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About Us
How we started
It all started with a few aviation enthusiasts joining together on the online network Flight Project International FPI. Hyro (Jairo) Oduber was later named the Caribbean Division Coordinator at that network. In the following years, the group started making more friends via the ArubaAviation.com website. Around August 2004 the planning started to open a Virtual Airline for Aruba, namely "Air Aruba Virtual".
On the 24th of October 2004, Air Aruba Virtual was officially established. At the end of that year and the beginning of 2005, many new members joined our group although most of them were still flying offline. In July 2005 the group (Air Aruba/Air Curacao/ALM) left FPI to fly on IVAO.
By September 2005 the Netherlands Antilles & Aruba Division on IVAO was established by Mr. Angel Van Delden. The FPI network was closed around December 2005. During the year, Ralph Hoek & Hyro Oduber brainstormed on how to get more Arubans to fly online as they were 2 of the few local FS pilots actively flying online. In October a Flight Simulator meeting was planned in which the main subject was to teach other FS pilots how to fly online and also see if there was an interest in opening a club. By unanimous decision, those present voted to open a Flight Simulator Club in Aruba. By the end of November, a board was formed and a second FS information night was planned for December since many people could not attend the first meeting or simply wanted more information on how to fly online. After some more board meetings, events, and kind donations from Horacio and Luis Oduber, John Salas, Rubin Ponson, Raul Croes, Gabriel Pichardo, Cheechong Lim, and Zeng Lee we gathered sufficient funds to proudly say that on the 24th of February 2006 the "Aruba Flight Simulator Club" was officially established.
Shortly thereafter we helped co-organize the first Aruba Aviation Expo together with the Aruba RC Club and the Aruba Flying Club which result was a huge success. In the meantime, we continue to organize both public and members-only events to help promote aviation as a hobby and/or career in Aruba.
Our goals
- Promote Flight Simulator on our island as an educative hobby.
- Promote Flight Simulator as a flight & air traffic control training tool for future pilots & controllers.
- Have our own Club House with a fully functional cockpit.
- Hold frequent meetings to educate our members on aviation topics.
- Promote Aviation in general.
- Social events.
Our club supports IVAO as the official flying network for our pilots and air traffic controllers.
Technical assistance is also available for our members flying on this network.