Kennedy Approach | Lawrence van Rijn

Tag Archives: Kennedy Approach

September 16, 2026 · 02:58

Approach this

This is a weird setting. You see I got sucked into a video (on YouTube) regarding the September 11th event and every year I see the same things passing by and usually I ignore them, not because I don’t care, but because it tends to be mass creators. And I am not really into that. This being said, this time I let it happen because it was 25 years ago. I remember that day 25 years ago decently. I was sitting in a bar (at lunchtime) in Stockholm consuming my wrap with Bamse and Potatismos. When Fox (or CNN) came up with the news, ignoring what I was doing and I saw the impact of the first plane. I ran upstairs and got the girls (fellow workers) Eva and Anneli and we were seeing the impact the first plane made and I immediately called the New York office to ask what they saw (we had an office in the Empire State Building) but I actually didn’t know to which side of the city they were looking and even as we were talking the second plane hit. We saw it live on TV. This was the moment I knew that the United States were under attack. There is no way this happens twice within the span of an hour (I actually didn’t know how much time had passed) but the terrorist setting was clear to me. It would be hours before I learned the the Pentagon was hit too. But I also saw that this was a failed attempt. I reckon that bin Laden had intended to let the two towers burn like matches so through the night that terror would get the people of the United States by the heart. But then the failure struck. The towers collapsed and the terror turned into anger and hate in an instance and that was when bin Laden decided into finding a place wherever he could hide, because only the Japanese know what an angry United States feels like and they did find out (the hard way) and if you want to see that impact watch Zero Dark Thirty, an excellent movie by Kathryn Bigelow. But this is not about that. You see, I always feel the urge of a game I bought in 1988 by Andy Hollis (a founding member of Microprose) the game was Kennedy Approach, I had the CBM64 edition.

And I never stop being amazed how he got this game working in only 64KB of memory and that it still tingles my mind is basically unheard of, that is the impact of a great game. And I wonder why this wasn’t set into the new systems (you know PS5, Nintendo Switch) and that is the real worry and also the path to amazement. Because whenever I hear that I hear people say “that game made me interested in being an Air Traffic Controller”. It is not a leap because even as the graphics were low standard (by even the definitions of 1988), but the issue is that this game tingles the imagination and nowadays, whilst some players are trying to get to ‘rejuvenate’ their old games and some still wake up the jolt of the old achievements (like Oblivion remastered) and the only game that really woke up the feelings of the old game was David Braben who turned Elite into Elite Dangerous giving us 600% more of a game that was a stretch from the start. I reckon that And Hollis could do the same, even if it only improves the ‘smooth’ graphics. Optionally he could add Amsterdam International, Arlanda (Stockholm), Heathrow (London) and optionally Dubai International Airport, Sydney International, and a few more. It might aid the new player if it was a little more educational as well, an option that could be ‘unlocked’ by finishing the first airport which I believe was Dallas/Fort Worth, some say it was Atlanta, but I do not remember that level.

But the setting is clear in a sea of wannabe innovators who want to innovate gaming (by giving us Galaga on a tablet) games like Kennedy Approach should be on the forefront of their mind and I reckon that taking an educational sidestep might also encourage people to take that path. There is something of a disheartening side to the conversation “You did great at math, you have inside, you have what it takes to be a traffic controller ” I don’t know about you, but that comes across as a little anti climactic but that might be merely me. And the international setting could entice a lot more people and the educational side of it might give more people that vibe of “This seems rather wow (not World of Warcraft)” and the idea that a game still has appeal after 38 years and not just with me, should get the investors running for their purse to get this started. Well actually I reckon that Andy could afford all this with his own pennies, but there is the setting that he might get a game developer like Saudi Arabia involved. And they would love to get their hands on an original developer and even as it is ‘set’ as it is considered a highly respected classic. It got 85% to 90% rating and that is what I think is needed to revamp an original game onto a new classic and as I see it, it would hit well with the Nintendo Switch crowd which is presently around 156.59 million units worldwide as of June 30, 2026 only 4 million below the PS2 which is currently the global number one and I reckon that this record is broken when we consider switch lite as well. But the Switch is still being sold, so I have no doubt that they will break the PS2 global record this year. As such it should bow clear that the Nintendo Switch is the preferred system and the original fitted on a 360KB floppy, as such it could easily be sold in the Nintendo store and on physical media. As such, why did no one else think of that?

As I see it (and as we see failing design settings on nearly all consoles) the idea of revamping these old games could be the ticket for any developer of video games. It is just my way of keeping the old ideas alive and if one developer (David Braben) can do it, so can several others. You just need to keep it out of the fingers of these wannabe developers who think that the latest graphics are the ticket to quick profit. That is unlikely to happen. But the setting of great graphic games can be the ticket if the rest was awesome too. A example is Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021), which I picked up again as I never got it finished 100% and Wolverine is coming up today, as such I thought it would be a great idea to get another game finished 100% and I am making splendid waves at present. I finished the game at least 4 times and I had a blame blast every time I played it. That makes for an awesome game. And Insomniac does know how to make great games, as such there is plenty to game in 2026. Wouldn’t it be great that some of the great CBM64 games would make a reentry? Especially as we are focussed on the less than half a dozen titles at present? Just food for thought, have a great day today.

Redo from start

Yup, I went there, an old CBM64 error message. And it comes to us through the BBC who (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce84rvx0e6do) gives us ‘Great at gaming? US air traffic control wants you to apply’ So, why the error? Well, I had the inkling to go that route. I loved Kennedy Approach on the CBM64 and whilst in communications with the UNSC (posted in El Gorah, 1982) I was briefly ‘involved’ with flight following and in this case involved meant that I was sitting next to Flight Lt Wruck who was doing the job. It seemed simple and he was exceedingly good at it. So, I saw this getting done for weeks and it looked appealing, but then at 19 nearly everything looked appealing. These thoughts overwhelmed me when I saw the message in the BBC with the added “In a new ad campaign, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is explicitly calling for gamers to apply for jobs in air traffic control when its hiring window opens next week.

The Xbox one logo appears at the start of the video before dissolving into a montage that cuts between images of men playing various online computer games and people, including women, in air traffic control towers looking at their own computers.” And I have two reasons for not doing this. First of all it is in the United States and in this political climate and with the current administration it is the last place I want to be, although that job in Canada might still be appealing.

The second reason is the setting that it is tainted by Microsoft. And with ““You’ve been training for this,” the ad says.” My thoughts go to “Really? How?” You see, in 1985 the message was clear, anyone stating that Kennedy Approach was reason to become an air traffic controller was given a red flag. I have no idea why, because as I saw it, ATC is something you either like or do not. And what games give you the ATC vibe? Fortnite? I can play that game, but I was used to real weapons and real ammunition. It takes the air out of the opponents (as they stopped breathing), but seriously? What makes a gamer a good ATC person? As we are given “The new strategy tapped into “a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller”, he said.” I am not debating against it, I merely want to know what makes the gamer a good ATC person. I personally would think that an updated Kennedy approach that gives people the skills to do that job, either with additional coaching or with added explanation, or with added settings and more scenarios. Kennedy Approach was initially a Microprose product and I loved playing this game. Then considering that Kennedy approach was insufficient to cater to this (it was merely 58Kb in size) as such an upgrade would be required. But that field could be catered to for Canada and many other countries. You merely need to adjust the settings of a 40 year old video game.

And if gaming is no longer a red flag, my mind starts cruising to mach 8 to get the adjusted settings to work. Still the idea is decently novel and could be applied to several fields. If I remember this correctly, the US Navy had a similar approach as they used Times Warner interactive to produce AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet, or at least that was what I was made to believe. It was a tactical game and has almost no high res gaming screens, but the tactical screens were most excellent.

And the additional catch was “The ad also highlights the salary on offer to controllers, saying it is $155,000 (£115,000) after three years of work.” I reckon that this will attract plenty of gamers, especially as you see the the graphic card requirements that these systems require now.

But this is not a novel idea, it has been voiced before, but the powers that be see gaming as a non-go setting, but in this day and age, gaming is different and it is real life that now starts emulating games, not the other way around. So as we are given new stations to jobs that are showing a lack of people, gaming is a way to get around to that and the funny part is that these people could get the gist of that job whilst finding out if this is something they might want to entertain. There are settings that work and settings that are less than stellar for a gaming solution. On that note, I failed the doctor test in 1985 (The Surgeon decided I was never going to be a doctor) And we can consider more pressing approaches but it is all between your two ears (the brain). And whilst we think that Kennedy Approach is a good way to see if you could make it as an ATC’er. There are plenty of other sides. Silent Service is not the way to find a sub commander.

Yet, seriously, did it take 40 years to go from red flag to gamers are welcome? Or is the need for more ATC’ers now too pressing that they will consider all options? This is a serious question, because the underlying setting is that if there are no ATC’ers, flights will have to be cancelled. That is the real question that is part of that. I am fine with the idea that those who scored great in Kennedy Approach (or whatever is now the closest to an ATC screen) are set for a career in ATC at the FAA. But there are questions, because as this approach comes from 2021 under President Biden and we are given “The FAA said last year that it would be considered fully staffed with 14,663 active controllers. It was at least 3,000 controllers short at the time and said twice that many controllers were expected to leave their roles by 2028.” The setting that airports would be short of ATC’ers and the station that hundreds of flights would be cancelled if this is not resolved is not without its own set of cascade failures of flights required. It would be the next massive joke if ground crews are stopping flight crew from getting the job done. And there are additional questions that people will have to ask, because there is no way that this is a setting anyone would like to be on their front door as they are flying to their vacation spot, only to be stopped because there are no Air Traffic Controllers available.

Yes, sarcasms slaps you it becomes irony and I am not being the doom speaker, merely a person who wants a clear understanding and personally it is too late for me (about 25 years too late) but I kinda like that gaming could invigorate a class of people to take up a new career.

So have a great day, my Monday started 40 minutes ago.

Tag Archives: Kennedy Approach

Approach this

Redo from start

Recent Posts

Archives