What do you all think of computer flight simulator games?

Question

Not the real thing of course.

None the less though, they're still fun...

Answer 1

great thing to understand the instrument flying.

and a lot of fun.

unfortunately many people get the feeling they can talk into the real flying with their 2000+virtual flight hours.

Answer 2

I hate the Microsoft ones but X-Plane is really great. So realistic it's basically real! I use v8 but v9 looks great: x-plane.com.

Answer 3

They are my favorite games so far. Though they are not the real thing, they give you an insight to what the real thing is.

Answer 4

Flight simulators are definitely helpful if you can't get out there and do it for real just yet. The important thing to do with the simulations is to fly in the cockpit otherwise you learn absolutely nothing about flying and the instruments which is what will really matter when you are testing. The simulators also give you missions and lessons with directions and guidelines that can teach you everything you need to know and if you learn it you will be a good pilot if that is what you want.(you have to have good vision and not be colorblind just f.y.i.)

I definitely think flight simulators help prepare you for becoming a pilot, and once you are confident you can go ahead and have all the fun you want in any mode and if you have friends into it as well, you can show off as much as you want.

Answer 5

they're fun to play

Answer 6

They kept my dream of flying alive as much as standing by an airport fence.

They taught me a lot of bad habits (like using afterburners for stall recovery) but got me through my instrument rating faster than other people.

I haven't played them for years, except for just recently I found a copy of X Plane v7 lying around and tried it out.  Just a mouse and keyboard makes the planes challenging to fly.

Answer 7

i think they are very fun, although i am not a big fan of microsoft they are one of my favorite games.

Answer 8

They are excellent forms of education in the world of aviation (as long as Microsoft don't publish it because their combat flight sims are incorrect, historically and game play) games like Rowans Battle of Britain give insight to WW2 battle planning and proper air combat of the era. Rowans have also made fantastic simulations brfore the days of Windows 95, Tornado was a big success for Rowans and it ran on MS-DOS, it gave huge insight into modern day combat flying (both dogfighting and ground attack because of the Tornado's versatility) and what happens in modern briefing and flight plan situations.

Answer 9

I think they are fine.  You might learn a little bit about flying the instruments, and how to make the computer do what you want it to do.  Have fun.  You might want to ask this in the computer section, unless you are trying to relate it to real aircraft?