I’ve been a Microsoft Flight Simulator fan since it came on a single floppy disc! The latest version comes close graphically to being very realistic.

In no way am I a serious pilot but I have a reasonable amount of flying skills and can fly most aircraft from Helicopters through gliders to single engined props and multi-engined mega-jets such as the Airbus A380!

The most fun though is in the multi-player format with a group of friends flying in various parts of the world as a group....

The above shot shows four of us in DC-3 aircraft flying in formation near Birmingham in the UK.

The great thing about flying in groups are the chats that go on too.

Using a tool such as Ventrillo you can speak to the other pilots and then once you are all in a session, off you go. For online sessions I use the TBFSS Server (and forums). A great friendly bunch who don’t take life too seriously and just enjoy the flying.

Some of the members open a tower and vector the aircraft around which again can be fun rather than just pointing the nose towards an airport and heading off....