Falcon

--/0\-- The only flight sim series I stuck with --/0\--

Sims were the reasons I got into PC's. From F-19, Gunship!, and F-15 Strike Eagle on the Commodore 64 thru the latest updates to Falcon 4.0, I spent waaaayyyy too much time (realistically) flying a desk. The Falcon series stands out in my mind because it is "true to life", but not tedious (I'm looking at you MS Flight Simulator).
The earlier versions are interesting to check out, but the real gem is what Falcon 4 has become. Highly recommended. The $5 is an arbitrary amount that really doesn't matter. Falcon's real cost is your time. It will be spent. You have been warned.
True story: I transferred into the Virginia Air National Guard (at Richmond) from a unit in Hawaii around mid-2004. While walking thru a parking lot to do some check-in paperwork, I happened to cross paths with a Colonel.
Did the standard salute and "Good morning, Sir". Got the standard "Good morning, Sergeant" from him and then just before we actually passed I could see his name tag. "Col. Bonanni"!
I quickly dropped my salute and extended my hand with a stupid grin on my face. "Peter Bonanni?", I asked. "Boomer? Falcon? Spectrum Holobyte? Gilman Louie? The Art of the Kill?", I pressed while shaking his hand. After a brief pause, he recovered, and switched from "Colonel Mode" to "Sim Nut Nerd".
Yeah, that's me! Wow, I didn't think that anyone even remembered that project. We talked for a while about flight sims and working with Spectrum Holobyte, I've never cared a lick about anyone in the movie or music industry, but here I was getting all fanboy over my new boss.
The next month I brought in my Falcon stuff for him to autograph! Skipped the line of people waiting outside his office for "work related" stuff, and just plopped manuals and discs on his desk. Totally cool guy. Some poor folks had to wait in the hall for a while longer while we talked.
So, for a few years until he transferred, I actually had Col. Pete "Boomer" Bonanni as my REAL Wing Commander. Cool.
- robmcraf | August 6, 2017
Exhibit index   Back to the top