It immerses you with authentic flight models and beautifully rich landscapes based on North America and South Asian terrain data. You can also use the powerful, intuitive mission editor to create your own missions.
With multiplayer support, the flight sim allows for copilot and competitive scenarios. If you doubt your computer's graphic capabilities, you might consider giving this free flight simulator a try. While this software will not offer graphics as impressive as the premium sims, it will still offer great features for free including up to 70 flights to choose from and a wide range of maps covering a host of well-known regions across the planet.
Not forgetting, it offers you a HUB that delivers details regarding in-flight speeds, direction, elevation, and other important flying information. It has a weather customization feature to offer you various weather customizations to suit your flying preferences.
For instance, you can change the time from day to night for a more challenging flight, set the cloud ceiling to very low, or adjust the amount of fog if you want to practice flying in hazardous conditions. The free simulator even allows you to host online events such as squadroom competitions, races, and virtual airshows!
Probably the best part about this software is the modding community. Its intentional community offers you thousands of additional mods to try. A typical combat flight simulator gives you the experience of military aircraft and their operation.
The sim comes packed with exceptional visuals and immense playability which make it a top choice for fans of combat and action. Launched in , this flight sim brings together all the content from the original IL-2 series—including the forgotten battles, Ace Expansion Pack, and Pacific Fighters.
This simply makes it a compilation pack with more extensive content. The game includes 9 exclusive campaigns of its own with up to detailed missions. Despite having been released years ago, the IL-2 Sturmovik: graphics still appear top-notch and the amount of realism in the cockpit remains great compared to other sims that have been released after it.
Are you looking for a combat flight simulator that you can play on Xbox? If yes, Ace Combat is the perfect sim for you. This is one of the most advanced warplane simulations ever developed. Ace Combat 7 will blow your mind away with its beautifully rendered skies filled with clouds as well as highly detailed cityscapes that enhance a sense of high speed while setting the stage for the most engaging aerial battles.
The sim lets you unleash ultra-modern weapons for superior air power to crush your enemies. The game is VR compatible, which ushers you into virtual combat. World of Warplanes gives you breathtaking air battles with the most advanced warplanes. The simulator puts you in large battles against other players and lets you pilot everything from the WWI-era wooden biplanes to the most modern jets. The simulator allows you to learn air combat skills with 5 different types of airplanes.
Each of the 5 aircraft comes with a unique configuration, role, and even behavior in a battle to offer you a completely new experience every time. Although most of these locations are original, the maps used feature real landscapes found in different parts of the planet. How about a game that runs smoothly across multiple platforms? War Thunder is completely free to play and the most comprehensive MMO military game.
Unlike most of the combat flight sims on this list that focus on aviation only, this sim extends its focus to armored vehicles, and naval vessels ranging from the early 20 th century to the modern most advanced combat units. The game lets you take part in major battles not only in the air but also on the land and at the sea.
In this simulator, the attack helicopters, aircraft, ground forces, and naval vessels perform ultra-realistic competitive battles. The action-packed simulator lets you use a bomber turret to blast your pursuers from the ground, defend your teammates on the ground from air raids, shoot down the enemy aircraft, and so much more!
The extremely popular flight sim delivers blasting action and ultimate realism on your Windows PC. It is based on World War I—the first war that widely included aircraft. There are up to 40 planers for you to fly in aerial dogfights over the eastern and western front, including the Sopwith Camel, Felixstowe F. Va, and Nieuport Realism is top-notch in this combat flight sim. All the planes come rendered in incredible detail and with fully dynamic components.
They feature fantastic damage modeling and feel super-real with aerodynamic effects such as g-force, torque, wind buffet, and stalls.
The graphics are great too. The HDR high dynamic range lighting and detailed WWI landscapes, rendered skylines, and lifelike weather effects amplify the game realism. For instance, you can configure gun convergence, fuel supply, landing modes, radiator flow, and so on. Your home flight sim is only complete if it features all the necessary flight simulator hardware in addition to the software. Hardware refers to the components and controls you use with the best flight sims for a more accurate and realistic flying experience.
Yes, you could stick to the keyboard and mouse to control your sim functions. But these would be too unrealistic. So, what are the different types of flight simulation hardware you should get for your flight simulator?
A yoke changes the dimension of your flight simulator software from a mere video game into a realistic flight. This yoke was designed by pilots and aerospace engineers and is one of the most advanced flight yokes available for pilots, flight students , and hobbyists.
The base features switch panel with master, alternator , light and avionics switches, and a 5-position ignition switch. On top of all this, it comes with a built-in adjustable cockpit backlighting to let you customize the cockpit space to your preferences. Logitech is one of the major players in the production of flight sim hardware today. Their G PRO flight yoke system has remained a popular option for a great choice the serious flight simulator pilots for years.
The upgraded model comes with a realistic yoke plus a separate throttle quadrant that you can easily extend for use with multi-engine aircraft. The yoke itself features a stainless steel shaft with precision bearings for a realistic feel.
It also comes with a nice LED display that shows and interacts with convenient flight timers. You should keep in mind that this yoke is also extremely expandable.
This allows you to build your own system, piece after piece. It features 4 traditional push buttons, 2 bidirectional rocker switches, 2 bidirectional flip switches, and 1 eight-way POV hat switch. It also features a total of functions, all of which are programmable.
It comes with a 7ft. USB cable which provides you with a true plug-and-play driverless USB installation, ensuring greater speed and accuracy. In this case, the traditional stick would be a great option. Thrustmaster is one of the highly-rated joysticks for flight simulators. It is an exact replica of the U. The standalone stick presents you with a fully detachable handle made entirely from metal and compatible with the HOTAS Cougar.
The stick features dual throttles with up to 17 action buttons. It also comes with 1mouse hat with push-button and one 8-way pov point of view hat. Each of these buttons requires a certain amount of pressure, making them feel as realistic as the actual Warthogs joystick controls.
These too require an amount of pressure that compares to the actual Warthog controls. It has undergone engineering updates to give you a more realistic and exciting experience. The joystick comes with a USB plug-and-play designed to eliminate the need to install drivers for you to start using it. It features a multitude of customizations, including the mini analog sticks to allow for true 6 degrees of freedom control of your plane.
With 16 non-contact sensors, this unit offers you the most accurate control level you can find in a joystick today.
You can enhance the controls even further by adjusting the response curves and dead zones. The integrated RGB lighting lets you can easily customize the appearance of this stick to your liking or to match the rest of your gaming rig. Mind you, this is the officially licensed joystick for Xbox One…though it also works with Windows.
We will talk about the different options in more detail, and also include a buying guide with things you should look out for! Flight simulator yokes are one of the best ways to improve your virtual flying experience.
Here are our top recommendations, and what you should keep in mind when shopping. If you prefer flying with a traditional joystick instead of a yoke, there are quite a few great options as well.
Detachable, real-size, ergonomically-designed throttle control and High-precision joystick with adjustable resistance. This flight stick is part of the Thrustmaster HOTAS products: a replica set of the joystick, dual throttle system and dual throttle control panel of the U. Air Force AC attack aircraft. With an average Amazon rating of 4. The dual-throttle system and control panel can be purchased separately here.
Compatible with the Thrustmaster T. Now, why would you need rudder pedals when you can just turn the plane on the ground by using your joystick or yoke axes? Also on the ground, rudder pedals can improve your flight simulator experience. Not just for steering but for braking as well.
Most popular flight simulator rudder pedals feature differential brake pedals at the top of your toes, just like you would find in most real-life aircraft. This offers extra possibilities when virtual taxiing or making narrow turns on the ground. Below, we have listed some of the most popular flight simulator rudder pedals on the market, each with their own advantages.
The Logitech Pro Flight series is a family of popular flight simulator hardware, including instruments, switches, throttle quadrants, yokes and pedals.
The Logitech Pro Rudder Pedals formerly built by Saitek are probably one of the most popular and widely-used flight simulator pedals available today. Their fluid motion enables accurate command over your aircraft, while differential braking provides independent control of the left and right toe brakes.
Add a critical facet of the pilot experience to your flight simulation setup. Control the CH Products has been building flight simulator hardware long before many other players on the market. You might get the impression their product designs are a little outdated, but they still perform very well and are an affordable option. The standard CH Products Pro Pedals remain some of the most affordable and simple options on this list.
The experience of flying They offer the so-called S. T slide rails system for smooth steering, removable heel-rests, differential braking and a self-centering rudder axis.
Cleared for takeoff, with the T. Flight Rudder Pedals. These pedals use a sliding rail system, and the ergonomic design with heel support removable ensures that your feet stay on the pedal in their entirety.
Furthermore, the design features differentiated brakes: 2 large pedals of 25 centimeters. The brand uses its more advanced technology to create smooth and fluid movements, offering the perfect precision. While most rudder pedals use plastic sliders, the TPR Pedals use a suspended mechanism for minimal resistance. Thrustmaster presents the TPR: the rudder system with realistic dimensions and perfect precision, for total immersion in all What makes good flight simulator rudder pedals and why are they so important to improve your flight simulator experience?
Read on! The Logitech G Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant which is standard included with the Saitek yoke is a great and inexpensive add-in to your hardware and offers all the throttle controls you will need for a single-engine aircraft. You can even add more quadrants and switch the levers to adjust the controls for a multi-engine aircraft!
If you like to fly multi-engine aircraft, most flight sim controllers leave you a couple of throttles short CH Products offers a great throttle quadrant as well, with enough levers to simulate a twin-engine aircraft — something you would need two Saitek throttle quadrants for. It has six programmable axis and 12 buttons, that can be configured using the custom software this product comes with. Thrustmaster recently launched its Airbus Series flight simulator sidestick mentioned above and throttle quadrant.
With 2 navigational axes, 16 buttons and controls detents, switches and even a thrust reverser mechanism for a multitude of possibilities during takeoff, in flight, upon landing and when on the ground. An ergonomic replica of the Airbus throttle quadrant, featuring magnetic technology, airliner functions, thrust reverser mechanism and replica controls. Thai Airways is another international airliner that allows the general public to take advantage of their professional-grade flight simulators via the Thai Royal Orchid membership program.
Visitors get to simulate either Airbus A or A aircraft depending on the availability alongside a professional flight instructor.
You must book your session for at least three days in advance. Read: 18 Best Physics Game. Flight simulators in United Airlines facility. Another commercial-grade flight simulator that you can enjoy is the United Airlines A simulator located in Denver.
Though the facility is rarely opened to the general public, anyone with the United MileagePlus card can apply whenever there is the opportunity. All you have to do is enter an auction , where you use your award miles for hours in the simulator. The highest bidder gets to enjoy the simulator for up to four hours along with a friend or whoever you want to take. Do you know, United became the first commercial airliner to use flight simulators with visuals and sound aid for training pilots in Keep in mind that this is not a full-motion or Level D simulator.
Qantas flight simulator. Currently, you can book your 1 hr ride on the simulator at Qantas training facility at a cut down price for 92, points. This offer is for a limited time. Throughout your entire time inside the simulator, an experienced flight trainer will guide you through details about various in-flight instruments, important instructions, etc.
You could feel engine thrust and hydraulic as if you were actually flying a US ton aircraft. You can also simulate real-life airports from all around the world.
Image Courtesy: EPA. For more than two decades, the Delta Flight Museum has been a one-stop destination for aviation and aircraft fans. It has so many things to offer, from historical knowledge to the future of flight.
However, one of its main spotlights is the full-motion Boeing flight simulator, which is open to the general public. EVA Air is one of the biggest airliners in Taiwan. Like Qantas and United Airlines, EVA also presents regular commuters and cardholders with a chance to experience flight simulator. One needs to fill the form one month prior to the desired session.
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