I was introduced to MS Flight Simulator at the same time as my first "PC", the IBM PC jr. Your description of "nothingness" hits home quite well. Take off wa

I was introduced to MS Flight Simulator at the same time as my first "PC", the IBM PC jr. Your description of "nothingness" hits home quite well. Take off was scheduled from boston each night after dinner. Before bed, level off and head towards LAX. Wake up in the morning to find nothing, and nowhere. Rushing home from school to frantically try various radio frequencies until I could find the location on the included maps. This went on for months, because most days the computer would be shut off by my parents before leaving for school. It would happen that there was one magical day when the plane touched down at LAX, taxied off the runway, and the bliss of pure silence was gifted when the engines were cut off. Such is an amazing thing.