My first flight simulator was SubLogic FS2.0 on the Commodore 64 I got for Christmas around 1986. I was obsessed with that and also a game called ACE (Air Combat Emulator) by Cascade Games as well as of course Elite the legendary space simulator.
I’m pretty sure I’ve owned every single Microsoft Flight Simulator version since except perhaps FS3.0 and FS4.0 because my Commodore 64 broke around that time, so I had no way of playing it. I dreamt of getting a Commodore Amiga but could never afford one so I had to make do with no computer until I got a work IBM Thinkpad laptop around 1995 and was able to run FS5.0 on it!! Around that time I Bought my first Thrustmaster joystick - the PFCS Professional Flight Control System which I still have. It was incredibly stiff and heavy like real flight controls so the arm got a good workout!! It started a lifelong love affair with Thrustmaster and aside from a couple of yokes by CH Products and PFC Precision Flight Controls I have never used anybody else’s HOTAS or driving wheels since.
My next PC was a Dell desktop machine which provided many happy hours of flying. Since then my PC upgrades have been frequently driven by the need to run a new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator!
I’d also like to shout out to DID Digital Image Design a British software house who developed a couple of combat sims I loved including EF2000 (Eurofighter 2000) and F22 Raptor. They struck the perfect balance between hardcore and relatively approachable military simulators and were the first simulators I ever ran that struck me as truly beautiful.
I’m not sure how many of these old titles are still in my loft but I’m guessing that some of them are by now quite collectible. Rather like vinyl I guess nobody realises that their worthless old junk will end up sought after decades down the line!
I was surprised to see so many of us old timers on this thread. I’ve always loved aviation thanks to my Dad working for BA as cabin crew 1964-1987 so I always wanted to be a pilot. Flight simulation has allowed me to pursue that dream and even now as a pilot on the A320 for a major UK airline, I still indulge my fantasies thanks to Microsoft Flight Simulator usually rip roaring along at tree top height in an F15 in VR!
Birdseed007
