A History of Flight: Inside Microsoft Flight Simulator, Part 1
Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of A History of Flight: Inside Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS). You can read Part 2 of the feature for an interview with expansion developers Just Flight, and a preview of MSFS X, the next instalment in the series.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) is considered a bore by some, the best thing since supersonic flight for others. In this two-part series, we take a look at the venerable title in detail, review its many expansions and interview some of the people who best know the game.
According to legend, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates read the book "The Night Flying" by French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (who, incidentally, was killed in a plane crash) and was inspired to commission the first - and rather clunky-looking, it must be admitted - MSFS.
In reality, Microsoft obtained the rights to Flight Simulator around 1981 from game developer SubLogic, which had made the title for the Apple II and TRS-80. Whatever the case, it has been up, up and away for virtual flying ever since that day, and nowadays MSFS is so accurate that actual pilots use it to keep up on their skills.
The whole genre of flight simulators is odd as far as games go. Less a game than a realistic simulation of life, you have to wonder why someone might spend hours flying aircraft from A to B via a winding network of VOR navigation points on a virtual map. It certainly isn't the instant gratification of Half-Life, but flying has a certain romanticism about it that perhaps explains part of why people "play" games like MSFS.
There is beauty up in them skies, and the process of mastering a complex piece of airborne tin is a rewarding one. Flight simulations are not for everyone, but MSFS has sold around 15 million copies since 1984, so there is obviously a few more 737 pilots in the closet than you might suspect.
In this two-part feature, we take a look at some flight sim expansions from Just Flight to get a taste of what is available. The expansions we review are:
Flying Club, slated for beginners with four light-training aircraft; SR-71 Blackbird, the supersonic spy jet which once flew New York to London in just under 1 hour 55 minutes; 737 Pilot in Command, a more upscale model of one of the world's most popular medium-range commercial aircraft; C-130 Hercules, another very detailed aircraft model of one of the most robust military cargo transports in the world; Airliner Pilot, an all-in-one package for the advanced pilot; Traffic 2005, which adds air and runway congestion to the mix.We also interview the Just Flight gurus and take a look forward at the next generation of MSFS prior to its launch at the end of the year.
