This was my start... (not my picture though)
Fire the Phantom up a fishing line from the catapult on deck, watch it turn round and try to get it back on the deck neatly. Oh, and it lowered a hook as it turned. Can't remember if there was actually a cable or not.
Slightly more relevant, it was then B1 Bomber on the TRS-80, which was a text based flight sim. Yes, really. It wasn't terribly immersive...
Then Chuck Yeager, E-Falcon (which was the improved version of Falcon in EGA), LHX and Red Baron...