I think my interest in flight sims comes from my engineering interest. I could write prose about flight parameters and flight characteristics, and of different airplanes' handling characteristics. Playing flight sims sort of validates what I've learned about all those things. And flight sims are kind of the only way I can experience it, because most of my interest and knowledge regarding the subject is of military or experimental aircraft.

Along the same lines is why I love the Gran Turismo racing games so much - it's definitely the most realistic driving characteristics I've experienced in a video game. And since my interests lie in exotic cars or the very edge of a performance envelope of a vehicle, the only way to truly explore it safely is with a video game instead of the real deal.

Cause, yknow, I'm not gonna walk out and buy a Ferrari F420 just so I can show you that the max speed it will grip a 25'-radius corner is 80mph.