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Flight sim for kids?


Zius

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I have a five year old daughter who likes aircraft and who likes to play flight sims with me.

 

So far, she can take off in DCS most of the time.

She can also land in RoF, sometimes without killing herself and rarely without damage to the plane. :music_whistling:

 

But realistically, both of these sims are a bit too much for her. RoF is more doable in a way than DCS because there is not a lot to manage, but the problem is that those old kites have a difficult flight model.

 

When I was her age (slightly older), I played F-14 Tomcat on the Commodore-64 (I am looking forward to playing DCS F-14 with my dad for this reason).

f-14-tomcat_17.png

 

A bit later I played Chuck Yeager's Air Combat a lot.

maxresdefault.jpg

 

Both of these games had a very simple flight model and very simple systems, yet they did teach a few things about aerial combat, especially Chuck Yeager's Air Combat. And most importantly, they were very enjoyable for my age at that time.

 

Now it would be great to find a game like that, but which actually runs on my computer...

 

Any suggestions?

 

It doesn't need to have the latest graphics, it just needs to run on Windows 10 64-bit. And it should be single-player.


Edited by Zius

Modules: Bf 109, C-101, CE-II, F-5, Gazelle, Huey, Ka-50, Mi-8, MiG-15, MiG-19, MiG-21, Albatros, Viggen, Mirage 2000, Hornet, Yak-52, FC3

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My son has been playing FC (up to FC3 and other modules he now uses) since he was four years old ( he is 14 now). I say; adjust difficulty and let her have fun. Once she gets it and understand the systems, change difficulty and eventually, she would whup you in A2A without braking a sweat. :thumbup:

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Actually I haven't really considered FC3 on game mode yet...

 

Do you consider FC3 to be easier than the MiG-15 or the Albatros? Those are also quite easy as far as avionics go and you don't need to worry about radar.

 

Edit: looks like I forgot to read the sticky "The Discussion of other games and sims"... Sorry Mods!


Edited by Zius

Modules: Bf 109, C-101, CE-II, F-5, Gazelle, Huey, Ka-50, Mi-8, MiG-15, MiG-19, MiG-21, Albatros, Viggen, Mirage 2000, Hornet, Yak-52, FC3

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The "problem" with the Albatros, MiG-15 or any other such aircraft is that they soon require some systems management not present in the FC3 aircraft. Waypoints for example... don't have those on the Albatros, so you would need to start teaching proper instrument navigation quite soon if she enjoys anything above just cruising above random fields.

 

With the FC3 you just select the waypoint you want and - well - fly there. That should sink in soon enough without making things dubious. There is also the fact that you don't need to worry about doing anything with the switches, so mouse can be forgotten about for the time being.

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

DCS Finland | SF squadron

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Funny, my 5 year old daughter is getting into DCS, so are all the kids that come over to play with our kids.

 

They really like the sonic boom !

 

Take it slow, let them have fun and done expect them to be a genius after 10h flight time.

 

Get them interested, the rest comes by itself...or doesnt.

 

* I meanwhile switch to GameMode for the kids, unlimited fuel etc... FUN is #1 priority

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Big thumb ups to all you moms/dads getting your kids into this hobby.

 

I don't know how to say it without sounding judgemental but imho, I'd rather see children playing sims such as DCS and FSX than other games that ruin their brains. Fun is number one priority and if it can be combined with knowledge that just makes it a million times better.

 

Flight sims force you to learn science to "git gud" having a child within the ago of 5-10 be able to visualise angles and trigonometric relations is the first step in opening up their mind into unlimited knowledge

 

So respect to you all

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Actually I haven't really considered FC3 on game mode yet...

 

Do you consider FC3 to be easier than the MiG-15 or the Albatros? Those are also quite easy as far as avionics go and you don't need to worry about radar.

 

Edit: looks like I forgot to read the sticky "The Discussion of other games and sims"... Sorry Mods!

 

Ah yes the radar does make things a little bit more complicated. But I guess homing missiles also make the combat easier.

 

I would perhaps set up a scenario where the other planes are guns only, and the player aircraft has close combat missiles - and then all you have to do is put the radar into close combat mode - it will lock up enemies automatically when they are in range/view. I think that would play very much like a typical action game :-)


Edited by TomOnSteam

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Cockpit Spectator Mode

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Thanks for the comments so far.

 

Usually we do visual navigation, if necessary aided by Google Maps on the tablet! :)

Modules: Bf 109, C-101, CE-II, F-5, Gazelle, Huey, Ka-50, Mi-8, MiG-15, MiG-19, MiG-21, Albatros, Viggen, Mirage 2000, Hornet, Yak-52, FC3

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Yeah, I mean do not take a tail dragger and laugh at them doing spirals !

 

I prefer the M2000 for the kids as it has the most boring flight behavior, all computer aided and trimmed she basically flies by herself. I tested FC3-Su33 today with the kid and it's enjoyable too, just not as easy to fly as the Mirage imho. That was not in Game Mode but Sim Mode.

 

...and she flew online on VA-Server LoL. I took off with her having TiR5 on and such. It's amazing how quickly they get accustomed to TiR and the basic controls. She already asks for the knobs...ahhh.

 

Tempus fugit, when she can really fly all on her own and control the knobs I will be all grey 'n' old :cry:

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Can't believe nobody suggested it yet, Kerbal Space Program. Its not just building, likely crashing, and exploring a solar system with rockets. You can have a lot of fun building and testing aircraft also. With mods there can be combat and other relevant stuff. Can even get to the point of flying a whole mission inside a capsule.

 

Showed it to my cousins that were middle school age at the time and they loved it. At the very least it does a good job of teaching astrophysics concepts in a very easy to understand way.

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Can't believe nobody suggested it yet, Kerbal Space Program. Its not just building, likely crashing, and exploring a solar system with rockets. You can have a lot of fun building and testing aircraft also. With mods there can be combat and other relevant stuff. Can even get to the point of flying a whole mission inside a capsule.

 

Showed it to my cousins that were middle school age at the time and they loved it. At the very least it does a good job of teaching astrophysics concepts in a very easy to understand way.

 

THIS! Maybe not quite a "flight sim" like you're looking for but definitely a fun and educational game. Gonna be a long time before I have kids but I'd definitely love to see them learning in ksp.

 

As for flight sims I'd have to agree with the other people, gamemode, unlimited fuel, fc3 are all great options. I got started with sims back on console with the arcadey ww2 flight sims. Back on console they had a more forgiving flight model, and a nice little aiming dot showing you where to lead the target which made it quite easy for my younger self learn to shoot. Does anyone know if DCS's gamemode does that? Also a great oportunity to get your kids interested in history if they aren't already.

 

And people say videogames are evil :joystick::doh:

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Can't believe nobody suggested it yet, Kerbal Space Program. Its not just building, likely crashing, and exploring a solar system with rockets. You can have a lot of fun building and testing aircraft also. With mods there can be combat and other relevant stuff. Can even get to the point of flying a whole mission inside a capsule.

 

Showed it to my cousins that were middle school age at the time and they loved it. At the very least it does a good job of teaching astrophysics concepts in a very easy to understand way.

 

Something I just got to play is Simple Planes.

 

Simple - yes - but really fun. You build your own plane with relatively realistic ground rules (or pick a pre-built one) and then just fly it around, do some aerobatics of some arcade shooting.

 

Basic aircraft controls work all as they should and you are presented with a simple instrument layout with throttle setting, speed, altitude, heading and an ADI for attitude plus fuel. My 2-year old son was so happy when I showed him what happens when you move the throttle forward.

 

 

Not nearly as realistic in outlook as Kerbal Space Program, but realistic enough to give you a good amount of gameplay tweaking your dream-aircraft.

 

 

Have a look. It is on Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/397340/SimplePlanes/

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

DCS Finland | SF squadron

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F19 Stealth Fighter is available on Steam!

 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/347250/F19_Stealth_Fighter/

 

 

Don't knock it, I remember spending hours on this! (Atari ST version). In all honesty though I think the Flaming Cliffs modules and possibly even Game Mode are probably your best bet.

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"Yeah, and though I work in the valley of Death, I will fear no Evil. For where there is one, there is always three. I preparest my aircraft to receive the Iron that will be delivered in the presence of my enemies. Thy ALCM and JDAM they comfort me. Power was given unto the aircrew to make peace upon the world by way of the sword. And when the call went out, Behold the "Sword of Stealth". And his name was Death. And Hell followed him. For the day of wrath has come and no mercy shall be given."

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Thanks guys, I'll have a look at those!

 

It still seems that there is a significant gap in the current flight sim market though...

Modules: Bf 109, C-101, CE-II, F-5, Gazelle, Huey, Ka-50, Mi-8, MiG-15, MiG-19, MiG-21, Albatros, Viggen, Mirage 2000, Hornet, Yak-52, FC3

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My 9 year-old son plays these:

 

Aerofly FS2 Amazingly fast loading times. You'll be flying before DCS or FSX have even loaded the main menu. Physics are pretty decent and it looks stunning. The controls are also relatively simple.

 

Warthunder Endless choice of planes and it's free. Multiplayer games are pretty safe for kids and it also has offline game modes. Better to stick to the earlier war planes as games are more forgiving. It's the closest thing to Chuck Yeager's Air Combat you will find these days.

 

Bomber Crew A very recent addition. It's a plane game without the flying bits, but it's surprisingly addictive. My son loves the look of the little people. Truly charming.

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Can't believe nobody suggested it yet, Kerbal Space Program.

 

Just one word.

 

YES.

 

More value than any flight sim will ever provide. Knowledge is power.

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