Girls and flying -- an interesting experience with the Kiwi

We witnessed an interesting thing last night, and it gives me hope for
the future of GA.

Becca, our middle-school-aged daughter, threw a little Christmas party
for friends, and held it in our hotel meeting room/theater, with the
idea that they'd all watch a movie after listening to music and eating
snacks. Since it was to be just 8 girls, and 2 boys, a movie seemed
like a good way to break the ice and keep the conversation rolling --
always an awkward thing at that age.

The Kiwi -- our full-sized flight simulator -- (see it he
http://alexisparkinn.com/the_kiwi_is_born.htm ) is in the theater, too,
and I thought we'd have to remove it to make room for tables, etc.
Instead, my daughter asked me to have it on and available, just to
provide one more thing for the kids to do.

So, I created a couple of simple-but-cool flight scenarios (over the
Grand Canyon, for example) where the plane was already airborne
(eliminating the boring and difficult departure phase), and watched as
the party started cooking, and the girls started taking turns flying.

I figured that -- girls being girls -- they would be indifferent at
best to what amounts to a giant-scale video game, and would soon be
talking girl talk. After all, game marketers have spent billions of
dollars trying to design video games to attract a female audience, to
no avail -- girls simply don't like to play 'em as much as guys -- so
what chance did I have?

Well, to my utter amazement, the girls were absolutely dazzled by the
Kiwi. At one point they were fighting over flight time, and I was kept
busy explaining the flight controls and techniques. One girl in
particular (Becca's best friend, whom we have taken flying in the past)
was completely immersed in the experience, and was actually able to
depart from Chicago's (defunct) Meigs Field, fly the pattern out over
the lake -- and land successfully, on the runway! This without EVER
having piloted a plane (or a simulator) before, which I found to be
completely remarkable.

(She was as proud as a peacock, and spent the rest of the evening
asking Mary and me about flight lessons, costs, etc. She's a natural
pilot, and, boy, are her parents every gonna hate US... :-)

Mary eventually had to threaten to eliminate the movie from the
evening's festivities to get the girls to shut it down -- but as soon
as the movie ended, they were clamoring for more flight time! I've
never, ever seen anything like this with girls (Becca can fly the Kiwi,
but is far from enamored with it), and it gives me great hope for the
future of GA.

We, as GA supporters, clearly need to see more Kiwis installed, and --
as the prototype for what we want to install at the Iowa Children's
Museum -- I believe our Kiwi Version 2.0 has proven that the concept
works. This thing clearly "hooks" young people on flying, and that's
what we need if we want to see GA survive and prosper.

Mary and I spent some time pondering some of the reasons why this
transpired. One guess was that the Kiwi is just *so* realistic that it
really doesn't seem like a game? Another possibility was that there is
no real "game" aspect to flying the Kiwi -- no points are scored, no
kills recorded -- and perhaps this appeals more to girls?

I dunno. But it was fantastic to watch them fly, and great fun, too!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck writes:

Mary and I spent some time pondering some of the reasons why this
transpired. One guess was that the Kiwi is just *so* realistic that it
really doesn't seem like a game?

That's certainly part of it. Everyone (irrespective of sex) enjoys a
realistic simulation.

Another possibility was that there is no real "game" aspect to flying
the Kiwi -- no points are scored, no kills recorded -- and perhaps
this appeals more to girls?

It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game.
Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and
games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as
intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people,
and so on. Most video games are very highly optimized to appeal to
boys, and thus often do not appeal to girls. But girls like games
that are optimized for them, and games that are intended for everyone.

A simulator really isn't a game, though, and so the rules for games
don't apply to begin with. Everyone likes simulators, as it allows
them to try things they wouldn't otherwise be able to try--and safely.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Needs arm rests and a headrest. Mock-up some doors, too!

I think that women got turned off by aviation because of the
connection to war, many women and girls see the flight sim
games as just war. They never get past that image. But you
have made a simulator that looks like the one they used in
school for driver's ed class.


--
Merry Christmas
Have a Safe and Happy New Year
Live Long and Prosper
Jim Macklin


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
| We witnessed an interesting thing last night, and it gives
me hope for
| the future of GA.
|
| Becca, our middle-school-aged daughter, threw a little
Christmas party
| for friends, and held it in our hotel meeting
room/theater, with the
| idea that they'd all watch a movie after listening to
music and eating
| snacks. Since it was to be just 8 girls, and 2 boys, a
movie seemed
| like a good way to break the ice and keep the conversation
rolling --
| always an awkward thing at that age.
|
| The Kiwi -- our full-sized flight simulator -- (see it
he
| http://alexisparkinn.com/the_kiwi_is_born.htm ) is in the
theater, too,
| and I thought we'd have to remove it to make room for
tables, etc.
| Instead, my daughter asked me to have it on and available,
just to
| provide one more thing for the kids to do.
|
| So, I created a couple of simple-but-cool flight scenarios
(over the
| Grand Canyon, for example) where the plane was already
airborne
| (eliminating the boring and difficult departure phase),
and watched as
| the party started cooking, and the girls started taking
turns flying.
|
| I figured that -- girls being girls -- they would be
indifferent at
| best to what amounts to a giant-scale video game, and
would soon be
| talking girl talk. After all, game marketers have spent
billions of
| dollars trying to design video games to attract a female
audience, to
| no avail -- girls simply don't like to play 'em as much as
guys -- so
| what chance did I have?
|
| Well, to my utter amazement, the girls were absolutely
dazzled by the
| Kiwi. At one point they were fighting over flight time,
and I was kept
| busy explaining the flight controls and techniques. One
girl in
| particular (Becca's best friend, whom we have taken flying
in the past)
| was completely immersed in the experience, and was
actually able to
| depart from Chicago's (defunct) Meigs Field, fly the
pattern out over
| the lake -- and land successfully, on the runway! This
without EVER
| having piloted a plane (or a simulator) before, which I
found to be
| completely remarkable.
|
| (She was as proud as a peacock, and spent the rest of the
evening
| asking Mary and me about flight lessons, costs, etc.
She's a natural
| pilot, and, boy, are her parents every gonna hate US...
:-)
|
| Mary eventually had to threaten to eliminate the movie
from the
| evening's festivities to get the girls to shut it down --
but as soon
| as the movie ended, they were clamoring for more flight
time! I've
| never, ever seen anything like this with girls (Becca can
fly the Kiwi,
| but is far from enamored with it), and it gives me great
hope for the
| future of GA.
|
| We, as GA supporters, clearly need to see more Kiwis
installed, and --
| as the prototype for what we want to install at the Iowa
Children's
| Museum -- I believe our Kiwi Version 2.0 has proven that
the concept
| works. This thing clearly "hooks" young people on flying,
and that's
| what we need if we want to see GA survive and prosper.
|
| Mary and I spent some time pondering some of the reasons
why this
| transpired. One guess was that the Kiwi is just *so*
realistic that it
| really doesn't seem like a game? Another possibility was
that there is
| no real "game" aspect to flying the Kiwi -- no points are
scored, no
| kills recorded -- and perhaps this appeals more to girls?
|
| I dunno. But it was fantastic to watch them fly, and
great fun, too!
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|

It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game.
Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and
games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as
intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people,
and so on.

While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and
billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10%
of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty
close to the percentage of *real* pilots.

There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired
differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line,
at least with early teenaged girls.

It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five
years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and
see if their enthusiasm have changed with age.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

I dunno. But it was fantastic to watch them fly, and great fun, too!

Well, Jay. There's just one answer. Go get your instrument rating,
commercial and then your CFI!

There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired
differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line,
at least with early teenaged girls.

I wonder if they would have been as interested had it been a mixed sex
party.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game.
Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and
games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as
intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people,
and so on.

While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and
billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10%
of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty
close to the percentage of *real* pilots.

There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired
differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line,
at least with early teenaged girls.

It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five
years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and
see if their enthusiasm have changed with age.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

..................

Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to find
any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too
boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing! And
love crashing!

"The Old Bloke" wrote in message
...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game.
Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and
games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as
intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people,
and so on.

While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and
billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than 10%
of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty
close to the percentage of *real* pilots.

There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired
differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line,
at least with early teenaged girls.

It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five
years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0, and
see if their enthusiasm have changed with age.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

.................

Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to find
any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too
boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing!
And
love crashing!


They sound like an entertaining group. But there's no way I'd with them!

Peter

"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
news:Tayhh.279$_X.206@bigfe9...

"The Old Bloke" wrote in message
...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
It's not playing games that puts girls off ... it's the type of game.
Girls as a group don't like violent games, first-person shooters, and
games with all sorts of high-speed movement. They are just as
intrigued as anyone by intellectual games, games that involve people,
and so on.

While I believe this is true, video game makers have spent years and
billions trying to figure out why girls make up something less than
10%
of the total video game market. Interestingly, this figure is pretty
close to the percentage of *real* pilots.

There's either a social stigma for girls, or they are just wired
differently -- but I'm glad the Kiwi seems to have crossed that line,
at least with early teenaged girls.

It would be interesting to gather this same group of girls in five
years, just to watch the dynamics as they fly the Kiwi Version 5.0,
and
see if their enthusiasm have changed with age.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

.................

Well many of my male friends like to have a go at FS, but I'm yet to
find
any female friend that is interested in FS. Most tell me it is "too
boring". But most of these females will always have a go a car racing!
And
love crashing!


They sound like an entertaining group. But there's no way I'd with them!

Peter


There's nothing quite like ruining a quick remark....

That was supposed to read: "There's no way I'd ride with them!"

Peter

" Since it was to be just 8 girls, and 2 boys, a movie seemed
like a good way to break the ice and keep the conversation rolling --
always an awkward thing at that age.



Did either of the two boys try it? Or were they afraid of being shown up by
the girl super-pilot.

Rod