my bkg was exactly the same.....watching a seasoned pro, getting invited to hop on, and being fortunate enough to know good friends that get as much satisfaction out of teaching a newbie as they do operating the equip. most of my exp. grew on a D-4/joysticks.....incredible feeling to control so much iron w/ such subtle hand movements. also operated an older JD 550 w/ levers.....old school....very cool.

GSF are people too!