streakeagle Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 (edited) I not only had this toy and used it to fly the airplanes outside, I spent many hours just sitting at the table with this "cockpit" in front of me. I practiced startup procedures, takeoff, combat, and landing despite the fact that the entire instrument panel was just a bunch of decals. But those decals were very close to the F-5E cockpit and all of that time in front of it made the F-5 cockpit feel very familiar. Just a few years later I would get my first computer, a Timex Sinclair 1000 and get my first taste of PC flight simulation. But the absence of graphics and animation didn't stop me from imagining I was flying a fighter jet in air combat. Edited August 26, 2019 by streakeagle [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick50 Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Wow, that's pretty sweet! I only vaguely recall seeing an ad for that as a kid, never saw one up close. man, you are right, that does look very much like someone got a printed cockpit training aid and used many of the same elements onto a basic plastic "dashboard"!! Think whoever designed this toy must have been a legitimate aviation geek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Very cool - immersion is everything! My first flight sim was MicroProse F-15 in 1985. Objectively, it was like chasing wire coat hangers over chicken wire, but to me I was in an F-15 over the Persian Gulf and I enjoyed every minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knock-Knock Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 I also cruise it at 90% :thumbup: - Jack of many DCS modules, master of none. - Personal wishlist: F-15A, F-4S Phantom II, JAS 39A Gripen, SAAB 35 Draken, F-104 Starfighter, Panavia Tornado IDS. | Windows 11 | i5-12400 | 64Gb DDR4 | RTX 3080 | 2x M.2 | 27" 1440p | Rift CV1 | Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS | MFG Crosswind pedals | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra99 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 I had one of those to! Ya know if ya could get those stickers... ;) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Primary Computer ASUS Z390-P, i7-9700K CPU @ 5.0Ghz, 32GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 @ 3200Mhz, ZOTAC GeForce 1070 Ti AMP Extreme, Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe drives (1Tb & 500 Gb), Windows 10 Professional, Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS, Thrustmaster Warthog Stick, Thrustmaster Cougar Throttle, Cougar MFDs x3, Saitek Combat Rudder Pedals and TrackIR 5. -={TAC}=-DCS Server Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3, i7-3770K CPU @ 3.90GHz, 32GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 @ 1600Mhz, ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 970. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tflash Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Really cool! Thanks for sharing! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streakeagle Posted August 28, 2019 Author Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) I spent a couple of years playing with this before my mother sold it at a garage sale. The cockpit/stick/rubber bands were all in near perfect shape. The aircraft were a little worn from crashing into the ground because I launched up and down the street and they got scraped up on the asphalt. They flew really well. If my son would show any interest at all in toy airplanes, I would buy this on ebay, but planes just aren't his thing. I knew every switch, gauge, and indicator. I had read about airplanes and space travel since the 2nd grade and didn't need a manual to understand what I was looking at. I got this around the 5th grade, which is also when I got to fly for the first time and was given the opportunity to take off and fly figure 8's in a Cessna 152 and a Piper Cherokee. My dad said you can't learn to fly from books. I was a natural. In the 6th/7th grade I was in Civil Air Patrol and was effortlessly performing coordinated turns without any training. I got glasses in the 7th grade and by the 10th grade my uncorrected vision was so bad, I couldn't even qualify to be a RIO or a crew chief on a helicopter. So computers became the only path I had to fly fighters... and here I am living the dream even if it will never be real. Edited August 28, 2019 by streakeagle [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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