Mark Silcock Interview
This was a tremendous opportunity to speak with Mark and his plans for IFC (International Flight Sim Convention) Astraboy travelled to Blackpool to meet up, and the interview can be read below. It gives a fascinating insight into the flight sim world as well as the work of Mark and his team, who have brought together a whole community through their web site and conventions.
What first gave you the idea to organise a flight simulator convention?
Well about five years ago I was sat in my office talking to my dad and of course I had been into flight simulation ever since I had been knee high to a grasshopper. I turned around to my father said I was going to organise a convention, exhibition around flight simulation, but I did not want to organise just an exhibition for the UK I wanted one to organise one to cover the world. Then of course after doing some market research and looking into some of the ways and marketing strategies could be put in place to audit, of course it all came to light and since then it has flourished. It has been a lot of hard work in organising it but it’s just for the love of the actual hobby and being able to progress it and give flight simulation an image, that I so desperately thought it deserved and did not really have as apposed to from an exhibition point of view.
Was it difficult to bring companies together to support the event?
It was, initially it was very difficult to bring companies together. With any new venture companies are a little bit wary about what they are going too and exhibit at there had to be a lot of persuasion there. Although I already had a lot of contacts and spoken to a lot of people and once they had seen my business plan and seen exactly what I was going to do, it made it a little easier, it was still very difficult getting the first show put together. I knew once I got the first show together it would get a little easier every year. At the first show in 2004 we had 53 stands which for the very first show was a very good result. Again it’s got easier every year but the shows IFC now put on have got bigger and bigger. This year at the NEC there are over 100 stands this is bringing more companies in and contacting more companies, but word does go around and people talk to one another, they say are you going to IFC this year. Another point was to give it a name that rolled off the tongue IFC a bit like E3 in the states.
Did you have any fears it may fail, or not capture peoples imaginations?
With any business venture or anything people decide they want to do there is always a chance and always a risk, and I have invested a lot of my own money into IFC and not had it all back yet. It was down to a positive attitude, if we were going to do it we had to do it properly and I think in the way we have done it has made it the success which I believe it has been up to now in only the second year. As the old saying goes Rome was not built in a day. It takes time, and you have to give it that amount of time to build it and establish it within the market. So as far as risk was concerned, of course there is risk in everything but it was take the bull by the horns and lets go for it.
What were Microsoft's reaction when they first heard the idea and how supportive have they been?
Microsoft have been great, Microsoft have been supportive from day one, and they continue to be. IFC have struck up a relationship with Microsoft that is worth its weight in gold and I am very pleased about that. We are just in the process of talking about the plans for IFC this year details have been put on the back burner for a short while due obviously with the news of the new Microsoft flight simulator coming out. As to what Microsoft are going to do with that as opposed to previous shows where we would have had all the details by now. We are in fact in the final process of talking and putting the final details to exactly what Microsoft will do at IFC this year.
Why do you think certain flight simulation software/hardware companies will not support the events?
There is quite a bit of politics that goes on in the flight simming world that the ordinary flight simmers do not see. And it is a shame that companies will not support but then again there are companies that cannot afford it. But what I have tried to do with IFC is make it affordable for everybody and the pricing structure which is what we have in place for the stands etc is not a phenomenal price. In the first place it does upset me to a certain extent that there are certain companies that will not support, of course I am not going to mention any names but I am afraid to say it is their complacency with their view to the future that will see them one day turn around and be saying they will want to come to a convention. Because it's of a size where people can just not afford to be at IFC but we have had companies who have turned round and from a flight simmers point of view I think its important. I support all those people and companies, so why do not the companies support me. It's a difficult question to answer fully.
Tell us a little about the team of people who help make IFC the worlds largest flight sim convention?
Well the team of people behind IFC is just phenomenal really, and they are all people who are enthusiasts and who want and see the vision I had to move IFC forward to an astronomical level where it not only brings the flight simulation world together but it also brings many other aspects of aviation to it as well. The people who are a part of IFC are based all over the world and they are all doing their little bit towards making it what it is now and what it will be again in the future. It's too many to mention but its everybody with a positive attitude and all can see exactly what I am trying to do. They have seen already with the previous conventions there is a lot of excitement out there, people now say we cant wait for IFC in December because they came to last year and had a great time they cant wait for the next one. All the people who have been involved in helping and developing it and doing their own little bit, many hands make light work as the saying goes.
Looking back to IFC 2005 how did the events go for you personally?
IFC 2005 was a personal achievement for me because the work I had put into it was 24/7 and I had to stand back at one point and look at it and think have I done this. With anything anybody does you always need to stand back and look at what is right and an element of what is wrong. I analysed what I thought was right and the way I wanted it to be I also analysed what was wrong and could be improved on, and there was certainly room for improvement although the venue let us down absolutely immensely. As far as the presentation was concerned I do not believe there has been anything as good, but there is certainly things that I am looking at now that will be put in place or improved and it's a learning curve you learn by your mistakes and rectify those mistakes to make it good.
Hindsight being a wonderful thing, would you have changed anything at IFC 2005?
I would have changed the Thursday before the convention when the terrorists launched the bombs in London that was one thing that was a bit of a kick in the teeth for everybody really because nobody could have envisaged that happening, but it would have to happen at the weekend of the convention! The weather did not do us any favours, the weather was too hot, the air show I organised along with Blackpool Borough Council did not really do us any favours because it took people out of the convention rather than keep them in so all those little things have been looked at now. One reason IFC went to December was to get away from any of the air shows or other shows so that it would be all out on its own with nothing else to go too or nothing else to distract people, and I think it also helps with the fact it is close to Christmas and people are looking for Christmas presents as well.
In 2006 two events are planned, the first in July across the Atlantic in Denver USA. What was the idea behind this and how easy was the event to organise on this scale being so far from home?
With the Internet nowadays and Skype voice communication its made it so easy and so inexpensive to talk to people all over the world which has been a big asset. For if I had actually paid for the amount of telephone calls I had made to the states and everywhere else I do not know whether I would really have been able to do it, but we are able to do it now. What we decided to do was what with the dollar and the pound exchange being so expensive for a American to come over to the United Kingdom to visit IFC, although we did have several American visitors come over it was out of the reach of quite a fair few people. So after some thought and looking into one or two things including venues we came up with the Doubletree hotel in Denver made contact with them Steve and Ken in Denver had done a lot of the ground work so the reason why Denver was put together was we wanted to take IFC to America so the people did not have to come to IFC in Europe and have the expense behind it all and that is the way it has been done. Denver will be 40 stands for the first one which is going back to what we did with IFC 2004 to start it off, then we have the plans if everything goes alright with Denver this year which I am sure it will, we will move it to Seattle and to increase the size of it to the same level as the convention in Europe.
Of course the main event will be held at the NEC Birmingham this coming December, what initially attracted you to the idea of changing venues from the north west to the heart of the country?
I needed to launch IFC in Blackpool for the first two years it was on the business plan to have IFC move to a more centralised location which is NEC if we could get to the third year the move would be made and we did get to the third year so the move has been made. A lot of people have been saying, “Mark can you move it to a more centralised location?” but being more central for people means we have the airport there where people can fly in from all over the world and be in the convention within five - ten minutes. The major motorway link system, we have the rail connection so people can get to the NEC, so its very accessible and centralised in the UK. I think now and more so with what is happening due to Microsoft flight simulation new version coming out I think it gives it the best chance ever.
A year is a long time in flight simulation so what changes can we expect at IFC 2006 compared to previous events?
It's difficult to say that although there is information that I know of I am still at the point of where disclosure agreements have been signed to Microsoft where I am not allowed to disclose information with regards to exactly where, when, what details with regards to FSX . So I cant really say too much about that all I could probably say you would probably find it very hard for Microsoft to be showing FS2004 . We are also looking at the RAF with full size models of the Harrier jump jet coming in, we have gliders coming in along with newer companies. VATSIM are actually building a control tower and again when people arrive again they will get the boarding cards a 2007 calendar.
So it should be a far more interactive experience rather than moving along from stand to stand?
Yes, we have a full size 737 simulator coming there is so much it's quite hard to say but I think people are looking to think well gosh look what happened last year what will happen this year, there will be a lot more there. The real side of aviation where the crossover from flight simulation to real aviation is very important a whole load of new things at IFC this year the biggest one of them all would be I imagine what Microsoft will show.
IFC is not just a convention, it’s also a dedicated web site to flight simulation. Can you tell us about some of the exciting projects you have arranged or are planning in 2006?
IFC has gone from strength to strength as far as that is concerned and there was no way I wanted it just to be a convention once a year and it's not because we are bringing in many branches of IFC into play such as the IFC virtual airline the system behind this will be virtually ground breaking as far as a pilot can actually fly and gain sim points and exchange those sim points for miles. Membership cards that are given, sent to them in the post with a whole load of discounts attached to them. We have the flight academy that will take place on the 19th August at Cranfield school of air training (Cabair) a full day of seminar then a tour around the airfield and museum and people with have a chance to take in a half hour flight . We have got the gift of flight which is coming which has adventure days. People can buy aviation gifts flights in a hot air balloon or a Cessna. With all the other sites that we are hoping to open along with IFC Holland, IFC America, IFC Germany, IFC Spain will be coming online IFC France and IFC Russia with plans for IFC Australia in Melbourne 2007 which will be the third convention in that year. IFC aircraft with the new livery that has been designed by Josh Moody a 14 year old that is just a wizard. So many things that have been incorporated and so may branches that are going out with many more ideas still to be announced . The file library in development at the moment where people can download freeware files. So a whole wide world community all at one location .
If Microsoft stopped producing flight simulator, what future would you see for the flight simulation community?
I do not think Microsoft will when you think about it Microsoft flight simulator is probably the biggest selling product Microsoft have away from the actual office side of things. Microsoft have developed simulator into a program that has become a cult and is going from strength to strength. All the time Microsoft sees that and I think you will see them develop the simulator for many more years to come.
Finally, if you had just one wish regarding IFC or flight simulation what would that be?
I want the flight sim community to come together in a way that is never been done before. Flight simulator now is that good it's a shame people do not see the big picture of flight simulation and exactly what it has to offer. This was another reason behind IFC to give the opportunity to those people to do that and show them the big picture. There is a lot of people out there who do not get to see the products and you can say to people all the time have you got this program and the reply is no I’ve never heard of it so you introduce them and it gives them the wow factor, “I did not know that did that or I did not know that was there” again this is another thing with IFC which has helped a lot of people we have launched the IFC team speak server which allows people to come at night and at the moment we are doing an air traffic controller training course. For instance last night we had 15 pilots all flying from Tel Aviv to Baghdad which was a leg of a round the world flight that we are doing which was great and was great fun but it also gives good training to pilots with ATC. The one thing I found with ATC was that as good as VATSIM is there are pilots out there who are just a little bit dumbfounded when it comes to knowing what to say or the correct procedures. Again this is just another way we are helping people to be able to overcome that and teach them how to fly with air traffic control. People are very welcome to come on IFC team speak server and get that support and help as well as being a lot of fun. So there are many aspects of IFC and stuff I have probably not touched on all I can say is what IFC is doing putting together a global community, I will rephrase that, it's bringing together a global community to give them the big picture to move flight simulation forward and also with the cross over into the real world of aviation and show people how good it is.
I would like to thank Mark for his time and for giving us an insight into IFC. We wish him well with both venues this year and in the future. Maybe his idea of bringing the flight simulation world together is edging ever closer. Stay tuned for future developments as they say!
UPDATE NOTE:
Since this interview took place a further event was held in the USA. This unfortunately was the last one, before IFC closed it's doors for the last time.
