Sinclair User


747 Flight Simulator

Author: Chris Bourne
Publisher: DACC
Machine: Spectrum 48K

 
Published in Sinclair User #38

747 Flight Simulator

Bet you never knew that if you turn a jumbo jet upside down at 20,000 feet and then cut all the engines it makes a noise like a rat with indigestion when it hits the ground.

Just one of the many features of the latest flight simulator from DACC, a company which claims to specialise in the horrid things. Don't misunderstand. Many of my best friends sit in front of the telly for hours watching the green horizon and flickering instruments while the rest of the family waits and wonders if they'll crash before the beginning of Dynasty.

The real trouble with Jumbo jets is there isn't a lot of scope for aerobatics and the like. Ponderous is a fairly kindly word to describe the grace and agility of the Jumbo. No doubt that is why DACC's flight simulator, in its pursuit of accuracy, is so much more boring than the faithful Psion Flight Simulator or Digital Integration's excellent Fighter Pilot.

You get the normal array of obscure instruments, the usual bewilderingly boring manual, and a landing sequence which always seems to include two or three more operations than the brain can handle at a time. Drawbacks include the lack of a screen map with your position on it, and no landmarks on the ground apart from the runways, which are themselves simply parallel lines. You'll have more fun on a cold morning at Gatwick waiting for the fog to lift.

Chris Bourne

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