Flight Gear
Flight Gear
Flight Gear
is a FREE flight simulator compatible with virtually
any operating system including Windows, Mac and Linux
- with several unique features and options that may
be quite different than you're used to in a
simulation application.
You'll fine a wide variety of aircraft from the
Wright Brothers' first airplane to modern military
jets and navigate using any major brand joystick or
your mouse as a yoke. In addition, you can download
the whole planet or squares off the website.
You can program your own graphics, create airports,
new aircraft and reprogram flight controls and
response to suit your preferences. The graphics
limited only by your imagination.
The
FlightGear website
abounds with links and tutorials. Easy to use
interface provides your options onscreen so you don't
have to search through menus. As the pilot, you can
control the weather and integrate real world weather
conditions. You can even shadow yourself in a chase
plane that banks with your own, dodge AI traffic or
enjoy multiplayer action over your network.
Graphics are very close in quality to its
competitor's and the performance is superb, faithful
to the developers' stated intention that eye candy
should not compromise performance. Therefore
FlightGear graphics aren't quite as glitzy as the
competition but the performance gain more than makes
up for it; flights are smooth with no hesitation and
there's even a landable aircraft carrier off the
California coast.
There are a few minor weaknesses such as ground
handling and less than perfect audio feedback. The
simulator doesn't have collision detection so you
might land just fine on water without pontoons!
All in all, FlightGear packs in a lot of extras
you'll not find in other simulators and since
development is ongoing there's usually something new
to enhance this one-of-a-kind experience.
