About Me
My name is Karl, (nickname: Clarkey) I'm a British ex-pat working and living here in Brunei on the island of Borneo. I'm in my 40's and have spent all my life working on both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.
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About Me
Background
I joined the British Army at the age of 16 and after spending 17 years serving and reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant, as an Aircraft Engineer.
I worked on various aircraft in my military career such as Scout, Gazelle, 212, Lynx, Apache, AS365, and the Britte Norman D4K.​ My favourite aircraft of all is Boeing's Apache Longbow (AH64D). This was an engineering marvel with the emphasis on ease of maintenance and combat reliability.
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I served across the world in many theatres, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq & Afghan. I also managed to travel the world skiing and meeting some of the most amazing characters life has to offer.
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In 2012, I left the British Army after to pursue a civilian career as a civilian licensed aircraft engineer. I then headed with my family (my wife Helen, my son Joshua & my daughter Chloe) to the other side of the world to Brunei, which is where we have been until 2022.
I used to work for the British Army as a civilian contractor for FBH, Cobham, and Draken, where I worked on three Bell 212 helicopters. It was the best of both worlds (military & civilian) in an amazing location.
In 2014, I became frustrated with my job. Coming from the very advanced Boeing Apache in the military to the Vietnam-era Bell 212 in the civilian world felt like a step back in time. The most complicated system on the 212 was a 1978 autopilot called SFENA.
At that time, we had another engineer, Emma Deacon, who was working towards her avionics license. She would ask me to explain the mechanical side of things, and in return, she taught me about avionics. This exchange was just what I needed to keep my mind engaged. I found it fascinating, and for the first time in nearly 20 years, electronics and avionics no longer seemed like black magic. I quickly grasped radio and electron theory.
One year later, I quit my job as a mechanical engineer and became an avionics engineer. In truth, I am both.
As a test of my new-found knowledge, the company decided to upgrade the ancient communication and navigation systems of the Bell 212 to modern digital systems. This meant removing over 30 Kg of wiring looms and associated equipment and completely rewiring 3 aircraft from the start. It was terrific and I wanted more.
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One night lost in the rabbit hole of Youtube aviation. This video popped up called Build A Boeing by Peter. In one night, I think I watched every video on his channel and my new fascination in life had begun. In the morning, I announced to my wife Helen, I would be building a Boeing 737.
Her response was, "what and why?"
Nonetheless, she let me and has supported me the whole way. Sim 1 became a reality.
Two years later I wanted better and bigger. This is where you find us now, on Sim 3 trying to build my sim and help others achieve it on a budget and bring down the costs. Or maybe have a little fun building on the way and sharing our experiences. We certainly don't have bundles of money to throw at this or parts that can be delivered easily. Its make it from what we have available and try to show how it's done.
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Shortly after, www.737DIYSIM.com was born. I needed this website to share my plans and ideas. This allowed me to communicate with the sim world and see what others needed and wanted.
I needed to move away from the mainstream forums, where I was the new guy myself and I generally found that if it wasn't genuine Boeing parts or a recognised Sim company people seemed to be very dismissive and opinionated.
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Welcome to 737DIYSIM! We're thrilled to have you aboard.
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This project is a labour of love, and getting all the information up on the website will take more time than I initially thought. My build isn't finished yet, and I know some of you are catching up quickly.
Your patience means a lot to us. If I'm slow to respond, it's due to the sheer number of questions across various social media platforms. If you haven't received a prompt reply, please don't hesitate to send your message again.
Remember, it's just the two of us here: I handle the building, while Helen manages the website and answers your questions.
Since 2022, We relocated back to the UK (GMT), so while some of you are on your computers in the evening, we're already asleep. I still work as an Avioivcs and Mechanical engineer on a single Dauphin Helicopter AS365(N2) at Newquay airport. My hobby (737DIYSIM) revolves around this job.
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If you've read through all this, well done! We're excited to have you with us on this journey.
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If you would like to Contact Us:
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