Ehhh, being myself a kid from 1978 I can tell you that I largely play the way you do! 
I will always love and remember fondly about Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat, F-15 II, Gunship 2000, and on and on… 
I love DCS, retro gaming and a lot of games in my Steam and GOG.COM libraries that beg to be played! 
Space games are really fun (Kerbal above all!), sadly I have two kids and gaming time is limited so I have to make do with whatever I can. An easier to get into and play now and then is Elite Dangerous but it’s not really everyone’s cup of tea.
Mainly is asks you to “believe” being a space pilot without being a hero like Luke Skywalker- more like a donw-on.his-luck Malcolm Reynolds! 
That said, I offer everyone a personalized skin for DCS- so if you have a favourite ride and like what I do*
please don’t worry and ask away!
*(check here Personalised Textures - Data Collection Edition, here’s the results Personalized Textures - The Outcome and here the downloadable package Personalized Skins - Mudspike for everyone! )