I was racking my brain trying to think of what my first flightsim was as a kid and it wasn’t from the MS Flight Simulator family (my first entry there was FS5), it was Solo Flight in the mid to late 80’s.  I remember crashing a lot and i couldn’t figure out how to navigate anywhere but I was flying, and boy it was a lot of fun at the time.

 https://images.app.goo.gl/8XEFKZeYBFek6jp97

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo_Flight_(video_game)

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/solo-flight-2w

Oh yes, I spent a lot of time on the C64 version of  that when I was still at school, it thought me basic VOR navigation and  circuits.

I used to like doing scenic flights up through the mountains, or as we’d call them now, white wire framed transparent pyramids.

Theres an emulator somewhere on the internet full of old flight sims including solo flight, but it doesn’t hold your attention as much nowadays, we’ve probably forgotten how to use our imaginations to fill in the gaps

It was the title that started it all for me!

I don't remember Solo Flight unfortunately, but my very first flight simulator was "ZX Spectrum Flight Simulator" in 1984. I remember that I had to play using the chiclet keyboard and that it was an exercise in frustration. 🙂

 

Anyone remember this one? Good old cassette drive program on the commodore 64.

The frame rate on this video is a lot worse than it was on my old Commodore 64 and it wasn't a particularly great combat game, but oddly enough, it was pretty good for practicing circuits and flying courses since it did basically have the makings of a 'six pack' panel and I can recall using it for that quite a bit because it also gave you what was essentially a head down panel-only IFR view.

Edited July 29, 20205 yr by Chock

20 minutes ago, Chock said:

Anyone remember this one? Good old cassette drive program on the commodore 64

sure! i think played it on my Atari 800 XL, and yes i remember especially the option to change the complete view from Instrument panel to front view

using the whole res. This was new and great, i think Mirrorsoft was the first who did this, no other flight game did this even much later on my Amiga (Flight of the Intruder or Interceptor)

total immersion for me, had alot of fun 😄 crazy stuff if i compare it to the new MSFS.

I would take any factual performance figures from that Spitfire "sim" with a truckload of salt as it was published by Mirror Group Newspapers...

I had a 48k Spectrum, I remeber having an Apache gunship sim on it by which time I'd also got a Kempston joystick interface and a joystick to fly it with. Prior to that I'd bought Nightflite - excellent for instrument approaches!! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73u95S6fE8Q

 

My ZX Spectrum lies in my attic next to it’s predecessor, the ZX81. I might also have an old cassette player in there. I used to travel a lot at that time and I would always take my ZX along with me, connect It to the tv in my hotel room and start flightsimming...

Jean-Jacques

 

 

21 hours ago, regis9 said:

I was racking my brain trying to think of what my first flightsim was as a kid and it wasn’t from the MS Flight Simulator family (my first entry there was FS5), it was Solo Flight in the mid to late 80’s.  I remember crashing a lot and i couldn’t figure out how to navigate anywhere but I was flying, and boy it was a lot of fun at the time.

 

Hi Regis

I dove into my big and messy wood coffer close to my computer and see what I found (close to Mallard's Rescue Air 911 !) . I couldn't put my hand on the box, I suppose it was lost in one of the many country moves of a professional expat.  

 

Edited July 30, 20205 yr by Dominique_K

Wow, Mallard...Air Rescue.  I sort of remember that.

How about "Wings of Fury" by Broderbund?  Not really a flight simulator though, but an interesting game.  Did any of you have that one?

9 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

I suppose it was lost in one of the many country moves of a professional expat.

Ben Franklin said, "In terms of business disruption, two removes equals one fire." After a recent move I discovered exactly what this meant.

After a move, you can't find half your stuff.  After a fire, you can't find the other half either. 😄 

I missed Solo Flight, going straight from Bruce Artwick's flight sim for the Apple 2 to the first Microsoft flight sim, which I bought before I had a computer to run it on.  Makes me wish I'd tried all the other early flight sims, but I didn't know about them at the time.

Hook

12 hours ago, Dominique_K said:

I dove into my big and messy wood coffer close to my computer and see what I found

Amazing, thanks for sharing!

There are times when I wish that I could go back to those days. I could use my imagination to fill in the gaps, and it always looked good in my head. Unfortunately, those gaps are all filled in these days.......and sometimes they leave a lot to be desired.

My first flight simulator I can't honestly remember now, but one which is rarely mentioned now but gives fond memories was AV8B Harrier. In AV8B a carrier and fleet of support vessels moved along the coast of East Timor and Harriers were launched and flown by AI. I could take over the piloting of any Harrier and concentrate attacks on Ground to Air missile sites to safeguard the AI Harrier missions. I could take over any of the pre-planned missions and even totally recreate the mission planning. I've still got the title in the garage somewhere along with most of the Microsoft flight simulators.

I also have fond memories of FS9 with the awesome addon Airliner Pilot from Just Flight, one of the best ever addons whereby flying the Dash 8 was a favourite.

1 hour ago, Christopher Low said:

could use my imagination to fill in the gaps, and it always looked good in

Very true Christopher, in those days the world was a lot more IFR there was green for ground ,blue for sky and yellow for cities that was about it. VORs and NDBs took on a lot more significance than they do today probably because there weren’t enough ground features to navigate visually.

Today simulators are just about at the stage that I used dream about knowing that one day these simulators would eventually come, almost indistinguishable from the real world.

But as you say, there was something magical about those simple old flight simulators. And what they lacked in graphics they made up for in manuals and other printed materials 

Edited July 31, 20205 yr by jon b