“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.”