Want to see where you’ll run into other players? GeoFS has a live map that tracks all pilots. That means the rain or sleet you experience mirrors what pilots currently endure in the real world. The weather conditions also change based on real-time data from Open Weather Map.

At any point, you can run into another player flying through the sky or a commercial airliner moving in real time. The free version supports massively multiplayer interaction. The simulator even includes a hot air balloon, a helicopter, and a paraglider - just don’t start in a paraglider from 30,000 feet in the air. If you aren’t successful in flying multi-engine planes, you can always switch to a more traditional propeller model.

You can quickly customize the controls at any time, as well as pull up helpful instructions to aid your maiden voyage. Setting the throttle and taking off for the first time is remarkably simple. Like to game on the go? You can fly using your mobile device, too.

You’ll likely never run out of places to see, as the sim includes more than 30,000 different runways. In this free PC game, you can take off and fly across the world in one of 20 aircraft using a joystick, mouse, or your best keyboard. If your internet service has a strict data cap or your PC simply doesn’t have enough space, GeoFS runs entirely in your browser. Although a game like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 has more bells and whistles - not to mention better graphics - these titles will at least let you dip your toes in the world of flight simulation without spending any money. Our list has civilian flight sims, which are all as realistic as possible, as well as combat-focused sims, where the developers trade a bit of realism for action. There are plenty of free-to-play games out there, and that includes flight sims. With those kinds of prices, you’ll need to track down the best free flight simulators to take to the skies on the cheap. X-Plane 11, for example, is still a full $60, despite being three years old, and it has over $2,000 worth of DLC. And that probably won’t change any time soon.Īs is the case with most simulator games, flight simulators have a long shelf life. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is probably the best way to do that now, but the game will run you $60 at least, plus the cost of additional planes. Most of us will never be given the chance to fly our own plane, which is why it’s so tempting to take to the virtual skies.

Free install flight simulator mac