My first flight simulator!

[GeneralDynamics]

Thought y'all might get a kick out this, so I'll share...

Was there some event in your life that may have provided an early interest in flight simulation? Something that may have imperceptibly sparked your imagination at a young age and grew over time? For me, I think this may have been it:

Christmas eve, 1963 in rural Arkansas. My dad on the left, me on the right at 5 years of age in my jammies, sitting in front of my brand spanking new Jimmy Jet flight "simulator" by Deluxe Reading Toys, available at "food markets only". This may very well have been my most favorite toy that I had ever received.

My dad ran a little general store in the farming community of Scott, Arkansas, about 15 miles southeast of Little Rock, and he was the biggest kid at Christmas there ever was. The store was built in 1912 and dad was the third-generation proprietor, following my grandparents and my great uncle before them. We weren't well off, but dad always somehow found a way to make Christmas special since he had grown up during the post-depression era. He kept long hours at the store because it was somewhat of a community hub, and he often did not get home until 11 PM or 12 AM after opening at 6 AM seven days a week, trying to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. If you notice the clock on top of the old Admiral 21 inch black and white TV, it's about 12:10 AM, so he had gotten home probably around 11 PM this Christmas eve I'm guessing, and he could never wait for Christmas morning. He'd say, "Well, do you want to go ahead and open gifts now?" Why, yes dad, I think that's a wonderful idea! 

And I was introduced to my Jimmy Jet:

 

 

I lost my father February 10th of last year at 88 years of age. Rest in peace, dad - I will always love you and will never forget you!

So now, with that out of the way, I'm curious... Did any of you, ahem, "more mature" members of the community ever have the pleasure of flying a Jimmy Jet when you were young?

I looked into trying to get my hands on one but working models rare and apparently now sell for around $600 to $800+. That Christmas, I could never have conceived of a modern-day flight simulator like DCS, but perhaps this was where my interest began!

Hope I didn't bore everyone to death with this - thanks for having a look!

Edited August 10, 2024 by GeneralDynamics

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

I recall receiving a Christmas gift of a similar nature when I was a wee lad in the 1990s.

My first flying game? Sky Jinks on my old man's Atari 2600:

And then, Christmas of '92?