my son is 12 yrs old and is highly interested in becoming a pilot (who not?) and doing flight simming. I’m a very old simmer from the period of Comodore 64 and did fsfs till 2004, but went to 3D programming instead of real life pilot. Back to my son, he’s still stuck to those garbage smartphone games but begs from time to time for a real flight sim. I don’t mind spending the necessary $$$ on infra if I could know somehow that it will take him away from the wasted time with those game apps, as flight simming - in my case - helped me to know what I want in life (3D programming), and seems to be the more “intellectual” games out there to spend your precious time with.
Has anybody of you experience with their own children in the age of 12+, getting a more serious hobby through flight simming in this young age, and eventually giving up on all the rest of the games? Or was it simply too early?
My 12 year old nephew ‘played’ MSFS when I got it, and I do mean played. All he wanted to do was to crash into his house and other buildings. I bought him a copy for Christmas, and he played it a few times, but lost interest pretty quickly.
When I was a young lad my dad had some flight sim games. Battle of Britain was the first one I think. That got me hooked, and interested in aviation. We had various versions of FS as well, and even things like Falcon 3.0 later on.
So let him have a go, if it grabs his interest, then good. If not, then nothing lost. I was playing flight sim games well before 12 I would say.
Next visit he wanted to play the games for six year olds on the old Nintendo we have.
Let him prove he is interested and keen, buy him a Learning To Fly book from a Pro Flight Shop and see if he reads it cover to cover with zeal and interest.
If you have a GA airport near you then you could always buy him a trail lesson.
I started flight simming when I was in middle school (which was about a decade ago), beginning with FS9 then FSX. I wasn’t by any means good at that time. I mean, my knowledge of flying techniques, computer science, even English was rather poor, but I persevered through learning from various sources and from other people in the circle. It had been one of the greatest learning opportunities for me.
I don’t think the ultimate goal should be becoming a pilot, since there are way more to gain from flight sims. It made me better at time management because I wanted to finish my work and do a circuit around every evening. It helped me in shaping my understanding of physics, geography, and basic electronics. It made me into documentaries, not exactly the sim itself, but I studied all the ACI series. I developed an interest in history then later archaeology and anthropology, which I majored in college, wanting to learn about this world deeper. I even wrote about flight simming in my college application essay, which I just pulled up from my drive, that started with
Flying is intellectually fun. When I tick the switches, I fully control my plane — determining the destination, route, or even the cruising altitude. Under visual flight rules, limitations are few. Only a clear sky and a clear mind can take my dreams to wherever I want.
FlightGear creates a sky, not in reality but on my laptop screen. It fuels my sight, as well as my imagination. Though it does not depict every aspect on my journey, I find the representation of reality in it.
So yes, I cherished that I got into FS from that age and even though I moved along different platforms, they are mostly the same for me.
I’m a youngin (14-18) and I would say get them msfs or xplane,let them a choice In sim they liked,I got into simming when I was 10 with P3D,bought 2020 in 2021 and I loved simming off and on,somedays my interest in it is good but I’m like “maybe I’ll take a break today” and some days are “Let’s do a 5-10 Hour GA flight). I play other games for fun and fly on vatsim a lot…
I think it depends on the kid. My 9 year old got on and learned how to take off, fly a circuit, and land. Before he lost interest and went back to Minecraft he could fly from airport to airport with no assists using GPS navigation. It’s their nature to “lose interest” because they’re trying to learn so many different things so I wouldn’t go crazy spending money on it unless you’re going to use it yourself.
(1) Take him to a local airport and go up with him on a “Discovery Flight” ( letting him sit in the front seat, and feel that he in control – you sit in the back)
Then you most likely have him Hooked.
(2) Introduce him to MSFS, and make it a thing that you do together and share.
(3) Keep him off the Forums (for so many reasons to list, that I am sure as an adult, you can appreciate)
(4) Start saving up for Real World flying lessons !!
It has nothing to do with age, but interests and motivation. I started using Microsoft Flight Simulator when I was 8, and haven’t put it down. I’m 40 now. When I was 8, the first thing I would do was take off from Meigs and fly between the antennas of the Hancock. I probably didn’t even get around to landing most of the time. Now I use it to practice for all kinds of real world flying. But I’m sure there are plenty of kids even younger who actually try to be serious pilots with the software.
What I like about Flight Simulator, and what gives it such broad appeal to young audiences, is that it’s an unstructured, open-world sandbox. It’s not just procedures and regulations, but infinite exploration and imagination. I’d encourage whatever interests they have. My kids could not care less about flying, and that’s totally cool. They’re their own people. But I’d definitely setup a computer for them if they were strongly motivated to use the simulator. And let them take-off from the taxiway and crash into stuff too. Don’t worry, they’ll grow up to be responsible pilots.
Really? This place is 1950s Pleasantville compared to the internet, school, or most public places lol.
I think the first requirement is that a person should be an aviation enthusiast. That’s the critical underpinning required to really get involved with and maintain interest in aviation on any level - modeling, flight simming, or actual PPL.
If one is a ‘gaming enthusiast’ that’s fine - some gamers are dedicated to trying everything out and could become inspired by the challenges of aviation, rather than just blundering around for a few weeks and getting bored without ever trying to ‘do it right’…
The only thing that encourages some effort though is an enthusiasm for it. If a kid begs to be taken to air shows and aerospace museums or likes to park and have lunch at the foot of the local regional airfield runway then you have a candidate for flight sim.
My son started flight simming at an early age. I’m not sure when exactly - 13 or 14 I would say. He used to re-fly the real world holiday flights that we had taken.
At that time he did not faithfully replicate the ATC and routing that you and I might these days, but he could easily fly a 737 and get it to fly GPS to its destination and land it. He used to play on a ‘Game Boy’ as well - rather like your son does on his 'phone - but he grew out of this.
As he grew up he developed his skills and finessed his flying and he remains a keen flight simmer (and also race driving and other games). He is now a qualified aircraft finance lawyer (and I a proud father).
So, although every person is different, in my experience 12 is not too early for your son. At that age he can immerse himself to a level that suits him and develop a range of skills and awareness as he matures. Hopefully he will migrate from ‘those awful game apps’ as he develops.
I started I think when I was 12 or 13 with FS98. Read all the training material. The simming itself was not very professional because I couldn‘t afford good HW and periphery
Now, 21 or 22 years later I‘m still not tired of that and am working on my RL PPL.
I have a hard time understanding the question. You said he wants to be a pilot and he wants a flight simming program. This means, for some reason, that you havent helped him at all by simply buying him a copy of any flightsim.
From the time I was maybe seven years old I was into airplanes, airports and space. I let various games I encountered work with my imagination ‘to fly’ – because thats what I wanted. When I finally encountered an actual flight sim (the early Bruce Artwick FS for PC), I fell in love with it. Theres nothing else like it as its not a game but rather a tool to help you explore your own soul.
Buy him an XBox Series X and a copy of MSFS2020 and let him take it from there. In no way is twelve too early. absolutely not. In fact, any more time wasted and it may be too late.
My introduction to aviation was at the age of four when my family flew from Norfolk Virginia to Anchorage Alaska - and I thought flying was absolutely the best thing since chocolate candy!
I have been fascinated with flying since then and got my first sim as soon as it became available for the Atari.
There’s no real “too young” if the kid’s really interested.
Just don’t force him - let him “play” if he wants - ATC and checklists will come in their own good time.
A Discovery Flight is an awesome choice, if you have the means.
One morning when I was 14, my entire family was sleeping soundly. My grandfather entered my room, shook me on the shoulder, and made a shushing motion with his finger over his lips. I figured that we were sneaking out of the house for breakfast, and we did go eat at a local restaurant.
But afterwards he drove to a local airport. It was 20 miles in the wrong direction and along the way he didn’t tell me where we were going, or why. My curiosity was palpable. Next thing I know, I was looking at a Cessna 172. 15 minutes later we left the ground, 30 minutes later I got to take the controls.
At 14 I was too young for a powered flight license, but 14 is old enough to obtain a glider license in the US. So we returned two weeks later, and I found myself at the controls of their Schweizer SGS 2-33 glider.
Needless to say, I love that old man more than anyone or anything on this earth. He’s gone now, but I will never forget.
He’s 12. It’s an experimental age. There is no guarantee that he will retain interest in any one thing for more than a day. As someone else recommended, get him an X-box and basic FS, that’s relatively inexpensive. He should already be familiar with the controller. Most kids are. He may not immediately dedicate himself to it, he’s only 12. but it will be there. All you can do is introduce him to it. It is worth the gamble.
Or was it simply too early?
