MiGMan’s Flight Sim Museum

MiGMan’s Flight Sim Museum

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002

The Crimea, FS2002 versus Flanker 2.0

Having spent some time flying Su-27 Flanker 2.0 recently I thought I'd see how Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 rendered the Crimean peninsula.
The first notable difference was that Microsoft only offer ONE airport - Simferopol. Su-27 Flanker 2.0 models about a dozen military airbases in quite some detail.
Secondly, the cultural artifacts are nonexistent, at least I couldn't find any bridges or buildings.

Terrain accuracy

The terrain is modelled about about the same standard in both sims, which is to say - pretty accurately! Not that I've been to the Crimea but the landscape is detailed enough for me to easily navigate by reference ot a real pilot's navigation chart.
Of course these comparisons aren't strictly fair since Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 attempts to model the whole world and Su-27 Flanker 2.0 only one theatre: the Crimean peninsula.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
East of Khersones on the Southern tip of the Crimean Peninsula in Su-27 Flanker 2.0
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
East of Khersones on the Southern tip of the Crimean Peninsula in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 MiG-29 from the Luftwaffe Collection (1999).
So there you are - the Microsoft offering is ready to go for combat fans - except there are no weapons allowed. Hmmm ... there is Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 3 due out in 2002 - but that won't model fighter radar. What the heck - why reinvent the wheel!
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Crimea map in Su-27 Flanker 2.0
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Crimea map in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Crimea in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Sevastopol in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002
Sevastopol in Su-27 Flanker 2.0