling. Badly.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":183,"content":184},{},[185],{"nodeType":18,"value":186,"marks":187,"data":188},"So together with a colleague, I selected all the components and built my own gaming PC. That alone was an adventure — from choosing parts to assembling everything myself. The moment the PC didn’t turn on was terrifying, but luckily it was just a RAM stick that wasn’t seated properly.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":190,"content":191},{},[192],{"nodeType":18,"value":193,"marks":194,"data":195},"Release Day: A Rollercoaster",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":197,"content":198},{},[199],{"nodeType":18,"value":200,"marks":201,"data":202},"November 2024 arrived. I took two days off work to enjoy the release… and it turned into a huge disappointment. Server issues everywhere. In the end, I only used one day off and went back to work.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":204,"content":205},{},[206],{"nodeType":18,"value":207,"marks":208,"data":209},"Thankfully, after a few days the problems were fixed, and I could finally dive in. I spent hours earning all the MSFS certificates — and for the first time, I truly began to understand what I was doing in the cockpit and start to know the basic procedures in aviation.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":211,"content":212},{},[213],{"nodeType":18,"value":214,"marks":215,"data":216},"Enter the SimFly Community",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":218,"content":219},{},[220,224,229],{"nodeType":18,"value":221,"marks":222,"data":223},"This was the moment I rolled into the real sim community. I created my Instagram account, ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":225,"marks":226,"data":228},"Simflyingdutchman",[227],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":230,"marks":231,"data":232},", and started sharing my flights. Through that account, I discovered an entire world of sim pilots just like me. I wasn’t alone — far from it. And that felt amazing. One of the highlights was the FS weekend in Lelystad earlier this month where I went with Mike, an aviation enthousiast like me. ",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":234,"content":235},{},[236],{"nodeType":18,"value":237,"marks":238,"data":239},"Hardware Evolution: From Saitek to Honeycomb to WinCtrl",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":241,"content":242},{},[243,247,252],{"nodeType":18,"value":244,"marks":245,"data":246},"When my Saitek yoke died, I upgraded to the ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":248,"marks":249,"data":251},"Honeycomb yoke and throttle",[250],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":253,"marks":254,"data":255},". A massive improvement, and it allowed me to fly the Cessna 172 and the Airbus more realistically. But something still felt… incomplete.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":257,"content":258},{},[259,263,268],{"nodeType":18,"value":260,"marks":261,"data":262},"Then I discovered a Chinese company now known as ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":264,"marks":265,"data":267},"WinCtrl",[266],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":269,"marks":270,"data":271},".",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":273,"content":274},{},[275],{"nodeType":18,"value":276,"marks":277,"data":278},"It started with a simple MCDU on my desk. Then I added a portable LCD screen which I used as a MIP screen. Then the I bought the autopilot panel followed by the sidestick. Piece by piece, my setup grew — and so did my excitement.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":280,"content":281},{},[282,286,291],{"nodeType":18,"value":283,"marks":284,"data":285},"But there was one problem:\n",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":287,"marks":288,"data":290},"My desk was way too small.",[289],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":292,"marks":293,"data":294},"  \nEvery time I needed to work, I had to move everything aside. It drove me crazy.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":296,"content":297},{},[298],{"nodeType":18,"value":299,"marks":300,"data":301},"The Birth of a Home Cockpit",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":303,"content":304},{},[305,309],{"nodeType":18,"value":306,"marks":307,"data":308},"That’s when the idea hit me:\n",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":310,"marks":311,"data":313},"What if I build a pedestal?",[312],{"type":59},{},{"nodeType":31,"data":315,"content":316},{},[317],{"nodeType":18,"value":318,"marks":319,"data":320},"I could mount part of the setup on it and simply slide it away when needed. It was a clever solution — and also the beginning of my home cockpit journey.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":322,"content":323},{},[324,328,333],{"nodeType":18,"value":325,"marks":326,"data":327},"I’m not building a full‑scale cockpit like some simmers do, but I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve created so far. I even have the ",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":329,"marks":330,"data":332},"FO side of the Airbus A320",[331],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":334,"marks":335,"data":336}," now, and I can still move everything aside when I need to work. Perfect balance.",[],{},{"nodeType":23,"data":338,"content":339},{},[340],{"nodeType":18,"value":341,"marks":342,"data":343},"Looking Ahead",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":345,"content":346},{},[347],{"nodeType":18,"value":348,"marks":349,"data":350},"I can’t wait to share more stories, experiences, and behind‑the‑scenes moments with you. And of course, I’ll give you a detailed tour of my setup soon.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":352,"content":353},{},[354],{"nodeType":18,"value":355,"marks":356,"data":357},"Thanks for being part of this journey.",[],{},{"nodeType":31,"data":359,"content":360},{},[361,366,370],{"nodeType":18,"value":362,"marks":363,"data":365},"Vriendelijke groeten,",[364],{"type":42},{},{"nodeType":18,"value":367,"marks":368,"data":369},"  \n",[],{},{"nodeType":18,"value":225,"marks":371,"data":373},[372],{"type":42},{},"Blog","2026-03-29T18:55:06.253Z",[],1775215023030]