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Indie flight demos available from October 19th through October 26th, 2026 Steam Next Fest October 2026 is live and there are new indie flight games to try out! This year there is a somewhat higher amount of them available than we normally see. As always, we suggest following the Flight genre tag to see all of them. Here is a list of some flight games that have especially piqued our interest in this Next Fest: Strato Alto Steam - Bluesky - YouTube Strato Alto - high flying arcade rogue-lite with classic round survival and permadeath campaign modes. Take off with a variety of aircraft, weaponry, special abilities, to zap, blast and smash your way to victory! Upgrade, repair, and outfit your aircraft to master the stratosphere in Strato Alto! Dancing Wings Steam - X.com - Bluesky - YouTube Team aerobatics flight simulator - do it solo. Fly, save the replay, fly in overlay mode, save the new replay, and repeat it up to six aircrafts. Realistic aerodynamics and landscape. Step-by-step training. Share your replay online. ASTRIDER Steam - X.com - Kickstarter - Website Arcade air combat set in an alt-history Cold War gone hot in 1967, in a world where the strangest conspiracy theories turned out real. Fly three twelve-mission campaigns, one per faction, against targets on land, at sea, and in the air, with fully-voiced visual-novel scenes between sorties. Wildfire Command '98 Steam - YouTube The year is 1998 and you're the Air Attack Supervisor. Read the wind, the slope and the fuel, then draw the lines your tankers and helicopters will fly. Ten authored fires, endless generated incidents, two-player co-op, and a shareable replay of every run. Iron Void: Silent Space Steam - PlayStation Store A lone fighter against the silent void. Weave through bullet-hell barrages across 60 hand-built missions, manage your heat, lock your missiles, and tear down 5 distinct bosses. Earn ships, upgrade your hunter, and master every star. Sunday Fighter Pilot Steam - Website Take the scenic route or blow stuff up. Fly warbirds and jets across a colorful open world, discover airfields and unlock new aircraft. Enjoy relaxed exploration in Casual flying, or unleash guns and rockets to destroy ground targets and capture territory. Fox Two Protocol Steam - Website Hit the afterburners in modern fighter combat. Fly the campaign, duel in PvP, race through Time Attack or take on an endless mission. Build your own mix of upgrades and equipment, then find a reason for one more sortie. The Hollowing Steam - Bluesky - X.com You’ve taken a maintenance job, flying between the inter-settlement comms towers in the megastructure. Land, fix, on to the next job. What could go wrong? The Hollowing is a narrative first-person horror flight sim from the creator of Lorn's Lure. DATUM: Rescue One Steam - YouTube A single-player helicopter search and rescue game. Fly through storms and darkness, locate survivors with FLIR, confirm with your searchlight, and bring them home. No weapons. Only the sea, the night, and time. Aerosurge Steam Perform daring aerial stunts, destroy your enemies and weave through hazardous environments to complete your missions before the time runs out! Upgrade your weapons and abilities between objectives, before taking out enemies across a variety of landscapes and planets

Riding the hype of Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve? Here are indie game suggestions to capitalize on your heightened interest To state it simply: Ace Combat 8 is so absolutely GOATED it sold over 1 million copies within the first month it came out. Between the extensive international promotional campaign and the quality of the game itself, it has seemingly reached entirely new demographics. All over social media and video streaming sites there are players who have either never played a game like this before or have limited previous experience that are wholeheartedly jumping into this genre of games. As mentioned in my last piece about Aggressors Fantasy Air Combat, the launch month of Ace Combat 8 is the perfect time to highlight other in development and slightly older indie flight games that someone who enjoys Ace Combat 8 would also be interested in. Some of these are unofficially coined as "Ace Likes", games designed in the similar vein to the Ace Combat Series or that specific flavor of flight shooter genre. Others are slightly different, but we still think they would appeal to the same type of person. Let's check them out! Play Today The following games have demos or early access releases you can try today to get in on the action as soon as possible. Nova Squadron by Clara Gale Video: Trailer for alpha demo 0.4.0. Links: Steam - Bluesky - X.com Nova Squadron by Clara Gale is a PC only still in development high speed flight shooter roguelite set in the clouds and hovering cities of Jupiter during a sci-fi war. This game was designed for gamepads, but can be played with keyboard and mouse as well. Since January 2023 it has a publicly accessible demo that gets updated over time. It is one of a few upcoming games that has a consistent demo available. In December 2026 update 0.5.0 "The Ice Cream Update" will greatly change the way this game looks and plays. We strongly suggest reading the post about it to keep informed. We have written about this game in the past if you would like to know more about it. Notable Points
Roguelite: Whether you win or lose, your aircraft can receive permanent and temporary upgrades. The more you play the more capable they become.
Wingmates: the four wingmates the player commands can have their aircraft customized at the start of each mission. In upcoming update 0.5.0 they will have dialogue, personalities, pixel character art, private interactions and more.
Strategic Play: choose missions at will to take on. Success or failure will effect other battles that are raging. A victory in a place where the players are can still result in a loss by allied forces elsewhere. Such is the tide of war.
Allied Support: during battles over hovering cities and against flying fleets players can call in support actions like Orbital Laser Bombardments. Nuclear Option by Shockfront Studios Video: Update 0.34 trailer. Links: Linktree Nuclear Option by Shockfront Studios is a deceptively detailed PC only flight game that visually appears like it is a rather arcadey, but beneath it is more like a flight sim lite. It feels great to play with a gamepad or keyboard and mouse, but it is advanced enough to support head tracking, rudder pedals and HOTAS controllers. It feels like an easy to access game that gives full fidelity combat flight simulator style action. This game has been in development for quite some time with it being in early access for three years now. But it has so much content, it makes you wonder what else the developers are trying to fit in here with the game still officially being at 0.34 version update. We have written about it somewhat frequently as well. Notable Points Massive Battles: Its best known for army vs army scale battles between dozens of units at a time. AI units capture bases, run logistics and frequently use nuclear weapons to combat one another. Players are just another unit on the frontline. Though their actions can change the flow of battle.
Detailed Aircraft: the growing list of 13 aircraft represent all types of aircraft you'd expect in a combat sim. Utility helicopter, strategic bomber, VTOL fighters, etc. Each has 30 to 50 detachable parts with flight physics being calculated over every surface. As aircraft take damage or lose weight their flight characteristics change.
Mission Variety: This is not a single player story driven game, but it does have missions specific to each aircraft and base game large scale missions that can be flown solo offline or in PVE / PVPVE with up to 32 people. This game also has Steam Workshop support for a large variety of user made content that often surpasses base game content.
Mindset: We recommend that players treat this game a bit more like it is a combat flight simulator. While combat is quick to get into and the penalty for getting shot down is rather low, this game emulates enough factors (damage model, anti-air threats, scale of maps, electronic warfare, radar guided missiles, etc) that flying a bit more reserved could be beneficial for new players to adjust to this game style. Carrier Wing Ypsilon by Quackpond Games Video: Steam Demo release trailer. Links: Itch.io - Steam This still in development flight game is a story driven single player experience that challenges players to fly multiple futuristic aircraft to save a distant planet from space pirates attempting to invade it. The game was designed with gamepads in mind. There are many familiar features within this game that would make any fan of the flight shooter genre feel right at home quickly. This game mainly sees development blogs posted on its Itch.io page, but its public demo is also available on Steam as of August 8th, 2026. It is currently being showcased as a part of Finnish Games Week 2026. Notable Points Branching Story: as players progress through the story they are presented with options to choose sides and mission paths leading to multiple game endings.
Mercenary Vibes: true to mercenary style operations players will not only be able upgrade their aircraft with multiple parts, new weapons and custom presets, but they will also have to pay for any ammunition expended and damage that needs to be repaired.
Air and Space: missions take place in the atmosphere of alien planets and in deep space. From canyon flying ground attack missions to deep space fleet vs fleet battles.
Dogfighter Delights: there are some minor but important details for experienced dogfighters . When an aircraft is at the right speed for High G maneuvers the wingtips will draw contrails. High G maneuvers can be used freely in space. Standard missiles will have boosted homing guidance if players effectively lead their target before firing. At Skies' Edge by Mackerel Sky Video: Alpha 0.11a demo trailer. Links: Itch.io - Bluesky - X.com A currently in development flight game with an unexpectedly long history behind it. Unlike many of its peers, it is set in a fictional world with an era of technology somewhere between the 1960s and 1980s after a nuclear war changed the world. It is under development by a team that is highly familiar with this genre of games. There are many game design cues that feel familiar with some new innovations that are more impactful than you would expect. Its current alpha demo supports keyboard mouse, gamepads and an experimental HOTAS setting. Since the Alpha 0.11a demo released on March 28th, 2026, there have been new videos released discussing the next big demo update planned for Steam sometime in the future. Development continues at a steady pace. Notable Points Flight Model: while this is firmly an arcade game it is notable for having a unique speed gauge system in its heads up display. The game informs players of the ideal speed ranges for different types of flying. For example, ACM range being the best for turning dogfights. This is a simulator like system that is unexpected in an arcade game.
Aircraft Loadouts: semi-realistic loadouts are used on aircraft. Per aircraft certain weapons are only available in specific positions they were designed to be mounted on. While it is possible to have up to three special weapons on an aircraft finding the right mix of weapons is important.
Multi-Mission System: this game has demonstrated that it can have large scale multi objective missions where completing one phase in a designated area unlocks a new phase. Missions so large that it feels as though there are multiple single player missions happening at the same time. Audio: the music and voice acting in this game have been notable so far. With various passionate new voice actors and a new musical composer to this genre in tow, a full fledged release of this game seems to be shaping up interestingly.
Indies You Can Follow While all the titles below do not have a demos that can be played now, they are also upcoming games that are on track to be well known names within the flight shooter genre that Ace Combat helped define all the way back in 1995: Zakon Steam Website X.com Aggressors F.A.C. Bluesky X.com Supermaneuver Bluesky Steam X.com Project Red Sun Bluesky Steam X.com Delivery Must Complete Bluesky Steam Top Hat Studios X.com Kirk Woodes Bluesky X.com About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza 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]

With the release of Ace Combat 8, and everything that has been happening around the flight sim industry lately, it has proven to be hard to keep track of every project that's been making progress out there. Be it a major release or smaller mods, we wanted to highlight some of the projects that we have personally kept an eye on within the DCS World Modding community. This is in no way a list of everything that has been released or been worked on, but it is a highlight of some of the most impressive projects out there. BAAS DYNAMICS SK.60 v2.0 RELEASED The BAAS Dynamics Sk.60 is a mod that we have already talked about, we even had pre-release access for its 1.0 release back when it first dropped. Since then, a lot has changed and the team has been silently working on what might as well be the biggest update I have seen from a mod developer. They have completely remade the 3D models in their entirety, completely from scratch, to make sure this 2.0 version is up to the modern standards set by official developers, and to their own internal standards. The models are a work of art, and it has sincerely impressed me to see how far they have taken the project. Aside from the art department, the EFM (external flight model) for the aircraft has been completely refactored, and basically redone from scratch as well. This time around, they have taken the feedback from retired and active Sk.60 pilots, and done everything in their power to make sure that the aircraft flies as realistically as possible. I am thoroughly impressed with the work that the guys over at BAAS Dynamics have been doing, and I cannot wait to write a longer piece about it as soon as I have the chance.

You can download the new version by going to their official Discord! VINNTOREZ MODS MIG-23 PROGRESS Ever since Razbam left the DCS scene, hopes of us getting out filthy little hands on a Flogger were shattered into tiny pieces. We all thought that we were never gonna be able to fly it, since the only developer making a MiG-23 had just poofed out of the game. That's when Vinntorez Mods came into the scene, and showcased not only a flyable MiG-23, but a completely standalone one! They had already done some pretty impressive work with their modernized Polish MiG-29 cockpit add-on, as well as the Su-22 mod that they released not that long ago; so their track record is nothing to scoff at. They have managed to break some barriers that I personally thought impossible for a DCS Mod to achieve, such as a fully standalone radar system, integration with both radio and even the new GCI systems of vanilla DCS, and a functional IRST sensor. All of that without access to the SDK, proving that you can actually do a lot more than it was initially thought possible by many. This mod is still a WIP and hasn't been released yet, but we will be keeping a very close eye on it, and maybe even approach them for an interview at some point! You can keep track of its progress in their official Discord server.
DCS AH-1G COBRA DEV UPDATE Another very interesting development that happened recently was the completion and validation of the flight model for the AH-1G Cobra mod! They had real Cobra pilots test the FM to its limits, following performance charts and testing edge cases and now the Team is finally happy with the results that they have achieved. The mod is still a long way away, but this first certification step is key for the completion of this mod. For those that are unaware, for the past couple of years, Violent Nomad and his team have been extremely hard at work making a full-fidelity, fully standalone AH-1G Cobra for DCS. The team has expanded quite a bit since I last spoke with Nomad, but having brought all that talent together is in itself quite an achievement. The tasks remaining for completion mostly consist of systems modeling, weapon implementation and additional tasks that will take some time; but I am sure that this mod will be as impressive as the UH-60L mod I worked on. I wouldn't be surprised if it surpasses it in every way, and I would be proud if it does. There are many other mods and projects worth highlighting in these showcases, such as the Veco Simulations T-38A, The Pucará, etc. We shall do that in our next entry in this series!

Fly safe, fly Skyward! About the Author Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy

Simlite Combat with Animal Eared Pilot Privateers in a Post-Human World As I leisurely play Ace Combat 8 and see overwhelming support on social media and streaming video platforms for the king of the flight shooter genre, I cannot help but feel a level of excitement in my chest for the many "Ace-like" indie games that have been in development for some time now. During this time of hype around Ace Combat, I hope these upcoming titles are getting the attention they deserve as well. Wanting to do my part this month, I am going to make it a point to discuss some of them as general introduction pieces. Aggressors Fantasy Air Combat by Sanikkat has been on my mind a lot lately. Sometimes it is hard to tell, but I am firmly an enjoyer of anime culture. An "otaku" of sorts. It waxes and wanes as my age changes, but alongside my pricey flight simulation gear and military unit patches are detailed models of fictional aircraft and merchandise of fighter pilot protagonists. Imagine the smirk on my face when Aggressors F.A.C. posted a lore drop that included animal eared pilots the same day our Indie Highlight Series interview with the developer was posted. Even more so when this indie game had a booth at VRChat Flight Week 2026 - a virtual reality convention onboard a highly customized aircraft carrier. I was not expecting any of that. While the artistic style of the characters may lead people to draw assumptions, the reality is that Aggressors F.A.C. was not designed to be a 100+ missile toting "Pilot Hero" shooter. In fact, it was inspired by games that were a touch more realistic in certain regards but still available on game consoles that were immensely popular during the "Golden Age" of the flight shooter genre. It is hard to define what a "flight sim lite" is these days, but Aggressors F.A.C. is the type of game where dropping your guard because it is "not a simulator" is exactly the type of thing that gets you shot down frequently. Fans of Nuclear Option and Tiny Combat Arena can probably deeply relate to this. World Setting The world of Aggressors F.A.C. is a future version of Earth where the continents have shifted and Humans are no longer around. Instead, a new breed of "people”, who are derivatives created by human experimentation, continue on with their own lives, cultures and armed conflicts. Players will fly as animal eared private security forces assigned to the Merchant Shipping Company 44th Security Squadron 4th FIeet "Nomads”. But it's not all following slow moving cargo ships and double checking manifests. This "shipping company" offers its pilots and their combat aircraft for any combat mission - so long as the price is right. Despite humanity begin gone the scale and ferocity of international armed conflicts hasn't changed too much. Gameplay First and foremost, how aircraft handle and how combat is portrayed is most important. Visually this game looks like it is one of the greatest flight game hits from the Sega Dreamcast. Something you would keep right next to your copies of Iron Aces, Airforce Delta, StarLancer and Aero Dancing F. However, it is being designed with the experience of someone that is rather familiar with the "Golden Age” of this genre back in the 2000s with all the modern dev techniques and ideas someone from back then wished they had access to. Rather than just recreating something from the past, it is building largely off of features that are expected and requested within the current flight shooter genre market. I'll go into more of that at the bottom of this article. What has been notable for me is the limited number of weapons per aircraft, their effectiveness and the rather short target time to kill. Just a second or two of accurate aircraft cannon fire is enough to destroy an enemy fighter. A handful of unguided rockets can dispatch armored vehicles. Full sized air-to-air missiles are essentially one-shot kills if the missile connects with their target. But with a limited quantity of weapons onboard and only so many places to put them on an aircraft, a very real dilemma appears. Are there more targets available than weapons onboard the player's aircraft? Players need to pay for the weapons used as well. Is it worth trying to wipe out every hostile on the map if the amount of money made isn't worth it? Maybe it's best to complete the primary objective, get the cash and avoid too much extra weapon expenditures or damage to the aircraft. What is the point if you clean out entire missions and you are not profitable in the slightest, right? I like that these are things that need to be considered. It is too early to get into exact details about missions, aircraft cost and the in-game economy. There is not a playable demo yet or a campaign preview. However, we do have an early look into some of that information in an October 25th, 2024 example: Video: 2024 prototype of menus, briefing, aircraft loadouts, etc. New Details About Early Development While our Indie Highlight Series interview did go into more detail, I reached out to developer Sanikkat via direct message again to ask her specifically about the early game development phase. Some interesting facts came out of it: Development started on June 4th, 2022, though the idea itself is older than that.
The defining moment that started formal development came from an argument with a best friend about feelings of being stagnant in life. On an impulse, fueled by heavy emotions, a Unity project was created and coding tutorials began.
The Sanikkat was already familiar with Unity due to being a 3D artist by trade who made character models for VRChat and modded environments for Machinecraft. The dev notes that the initial concept for what would become Aggressors F.A.C. can be traced back to this game to a degree.
After a long period of quiet, but concentrated development, on May 11th, 2023, the first post about Aggressors F.A.C. was made on social media. Only when the developer felt like it was truly possible to see the game all the way through did public posts begin. Points of Interest Here are a few other points that interest me about Aggressors Fantasy Air Combat. Weapon System Officer Development This was mentioned recently in the article "Tomcat Fans Are Eating Good", but in short: two-seater aircraft in this game will have voiced Weapon System Officers. The first video announcing this was posted on July 22nd, 2026. Though development is using a robotic text-to-voice system for now, it is clear that the back seater will be calling out useful information at least half of the time. Not just calling out weapon releases for the sake of being cool. In the examples so far, information includes also the positions of threats, what those threats are doing, danger approaching the player from behind and incoming fire. With more than with more than 200 voice lines planned, it will be interesting to see what other information the back seaters discuss.
Video: Random WIP footage from internal testing. Robust Customization and Controls Customization of user interface, camera position, controller support, extensive control remapping and extended options for accessibility options that could even support gaming devices designed for the physically impaired are being included in Aggressors F.A.C. Speaking on control types, while gamepads and Hands On Throttle and Stick hardware was prioritized first, keyboard and mouse based controls including Novice Controls and Mouse Aim are also available. Hub World Exploration This game has a JRPG style portion where the players move their character through different locations. Like from their bunks into various common areas where other characters and objects can be interacted with before they take on their next mission. While highly unusual for this genre of games, it has a lot of potential for detailed world building and character story on a small scale.
Video: Hub World exploration. VR Headset Support As of September 28th, 2026, basic support for virtual reality headsets has been demonstrated. While the system is still heavily work in progress, it is functional. Even without using touch controllers as a bespoke control scheme, the addition of VR purely as an immersive monitor while still relying on traditional control devices is great. This alone will capture a new, sizeable demographic of VR centric users. Indie Developer Tools In true indie dev spirit, Sanikkat is also developing tools to assist other indie developers with their current and future endeavors. While there are no set timelines for release on these, here is a list of the known tools according to public sources: Cockpit Creation Aide: a standalone program that creates flight instrument panels and even throttle quadrants.
Terrain Tool: a large-scale terrain tool for designing entire levels.
City System: thus far this is the most well documented system from Aggressors F.A.C. While the video linked here shows extreme tests for what the system can produce, the video below provides a thorough explanation: Video: City System explanation. In the grand scheme of "Ace-likes" that are a buzz recently, Aggressors Fantasy Air Combat by Sanikkat continues to be at the top of my mind anytime I surf through social media. Though there are a few others that are deeper into development demonstrating their concepts. More on those soon. Connect With 'Aggressors Fantasy Air Combat' Aggressors FAC (X Profile, Bluesky Profile) - Developer - Kofi About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza 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]

I first played Ace Combat back in the very early 2000s, and like most people my age, what I played was what is now considered to be the Holy Trinity: AC04, AC5 and ACZ. These games were the ones that, along with a push from my grandmother, cemented a deeply rooted love for the sky and aviation. The yearning for the place where everyone is free, the sky, is something that hasn't left me for even a single second throughout my life. Now, I am 27 years old, and Ace Combat 8 just got released after 7 years have passed since the last entry in the series. When the first inkling of information dropped, I wondered to myself: Will I be able to feel that again, that child-like wonder for a game release? Will my expectations for this game be met, after we've waited for so long? GAMEPLAY This is the aspect that will matter to people the most, especially those returning players that have experienced the franchise in all its shapes and sizes. From the swiftness of AC6's flight model, to the controversial Assault Horizon gameplay loop. Thankfully, I think that Project Aces was able to find a happy medium here, with a couple exceptions. Aircraft, initially, will feel very heavy and cumbersome; the best example being the poor Legacy Hornet with its role as a starter aircraft. I have flown general aviation aircraft that have better roll rate and pitch authority than that poor Bug. This feeling is one that persists with other starter planes, and only starts getting better with mid-tier aircraft like the Super Hornet and its variants. Flying sharply will have you relying on High-G turns constantly, a strategy which will become second nature. Dogfights feel as exciting as ever, and will have you at the edge of your seat, especially against tougher opponents. This feeling is one that has defined the entire franchise, and it's very clear that it is still the very essence of the soul that drives these games. To that end, AC8 accomplishes everything it should to make you feel like an ace. Other aspects of gameplay are also satisfying, but have gone through significant changes when compared to AC7; the most important being the gun. The projectiles now have smaller hitboxes and reward precision, which is a completely different experience when compared to AC7's large hitboxes and high fire rate/low damage mix that made it feel as if you were firing spaghetti at your enemy. The other major changes are your wingmen, which you are able to command in the same way you've been able to since AC5. The main difference this time around is that they actually do stuff! They have even killed aces before I could get to them, and gathered a lot of points during missions.
And last but not least, the part system is back from AC7, meaning that you can customize certain aspects of your aircraft to your liking. Making lower performing aircraft become flyable and competitive, even if just for a bit longer. Genuinely, the gameplay feel of AC8 is awesome, full of depth and rewards skilled marksmanship, good flying and great positioning GRAPHICS To say more than just "It's pretty", I want to go a bit more in-depth into why it looks the way that it does. This entry is the first time that Project Aces has used UE5 as an engine, which means that the team had to learn a lot of aspects of how this engine, and its tools, work and complement each other. The cloud system is now proprietary, instead of using TruSky like they did in AC7; this gave the developers a lot more freedom to make something that not only fit their aesthetic needs, but that they could control 100% of the time to help build levels properly. These clouds are volumetric and really standout from almost every single arcade game out there. It is fantastic to see how they scatter and absorb light, creating dark pockets of dense clouds that are filled with condensed water droplets. There are also lighter, thinner high altitude cirrus clouds, as well as cirrostratus clouds that can be seen in certain missions. As for the aircraft models, all I can say is that they are absolutely fantastic. I couldn't really spot anything wrong with them during my time playing the campaign (17 hours). From the rivets, to the panels and the seams; nothing is out of proportion or mishaped in any of the models. There is something brand new to AC8's aircraft, and that is the weathering system. The more you use an aircraft during the campaign, the more worn it will look. Corrosion will show, soot from firing and oil streaks will start appearing. This, to me, makes these planes feel like actual weapons of war, rather than a perfectly immaculate aircraft that doesn't change during months and months of usage. You can always clean it at any time, but why would you? The special effects are great, explosions are lively and they produce light that bounces off of the environment and light up structures and even your aircraft, if you are close enough. The sound coming from them is great, and so is most of the sound design in the game, with the sole exception of the gun. It is the only sound that made itself known not for being great, but for being a bit lower quality than it was in AC7 or even other entries Breaking the sound barrier has its own sound effect that you will grow accustomed to, it is crisp and makes it feel like you are actually pushing your aircraft to its limits. So does pulling Gs, and even getting on post-stall maneuvers. The aircraft feel alive, and in a great way. One graphical aspect that impressed me was the modular destruction of larger enemy aerial vessels, such as the ones that have been shown in the trailers. The more damage you inflict, the more parts fall off of them, including entire wings! And those parts can collide with other big aircraft or yourself, leading to possible domino effects if a lead aircraft is downed with another one close by. Overall, AC8 is the most graphically intense and beautiful entry in the series, managing to capture the feel of the open sky in a way that no other game in the franchise has done before. ISSUES And just like I have mentioned the good, I will also mention the bad. AC8 has been the most unstable modern title that I have played in a long while. It crashed 11 times for me during the campaign, all of which booted me back to Desktop. For clarification, I am running the game on Windows 10 through Steam, and these are my computer specs: CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X3D GPU: Nvidia 5070Ti 16GB (latest Drivers as of time of writing) RAM: 32GB DDR4 @3600MT/s Storage: 2x 1TB NVME drives (PCIe 3.0 x4), 1x 4TB SATA SSD Monitor: 1080p @75Hz The game was always run with browsers closed, and by itself with no other major applications running in the background. The issues seemed to lie on RAM utilization, and the game runninh out of it. This caused the application to crash time and time again. The crashes were repeatable and they were mostly centered in the hangar scenes, when multiple high-poly models and high-res textures were loaded into memory. Rebooting the graphics drivers almost always solved the issues, but only temporarily. Especially during long play sessions. That being said, I never encountered any slowdowns even with everything set to HIGH settings, and I held a stable 60FPS with no problem. I do know that a couple of the Skyward staff were not as lucky, and ran into slowdowns during high-intensity moments with explosions near the player.
CONCLUSION (SPOILER FREE) This game is a technical marvel of game design, and human-led artistic prowess that deserves all the recognition that it has gotten so far. It masterfully blends everything that made the previous entries great, without rehashing into ideas to the point that they feel derivative. Flying aircraft here feels amazing, and you will feel like what you think a fighter pilot is, someone that dominates the skies and makes the aircraft an extension of themselves. Go play the game. You owe it to yourself to try it, as this game belongs with the best this franchise has to offer, and is the best modern entry point to the franchise. About the Author Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy

VRChat's event for the celebration of flight and all things related has finally come to an end. According to a recent announcement, VRChat Flight Week 2026 ended this Monday September 28th at 1100 AM PST. This period of 14 days has been the biggest and most prolific event that the VRC Aviation community has ever seen.
Official announcements from the Flight Week Team about the future of the organization, its Discord, social media and some behind the scenes information are being posted on the official website. On X.com hashtags #FlightWeek2026 and #FW26 are packed full of pictures and videos from users around the world. There is a great record of things that happened. Pimax: Hub World Tour The highlight and center of the event this year was the Hub World. For large scale events in VRChat, a hub world is like the “convention center” or “exhibitor hall” at the center of the event. The experience was tailored around a convention center theme, featuring booths from all over the VRChat Aviation community, as well as from the larger in-game community as a whole! The Hub itself was themed around an aircraft carrier, with many airframes sprung all around the lower and top deck, as well as ground equipment vehicles and an entire aircraft museum composed of community-built models! To highlight this, Skyward Flight Media decided to take a world tour with our own collaboration-provided Pimax Crystal Super Ultrawide virtual reality headset, to highlight one of the most immersive ways that you can experience the World itself as well as VRChat's Aviation content! Pimax also was an official Flight Week sponsor, and had a sponsored booth placed in the Hub World itself! Events on Deck The hub world featured an event stage, for those artists who wished to host their shows on our carrier, during the two weeks that Flight Week 2026 lasted. Live music while aircraft occasionally flew by in the background was quite the experience. This stage saw several music shows from talented individuals from VRDJs like DJ Wizz and VSinger and musician Starheart VR. Images from Packnmagic2nd, Ribbon-Blue. There was a significant presence from multiple artists related to EMN Records; a virtual music community that collaborates with multiple artists for music live shows in VRChat, original album production, music production support, performer arrangements, etc. From EMN Records alone there were three events featuring Baobab Crossing, Bunny’s Knees, StrollZ and EMN Jam Vol.70 which featured EMN related artists using Yamaha SyncRoom to play live together in VRChat no matter where they were. Images from Mochidukin, RINN, k, Ribbon-Blue, EMN Records. A similar event was also hosted by VRChat aviation community The Black Aces in collaboration with music event group Harmony Hall. A variant of the Flight Week carrier was used to provide a night time airshow performance during a rock concert. Images from Jono. These shows saw relatively popular visits, and were hosted at internationally friendly timezones for the communities that ran them. Here are some of the highlights from those shows, shown from the POV of our attendance to those events as SkywardFM with some extra pictures from social media. Flight Week Staff Shoutouts While Skyward Flight Media as an organization was a media partner for VRChat Flight Week 2026, a few of our core staff members were also brought onto the Flight Week Team to utilize our knowledge of VRChat aviation, its international community and 3D modeling skills. However, not all staff of the Flight Week team was from Skyward. They included members from other established communities, new collaborative creator focused groups and some freelancers that stepped up to volunteer their services. The Hub World was developed fully in-house and without the use of any AI tools. The primary 3D model design team was Sournetic, Cubeboy and Reason2Die4. Supplementary 3D model design also received modeling assistance from several members, such as Stella, ShidoSuzuki and MinionTrooper. 3D models not created by this team were made up of models provided to Flight Week by their creators as a part of community inclusion or they were purchased from sales pages run by their original creators to support the creators directly while further representing them in the hub world. For the Flight Week 2026 Hub World, this is the team that should be lauded with credit for making such a complex venue possible to run even on a standalone VR headset. Hub World Staying Open The VRChat Flight Week 2026 Staff has decided to keep the world hub up and available to be visited, even after the event is over. There will be some slight changes, but the intention is for this place to stay up for those who would like to revisit it at some point. Either for nostalgia's sake or just to reminisce about it years down the line. So, it will never be too late to experience it. Make sure you give it a look, even when the event is over!

"Lies, conspiracies, and gossip. They make up the dense fog that obscures what's really going down in this war." In this post-truth world of influencers, algorithms and doomscrolling, what could be a better introduction line? Have you ever read a history book and wondered, how did people react to this news back then?

For those watching these events from the outside - for the New Yorker opening up a newspaper in 1914 and seeing German troops crossing into France - what did they feel? Is there a feeling to having witnessed history? Something that told them the world had just changed before their eyes?

Of course, this is an extremely subjective question. Feelings vary from person to person; some may have remained blissfully unaware of the sheer scale of the tragedy the paper and ink were trying to warn them thereof; some may not have cared. There is no definitive answer. But I did get an answer. The sole An-225 destroyed following the Battle of Hostomel Airport. Image from Wikimedia Commons. The events of February 24th, 2022 are permanently etched into my memory. It was around midnight over here when the instant information machine of our contemporary world carried news of just such an unfolding tragedy an ocean and two seas away. I remember that sinking feeling distinctively. The world as we'd known for the past 20 years had been irreversibly changed, and millions of people would suffer as a result. Though far removed from any danger, I couldn't sleep that night. I can only imagine what those living in Europe must've felt. I cannot imagine what Ukrainians, whose homeland had just been turned into the stage of a full-scale land war in Europe overnight, must have gone through.

If you're a military aviation enthusiast - and let's face it, if you're reading this you probably are - then you must've felt quite sorry for the Ukrainian Air Force during those days. Facing a numerically and technologically superior foe, its pilots had been put in a hopeless situation, and their aircraft would certainly have been priority targets on the ground. With Desert Storm as the closest example in my mind, I must admit I didn't expect the PS ZSU to achieve much. The very next day proved me dead wrong. Seeing footage of Ukrainian Fulcrums circling over Kyiv was surreal; faced with overwhelming odds, their pilots showcased incredible resolve and bravery. And, almost as soon as these videos appeared, the rumors started. The "Ghost of Kyiv". A legend originating in the amorphous gears of the social media machine, for all we knew at the time it could've been started by a random internet denizen who had played too much Ace Combat. But whatever the cause of the initial spark, it spread like wildfire; within days, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense itself was echoing the legend, feeding social media with photos of the supposed ace and confirming their exploits. The photo initially claimed to be of the "Ghost of Kyiv". The pilot actually portrayed in the photo was later revealed to be Maj. Andrii "Juice" Pilshchykov, who according to one source may have been involved in creating the story. Pilshchykov passed away in August 2023, as a result of a mid-air collision during air combat training. Of course, a legend is all it ever was. The notion of an ace pilot in today's air combat arena is preposterous, let alone one who's fighting for the completely outmatched side.

I remember feeling a blend of anger and sadness at the existence of this legend; at the time, I felt as if it diminished the actual valor and courage Ukrainian pilots were putting on display. Why did they need to have five kills in order to be recognized? In the situation they were in, surviving was already more than impressive; choosing to take off and face none other than the mighty VKS in combat was already heroic. Managing to score just one air-to-air victory would have been nothing short of legendary. But in desperate times, people need hope. For better or worse, we live in a world which is completely permeated by social media; in the midst of the chaos, confusion and suffering, the people of Ukraine needed a symbol to rally around, something to cheer on; they needed a hero. And, in a world in which appearances matter more than ever, Ukraine needed something to show the world its resolve. And so over time, I began to respect the concept as a propaganda piece. It had managed to bring worldwide attention to the Ukrainian Air Force's incredible feat of survival, and in a way, it was the perfect symbol for their pilots: something which by all accounts should have been dead, and yet, it persists. The "Ghost" defending Kyiv was the PS ZSU itself. A pair of Ukrainian MiG-29s taking off, 2026. Notice the colorfully painted leading edge flaps and horizontal stabilizers - the real-world necessity for visual identification has strangely made wartime aircraft paint schemes look more like the flashy fighter jets from Ace Combat. Image from Wikimedia Commons On late April 2022, in an effort to counter rumors the famed ace had been killed, the Ukrainian Air Force dropped the curtain on the story, admitting its status as a "superhero-legend"; it cannot be killed, for it symbolizes their pilots as a collective. Thanks to a 2024 Kyiv Post article, we now know the rumor had been crafted and spread by the Ukrainian military itself. Fabricated heroes and amplified stories in times of war are, of course, nothing new. Perhaps one of the reasons I'd felt so shocked and uncomfortable at the Ghost of Kyiv is precisely because I'd seen it coming - well, kind of.

Allow me to elaborate. Many years ago, when I was in high school, I went through a phase many readers will be familiar with, and which those more creatively inclined might perhaps even relate to: I wanted to write my own Ace Combat-inspired story. 16-year-old me would have been offended at it being called a fanfiction, but really, looking back at it that would be an apt description. Didn't write the book, but I did draw the cover! The thing is, I've always been a massive nerd for the history of air combat, so I wanted to write something a bit more grounded - and the 21st century is no place for an ace. It doesn't take an aerospace engineering degree to realize that there can be no Manfred von Richtofen or Erich Hartmann with hundreds of kills in a world in which most air forces count their aircraft inventories in the dozens, as opposed to the hundreds and thousands of yesteryear; a world where high-end sensors, datalink and BVR missiles are the norm is no place for the daring dogfights of a Pierre Clostermann or Georges Guynemer. So how could one justify having a cast of "star" pilots when such a pilot cannot possibly exist? And how could there be flashy colorful paint schemes in the era of Air Superiority Grey?
Easy. Have it be a lie.

The government wants their René Fonck, their Francesco Barraca, their Lydia Litvyak to plaster on TV and social media; so it'll make their own aces. The 27th Joint Tactical Fighter Squadron "Arrowheads" would have bright tail art painted on their F-5s and JAS-39s, and receive credit for major allied victories - despite, in fact, being just another cog in the machine. A manufactured symbol of hope to get recorded on people's phones as they flew overhead. Behold, ancient art of questionable quality from when the author had first decided to pick up drawing as a hobby.
Ironically, I did not expect to ever see anything close to that actually happen; nor could I have foreseen that bright, flashy paint schemes would make a genuine comeback as they did in Ukraine, with aircraft painted in bright blue and yellow colors for 100% practical visual identification purposes.

I loved bittersweet stories such as Area 88 which dealt with the internal conflicts and grief of their characters; my plan was to follow these characters along as they struggled with their undue fame while so many others sacrificed in anonymity; while others took even more risks for their sake, since losing one of the bright propaganda planes would've been a PR disaster. Of course, to actually write such a thing was beyond my dedication and skill at the time, and the few pages I ever actually wrote down were complete garbage. This loose concept of a story ended up being mostly fuel for what turned out to be my preferred creative outlet, drawing, until I moved on to other themes shortly after enrolling in college. I do not mention this to claim authorship over this concept, forecasting skills, or even originality; I'm sure many others had similar ideas while watching the relentless advance of social media and, after all, I never did write the bloody thing. No, I mention this solely so the reader may imagine the size of the smile on this author's face when Bandai Namco announced Ace Combat 8 on December 2025. From the very first announcement trailer, the main element of the story is clearly laid out in front of us: You, the player-ace, are a lie, "a mass illusion fabricated by the rumor mill of social media". Your title, the Wings of Theve, is inherited from a fellow pilot who had been previously chosen for this role and, after his passing, it's up to you to keep that legend alive. "From now on, you'll be the greatest ace pilot this war will ever know." YES! I exclaimed at the screen. In a way, I felt vindicated; through a totally different path, taking inspiration from events which had since taken place in the real world, a team of professional storytellers had arrived at the same general idea. Most importantly though, it is such a cool concept! I was extraordinarily happy to see a story like this actually being written - in one of my favorite game franchises no less - and it couldn't have arrived at a more appropriate time.
Throughout the multiple releases of the Ace Combat franchise, its creators at Project Aces have shown time and time again to be incredibly in tune with the Zeitgeist - the events and themes of the world which shape our collective experience. It is perhaps no coincidence that "Theve" rhymes with "Kyiv". A desperate situation - the FCU stands hopelessly outmatched. And what could be a better description of our Zeitgeist than "the rumor mill of social media"? Algorithms. Misinformation. AI slop. It's increasingly hard to tell if something's true or not: misinformation and deliberate disinformation travel quicker and further than ever; Content which is provocative or sensational gets put on the spotlight by engagement-maximizing logic; and misleading content is downright effortless to create.
In a world where scrolling feeds keep people glued to their phones, every person - you and me included - finds themselves thrown into the middle of a battlefield. Public perception is a valuable asset (which means your perception is likewise an asset), information is the weapon used to fight for its control, and if you're so overloaded by useless or misleading information that you cannot tell lies from the truth, the lies win. Some of the game's cutscenes are shown to use a vertical framing format, as seen on smartphone videos - perhaps too much in tune with our world. Ace Combat 8 seems poised to tackle this very 2020's theme in its story, along with such others as resource disputes brought about by desertification; this is one of the stated reasons for the Republic of Sotoa, the game's antagonist, having initiated the war. Sotoa itself is such an interesting concept; in keeping with Strangereal's traditions, it is not an equivalent to any particular real-world country, rather being a mix of different cultures and themes. What makes it special is that these influences, for once, are not overwhelmingly western. Sotoan officers, the game's antagonists. Most countries in Strangereal overwhelmingly feature European and American influence, sometimes with a bit of Japan sprinkled in (looking at you, Osean Air Self-Defense Force). This is not a bad thing; after all, most of the game's influences and a huge portion of its audience are indeed western. Ace Combat X tried something different with a decidedly South American inspiration (depending on your view that might also count as western), while AC5 had Yuktobania which is basically the Soviet Union, though the extent to which they were different from Osea doesn't go much further than an accent. Bottom line is, almost every conflict in Ace Combat happens between countries which are culturally very similar. The Republic of Sotoa, on the other hand, is a completely radical deviation from Ace Combat's comfort zone. It's got some Mongolian steppe, Genghis Khan vibes going on with its nomadic, horseback warrior traditions; and it also seems to have some Slavic and Arab influences thrown in for good measure. It is such a different concept, and no doubt there will be major a major cultural clash with the Usean continent's FCU, a decidedly western-culture nation with a history linked to Ace Combat 04's ISAF. It will be interesting to see how this contrast is tackled in the story; though certain scenes from the live-action miniseries have stirred controversy, let us remember that Ace Combat has had its fair share of downright evil characters, but also a history of ultimately portraying antagonist nations in a very human, empathetic fashion. Take the overused and over-meme'd nation of Belka, for instance. Even though Belka's government and "grey men" elite are objectively the bad guys (perhaps to a cartoonish extent), and though it spawned such irredeemable characters as Allen C. Hamilton, one cannot help but feel empathy and even appreciation towards most Belkan characters shown in Zero's interview cutscenes. Two Belkans: A professional backstabber, and a guy who just wants to retire and go raise some cows or something. And man, the music! Keiki Kobayashi is back again, and the man is delivering. Everflow is a banger in my book, and in the latest story trailer there's the implication that the Sotoan aces might ride into battle chanting the vocal intro to their own theme song? Hello? Seems like Bandai Namco just gave free creative reign to the sound team, and am I excited to see what they've come up with! Speaking of Everflow's release and the trailers, Ace Combat 8's marketing campaign has been showing the industry how it's done. Unlike 7, which tried to build up hype years in advance and led to many players being frustrated, AC 8 got dropped basically out of nowhere with less than a year to the launch date, and since then we've been getting very consistent communication which has been really picking up the pace on the final leg to release.

From the trailers and music to the clear communication regarding multiplayer and the little short-form videos with nugget explaining little tidbits about the story, it's been a very well-handled campaign, giving players enough content to be excited without being overwhelming. It is also good to see they've apparently truly tried to hear what players wanted: For years the Ace Combat fandom has been yearning for the multiplayer experience provided by Infinity, and this seems to be exactly what AC 8 is trying to do. Bandai Namco has managed to make me genuinely excited for a game for the first time in a good while, and this is a feeling which seems to be largely shared by our team at Skyward. And going back full circle, this shows how in tune Project Aces is with the main theme of its story: If they want to talk about social media and how it influences people, they've surely shown to be good at handling that subject matter! So, as the release date approaches, what can we expect of Ace Combat 8? Well, here's my take: where AC 7 was a return to form for Ace Combat on gameplay, AC 8 is poised to be a return to form on story. Typhoons and a Flanker from the antagonist "Shadows". What do I mean by this? Bandai Namco has clearly shown us they're going to have different and quirky things such as new interactive mechanics for the cutscenes, and potentially a Johnny Silverhand-esque voice in your head in the form of Jan "Rex" Cope, taking the whole Ghost of Kyiv inspiration perhaps too literally. This is fine; it's okay to experiment with different concepts on how you tell a story. What I mean here is the story being told itself.
Cmdr. Jan "Rex" Cope, manufactured hero, gambling addict, aerobatic pilot extraordinaire and... the voice in the player's head, apparently? Ace Combat has always had a human, emotional aspect to it: from Ace Combat 04 telling you the story from the perspective of a little boy caught in the tragedy of war who is essentially adopted by your "rival" enemy ace, to Ace Combat Zero having you watch Pixy navigate through his emotions and beliefs over the course of the war.
And in order to tell such a human story, you need memorable characters. This is what so many Ace Combat clones got wrong - HAWX has the cool planes and arcade gameplay, but its characters are utterly bland and supremely forgettable. In much the same way Gundam is a show about giant robots which is actually about the pilots of said robots, from a story perspective Ace Combat is a game about aces. The cool jets are simply the tools through which the player interacts with these characters. What HAWX thought people wanted, versus what the people actually yearn for. Say what you will about the quirky pink-haired girl - In the little bits we've seen of AC 8's characters, they've already shown more personality than AC 7's roster did for that whole game. I never really felt any attachment to any of 7's characters; the huge roster felt quite uninspired, and the game never made me care for my squadmates like Zero did with Pixy, or even like AC 04 did with the soldiers at the beach in Operation Bunker Shot. In contrast, AC 8 isn't even out yet and I already want to know more about Baxter, Tasha and Coster. Ace Combat 8's cast show a lot of personality even through the trailers, suggesting the game is heavily story-focused; familiar territory for fans of older games in the series. Let there be no mistake: Ace Combat 7 saved the franchise, no doubt about it. It also had amazing gameplay and introduced many new fans to the series, having become the highest-selling game in the franchise by far. But the story felt like a rush job; and based on what we know about what was going on behind the scenes at the time, with the pressure and limited resources the development team had to deal with, it is easy to understand why. Project Aces made do with what they had and, by all accounts, they did an extraordinary job.

But now that 7's success has firmly solidified the franchise's position within Bandai Namco, AC 8 has the opportunity to become something much bigger. "An ace pilot's victory is just one small foothold..." Fiction is not entirely divorced from reality; the former always mirrors the latter, carrying the author's perception of their own reality into writing. Likewise, the audience interprets fiction through a lens of their own perception. But no lens is perfectly transparent, and as the audience relates to the story, that part which is absorbed and reflected by this lens also affects how they perceive their own reality.
Stories can help us relate to each other, can help us process our own experiences. And in this regard, we need a story that portrays this disorienting whirlwind of social media, this battle for our attention and opinion, this deliberately manufactured confusion, this tension of renewed great power competition and the human tragedy it spawns.
In this writer's humble opinion, if Ace Combat 8's story is done right, if it rises up to the challenge of capturing the gravity of our historical moment, it has the potential to rank as one of the most memorable Ace Combat games ever.
The "Ghosts of Kyiv" of the PS ZSU, presumed hopelessly fated to destruction in 2022, fight on still in 2026 against all odds. Will the "Wings of Theve" of the FCU echo their struggle? How will that story unfold? We're all itching to know, but we're not going to give you a game review just now. Here at Skyward we're all avoiding spoilers like the plague so we can actually enjoy the storytelling once the game comes out.

It could be that within a few days, when Ace Combat 8 releases, I am proven wrong. It could be that the story ends up having some cheap plot twist that just sucks the whole gravitas out of it; it could be that Sotoa is portrayed as a cartoonishly evil antagonist; it could be that it turns out it was Belka's fault all over again. Until then, let us enjoy the hype and savor this feeling of having a truly special game on the horizon.
About the Writer Caio D. "Hueman" Barreto An incurable aviation fanatic since childhood, fascinated by the design and history of practically anything that flies. A long-time fan of flight games, he holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering and pursues his hobbies of drawing, writing and flight simulation on his spare time. See Staff Profile.

A connection of virtual reality DJs from opposite sides of the world highlight a VRChat specific genre of entertainment The meeting of Eastern based MYSTIC and Western based [TEMPO] is one of many international community highlights of VRChat Flight Week 2026. Here in a place where flight is easy to access and aviation experiences are diverse, DJs spin live music with aircraft crossing the sky in ways we imagine them within our mind's eye. With many DJs and flight focused organizations having met one another, we feel like now is the time to describe this uniquely VRChat type of entertainment. Skyward Flight Media writers 'Psyren' and 'Ribbon-Blue' dive into this subject, provide a short history and give their individual thoughts on the two most well known organizations related to this genre of entertainment: MYSTIC and [TEMPO]. MYSTIC founder Ranka Aoi (left) and TEMPO VR founder Utami Hasegawa (right). Written by Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza What Is VRDJ x Flight? Within VRChat there are many types of solo DJs and DJs that belong to specific groups. These organizations host live shows on their own schedules featuring real people setting up their DJ equipment and software for live performances to other VRChat users. Dozens of users gather to enjoy the music, dance and talk to one another. It has a real club feel to it! Certain groups and individuals took this to the next level by incorporating aircraft using the SaccFlight system to provide airshows alongside their live music. Imagine a live musical performance with amazing airshows and/or laser light shows. Now increase that to ten as there is no real world aviation organization to restrict what those shows can be like. While there is not a universally accepted term for this, it can loosely be referred to as VRDJ Flight or VRDJ x Flight. While this specific genre is not extensively documented, our own experience and recent research inspired by contacts we made during Flight Week 2026 has helped provide information from organizations that have incorporated this mix of genres. Here are a few notable examples: MONDAY RELIEF (2020) Though the group went on hiatus in 2026, MONDAY RELIEF was a weekly DJ event held every Monday starting in 2020. Of their custom built DJ worlds, Lounge MR was inspired by international airport departure halls to reflect their organization's uniquely diverse and international community. Created sometime in August 2020, audience members or members of their staff could be given flight permission by the event host to fly a propeller driven acrobatic style aircraft. A requirement of gaining permission was the pilot of the aircraft needed to not use it maliciously, but they had to "add color to the performance". [ Source 1 ] VR Sky Box DJ Festival (2022) One of the earliest documented large scale Flight VRDJ events. The xR with Anything Meet Up (xRAM) group partnered with air demonstration pilots from the BlueHorizons and Virtual Reality Air Force. On November 20th, 2022, the VR Sky Box DJ Festival incorporated realistic airshow flying that both organizations are still known for, but the addition of brightly colored glowing aircraft and particles in the form of shapes trailing behind them. This was a full instance event of 80 people. They are reminiscent of performances seen in 2026. The BlueHorizons demo team hosted a VR Sky Box revival event on February 27th, 2023. [ Source 2 ] Flight Club (2025) "Flight Club" is a publicly accessible world by NecroNeko, a DJ known for being a major part of the Goth DJ scene in VRChat years ago. As many of these types of worlds are only accessible during scheduled events, being able to freely access this one is notable. This world has a surreal setup of a monolithic glass cladded DJ booth attached to a fallen B-17 Flying Fortress, surrounded by eldritch monster portals, mysterious pyramids and many aircraft. It is a good place for any DJ to spin beats and let people explore with aircraft. This open venue was an inspirational space for some DJs in the VRDJ x Flight scene. Written by Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza [TEMPO] Fly Boys LOVE Jungle [TEMPO] VR is the leading organization combining live music and flying aircraft. This American based group does not have a set team of pilots. Instead, their DJs spin pumping electronic beats while the audience is free to jump into high performance aircraft and take to the skies any way they see fit. The leader of this group, Utami Hasegawa, uses the tagline "fly boys LOVE jungle" to describe how their music is made for combat focused pilots to fly their missions with electronic dance music playing in the background. The genres of music commonly associated with their organization are jungle, drum n' bass and Toonamicore is a mixture of their signature sound. Video: the controlled chaos of a Tempo Flight Night event. Across the many publicly accessible worlds that [TEMPO] presents, their experiences range from traditional DJ venue settings to combat inclusive scenarios with a DJ booth at the heart of the action. From player vs player combat between hot shot pilots battling one another to loose team based combat where players fly together to destroy air defenses, sink Destroyers and steal aircraft from Sci-Fi aerial fleets. There is even a combat support aircraft with a DJ booth built into the airframe as though it is one of the many flight systems necessary for combat operations. Their unique concept, consistency and willingness to innovate and collaborate within this space even landed them an extensive interview with VRC DJ Live; a Western based organization that interviews DJs throughout the VRDJ scene to expand knowledge of what happens within it. [TEMPO] not only sells their albums on distribution platforms like Bandcamp, they also sell physical copies of albums and other merchandise at select events. On YouTube long-form mixes of their original music and tracks from other artists are put together to provide engaging but not overwhelming background music for any mission a fighter pilot can fly. On April 9th, 2026, Utami Hasegawa joined Supermaneuver - an upcoming indie flight shooter video game - as the composer of its original soundtrack. For any artist, this is a major step within a career. I have had a great time watching this group and the career of Utami Hasegawa grow over the years. These days there is a good chance that even the backgrounds of my most intense missions on Digital Combat Simulator and VTOL VR are floating on the sound of [TEMPO]. Connect with TEMPO and Utami Hasegawa Cardd.co - Utami Hasegawa Profile (public worlds) Written by Psyren MYSTIC: Not your ordinary VRChat music event During VRChat Flight Week 2026, I had the great opportunity to meet various communities and groups, some due to me being a part of outreach. MYSTIC was one of those groups. MYSTIC DJ & AIR SHOW promotional video. Now, the idea of a DJ playing music while jets fly around was not foreign to me as I had attended many TEMPO events. But my first interaction with MYSTIC was one to truly leave me speechless. Right after the BLUE STARS Airshow on Sunday morning Mako and Yomogi invited us (KOSMOS & Ribbon-Blue) to take a look at their new world. What we thought was just going to be a tour turned into so much more. MYSTIC as a whole committed themselves to VRChat Flight Week 2026. Playing five shows in 14 days, including two shows friendly towards Western audience time zones. They also created a new world that was featured in the Featured Worlds list of Flight Week. Called MYSTIC˸DJ ＆ AirShow Lounge, representing Flight x VRDJ in a significant way. MYSTIC was created by DJ Aoi, a hobbyist DJ who has a love of aviation and music. She explained that MYSTIC has one main motto, to entertain. Breaking it down, it's an audience first thought, but the first audience being the pilots and DJ themselves. Aoi is quoted in saying: “If one is not entertained by their own performance then how is it supposed to be entertaining to the audience.” Such simple wording, but when watching their show it's obvious how much they take it to heart. What I wasn't ready for though was the way MYSTIC operated. MYSTIC not only rotates DJ’s for each event but also their pilots. These pilots come from many different groups within VRChat. BLUE STARS to name one of them. The main staple of MYSTIC that I was told, witnessed, and still stayed baffled about, is that the pilots follow no routine. They do not know the set ahead of time, thus they must adjust to the music with each change of the BPM. Their level of communication and creating maneuvers is next level. The precision to each beat is something I’ve never seen done before in VRChat or anywhere else. This was what left me speechless, this degree of performance. Rethinking of it just brings tears of joy and excitement. Like watching an artist at work, it was beautiful. Yomogi explained to me a lot of the world's features and its ties to Japanese culture. The way MYSTIC showcases its bonds between different communities hangs in the hall of the world on massive banners. The stage of this world was a floating bubble in the sky. It was simple to me at first but it became the exact center of why this world spoke to me. The pilots would focus their maneuvers around this bubble. Each aircraft giving off different particle effects with neon lights of contrails. It was flashy and so eye-catching. I couldn’t not watch the way they fly. Even though parameters for the aircraft were unrealistic, that didn’t take away from anything. Video: MYSTIC pilots during practice. As seen from the air. Now there is also an aircraft carrier for those who would rather have a more grounded viewing experience. When talking to a couple of the pilots they told me each plane is set to their own unique settings. This strays from the standard of having the jets each be uniform. Which from getting to ride backseat and see how they coordinated is something only a few western communities do, but not to this level. Through my VRChat experience I’ve gone to many events that were all great, but MYSTIC is the one that will never leave my number one. It's an event everyone should witness at least once. To watch poetry in motion, the absolute work of art this community works hard to provide. As a special message directly to MYSTIC… GO CRAZY! Connect with MYSTIC FW26 Information - #VRDJ_Mystic - VRChat Group MYSTIC.2260 - VRChat World: MYSTIC:DJ & AirShow Lounge Special Thanks [1] We thank Jono from Dogfight Central for initial information about MONDAY RELIEF. [2] We thank Garman of BlueHorizons for the lead on VR Sky Box DJ Festival.

Taking an early look at the hardware pushing Turtle Beach into its next era of flight simulation Skyward Flight Media begins a long-term review for the upcoming Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight Stick II, Dual Throttle and Universal Mount. These items are set to begin shipping on September 21st, 2026. Skyward Flight Media thanks Turtle Beach for the chance to review these units with no requirements or restrictions placed on our organization. The primary reviewer of these units is Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza, co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. Following our contact with the Turtle Beach team at FlightSimExpo 2026, Skyward proposed a plan for long-term review of these units. As always, the plan is to take this hardware beyond the common set of flight simulators to both test its capabilities and see if the price of these units is justifiable from the point of view of the consumer when compared to how it can be used over the course of many weeks of ownership. We start with unboxing the VelocityOne HOTAS made up of the Flight Stick II and Dual Throttle to give our initial thoughts on design and features before taking to the sky. This unboxing contains diagrams and pictures from a Turtle Beach provided review kit alongside photos of the actual devices in possession of Skyward Flight Media on a green background. Clear Button Labelling Both the Flight Stick II and Dual Throttle have clear labelling on or near every button, slider, rotary and lever. Aesthetically, some may prefer a clean exterior with aircraft flight control terminology printed onto the shell of these devices. To give it more of a "real aircraft" feel. As someone that uses one device to fly many aircraft in many games, simply being able to look down to double check the name of a button without having to search for inputs in a control settings menu is very welcome. While my experience with the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Hangar app using a different device has been good, simply having the text on the hardware is convenient. Hardware Impression: Flight Stick II The Flight Stick II alone has enough functionality to fly a majority of the civilian aircraft you would find in Microsoft Flight Simulator without owning the Dual Throttle. However, once you see what the Dual Throttle offers, it is obvious that the Flight Stick II would be lacking in simulators that have mid to high fidelity military aircraft like Digital Combat Simulator or Falcon BMS. This is not a mark against this device. There are combat oriented flight sticks at or slightly above the price point of the Flight Stick II, but they lack half of this device's throttle, navigational or information display features. Referring to the diagram above, the rapid fire points are: 16-bit Hall-Effect Axes, 8 Axes and 38 programmable buttons. Integrated stick twist for rudder control with lockable option if using rudder pedals. Integrated throttle levers with swappable handles and haptic feedback. While hands on examining the Flight Stick II a majority of the device is made up of a plastic material I could best describe as on par with the Thrustmaster T.Flight series. There is a limited amount of metal within the external part of the design which holds the buttons, screens and sliders user will manipulate daily. For everyday use I do not get the impression that I should be particularly worried about damaging the smaller high use parts like the 4-way Hat switch or POV thumb stick. A few key features jumped out at me. Some that I will especially be focusing on during this review period. Flight Management Display (FMD)
My eyes naturally fall to the Flight Management Display (FMD). The screen at the top of the flight stick itself. It is similar to a Turtle Beach product that was released earlier: the VelocityOne Flight Deck's customizable Heads Up Display. The Flight Stick II FMD placed on top of the Flight Stick II keeps its information within line of sight of the player. The height of the stick keeps the FMD within the bottom half of the player's vision even when it is at desk mount height. Without plugging it into a computer running the VelocityOne Hangar app for extended customization, the Flight Management Display's native capabilities show that it is not on the same level as a multifunction display that shows data from various flight systems. It does however provide fast device specific adjustments for control dead zones and axis tuning without having to pause the simulator or fly the aircraft while managing full screen setting menus. As I am someone that is too familiar with flight control tuning while tens of thousands of feet in the air, I am looking forward to trying this again only using the Flight Stick II. Thumb Wheel The thumb wheel located in the button cluster at the top of the flight stick is not only a device to navigate the FMD and select options. It can also act as its own axis or aircraft pitch trim or as a basic weapon selection function. New out of the box it feels stiff, but I wonder how much it will loosen up with frequent use. A firm trim function is important. Thumbwheel labeled S/B21. Integrated Cockpit Dial This is a two part system that is on its face focused on aircraft autopilot. This GA style stacked dual rotary knob system with a push button at its top is pre-labeled for altitude, heading and speed. To the bottom left of the rotaries is a tri-position mode switch that can cycle through nine mappable inputs to layer control inputs both for the Cockpit Dial and the other buttons on the Flight Stick II itself. I enjoy how tactile it is to operate these knobs. They do not spin freely. Each notch in them is rather firm, making turning them a very intentional act. There is no worry about autopilot deviation here. Hardware Impression: Dual Throttle The Dual Throttle feels like a mixture of Turtle Beach refining a design to make it more cost effective while attempting to innovate their concept of throttle controllers further. I like that there are many locations on this throttle that follow standard design philosophies you can find in other brands that make similar throttles. The commonality of locations for Hat switches, scroll wheels, buttons near finger lift areas and physical toggle switches give me a baseline confidence in its design. Looking at the diagram below, the quick observations show more than enough rotaries and Hat switches to manipulate the sensors of something complex like a fourth-generation combat aircraft. At a glance: 10 bit hall effect axes sensing on two independent throttle levers, 7 total axes, 35 action buttons, 3 Hat switches. Physical Detent Cartridges Now this is an interesting feature. When you think of friction related adjustments to flight simulation equipment, it is all about tightening screws or changing metal springs. The Dual Throttle does have a traditional throttle tension dial beneath it and there are optional screws and springs. However, its inclusion of swappable detent cartridges that can be placed by hand in between the throttles without hand tools is eyebrow raising. They easily click in and out with the throttles set to neutral - standing vertically. From the package they come with four plates: Airliner, Combat, Space and a blank insert. Each of the cartridges has physically molded detent notches unique to each of them. Refer to the pictures below for close up detail. Working the throttles with each detent installed, its evident what Turtle Beach is trying to do. I'm curious to see how the combination of physical detent and quick digital tuning will work together. It seems like it could be a more accessible alternative than just relying on the traditional friction knob/screw management systems. With each cartridge being subject to physical object on object friction as well, I can think of a few flight games that require such rapid throttle movements I would prefer to use the blank insert with no detents at all to extend the life cycle of the other named cartridges. They would be best used for flight simulators that utilize detents more effectively with slower, controlled throttle inputs. Throttle Base Button Box Though the Dual Throttle can be considered a less advanced version of the throttle offered with the premium quality VelocityOne Flight Deck, I'd argue the Dual Throttle it is a better choice for users that play flight simulators in virtual reality. The Flight Deck has an innovative Flight Touch Display which lets players add up to 39 functions in its touch screen display. However, for anyone wearing a VR headset there is no tactile feedback. With your vision being within the VR headset, only pressing your finger in the area of the touchscreen you believe is correct will let you know if you've hit the correct function. The Dual Throttle's three toggle switches, three raised buttons and rotary knob give clear physical indicators of what you are touching. No need to peak beneath the VR headset or guess. These physical inputs cannot match the versatility of the Flight Touch Display, but it brings a different sort of value on its own. Physical toggle switches, buttons, rotary knob and multi-use lever. Multi-Use Lever The lever on the throttle base, to the right of the rotary knob, can be reprogrammed. It is its own axis. While it is tempting to assign it to be a landing gear lever as it comes stock with a lever head that looks exactly like a landing gear handle, this lever does have built in detents. The process of using a landing gear is pretty straight forward. It is either toggled down and locked or stowed up and secured. Occupying this lever with such a binary choice seems like a waste. Instead, using it for something like flaps would be more beneficial. The detents can act as physical indicators of the flap state; one of the detents being a 'combat flaps' setting in a World War 2 warbird, for example. Split Throttle Mechanism Concern Both throttles can be moved independently of one another by pressing the easy to access Release button on the side of the left throttle. This engages or disengages a locking mechanism which relies on a plastic locking cylinder to extend and link to each throttle internally. It is a pretty straightforward system that is easy to use. However, moving the Dual Throttle through as many different configurations as possible, there is a possibility of this mechanism being damaged purely through the end user's own actions. It is possible to extend the locking cylinder while the throttles are separate from one another. This can create a situation where the now unprotected, extended cylinder makes direct contact with the second throttle. In the event a user is firmly changing throttle settings, the exposed cylinder could be damaged. I cannot say this is something that commonly occurs to flag it as a known point of failure, but it is one possible point of end user created damage. Thoughts on Turtle Beach Hardware Philosophy Years ago, when I first heard about Turtle Beach entering the flight simulation hardware market, it took my mind a bit to accept that the "headset manufacturer" was now making flight peripherals. This was until their FlightSimExpo 2021 presentation in which I learned that former Turtle Beach Chairman & CEO Juergen Stark is licensed pilot with instrument rating for the Cirrus SR20 and SR22. In his home he has a FAA certified simulator that professionally replicates aircraft he flies with an operational instrument panel. Juergen Stark hired the core team members of companies like Saitek to develop the VelocityOne series of flight simulation hardware. Shortly after I purchased a Turtle Beach Flight Universal Control System as the first civilian yoke I owned in a very long time. It offered an expanded level of desirable flight sim functions like a trim wheel and reconfigurable throttle quadrants in a relatively compact package. On the other side of things, there were what felt like compromises within the materials used in its construction but its ease of setup and familiar General Aviation yoke pattern were solid points. I became interested in seeing how Turtle Beach would continue the VelocityOne series which seems to focus on providing users with above average flight simulation capability while maintaining a competitive price point with similar devices like the Thrustmaster T.16000 ecosystem, VKB Gladitor NXT or WINCTRL Ursa Minor. I look forward to putting the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight Stick II, Dual Throttle and Universal Mount through the paces in places both expected and unexpected. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza 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]

No, you heard it right. It's not a world where you can fly. You fly the hangout world. The whole thing. To say I was surprised when I saw a certain name in the list of exhibitors for Flight Week 2026 would be an understatement.

Far be it for me to judge a fellow countryman by their username; the reason Bia_Kawaii_BR's appearance in that list took me by surprise is precisely because they're such a big name in the Brazilian VR community, and the creator of an amazing world which had given me great memories - but which was completely unrelated to aviation or the flight community. Allow me to give the reader some context. Cruzeiro Brasil is one of, if not the most popular Brazilian world in VRChat. Having accumulated over six million visits since its launch in 2021, one can hardly catch it at a moment when there's not at least one active public instance. Yo, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Brazil Edition is looking fire! And it is popular for a good reason; it is a love letter to contemporary Brazilian culture, a chaotic and whimsical amalgamation of the places and experiences that define the tupiniquim Zeitgeist of the 2000's to early 2010's.

In this Girls und Panzer-meets-Ronaldinho Soccer fever dream of a floating city on a ship, you will find the town's mandatory football field, town squares with faux Copacabana tiles, LAN Houses, Posto Ipiranga, and the ubiquitous boteco da esquina (lit. "street corner bar") among so many other spaces and activities.

Using a pre-Saccflight vehicle system, you can clumsily drive through its narrow and packed streets in a VW Beetle; or, should you consider yourself worthy of its power, in the legendary Uno com escada - a Fiat Uno with a ladder on top for power line/telecom work, the subject of jest and urban legends alike due to the reckless speeding often associated with the drivers of such company-owned service vehicles.

Earlier this year, we visited that world as a group; the result was pure, unbridled chaos, and a bit of a nostalgia trip for this writer. If you have a Brazilian friend who has a VR headset, I encourage you to visit this world with them and you'll have a good time.

Notice, however, the distinct lack of aircraft, or anything related to the VRC flight community. So, upon first seeing Sky Dream, I initially assumed it would be one of the many non-interactable hangout worlds out there, where players are put on a stationary aircraft as the skybox flies by.
One of the modes selectable in the options menu is indeed a traditional moving skybox, for people who don't want to fly around. Understandable, but boring. And this is where, in hindsight, Cruzeiro Brasil had dropped a hint I had foolishly ignored: one "gimmick" in that world is that the ship you're on is actually travelling up and down the Brazilian coast. As you spend time aboard ship, you can look outside and see the 3D scenery passing by, and track your location on a map. At the time, I didn't think much of it other than it was a cool secondary feature; but it clearly showed the world creator's commitment and creativity. They could've easily made the ship stationary in the middle of the open ocean, but instead chose to create a whole moving 3D scenery simply because they could.

Sky Dream takes this concept to a logical, if quite tall, step above: Give players the ability to actually control the "hangout vehicle", and give them a large world to move this vehicle in, with activities to do and places to find. An unexpected Brazilian "touch" in the flight deck are the M-Yokes for the flight crew. Now, this raises two big issues. The first is floating point error, the longtime nemesis of large maps. As players move far away from the world's origin point, they will begin to experience this classical limitation in the form of flickering and jittering of objects and textures. This is not an issue for the stationary, walkable-distance worlds VRChat was originally built for, but it is a severe hindrance for flight worlds which demand many kilometers of flyable space. The second issue is moving platforms. VRChat's implementation of player characters does not take kindly upon having said avatars simply stand on a moving object, and attempts at synchronizing this movement without unacceptable stuttering is notoriously difficult. Saccflight and most other vehicle systems get around this issue by placing players in a fixed station, but this does not allow the players to move freely inside of the vehicle. Both of these issues have been tackled in various ways by a plethora of world creators, with varying degrees of success; Zhakami's Open World Movement Logic and 5Sori's Black Cats world featuring a walkable Catalina are perhaps the best examples. Dealing with both of these issues at once and delivering an acceptable result is even more difficult; and yet this is exactly what needs to be done for Sky Dream to be functional. Among the decorations in the world is a large assortment of vintage aviation posters. So as we first visit the world, we're greeted by an options menu. Sure, one of the selectable options is to reduce the experience to a moving skybox, just like most similar worlds out there. But that's boring, and this is a flight game website, so if we're talking about it, that means there was also an option to control the aircraft yourself.

Imagine our shock when we try that option out and realize, not only can we can fly the airplane we're in around; we can do so while people are freely moving around the aircraft and having no issues whatsoever! How whimsical is this world, you ask? I present you, a flying aircraft carrier with giant drone propellers for lifters. The controls and UI at the flight deck are have the familiar and unmistakable look of Saccflight; the aircraft likewise handles just like you'd expect of a Saccflight entity. However, as we marvel at the fact we can walk around this thing while it's at a 45 degree bank with zero stutters or desyncs, we know there's got to be something else under the hood. And what's more; next to the captain's seat, like an oversized Electronic Flight Bag, sits this map that shows you all the locations and activities in the world, as well as own ship position - we're in a gigantic map, and it's all ours to explore. As we do so, we never once encounter the infamous "jiggling" caused by floating point error. As we're testing the world out, we're joined by none other than Sacchan, the man behind the Saccflight system and thus effectively responsible for VRChat aviation even existing, at least in its current state. He's likewise suitably impressed by what this world has managed to achieve; however, unlike us, he quickly figures out the "trick" of the underlying mechanism. We are, in fact, in a stationary platform; and everything we see when looking out the window is on a screen. This explains why it's so easy to move around and why there's no floating point error. However, this is far from a simple skybox: Somewhere in the world, there is in fact a large, 3D modelled world, and a Saccflight entity flying around, which is where the camera which feed this screen is located. To put it in another way, it's effectively placing the players inside the VR equivalent of a professional flight simulator, with a massive 360º screen surrounding it. This illusion is remarkably well done; in my Quest 3S, it was hardly noticeable until I took the camera out and zoomed it in, at which point the fact you're looking at a screen becomes clear. Naturally, it has its limitations, especially when objects get too close; but for flying around with "unaided eye", if such a thing exists in VR, it is more than serviceable. When looking at the "outside" with a camera, or when objects get close such as this NPC aircraft in close formation, the illusion becomes clear. Now knowing at least the basics of how this system works, you'd be forgiven for thinking it must be heavily taxing on performance. After all, having a huge, real-time 360º screen surrounding you has to put some strain on the memory and GPU. Surprisingly, perhaps outrageously even, this is not the case at all: The world seems to be very well optimized, and runs buttery smooth even on my current setup, which tends to struggle with heavier worlds in VR. And it manages to do that without sacrificing the quality of the hangout world. Of course, the world outside is fairly low-poly and low-resolution, but the textures and objects inside the player space itself leave nothing to be desired. The centerpiece of this experience is a large six-engine aircraft styled after, or based on, the Antonov An-225 Mriya. The overall external appearance are where the similarities end though; This version has been creatively adapted to suit the needs of a VRC hangout world, including cuts in the fuselage for huge panoramic windows of a size and quantity guaranteed to make any structural engineer cry. This scale model in the guest room lets us see all the crimes which have been committed to this poor airframe. The bright emissive patches are all windows. More importantly though, the aircraft's interior is furnished with pretty much everything you'd expect to find in a major VRC hangout venue, from game tables and video screens to a dance floor on the cargo ramp. And yes, you can open and close the ramp! This allows for a truly unique experience you can't find anywhere else in VRChat as of the time of this writing: Flying a large group of your friends around and entertaining (or terrifying) them with your flying. You can fly formation with NPC aircraft, do time-attack low-level race courses, land on flying aircraft carriers, and even throw the aircraft into a tornado and see what happens. At one point, I applied reverse thrust after landing in one of the flying carriers, dropping us out of that platform "tailcone first" and predictably dropping thousands of feet in a deep stall before managing to recover nearly at ground level, to the cheers of everyone on board. It was positively insane. Into the storm! It also opens up many opportunities for similar worlds to follow; while none of its features are groundbreaking when taken individually, the way it blends them and makes them work seamlessly in unison to "sell" you the illusion of a platform moving in 3D space is what makes it truly innovative and special. We look forward to seeing what new worlds will be made possible by this concept. In other words, if you like VRChat aviation and haven't tried Sky Dream out yet, take a group of friends and go fly them around. It is effectively masquerading as a normal hangout world; under the engine cowling lies one of the most innovative takes on VRC aviation as of late. About the Writer Caio D. "Hueman" Barreto An incurable aviation fanatic since childhood, fascinated by the design and history of practically anything that flies. A long-time fan of flight games, he holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering and pursues his hobbies of drawing, writing and flight simulation on his spare time. See Staff Profile.

Hub World, Featured Worlds List and dozens of other events are live now, but the event opened with events Skyward Flight Media is a media partner for VRChat Flight Week 2026. On September 14th, 2026 at 12:00 PM MST, the hub world for VRChat Flight Week 2026 opened and its list of featured flight worlds were made public. There are also dozens of events happening alongside all of this. Fortunately, there is an event guide to it all. Something that is sorely needed as this is officially VRChat's largest aviation event ever. While the "doors" for VRChat Flight Week 2026 opened on September 14th, if we get technical, things actually started earlier on the 12th in the skies of VRChat itself. It is a group of musical performers, event organizers and pilots from around the planet that kicked things off and are supplementing the event for two weeks straight. Convention Format and Exhibitor Numbers First, lets talk numbers and format. With the event lasting for 14 days it will be a long time before there are solid metrics. World visits, click throughs and such will not be known most likely a bit longer than two weeks. However, we can add some perspective to a few of the big numbers the Flight Week team has posted on their official website. After being announced publicly by official VRChat social media channels on August 10th, 2026, Flight Week 2026 was successful in gaining over 90 exhibitors by the time signups closed on September 7th, 2026. Conventions in VRChat are a somewhat common occurrence. At least for every other community out there it seems. Though in the past six years, there has not been anything like a convention for VRChat aviation since it first took flight in its current iteration in the year 2020. This year there is a hub world (a.k.a. convention space) that mixes the concept of an aircraft carrier museum, a convention space and a live performance space. A section of the top deck of the Aircraft Carrier Hub World. This area is dedicated to the many flight communities and groups while receiving support from other established communities outside of anything flying. There is a lot to be said about the hub world. We will address it in another article. There is... truly a lot. Starting in the Sky Through collaboration and in some cases seemingly pure chance, the VRChat Flight Week 2026 calendar has over 30 events. Some of them include live jazz musical performances with Baobab Crossing, FPV drone races with UDroneWTW, virtual airline experiences with the Virtual Sky Service and notable VRDJ events that combine engaging electronic music and aircraft with [TEMPO] and MYSTIC. However, it is the most traditional form of aircraft based entertainment that kicked off Flight Week: air demo teams. Japan Virtual Guard BLUE STARS On September 12th and 13th, 2026, an air demonstration team that prides itself on realism and precision opened for Flight Week 2026. The BLUE STARS are perhaps one of the most dedicated to realism when it comes to not only their displays, but also their training. In a place where anyone can jump in a jet and fly, their team leader - a real world pilot with over 10 years and over 1000 flight hours with a Japanese government agency - holds their team to realism. Even joining the group requires written exams and an interview process. The dedication to realism truly shows. Video: BLUE STARS opening performance for VRChat Flight Week 2026. (Source: Katu) Pimax Experience: BLUE STARS Skyward Staff member KOSMOS had the opportunity to ride backseat P4 of the BLUE STARS with the Pimax Crystal Super Ultrawide. Watch the stunning maneuvers in full view with the added ground view of Ribbon-Blue. VR Acrobat Team BlueHorizons One of the earliest - if not the first - VRChat demo teams still in operation. Founded in February 2020, they even flew airshows with a rather disorienting flight system that predates the current flight system that made flight popular in VRChat. As a staple of the VRChat air demo community they are highly recognizable. They have even performed shows for large platform events like Virtual Market - the world's largest event in virtual reality. These days BlueHorizons mixes large multi-aircraft formations and a type of whimsical display that could only happen in VRChat. It is rather ethereal at times. They opened Flight Week 2026 on September 14th, 2026, with a MACH CAFE airshow. Video: BlueHorizons MACH CAFE September 14th, 2026 airshow. (Source: Katu) This is the first article of many related to VRChat Flight Week 2026. Follow Skyward Flight Media for more articles while also following VRChat Flight Week 2026 directly in the following places: VRChat Flight Week 2026 Website X.com

Skyward Flight Media prepares for concentrated media coverage of a pivotal VRChat Aviation event starting September 14th, 2026 VRChat Flight Week 2026 has announced that over 50 international exhibitors have applied to their event and have been accepted. This news comes just two days before their application period closes on September 7th, 2026. Skyward Flight Media is a media partner for this event. From September 14th to September 28th, 2026, we will be providing significant coverage about this event both on our website and through our social media channels (Bluesky, X.com). What is this? Why does this matter? Let's talk and watch some current and past videos of the type of things that happen with aircraft and the people that love aviation in VRChat. Post: DERUTA Air Force 5th DAZZLE Base Air Festival Highlights. What is VRChat Aviation? In short, VRChat is a virtual reality focused, desktop and mobile device accessible, massively multiplayer online social platform. People, groups and companies create and share virtual worlds, avatars, and interactive experiences. VRChat users utilize Unity game development software and a free to download VRChat specific software developer kit. VRChat aviation began with the public release of the Sacc's Flight and Vehicles Prefab and flight world Test Pilots on April 17th, 2020. These are the tools to make your own flight worlds and the foremost VRChat flight world demonstrating what is possible on the platform. Since then, over 300 flight worlds have been created with new worlds, aircraft, groups, tournaments, airshows, fly-ins, avatar items, etc., being introduced at a steady pace. Video: VRC Dogfight Central demonstrates the basics to get flying in VRChat. (VRC Dogfight Central) The Importance of VRChat Flight Week 2026 Back in April 2020 no one expected the lure of VRChat aviation to become a known part of VRChat's identity. In 2026 things are very different. Aircraft are mentioned in the game description of VRChat. Events like musical performances and virtual markets include aircraft and airshows somewhat frequently. Organizations and groups host recreational, competitive and spectator focused aviation events weekly in different languages and timezones. VRChat Flight Week 2026 is positioned to do something that has not happened on such a large scale for the international flight community: bringing everyone together. Video: MYSTIC DJ & Air Show presenting live music and aerial performances. (MYSTIC YouTube channel) This is the second annual official platform backed event dedicated to aviation. It is set to gather and celebrate the international flight community, alongside many other types of exhibitors. 3D modelers, airshow teams, well-known companies, social communities, educational groups, flight focused organizations, indie game developers, world creators, musical performances, virtual YouTubers - the diversity of exhibitors is staggering. All of them are going to be represented in a Hub World. These are a centralized place where exhibitors can be seen promoting themselves in ways you would expect from real world conventions. A first for flight communities on this platform but a common and important part of the standard VRChat convention experience. This unified presentation is likely to establish VRChat Flight Week 2026 as a reoccurring annual event across the entire VRChat platform. This is something not every type of community can easily establish and maintain. It is a massive effort that relies on participation and passion between the event staff and exhibitors, along with considerable sponsorships that would make the event viable on VRChat. Video: Project YUZURIHA is an example of fictional aircraft, but realistic operations. (Katu_VRC YouTube) Remembering Flight Week 2025 Last year, VRChat Flight Week 2025 was the first VRChat platform wide event dedicated to flight. It started as an educational program which gained a notable addition shortly before it became a public event. Quoting the Flight Week website: "The core of Flight Week 2025 was Negentropic working with the Australian Government through a State Partnership Program with support of The Boeing Company and a contribution from Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberly. Negentropic created two educational, flight focused worlds with private versions created for use in High Schools across the Commonwealth of Australia." - VRChat Flight Week.com, 2025 Event Page. Because these educational experiences were being created on VRChat, members of Negentropic designing these worlds advocated for the inclusion of over 20 other existing flight worlds. The goal was to have attendees get a well rounded introduction to what aviation on this platform looks like. This resulted in the creation of a dedicated section of the in-game VRChat menu that every user saw anytime they were in game. VRChat Flight Week 2026 will have a similar menu for this year as well. Screenshots of the top half of the Flight Week 2025 menu. Preparing for the next steps As the Skyward Flight Media staff works with VRChat Flight Week staff to learn more about the yet to be announced events and news this month, we gain a complete picture of what is rapidly becoming one of the most - if not the most - important events to happen within VRChat aviation history so far. We look forward to documenting it thoroughly. Video: The Virtual Reality Show host Phia trains with The Black Aces to enter a dogfighting tournament. The most thorough documentation of a flight community and VRChat aviation so far. (Phia) Connect with 'VRChat Flight Week 2026' Discord - VRChat Group VRCFW.3215 - Website - X.com