On Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:00:22 +0100, Mxsmanic
wrote:

Kyle Boatright writes:

Yep, but it wasn't flying, which is the whole point, right?

For some people, the differences between flying a real airplane and flying a
simulated airplane simply are not that important, which is why they enjoy
simming. Even for people who prefer flying a real airplane, simulation is
close enough to the real thing and so incredibly inexpensive that it doesn't
make sense to refuse to try it.

At the risk of jumping into the middle of a flame war, I'd like to
offer a few opinions. I fly real airplanes and play with simulators
now and then. Trust me, sims are not close to the real thing. 100%
of "flying" takes place after you leave the ground. All the
sensations of flight are what you feel, hear and see while moving your
airplane around in the sky. It isn't all going from A to B and
watching the scenery unfold on a monitor screen 20 inches in front of
your face. Even full motion multi-million dollar sims are not the
same as "flying". When you fly, if you love to fly, the expense is
secondary and only enters your mind at times when you are not flying
or not thinking about flying.


In just online sim flying alone I have around 900 hours of time in the air,
for less cost than a single hour in a tiny tin can airplane would cost in real
life (and disregarding the huge cost of just getting a license for a
real-world aircraft).

I'll give you the point that simulators can be fun, but they pale in
comparison to flying.

Ron Kelley