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SimplePlanes: The Only Test Pilot Game?

18.7k F104Deathtrap  4.0 years ago

Like many of you, the passing of Gen Chuck Yeager has been on my mind all day. It got me thinking, SimplePlanes is the only airplane game I can think of that lets you be a test pilot. Think about it, in all the other games you fly something that's already been tested and proven to work. Not so in SP, whether you've downloaded someone else's dodgy build or you're one of the proud few who actually bother testing your own creations before uploading, there's no doubt that you've gone off into the sky in something that still had a few (or more) bugs left to fix.

Sometimes the bugs don't even allow me to takeoff, I've had mirroring glitches where the left half of the plane had no connections and immediately dissolved into a pile of disconnected shapes on the runway. From horrible stall characteristics, broken controls to parts that mysteriously drop off the plane, SP frequently puts you in the age old test pilot scenario of trying to figure out the problem before it becomes a disaster.

Even after the bugs are worked out, someone still has to work out the limitations of the aircraft. Some builders carefully tweak their creations to match real-world expectations, others prefer a more aggressive approach, either way there's plenty of trial and error either on the part of the builder or the lucky downloader.

So the next time you try to turn and the plane cartwheels into an unrecoverable spin before burying itself into the side of a mountain, remind yourself "I'm a test pilot!"

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    570 WWIIgeek

    Balsa Model Flight simulator is like KSP but for planes only. Kinda like simpleplanes and simplerockets 2.

    3.3 years ago
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    41.8k Ren

    @F104Deathtrap
    XD

    3.7 years ago
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    @KnightOfRen I will turn this car around, so help me God!

    3.7 years ago
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    41.8k Ren

    f6f when

    3.7 years ago
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    @FLOWRIDER0
    KSP counts. The others are incidental at best, contraption games that half-heartedly allow flying machines.

    4.0 years ago
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    37.2k V

    What about ksp, spaceflight simulator, garrys mod, scrap mechanic, etc

    4.0 years ago
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    48.8k EngieWeeb

    I mean that was part of a trailer so...
    .
    "Be a pilot, an engineer, and a crash test dummy."

    +2 4.0 years ago
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    23.7k TylerWildDog

    I know what aircraft I should do now.. in honor of Chuck Yeager

    +2 4.0 years ago
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    23.1k KudaOni

    Lels. If I was a test pilot, I'd be long dead. Most of my test flights end up me exploding flying around 1421516 km/h

    +2 4.0 years ago
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    Ah, I was close though. @F104Deathtrap

    +1 4.0 years ago
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    @HappyFeetWhyshouldi I am relatively certain the Camel could reach trans-sonic speeds in a vertical climb. I think they mentioned that on the History Channel

    +5 4.0 years ago
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    44.3k rexzion

    @HappyFeetWhyshouldi i dunno

    4.0 years ago
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    “oh yeah alot of aircraft look cool but then you see that the acceleration is rocket like”

    @rexzion

    4.0 years ago
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    44.3k rexzion

    @HappyFeetWhyshouldi uhhhhhhh what

    4.0 years ago
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    Is that not how the sopwith camel was like? @rexzion

    +1 4.0 years ago
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    44.3k rexzion

    oh yeah alot of aircraft look cool but then you see that the acceleration is rocket like and has around 5646 drag points with a speed of around 678 kph even though the real aircraft only had a top speed of 800 kph and a climb rate of 36 m/s

    4.0 years ago
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    @Numbers One way or another, somebody's gonna have a rough flight.

    4.0 years ago
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    @MrSilverWolf Yeah, but it pays off. You've got quite a reputation for quality around here.

    4.0 years ago
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    I’ve all ready had problems that eventually caused many disasters lol

    4.0 years ago
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    33.5k tsampoy

    Or you can be a crash test dummy

    +2 4.0 years ago
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    24.1k BagelPlane

    Ah yes I love it when someone makes custom control surfaces and then forgets to check part connections. Then when I go to fly it refuses to pitch on one side.

    +6 4.0 years ago
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    44.3k rexzion

    every time I try to make a delta wing jet it always goes spinny weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

    +4 4.0 years ago
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    @SheriffHackdogMCPE I sincerely hope so.

    +1 4.0 years ago
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    I bet that Boeing and airbus employees (and test pilot) play this on their personal devices for some training

    +2 4.0 years ago