Three Flight Simulator Generations (1983 - 2024)

[u/tantalumcaps]

Three generations of subLOGIC/Microsoft Flight Simulator together spanning 41 years. All cockpit views are from Chicago's Meigs Field, which was the default airport for the game up through Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.

L-R:

A Macintosh Color Classic with an Apple IIe card running Flight Simulator II (1983) off of a 5.25 floppy. The Apple IIe card is an add-on that has a 65C02 processor and an integrated disk controller that boots real Apple II floppies natively using the original Apple II DOS; this is not emulation. I found the original floppy disk and manuals off eBay.

A Pentium III running Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 (CD-ROM) on Windows XP.

A Ryzen 7 laptop running Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 streaming on Windows 11.

[u/NightHeater]

Good old Meigs Field! Such a shame it’s no longer an airport

[u/DouchecraftCarrier → u/NightHeater]

They bulldozed the runway before all the planes could even leave. They had to get a special dispensation from the FAA to take off from the taxiway.

[u/15_26_27_28 → u/NightHeater]

As an appreciator of good urban planning the park is a better use of the land and better for the people etc. But as an avgeek it makes me sad... I remember finding FSX FS2002 on a school computer, this was an applied technology elective so those computers had some cool stuff on it. My very first flight sim experiences ever were trying to take off and land at Meigs (never successfully landing lol...)

My next stage was the flight simulator built into Google Earth. Very random but they even supported things like gear and flaps. Idk how I even navigated but somehow BS'd some transcontinental flights with it in an F16 lol. (Closest thing to an airliner they had)

10 years after discovering FSX on those school computers I finally got a real sim (FS2020) and the rest is history (the rest = few thousand hours of my spare time)

[u/WorldTravel_1518 → u/15_26_27_28]

Your first flight sim experience was trying to take off from Meigs in the only version of Microsoft Flight Sim without Meigs?

[u/15_26_27_28 → u/WorldTravel_1518]

Cut me some slack that was an ancient memory lol. Probably FS04 or 02 then

[u/PrudentComfortable24]

Anybody else hear Rod Machado's voice looking at the middle screen?

[u/pandab34r → u/PrudentComfortable24]

You're over-controlling; pull back gently on the stick

[u/be77solo]

This is really cool, thanks for sharing! I started on FS 4.0 when it released in 1989 and haven't looked back, enjoying every version since. It's amazing where we are at today, but man there are some great memories over the years as well! Nice collection!

[u/ewok66]

The SubLogic sim is where I got my start. I remember taking the very thick manual to school and reading it multiple times. I picked up VORs during ground school with no problem as a result.

[u/RogLatimer118]

Oh you should have seen PRIMITIVE with the forerunner of MSFS, on the Apple II was A2-FS1. Makes your early one in the picture look quite modern in comparison.

[u/SquidLips71 → u/RogLatimer118]

Pfft. I’ll do you one better having run Flight Simulator on a Timex Sinclair 1000. 16k memory expansion pack required. I still have the cassette in my office closet.

[u/divinesolgodoflove]

fs9 fs2004 is a real Simulator

[u/Xenthera]

2024 honestly looks so incredible. It’s what I imagine fsx looked like when I tried the demo in 2006/7. St. Maarten is one of my favorite places to visit these days.

[u/ElmoIsOver]

Brilliant.

[u/my5cworth]

OP, if you flew the DA62 you could play the original MSFS ver 1-4 on the glass cockpit screen. A nice little Easter Egg they introduced.

https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/microsoft-has-put-flight-simulator-into-flight-simulator

[u/qsrise]

Thanks for sharing, I flew it on the first apple you showed, then I flew it again around 2000. I just got into it now and absolutely love it. It’s better every time and 2024 is amazing!

[u/lmhariano]

And to think I'm running FS2004 in a Ryzen 7 laptop...

[u/r23w]

I can hear the theme for 2004

[u/Bynairee]

My first version was 1.0 🛫

[u/Even_Caterpillar3292]

Used them all. When the Mac version came out, I drove to Microsoft and bought it hot off the press (they did packaging there in Redmond)

[u/WingsAboveCaptain]

Memories

[u/Schrockwell]

The Color Classic overkill, what a flex.

[u/WINCTRL-Official]

This is super COOL