Dancing Wings: Aerobatic Aspirations
- Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza
- Jul 16
- 4 min read
Eyes on an Aerobatic Rising Star?
There are fewer things more beautiful than watching aircraft fly exactly how we imagine them in our mind's eye. Soaring faster than any bird, looping energetically though the air, seemingly flying at maximum performance everywhere they go. Throughout the world airshows are the easiest way enthusiasts can enjoy aircraft flying like this. Yet there are so few dedicated experiences to this type of aviation in flight simulation.
Dancing Wings - The Aerobatic Simulator by CloveTek is one such aerobatic flight game. Honestly, an aerobatics focused title under development in 2025 is a rarity. I can think of less than 10 similar efforts in the last decade or so. I find myself watching its development with interest.
What is Known
Dancing Wings is still in development with a general release date of April 2026, subject to change as of the time of this writing.
The landscape in the game uses height map data from around Higashi-matsushima in northern Japan. For reference this region includes Matsushima Air Base and Kinkasan Island.
The flight model in game is said to have realistic simulation of drag, gravity, lift and thrust. Notably it advertises itself as 'accessible' with aircraft able to be flown with a gamepad of desired.
With social media accounts showing screenshots of multiple Kawasaki T-4s in Japan Air Self Defense Force Blue Impulse aerobatic demonstration team liveries, it is hard not to take notice. Even in 2025 the T-4 appears in so few flight games, any chance to fly a representation of it is eye catching.
Most importantly, this is built from the ground up as a non-combat flight game. That may seem like an obvious requirement, but this design choice has a lot behind it. There is a reason it is somewhat difficult to just shoehorn an entire aerobatic system into any flight game out there.
Built Different
I find myself watching this project with great interest because this is what I consider a "purpose built" aerobatic game. This is important to point out because more often than not this type of flight is included as an add-on to a larger simulator or is a community driven effort that requires significant effort from dozens of people to maintain. Rarely is it a standalone experience.
Dancing Wings is being designed as a single player experience. It will train players from first take off to first airshow. While this may sound tedious, I have some experience with similar aerobatic games from the past, so I can understand the mindset.
For inexperienced players that do not have a lot of time flying aircraft, they get to learn the basics of flight and gradually lean into more advanced maneuvers. That is a better experience than being new to a certain type of flying then being forced to maintain a perfect Diamond Loop on your second flight. Setting the bar too high, too early is a guaranteed way to have players bounce off of this title before learning it. That is especially important for a non-combat flight game like this.
For experienced players, while they may easily complete the initial training, this process also familiarizes them with the nuances of the game's flight model. As any flight enthusiast knows, there is no such thing as a universal flight model made standard across every game and simulator. This is a good way to prepare for those upcoming tight formations with three or more aircraft where every minor input counts.
While there is currently no information on what a potential single player campaign looks like, it has been confirmed that there is replay save file system. Performances can be uploaded for others to watch or join in as members of the flight to try flying the routine themselves. For now, this is the nearest mention of something multiplayer adjacent.
Spiritual Predecessor
It seems that CloveTek may have been inspired by a long-past flight game series in terms of aesthetics. The Aero Dancing series (1999-2002) developed by CRI / Crave was a staple for flight games on the Sega Dreamcast, then eventually one of many contenders on the Sony PlayStation 2. The first game released in 1999 was a pure airshow experience that officially featured the Blue Impulse demo team. After the first entry all sequels in the series gradually included combat aviation to match the market being set by contemporaries of the series.
Though two decades have passed, Dancing Wings - The Aerobatic Simulator will most likely have similar hurdles to consider being a non-combat title. While I hope the developer does not choose to lean into combat missions, they will need to lean heavily into aerobatic specific gameplay mechanics and scoring related to that.
Thoughts on a Campaign Mode
In my opinion, I do think that something like a campaign mode will be a make-or-break factor for this game long term. That is something even its spiritual predecessors could not figure out.
Air demonstration teams perform dozens of airshows in their home countries and around the world during their tours. If there were a game mode where the player and their team could accumulate score over the course of a tower, they could perhaps move up in leadership positions in their demo team over the course of many seasons or during off season evaluations.
The end goal being to become the flight leader of the team or even change the team's routine to match the player's preference in an effort to improve crowd reception. I feel as though something like that could be a major factor in replay ability. The pursuit of organizing the best air demo routine and working your way up the team's inner ranks.
It is still somewhat early in the development process for Dancing Wings and CloveTek, but thus far reception for an aerobatic flight game seems to be rather positive with media outlets like 4Gamer even writing about it. I am constantly rooting for flight games that dare to operate outside of the well-defined trends set by the Ace Combats and Microsoft Flight Simulators of this genre. I look forward to seeing this project continue.
Connect with 'Dancing Wings - The Aerobatic Simulator'
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
.png)