I've been using it since about 1986! When I was very little, friends and I would take turns pretending we were the pilot and the others were the passengers, with one of the very old versions Flight Simulator (where only Chicago and the Cessna 182 were available). I remember the younger of the two brothers bought into the fantasy so heavily he was terrified that if he left the room he'd fall out of the 'plane'!
I only have an old Cyborg 3D joystick and an Xbox 360 pad, I never did nor do now have the space for the proper yoke and pedals.
I've flown in real life with the Air Cadets here in Canada, and would love to get my PPL but just can't afford it. Air shows are great and you're lucky to have one right on your doorstep! I once waited over an hour after an airshow had ended at CFB Borden because the promised flypast of a CF-18 was arriving late and 10 year old me *had to* see it go past in the flesh!
Last summer my best friend and I went to the CNE. There was a Canadian Forces display and I convinced her to line up with me (we were the only adults without kids) to have a chance to sit in an LAV-III. Once we were inside it, she loved it, and afterwards we sat in a mock-up of a CF-18 cockpit. It was amazing!