1 hour ago, regis9 said:

Best advice is keep it fun and only as long as they are interested.

Completely agree!  I have a 9 year old son and he sometimes flies MSFS.  I used to start him in the air flying something easy with all assists on and crash/damage off, and now he can take off himself and is starting to have a go at landing.  Just keep it simple.  Covering the very basics of flying (aileron/elevator controls, airspeed enough to stay in the air) is enough to start with. Then let them fly and see if they get bitten by the bug. Good luck!

31 minutes ago, Bigbluss said:

Thanks again - I expect you've just made someones afternoon a lot more fun and interesting.

Let us know how it worked out😉

2 hours ago, Chock said:

He must have been a late starter, most kids get into that when they hit about eight. 🤣

If all else fails, here is the perfect guide:

 

Haven't seen that since I was a kid and don't think I ever noticed the propeller sounds for the jet engines then!

Although this may not be applicable in the same way, when I show someone the sim, I ask them what in the world they wish to see. A couple we get together with has traveled many times to a small town in Italy where they have an old family home. I put in the coordinates, started in the air, and let them fly around the area. They located their house, and started pointing out areas of familiarity. 

Sort of a where do you want to go, what do you want to see. 

1 hour ago, OneOfMany said:

Although this may not be applicable in the same way, when I show someone the sim, I ask them what in the world they wish to see.

I’ve used the same approach with my daughter…part of the great opportunity afforded by the immersive world that is MSFS.  We’ve flown around the pyramids in Egypt, Mount Everest, landed a float plane in front of the Statue of Liberty, flown over some areas of the Canadian Rockies that we’ve hiked together, flown around the beach resorts we’ve been to etc

3 hours ago, Chock said:

If you have a  toy/model plane to hand, this is ideal for explaining what the controls do, since you can point to the ailerons and elevators etc, and/or move the model/toy to visualise what things do

It's good enough for the RAF to practice formations:

Talking of formations, if you have enough bikes to hand:

😀

 

But I agree that MSFS is a better bet than DCS. You're not likely to dilute his enthusiasm for military aviation just by letting him try MSFS, and you'll expand his knowledge if anything.

3 hours ago, ryanbatcund said:

My 6 and 8 yr old boys like to put it in external view (from behind like 6 o'clock position) and fly the planes like that.

My kid is 2.5yo and loves flying the Diamond the same way, his attention span is not all there yet, but he definitely loves the planes.

On 9/7/2021 at 3:53 AM, 737_800 said:

You permit your 11 years old child is to play GTA??

Both my kids 11 and 15 are permitted to play what they like (No restrictions). As a kid growing up my dad was one of those parents who used to say...:"You aren't ever going to get anywhere playing games". That turned out to not be true at all. LOL!

My kids are well aware they're just games.

Guys I appreciate the responses on this one but please be aware it's 18 months old now!