Jonas "Avimimus" Weselake-George
Contributing Editor

My first flight simulator was Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe at the beginning of the '90s (with its horrible, if amusing, spin wheel copy-protection system). I think going back that far in flight sim history has given me a strong appreciation for how products have grown in quality and has also made me realize that there are "good vintages" in which products achieved an excellence which exists regardless of the onward march of technology.

Over the years, I've developed a strong appreciation for the new Russian simulation companies: Maddox Games, Ice-Pick-Lodge, Graviteam, Grennadich / NeoQB / 777 Studios and Eagle Dynamics. These studios have proven that seeking a high degree of intrinsic quality (building a "product for itself" instead of just for a market) can not only be profitable, but lead to more predictable returns within a niche market.

I've always found the blending of history, engineering science and art in simulators to be very attractive and I'll admit to spending as much time modding games as playing them, perhaps due to my interest in dynamical systems.

This may also explain my wide ranging professional activities, including in biology, social sciences, cognition and history; although I've most recently been acting as a researcher and writer on issues facing Aboriginal people in Canada.

While I enjoy playing at being a military analyst and researching many areas in my spare time, there is nothing like being in a canoe. The physical world is always greater than our imaginations, and I am deeply grateful that warfare has not been a first hand experience in my own life.

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