Nels Anderson's 20th Anniversary Interview

Conducted by Dan Linton and Dominic Smith

Introduction

This year marks the 20th anniversary of FlightSim.Com. Since its inception, Nels Anderson has been the driving force behind FlightSim.Com, launching, piloting, and navigating it to what it is today. His dedication has resulted in one of the largest collections of files, articles, interviews, and reviews of any other single flight simulator source on the Internet. In this interview, some of the biggest names in the community ask Nels the things they've always wanted to know about him and FlightSim.Com.

John Venema From Orbx

Congratulation Nels on the 20th year of FlightSim.Com, which is enjoyed by tens of thousand of people as a strong community and source of information for those who are passionate about their hobby. My question for you is what keeps you motivated to continue to lead this community for perhaps another two decades, when you're not getting younger and have other interests like real-world flying that may become more important to you. Do you see yourself handing the reigns over to a younger generation of leaders?

ANSWER: Thanks, John. I'd have to say there are a few things that keep me motivated. First would be the interaction with other very enthusiastic people...the motivation is contagious. Another factor that keeps things interesting is that the hobby is always evolving. What flightsimming looked like 20 years ago when I first started FlightSim.Com is quite different from how it looks today, and I see things continuing to change. You mentioned other interests and actually I think those are not distractions but actually part of what keeps me going. I know some people do something with flightsim/aviation virtually all day/every day. That's not me, I actually have quite a few other interests such as Amateur Radio, trains, antique cars and trucks, and outdoor activities like Geocaching/Munzee that I switch between and that helps keep any one of them from becoming dull.

I could see handing over the reigns if the right person came along. I am getting close to retirement age, though I'm not so sure I'll actually retire at that point. But I'd be perfectly happy continuing to do what I do for the foreseeable future. Whether that's possible depends to a large extent on the support of our members.

Interview with John Venema
Web site: https://www.fullterrain.com

Early FlightSim.Com staff meeting

Matthieu Laban from Infinite Flight

Hi Nels, I actually have a selection of questions for you.

Do you remember what type of server Flightsim.Com was initially hosted on? Was it in a datacenter or in your home?

What was the first flight sim you played on and what was the computer you used?

What does your flight sim setup look like today?

Is FlightSim.Com your full time job? If yes, what did you do before it, and if no, what do you do?

ANSWER: Like many things I've done, FlightSim.Com started small and bootstrapped into something much bigger. The web site was actually a continuation of a phone line BBS that I ran from my house for many years, going back to the mid-1980's. The web site started on a single desktop PC running Linux. From the start it was in a datacenter because of the large bandwidth needs. It's kind of funny actually, one of the first datacenters we were in was a little clueless about just how much traffic a busy, growing web site could generate. We rather quickly had to move and over the years we've been hosted a number of different places and seen the equipment used grow and grow.

My introduction was actually part of my job at the time. Those with long memories may recall the early IBM PC (when "PC" was actually the model name) and all those companies making "PC- compatible" computers. One of the tests to prove that a computer actually was PC-compatible was that it had to run Microsoft Flight Simulator, version 2 in those days. I worked at Prime Computer and was involved in testing our Prime PC and thus running FS2.

My personal setup is not so fancy. My latest computer is a Dell XPS8700 running Windows 10. I run dual monitors and have a CH Products yoke, joystick and rudder pedals.

FlightSim.Com is my full time job. When starting out, I had to decide what was the best way to make a high quality and professional web site. While others might have chosen to go with all volunteer labor I decided the only way to do it right was to make it my full time job and bring in others as needed so that whatever the web site needed could be taken care of quickly and professionally. Looking back and seeing how FlightSim.Com has fared compared to others I still feel this was the right decision.

Interview with Infinite Flight
Web site: https://www.infinite-flight.com

Curtis Olson From FlightGear

Nels, what has been the most surprising or unexpected flight sim news story you've ever had to publish?

ANSWER: I think that would have to be when Microsoft announced the end of the Microsoft Flight Simulator line. I think most of us expected MSFS to go on forever and it was quite a shock when it ended. It's been ten years now and I think some are still in denial.

Interview with Curtis Olson
Web site: http://www.flightgear.org

Mark Rogers From WOFF

Nels, what flight simulator from the past, would you like to see remade using the latest tech - and do you think it could be done dramatically better now with regards to the gameplay aspects and not just the graphics?"

ANSWER: Well this one deserves kind of a surprise answer: Flight Assignment: ATP. You have to have a long memory to remember this one, as it dates back to around 1990. It was published by subLogic, the same company responsible for the early editions of Flight Simulator before Microsoft took over. I was quite hooked on FS: ATP for a while.

The sim might not sound like much, since as I recall it only included one plane, the Boeing 737. But what made it stand out was a rather good simulation of air traffic control (ATC). Its one flaw was an inability to understand elevation so it would occasionally route you into a mountain during approaches but otherwise my memory of it was that it worked quite well. Current versions of FSX and X-Plane are still challenged with getting ATC right, so if this area of gameplay could be done well, and incorporated into something that was otherwise up to date (graphics, etc.) I think that would be quite nice. It certainly seems like we have enough computer processing power these days that ATC could be done much better now if someone were to concentrate on it.

Interview with Wings Over Flanders Field
Web site: http://www.overflandersfields.com

Joel Johnson From Epoch Alaska Air

The past two decades has seen many changes to aviation and how it is used/viewed by the general public. Flight simulation has come along in great strides as well. How would you characterize the general perception of hobby-flightsim with the average public who does not engage in this, and could you compare any cited changes to perhaps 10 years and 20 years ago?

ANSWER: Though we flightsimmers devote a lot of time and thought to our hobby, I suspect that the general public has little knowledge or awareness of it even existing, whether now or 10 or 20 years ago. I really don't think that has changed much.

Interview with Joel Johnson
Web site: http://www.unex-planedapps.com

Fernando Herrera From Carenado

Nels, How do you foresee the future of the flight simulation and what do you think is the best part of our "hobby"?

ANSWER: That's a tough one to answer, as my crystal ball is no more accurate than anyone else's. For so many years, our hobby moved along in a smooth straight line, with a new version of Flight Simulator coming out every couple of years, each better than the one before. That timeline has of course ended with FSX being the final point on the line. As your company and many others have proven, FSX is still a very viable sim and will be for some time, but even its day will end at some point.

Right now we live in "interesting times", like in the old curse. We have Microsoft Flight Simulator to continue to use as long as we care to. We have Prepar3D which for various reasons is not a replacement for MSFS. We have X-Plane which has plenty going for it, but does not yet have the large mass of users that MSFS has. There are also other options like FlightGear and a variety of military sims, as well as phone/tablet based sims. And we have some promises of upcoming sims which may or may not pan out.

So for the time being I see our hobby being more fragmented than it was in the past, as each individual chooses the path best suited from him. I think as a community we'll be a smaller group than in the past, being without Microsoft's active marketing of Flight Simulator that we used to benefit from. One of my big challenges right now is seeing how FlightSim.Com will fit into this changing environment and whether flightsimmers will continue to support us and find the site useful as their individual paths diverge.

The best part of the hobby for me is that it's a creative outlet. Early on I created scenery and an aircraft or two. Those activities still engage some very talented people. Of course for the past 20 years my creative outlet has been FlightSim.Com itself, as I find the running of an online site and community an interesting challenge.

Interview with Fernando-Herrera
Web site: http://www.carenado.com

Tim Gatland From Dovetail Games

What do you like doing in simulators that you can't do in real life?

ANSWER: In my actual sim flying there are probably two things that I find fun that I don't do in real life. First would be IFR flight using ATC and proper procedures. I am a licensed pilot, but not instrument rated so this is an interesting challenge I cannot do in a real plane. The other thing would be doing things that I could not safely do in real life, like flying a plane I'm not rated for, or aerobatics or flying to or through areas that would not be safe in the real world.

What's the most complex airspace you've ever flown in and how well is that represented in your favourite sim(s)

ANSWER: I live in the northeast US and have flown through New York City's busy airspace and have also flown down to DC, and even landing at both Dulles and Washington National, though quite a few years ago as doing so is much more complex now. Airspace is not a physical thing, so you cannot see it in the real world or the sim; it really only exists on maps and charts and in the minds of those pilots and controllers using them. I'm most familiar with FSX and it is well known that its built-in ATC has weaknesses. The real answer to accurately flying in busy airspace is to fly with VATSIM, IVAO, etc. where real humans can accurately simulate the real world.

Simulators can aid in flight training, but which areas do you think are they most beneficial in helping the average trainee pilot?

Currently PC based simulators cannot duplicate the "feel" of flying, and for basic airmanship that feel is important. Beginning pilots need to look out the windows and feel the sensation of flight versus locking their eyes on the instruments. But sims can be very helpful learning systems and procedures. You do of course need to learn how the instruments work, and the sim can offer that training quite accurately. A sim can also let you very accurately recreate procedures, especially when a student advances into instrument flight.

Interview with Tim Gatland
Web site: http://www.dovetailgames.com

Flying kids as part of EAA "Young Eagles" program

Stephen Borick From NGFS

How have you seen flight simulation itself and the community change over the years?

ANSWER: Actually, I think the answer to this is that it's remarkable in how little the important things in the sims really have changed. Sure, the software and the computers to handle it have greatly improved. The eye-candy is much prettier than it was 20 years ago. But what drew us in 20 years ago versus now really has not changed all that much -- even the early sims allowed us to truly imagine we were flying. A certain suspension of disbelief is necessary, much like it is when watching a movie. Neither FS4 from many years ago nor FSX today are able to perfectly recreate the world but with the proper mindset either could let us temporarily believe that it did.

That said, I'm looking forward to the improvements in technology as much as the next person! A more realistic looking sim that looks even more like the real world is something to eagerly anticipate.

The community has change, though not too drastically. People are people after all. One thing that I hope won't go too far is a certainly fragmentation I see these days. My utopian idea when first creating FlightSim.Com was that everyone would meet up in this one place. These days I see more and more people creating their own little hang-outs and participating less or not at all in the larger community. I think both they and the rest of us miss out when that happens. Maybe I should point out that some things people create separate communities for could be hosted right here at FlightSim.Com. We're always open to creating new message forums for example.

Interview with Stephen Borick
Web site: http://nexgenflightsim.com

Ben Supnik Lead Developer Of X-Plane

What are your top three all time favorite airports to fly into and out of using a flight simulator, and why?

ANSWER: The first answer is an easy one and probably one that's shared with other long-time MSFS fans: Meigs Field in Chicago. Being the default airport for many versions, many flights started up there so it became very familiar, just like home. It was where I learned basic sim flying skills and later set off for more advanced skills. Many years ago, I went with two other flightsimmers and flew to the real Meigs. Sadly, that's not possible any more due to the criminal actions of Chicago's mayor at the time, who had the field torn up in the middle of the night.

After number one, it's much harder to pick a number two and three. Boston Logan Airport would probably be the next pick. It's the closest big airport to where I actually live, so I often use it as a starting point or a place to take off and test a new aircraft. Being on the ocean and right next to a big city it's a pretty scenic spot too.

I've sat pondering this for a while and I can't come up with anything specific for number three. There's so many interesting airports to fly out of that I've tried many of them, but other than those first two I can't think of anything that I've returned to over and over.

Interview with Ben Supnik
Web site: http://developer.x-plane.com

Michael Pook MSFS Developer

Nels, on an average day, how much time do you spend maintaining FlightSim.com?

ANSWER: Running FlightSim.Com is more of a lifestyle than a job. If I had to punch a time clock it would probably record about 8 hours a day 7 days a week. But it's not 9 to 5 like a typical office job, as I'll intersperse other activities throughout the day so the 8 hours will surely not be consecutive and will likely be in several smaller segments. Part of this is due to the real time nature of the Internet, where things to do arrive constantly day and night and many need to be handled promptly. So, it's definitely a full time job, with no holidays or days off.

Interview with Michael Pook

Indulging in other hobbies

Matt Wagner From DCS

What are your thoughts on the current generation of virtual reality systems and their impact on entertainment flight simulation?

ANSWER: It seems like virtual reality has been "coming soon" for an awful lot of years now! But the current generation does show more promise of actually amounting to something. At the recent FlightSimCon I even got the chance to fly FSX using a virtual reality setup, using software from FlyInside and the Oculus Rift headset. So it's here now for those who want it.

I don't see it as having much impact on what we traditionally consider to be flight simulation. You really don't need a virtual reality system to immerse yourself into flight and frankly I cannot imagine wearing the equipment for the duration of a long flight. It's also currently difficult to deal with the many controls your need to use to fly an aircraft and there's no easy way to refer to charts. Perhaps solutions for this will be found in future VR systems.

It's more likely that it will open up types of simulation different from what we're used to, simulations that are more immersive but likely shorter in duration and more mission oriented. Once the hardware is cheap enough and truly accessible to the average person I'm sure clever developers will find good uses for it.

Interview with Matt Wagner
Web site: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com

Andras Fabian X-Plane Developer

Nels, thinking back to the early days of flight simulation (for many of us the 1980s), did you ever dream about what a future flight simulator would look like? Was there a particular aspect of this 'future' simulator which you hoped would in some way, mimic the real world?

ANSWER: I started with FS2, which was pretty ugly, but really got hooked with FS3 and FS4 which offered a reasonable approximation of the colors of the real world. Even with those early versions it was possible to immerse yourself into the sim world. Though in any version from then to now I and most others would wish for a truly realistic sim world that looked just like the real one I don't think there really was anything specific I wished for in those days. If you look at early sims, or early computer games in general, we enjoyed them for what they were even though today they may look quite primitive.

Interview with Andras Fabian
Web site: http://www.alpilotx.net

Yes, trains too...

Erwin Welker FSX Developer

Nels, how how long do you think FSX will be usable for and long do you think it will be supported?

ANSWER: If you think about it, it's pretty amazing we're still using a ten year old product but we are, and it's doing quite well. I can see FSX being usable easily for another five years and perhaps longer. I don't really see any reason it would not be usable for as long as people want; after all, there are still people using FS98 and CFS and we are still seeing newly created add-on files for those old sims being uploaded.

"Support" is another question and depends on what you mean. Microsoft of course dropped most support a long time ago. Dovetail Games is now responsible for FSX: Steam Edition and I believe them to be a responsible enough company that they will take care of their customers for the foreseeable future. But they are of course coming out with their own new sim and surely their emphasis will switch once that product is out.

Support also means support from third parties and that has continued to be very strong for such an old product. I'm afraid, though, that is likely to change when the DTG sim comes out, if it achieves mass acceptance.

And of course, we flightsimmers can all support each other, via communities like FlightSim.Com. For many our forums are their main means of getting support on sims and sim add-ons. This can continue indefinitely, as long as those using these communities both use and give back to them. I just can't emphasize enough how important it is that each person not just be a consumer but an active participant and supporter of this community.

Interview with Erwin Welker