I was telling a buddy about Flight last night. Then he asked what was so fun about flying around and if there were bombs you could drop or people to shoot at, etc. Sigh....But it got me to thinking. Has society lost interest in flight? In the old days people used to get excited and dress up when they went to the airport. Now people show up like they just dragged themselves out of bed. Ask someone what kind of airplane they are boarding and 90% probably couldn't tell you, or could care less. It's not even just air travel, it's the wonder of flight that seems to have been lost. I was at an art show which lay beneath the flight path of a busy executive airport. A T6 Texan was on final approach and passed over our heads at probably 700-800 feet, and I was like the only one in this huge crowd to look up in awe at the sight and sound. I know airshows are popular, but not like they used to be.So with MS saying they want to make flight accessible for everyone, are there really people who haven't played flight sims because they were too scared of the challenge of learning or do the masses simply not care about flight and flight sims like they did in the past.

With the average age of flightsimmers well over 50..... there's your answer ;-)For the majority of people a lot of things are being taken for granted now, just because they have no idea what the (their) world looked like without them. Only us 'old timers' find that sad...... as will the youngsters from now in 20 or 40 years

Some of the magic is gone. We live in a post industrial society and aviation is as everyday as driving a car or a train. I guess nothing symbolizes this better than travelling with Ryanair and similar low fare airlines. What's there to be exited about? Also, the end of the cold war ended much of the amazing and diversified development of military aircraft...

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by simmerhead

This Video fits this topic very well. It is from the "Dean of Invention" show, most featuring the Icon (I would love to have their sim set up in my home).

After watching the wonderful Discovery Channel program, Flying Wild Alaska, a couldn't wait to fire up at Unalakleet, and do my thing. I thought maybe I could out do Ariel, and actually hit the center of the runway. You can even download a third party airport enhancement for Unalakleet. That's not gonna happen in Flight, and as such it's a B.B. King. That's why in my opinion, this program will be about like a new restaurant in town. After the initial surge, reality will set in quickly.After Captain Sully put it down in the Hudson River, I took the GPS coordinates from USAToday and duplicated that flight including a return to LaGuardia, and a shot at Teterboro. It was fun to just clear that last bridge like he did so heroically. "The thrill is gone" !Bob

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by Toys_R_Us

This Video fits this topic very well.

Good video! The odds are stacked against the Icon guys, but I hope they do well.p.s. would love their sim setup in my office

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by dighost

I was telling a buddy about Flight last night. Then he asked what was so fun about flying around and if there were bombs you could drop or people to shoot at, etc. Sigh....But it got me to thinking. Has society lost interest in flight? In the old days people used to get excited and dress up when they went to the airport. Now people show up like they just dragged themselves out of bed. Ask someone what kind of airplane they are boarding and 90% probably couldn't tell you, or could care less. It's not even just air travel, it's the wonder of flight that seems to have been lost. I was at an art show which lay beneath the flight path of a busy executive airport. A T6 Texan was on final approach and passed over our heads at probably 700-800 feet, and I was like the only one in this huge crowd to look up in awe at the sight and sound. I know airshows are popular, but not like they used to be.So with MS saying they want to make flight accessible for everyone, are there really people who haven't played flight sims because they were too scared of the challenge of learning or do the masses simply not care about flight and flight sims like they did in the past.

I've wondered this myself. It's amazing to me that flying could be so dismissed at this point, it took man only 2,000 years to figure it out. I'm amazed at the lack of interest or the commonality it has in so many people's minds. I'm 39 and I love the access we've enjoyed with Flight Simulator and for me living in the US where I could join a flying club was just great.

Edited February 8, 201214 yr by Dillon

Have you BEEN on a flight lately? I don't mean in the cockpit, I mean back in steerage where most of us have to fly... what the hell is there to be excited about? LOL

But then again, motorcycles, boats, trains and cars have been around for a while and people seem to be interested still.

Is the wonder of flight GONE?It isn't for me... not when I can pick up a book like Fate Is the Hunter, or The Long Way Home and read about the pioneer aviators like Ernest Gann or Robert Ford. Not when I can load up the M-9MB Flying Wing in FS 9 and fly around my home town. Not when I can jump into my C-185 and drop her onto the beach NE of Ketchikan.The allure of flight means different things to different people. The important things are to nurture it, don't take it for granted, and if you love it so, then immerse yourself in it and ENJOY!Alan :)

aviation had it's glamorous days in the 60's when being a pilot was cool both for the military (cool new planes and the space program) and the commercial ones (early jetliners and the major airlines), nowadays planes are easier to fly and mostly automated, the human element is still there but the job conditions are awful, and the military are going to rely more and more on drones.General aviation outside the US is plagued by high fuel costs and taxes.My personal experience pushed me to stop flying in 2001 when my daughter was born.So no surprise aviation enthusiast are 45+ like me, we are the ones who as kids assembled aircraft model kits and toyed with the idea of flying them, when flight simulation came along it was like being kids again.

I can still remember the thrill of that first flight. I was eight years old and the rents took me to New York on a PAA B-707. I still have that blue canvas and aluminum frame overnight bag we all got for free (and we flew Economy). Thing is Mom asket the stewardess (what flight attendants were called then) to take me to the flight deck...Wow! What a thrill that was! My eyes almost popped out of my head! So many gauges and switches! And the view!At that very moment I just knew flying a jet passenger aircraft was the coolest thing on Earth!Cheers,- jahman.

I was telling a buddy about Flight last night. Then he asked what was so fun about flying around and if there were bombs you could drop or people to shoot at, etc. Sigh.

That creased me up - nearly fell off my chair.

Ask someone what kind of airplane they are boarding and 90% probably couldn't tell you, or could care less. It's not even just air travel, it's the wonder of flight that seems to have been lost.

So true, in my twenties international travel was a real adventure. Now it is just a tedious and frustrating process of getting from A to B.

Except for getting from point A to point B I believe the vast majority of people could care less about the wonder of flight. I have made a habit of observing people outside as an aircraft flies overhead. I very seldom see anyone besides myself looking up. Of course these days most people are too busy texting on their cell phones to look at anything, much less the majesty that is flight.