Who wants a flight simulator that runs on Linux? Well, I do! Yeah, wouldn't it be fun to play it whilst on a long-haul flight across the Pacific or Atlantic? :D We don't need to wait any longer since FlightGear launched its first version last Dec 17. FlightGear is "an open-source, multi-platform, cooperative flight simulator development project. " Its website provides a modest list of features:

• Runs on multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux and MAC.


• Flight Dynamics Models (FDMs) so realistic that they can be used for aerodynamics research and modeling.


• User extensible. Anyone with the right tools can create scenery, objects and aircraft to use with FlightGear.


• Networkable. You can connect to a server and fly with other FlightGear pilots. You can also connect 2 or more computers running FlightGear and use their displays to expand your viewing area... imagine flying with a full, 360 degree view!

What makes this exciting is not the software but the source code. Imagine being able to tweak the code freely - I am sure that the likes of the Air Force would be interested in tweaking it for ground-level cadet training. :)