About us

SimFlying was founded by Peter de Graaf in 2011, and the first customers were received in late 2012. Over the years, SimFlying has grown significantly, leading to a practically fully booked schedule in 2018 and 2019, mostly assessment trainings for professionals.

From March 2020 through June 2021, SimFlying was closed due to the corona pandemic.

In mid-2021, Toby Enzerink & Matthijs Tissen took over the company from Peter, although he is still involved with SimFlying as a simulator engineer. Together with a team of enthusiastic instructors, SimFlying is once again running at full speed.

Since June 2023, SimFlying has moved to a larger and more modern premise in Aalsmeer with space for two fixed base simulators. Also at that time, the old B737NG was phased out and a new B737NG simulator with significantly improved software and hardware was introduced.

By the end of 2023, SimFlying has taken another great step. A brand new Airbus A320 has been purchased that became operational in the spring of 2024. As a result, SimFlying now offers the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

The team at SimFlying

Co-owner

Matthijs Tissen

Matthijs is co-owner of SimFlying and owner of VlieglesDeal. Matthijs prefers to be in the air. He has his PPL and flies regularly from Hilversum Airfield. In the past, he has photographed the Netherlands from Flight Level 1200, see also FL1200.nl

Co-owner

Toby Enzerink

Toby is co-owner of SimFlying. He also works as a consultant at AirHub where he deals with airspace design for unmanned and manned aviation. Toby has a background in manned aviation with a degree in Aviation Flight Operations Engineering.

Founder

Peter de Graaf

Peter is the founder of SimFlying. For years, he worked passionately on SimFlying. Yet Peter did not stop completely. In fact, he is involved in maintaining the simulator and developing training programs.

Instructors

Dan Aardema

Dan, with 21,500 flying hours, has extensive experience in civil aviation. He flew the B737 classic and NG for Air Holland, easyJet and Norwegian. Since 2020, Dan has been flying as a Training & Check Captain on the B737 for a European cargo airline. Dan has been captain since 1998, he is an enthusiastic instructor who greatly enjoys giving instruction to (aspiring) pilots. Dan is a qualified B737 Type Rating Instructor (TRI).

Daniel Valencia

Daniel is a driven and enthusiastic professional with very broad interests. Graduating from AIS Flight Academy, he began flying on the Jetstream 32. Now two airlines away, he flies on the B737NG. Extensive experience in guiding and motivating different types of people, including those with fear of flying. With Daniel, the sun always shines and with this passion he would like to inspire people with the beautiful world of aviation.

Jelle Visser

Jelle has been with a major European airline company for 15 years. He has flown on the Boeing 767, Boeing 737 and now as captain on the Boeing 787. In addition, Jelle has a passion for BBQs and motor racing. His goal while instructing is that he can get you as excited for aviation as he is!

Jente Nolten

Jente comes from a real flying family; his father and brother are also pilots. From a young age, this allowed him to become acquainted with the cockpit. That’s why he knew he wanted to be a pilot and has been an EPST commercial pilot graduate since May 2022. As an instructor at SimFlying, I would like to convey my enthusiasm to aspiring pilots.

Maarten van Walt Meijer

Maarten has been flying for a Dutch airline for more than 25 years. He once started on the 737 classic and has been a captain on the Boeing 737 NG since 2006.
In addition, he checked out Innsbruck and Salzburg. He is happy to take you to these destinations.

Rens van Dijk

Rens has always known he wants to be a pilot. So he pursued this dream in 2014 when he graduated from NLS. Meanwhile, Rens has been with a Dutch airline for 5 years and also instructs fellow pilots. In addition to his enthusiasm for flying, Rens likes to put this experience to work for (aspiring) pilots at SimFlying!

Delano Baas

Delano has been flying with TUI since early 2023. He always had a dream of becoming a pilot. So he began his flight training in Norway in 2020. In addition to his job in the cockpit and his personal life, he enjoys giving flight enthusiasts a fun day or preparing them for grading in the simulator at SimFlying.