A flight simulator is a computer program that simulates or replicates the experience of flight. Simmers and gamers, as the enthusiasts of these programs call themselves, can select from a wide range of imaginative programs that allow them to fly solo around the world, engage in First World War aerial dogfights, engage the enemy in supersonic jets, or explore new star systems in the Enterprise. There are flight simulator games for just about every taste and every age. There are flight simulators that can be enjoyed solo, and online flight simulators that can be experienced with other gamers.

Among the most popular of these programs is the Microsoft flight simulator. The Microsoft Flight Simulator X comes in a standard edition that features eighteen planes, forty highly detailed airports (sixteen of which are new to the flight simulator), twenty-eight highly detailed cities, and more than thirty structured missions. Flight Simulator X also comes in a deluxe edition that features twenty-four planes, forty-five highly detailed airports (twenty-one of which are new to the flight simulator), thirty-eight highly detailed cities, more than fifty structured missions, a glass panel (G1000) cockpit and a tower controller. Before purchasing Flight Simulator X deluxe edition, or any other flight simulator program, be sure that you have the system requirements for that software.

For those who want to try out flight simulators before making purchases, free flight simulators are available online. You can check out just about any kind of flight simulator experience you like, from a combat flight simulator to a free flight simulator that takes you on missions of exploration around the world or into outer space. Enter the search words: flight simulator, and you will get a selection of websites to investigate, including the site for Microsoft. These websites will give you all the latest developments , and tell you about free flight simulator games. They will explain how to download free flight simulators. With Microsoft, the flight simulator download may or may not include flight simulator X downloads. Please remember that the games offered for free by Microsoft or any other company can be changed without notice.

In aviation training, flight simulators are used in pilot education programs before student pilots actually touch the controls of a real aircraft. The flight simulators teach student pilots how to take off and land, and handle every conceivable emergency. They “fly” the student over every kind of terrain on earth, as well as water. Military students are put into simulated combat situations.