Before I became a Sims 3 Fanatic I was a flight-simmer. I started out on Flight Simulator way back in the 80s. I was a teenager, I wanted to become a pilot and well, what better to spend my leisure time when not being forced to do homework (which happened to be most of the time) was pulling out Sublogic's Flight Simulator and idling away my time in the skies.
In 1983 (when I first got Sublogic's Flight Simulator (it came out in Dec of 1979) and I had my first Apco II (an Apple clone), I'd rush to get done my homework and study for six hours and then play for an hour before lights out. There wasn't much resolution or features to this game, just a couple of dials on a very basic instrument panel and the graphics...well, they were line-drawings. Our imagination filled in the rest. While I sat and flew SLFS and dreamt of owning Chuck Yeager's Combat Flight Simulator
My next purchase when I was much older; working in real estate, was Falcon 3.0 and MiG 29 after spending nearly 10G so that I could get a computer at home to ostensibly access VanDat and work quicker. Yeah, that worked out really well. My best year in real estate was when I fell three sales short of achieving Medallion Club and that, folks, was the summation of my career in real-estate (raises hand - no points for it being in a tough market in Vancouver...?) So frankly, I preferred enjoying my flying time in-game over getting told. "NO, you're going to carry me out of my house in a coffin...". Yeah. I didn't like cold-calling.
These were my two enjoyments after coming home from a hard day of trying to sell real estate. Understandably, my enjoyment of flying hadn't abated even after realizing that I would never be a pilot.
I picked up Falcon 4.0 (the follow-up) in the first quarter of 2000 (the year I would get married).
And that would be it for the next 21 years, until just recently my wife bought me FSX.
Now I just need a system that can handle it and DCS(World) - I've downloaded DCS Steam Edition and I'm aiming to get Heatblur's F-14 addition. The Tomcat has always been one of my favorites. (thank you, Tom Cruise/Maverick and Top Gun (1986))
As soon as I pick up another copy of Photoshop and Premiere Elements, I'm going to go back in and deal with re-creating this mount for FSX and hopefully pick myself up a pair of HOTAS controllers, preferably with an F-14 Grip.
I can make do with a Warthog (A-10) throttle and pick up the VKB or Virpil F-14 Stick. Frankly, I like the design of the Virpil a lot better. The G-limiter paddle looks more authentic squeeze that limiter and over-stress your airframe. Just like Maverick did to the F/A-18E in Top Gun Maverick.
Throttletek has an authentic looking F-14 throttle but at $800.00plus, I think that's a bit steep for anyone but the most addicted flight-simmer. Not unless I hit the Lotto Max $70M am I gonna think about getting that.
Hopefully one of these days, I'll get a chance to fly those flight sims again. but for right now, I'm happy playing Cities Skylines, SWTOR and The Sims 3.
...and well, whattaya know. Microsoft has just come out with Flight Simulator...and it ain't your grandpappy or Daddy's Flight Simulator
DrVenkman3876 - flies this beauty of a "Ace of Spades" F-14 in MSFS. I so f*ng want one.
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