Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer, alternately titled Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Simulator (which was the original title before EA clashed with Microsoft), is a brilliant little flight simulator that is, in fact similar to Microsoft Flight Simulator, hence the issues. It was published by Electronic Arts after development by Lerner Research. It was released in the late eighties and was the first in the Chuck Yeager series, being followed by Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 and Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat.
It was created for play on the personal computer, but saw plenty of action on the Commodore 64, the ZX Spectrum and the Apple II.
The entire game takes place from the first person perspective as if the player is actually seated in the cockpit of an airplane. The user will have a choice of fourteen different planes to fly, and the makes and models are all very diverse. Some of the options include the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, the P-51 Mustang, the F-16, and Chuck Yeager’s own jewel, the Bell X-1 Flying Rocket, in which he became the first pilot to breach the speed of Mach 1.
There are tons of whistles and bells in Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer, including
an opening dialogue by Yeager himself. There are numerous venues on which to fly the planes, including obstacle courses, races and military grade simulations. The pilot can practice different formations and make stunt runs. The planes are all equipped with a type of aerial black box, which will replay the user’s run and compare how it stands up to an expert flying an ideal course. There are also ten different view points from which the user can view his course, making it seem even more like he is twisting his head within the cockpit of a plane.
The greatest thing about Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer is the great variety found within. There are many different planes, and they vary from the Cessna to the top of the line FA-18 fighter jet. There are also so many things to do with them…with very accurate flight models…that the game becomes deep and highly replayable. Overall, the expertise of Chuck Yeager…along with his voice and likeness…might have been the final ingredient that puts Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer over the top, especially for flight simulations of its time. It should provide an entertaining play for aspiring pilots and lovers of fast paced action—not to mention fans of the old school feel.
