Just recently my godchild (8 years old) came to visit and she frantically asked: “Can we play Flight Simulator again - pleeease?”
I happily agreed, put her into some propeller aircraft, explained a few things and essentially “let her do her thing”.
Yes, some flight maneuvers would make ATCs go crazy banana, and I didn’t even bother to explain to her that “directly spawning on a runway is being frowned upon”
But the fact that she repeatedly (during different visits) wanted to play Flight Simulator made me think that there might be some genuine interest down the road.
In fact, the son (14 years) of a friend of mine just got his own second-hand PC (they had Playstations and what not before, so he was not new to “gaming”), specifically for Flight Simulator. And now he mostly plays Flight Simulator with a friend of his, chatting over their phone and having fun (I am proud to have supported this development with my old Logitech joystick that was collecting dust in my cupboard ;)).
So Asobo / MS, hear this: keep on developing MSFS, because there might be a “new wave of flight sim enthusiasts” coming in the next, say, 3-5 years.
The well-deserved revival of flights sims on the PC (and yes, XBox ;)) perhaps?
What is your story? Do you know of other “young pilots gearing up”?
I do that all the time - spawn on the runway with engines running - but then I usually don’t fly within groups on-line and, (IMHO) ATC is more trouble than it’s worth. I want to concentrate on learning to manage the aircraft rather than fighting with ATC.
In my case I’m more interested in the flying than the “taxiing” parts, so I spawn where I darn well please. Though I do have to admit that a part of my landing practice is to land on the runway in such a way that I don’t have to taxi to an end-pad to turn around because I missed my target taxiway.
I was just trying to bring in a bit of humour by the deliberate juxtaposition of the “pilot’s view of an 8 year old girl” and a somewhat “touchy topic in the flight sim community”.
Look, I start, land and fly wherever I want, too, especially for my “test flights” for my own add-on that I develop. But at least I “mostly do it in remote places in Africa”
So please don’t take this point too seriously in this context and focus again on my original point, which was the (possible) advent of a new “flight simulation pilot generation” - and by just sharing your similar experience with (your) kids (remember: please don’t share any photos of kids, as cute as they may be: kids have a “right of their picture, too”. And it is generally not a good idea to share kid’s pictures - with their consent or not - in random places of the internet…).
Sorry, I was just trying to tweak your beak too - apologies if my warped sense of humor didn’t come through.
Of course, one of the benefits of a sim like this is that you can spawn anywhere you want, configured anyway you want, and do anything you want. (Start an Airbus at FL360, cold and dark, and try to get it running before you crash!)
I’m thrilled that you have children that appreciate the thrill of flying. Maybe once I get flight controls that are worth a darn, my granddaughters will take more of an interest than they do now.
I love watching my six year old grand daughter handle the yoke. I have to work the rudder pedals but she does pretty well for her age (probably better than me at 71😂)
Likewise, it’s a good experience for children who have motor-skills difficulties, (like me when I was a kid).
You don’t need the reflexes of a major-league baseball player so it provides a lot of eye-hand/coordination skills practice and provides a positive gaming experience - which is crucial - because children with issues like this often get a poor self-image because they cannot compete with other children their age in “normal” games.
Comparing:
"I beat the spitting viper boss in “Tombs of Disaster”!
“I flew an Airbus 330 neo from Syracuse to Pittsburgh!”
In a child’s mind the second would generate a lot more “street cred” than fighting a snake. (IMHO, based on my experiences long ago.)
If the child can bring the system to school for a “science exhibit” in class, or in a science fair, watching the school bully who thinks he’s God get TOTALLY owned trying to fly a fighter jet, while the kid with the motor difficulties aces Top Gun like a BOSS, is a heady thrill that will do wonders for the kid’s situation in school - and his ego!
I wish I had something like this when I was in school.
I think there is definitely a new generation of flight simmers waiting in the wings (pun intended) and I think the decision to release MSFS on a relatively cheap home console will have played a big part in this, massively lowering the cost of entry, with subscription services like Game Pass making it more accessible still. When my kids have friends over, it’s often the first game they ask to try when they see the ‘box’ under the TV!
Exactly how I got excited about aviation. A friend of my Dad’s had MS Flightsimulator 95 and I became addicted right away at 12 I think. That’s not a new generation but happens constantly. We had a huge gap of new flight simulation development, the “old programs” like XPlane and P3D were okay but not very user friendly towards people who had no clue what to do at what point. It was much more difficult to get started, all above P3D made it hard. MSFS aims towards getting new people on board and does that very successfully with its interactive and easily accessible user interface and the (for beginners) great offers of additional content. It’s not a new generation I think, rather some new blood and a fresh breeze.
a big and my canonical example is Flight Gear. Though it’s an open-source flight sim, the support forums are, (shall we say), less than beginner friendly.
I went on the developer forum and suggested that they include a way to make the game more “accessible” to the first-time flyer and I got roasted! Left them behind and “shook the dust off of my sandals” when I did - and never looked back.
XP is much more user friendly as it, (like MSFS), has its quirks, but the advice is friendly and the answers are good.
I’ve got a friend who’s a retired F-111 driver that built a Vans RV-7 several years ago. He’s active in Young Eagles and also takes his grandkids and nieces/nephews flying and they always want to do “one more loop” or “one more roll” than they did before. He mentioned the other day that they had “discovered” MSFS. So maybe they’re on their way to having an aviation future, too!
Regards
I wouldn’t make it an option. The only spawn point should be on the hold-short.
It’s been wished for many times, but I guess it’s not important enough to get any attention.
I took my, then 14 year old, niece out for a flight in VR 18 months or so back. She’s now back home in France where she’s been out for three flights with a flight instructor (all through her school! … not an option I had in the UK schools of the 80s’ - I’m very jealous.) She’s also looking to get into software development although that was something she was already interested in but she adored VR and left saying that was something she wanted to try and pursue.
The technology of today is astonishing for someone of my age or older and it’s so exciting to think of where younger generations can take it - I only hope I’m around long enough to enjoy some of what they bring us….stability and fewer bugs would be great
and my canonical example is Flight Gear. Though it’s an open-source flight sim, the support forums are, (shall we say), less than beginner friendly.