It has been many, many years since the making, but Falcon 4.0 is and will be the best modern flight sim around.

Flanker is a flight simulator modeling the Sukhoi Su27 Flanker, Su33 Navalized Flanker, and the MiG29K Navalized Fulcrum. Developed by Eagle Dynamics in Russia and Produced by Ubi Soft, Flanker 2.x represents one of the most high fidelity military flight simulators available today.

Climb the pyramid to become the top pilot of the most advanced air force in the world: the USAF. Fly and train over US soil in the F-16C Falcon and A-10 Warthog or an arsenal of six other planes. Then relive great historic air battles flying the rugged F-4E over Vietnam or the powerful F-15C in Operation Desert Storm. Finally, push the envelope flying the menacing F-117 Stealth Fighter and ultra-modern F-22 Raptor as you project the power of the United States in futuristic campaigns over Europe.

Combat Flight Sim 2 is poised to be one of the most complex and enjoyable flight sims to hit  in recent days. The amount of detail being poured into every component of this title, from the flight model down to the interface artwork, shows the tenacity for which Microsoft is so well known throughout the Sim Industry.

I assume majority of the people reading this preview are familiar with the Il-2 Sturmovik in one way or another. For those who don't know anything about the sim, visit the official website and look over the awards page - that'll be a good start. IL-2 Sturmovik was the best flight sim of 2001, and quite possibly the best prop flight sim ever. The Forgotten Battles is the add-on turned sequel which should be released in just a few months.

The creators of Lock On: Modern Air Combat designed a sim that offers truly scalable simulation. Novices who want a simple flight sim that they can jump into can opt for easy radar, simplified flight dynamics, easy-to-defeat enemies, labels for enemy and friendly units, and an enhanced cockpit warning system. On the other hand, hardcore flight sim buffs can turn off all of these options and enjoy incredibly accurate flight dynamics for each aircraft, detailed weapons and avionics systems, and smart AI that can make experts sweat.

Strike Fighters: Project One is set in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Initially, it will only model U.S. fighter aircraft as flyable, including the classic F-4 Phantom, F-100 Super Sabre, F-104 Starfighter, and A-4 Skyhawk. However, its open architecture allows ease of modeling, and several new aircraft are in the works from third parties already! I recently got to fly an alpha build.

European Air War  features 11 different types of flyable aircraft, differing versions of these aircraft bringing the total number of flyable aircraft up to 20. These cover most of the war period, for instance you can fly a Mk1a Spitfire, a MkIX or a MkXIV. The choice of aircraft is fairly uninspired for the most part with all the usual suspects being represented.