In this Community Spotlight, we’ll be shining a light on community member and content creator Blu Games.
“What’s going on beautiful people, my name is Caleb but online I am Blu Games – Youtuber, Streamer, & Reviewer from Texas.”
In his streams and videos, Blu Games enjoys and explores a variety of different realistic simulators and games – from farming to trucking, he loves them. His main passion, though, is aviation and flying. For some, this is an interest that is discovered later in life. For him it was something he knew from a young age.
“I have always been amazed by planes. As a kid I would play with toy models and fill notebooks with hand drawings.”
His love of simulators all started with Microsoft Flight Simulator 98, running on his father’s ancient computer. He would fly with a mouse and keyboard and attempt to land his planes in grass fields – at the time he didn’t yet know how to find airports after takeoff. This was his first introduction to flight simulators, and his passion would only grow from there.
Currently, Blu Games is working to pursue his aviation dreams to become a pilot. Flight simulators offer him a fantastic opportunity to practice and learn before moving on to flying real planes. Looking back at where he started, it’s easy to see how far he’s come.
“Since knowing absolutely nothing in my first sim up until now I have learned a lot! How to fly in a traffic pattern, cockpit panel familiarization, how to talk to ATC, VFR and IFR procedures, understanding airspaces, how to read aeronautical charts, basic knowledge of various avionics systems and GPS, and so much more that will give me head start before logging my first hour in a real plane.”
“I believe flight simulators are extremely valuable. The world’s best race car drivers are using simulators every day to push the limits of what a car can do. The US Air Force are actively training their fighter pilots in flight simulators that we already have access to at home. I think flight simulators are the future for training, and for private pilots it will save you a ton of money.”
Blu Games is only just getting started. He’s working hard at his goal, and doing all he can to keep moving forward. In addition to practicing in Microsoft Flight Simulator, he has begun taking online ground school training to help prepare himself.
In fact, just the weekend prior to this editorial going live, he also had his first Discovery Flight. He made a video of the experience, and you can check it out here:
But it’s not only his own dreams that are important to him.
“Helping others pursue their aviation dreams is a passion of mine. I completely understand how hard it is to pursue becoming a pilot. I am living that struggle right now. Which is why I want to help others rise above and overcome the many challenges aspiring aviators face. Unless you go through the military, the biggest challenge for becoming a pilot is money.”
Like many others, the biggest barrier that Blu Games faces in getting his pilot’s license is the cost of flight training. In the future, Blu Games hopes to connect with charities who share ideals of helping those less fortunate. While it’s still currently a vision, he dreams of playing a major part in inspiring and helping budding aviators earn their wings.
For Blu Games himself, there is one person that he points to as being his own inspiration: his godfather John Dyer, who was the first person to take him for a flight in his Cessna.
John received his private pilot’s license in 1969 in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time, flying with an instructor was USD $15/hr. Adjusted for inflation today, this comes to just shy of $115. In college, John joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), and would go on to become a flight instructor for the US Air Force where he trained pilots in the T-38 Talon. He trained pilots for three years, then moved to flying VIPs in one of the world’s first corporate jets, the Rockwell Sabreliner.
In 1978, John left the Air Force and jumped into flying commercial airliners with Continental Airlines, who have since merged into United Airlines. After a short six years flying Boeing 727’s with Continental, he was hired by FedEx in 1984. Over the next 25 years, he would fly many different aircraft for FedEx, including the Boeing 727, Boeing 747, and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. One of his longest flights clocked between 10-11 hours, flying from Sydney to Hong-Kong.
These days, John is retired and enjoys flying as a private pilot. It’s clear that he has passed his love of flying down to his god son.
When he’s not flying in Microsoft Flight Simulator or creating video content, Blu Games works as a graphic and web designer. If you check out his stream or any of his channels, you will see examples of his work – he created all his channel graphics and branding himself.
Blu Games streams on Twitch and Youtube, and you can find him on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
With his streams, he hopes to inspire others to pursue their dreams in aviation just as he is. If you are just beginning your journey, or wondering where to get started, he has these words for you:
“If you are new, get connected in the community of streamers, virtual airlines, and flight groups. You will learn a lot and have so much fun.
If you are looking to be a real pilot, never give up, never give in. Just give it all you got.”