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2022-08-26
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Review of
Solo Flight
Reviewed by Paul Franusich 95624
Solo Flight, from MicroProse
Software, is a very realistic flight
simulator. So much so that you can
become so absorbed in your 'flight'
that you feel that you are actually
flying.
The lower portion of the screen
contains many of the instruments that
are found in the regular small plane
such as the air speed indicator,
altimeter, artificial horizon and
attitude indicator. The pitch is
given in plus or minus numbers,
depending on if you are climbing or
descending. The flaps can be at
either 20 or 40 degrees. The landing
gear light comes on when the wheels
are lowered. There are also
indicator lights for the brakes and a
warning light that comes on if the
engine starts to overheat. The
throttle indicator shows ten
different settings. Values of
vertical velocity either up or down
are given as well as the regular dial
display. Besides a good compass there
are navigational instruments such as
ILS and VOR. The VOR readouts give
bearings and distances of the plane
from the two VOR stations and so you
can plot your actual location while in
flight. All the instruments are
functional and quite accurate.
The sound adds a great deal to the
realism and the engine roar changes
with different throttle settings.
Climbing or diving also changes the
engine sound. As you approach the
stalling speed, a warning gong sounds.
You can learn to fly with an
instructor who prints directions on
the screen such as... turn left,
pull up, lower landing gear, and so
forth. You have a choice of flying
in any one of three states. Kansas
is the easiest because it's level and
Colorado being mountainous is the most
difficult. The state of Washington
is in-between because it has both
mountains and level terrain.
After a person masters his landings
and take-offs and learns how to fly
by instruments, he can select the Mail
Pilot game that is challenging and
exciting. You may decide how much
mail you wish to carry and also the
amount of fuel. The heavier the load
the harder the plane handles. Again
there are different levels one can
select. In the higher levels of
difficulty, you will have to contend
with deteriorating weather conditions
such as winds and poor visibility as
well as instrument failures or other
emergency conditions.
The 15 page manual is very good and
has complete directions with maps and
illustrations of different instrument
landing approaches.
My only criticism is that the
graphics could be better and some of
the motions smoothed out for even
greater realism. Nevertheless, I'd
rate it EXCELLENT and it is certainly
worth the money. Solo Flight is a
refreshing relief from the present
day deluge of war games.
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