NewsForge: Linux World: Flight Gear takes off; open source challenger to MS Flight Simulator

"It's hard to describe Flight Gear without gushing: Once you've seen the program in action, it's hard to understand why Microsoft's Flight Simulator program gets any sort of consumer consideration at all. Based on scenery alone, Flight Gear is almost photo-realistic in comparison to the Microsoft offering."

"There wasn't much concern about directly competing with Microsoft, understandable considering a more serious goal involved with Flight Gear: FAA certification. "There are very few FAA certified programs, and (Flight Simulator) isn't one of them," says Perry."

"It is understandable why almost everyone, including Microsoft, has avoided the government's certification process. Getting the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration is a long and winding three-part ordeal involving the production of full and technically complete documentation, realistic functions of flight controls, and constant program updating that will factor in the latest hardware and regulatory changes."

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Related Stories:

• FlightGear 0.7.2 flight simulator(Mar 01, 2000)
• ComputerWorld: Linux Takes Flight on Northwest Simulators(May 24, 1999)
• AVSIM Online: An Interview with Flight Gear's Curtis Olson(Feb 24, 1999)
• Flight Gear Flight Simulator: Free, Open Source flight simulator.(Oct 30, 1998)