Interview with Pilot of the Airwaves (Otawan Fouquet)

By Bixyl Shuftan

DJ Pilot, also known as Pilot of the Airwaves, or by her account name Otawan Fouquet, has been the DJ at some parties for Safra Nitely's Club Darkwing and the Relay for Life team Ministry of Dance, in addition to other locations such as the Taj Mah. I had first run into her in a chance encounter at the Blarney Stone in Dublin a few years ago. We recently met at her skybox for an interview about how she came to be where she is now.

Of the skybox home, Pilot told, "A friend built it for me, was a gift. Trinity Delphin, she and I are good buddies. I encouraged her to be a DJ also. She used to be my agent. Very nice and sweet and good DJ in her own right."

"So how did you find out about Second Life?" I asked Pilot. She answered, "After my husband passed away from cancer, a friend insisted that I join it. I did not like the idea, so she loaded it on my system and said 'now make a avatar.' I actually decided 'oh well might as well learn to build in here.' " I asked about her husband. She told me, "Melanoma ...it is a fast cancer. That is why I do the Relay for Life, hoping to find a cure. ... It was a bit of a shock, we were only married seven years. I was working, and just not doing anything but work. That is why (my friend) insisted on me coming in here."

Asking her how her first days online went, her response was, "Pretty well, I was introduced to the Dublin sim and found out they needed hostesses. My friend who got me in here insisted I go there first because of my Irish roots. I was hired and became friends with With Cher Harrington and Ham Rambler. At that time she was the top dj and live music manager. After a year of hostessing, they asked me to try out for a DJ position because Cher liked my voice, laugh, and choice of music. It just snow balled after that. It was a flurry of events and Dublin was very popular then."

When I mentioned the crowds Dublin gets every St. Patrick's Day, she stated, "Yes, we did loads of events for every major holiday. I met Safra Nitely at Dublin. I do not go there much (any more). It has switched owners, and they have not done too many events anymore. I was hoping it would last a long time." When I asked what happened, she answered, "Ham I suppose just lost interest or needed to deal with real life more. He decided to sell it, and it was a major undertaking to keep it going. There was 3 sims there. Now just one. I try to go hear the djs as much as possible, but with my schedule it is a bit hard."

I then asked her, "How long before you found other places to DJ?" She answered, "oh I was asked immediately. Heatbeats asked first, then Beau Belle, and I was still at Smooth Jazz Club too. We had a big following there also. But the owner retired , sold it and the new owner lost it. Another great club gone. We would have over 40 for my events alone." She told me Smooth Jazz had been holding events for over nine years. Pilot went on, "They came to hear me at Diegoland first. It was a part of Dublin then. I was their first entertainment. Then they hired live singers. It was well run and very efficient. (But) the owner just got tired of it and sold it."

"I have been fortunate to be with some really great clubs," Pilot told me. I asked about others, and she answered, "Drunken Drow, It was a Elf community club. I played Saturdays there, Celtic and bluegrass events. I kept it at a minimum  because they both had huge member lists and I was filling in too. Drunken Drow just shut down too, another one that had been around a long time. It had been there for over 7 years. Most the clubs I worked with were very stable. I also have done a couple of internet radio shows, DekaDance and RadioMetaverse. Dekadance (went) very well, they want me back. I am considering going back after my mum is more stable. RadioMetaverse is no longer, issues with the station manager. The manager was a bit of a hound, he was chasing the girls. I do not go for that business."

Pilot soon brought up the Relay for Life again, "I have to be going soon because of the relay for life event. I do voicing for the closing ceremony (later today)." She went on, "Oh, I did do a long stint with the Changhigh Trinity Sisters. They are still around and working all the big events. I did all their music and announced the different tricks they did. They are fire dancers. I like helping Relay for Life. The Strangeworld group have been very kind of me." I asked how she met the Changhigh Sisters, and she answered, "Ah, at the Drunken Drow. The owner approached me to help them. I have done Snail Race music too, medieval opens, opening of new sims, such as the German sim, etc. Seems like everyone told them to contact me."

"Sounds like you've gotten quite popular," I commented. Pilot responded, "well it is just a matter of being kind to people and being reliable. I tend to love the crowds too. They want someone who makes the crowd feel welcome and enjoy the fun. I get a big kick out of some of the gestures too. Safra has kept track of me and we wound up doing a set at her place, as you well know. It seems to be growing too. The new one, Shenanigans, is really going well."

"When did you and Safra meet?" I asked. Pilot answered, "About seven years ago. She came to one of my events at Fibbers, a club in Dublin. It was a dance club, her and Danton Thirroul were great friends.He was another great DJ from England. Danton also encouraged me to do readings as well. I did several. Beowulf was one of my favorites. We would do classic books and use music to create a small two hour event. He had a club called 'O'Caseys.' It was down the street from the Blarney in Dublin."

Pilot then paused for a moment, then spoke again, "Sorry getting hit with IMs, another one of the owners of Taj Mahal. I DJ for them on Sundays also." I asked if it looked like the real-life location in India. Pilot answered, "It is modeled after that. It is a big place.Voodoo Spyker owns it. She used to come to all my gigs at Fibbers."

I then asked, "I take it there have been a number of evens something went hilariously unplanned, a glitch that had everyone laughing?" Pilot thought for a moment, "I am trying to remember ... Oh yes, we had one individual who came in one day and said 'great music but the DJ has a bad voice.' It nearly caused a riot. You should of seen the open chat, oh-em-gee! All the managers wanted to ban him, and I said, 'Oh hell, it is his opinion and everyone has a right to their opinion.' I just kept djing and having fun." "what happened with him?" I asked. "(I) have no idea," she told me, "never saw him again. I suspect he was an alt. I have also had other DJs tell me in IM that I was no good and stop DJing. I consider those pure cases of jealousy. I take it with a grain of salt and go on."

I then asked, "Besides DJing and the RFL, what else do you do in Second Life?" Pilot answered, "I train DJs, free of charge. I never charge to train DJs. I like pass on the knowledge. I do some building. I am about to start snail racing. I have been thinking of doing live music. I used to play in real life a lot. Safra is trying to get me to do that." "What kind of live music?" I asked. "Celitc and bluegrass," she answered, "Some rock. I played for years with my Father. I also play Keyboard."

Pilot went on, "I used to do a lot of airplane and parachuting here, swimming, etc. I have done lots of posters for events and such. But I have been out for while with my Mother being so sick. ... she is better, Bixyl. She is 87, but faring well."

I then asked about her pilot's leather helmet. She answered, "Oh yes that comes from my background in aviation design. I was a designer in real life, commercial and military components and flight simulators."

She went on to say, "I met my real life husband now in here. ... Shawwn Noel ... We have been married seven years. He is a big geek like me, computers are his thing. The interesting thing is he was a female avatar in here when I met him, and became my best friend." I chuckled, "What was his explanation?" He did not want anyone female to bug him, so he became a small impish female elf who played hockey. It was pretty funny. He finally admitted to me he was a guy, and was attracted to me. He had the same last name I did in here: Fouquet. It was pretty funny really." "Not your usual way to meet a guy," I chuckled. "I still tease him about it," she mused.

"He comes (to my events) once in a while," she told me, "but he is pretty busy with real-life work. He is a marvelous builder too, and scripter.I would love to see him get int the castle build contests." "How long were you together before you were engaged?" I asked. "A year," she told me, "I am a bit older than him and I was leery of marrying a younger man. But we are a lot alike. Mom told me 'You are crazy if you don't marry him.' She liked him right off. His Mom and Dad really liked me too. So both parents were good with it. ... Glad I was here for him. He lost his mom and grandmother. He needed someone to support and love him."

"He comes in to my gigs and stands around," she spoke of him, "We call him 'Stoic Shawwn.' It's pretty funny really." "How did that get started?" I asked. Pilot answered, "I was on the mic one day and said, 'Pay no mind to the stoic avatar next to me.' And he would wear this huge katana, like he was protecting me. It was really funny. He is pretty funny in here. I guess it's his alter ego."

"Second Life is a fun place," Pilot spoke of the virtual world, "One of the best places I have found. It's a real community, and I have real friends here. I consider it my second home. The Lindens did a good thing here."

I then asked, "Anything to say about some of the items around here, such as the penguin?" I drew her attention to the prim bird on the table. Pilot answered, "Ah yes, they all reflect what I do. Yeah he is a piece from a friend that was an actual diver for the National Science Foundation. She just retired. Great lady, and I use to remotely DJ for her from Smooth. They were in Antarctica. They have heard (me) all the way to McMurdo Bay. All the divers would put in requests. That was very interesting and fun." I responded, "Antarctica? Getting there and going about there's quite a journey and effort. "Yes, she met her husband there," she told me, "He flew the C-130 that took them there. It is a long trip. She would contact by computer and say 'I am New Zealand now, on my way home.' She lives in Hawaii."

She then told me she had to leave, "Bixyl I must check on my mother and get back in time to do the show." She asked if I had enough information, and telling her I had she logged out.

DJ Pilot's real-life job resume, which she handed me in a notecard, is an impressive one, with jobs such as architectural coordinator, being a structural drafter/designer for the Star Building in Oklahoma City, working on design and prototype development for the Cessna Mustang air conditioning system, being a major designer on the V22 Osprey Flight Simulator, and the Boeing 777 jet stab trim controls, and having developed several Cad/Cam programs for the B-2, C-130, and F-16, F-22 flight assemblies.

DJ Pilot can be found at a number of venues throughout the week, including Safra Nitely's Club Darkwing at Devon Dream (207/31/3992) during "DJ Pilot's Sunday Riot," on Sunday from 10AM to Noon SL time.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Oldbie Project – RacerX Gullwing

By DrFran Babcock

RacerX was amongst the earliest of my friends in Second Life™. I met him in several places around the grid, and he was always welcoming and helpful, and remains that way to this very day, even after ten years on the grid.

When I first came in, Racer was strongly aligned with the Elf Circle community, then led by Wayfinder and Forcythia Wishbringer. He came to the first classes in building that I taught there, and my fondest earliest memory was of what I think was a machinima conference put on by missing oldbie Susie Spicoli who was involved in the old Alt Zoom Studio. Racer’s build was a rabbit hole that you fell down, and into the world of his early videos, made with his then constant companion: Snail Dude. Rabbit holes figure in much of Racer’s work, as do carrots.

Did I mention that Racer is a bunny? The other thing that needs to be said is that of all the folks I know in Second Life™, only RacerX has remained steadfast and true to one ideal, one goal and one very special event in life, and this is Giant Snail Racing. I don’t think I can remember a time when there wasn’t a Snail Race over the weekend.

In fact, something many readers may not know is that while I am the world’s worst snail racer, I did spend some time being a broadcaster with Treet TV. It is almost impossible to believe that the Treet website just hosted the 300^th anniversary episode edition of the snail races, celebrating nine years of snail racing.

Ten Years Old!

Along with over 1,000 residents, I received an invitation to RacerX’s tenth rezday party. While I couldn’t stay for the duration—marred by some griefing events—I was thrilled to share this day with an oldbie who has always been so positive about our beloved virtual world.

Click here if the video fails to play

Now that RacerX was ten, he qualified as an oldbie, and I wasted no time asking him for an interview. He consented almost immediately, which was just what I thought he would do.

Below are Racer's answers to the usual Oldbie Project questions. After that, I will share with you the time I spent as Racer delighted in showing me around his two parcels.

SL Newser: How did you find out about Second Life™?

RacerX Gullwing: My brother hipped me to it.

SL Newser:  What are your earliest memories of Second Life™?

RacerX Gullwing: Well, I came in at that old welcome area with the Start Here sign in an archway It was daytime. I got nervous and left, but got my courage up about a about a half hour later and went back in. Now it was nighttime. I flew out of the start area and went to that town to the east and wandered through some of the shops there.

SL Newser:  What kept you logging back in during the early days?

RacerX Gullwing: Within two days my brother bought me a membership so I could get my free land; at that time it was called first land. I found a nice plot on top of a hill in Koleamoku and put in my application for it. When I got it I was surrounded by others who had just got their free land,and we became friends shouting to each other as we built our first homes. It was a great time. We were all learning how to build and texture.

SL Newser: What are your fondest memories of the early days?

RacerX Gullwing: My neighbor Snow Hare invited me down to enjoy her hot tub. I felt like I was home. This was a cool place. I experimented with a flying vehicle script I found somewhere, and made a butterfly and Snow and I proceeded to crash into everything. Good times!

SL Newser: What are your funniest memories of the early days?

RacerX Gullwing: I found the events page, and started looking up upcoming events there was an Evil Clown contest. That sounded like fun so I made a pretty evil looking clown, pulled out a bazooka, and went to the party.The prize was 500 Lindens. I figured what could be more evil than a clown with a bazooka?  So I flew up to the rafters and commenced with the blasting. They nicely asked me to stop it.  So I did, and I didn't win. There was a good Ronald McDonald impersonator with his penis out and a sign hanging from it I forget what it said but he won.  Still was fun. Yes, I was a griefer at my first event.

SL Newser: Did you fall in love in Second Life™?

RacerX Gullwing: Oh, yeah!

SL Newser: Who was your favorite Linden?

RacerX Gullwing: Well, usually whatever linden was helping me that day.  The Lindens were more accessible back then. I've known quite a few: Pathfinder Torley—even before he was a Linden—, and Hamlet. Spike was great, and helped me set out the detour signs for some of the cross country snail races. Jill linden, who was in charge of the tour group, and allowed you to give people rides from the Welcome Area.

SL Newser: Do you still log into SL?

RacerX Gullwing: I do log in daily, mostly to hang with friends. I also log in to build new things, but not so much anymore. There’s a lot of work that goes into the giant snail races every week: updating leader boards, making textures we use on the show, figuring out what’s going to happen to snail dude in the coming week.

SL Newser: What were your favorite activities?

RacerX Gullwing: I loved the Misty Rhodes Show and Show and Tell. I met some great script writers and avatar designers and sometimes won prizes.

SL Newser: What would you like the world to know about Second Life™?

RacerX Gullwing: Hey world, this is one of the most wonderful places on the Internet, and it's all been built and uploaded by the people that live here. It’s like Leggoland with better bricks. Whatever you can imagine, can become a place here or a thing or an event.

I had one more question, instigated by fellow reporter Gemma Cleanslate:

SL Newser: Racer, how did you choose your name?

RacerX Gullwing: I was playing Battlezone, a hovertank game, and I tried a lot of names there and that’s the one that stuck. I wanted the last name Racer, but it wasn’t available, and Gullwing was most related to cars, so I chose it.

A Visit With RacerX at Fujin

RacerX teleported me over to Fujin, which I recalled was one of his original plots of land. The Beer Eats shack is still there, and Racer told me he had retrofitted it back to the original form. If you have never been there, it’s a must see. The psychedelic shack is all I will say. Trust me; take the Landmark below.

Early in his days on Fujin sim he was approached by Dane Zander who asked him to build a castle for him. He completed the high prim (over 800 prims), four story castle, that Dane loved it, and placed it on the sim of Montmartre, where the Giant Snail Races lived for many years. Racer wondered how I would write about all of the stuff that he showed me, and I admit it’s a challenge. However, I think you should take the Landmark to Fujin, and visit the Bamboo Beer Eats Bait Shop, and go for a trippy ride. Don’t forget to touch every button there.

Devon Dream

For the past few years The Giant Snail Races have been held on Devon Dream, a sim owned by RacerX’s SL wife, Safra Nitely. Along with Safra, Racer holds Giant Snail Races every week with the able assistance of Tindalia Soothsayer, Oodlemi Noodle, and several other residents and props. Each week there is a theme, and the track is decorated anew each week. I am not planning to write about the races, though, I want you to stroll RacerX’s tidy rabbit hole on Devon Dream.

 “So this is my place. I say it’s under the track, but its way under the track. The Snail Race Track is 777 meters up from here. The build is sort of a recreation of the rabbit hole I made for one of my first machinimas.

Racer steered me over to a wall map I had never seen before. He explained that it was created shortly after the snow sims were created on mainland, and there were only about 100 sims: “This is Montmartre, or was, it's moved a few times and been resold. It used to belong to Mae Best. It had a wonderful sandbox area and was home weekly quizzes made up by Mae three or four times a week. I met a lot of great people there. I’ll never forget, because The Giant Snail Races started there running in a circle around the sim in November. 2004.”

“My first land was on Koleamoku. There’s a store there now. I only stayed there about a month until my neighbors found a new place, and I followed them to Fujin. It was at the edge of the world at the time. It was the golden age of SL.”

Racer took me to a wall that was covered with snail memes and photos. He told me that these were all gifts that had been sent to him.  He showed me a chair that was from one of his earliest machinimas, that was made by Adrienne Belvedere, who was also responsible for the avatar of Snail Dude’s girlfriend. Racer showed me some other pictures, and we chatted a bit about Waelya Tenk, on hiatus from SL to raise a child. The most astonishing shot on the wall was one of RacerX as a tall, grey bunny. Even stranger, though were some of the first pictures he took of himself, when he was still humanoid.

Racer was in no way finished with his tour. He pointed to a basket in the corner of the room, and slowly a cobra emerged and started to stare us down. RacerX climbed on the cobra, and was soon climbing out of sight. I followed him, and emerged on the roof of the house, dotted with huge carrots growing out of the sod on the roof.

I could almost hear Racer giggling as he led me to a small prop plane, and explained: “OK, so up here we have Snail Dude’s plane. He’s just learning to fly it, so grab onto the plane.” Of course I did. After I crashed, I returned to Racer who asked: “He’s not very good, is he?” I guess not. Racer also pointed out the windsock he had scripted. It was a carrot that grew longer the higher the wind speed.

I envy RacerX for saving things from his early days. My early builds were trash-worthy, so that’s where they ended up, but RacerX has held on to a lot of things. With great pride he showed me a flower chair that he had made by twisting prims in 2006—right after twisted prims were released. He could only use seven prims. RacerX elaborated that the butterfly part of the build was made by Kim Anubis, another name from the past.

But, wait, there’s more. RacerX couldn’t wait to show me his rocket ride. This is a bit hard to write about, but what I can say is that it’s his first really large build. You actually get to rise up to the rocketship entrance on an erector set elevator, and once seated you become weightless. There are countdowns and audio input galore. We were told that we were drifting off course, that it seems we used feet instead of meters when we worked this out on paper, this isn’t good looks like you’re too close to the moon, and that's just going to increase your speed, and that we were in a collision course with Jupiter unless we could get the retro rockets to fire in time.

Sadly, the Control told us we had skipped off Jupiter, and were leaving the solar system. Yikes!

In typical RacerX fashion the whole thing exploded and we tumbled down to the ground. Lucky thing this was SL. Racer has made some adaptations to this build in recent years to accommodate lower prims, and changes in the story, but the spirit of the rocket remains.

At this point I thanked RacerX, and told him I was off to do a lot of editing, because I had so much material. It was an enjoyable few hours passing time with a historic bunny. See you soon, RacerX Gullwing.

Video of RacerX’s Tenth Rezday Party: http://vimeo.com/99681505

Beer Eats Bait Shop on Fujin: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fujin/133/118/23

 DrFran Babcock

Snail Races every Saturday on Devon Dreams at 11:00 AM: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Devon%20Dream/143/112/779