Civil Flight Simulations in the 2010’s

AboutA cross platform sim with gorgeous graphics and a fluid flight model. The sim ran totally fluidly on my i7 and Nvidia 1060 graphics card. Helicopter flight modelling seems well supported. A great variety of aircraft are provided in the standard fleet. The interface and load times are a marvel to behold (they are fast!). My only question remains as to the flight planning, which I found quite obscure. I'll return to that.

About"As the busy operator of a hangar and runway in the heart of a region like the Serengeti, there are countless ways to earn a living. As an ‘old school’ bush pilot, you must undertake challenging jobs to make the lives of both tourists and locals a lot easier. Fight bush fires, transport goods, find missing people & items, serve as a first responder & wildlife preservationist, or simply take some snapshots of archaeological finds."

AboutMobile sim focussed on exciting landing scenarios.

About" Fly virtual reality like never before in FlyInside Flight Simulator. FlyInside Flight Simulator includes cutting-edge VR support (but works great on the desktop too), a 64-bit engine designed for modern GPUs and multi-core systems, ten high-quality stock aircraft, and an innovative scenery system! "

About"Become a professional pilot and rescuer. Control different helicopters, protect the city and be a part of the rescue team!"

About"Become an emergency pilot and test your skills to their limits, as you sit in the cockpit of an emergency helicopter, across more than 40 challenging missions. Choose from 8 models of 'copter, each varying in size, ability and specs."

About"Touch down in the tropics and transport freight between twelve exotic islands in more than a hundred exciting missions."

AboutPrepar3D kept the Microsoft Flight Sim flame alive after MS abandoned their flagship product in 2010. It expanded the base software into commercial and military markets while still allowing the personal user to keep the dream alive. I only wish I had more time to devote to exploring the sim but life intervened and by the time I had resources to spend on it MSFS 2020 was mere months away. Nonetheless I managed to get a few months in on the F-35 and F-16 and with Air Manager driving all my panels and an 85" screen to fly through, I got a taste of the reliable and fluid flying experience that many thousands of military and amateur pilots like me had been enjoying over during the 20 teen decade.

About"BUILD AIRPLANES. You have the tools you'll need to bring any airplane to life. Snap parts together to build your airplane's body. Place engines to add thrust. Design and attach wings and then strap yourself into the cockpit and see how it flies." - Steam

AboutTake on Helicopters is a civil helo sim with campaign built in the ARMA 2 engine. This sim was released in 2011 and still looks great 10 years later. The fluid feel of the flight dynamics and the immersive campaign put it into my list of all time favourites. I can only hope that Bohemia Interactive release more titles like this, they don't need to update the engine - just give us more great stories to fly through!