Solo Flight

Flying by both visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) Accurate small plane instrumentation Maps and VOR navigation Three states: Colorado, Kansas and Washington/Oregon Four levels of difficulty Weather and mechanical emergencies Mail Pilot game mode A well-written, detailed, 15-page user manual with tips for less-experienced pilots Single-player Sid Meier is one of the most well-known and prolific strategy video game designer-producers. There is no autopilot here, no computer-aided navigation. You are also graded on your piloting skills, so your score will be impacted by how well you land. In 1983, none other than the legendary Sid Meier created Solo Flight, one of the first, realistic flight simulators, and possibly the first to include a game mode designed to test your skills as a pilot. Did you stall? Loading up on fuel and cargo will increase your score, but it will also slow you down and increase the difficulty of flying. Did you come in too fast? You will need to rely on VOR navigation -- short-wave radio signals from ground-based stations and airports -- to guide your plane to its destination. Solo Flight was first published in 1983 under the Microprose label. To give pilots in Solo Flight a sense of purpose, Meier created a game mode called Mail Pilot. This is old-school dial-based flight instrumentation, which will challenge your skills when bad weather takes away the horizon and prominent landmarks. Deteriorating weather and mechanical emergencies add unexpected challenges. Your task is to deliver mail bags to regional airports in the least amount of time. Turn too sharply on the ground or taxi off of the runway?

Solo Flight