It was early 2005, a friend of mine (hardcore sims fan) gave me Wings Over Vietnam. I tested it briefly, and put it on shelf, quite disappointed, mainly due to low frametare and absence of clouds. Then few months later I was browsing net searching for Janes' ATF addon libraries... on one site I saw pic of Vark cockpit for WoV. "So, it's moddable" ignited in my mind... decided to try it again. From Column5s site to CombatAce, rest is history.
My first "mods" I did were in early 2006, private effects swaps and graphics edits for Edward's Solomons campaign.
Damn I was so scared when I uploaded my first tiny effects mod (newgunsfx) here in November 2006. But you guys were so kind not to ban me after that