Microsoft Flight Simulator
The sky above your desk
The Flight Simulator series set the standard for aviation simulation across four decades, from 1982's wireframes to 2020's planet-scale photorealism.
Overview
Microsoft Flight Simulator predates Windows—Bruce Artwick’s original simulation ran on Apple II before Microsoft published it for IBM PC in 1982. Each version pushed hardware limits: first filled polygons, then texture mapping, then satellite imagery, until 2020’s version streamed the entire Earth via the cloud. For forty years, nothing has matched its fidelity to real aviation.
Fast facts
- Origin: Bruce Artwick’s subLOGIC Flight Simulator (1979).
- Microsoft: began publishing MS-DOS version (1982).
- Developer (modern): Asobo Studio.
- 2020 reboot: Azure-streamed real-world terrain and weather.
- Hardware benchmark: historically used to judge PC capability.
- Flight training: some real-world pilots use it for practice.
Evolution
Technological progression:
- 1982: wireframe graphics, basic instruments.
- 1990s: texture-mapped terrain, add-on aircraft.
- 2000s: autogen scenery, weather simulation.
- 2020: satellite imagery, real-time weather, global coverage.
Simulation depth
Authentic aviation:
- Flight models: realistic aerodynamics.
- Instruments: functional cockpit systems.
- ATC: air traffic control communication.
- Weather: affects flight behaviour.
- Navigation: real-world procedures.