Abandonware DOS title

Flight simulations

The most common kind of vehicle simulation is without doubt flight simulation involving planes or helicopters of any kind. There are two distinct types of flight simulation games: the ones focused on aerial combat (often involving historical scenarios, missions, etc.) and the ones based on civilian flight.

Most popular flight simulation games

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1942: The Pacific Air War

DOS1994protected MicroProse Software
This one’s a flight sim for people who think Top Gun didn’t have enough fuel gauges. 1942: The Pacific Air War puts you in the cockpit of World War II fighter planes, complete with dials, switches, and enough acronyms to confuse a NASA engineer. The dogfights are intense, the strategy is deep, and landing your plane without crashing fee...
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3-D Helicopter Simulator

DOS1987 Sierra On-Line
Released in 1987, this is less of a simulator and more of a fever dream where you pilot a flying box over a grid pretending to be terrain. 3-D Helicopter Simulator was ambitious for its time, with wireframe graphics that suggest a helicopter-shaped object doing helicopter-shaped things. You’ll take off, hover awkwardly, and then promptly cras...
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A-10 Tank Killer

DOS1989 Dynamix
Explosions? Check. Missiles? Check. Graphics that look like someone spilled gray soup on your monitor? Double check. A-10 Tank Killer lets you pilot a flying war machine and rain chaos upon tiny pixel tanks that may or may not be enemy vehicles. Missions include dramatic objectives like "blow stuff up" and "don't crash," which is harder than it sou...
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A320 Airbus

DOS1993 Thalion
Released in 1993 for DOS, A320 Airbus is less “Top Gun” and more “Intro to Aeronautical Bureaucracy.” It’s a flight simulator so realistic, even real pilots needed a manual. You’ll experience the thrill of pre-flight checklists, taxiing, and trying to not crash because you missed a single digit in your descent ra...
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ACE 2

DOS1987 Artronic Limited
In ACE 2 (1987, DOS), you and a buddy can engage in split-screen dogfights so slow they make real air combat look like fast-forwarded ballet. The graphics are simple, but the charm is in the rivalry — few things bond friendships like chasing each other through the skies with barely responsive controls. Not quite “top ace” material...
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Ace of Aces

DOS1987 Artech Studios
Ace of Aces (1987, DOS) is a game where you pilot a WWII plane via a series of still-image panels that suggest action more than deliver it. It’s like a flipbook with ambitions. You’ll toggle views, dodge bullets (sort of), and feel like you’re in a dogfight told by someone who once read about planes. Surprisingly addictive, despit...
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ACE: Air Combat Emulator

DOS1986
This 1986 DOS classic sounds way cooler than it is — ACE: Air Combat Emulator promises combat, but delivers what feels like flying a lawnmower through molasses. Still, for its time, it gave players the thrill of joystick jostling and the joy of watching enemy planes disappear into four jagged pixels. Think of it as the Wright brothers’ ...
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Aces of the Pacific

DOS1992 Dynamix
Aces of the Pacific (1992, DOS) takes to the skies over WWII’s Pacific Theater, where you can dogfight in legendary aircraft and prove your piloting prowess — or spin into the sea with style. The graphics are dated, but the ambition was sky-high. You’ll battle Zeros, manage fuel, and wonder how pilots did any of this without save ...
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Aces Over Europe

DOS1993 Dynamix
Strap into your Spitfire, because Aces Over Europe (1993, DOS) is here to show you that flying over 1940s Europe was as dangerous as it was polygonal. As a follow-up to Aces of the Pacific, this one tightens the mechanics, adds grit, and lets you dive-bomb with dignity. It’s smart, serious, and filled with the kind of moments that make you ye...
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Advanced Tactical Fighter 2

DOS1990 Digital Integration
Strap in and squint at the horizon—Advanced Tactical Fighter 2 wants you to dogfight like it’s the Cold War and your joystick is a weapon of mass confusion. Released in the golden era of chunky graphics and keyboard gymnastics, this is a flight sim that doesn’t hold your hand. It throws you in the cockpit, slaps you on the back, a...
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After Burner

DOS1989 Sega
If you’ve ever wanted to fly a jet fighter at Mach “Oh no, I crashed again,” After Burner is the game for you. This 1989 DOS classic straps you into an F-14 and launches you straight into the danger zone - no training wheels, no brakes, just pure pixelated chaos. The sky is your playground, and missiles are your confetti. It's fas...
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Air Strike USA

DOS1990 Digital Integration
Released in 1990, Air Strike USA is what you'd get if Top Gun had a baby with a Saturday morning cartoon. You pilot a heavily armed jet through side-scrolling skies, shooting down everything that moves and quite a few things that don’t. The plot? America. The gameplay? Explosions. It’s simple, silly, and occasionally seizure-inducing, b...
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Air Traffic Controller

DOS1985 Cascoly Software
Welcome to the most stressful job in the world - rendered in glorious 1985 DOS graphics! Air Traffic Controller lets you experience the thrill of herding aircraft without the luxury of coffee breaks or radar resolution. It’s tense, it's crude, and it's a miracle anyone survived your first session. You’ll learn that "near miss" is just a...
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Air Trax

DOS1983
Ah yes, Air Trax from 1983 - a game where “flight” is more of a philosophical concept. It’s clunky, it's slow, and it looks like it was coded in someone’s garage (because it probably was). But there’s charm in this pixelated mess. You guide your plane through narrow gaps while wondering why gravity has such a personal ...
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Apache Longbow

DOSWindows XP/98/951995protected Digital Integration
Step into the cockpit of the Apache Longbow, a 1995 combat flight simulator where you’ll experience the thrilling sensation of trying to figure out keyboard controls before getting shot down by invisible enemies. It's a serious military sim for serious joystick enthusiasts, or anyone who’s ever yelled, “I am the sky god!” be...
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Apache strike

DOS1989 Activision
Ah, Apache Strike (1989), the game where you're the lone helicopter pilot flying through blocky cities that look like they were made of leftover Lego bricks. Your mission? Blow up bad guys in a first-person view that resembles a screensaver from a lost civilization. The voice acting is so bad it’s good, and the cheesy radar interface is peak ...
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Armour-Geddon

DOS1992 Psygnosis
Armour-Geddon is a hybrid strategy and vehicle combat game released in 1991 for Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS, developed by Psygnosis. It combines elements of tactical resource management with first-person vehicular combat. The game is set in a dystopian future where a nuclear war has devastated the planet. The surviving elite have retreated to ...
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ATAC: The Secret War Against Drugs

DOS1992 Argonaut Games
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B-1 Nuclear Bomber

DOS1981 Avalon Hill
Ever wanted to be responsible for ending the world in fewer than ten keypresses? B-1 Nuclear Bomber (1981) gives you that chance, wrapping global annihilation in glorious monochrome and a user interface that feels like it was designed during a lunch break. You're the pilot of a strategic bomber, flying missions that are less Top Gun and more Cold W...
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B-17 Flying Fortress

DOS1992 MicroProse Software
B-17 Flying Fortress (1992) is the kind of game where you don't just fly the plane—you are the plane. One moment you're the pilot, the next you're the nose gunner swatting Luftwaffe pests like you're at the world’s angriest carnival. There are ten crew positions to manage, and every one of them can go wrong in some exciting, explosive w...
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B-24 Combat Simulator

DOS1987protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Step aside, arcade action—B-24 Combat Simulator (1987) is here to test your patience, eyesight, and possibly your sanity. It’s all about realism, baby. You’ll take off, navigate, bomb targets, and hopefully land, all while squinting at an interface that looks like your uncle’s ham radio setup. The game is so committed to sim...
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Battlehawks 1942

DOS1988 LucasArts
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Blue Max: Aces of the Great War

DOS1990protected Artech Studios
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Chuck Yeager's Air Combat

DOS1991 Electronic Arts
Chuck Yeager's Air Combat is a combat flight simulation video game released in 1991 by Electronic Arts. The game is named after and endorsed by the real-life aviation legend, Chuck Yeager, who was the first pilot to break the sound barrier. In Chuck Yeager's Air Combat players take on the role of a World War II fighter pilot, flying various ai...
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Comanche: Maximum overkill

DOS1992 NovaLogic
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Cougar Force

DOS1990 Coktel Vision
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David Wolf: Secret Agent

DOS1989 Dynamix
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Dawn Patrol

DOS1994 Rowan Software
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Dive Bomber

DOS1989