Is it normal for a 14 year old to be playing this?

[cipher169]

In fact, I'd go insofar as to suggest that Orbiter should be incorporated into the curriculum of physical science classes in middle and high schools. It's particularly useful for understanding the concepts of circular motion and orbital mechanics.

I second that. I would love to play orbiter in my physics class.

 

[worir1]

It would be cool but think about who else would under stand it.
Physics teacher: for home work i want you to launch the DG and no scn editor
class: Yey!!!
Teacher: never had that reaction before

 

[n72.75]

tor the forum.

I started playing orbiter when I was 15ish, several hundred years ago('06).

And with regards to the whole Probe thing, let me refer you to the wiki: http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Probe

 

[Ripley]

A long time ago I remember someone saying that they showed their 6 or 7 year old kid how to control it and that they were flying to the moon and such. Nobody is too young or old to enjoy orbiter!

There's an oldish video on OH where Jose Pablo Luna (ar81) shows Orbiter to a 8y childgirl (maybe his daughter IIRC) and she actually flies around with a DG.

It's never too early (nor too late) if you enjoy it.
Myself, I just turned 49.

...And welcome to OF!

Edit: here it is
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=2745"]Orbiter on TV[/ame]

 

[worir1]

Does any one know roughly how many people in the world play orbiter?

 

[Urwumpe]

Does any one know roughly how many people in the world play orbiter?

This forum has 9100 registered users. If you assume that about half of them are fakes or old accounts, that still means about 4000 people, who are active enough to have registered here.

The most popular add-ons have been downloaded over 40000 times according to OrbitHangar statistics.

 

[Izack]

In fact, I'd go insofar as to suggest that Orbiter should be incorporated into the curriculum of physical science classes in middle and high schools. It's particularly useful for understanding the concepts of circular motion and orbital mechanics.

I still have Orbiter on a USB storage in case I ever run into a physics teacher.

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

It would be cool but think about who else would under stand it.
Physics teacher: for home work i want you to launch the DG and no scn editor
class: Yey!!!
Teacher: never had that reaction before

That would be terrific. For that to happen, though new orbiter versions are going to need some content improvements to qualify as an actual teaching aid. I plan to discuss some of those ideas with Martins in the future. Come to think of it though, wouldnt we have hordes of high school students coming to us for help cheating on their assignments...

 

[statickid]

I've run across some teacher's websites who use orbiter in the classroom. This is an example, though a bit old.

"You even have the option of showing force vectors and I have used that option even in grade 8. The more you use it, the smarter you feel. Below you will find resources to make it all more accessible to you.

Some of this stuff is quite advanced, but some missions are very simple and automated, you have to go by your needs and knowledge. I have been using it in grade 8 for years and am now using it in grade 12 physics."

http://orbiterschool.com/orbiter/index.htm

 

[Mojave]

I can assure you, if it is not normal, then we are all just geniuses in our own way. I started when I was about 14; and just a year later, I was getting to the moon and even starting my own space station.

Orbiter is a learning curve that can give you an idea of just what astronauts have to go through. You even learn how to put your own theories to the test and see if they work.

Keep at it, don't stop!



SE

 

[fsci123]

I started Orbiter when i was 12 or 11... I was playing flight simulators since i was 4... So for me this is normal...

 

[Kyle]

Hi i started orbiter about one month ago. I have been looking for a game just like this.
I can get into orbit easily and i can deorbit,re
-enter and land safely (most of the time)
I have yet to learn how to rendevous and how to travel between planets.
Can any one tell me how close is this to real life space flight?

I learned how to get to orbit around the Earth with Orbiter 2003, I was 9 years old.

I was on OF already when I was 14, 4 years ago. :thumbup:

 

[worir1]

I started Orbiter when i was 12 or 11... I was playing flight simulators since i was 4... So for me this is normal...

4!!! How can you at 4? My cozins 4 and he can barly count to 100 never mind work out controles for a plane! (im guessing you just played around with it)

 

[4throck]

When I was that age (~14) I had a ZX Spectrum.. so not much of space simulators for that machine :hmm: But I did try to do things like plotting planetary disks to scale, or programing a rudimentary "orbital physics" simulation.

So yes, if you are interested in a subject there's never too young. Or too old.
It will be part of your live. Perhaps not Orbiter, it might be some other software. But the thrills of space flight never go away.

 

[worir1]

True

 

[KrazyKyle]

Hi i started orbiter about one month ago. I have been looking for a game just like this.
I can get into orbit easily and i can deorbit,re
-enter and land safely (most of the time)
I have yet to learn how to rendevous and how to travel between planets.
Can any one tell me how close is this to real life space flight?

I was born between Alan Sheppard's flight and John Glen's. My parents let me stay home from school to watch Apollo liftoffs. I watched the first flight of the Space Shuttle from my college dorm. I would have KILLED for something like this at the age of 14!

The next generation of scientists and engineers (that's YOU) need something besides shoot-em-up games to ignite their intellect. Go for it!

 

[Pipcard]

I was born between Alan Sheppard's flight and John Glen's. My parents let me stay home from school to watch Apollo liftoffs. I watched the first flight of the Space Shuttle from my college dorm. I would have KILLED for something like this at the age of 14!

The next generation of scientists and engineers (that's YOU) need something besides shoot-em-up games to ignite their intellect. Go for it!

I have never seen a rocket in real life, not even a model rocket. I was born after the golden age of manned spaceflight. My experience with spaceflight was through the internet and Orbiter, and this has inspired me to become an aerospace engineer.

 

[KrazyKyle]

I have never seen a rocket in real life, not even a model rocket. I was born after the golden age of manned spaceflight. My experience with spaceflight was through the internet and Orbiter, and this has inspired me to become an aerospace engineer.

Well, if you can stand some advice, eat up all the math & science your school will give you. (Don't forget the chemistry...and language...and history) The Orbiter community has a lot of links for educational materials (Have you downloaded "Go Play in Space"?).
Go online and look for areospace museums near you. I bet there's quite a few in California.
THere might be some model rocket clubs near you (look for National Association of Rocketry).
...and DON'T GIVE UP! Look at how many failures NASA and the Soviet space program had before they had successes.

 

[elcpt]

I also started Orbiter at young age, about 12-13 but the only things i did then were crashing DGs, then DG-IIIs and finally DG-IVs until i got bored with about 15 and watched Tex's DGIV to ISS tutorial, which ignited some real interest in interplanetary flying. Currently I'm 16 and repeatedly failing at getting to the moon

 

[Polaris]

Started at 12. Then again, I was into flight sims and sci-fi already.