FlightGear Flight Simulator is a free, open sourcemulti-platformflight simulator developed by the project since 1997. David Murr started the project on April 8, 1996. The project had its first release in 1997 and continued in development. It has specific builds for a variety of operating systems including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, IRIX, and Solaris. source code is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License and is free and open-source software. Some commercial products—Earth Flight Sim, Flight Pro Sim, Flight Simulator Plus, Pro Flight Simulator, Real Flight Simulator, Virtual Pilot 3D, and others—are copies of old versions of, see Commercial redistribution. They are not endorsed by the project.
History
started as an online proposal in 1996 by David Murr, in Canada. He proposed a new flight simulator developed by volunteers over the Internet as alternative to proprietary, available simulators like the Microsoft Flight Simulator. The flight simulator was created using custom 3D graphics code. Development of an OpenGL based version was spearheaded by Curtis Olson starting in 1997. incorporated other open-source resources, including the LaRCsim flight model from NASA, and freely available elevation data. The first working binaries using OpenGL came out in 1997. In June 2014Honda lawyers issued a takedown request in which it was claimed that the HondaJet model in the simulator infringes on Honda's trademarks. Subsequently, HondaJet became the first model removed from the simulator due to legal reasons.
Flight Model
Mass balance, ground reactions, propulsion, aerodynamics, buoyant forces, external forces, atmospheric forces, and gravitational forces can be utilized by JSBSim, the current default flight model supported by, to determine flight characteristics. also supports LaRCsim, UIUC, YASim, the use of an external source like MATLAB, and custom flight models for hot air balloons and spacecraft.
Multiplayer
Several networking options allow to communicate with other instances of. A multiplayerprotocol is available for using on a local network in a multi aircraft environment. This can be used for formation flight or air traffic control simulation. Soon after the original Multiplayer Protocol became available, it was expanded to allow playing over the internet. It is possible to see other players in game if they have the same aircraft models and viewing their flight path is possible with the game's online multiplayer map. Several instances of can be synchronized to allow for a multi-monitor environment.
Weather
uses metar data to produce live weather patterns in real time. Detailed weather settings allow for 3d clouds, a variety of cloud types, and precipitation. Precipitation and terrain affect turbulence and cloud formations. Aloft waypoint settings allow high altitude behaviors of wind to be modeled from live weather information, and thermals can also be modeled.
Critical reception
Although not developed or typically analyzed solely as a game in the traditional sense, has nevertheless undergone reviews in a number of online and offline publications, and received positive reviews as a flight simulator game. 1.0.0 was noted as being impressive for a game over a decade in the making, with a wide variety of aircraft and features. PC Magazine noted how it is designed to be easy to add new aircraft and scenery. Linux Format reviewed version 2.0 and rated it 8/10.
Applications and usages
FlightGear has been used in a range of projects in academia and industry and even home-built cockpits.
Commercial redistribution
FlightGear Flight Simulator version 1.9.1 has been actively marketed over the Internet by third parties under several aliases and product names, such as Earth Flight Sim, Flight Pro Sim, Flight Simulator Plus, Pro Flight Simulator, Real Flight Simulator, and Virtual Pilot 3D. The simulator has been used by numerous institutes and companies, such as NASA/Ames Human Centered System Lab., Pragolet s.r.o.,, and the Endless Runway Project; a consortium of several European aerospace institutes.
