Three decades of context for the newest game in the series Let's be honest. No one was prepared for the Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve  to debut at The Game Awards 2025. Why? All official sources related to the Project Aces development team and Bandai-Namco Entertainment were rather airtight about information related to the development timeline of Ace Combat 8 or any potential release dates. There were many video game expos that have come and gone since Ace Combat 7 was released in 2019. The most high-profile flight action game series releasing its most important video in seven years at a video game award show was probably in no one’s cards on December 11th, 2025. This is quite the way for the now over 30-year-old Ace Combat series to take its next step. Before we go on, watch the trailer below: It has been two days since the announcement. The fever pitched hype has settled into high level hype, various content creators and media outlets have given their first impressions and even the crew at the Ace Combat Wiki had every molecule of new information added to their database within the same hour the trailer and official websites went public. Skyward Flight Media also had time to scream, settle, think hard and produce an extensive article that combines the thoughts of two of our writers with the backdrop of 30 years of Ace Combat series context to the known facts of Ace Combat 8. Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza and T.J. "Millie" Archer have interests deeply interwoven with the Ace Combat series. From playing the Ace Combat games of the 1990s when they were brand new to founding a forum-based Ace Combat database while they were in High School in 2005. Get a drink, grab your Ace Combat series Spotify playlist and let's get started. First Impression Quality The announcement trailer for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is an example of a hard lesson well learned. While there were light references to Ace Combat 8 via Project Aces staff social media channels and some interviews with gaming news outlets, hard facts about Ace Combat 8 were withheld rather tightly. The world was then given a single video trailer that summarized what people can expect within just one year. Why does this matter? Pilot callsign "Rex" in combat. The announcement trailer of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019) was released at PlayStation Experience 2015 on December 5th, 2015. Though it was all recorded using its in-game engine, it was a cinematic video with questionable quality voice acting and no representation of actual gameplay. Even the story was rather unclear. It very much felt unready to be shown. Something most likely unhelpful with the very real internal company struggle of Ace Combat 7's development behind closed doors. From the public's perspective, the release of Ace Combat 7 was a somewhat rough trail of breadcrumbs to follow in terms of announcements and promotional material . The game was announced in 2015 with a release date set in 2017. It was then delayed to 2018, then delayed again to releasing on January 18th, 2019. T railers showing gameplay and the story of the game appeared did not start appearing until 2017. Ace Combat 8 debuting with a concise trailer that explains the premise of the story, the setting, introduces characters and showed some gameplay with a release date that is at most a year away is a massive improvement compared to the last promotional run. Even if Ace Combat 8 gets delayed to 2027, to the public this seems like it will be very different from arduous experience from 2015 to 2019. A Fabricated Ace for Wartime Hope Say what you will about the development cycles of Project Aces, but they have a decent track record of grabbing onto popular or upcoming real-world concepts, usually of technology, and incorporating them into their titles.  In the announcement trailer for Ace Combat 8, the player starts the story as the Weapon System Officer in an F/A-18F Super Hornet for the greatest ace pilot in the Federation of Central Usea (FCU). This pilot, Jan "Rex" Cope, is known as the Wings of Theve - the name Theve being the capital city of the FCU. Though the invading country, the Republic of Sotoa, has the upper hand in this war. Their lightning-fast attack eventually resulted in most of the FCU occupied by Sotoan forces and what remains of the FCU armed forces scattered. The FCU Navy is so badly damaged, the Wings of Theve and his wingmen operate from an aging aircraft carrier partially acting as a refugee ship. The great hero of the FCU continues to fight on regardless. The existence of the Wings of Theve is so well known, even a squadron of skilled pilots from Sotoa known as The Shadows recognize the red wing logo on the tail of Jan's aircraft, referring to him as "Wings" in combat. However, the unexpected happens. Jan "Rex" Cope is killed during a mission. The player survives the aircraft crashing into the ocean, they are rescued by allied forces, and the death of the top ace pilot is hidden. For the sake of keeping the legend alive, the player takes on the identity of "Rex" and continues combat missions. An unidentified character in a suit discusses how the legendary Wings of Theve is no more than a social media tool - a weapon in modern day cyberwarfare - to fight for the narrative of the war. To project hope and resistance to the world as combat continues. In the real world one such hero existed just a few years ago. The death of Jan "Rex" Cope. Jan "Rex" Cope's flight helmet being given to "the new Rex". On February 24th, 2022, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine sparking the next phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War. A significant portion of the air, land and sea forces of Russia pressed into Ukrainian territory to seize the capital city of Kyiv in just a few days. The Ukrainian government and military chose to stay and wage war against the invading force. Within the first week of the invasion, exploits of a lone Ukrainian Air Force pilot flying an aircraft more than three decades old circulated through social media and eventually world news. This pilot, known as the Ghost of Kyiv, was not only surviving against a technologically and numerically superior military, but had shot down at least six aircraft in air-to-air combat. They would become the first ace pilot of the new millennium. After the successful defense of Kyiv and as the war continued on, it was later revealed that the Ghost of Kyiv did not exist. They were the concept of an instant legend manufactured to raise morale during a time Ukraine's military and civilian population needed it the most. The exploits of the Ghost of Kyiv went far beyond the borders of Ukraine and became one of many things that people used to form an opinion on what was happening within the first phase of that war. To a degree it may have been a part of how the rest of the world viewed the war and the actions of individuals and nations to follow. Having the start of the of Ace Combat 8 taking cues from the most recent combat aviation legend is a highly aware of global events decision by Project Aces. This is a great decision. The Wingmen and Commands When the player takes the persona of the Wings of Theve, they also become the flight leader of the FCU Navy FAS-830 Joker squadron. The player fights on with three wingmen under their command who are only known as Noise, Professor and Tasha for now. There are two important points here. First, the influence of Top Gun: Maverick. Between the hyper focus of various types of F/A-18s in the initial promotional media, the stylized flight helmets with the callsigns of each character prominent and the enemy ace flying a Su-57 Felon performing what seems to be a modified Kvochur Bell (Sotoa calls it a Parthian Shot apparently) it is hard to not notice the impact that Top Gun: Maverick had. Wingman "Professor" flying in formation. This seems to be Project Aces embracing this aviation enthusiast culture cue to further increase the enthusiasm around their latest project. A fair business move to utilize the cultural hype around the largest aviation focused movie that has come out since... well... the first Top Gun movie. Second, in the brief flashes we have of the in-game user interface, there is a tell-tale sign of Wingman Commands returning to the Ace Combat series. As seen in Ace Combat 5 (2004), Ace Combat Zero (2006) and Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007) in varying degrees, Wingman Commands are a quick select menu of actions that players can tell their wingmen to do in game. They can range from telling allies to protect the player from enemy attacks, dispersing the wingmen to find their own targets or even initiate a large-scale combined arms strike. Players press different directions on the gamepad to select these options literally "on the fly". F/A-18 Hornets of FCU Navy FAS-830. A return to Wingman Commands almost a decade later is a rather unexpected move. The question now is just how detailed will it be? Will it be as basic as telling allies to attack or defend the player like in Ace Combat 6 or will it be more detailed like in Ace Combat Zero where the player's ally could even be told to attack specific types of targets. Building camaraderie through combat hits differently when you know that the allies flying alongside you are useful in combat. It is one thing to see your fellow pilots in cutscenes or as far off icons on your heads up display, but it is something entirely different when those allies are at your command and visibly pursuing enemies' players designate. Multi-Platform It is great to see that the Ace Combat series is continuing to release their games on multiple gaming platforms. The announcement trailer for Ace Combat 8 shows that it will be available on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. That may sound like a weird statement, as it is just a given to release a game across as many platforms as possible these days. But for Ace Combat it has not always been like that. Despite Ace Combat’s first game coming out in 1995 it was not until Ace Combat: Assault Horizon in 2011 that they released a game across multiple consoles and on personal computer. Every game before that was a console exclusive in one way or another. Even the games that came out between 2012 - 2018 were also platform locked. It cannot be argued that Ace Combat 7 selling over 7 million units is also largely due to it being distributed on personal computer via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and even the Nintendo Switch. Online Gameplay According to its Steam page, Ace Combat 8 will have online player vs player game modes and online co-op. Something Ace Combat 7 suffered from within a year of launch was decline of activity in online multiplayer. Despite being released in 2019, Ace Combat 7 is not a cross-platform game. The player populations of the four platforms it released on remained separate, quickening online multiplayer stagnation. The multiplayer for Ace Combat 7 consisted of two player vs player game modes: Team Deathmatch and Battle Royal. Each mode has a maximum of eight players fighting over 6 maps with limited options for customizing lobbies. The player base will immediately draw comparisons to Ace Combat Infinity which offered much more variety in every way possible. Yes, that game was designed from the ground up with a different concept in mind, but it had a robust amount of online multiplayer content that kept its online community active for four years. All the way up until the game was shutdown by Bandai-Namco in 2018 despite the online activity being consistent. Legacy F/A-18 Hornets of FCU Navy FAS-830 Joker squadron. Coming from Ace Combat Infinity online multiplayer's player vs player, competitive co-op, scoring based competitions, air races, raid boss style special events and variations of existing game types, the limited offerings of Ace Combat 7 seem jarring. While there is no information to confirm this opinion, Ace Combat 8 having online game mode offerings similar to Ace Combat 7 seems likely. Looking at Project Aces' online multiplayer offerings from 2006 - 2013, what Ace Combat 7 offered is in line with what Project Aces has consistently produced. Ace Combat Infinity is truly the outlier. However, the mention of online co-op on the Steam page for Ace Combat 8 is a major point of interest. Scrolling through social media, forums and Discord servers, it is one of the most discussed topics. Whether it is in the style of Ace Combat Infinity's competitive co-op, Ace Combat 6's limited set of co-op missions or the full four player co-op campaign of Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010), at this point more game modes beyond limited focus PVP will be a net positive. First Person View = Virtual Reality? At the time of announcement, there is no official confirmation that Ace Combat 8 will have virtual reality support. The promotional material for the game highlights first person view in cut scenes being an important part of the experience. In the trailer walking through hallways of a warship, being examined for injuries after a crash, sitting to eat lunch, - it seems like this human level of interaction will be a large part of Ace Combat 8's identity. Example of first-person view scenes. While Ace Combat: Assault Horizon had a few cutscenes where the player saw things from the first-person point of view of the protagonist, it was not something that was consistently used in a way that Ace Combat 8 implies. In 2025, a game heavily relying on a first-person point of view can make people believe that it may be a virtual reality (VR) inclusive game. Also, because of Ace Combat 7's official VR support, it is natural that the question would immediately arise about Ace Combat 8. After the release of Ace Combat 7, Project Aces has stated in many interviews that developing an Ace Combat game for VR would have to be handled a bit differently than their usual process. We also asked about virtual reality support in our  2019 interview  with Ace Combat series brand director Kazutoki Kono. His response was: “It is possible. Despite problems from a business point-of-view. We gained experience in the methods and know-how of how to create an Ace Combat specialized for VR. We’ve said this many times before, but if we were to create an Ace Combat game solely for VR, the storytelling and presentation will be completely different from previous installments. If it’s a product that requires that much effort, there needs to be a correspondingly high demand for it.” With Ace Combat 8 currently touting the importance of first-person point of view and with previous statements about the next Ace Combat game needing to be designed in a specific way to make it feasible, it is hard not to jump the gun and say Ace Combat 8 may be designed for it. For now, let's wait for facts. In the meantime, looking back at the virtual reality campaign for Ace Combat 7, you can see where Project Aces is coming from. Or at least in their implementation of VR at the time. For Ace Combat 7 they essentially developed a second game with its own storyline, a few bespoke weapons that had a helmet mounted display style implementation and an airshow style game mode where players can move around an aircraft carrier and direct aircraft to perform aerobatics on command. All of it standalone - detached from the main game and to this day is a PlayStation VR 1 exclusive.  Soldiers and refugees enjoying an aircraft carrier concert. Right now, there is no mention of Ace Combat 8 having any level of virtual reality support according to official websites or digital distribution website like steam. However, if it will, it would be beneficial for it to at least follow the now standard way flight arcade games incorporate virtual reality. Just let players wear a VR headset to enjoy that experience during missions while all cutscenes or menu interactions appear flat screen in the headset. Other IPs have done this and seen success. Even modders creating tools like UEVR to play all of Ace Combat 7 in VR despite it not being purpose built for it have garnered far more support and positivity than outcry and negativity. If the go-to option is another one-off platform locked VR experience, that may actually be somewhat detrimental. Though, there is another option. An example of that being Star Wars: Squadrons. That space flight game was fully compatible with flat screen and virtual reality headsets, even if the VR experience limited players to standing in the same position as the camera POV in flat screen gameplay while having players use physical controllers instead of touch controllers. Looking at the flight game demographic since 2019, it is clear that people would prefer 80% to 100% of a decent VR experience rather than nothing at all. Three Special Weapons Ace Combat 8 shows combat aircraft carrying multiple weapons. Known as 'Special Weapons' within the series, these are secondary weapons that are used besides the traditional aircraft cannon and Standard Missiles that define this genre of flight action games. There are precision guided bombs, long-range air-to-air missiles, unguided rocket pods, etc. Though each aircraft in the games usually has more than one Special Weapon to choose from in pre-mission selection, players are often only allowed to carry one of them into combat. Though there are minor exceptions to the rule like Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere (1999) and Ace Combat: Joint Assault, that is generally the rule for the series. Ace Combat 8 giving players the option to carry multiple Special Weapons at once is not an innovation, but a response. Arcade flight action games created by indie game developers and/or distributed by indie game publishers have been more prevalent in the genre since roughly the mid-2010s. One of them, Project Wingman, which saw a high level of success after its release in 2020. It even went as far as far as getting onto game consoles, securing a PlayStation VR 2 port of a six-mission campaign. One of Project Wingman's most notable features was the ability for all aircraft to carry multiple special weapons during combat. While Ace Combat 7 maintained its tradition of one special weapon used per aircraft in 2019, it is notable that flight action games that have come out since 2020 or started development around that time include the use of multiple special weapons. Ace Combat 8 now including this function is certainly a response to its fan base that has wanted this ability for literal decades now. Some of the mods created for Ace Combat 7 are aircraft 3D model visual modifications that show fuel tanks and other weapons on the aircraft purely for the visual aesthetic while wishing for the functionality. But the timing of this is also clearly an acknowledgment of the current state of the genre and what its fans expect of it. New Life for Existing Strangereal Lore A key part of the identity of Ace Combat is its original world known as Strangereal. If there is one thing Ace Combat fans have wanted from the series it is to see more of the expansive world it has fostered since the 1990s - or since 2004 depending on how you view certain things about Project Aces' development goals. This original world known officially as Strangereal, is the perfect fictional setting for frequent, that massive, generation defining nation state versus nation state combat a frequent occurrence. Thus far the two fandom shaking references seen in the trailer and mentioned on the official website are the Federation of Central Usea and the Republic of Sotoa. An interesting juxtaposition.  The Strangereal World of Ace Combat. Sotoa is a nation that has only been a name on a map since it first appeared in November 2015. There is nothing known about this country beyond a passing reference or two in official lore books. Project Aces is known for re-treading both story locations, certain antagonists and themes, so having a truly unknown or new country could present new possibilities, fresh concepts and further expansion of the Strangereal world. The screenshots of presumably two Sotoan military officers and the name reference of their nation's version of a Kubilt maneuver is about as much information as the fandom has known about it in the past 30 years. That is truly new, untrodden territory. Unidentified Sotoa military officers. The Federation of Central Usea has been passively involved or mentioned in multiple games and official media since Ace Combat 04 (2001). If we want to get technical and include some retconning, since Ace Combat 1 (1995). Seeing the FCU appear directly and not within the written lore or implied in game presence appeases the idea of new countries being brought forward in the world. But the FCU exists on the Usean continent. From where the Ace Combat series started and where it seems to frequently return to. The tried-and-true setting. Frankly, our feelings on this decision are mixed. In fact, it opens up a discussion on a known part of Project Aces' decision making in regard to Ace Combat's identity. Simmering Sentiments About Re-Treading Setting The clean slate of opportunity brought by new nations being counterweighted by the Usean continent is... a choice. This was a chance to have an Ace Combat entry on a completely different continent with a second new or barely known country. Something far from the long reach the Osean Federation since Ace Combat 5 or the ever-present specter of the deceitful Principality of Belka somehow being the near root cause of everything. At the minimum something away from the Usean continent. We have deep love for the Ace Combat series, but the Usean continent has been the setting for at least six Ace Combat games now; if we are not counting certain non-canon games. Instead of the Federation of Central Usea, the player could have been flying and fighting with a nation much closer to Sotoa on the same continent or even on a completely different side of the planet. The basic facts of the story of Ace Combat 8 as we know it now would not have changed much. Pilots floating in a life raft near the FCU coastline. It would have been a great way to push back against the sentiment of Project Aces re-treading, but with the Ace Combat series finally hitting a massive success with Ace Combat 7 after the tumultuous years that preceded it, going off the familiar path again is most likely something the development team is not interested in at this time. Maintaining focus on the well-known and developed Usea, continent is the cautious choice, but frankly, sometimes, it feels... tired. Maybe it’s how long we’ve sat on Ace Combat 7 and wondered what was next. Maybe there has been so much time to think about where the next chapter could go, hardcore fans have derived just about every new storyline and mission that could happen in extensive detail. So, what first impressions do we get? Overly familiar tropes that we’ve experienced over and over again. Maybe it’s the tired impression of post stall maneuvers from an enemy ace in an aircraft designed by Sukhoi. Maybe it’s yet another ultra-large aircraft that plays a key role in the story. Maybe it's the familiar exaggerated voice lines or the unknown soldier to true hero pipeline. When you think back on the storied history of the Usean continent and the Ace Combat brand's formula as a whole it is hard not to look upon the repeating notes and feel... tired. Is this repetition, this “signature identity” really what the community wants and what the developers want to keep doing? Closing: Riding on the Wind of Hype All of that being said, Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza , T.J. "Millie" Archer and the rest of the Skyward Flight Media crew will be there for Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve on release day. And of course, we will be discussing Ace Combat 8 and previous titles from the series as we always have. Our excitement over this new game is real, it is positive, but it is based in reality and backed with facts. We hope that this extensive article on our thoughts about Ace Combat 8 with the context of three decades of the how the Ace Combat series has played out is a nice entry in the ongoing winds of hype we are all riding within this moment. ...Oh, and if this is all Belka's fault again, we're flipping a table.

MINOR EDITS: 3/30/2024 - ORIGINAL POST: 10/01/2022 I think it is fair to say that the Cold War scene has been on the rise as of late. It is a very interesting development, like we already mentioned in one of our previous articles , seeing as this era is much more driven by old school techniques rather than relying on sensors to do most of the work for you when you enter combat with someone else. This feeling of complete analog combat is what drove me to test Enigma. I have not been the most successful pilot, but I had a couple of interesting sorties. But none of those compare to the feeling that I had when I decided to finally go on a sortie with the Hind. To say that I had fun would be an understatement. I found myself in situations where I had not found myself in before, situations which forced me to use the Hind in ways I just hadn't before. I took off from one of the FOBs and went straight to the frontline with four AT-6s, two R-60s and two rocket pods. In order to carry all of that, I had to reduce my fuel load, which is fine. Recreation external view image, since external views are disabled. The fly from the FOB to the frontline was uneventful, at least for me. Over me, an aerial battle was being fought between a Mirage F1 and a pair of MiG-21s. It was kind of terrifying, because I was just a couple of hundred feet from the furball: hiding at tree top level. I flew as fast as I could, with my R-60s prepped and my left thumb over the countermeasures button. Thankfully, the pair of Fishbeds won, and the Mirage went down in a ball of flames. At this point I had already reached the frontline. Since I had already vectored myself thanks to a friendly recon flight, I went for a quick attack on an enemy FOB with my rockets. I was not the most successful, but you can't ask much from ED's standard damage model. Splash damage feels very much nonexistent, depending on the circumstances. Recreation external view image, since external views are disabled. It was during one of these rocket passes that I saw a small dot in the distance: an aircraft. It was flying at treetop level and going slow, so it had to be another helicopter. Judging by its direction, it had to be an enemy one! I called off my last rocket pass and armed my R-60s. The hunt had begun! THE HUNT I continued closing distance with the enemy helicopter, which I now confirmed to be an enemy Gazelle. I chose to approach it from the side and then proceeded to place myself at its six o-clock. Not only that, but I got tone and the missile flew off my rail. It took it a bit to make contact but, when it did, that Gazelle's tail assembly had a different zip code. Recreation external view image, since external views are disabled. That tail flew off the Gazelle, and it came tumbling down, crashing in a ball of fire. That was the first kill. I had no time to celebrate, though. In the distance, I managed to see what looked to be flares from a recce team. That meant that another helicopter was nearby. I looked in that direction and found another dot, one that belonged to a Huey. I did the same, went in for the kill. That was the second one. Unexpectedly, just a kilometer away, two other Hueys were strafing one of our positions. It was at that moment that I heard a jet engine roaring past me. A Mirage had flown over me. I tried to line up a shot, but by the time I had turned around, it was long gone. With the Mirage gone, I prayed I wasn't in any immediate danger as I vectored towards the Hueys. I was joined by an allied Hind and a Hip, both which seemed to have been operating around the same area as me. The Hueys strafed the Hip, hitting it a couple of times. I rushed in, getting into what was my first helicopter dogfight. The Hueys and I danced around, trying to get a proper shooting position. The Huey hit me a couple of times with the miniguns, but nothing important was hit. At least to my knowledge. Recreation external view image, since external views are disabled. It wasn't until one of the Hueys extended a turn that I whipped myself around, took aim and fired at him with my 30mm. His main rotor shattered, sending him to a painful death. That being said, I never knew what became of that second Huey. Sadly, even after 3 kills, my flight did not end in the best of ways. I landed in the middle of a field close to the Huey's wreck to unload a recon team I had loaded. I let them do their thing, and then I got the prompt to pick them back up. That is when I got overconfident and, while trying to do an expedited descent, entered DCS' exaggerated VRS (Vortex Ring State) and crashed right next to my team. IF YOU LIKE HELOS, GIVE ENIGMA'S A TRY If you find yourself wanting a place to go on helicopter sorties with your friend to have what has got to be an unparalleled Cold War experience with helicopters, Enigma is the place to go. Helicopters play a crucial role in the mission and fit perfectly in it. This is not common in popular servers, which are usually much more focused on the experience that supersonic fixed-wing fighters will have, not the slow rotary-wing aircraft. 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

From Rolling Mountains to Gleaming Beaches "Well, damn." It has been a while since I've had a flight where the only way I can sum it up is a single socially acceptable explicative. But when you absolutely grease a difficult landing, it is hard not to feel a bit impressed with yourself. Gliding, engine off, tires hydroplaning on the ocean surface, cycling flaps to tweak the lift ratio and float over sea debris on the beach. The aircraft coming to a short stop on a picturesque beach... now that is flying. GroundFall by Snow Creature has come a long-long way since 2021. Back then this bush flight focused game relied on survival game mechanics to survive in the mountain wilderness and scrounging fuel and repair kits to keep your aircraft flying. Eating beans around a campfire at dusk was just as vital as repairing the warped wing that bashed against a small tree during landing. The survival game mechanics are now optional for those that prefer a flight focused experience expected from a more traditional flight simulator. As of the last two or three major updates, GroundFall has undergone quite the transformation. The familiar mountains and forests from the base game are here and still being updated, though it is clear that the current focus is on the more tropical style bush flying. Honestly? I love the shift. I think the developer made the right call in making this change. There are bush flight scenarios in various Microsoft Flight Simulator iterations, and some standalone projects mainly focus on bush flying in North American Wilderness or Australian Outback type settings. As GroundFall is now, its new maps give an experience similar to that of landing in the hillside airstrips in places like Indonesia or the Philippines. Despite being smaller landmasses, some of the islands still have the steep hills, valleys and considerable foliage players would expect from the type of bush flying they imagine. You could argue that massive forests in the Alaskan style terrain of the original maps are just as inaccessible as an ocean, but I would counter that by saying: water assisted landings. Water assisted landing. That's right! Even the shortest patch of grass near a shoreline or a sandy beach can become an accessible runway with just enough airspeed and the right flap setting. This is a facet of flying I appreciate deeply. In the new maps players are flying the nimble Kitfox 7. Though this aircraft does not have internal storage capacity like Piper Cub in the original three maps, the Kitfox feels easier to maneuver at dangerously low speeds. Players that take the time to become proficient with extreme low speed flying will find their efforts rewarded with some of the most engaging landings they have had in some time. Speaking of the aircraft, a decent amount has updated on that as well. Trim settings can be adjusted automatically with airspeed and flight stick inputs, as mentioned water assisted landings are possible, the flight model is fine tuned to a point that flying into especially difficult airstrips with the engine off is viable. At times, it feels like that is the best way to approach airstrips that have no clear way to fly out of in the case of a botched approach. On the ground the aircraft can be moved by hand with the new Push Point system. No longer does the aircraft engine need to be on with differential braking used to turn the aircraft around. In scenarios where the aircraft came to a stop in particularly tight places, being able to move the aircraft by hand both prevents potential damage and saves gas. The dynamic airplane damage system certainly makes landing and maneuvering the aircraft as careful as possible a major priority. Click a Push Point on the aircraft to move it a few feet in the specific direction. NPC characters offer objectives that encourage players to explore and pay in cash. Items that would normally be scavenged for can be purchased. The side objectives include turning on radio towers, flying to islands to spend a day fishing and even a few beer runs for the broskis. Of course, there are more than that, but that's an eclectic mix for sure. The new side objectives can be accomplished while fulfilling the standard land at every runway on the map checklist that is the default goal of GroundFall as a whole. To say that my return to GroundFall was refreshing would be an understatement. It seems that every time I interact with this game, I find myself wanting to complete it from start to end over and over again. 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 ]

Hey, howa’ doin? FlyAwayNow here again with a pair of interviews to introduce some of the plane game indie devs to give you some insight into, perhaps, the future of the Genre, or at least into the minds of those making these games. Here today I’ve got developer Kirk Woodes, and developer Zhakami Zhako on the stand, testifying on behalf of their own projects or games: One at the bleeding edge of format, that is the virtual reality, and the other whose game is still so freshly baking it doesn’t even have a name yet! With one steeped in the fidelity and art style of yesterday, and the other very much front and center of the future by way of homage and function, I see no better way to balance this article! Kirk Woodes Website Links: Bluesky  | X.com   Who are you? I'm an amateur game developer working in C with OpenGL. I'm making a 3D dogfighting game with floating islands and a base that the player can explore between missions Why are you making your game and this type of game? It grew out of a top-down 2D dogfighting game that I was making to learn how to program about ten years ago. After dropping game dev for a few years, I got back into it with learning 3D graphics with OpenGL. The floating islands and base segments were ideas I originally had with the 2D game, but those ideas seemed like they would work much better in a 3D game, so I made the switch. How would you describe your particular visual style? PS2-era programmer art. What's your favorite game in this genre or related media? Not a deep cut, but Ace Combat Zero is my favorite. What you want this game to be? I want the game to have a strong emphasis on dogfights against enemies that can use the floating terrain to their advantage. My goal is to have enemy AI that can give the player a challenge and feel like a fair fight. I want the base segments to give the player a better sense of immersion than the menus in a lot of flight games, and give them a way to interact more with characters and the setting in a genre that hasn't usually had ways to do that. I mean we have two big things here I'd just like for you to comment a bit more on: The floating terrain that we see in your social media posts, and then also that idea of on base segments, where does stuff like that come from for you? The floating terrain was originally just an idea for a cool visual, especially in 2D. The more I tried them out in game the more I liked them, especially with how they work with some mechanics that I've experimented with like restricting the player to semi-active missiles that can easily lose their lock if an enemy flies behind an island. I also thought Project Wingman's airships proved my theory that having more stuff in the air that you needed to keep track of was a fun mechanic, and the islands take that idea a little further.  The base segments come from my personal background growing up on base, so I felt like I could capture that feeling while also improving on what I've always thought was a bit of a missed opportunity with Ace Combat's reliance on menus for everything between missions.  So alongside floating islands, any other environmental or level design tricks you have up your sleeve? Not too much, but the islands do support tunnels, so look forward to that. So there's a gradient of simulation that these types of games have. Nuclear Option and War Thunder for example lean on accessible sim realism with physics and damage models, while games like Ace Combat are extremely arcadey in their flight models for the sake of ease of use. Where does your game fall? The physics are a little more realistic than Ace Combat, with some pretty detailed force and torque math, but it still has an arcade feel. I've actually never played War Thunder even once, so I can't speak to that comparison. The damage model is all arcade though. It's just a simple health bar and missiles that deal fixed damage on hits. How about weapon loadout and the theory behind them? Is that more arcade aligned? Weapons are an area where I'm trying to break out of the Ace Combat mold a bit. The semi-active missiles are my attempt at making the player really have to stick to enemies through some harder terrain than with Ace Combat's fire and forget standard missiles, and I like the idea of testing the player's flying skills by requiring them to keep a lock. I haven't decided what other options the player will have for things like attacking ground targets, but I'd like it to fit that same philosophy. So we've seen you talk about a pilot fatigue system, what's that about? The main goal with the fatigue system is to reward being able to maintain pursuit of an enemy rather than getting the lock, launching a fire-and-forget missile, and calling it good. It ties a lot into the semi-active missiles in that way. I think that, ideally, if you can stay on an enemy's tail long enough, you should eventually be rewarded with a near-guaranteed shot. You mentioned base segments, and from what we've seen from your publicly posted WIPs, you're walking around, talking and interacting with characters. How in depth do you want that to go? Vazgriz, and then Sanikku for Project Aggressors, are planning a similar system, and although it will be a long time until we are able to compare them, I have to ask what do you want to accomplish with this mechanically or emotionally more specifically; like will on-base segments affect dogfighting gameplay? I'm keeping my intentions pretty modest. I think there's a lot of cool things you could do, but some simple, optional dialogue and a little bit of exploration is all I'm shooting for. I want something that gives the player a little more investment in their squadron and the conflict. What type of writing and tone can we expect from you? I haven't gotten far with the writing, but I think it'll be lower stakes with a focus on the dissonance between combat and the mundanity back at base. I don't have any writing experience, but it's the part I'm most excited to give a try, and I think that tone is something I can portray well. We've seen a few aircraft in your social media sharings so far, can you speak about what type of planes you intend to include in your game? This one depends a lot on how much air-to-ground combat ends up in the game and whether I continue to try to do all the plane models myself, but one thing I definitely intend on is custom plane modding in some form. I'm already building a lot of my own tools, such as my level editing scripts in Blender, so I plan to have a plane editor that I can hopefully make publicly available. Not having some decent modding tools would feel like squandering one of the big advantages of building my own engine. Want to talk a bit on why you pursued a custom engine? My coding background is in C, so it's just what I'm most comfortable with. I like being able to write my core gameplay logic in C, but learning OpenGL and handwriting shaders has made visual design and experimentation painful. I think it would have been a much smoother process if I had gone into game development with a clearer idea of what I actually wanted the game to look like. One dream feature or thing you'd like to add into your game even if you might not be able to do it? I'd like to limit the player's loadout size to be more realistic, but with the ability to quickly land on bases on the islands and rearm. If I implement takeoff and landing mechanics, I'd want them to be more forgiving than most flight sims, but much more closely integrated into missions. Do you have any idea what you might name this game in the end? It's got a working title, but I want to make sure I have something I'm really happy with before I make anything public. Zhakami Zhako Website Links: X.com  | Project Fairy  | VRChat Who are you? I'm Zhakami Zhako, a programmer with very odd habits. Most people just call me Zhak. I work as a Software Engineer and do Game Development in my spare time. What are you working on? It's a project called "Project Fairy", which primarily is inspired by Sentou Yousei Yukikaze (Battle Fairy Yukikaze). It is a fan project that aims to recreate scenes that is based from the original game, the OVA and the novels as well as fan depictions/interpretation(s) of certain scenes; Hence the name "Fairy", as it takes place on planet Faery which is where most of Yukikaze's story unfolds. It is primarily a story driven ace arcade combat style game; Played in different pilot's POV's, to which it wont be only limited to B-3 (Fukai Rei) but also from various characters as well. My initial plan for it is to create multiple episodes and have each episode be their own build/world. At least for the VRC releases as I am also considering possibly creating a standalone. Released October 26th, 2021, 'Sugar Rush' was the first prototype flight arcade world for Project Fairy. Development has continued far beyond this point. The gameplay concept is straightforward dogfighting against JAM (At least initially) while keeping the core part of SaccFlight's handling (Flight, Movement, AOA, Controls, etc.); Multiple weapons (AAM-5, AAM-3, Gun, etc.), while doing TARP scans on certain episodes/objectives; Whilst keeping the core VR/C intact (VR Controls, Avatar, etc.) Project Fairy, however, isn't exactly only limited to the scope of Yukikaze as I somehow produce it as some sort of a result of various experimentations in Unity and VRChat's SDK; "If it's possible in VRC, then it's possible to do it in Unity." Other than the Yukikaze inspired part, I am also creating experimental worlds in VRChat, emulating a bit of fidelity with the aircrafts and possibly porting them into a standalone build as well. Maybe my own story at some point. Project Fairy WIP Canyon Run ( 2025 ) Are you inspired by anything in particular? Top Gun Combat Zones, Ace Combat (5, Zero, Assault Horizon, 7), HAWX, IL-2 Sturmovik and of course... Sentou Yousei Yukikaze. TG:CZ was my first ace arcade game when I was young; running with a really outdated PC hardware that renders everything transparent. Despite the poor presentation due to the hardware, it opened me to look into the genre; Planes, Arcade-Flight-Sim.  IL-2 Sturmovik opened my eyes further, tackling WWII, Physics and aircraft handling; Despite the fact that it is a sim rather than an ace arcade. HAWX, specifically HAWX 1 may have further inspired me to look into visuals especially during the time when it was released. Ace Combat of course, as it is what everyone is talking about... Ace combat; that pretty much defined a genre. Albeit that, people would probably fry me alive as I say that Assault Horizon was my first Ace Combat game before I was able to play 5, Zero and so forth. Lastly... Sentou Yousei Yukikaze. The concept of being at war at an unknown alien, having various unique aircraft designs, the uncertainty of things... It has been haunting me since I was a kid; And may have been calling for me to make a little something for it. Why are you in this space (VRC) instead of something more independent? It more or less has to do with wanting the project to be accessible for everyone that has VRChat than a standalone build which you need to upload somewhere. The base flight mechanics of the whole system is based on Sacchan's SaccFlight for VRChat, and most users that are familiar with SaccFlight Worlds should be able to adapt almost immediately. The systems that I've used in VRC can be ported to standalone as I am also working on porting the whole system(s) involving SaccFlight and the custom stuff that I have made from scratch. Most flight worlds in VRChat are first person cockpit flights, socializing and hangout worlds that often times have players just end up having mock dogfights, a free for all, a bit of PVE as well as multiple worlds that's involving groups having event sessions (Educational stuff like learn-how-to-fly, how to BVR, How to DFM, General aviation protocols, and special events like airshows.) During the rise of these worlds around 2020-2021 when SaccFlight was initially released, I've decided to experiment and make something that's unique for VRChat. Hence the need of creating an ace-arcade-like gameplay in VRChat. ZhakamiZhako Original Project 2 (2025) How has your experience been in VRC been? It's great so far. I wouldn't have ended up making a flight game if I have not started playing VRChat. I've started playing VRC around early March 2020 during the height of the pandemic. I started learning to socialize with people virtually and basically a month later after meeting a certain HolyKnightAD, Zweikaku and Sacchan... it may have driven me to start creating flight related worlds. What's interesting in VRC is you get to see various worlds from hangouts to scenic views, to socializing, to minigames and then... dogfighting. I've been part of a community in VRChat for aviation enthusiasts, The Black Aces . We hosts events, tournaments and other things in VRChat. I've contributed various systems for various communities as well. Other than that, there's a lot of flight communities in VRChat that hosts events such as how-to-fly, how to BVR, how to BFM/Dogfight, Educational/General Aviation and even airshows. They're mostly my friends as well. ZhakamiZhako Original Project 1 (2025) What are the limitations of trying to make plane-based experiences in VR? The benefits? In general, it's more or less the adoption of the gameplay in VR, especially if you're developing an ace-like gameplay.  If you're making your game in Desktop-first, creating a VR compatible build may prove challenging especially with controls, scenes and among other things Questions like "Does this scene look nice in Desktop?", "Does the VR Build show a much more enhanced scene?", "Are the controls working in VR? How should we have the controls work in VR? Do we use the VR Native controllers? Do we use Virtual flight sticks in VR instead of the joysticks?" The benefits however, would be a complete immersion into the game you are trying to develop; Especially for a story driven ace-like gameplay and when it comes to the narrative being… "You" are the Pilot, you are seeing the point of view of the pilot as you fly in the skies.  "You" are holding the controls literally in VR. "You" are reaching out to press a button.  Mix that with a proper story and gameplay... You can end up asking yourself whether the "World" you've played into is real or was it just a fever dream as you take off your headset... Which is one of my many goals as I develop this game. In VRChat in terms of development, one of the many things that's also challenging is keeping builds the same experience or optimized on one type or another. One example is keeping the Desktop Experience the same as the VR Experience. Another is keeping the PCVR experience the same as the Quest/Android build, considering that there is also the Quest versions in VRChat. It may depend on which userbase you are primarily targeting as well (Quest Users first? VR Users only? Desktop to VR only? etc.) Building a Quest version needs to be debugged whether if certain shaders work in the android build and if it looks okay compared to the PC build; Another that's somewhat holding it back since this is still tied up to VRChat's SDK is primarily its blacklisted components and the adoption of a slow Udon/UdonSharp VM; Code runs slow, Certain assets cannot be used from the Unity Store, and even more.  Albeit these somewhat impact developing Project Fairy, it still gives me the thrill to push its limits while optimizing the whole thing so that it can be played by various VR Users. Project Fairy WIP Footage (2025) Any closing thoughts or things you want to say? Probably a thought that Ace Arcade Genre, nevertheless a flight-sim, sim-cade, arcade... this style of gameplay will always continue to evolve; one game to another. As a developer towards fellow developers, keep doing your thing; keep that vision and keep chasing after that vision. As developer towards the players, I hope you will continue to look forward towards each and every developer that chases their vision. As a developer towards the fanbase and towards any other fanbases, a passion project will always be a passion. A big shoutout to Project Wingman as well, as it is also a huge inspiration (and good god the music). A big thanks to the Jetboys / Black Aces; Wouldn't have gotten this far to the project without their support. Big thanks to SkywardFM, the Japanese Communities, Boris, the people who have helped so far, the people who are following the project and development, the fanbases, and even to you Matt.  I will always be grateful to you all. And please look forward to the project. About the Interviewer Matthew "FlyAwayNow" Nguyen Artwork by alice (@atrousyolks) Producer, writer, incidentally personified online as a rooster. One of the three main developers of Project Wingman and now working across the board on several other combat flight videogames, audioplays, podcasts, and books. Advocate for indie creators, fanfiction, and critical analysis of what you love. [ Bluesky  / Linkedin  / X.com ]

Next Sunday, the first 200 FSA Captains to register will save more than $30 on ‘Entire Event’ tickets. Get your FlightSimExpo tickets early for the best prices! Plus, hotel, airfare, and car rental discounts are available now. FlightSimExpo 2026 tickets go on sale at 12pm CT next Sunday, December 14. An ‘Entire Event’ ticket includes all seminars and workshops, #FSExpoFriday, 3 days of exhibits—including the new Friday Exhibit Hall Preview—and exclusive access to post-event seminar recordings. Starting Sunday, December 14, the first 200 FSA Captains to register will have access to an FSA Captain Special: an ‘Entire Event’ ticket for just $50! If you’re not yet an FSA Captain, subscribe today at flightsimassociation.com . Non-Captains can buy ‘Entire Event’ tickets for $75, with single-day options also available. “We’re proud to share that – in a world where everything seems to be getting more expensive – we’ve been able to reduce ticket prices for FlightSimExpo 2026,” said FSA Co-Founder Phil Coyle. “Last year, an ‘Entire Event’ ticket was $84. This year, it’s $75—and you get 20% more time in the exhibit hall. Alongside hotel rates that are about 25% lower than in 2025, we’ve made the show even more affordable in 2026.” FlightSimExpo 2026 takes place June 12-14, 2026 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, an 8-mile drive from Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) and 20 minutes from the Mall of America®. For more details on all ticket options and pricing, visit flightsimexpo.com/register . Register to Sponsor and Exhibit at FlightSimExpo 2026. FlightSimExpo welcomes software developers, hardware vendors, communities, and other flight simulation organizations to participate as sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers. All exhibit booths include furnishings, internet, electricity, and event passes. Educational speaking opportunities are available at no charge. Details on getting involved are available at flightsimexpo.com/partner . Book your travel now. A detailed schedule and exhibitor updates are coming in 2026. Discounted hotel rooms and airfare deals from Delta, United, Southwest, and codeshare partners are available now. Make your plans early to take advantage of rates as low as $149/night plus tax. Details: flightsimexpo.com/travel . FlightSimExpo 2026 will feature product reveals, exhibits, virtual reality and training demonstrations, and how-to seminars from the biggest names in flight sim. For the first time, attendees will also get access to a Friday Exhibit Hall Preview immediately following #FSExpoFriday on June 12, 2026. An initial list of sponsors and exhibitors will be shared in March 2026. About FlightSimExpo. FlightSimExpo is one of the world’s largest flight simulation conventions. The event has welcomed almost 10,000 attendees to events in Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, Houston, and Providence since 2018. FlightSimExpo is produced by Flight Simulation Association, a community-driven organization of developers, simmers, and real-world pilots working to make it easier to get started in home simulation. Join the community today—free—at flightsimassociation.com for resources, learning content, webinars, and discounts on top add-ons and simulation hardware.

A simcade that lets players fly helicopters as we imagine them Helicopters are wonderous, highly flexible, complicated aerial vehicles that provide humanity with some of the most versatile mission sets possible. In order to fly these vehicles in the way we imagine them in our mind's eye, you would need a flight simulator that would let you take on sets of jobs helicopters are well known for. Immaculate Lift Studio seemingly created RotorSim to not only let people be enamored by the capabilities of helicopters, but also just enjoy the experience in a nicely packaged, accessible, adventurous experience. Looking at publicly available information, the developer is self-taught. They create games and functional apps for the Godot Engine. In fact, looking at their Gitbhub repositories, it seems like four key parts of Rotor Sim are readily available for use or to study. An indie developer providing the building blocks of their own projects, à la Why485 and Vazgriz , is somewhat uncommon, but great to see. Hopefully others feel a bit inspired to try and make their own projects. The earliest updates that can be traced through the Discord server and Itch.io at least goes as far back as May 23rd, 2024. The early builds of the game were available through Itch.io, but the version 1.0 release brought with it the release of the game on Steam on July 3rd, 2025. A demo of the game is also available on Steam, which is how I first interacted with this game, buying it shortly afterward. A sample of the in-game manual. Rotor Sim has two game modes. The Free Flight game mode, which, as you may have guessed, lets players fly in any condition with any aircraft in the game. An easy way to get familiar with the map. In the single player campaign, the player flies as a new pilot in AeroAssist aircraft utility services. The description of the company according to the in-game pilot manual (a stylish choice) describes the company in a well-grounded way: "AeroAssist began as a small venture aimed at providing crucial aerial support to inaccessible areas using governmental grants, at no cost to the affected region. Over the years, we have expanded our services globally, supporting disaster relief, medical transport, time-critical passenger movement and urgent supply delivery." AeroAssist operates from what looks like a slightly upgraded cargo ship with a helipad on the forward deck. Players operate from this ship throughout the course of their contract. At the start of each mission players lift off from the ship in a helicopter. The mission contract dictates whether it is one of three helicopters: the Sparrow (Robinson R-44 like), the Eagle (UH-1 Huey like) or the Condor (Mi-8 Hip like). Each of them with different, noticeable flight characteristics. After a mission is complete the level usually closes sending players to the menu to decide their next action, but by setting the Mission Completion Reset option to 'No Reset', players will have to fly back to the boat to complete the mission. The better option to really round out the experience in my opinion. It also increases the amount of flying players do, which is always positive. In Rotor Sim, all 30 missions of the single player take place in Windy Isle; a compact but diverse set of islands. There are mountains, a literal castle, an airport, a city, air traffic, sea traffic, docks, a shady research facility - just about everything you would expect from a decently populated area. Most important to the setting, the weather. From fog to rain to a full-blown storm that heavily reduces visibility an effect the way a helicopter flies. Coupling weather conditions with heavy cargo weights can be rather dangerous. Careful flying is required in such conditions. Just slowly trudging through low visibility situations while keeping an eye on terrain is sometimes the only path to success in some missions. This is about as dangerous as the environment gets, but the flight model is detailed enough to have a few more dangerous but realistic points. Rescuing passengers from a sinking ship. You can definitely tell that the seemingly casual flight model that can be enjoyed with a gamepad has a few simulator-like details specific to helicopters. From minor details like the cargo hook only able to pick up objects and a gantry that must be extended to lower a hoist to rescue people. To flight model specifics, I nearly failed a mission due to sudden episodes of Vortex Ring State and Rotor RPM Droop catching me completely unprepared. The momentum and weight these helicopters have with this flight model is manageable with a gamepad but can get out of hand if players are simply mashing the controls and throwing the stick around without a care in the world. Flying helicopters as you would within the real world is the best way to go. While doing research for this article I happened to come across the game's developer, who elaborated a bit more on Rotor Sim. Quoting them directly: "I originally started this project because I couldn't for the life of me find a simple heli sim that felt good to play without it being attached to something much larger and more complicated (like ARMA or GTA). I just wanted to fly around and do helicopter things. I've played basically every heli game that's come out in the last 10 years and most of them feel like asset flips, or at least not made with the attention that a true nerd would have. The control and feel of the helicopter was based on many years of flying in helicopters and wanting to recapture that sense of motion and chaos." All of this being done in a non-combat scenario may sound boring, but let me tell you, that is a major part of the enjoyment of Rotor Sim. Not constantly ducking between hills to evade ground fire or have a mission potentially fail because of a roving fighter jet gives players time to fully enjoy the flight model and immerse themselves in "helicopter things" as the developer puts it. Plucking people from dangerous situations with a hoist, delivering supplies, transporting VIPs, searching for lost hikers - a nice helicopter specific set of tasks. Example of the story driven campaign. Each mission has a small story within it and around it told by the contract description text and commentary from the characters during the mission. Working with different clients in this location gives one-off stories and a consistent storyline that is rather eyebrow raising from time to time. It is so interesting I do not feel like completely disclosing it in this article but know that there is intrigue abound. Mid-mission dialogue. Immaculate Lift Studio is already working on a sequel that is taking the concept of the original game even farther. Currently known as Rotor Sim World , some of the known details posted on the studio's Github mentions: Many more interesting helicopters (all shapes and sizes). Get out of your helicopter and drive cars, trucks, complete missions, and explore. 64km² world with cities, a coastline, forests, and secrets. Expanded mission types, such as firefighting, more involved and complicated cargo operations, and smuggling. NPCs! Thousands of citizens going about their daily lives and interacting with you. The story of AeroAssist continues, with new characters and some old favorites coming back. While I seem to have joined in to the Rotor Sim party a bit late, I am just on time for the pre-alpha phase of Rotor Sim World. I look forward to presenting my thoughts on the project so far and seeing where the developer takes it. Connect with 'Rotor Sim' Discord Github Itch.io Steam YouTube 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 ]

This past week, we have now gotten back into flying in DCS after what felt like an eternity. We had our reasons to do so, but most importantly, that period of time is behind us. While I was trying to come back and coordinate with the other Skyward boys on what to do in DCS, I was reminded that not everything in DCS has to be the same mission over and over again. That is when we decided to go and experience DCS multiplayer within the Rotorheads community. WHAT IS THIS SERVER ABOUT? This server has a very different focus than other sandbox ones, such as 4YA and Through the Inferno, due to the very clear and refreshing focus on rotary wing aircraft and their operations. On what seems to be a first, or at least a popular first, a server has decided that fixed wing aircraft will take a step back and leave the limelight to the helicopters and, surprisingly, the logistics focused C-130J (mod, for now). The server is organized in big campaigns that run for several weeks. Player action and decisions permanently impact the mission, and future operations through direct action. Troop deployments and an emphasis on coordinated multi-front engagements , the server does set itself apart from other more casual experiences, something that is made clear by the fact that you have to join their discord server and read their rules to even be able to join the DCS server itself. You are given a code that you will have to enter, otherwise, you will get removed from the server. In this sense, you could say that this emphasis on community curation does lead to a more focused and less casual community. Does this mean the community is closed to everyone but the most professional pilots? No, absolutely not. GAMEPLAY AND WHAT WE GOT UP TO Since a mix of fixed and rotary wing operations are allowed, we decided to do some JTAC missions where I would designate from my Kiowa while RibbonBlue would engage from his Hornet while he used laser-guided Mavericks. It was very, very doable and sincerely, I had a lot of fun. Doing this on a normal server would have entailed starting a 1-hour-long journey towards the AO , with a possibility of our target being gone by the time I reached the agreed meeting point. In Rotorheads, the AO is 5 to 10 minutes away, which means that flying into combat is painless! This was such a nice change of pace and something that made our time during the server a much better one. While we were doing our mission, it was very cool to have a lot of other people around us running their own. There were attack helicopters doing runs on enemy armor, transport helicopters running troop insertion and vehicle deployment, and also some dedicated and very organized cargo pilots setting up defenses and moving the front line forward. RibbonBlue took note that Blackhawk and Chinook pilots were extremely proactive with unit deployment during one of our sessions, which left me quite impressed, considering that I thought that the Chinook player base was close to the double digits in terms of active users. Additionally, there is something very useful that this server runs alongside the mission: an active web-hosted heatmap that is pseudo-real time. You can find it here . This allows players and spectators to follow the flow of battle and see areas where enemies have been spotted, and where friendly pilots have been downed. Very neat, huh? GO FLY IN ROTORHEADS This server is paradise to those of us that love our whirlybirds, but it also remains friendly to those that are scared of having their wings rotate. Everyone can find a way to have fun within this server, so I encourage you to come here and fly.} The server is also running the AH-6, UH-60L and C-130J mods at the moment. This means that you will not have to buy any modules to enjoy it to the fullest. No excuses! You can see the requirements to join their server by clicking the button below, there you will find all the details including the server IP. What are you waiting for? Join the fight, it's worth it! 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

War Thunder can bring out the best and the worst in people, all at once. It is a glass bowl full of folded papers with emotions written on them, from which you draw a couple of strips every match to determine how you will feel during and after that match. Sometimes it can be happiness and delight, sometimes it can be surprise and disappointment. It will all depend on what you play and with whom you play it with, as to say, that it is nothing but random chance if you will have a good time. That being said, there is a place many long-term players dread: top-tier matches. If you feel like subjecting yourself to the dread that can be induced by playing Air Realistic Battles, then now you can pay a pretty penny to get there without the multi-year grind by getting the Venezuelan Su-30MK2 for the Soviet/Russian tech-tree. This might not be the first time a top-tier premium jet is available for sale, but it is one of the first times that one can actually carry these many missiles. TOP TIER: WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? There are so many little issues with top tier gameplay that going one by one would take as much space as a short movie script. So let's keep it short. Matches feel like a missile jousting simulator, and are usually just determined by who can get their missiles out first. A typical match, whenever you don't get uptiered, is composed of a mix of every nation's top tiers with a prevalence of US and Soviet jets. The US and Western aircraft have a clear advantage thanks to their AIM-120s and equal missiles having superior range to Soviet-made R-77s, leaving you with longer range but semi-active R-27R and R-27T. This leads to you getting shot down before you even have the chance to launch your missiles into any sort of effective range, which ends in one of two ways: You either avoid the oncoming barrage of enemy light poles and start terrain masking and play a different game until you inevitably get shot down Or pray to the Snail that you will somehow avoid detection by terrain masking from the beginning, avoiding getting spotted and taking the enemy by surprise. The latter is the most effective on this Su-30MK2, but barely. THE SU-30MK2, A CAPABLE PREMIUM SURROUNDED BY FEARFUL PEERS Almost every single aircraft around you, premium or not, will be as capable or more capable than you. This Flanker is not the most agile, since it doesn't have thrust vectoring or canards, but it does have the classic Flanker swiftness that we all know and, some, love. While it can carry some interesting air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry, it does seem to have a worse sensor suite than the ones present in other Flankers such as the Su-30SM or even the J-11B. Do not come in expecting this to be the best Flanker in the game, because it is most definitely not. When facing enemies at BVR, you will have to rely on your radar's TWS HDN mode to guide the very mediocre R-77s home. In the hands of a competent pilot, the Su-30MK2's radar can be made to work, it is no AESA, but it can still detect targets at around 60 to 70Km away. Does that mean that you will be able to engage at those ranges? No, forget about it. The longest range I would recommend you launch your R-77s would be inside 25Kms, since you would be lowering your hit chance by quite a bit were you to launch earlier than that. You can try lobbing the missiles to extend range by some kilometers, but forget about 70 to 80Km shots with these missiles. They do not guide reliably enough at such ranges. Example of such a trade. The Mirage 2000 (background) got downed by my R-77, but now I am about to meet their missile and my maker (foreground) Even when I get a shot off that I know will hit, I usually end up trading or getting wrecked by some random guy that will call me names on the in-game chat for using the Venezuelan Premium plane. Something that I find quite amusing, considering that I am Venezuelan. SO, IS THIS FLANKER WORTH IT? Short answer, no. Long answer, it will depend on how desperately you want to get to experience what top tier is like in War Thunder, or how hard you want to speed up your grind through the Soviet tech tree. As a premium, it is excellent. It will help you unlock a lot of extremely fun aircraft that you will, most likely, enjoy even more than the Flanker. Even early jets can be extremely fun, ones such as the MiG-15 or even the early MiG-21s, a BR where missiles are still trash. The core of what can be considered fun in War Thunder is directly proportional with how advanced they are on the tech tree. I have a blast with low-tier tanks and aircraft, so if what you want is a way to get to that fun the fastest, then this premium aircraft is for you. You will be able to unlock the entirety of the Soviet aircraft tech tree in no time, as long as you get consistent kills with the Su-30MK2. Whether getting to those vehicles as fast as possible is worth 80 of your hard-earned dollars and selling your soul to the Snail? Well, that I cannot tell you; but remember that you also get 30 days of premium with this purchase, for as much as that is worth, anyway. 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

A generation of gamepad style flight controllers takes shape It seems like the Yawman Arrow may have been the first shot in a volley of handheld flight controllers. In the year 2023 the concept of a handheld flight controller was undoubtedly seen as an anomaly in flight simulation hardware. However, with two new prototype handheld flight controllers appearing at multiple flight simulation conventions in 2025 and now a confirmed release date for one of these controllers at the end of the same year, it is time to talk about this upcoming era of handheld flight controllers. Perspective As we start, I would like to establish my perspective and experience with the concept of handheld flight controllers. In the context of this article, the discussion of handheld flight controllers starts in 2023 with the debut of the newly established Yawman flight peripheral company and their Arrow flight controller. This gamepad style controller immediately started a conversation of the validity of this type of device in flight simulators. Arguments against the concept these specialized controllers can be summarized as: Concern about similar price point to existing entry level yokes and rudder pedals. The utility and value of a gamepad controller that is only designed for flight simulators. Gamepads for game consoles and personal computers have been pressed into service for flight games in the past. Why get a specialized device that is not a traditional flight peripheral (HOTAS, yoke, etc). Skyward Flight Media (Skyward FM) made initial contact with Yawman during their debut in 2023 at Flight Sim Expo (FSE). Our contact with the Yawman team eventually led to a review unit of the Arrow being sent to Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza for a launch review of the controller in early 2024. Our review process took the Arrow far beyond its tailor-made use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and X-Plane 12. We took the Arrow from high fidelity general aviation simulators to AMRAAM slinging BVR engagements. From World War I flight arcade dogfights to alien world space station freight delivery. By the end of the review process, we found that a handheld flight controller does have a legitimate place in even the most experienced flight simmer's collection. It certainly does not replace hardware to the point there is no purpose in purchasing a dedicated trim wheel or throttle quadrant for higher fidelity flight simulation. However, this type of controller and its backend support did make it very easy to access higher quality flight simming without needing to bring out a full sim rig each time. For over a year now, many of the games and simulators Skyward FM has interacted with have been flown with the Yawman Arrow in varying degrees. Perhaps not every single flight done with the controller, but it was plugged in and assessed to see how feasible it would be for whichever title is being played. From there the Arrow would be used in a rotation that made sense. Skyward Flight Media has been classified as a power user of the Arrow by Yawman themselves, taking into account everything that was previously stated. All of that to say that the Skyward FM perspective of the handheld flight controller concept is shaped by the realities of best case and worst-case use from a wide array of flight titles while understanding the limitations of these devices compared to traditional flight simulation hardware. Yawman Arrow To the established flight sim market in 2023, a daring new yoke design is seen as a safer bet in comparison to a true unknown like the Arrow was. The concept of a flight simulation peripheral in the form factor of a game console controller was a wildcard at the time. 2024 graphic. The design of the Yawman Arrow has remained unchanged since release in January 8th, 2024. Its straightforward design incorporates an instrument six-pack button layout which can double as button modifiers to layer controls in simulators. Its sliders on the bottom right faceplate and vernier poles on the underside of the controller are axises that can be reassigned to whatever is needed depending on the simulator it is used on. The built in trim wheel on the bottom left is also a solid addition that is placed far from where the most common button presses and finger sweeps occur. Arguably the Arrow's signature feature is its patent pending mechanically linked triggers which act exactly as full-size rudder pedals. The consistent stiffness of the triggers improves the precision of rudder controls of aircraft flown in simulator. However, that same stiffness is somewhat of a hurdle for users that use them roughly. In the Skyward FM review of the Arrow, I made a note of the potential danger of multiple rapid full force trigger pulls. While the core of the linked triggers inside the body of the controller is rather well built, there are cases of the plastic finger pads of the triggers snapping under consistent, vigorous use. During my conversation with the Yawman team at FSE 2025, they have guided customers through processes to repair or replace parts on the controller, though these did not sound like they were regular occurrences. At launch the price point of the Yawman Arrow in comparison to other traditional flight controllers was a hurdle for potential customers who saw prices of more entry level yokes being close to what Yawman initially offered. The first batch of Arrow controllers sold out on launch day, January 10th, 2025. A second batch of controllers was made ready by January 15th. A price drop from $250.00 USD to $199.00 USD was announced on January 18th, but it does not seem to be something that was done because of commercial failure. Yawman goes deeper into the reasons in their blog post  about it, but the Arrow has continued production and sales since its launch day with Yawman developing new projects. Reviews of the Arrow have continued to be mostly favorable even now. Most pushback against its design centers on the somewhat unflattering visual design, desire for more tactile feedback when pressing certain buttons and higher quality material used on certain parts like the vernier poles at the bottom of the controller. But complains of the device being totally unusable and completely failing are few and far between. Though, as of November 18th, 2025, it seems like the design of the Arrow will need to be reviewed by the Yawman team to remain competitive with the next gamepad style flight controller. Honeycomb Aeronautical Echo It just so happens that while I started writing this article earlier this week, Honeycomb Aeronautical released the reveal trailer for their Echo Aviation Controller with a general release date of December 2025. Talk about good timing. To have such a well-established company like Honeycomb Aeronautical actively develop a controller like this is rather interesting. The Echo Aviation Controller first appeared at the Honeycomb Aeronautical Industry Preview Days hosted in London in July 2025 with the public able to try the prototypes at FlightSimExpo 2025. While Skyward FM did have some time with the controllers at FSE 2025, frankly the Echo has undergone such a considerable change as seen in the November 18th trailer, I had to re-write this entire section of the article. My initial observations and concerns about the mid-2025 prototype of the Echo centered around the positioning of the four levers in the middle of the controller, the size of some of the flight controls at the bottom of the controller and on the face of the controller. My concerns were about the difficult of sweeping fingers over dense clusters of controls and the somewhat unusual placement of things like the trim hat switch and a few of the other non-gamepad standard buttons across the bottom and the top right of the faceplate. However, the Honeycomb team seems to have taken all of the feedback from industry insiders and flight simmers to heart. In terms of customization, the Echo has a pretty much set in stone design with exception to the four controller levers / axises that can now have their caps replaced with color coded knobs. This lends these levers to then become functions like fuel mixture, separate engine thrust levers, etc. The Bravo Throttle Quadrant from Honeycomb has the same capability. Something that has inspired similar General Aviation yoke and throttle combos like the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Flight Universal Control System. The presence of mechanically linked triggers acting as aircraft rudder pedals was one of the most eyebrow raising parts of the Echo for me. This type of control system is the signature feature of the Yawman Arrow. Such a specialized mechanism both needs to be sturdy enough to handle long term use while frequently being held within very specific positions. All without the device losing tension or becoming detrimental to minute flight inputs during maneuvers. For Skyward FM this is all said from the outside looking in for now. With the redesign of the Echo having a general release date of December 2025, it seems like we will be able to go hands on sooner than later. MeridianGMT X-Ray Flight Sim Controller This company was founded on March 12th, 2025, by former Honeycomb Aeronautical Founder, Nicki Repenning. One of the main messages MeridianGMT has been pushing is modular or expandable design in all of its hardware. Rather than purchasing a single yoke that may cover functionality of a small selection of aircraft, in theory a Meridian yoke could have specific parts of it physically removed and replaced with other modules by the customer themselves. A yoke initially purchased in a single engine light aircraft could be reconfigured for other aircraft types. Of their initial products they have showcased, the X-Ray Flight Sim Controller is a gamepad patterned flight controller with multiple flight focused physical inputs. Official graphic. The X-Ray follows the MeridianGMT theory of as much modularity as possible giving the consumer the ability to quicky swap out modules without hand tools. When imagining a handheld controller you can reconfigure, devices like SCUF gamepads, Thrustmaster eSwap and Turtle Beach Victrix Pro come to mind. On the face of it (literally!) the faceplate of the controller can be pulled from the frame of the controller with a new faceplate inserted. A United States Coast Guard faceplate was show at one point. That level of aesthetic customization is nice, but not required per se. Moving deeper into the controller, the promotional material and the physical prototype, the X-Ray comes with eye catching inputs like spring-loaded flap levers, separate rudder triggers and mentions of a collective/cyclic hub for rotary-wing aircraft. On the back of the controller are extra programmable buttons for specific buttons or input combos. Upon seeing them I think of modifier buttons immediately. MeridianGMT claims that the controller is currently in development with support from Microsoft and Digital Combat Simulator developers. On personal computer plug and play use prioritized. At FlightSimExpo 2025, MeridianGMT announced that they secured a deal with Microsoft to ensure their products to Xbox game consoles. Considering the existence of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, that is a fair point. It does make you wonder if a similar deal would need to be signed with Sony to ensure device compatibility with MSFS 2024 on the PlayStation 5. Key Points Going Forward When I combine hands on experiences at trade shows, extensive presentation watching and my own long-term use of handheld flight controllers. There are a few key points that need to be achieved for the success of, let's call them, the first generation of flight controllers. Acknowledging the wide reach of Microsoft Flight Simulator and ensuring their controllers are game console compatible to reach the now well-established game console flight simulation demographic. Ensuring the pursuit of incorporating traditional flight simulation controls (levers, hat switches, trim wheels, etc.) do not clutter the controllers to the point it negatively impacts user experience during flight. A moderate degree of button customization via software to allow players to assign custom key binds or specific in-simulator functions reliably. The price point of these controllers being equal to or slightly below the cost of entry level flight yokes, rudder pedals, etc. to further entice potential first-time buyers. Controller connection method being either wired or preferably wireless to match what consumers already expect from what is considered standard for gamepads these days. Personally, I find myself being very excited at the prospect of handheld flight controllers becoming a long-term part of the now well-established game console demographic. Hopefully controllers like this could get a new wave of simmers to make the next big step towards getting more advanced flight simulation gear but also enable already established simmers to increase how much they fly thanks to ease of access or add a new portable controller for travel. It just so happens that I was already working on an updated review of the Yawman Arrow over a year after consistent use with it. I look forward to adding a review for Honeycomb's Echo as well. 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 ]

Additionally, organizers announced that sponsor and exhibitor registration has begun. Flight sim developers of all sizes are encouraged to see how they can support the show by visiting flightsimexpo.com/partner The Flight Simulation Association (FSA) announced that, in response to attendee and partner feedback, FlightSimExpo 2026 will feature a Friday exhibit hall for the first time! The event will also be offering new single-day ticket options for flight simmers who can’t attend the full, 3-day event. Friday Exhibit Hall Access New in 2026, the exhibit hall will be open from 4:30pm – 7:00pm on Friday, June 12. The doors will open immediately following the conclusion of #FSExpoFriday’s product reveals and developer updates. “We’ve heard from attendees and developers that their favorite part of FlightSimExpo is the chance to interact with developers and try the latest software and hardware,” said FSA Co-Founder and VATSIM controller Evan Reiter. “This change allows us to offer attendees 20% more time in the exhibit hall without changing the overall travel footprint for our partners.” #FSExpoFriday 2026 will begin at 12pm CDT, one hour earlier than last year. Attendees can expect the same weekend schedule as in previous years, including announcements, hands-on exhibits and demos, product updates, developer Q&As, workshops, and more happening on Saturday and Sunday. “At our past shows, attendees have enjoyed behind-the-scenes access to air traffic control towers, airports, museum visits, and more,” says FSA Co-Founder Phil Coyle. “We’re working on offering similar experiences for FlightSimExpo 2026’s attendees, with more details on these to come early in the new year.” For the full event experience, attendees should plan to arrive in Saint Paul by Thursday, June 11 and leave on Monday, June 15. More Single-Day Ticket Options will be Available for 2026 Organizers are also happy to share that more single-day ticket options will be available for flight simmers who can’t attend the entire 3-day show. “Based on the popularity of our ‘Sunday-Only’ option in 2025, we’ll be offering single-day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ticket options in 2026,” says FSA Co-Founder Phil Coyle. “While the best experience is always for those who can attend the entire show, these new ticket options will make it easier for people who can’t attend all three days, especially for those local to the MSP area.” Organizers will be sharing details and pricing on the new ticket options in the FSA Discord . Attendee registration opens in December. As in previous years, attendees unable to make the in-person event in Minneapolis/Saint Paul have the option to watch the event online via the FSA Captain subscription or a one-time $15 purchase. FlightSimExpo Partner Registration is Open Now FlightSimExpo welcomes software developers, hardware vendors, non-profits, and other flight sim organizations to participate as sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers at the 2026 event. It’s easy to have an exhibit booth: the show’s all-in options include furnishings, internet, electricity, and event passes starting at just $750. Educational speaking opportunities are available at no charge. Anyone interested in sponsoring, exhibiting, or speaking at FlightSimExpo 2026 show can see all the details at flightsimexpo.com/partner . The Venue FlightSimExpo 2026 will be held at the Saint Paul RiverCentre, an 8-mile drive from Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) in Minnesota. MSP airport offers more than 130 non-stop destinations across the country and around the world. Saint Paul is also served by Amtrak's Borealis and Empire Builder routes. Amongst many other attractions, the Saint Paul RiverCentre is just 20 minutes from the Mall of America®, a leading retail, entertainment, and attractions destination, welcoming millions of visitors from around the world since 1992. Discounted hotel rates are available for FlightSimExpo attendees. Attendees can also use links from the FlightSimExpo website to save on airfares from Delta, United, Southwest, and codeshare partners like Air Canada and WestJet. Details at flightsimexpo.com/discounts . Attendee registration opens in December. ### About FlightSimExpo FlightSimExpo is one of the world’s largest flight simulation conventions. The event has welcomed almost 10,000 attendees to events in Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, Houston, and Providence since 2018. FlightSimExpo is produced by Flight Simulation Association, a community-driven organization of developers, simmers, and real-world pilots working to make it easier to get started in home simulation. Join the community today—free—at flightsimassociation.com for resources, learning content, webinars, and discounts on top add-ons and simulation hardware.