Why is port-starboard terminology used in aviation? I am not a pilot - just a student &amp; play Ace Combat sometimes

Intrigued by the words Starboard &amp; Port-side I researched why these words are used instead of the simple ones, I found that:


  Port is derived from the practice of sailors mooring ships on the left side at ports in order to prevent the steering oar from being crushed. src


Also, quite notably:


  Since port and starboard never change, they are unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner’s orientation, and, thus, mariners use these nautical terms instead of left and right to avoid confusion. When looking forward, toward the bow of a ship, port and starboard refer to the left and right sides, respectively.src


I see both the reasons are derived upon the concerns of the marine world - so why do we use them in aviation world?

This is specially interesting if we consider the fact that flying machines can manevur in all 3D, newbies (me) tend loose track of my VS. plane's left &amp; right when not in level flight. Then why the added confusion?
It isn't (much).

Ships are the most similar thing to aircraft that existed before them, so it made sense that aviation took over many terms and conventions from seafaring (the pilot in command is called captain, the cockpit is the flight deck, distances and speeds are given in nautical miles and knots etc.)

However since there is no physical port in an aircraft to serve as reference (most aircraft have doors on both sides), everybody has to learn to give the sides relative to the direction of flight and then it does not make sense to teach them new words when they already know “left” and “right”. So “port” and “starboard” are only used where there is a naval tradition.

I know British military aviation (RAF) used it (in wartime stories and documents it is common, but according to Simon's comment it is not common any more) and the US Navy uses it with ships, but I don't know to what extent they apply it to aircraft. 

However, it remains popular in simulator games, presumably because it is catchy and unusual and using jargon makes people feel special.