We get laughed at. A lot. Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS). The game? It’s just a game.
The first MSFS I got was Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0. It came out at 1993 and I was 11 years old. It ran on MS-DOS. The default airport was Meigs Field Airport, Chicago. I have no idea where that was even though I grew up in North America, and “playing” 5.0, back then in Vancouver, Canada. It was fun, all those gauges I really knew nothing about. It was a Cessna, I think, flying, banking left and right, climbing, descending, and seeing the gauges and dials turning and moving. That’s all I knew back then. But it was really what sparked my interest in flying.
“Playing” was the term back then. Even at the age of 11, I was fortunate to have flown as a passenger a lot. Being an immigrant to Canada from Hong Kong, at least I’ve flown a long haul flight already back in 1993, from Hong Kong to Vancouver. But, in fact, I’ve flown many time before that to Los Angeles, with relatives there, and around Asia with my parents.
I know flying. I am in fact fascinate by flight even at that age. Who wouldn’t? A machine that could fly up in the skies. I always remember seeing the cabin crew and the flight crew, back then, before 911, we could actually ask to visit the flight deck and I did. I told the captain, I wanted to become a pilot one day. I did. I had my Canadian private pilot licence in 2004. I was 22. It took me 11 year. Well, realistically flight training took me 3 years and to have acquired my license. I was a University student back then as well so I was juggling with school and flight training at the same time. I failed in some ways as what I wanted was to be a commercial pilot and not just a Private Pilot but in life, we don’t always get what we want and that is the most important point of being in love with MSFS.
My first solo flight was on 2001 shortly after 9/11. I remember walking into the Flight School and everyone looked depressed. They knew this would change flight training and aviation forever. Back then, there were a lot of different nationality training at my aerodrome, Boundary Bay, Delta, British Columbia, Canada.
But during my Private Pilot training, I realized that MSFS was not just a “game” but a “simulation”. When people laugh at us, I can only tell them, MSFS is what you want it to be and what you want to put into it. Of course, it could be a “game”, you could do crazy things which you wouldn’t do in real life even as a pilot but it could be a real “simulation” where you could learn about the laws of flight. For example, airspeed changes with flaps and attitude etc. Really fundamental flying but “simulated”.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 was really when I got into “Flight Simulation”. It was no longer just a “game” for me. It was a “simulation”. Early 2001, I started my Private Pilot Licence ground school. What got me started, is another story for another time.
I was always a computer buff, my parents took me early to after school classes on learning DOS. DOS was really my first interaction with computers before Windows 95. Even back then, I thought Windows 95 was too fancy for us who knows and understand how the structure of files, folders work in DOS.
It didn’t take me long to get an interests in MSFS and when MSFS 2000 came out, it was a game changer. A true “simulator” in your home computer. Of course, MSFS 2000 took more computer power but I was fortunate enough to be given the resources to acquire to best consumer computer that could launch MSFS 2000.
Throughout the years, I’ve got MSFS 2002, 2004 and then X. The latest one was probably the biggest yet in 2020 because there wasn’t a new release since the X back in 2006. The realism with satellite images made the whole world looks immensely real.
Although, for me MSFS is always “simulation” first, but the big Achilles heel for all the MSFS to date even the latest version is the ATC or Air Traffic Control. As we all know, ATC is an integral part of aviation. This is where VATSIM can along back in 2001. It is a completely free network which real human beings, not AI or computer, acts as real ATC seeing you, on their scope. They are the other side of the simulator where they are the “real” ATC. In fact, most of them are really real ATC in real life or students. VATSIM is so serious that if you log into their network and not using real phraseology and procedures, they will kick you out. VATSIM is really not a “game”. They provide the community with real ATC services. Depending on where you are flying from, you can find ATCO stationed at different airports in the world. This is really depending on when they will come online and provide this service. However, in most major airports, they have their on VATSIM community where their aerodrome are fully staffed with ATCOs. From Tower to Ground frequencies, there will be someone manned. This is truly amazing.
To me, MSFS is never about the controls or the feel of the aircraft. You can never simulate that other than full motion flight simulators that airline pilots use. However, for home simulation, nothing beats MSFS. Yes, there is X-Plane but by-far MSFS has the biggest community and also the biggest freeware add-on for aircrafts, systems, scenery, airports scenery etc. https://flightsim.to/ is an amazing community where everyone can share their creations and add-ons.
On the freeware aircraft side, https://flybywiresim.com/ is amazing with the A320neo and recently the A380 as well.
On the payware side, https://fenixsim.com/ changed the game.
So what is MSFS is for me then? Procedures. Understanding aerodynamics. Understanding instrumentation. Practicing IFR Procedures. Basic VOR/DME navigation. Unusual attitudes, instrument scanning techniques, familiarization of the flight deck, avionics such as the Garmin G1000 is completely done like in the real life and the list goes on and on… aviation is about procedures and you can simulate almost everything with your checklist on MSFS. The options are limitless.
Together with VATSIM, you can have a pretty close simulated IFR Procedural flight from Point A to Point B if you want to. Yes, you do need to file your file plan as real life in VATSIM. Is it really like in real life. There is real time weather, ATIS, METAR etc. Then also came NAVIGRAPH recently that really changed the game. The flight planning realism went up to another level. Real life Airac cycle on Jeppesen charts and with real world weather!
Then of course there is the metaverse. When I heard about metaverse and this Virtual Reality world, I thought I am already in one back in 2002 with MSFS and VATSIM. There were Virtual Airlines which mimics the airlines of the real world with real routes that you need to fly on. You log your flights and can be promoted from Second Officers to Captains.
What I am trying to say is that you can be immersed in your own world in MSFS. You can fly to anywhere in the world with satellite ground imaging that would shock you. You can be a GA pilot doing a Sunday morning flight to your local $100 burger airport but at the comfort of you home when it’s pouring rain outside with marginal weather. You could fly the most challenging LNAV/VNAV approach into Queenstown Airport, New Zealand down to the minimums. The decision is yours and yours to choose. What you want to learn and get out of it is completely up to you.
The caveat we need to remember though is that this is really just a “simulation”. It is not the real world. If you love flying and have the opportunity to learn to fly, go and fly on a real Cessna or Diamond. Nothing beats the early morning air when we arrive to our local airport and flying out on a Cessna 152. The absolute joy of taking off and landing a real aircraft. The “real” process of flight planning, looking at the weather, calling up the Flight Information Services (back in my days), filling a real flight plan. The real world of aviation is beautiful. Go and pursue your dreams. MSFS is just a tool for you to realize that dream.
This is a simulated world, it is for those that want to discover if flying is for them or want to develop their skills further before getting on the real aircraft. I used it a lot for VOR training when I was doing my PPL and also under the hood training in simulated IFR conditions. Unusual attitudes training is really good as well. Learning procedures for new aerodromes that you will fly to, and even you could simulate the whole route. Again, the possibility is limitless.
And of course, some of us dream of flying or becoming a commercial pilot but for whatever reason, the dream did not come to fruition. MSFS gives those a chance to have a small part of their dream come into reality but again, this is just a simulation. But it is so real that you might loose yourself in it.