However exciting it may be, flying is, for most of us, limited to seat 10B on a 20-year-old airliner carrying us to our summer holiday resort.
At a cost of £5,000, give or take a grand, learning to fly even the smallest fixed-wing aircraft is financially out of reach of many and a trip into a multi-million pound simulator used by airlines is limited to spotty little kids writing to Jim'll Fix It or computer programmers on the Krypton Factor.

This is, perhaps, why flight sims on home computers are so popular. The Amiga has already seen its fair share though, with the exception of ProFlight they are little more than shoot-'em-ups based on fast military jets.
Serious fliers have really been limited to trips in a single-engined Cessna, courtesy of Flight Simulator 2. It used to be the best, but is rather sluggish compared to other software and desperately needs updating.

German software house Thalion have rolled out what can only be described as the best yet in Amiga simulation. Written by a Luftwaffe pilot, A320 Airbus puts you in the left-hand seat of a modern fly-by-wire jet of the same name.
Just like the guy that flew you to Corfu, it starts with a visit to flight briefing. A simple flight plan must be filled with details of the route, number of passengers (PAX), fuel weight and freight. The latest weather and the destination is printed.

During flight, the weather can deteriorate and the odd emergency means that you need to have a diversion airport planned. This happens mainly at the higher levels of the simulations.
Unlike other sims, the view is only from the Captain's side of the plane and you only use the left side of the instrument panel and windscreen. The view can be moved about though, so you can look to the left or right of the plane.
There isn't an option to look diagonally across out of the First Officer's window which seems a little strange. With it being an airliner, there is no need for a rear view.

Control is split between the keyboard and mouse or joystick. The mouse appeared to give the best results but it's probably one of those things that's down to an individual's choice. The keyboard commands are easy to remember and well placed.

The medium-sized airliner has one engine on each wing. They have to be started separately and once the power has stopped at 17 per cent they are increased together to get the plane rolling forward.
It starts with the place sitting on the nearest taxiway to the runway threshold, and so it's simply a case of turning on to the strip and straightening up on to the centreline before banging the power up for take off.
Once the speed has reached about 150 knots you should be able to get airborne. Lift the gear and you're on your way. It's as simple as that - nearly.

Finding the destination demands the use of genuine Jeppesen navigation charts, which are supplied in the box. Radio frequencies for beacons along the route must be entered into the navigation system and should be overflown.
With no instructions from air traffic control. They are a necessity unless the plane is to be flown around in circuits at one aerodrome. Actually, this isn't too much of a bad idea until you get the hand of things.

They say what goes up must come down and so once overhead the airfield you have to prepare to get the plane safely onto the ground. The instrument landing system, known simply as ILS, is an important piece of equipment for this bit of the flight.
Used for guiding aircraft towards the runway they, like beacons, transmit on certain frequencies. These can be found with other approach details in the 240-page manual and are, again, the same as those used by commercial pilots.

Two bars should appear on a dial on the right-hand side of the instrument panel. A perfect approach has these crossing at their centre and if they are not central, they'll indicate which direction to head in to get on course.

All the normal landing procedures have to be carried out. Control the speed using throttle, brakes and flaps and don't forget to lower the landing gear. If the undercarriage is lowered, three red lights on the panel will turn to green - if they don't you better start praying.

As the runway nears, a little light in the cockpit flashes to show that you've overflow the outer market - a beacon four miles from touch-down. Closer still you'll pass the inner marker.
Providing the landing goes as planned the engines are put into reverse thrust to help cut the plane's speed and the jet should be then be taxied off the runway. IT sounds easy but it's not.

Help is available through the autopilot. The A320 will be flown automatically at the correct height, power and direction and can even land itself. This is especially useful if the runway is covered in low cloud or fog.

None of the program's features appears to have been bunged in as an afterthought. Even the clouds have been thought about, flickering between different shades of grey before the aircraft pops out on the other side.

All major airfields from Southern Europe to Bodo in Norway are available and rivers and towns appear in the correct places. So, for example, if you lift from Frankfurt Main, within a minute or two you'll be flying over the Rhine. In addition to runway lights, every airfield has almost complete approach lighting. The exception is VASi lights which are used by pilots making visual landings to show whether the approach is above or below the correct path.

The only other niggle is that the runway markings are not included, but this is a minor complaint and does little to spoil the simulation. Maybe they can be added in future versions.

The question "What else can you do other than fly around?" was asked more than once in the office. The answer is: not a lot. While it has plenty of interesting features, A320 is not intended as a action-packed game. This is one for those wanting to see what flying is really like.

As an indication of its realism, A320 Airbus has already been endorsed by Airbus Industries as the most realistic simulator for home computers, and Thalion are being supported by Lufthansa, who will supply pilots wings to people who progress from trainee to Captain on the simulator.

Upgrades to the program are already on the cards and will be available for a small price as each is released. Jeppesen have agreed to sell updates to charts at trade price.
At the end of the day, smooth graphics, realistic flying and good effects make this the Amiga simulator which others are going to be judged against.

In the last few years combat aircraft have come with fly-by-wire and head-up display systems as standard. These work well, and they're now being employed on civil airliners, one of which is the Airbus A320.
The A320 is a twin-engined medium range job, with room for a couple of hundred people on board. It's a pan-European plane, parts of which are built in Germany, France and the UK, and its primary role is short-hauling its way around Europe.

In this simulation you get to fly a Lufthansa Airbus from the European city of your choice (within reason), to, er, another European city of your choice. The challenge is getting to grips with everything that a real pilot has to deal with. The detail included is immense, so don't expect just to whack the throttles and point at the sky.

Best-laid plans
Before you're allowed to get anywhere you must file a flight plan. You go to a screen where you must type in your airport of departure, arrival and any place you want to visit on the way. You must also put down how many passengers you're taking, how much freight and how many kilos of fuel you'll need. You also tell the bureaucrats whether you'll be flying on instruments or visual flight rules (VFR). If you select VFR you're limited to flying in the daytime and below the clouds.

Once the office bods are happy with your plan, you are dumped into the aircraft. You sit in the left-hand seat (traditionally the commander's chair) and in front of you is a 50-50 split between the view out and the controls.

As well as the fly-by-wire, your Airbus has a 'glass cockpit'. This means the old electro-mechanical gauges and dials have been replaced by a primary flight display (PFD). This is a TV screen displaying speed, altitude, artificial horizon info, heading and vertical speed. It's like a HUD, but it's down on the panel, so you can't see the sky through it.

Once you've cast your eyes over this array, it's time to spool up the engines. Each engine has separate controls, but you can control them both at once. OK, they're fired up. The power will settle at 17 per cent. Time to look for the runways and taxi-ways. When you've found the one you want, then it's throttles forwards until you start taxiing. The aircraft is controlled by the mouse, you can use it to steer on the ground by moving left and right. Once you find the runway, line up and kill the power.

Radio chaos
Before you blast off, you've got to sort out your route. This is where it gets complicated. Radio beacons or varying types litter your route. There are VORs, NDBs, and ILSs to sort out. Basically, you have to consult an aeronautical map and dial up the correct frequencies for the beacons you need, including the final one at the destination airport.

WHen these are locked in, a nav display comes into life. You get a set of cross-hairs which tell you which direction to go. You can then take off, head out in the right direction, get to the correct height (you'll be informed by ATC) and, er, fly along until you get there.

The graphics in A320 are almost incidental. You get half a screen of either day or night views of the ground, rivers, runways and fields. These seem pretty smooth, but the Airbus isn't cut out for low-level high-speed passes, so if you're playing properly, you don't get to see much ground detail. Sound is limited to engine noises and the odd warning. The engines sound excellent, and the feeling of power is real as you push them to the gate.,\

A320 is for the purist. It's not something you can launch into; you have to read the manual and study the control. It flies well, though, and you can tell when the fly-by-wire takes over (if you bank too far or try and stall). If you're a fan of civil aviation and you like mastering complex procedures as you approach at 130 knots, you'll enjoy it. But a game it's not, so don't expect excitement.

The majority of flight simulatons have you whizzing around at excessive speeds blowing things up with your state-of-the-art war plane. Now, from German-based Thalion, comes a 'proper' flight sim where you swamp missiles for passengers and military fatigues for a pilot's cap.

As the Captain of a passenger plane, there's more to Airbus than just pulling the yoke and playing with the throttle. The first step on any journey is to plot the course, and to do this you need to input your destination, calculate how much fuel is required for the flight, and what route to take. However, before you even start the engines, calculations based on the cloud base, difference in air pressure and weather have to be entered to calibrate the planet's computer.

A320 oozes accuracy and Thalion claim that anyone who can pilot their computer version is ready for the real thing. Including in the package is a map featuring international low-altitude routes, approach coordniates, restricted air-space and flight routes. This reveals the complexity of the sim perfectly and the incredible detail it contains. Most of the controls are based around the mouse, but the keyboard comes into play for the engines and occasional navigation functions. Surprisingly, though, these simplify what could be a very difficult landing process.

Basically, Airbus's action is limited to taking-off, landing and pointing the plane in the right direction. This may sound a bit harsh, but the real skill comes in navigating and working the flight details before you take off.

Navigating is a complicated process which requires locking onto a beacon and planning your course to avoid other flights, bad weather and mountains. Once this is mastered you an graduate from training mode and take on a plane load of passengers. However, during the dull areas of inactivity, Thalion have added a 'time skip' key which allows you to bypass the boring in-flight movies and other routines of uninterrupted flying.

The A320 handles extremely well for a passenger aircraft, but don't expect it to be as nippy as an F-15; try to be flash in one of these and you'll wind up hitting the ground - fast. Additionally, because the plan takes a long time to respond, you'll have to think a few seconds ahead to make sure you straighten the aircraft. This is particularly true of making a landing, as last second corrections are vital. There's an instrument landing system (ILS) which must be used to find your glide-slope, but the last 30 seconds or so of an approach have to be done visually.

A series of well-designed screens lead you through the setting up of your flight, and the checking of the weather conditions. The cockpit layout is neat, with all the relevant instruments clearly displayed. Because the Airbus is a modern plane, most of the readouts are situated on a monitor, rather than a bank of dials which are usually common in commercial aircraft. This also comes across well in the computer version, although you can only input numbers through a fiddly on-screen numeric pad, which proves awkward to use.

In terms of presentation, the graphics and sound are simple, but very realistic. The engine effects consist of a few samples which change pitch according the how much throttle is being applied. Similarly, the graphics feature minimal and bland scenery, punctuated by the occasional special effect, such as the hazing when you go through a cloud, adding to the realism.

A320 Airbus is a very good simulation. It's both extremely detailed and accurate, but unless you're really into this kind of 'hard-core' sim, you could find the appeal wanes quickly. Had there been a disaster mode which caused the engines to cut-out, cabin pressure to drop or lightening to strike, the game would have much greater appeal. As it stands, though, this is most certainly the game for wannabe British Airways Pilots and realism freaks.