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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
We witnessed an interesting thing last night, and it gives me hope for
the future of GA. Becca, our middle-school-aged daughter, threw a little Christmas party for friends, and held it in our hotel meeting room/theater, with the idea that they'd all watch a movie after listening to music and eating snacks. Since it was to be just 8 girls, and 2 boys, a movie seemed like a good way to break the ice and keep the conversation rolling -- always an awkward thing at that age. The Kiwi -- our full-sized flight simulator -- (see it he http://alexisparkinn.com/the_kiwi_is_born.htm ) is in the theater, too, and I thought we'd have to remove it to make room for tables, etc. Instead, my daughter asked me to have it on and available, just to provide one more thing for the kids to do. So, I created a couple of simple-but-cool flight scenarios (over the Grand Canyon, for example) where the plane was already airborne (eliminating the boring and difficult departure phase), and watched as the party started cooking, and the girls started taking turns flying. I figured that -- girls being girls -- they would be indifferent at best to what amounts to a giant-scale video game, and would soon be talking girl talk. After all, game marketers have spent billions of dollars trying to design video games to attract a female audience, to no avail -- girls simply don't like to play 'em as much as guys -- so what chance did I have? Well, to my utter amazement, the girls were absolutely dazzled by the Kiwi. At one point they were fighting over flight time, and I was kept busy explaining the flight controls and techniques. One girl in particular (Becca's best friend, whom we have taken flying in the past) was completely immersed in the experience, and was actually able to depart from Chicago's (defunct) Meigs Field, fly the pattern out over the lake -- and land successfully, on the runway! This without EVER having piloted a plane (or a simulator) before, which I found to be completely remarkable. (She was as proud as a peacock, and spent the rest of the evening asking Mary and me about flight lessons, costs, etc. She's a natural pilot, and, boy, are her parents every gonna hate US... :-) Mary eventually had to threaten to eliminate the movie from the evening's festivities to get the girls to shut it down -- but as soon as the movie ended, they were clamoring for more flight time! I've never, ever seen anything like this with girls (Becca can fly the Kiwi, but is far from enamored with it), and it gives me great hope for the future of GA. We, as GA supporters, clearly need to see more Kiwis installed, and -- as the prototype for what we want to install at the Iowa Children's Museum -- I believe our Kiwi Version 2.0 has proven that the concept works. This thing clearly "hooks" young people on flying, and that's what we need if we want to see GA survive and prosper. Mary and I spent some time pondering some of the reasons why this transpired. One guess was that the Kiwi is just *so* realistic that it really doesn't seem like a game? Another possibility was that there is no real "game" aspect to flying the Kiwi -- no points are scored, no kills recorded -- and perhaps this appeals more to girls? I dunno. But it was fantastic to watch them fly, and great fun, too! -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
Jay Honeck writes:
Mary and I spent some time pondering some of the reasons why this transpired. One guess was that the Kiwi is just *so* realistic that it really doesn't seem like a game? That's certainly part of it. Everyone (irrespective of sex) enjoys a realistic simulation. Another possibility was that there is no real "game" aspect to flying the Kiwi -- no points are scored, no kills recorded -- and perhaps this appeals more to girls? It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game. Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people, and so on. Most video games are very highly optimized to appeal to boys, and thus often do not appeal to girls. But girls like games that are optimized for them, and games that are intended for everyone. A simulator really isn't a game, though, and so the rules for games don't apply to begin with. Everyone likes simulators, as it allows them to try things they wouldn't otherwise be able to try--and safely. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#3
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game.
Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people, and so on. While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10% of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty close to the percentage of *real* pilots. There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line, at least with early teenaged girls. It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and see if their enthusiasm have changed with age. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#4
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
"Jay Honeck" wrote in message ups.com... It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game. Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people, and so on. While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10% of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty close to the percentage of *real* pilots. There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line, at least with early teenaged girls. It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and see if their enthusiasm have changed with age. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" .................. Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to find any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing! And love crashing! |
#5
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
"The Old Bloke" wrote in message ... "Jay Honeck" wrote in message ups.com... It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game. Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people, and so on. While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10% of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty close to the percentage of *real* pilots. There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line, at least with early teenaged girls. It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and see if their enthusiasm have changed with age. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" ................. Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to find any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing! And love crashing! They sound like an entertaining group. But there's no way I'd with them! Peter |
#6
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
"Peter Dohm" wrote in message news:Tayhh.279$_X.206@bigfe9... "The Old Bloke" wrote in message ... "Jay Honeck" wrote in message ups.com... It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game. Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people, and so on. While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10% of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty close to the percentage of *real* pilots. There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line, at least with early teenaged girls. It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and see if their enthusiasm have changed with age. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" ................. Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to find any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing! And love crashing! They sound like an entertaining group. But there's no way I'd with them! Peter There's nothing quite like ruining a quick remark.... That was supposed to read: "There's no way I'd ride with them!" Peter |
#7
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
The Old Bloke writes:
Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to find any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing! And love crashing! Maybe they like car racing because they've actually driven a car, whereas they don't like flying because they have no familiarity with piloting. To some extent you have to be able to relate to an activity before you can enjoy it in simulation. The more accurate the simulation, the more true I think this becomes. I know a couple of women who really enjoy car racing games. I met one who enjoyed Tomb Raider not long ago, which surprised me a bit more. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#8
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired
differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line, at least with early teenaged girls. I wonder if they would have been as interested had it been a mixed sex party. Jose -- "There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are." - (mike). for Email, make the obvious change in the address. |
#9
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
Jose writes:
I wonder if they would have been as interested had it been a mixed sex party. If they are younger than puberty, I'd say yes, although they might have been much less likely to admit it. If they are past puberty, they definitely would have been less interested, as the mating instinct (in both sexes present) would tend to override many other considerations. -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#10
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Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi
I wonder if they would have been as interested had it been a mixed sex
party. There were two boys in the group. They were into it, too -- but that's not surprising. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
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