Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 is the follow-up game to the original Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer. It was released in the late eighties, with its predecessor hitting the market in the middle eighties. Its popularity spawned one last sequel in Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat in the early nineties. All of the editions of the Chuck Yeager flight simulation series were produced and published by Electronic Arts and are all single player games. This installment plays from the first person perspective, as if the pilot is actually looking out of the cockpit of a plane.
The Chuck Yeager simulations were most popular on the personal computer running the DOS operating system, but were also released on the Amiga and Atari ST. Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0, like the others, is fully endorsed by famous pilot, Chuck Yeager.
This particular flight simulator stands out from the masses mostly due to the wide array of options that are available to the aspiring pilot. To begin with, the user has a choice of literally dozens of different planes, ranging from biplanes to modern fighters. Some of the available planes include the SR-71 Blackbird; the P-51 Mustang; the Cessna 172 Skyhawk; the F-16; and the uber modern F/A-18. One of the most interesting planes the
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user has to pick from is the Bell X-1, affectionately called the Flying Rocket. This was the plane in which Chuck Yeager became the first man to reach the elusive speed of Mach 1. Obviously, each of these very different planes presents a different flight model, and Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 does a great job of showcasing the differences between the planes. The flight models are reasonably accurate, and the controls…while complex…are masterable and entertaining to use. The learning curve becomes much more shallow once the user is able to get a handle on just one of the multitude of planes.
Aside from the many choices the pilot has in selecting planes, he will also be able to choose from some varied settings on which to fly his machine. He can fly races against other planes, can tackle some very interesting obstacle courses, and can even try his hand at a comprehensive military grade training course.
Other feelies in the game include an introduction that is narrated by Chuck Yeager, himself. There is a tutorial and a blurb that includes some Chuck Yeager and overall flight trivia. This is a great simulator for flight fans.
