Night Pilot 64 (William Fong)

Title – Night Pilot 64
System – Commodore 64
Author – William Fong
Publication – Commodore Horizons, Issue 8, August 1984
Page Scans – 1 2 3
Preserved by – eboy71
Recommended Emulator – VICE

Download ROM

Loading the Game –

Mount the disk image (1984-08 Night Pilot.d64) in your emulator. In VICE, this is done by selecting File → Attach Disk Image
Load the app by typing LOAD”NIGHT PILOT”,8
Once loaded, type RUN to start

Article Text & Instructions:
William Fong’s flight simulator program represents a light plane coming in to land from 3500 feet, hampered by total darkness.

You’ll need plenty of practice before you’re able to control the plane. Try to level out at a fairly high altitude and start a gentle descent.

Keep an eye on the altimeter and use W for up and X for down. The first press will level you out, the second will change your altitude one way or another.

Also keep an eye on TILT. Press A to tilt left and D for right. It’s particularly important to stay on an even keel when you’re nearing a runway.

Speed is controlled by + and – in increments of five units. Left to itself, speed will decrease by one MPH per second.

DISTANCE is the distance to the middle of the runway. For a visual display of position, press F3, to return to the cockpit display press F1.

Lower the undercarriage with the space bar to land. A beep will be heard if speed or fuel is too low.

If you hear no engine noise when the program is RUN, press RUN/STOP, enter GOTO 6000 and press “Y” when asked. Repeat if necessary.

Editor’s Note:

Interestingly, this type-in appears suspiciously similar to “Flight Simulator”, a type-in game published in the “Commodore 64: Games Book“, which was published by Melbourne House in 1983. In fact, “suspiciously similar” is probably underselling just how close it is; it’s practically identical.
William Fong is credited with multiple games in addition to Night Pilot. You can check them out here.