Why do you enjoy flight simulations?

[Skydrop]

Hey guys!

 

I've been drooling over planes and flight sims ever since I played Flanker 1.5 a long time ago. I'm very interested in how DCS is developing and becoming really awesome both to look at and use (flying and systems modelling), although I don't really have the machine to play it yet. I wanted to ask though, what is the purpose of this simulator (or any other you've played before) to you, presonally? Like, I realised I played as a kid, just so I could be around planes that fascinate me and the whole idea of flying be present in my daily routine. Why do you fly? :)

[King_Hrothgar]

I've always loved aviation. I can't exactly afford to buy every aircraft ever made, thus flight sims have been a substitute. Been at it as far back as I can remember.

[BFBunny]

I play two ww2 combat flight sims at the moment, il2 cliffs of dover, il2 bos (now with added player tanks) and DCS which has the best ww2 fighter plane modelling.

 

I got it initially because I've always like the bf109 plane, just the looks of it, the sound, the image and the people that flew it as I was an still am interested in ww2 and ww2 films. I've seen a few 109s at air shows and museums so being able to hop in the pilots seat and get all touchy feely was fantastic.

 

I like the gloves off approach. I'm here very much for the guns or missiles and the ability as a team to destroy another team. This is about as close as I want to get to a real war and if I want to shoot those missiles from the A10c I've got to learn how a real pilot would and that's fun. It's part of the game. Why should it just be 'press fire to launch nuclear Armageddon'. Why do all games have to be for kids or spotty teenagers. It's hard and yet far more rewarding. Your plane that took 5 minutes to start suddenly has more value in the virtual world space.

 

I play Arma as well for the soldier combat. The mentality is similar in DCS. You have to think a little. Remember how your instruments work, learn how to spot and engage threats and mix in real people in multiplayer either trying to learn to formation fly or teaming up with other players to take on the other team and it's just fun. The point where starting your plane is secondary to getting missiles or guns on target is a great feeling, but it takes a lot of perseverance. The reward is in the long game, of a job well done.

 

Yet sometimes you want that red button to launch nuclear Armageddon. You want it simple and that's why I still play a little IL2 bos. Some days after dealing with works network that has a habbit of screwing up at 'just the wrong time' DCS can be a little taxing. I've fallen asleep at the stick once or twice.

[MegOhm_SD]

I am a pilot trapped in a General Managers Body...

Basically, I missed my calling.

 

At my age, this is the only way (now) to realize those dreams.

 

DCS make this possible. I appreciate the fact that we have this platform and I thank ED, the 3rd Party Devs and the modders for that.

 

<S>

Edited April 9, 2016 by MegOhm_SD

[Sabre-TLA]

For me it's been a love affair since I was a child.

 

I loved airplanes and warplanes in particular and being able to experience the thrill and terror of simulated air combat has given me deep respect and admiration for those that do this for a living.

 

Learning the systems that are modeled as close to the real thing is also very rewarding. It's technical, it takes time and patience but the feeling of accomplishment when you complete a challenging mission is unsurpassed.

 

I've played alot of different combat sims over the years including submarines, ships, tanks and other aircraft sims but DCS seems to have the right combination of realism, graphics and playability that I keep going back to it again and again.

 

Couple that with a great community that offers support and help and it's a winning combination in my book.

 

I hope to be playing DCS for as long as it remains relevant and with the support for the Rift and other VR headsets the future looks very good to me.

[jcbak]

I enjoy it on so many levels. I love aviation; civil and military. I used to have my PPL until I couldn't afford it any longer. I started flight sims with F19 Stealth Fighter and flew FSX for many years. I discovered DCS and multiplayer coop two years ago and I've been addicted ever since. Learning not only aircraft systems but situational awareness, tactics, etc. is never ending. And then there are those peaceful moments when sometimes just flying is enough.

[KLR Rico]

I've always loved planes. Flight simming is just another way to enjoy them, and I've been playing one or another for nearly 30 years now.

[vicx]

I enjoy seeing the simulation of complex systems.

 

Coming to DCS I had high expectations for the combat but after a few years I find the combat is not nearly as interesting as exploring the mechanical, electrical and aerodynamic modelling.

 

I get to the point that my favourite module is Mi-8 because it begins to elaborate these areas better than any other module.

 

Now I would like to have persistent airframes that carry fatigue and damage and require maintenance and repair. To know the machine very well and fly and maintain would be great.

 

A simulation for pilot and mechanic would be my ideal.

[Cybermat47]

It's probably the closest I'll get to being an Air Force pilot.

[Milli]

As a kid in the 80's I had a full gamut of USAF and RAF planes belting along at low level every day over my house on the border of Wales and England. Oh how I miss those days ha ha. Tornando's, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Hawks, Phantoms, Canberra's, Lightnings, Jets Provosts, Hercules, Chinooks, Gazelles, Harriers, F-111's, F-15's and my all time favourite A-10's.

 

Absolutely loved those A-10's who once seen would seem to hang around all day, operating in pairs. That sound and the shape. Amazing.

 

Nowadays, I see about 1 plane a week, either a Hawk or a Typhoon at 20,00 feet. Yawn.

 

Flying in DCS lets me keep those good old days going. I couldn't believe it when I saw the A-10 in a flight simulator and at such a high standard. And who doesn't like blowing s@&t up anyway?

[StandingCow]

Games allow us all to do things we probably would never get a chance to do in real life, for many of us being a fighter pilot is one of those things.

 

Another part of it is the challenge of learning something new and the reward you feel when you pull something off.

[Skydrop]

I really enjoyed reading everyone's answers. :) Frankly, what got me thinking (yet again) about why people love flight sims is whenever I read somewhere about a real pilot, they always point out their love of flying is what made them be, say, a military fighter pilot. Well that and fighting against aggressors in war time. I seldom hear real pilots talk about using weapons (killing people) in an envigorated way. I was wondering if virtual pilots focus more on blowing stuff up or just flying or - most likely both and everything in between.

BTW the live stream with the Gazelle was awesome, did you guys see that?. I live on the other side of the Black sea and the terrain textures really look familiar to me- reminded me of flying back from a trip and looking at the gorund below.

[GeneralDynamics]

Why do I enjoy flight simulators? You asked, so I’ll tell you. Wow, where to begin... Probably goes all the way back to my first military air show where I stood in awe as a kid witnessing the raw power and unbelievable capabilities of fighter aircraft for the first time. I mean, yeah, I had seen them on TV, but to see the real thing was an eye opening experience. I was hooked.

 

But alas, a career in the military was not meant to be due to physical limitations. My left ear was nearly completely dead since I was a toddler, don't know why, when or how it happened, and I pretty much destroyed my knees in a dirt bike accident when I was a teen. So, that, as they say, was that. After flailing about at various jobs in my youth, I finally came to the realization that I was going to need a college degree if I was going to get anywhere in life. I had become fascinated with computers in the mid-80s, so I chose to study Computer Systems Engineering and started college at the ripe old age of 28 in 1986.

 

Here’s where things began to get really interesting. The school I attended had a co-op program available in which students could work for various companies to gain experience and also make some extra money to help pay for school. And guess what one of those companies was? General Dynamics (my avatar’s namesake) right next to Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas – home of the F-16! Now we’re talking… Coupled with my love of military aircraft, it was like a dream come true. I could work for General Dynamics every other semester plus summers, and that’s exactly what I did. Projects I had the pleasure of being part of:

 

1. Wire wrapping circuit boards from schematics for prototype FRUs (Field Replaceable Units) to be tested for the F-16 and also building and testing the associated cabling and connectors. This is when I was taught that all FRUs run on magic smoke… Yes, that’s right. If you let the magic smoke escape, the unit would cease to operate, and on rare occasions I did find that to be the case.

 

2. Worked on maintaining F-16 Weapons Integration Test Stations. These were complete forward fuselage sections of the aircraft, including the cockpit, avionics, weapons systems, radar, etc., along with hard points where new weapons could be connected and tested with the existing weapons systems or along with prototype FRUs described earlier. Everything related to the weapons systems worked in the cockpit, so you could see nearby aircraft on the radar, lock on, and simulate firing a connected weapon as I recall, minus warhead and propellant of course. All I can say is that it was quite the thrill to actually climb into the cockpit, even if that’s all there was of the aircraft mounted on a test stand.

 

3. Performed Validation and Verification of the Operational Flight Program used in the Flight Control Computer systems of the Advanced Tactical Fighter, better known today as the F-22 Raptor. DOD acronyms were a hoot. GD had a whole book dedicated to breaking them down. When people asked me what I did, I’d say I worked on the V&V of the OFP used in the FCC of the ATF… Wha?

 

4. Worked on designing and building F-16 Avionics Test Stations at a General Dynamics subsidiary near Hill AFB, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

There were innumerable added benefits. Being in close proximity to the bases at both locations, I was able to observe all manner of military aircraft flying in and out of the area. One of my favorite activities went like this… We’d all be working away in the facility at Fort Worth, and we’d hear a rumble outside like thunder – it was show time! Some visiting dignitary was being treated to an F-16 mini-airshow. They usually started with a short takeoff followed by a near vertical climb to demonstrate the power of the aircraft. Maneuverability was demonstrated with close radius 9G turns. Low speed stability was shown by placing the aircraft in a near stall attitude, dancing it on its tail while maintaining a horizontal trajectory with control surfaces all quivering nervously to keep the aircraft in the correct orientation. That was followed by transitioning directly to a vertical climb to again demonstrate the sheer power the aircraft possessed. This was all interspersed with dives, turns, climbs and lots of full afterburner. It gave all of us goosebumps every time, and management never seemed to mind us taking a break to watch, I assume because they viewed it as a morale booster. I also had access to GD’s mile long assembly line where I could see the F-16 at each stage of the assembly process. The entire GD complex in Fort Worth was so huge we had golf carts to get around, otherwise we’d be walking for days.

 

My manager and a couple of the guys I had the pleasure of working with in Utah were former F-16 pilots. We’d have get-togethers periodically, and a couple drinks would invariably fuel the subsequent pilot stories, and I remember being mesmerized listening to them talk about tight spots they’d gotten into on past missions. This was all unbelievably fascinating to me, and I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of it first-hand.

 

Now, to tie all this together (yes, I did actually have a point to make here:)), I had seen the dome simulators used for the F-16 at GD, and also was allowed to actually fly a smaller, 3 screen version, not unlike some of the more elaborate sim pits that some of you guys have built. The difference was there were no PCs beefy enough to run the thing back then. I asked the guy manning the sim how much it cost to run it at the time – I think he said something like $250/hr. I remember saying I was going to need to go home and get some more quarters! But, even at that, the graphics fidelity was nowhere near what we have available in DCS and other PC based sims today. In more or less the same time frame that all I discussed above was happening, the first Microsoft FS was released, and also Spectrum Holobyte’s first Falcon F-16 simulation hit the market. Naturally, I had both that ran on my 8088 based 10MHz DOS PC. Yes kids, that’s an M in MHz, not a G. I wasn’t that impressed with Microsoft’s FS, but I was thrilled with the Falcon sim because it was military, and it featured an aircraft that was near and dear to my heart that I had intimate experience with. I was utterly amazed that I could fly an F-16 on my PC and thought I was in high tech heaven. Because of countless hours spent in Falcon, the sim guy at GD couldn’t believe the knowledge I had of flying the aircraft. He kept saying, ok, now you need to do this, now you need to do that, and I just waived him off and told him I knew what I was doing. He was most surprised when I stuck the landing and he asked if I was a pilot. Turns out that even the F-16 pilots always bounced the landing first time through on the sim, but mine was smooth as silk.

 

So, what did that first Falcon sim look like on the PC in 1987? Here’s a link where you can see for yourself, and try not to laugh (it takes it a little while to start beyond the title screen so just wait a little bit):

 

[ame=

]

[/ame]

 

 

This was demonstrated on a modern PC through a dosbox emulator, so I suspect that’s why it’s so twitchy. Also perhaps because it was being flown from the keyboard rather than from a serial port joystick. I remember it being a little smoother on my 8088, and Spectrum Holobyte touted the fact that an F-16 pilot had given the sim high marks for “accuracy” at the time. Yeesh! Plus, the sound is bad, I assume because there are no sound cards on a modern PC that are compatible with a sim from 1987. The graphics, however, are exactly as I remember them – with pixels the size of postage stamps on a RGB monitor at 320x200 resolution. Compare that to what we have available in DCS today, and you’ll understand why I love flying sims in 2016. I had lost interest in flight sims years ago, but when I discovered DCS A-10C back in 2011, that right there was a whole new ballgame, folks. The current fidelity and realism available with today’s PCs is something that we couldn’t even conceive of back in the day. It is one thing to have discovered PC flight simulation yesterday, but to have been present for the entire evolution from day one is quite another. Add to that the advent of DCS BIOS coupled with Arduino microcontrollers and the capability of building a complete pit… That’s a dream on my bucket list that I hope to complete before I get too old to enjoy it. I’m 57 years old now, and I aim to have my dream pit done at some point before I retire. That also gives me the opportunity to rediscover some of those skills I learned at General Dynamics and put them to good use. So you see, the possibilities that have opened up in recent years with regard to advances in PC platforms, graphics capabilities and physics as they apply to flight simulation have all been very exciting to me, and that, coupled with my background is why I love it so much. It’s an outlet for a passion that could never have been realized otherwise.

 

FYI, General Dynamics did offer me a job when I graduated, but I knew they had laid off thousands of engineers just prior to graduation. I wanted something more stable and not subject to the whims of the government and contract cancellations, etc., so I opted to begin my career as a mainframe network engineer, and I’m still doing related work to this day. *sigh* Boring! I often wonder to this day how things might have turned out had I stuck with it and gone to work for them. Decisions that we make…

Edited April 12, 2016 by GeneralDynamics

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

They allow me, as an actual pilot, to do things that would ruin me, professionally.

[xaoslaad]

Like some said, it's a chance to glimpse something we'd never get to do. Given another life without bad eye sight and chronic illness I'd be all over it.

 

As it was I have Crohn's and even after a very long remission barely managed to get in the military. I was threatened with being sent home 3 or 4 times by Navy docs at Parris Island. Every time they stared at my waiver with disbelief, made phone calls, and sent me back to my platoon.

 

Coupled with my eye sight I'm lucky they even let me look at aircraft.

[codefox]

They allow me, as an actual pilot, to do things that would ruin me, professionally.

 

As my IP said, sims are made for crashing.. and much fun can be had while doing so!

[riproren]

I grew up in a small town on the Colorado River in Arizona and clearly remember military jets screaming down the river at probably 2000 ft, and hearing sonic booms at all hours of the day. This was in the 70's. I was fascinated by them. In my college years, I had a friend who had his single engine card, and we'd go flying around AZ on the weekends in his dads Cessa 172. That hooked me hard. After college I got a few bucks together and got my card. I'd save a little out of every paycheck til I had enough to rent a 172 for a few hours or just blow an entire check on it and starve for a week. After I got married and had 2 kids, it got tougher to justify the expense, but I still went up when I could. One day, I walked into the CA terminal to rent a plane and my original instructor took a look at my logbook and said "You're flying just enough to kill yourself". That was that.

 

Sims give me a remote feeling of those days. From the old Falcon in the 80's and Microsoft's various products I get that little rush and the opportunity to focus on one thing that requires precise focus.

 

I'm in my mid 50's now and own my own business. I few years ago, after my kids were out on their own and doing well, I looked into getting my card back. My insurance guy told me what would happen to my life insurance rate. That was enough to keep my grounded.

[JustVisiting]

Awesome stories guys. I love reading this sort of stuff.

 

Like "GeneralSynamics" who wrote before me, it probably all started with an airshow around 1977 at Edwards AFB. They had the Enterprise Space Shuttle there on its 747 carrier. What an awesome sight. Even weirder, on the way out of the airshow I caught sight of an A-10 hiding between two hangars. It was the weirdest damn thing I had ever seen.

 

I wanted to become an Air Force pilot when much younger but when I was diagnosed as a mild dutan (red-green color deficiency) I knew I didn't have a chance to become one. Even when in private pilot training I was restricted to only flying during the day - I wasn't allowed to fly nights. Still, over the years various jobs have allowed me to fly a T6 Texan II sim at an air force base and I have even gotten a backseat T-38 ride.

 

I currently work as an animator but our company focuses on doing animations for military and civilian aircraft companies.

 

My first PC flight simulator was F-15 Strike Eagle in 1984 on the Commodore 64. Throughout the 80s and 90s it seemed like flight sims came out on a regular basis and I tended to purchase as many as possible. During the EAW and Falcon 4 era I worked as a third party developer.

 

Seeing military aircraft flying overhead still gives me quite a thrill. Last month I was out photographing in Death Valley on the Racetrack Playa. Two F-15s flew very low directly overhead in close formation. It was quite a spectacle and a great location to see this event. I happened at the time to be standing with another photographer who used to work avionics on military aircraft. He just shrugged his shoulders.

Edited May 22, 2016 by JustVisiting

[JustVisiting]

One day, I walked into the CA terminal to rent a plane and my original instructor took a look at my logbook and said "You're flying just enough to kill yourself". That was that.

 

I never fully got all the way through a private pilots license. I ended up having to divert my money to college. I recently pulled out my pilot log book and realized that if I were to start flying again I would have to start from scratch.

 

Interesting story: On my second flight we had a power drop off in the Cessna 152 we were flying and had to do a low altitude 180 and land on the head of the runway. It was an interesting start to my flight training.

Edited April 26, 2016 by JustVisiting

[JustVisiting]

I remember it being a little smoother on my 8088, and Spectrum Holobyte touted the fact that an F-16 pilot had given the sim high marks for “accuracy” at the time. Yeesh! Plus, the sound is bad, I assume because there are no sound cards on a modern PC that are compatible with a sim from 1987. The graphics, however, are exactly as I remember them – with pixels the size of postage stamps on a RGB monitor at 320x200 resolution.

 

Yeah, by todays standards many of those old sims weren't all that hot. Still, without a basis for comparison I enjoyed them immensely at the time. They were real enough. I was just thinking about Chuck Yeager's Air Combat from 1991. It allowed you to fly 6 aircraft - two for each of three different eras (WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam). I just realized that it was a kind of early forerunner of DCS.