There are lots of you, like me, out there who love aviation and are frequent users of software like Microsoft Flight Simulator. I’ve been flying the MSFS products since FS95 and count myself as a loyal user.
So, when Google Earth came out I had to wonder, why can’t I have ground scenery and terrain like this in Microsoft Flight Sim? Well, right now there’s no way to combine the two.
However, and this is a BIG however, what if you could turn Google Earth into a flight simulator of its own? What if you could fly a Cirrus SR22 or an General Dynamics F-16 over any point on the earth? Would this be something that might interest you?
I know you answered yes.
Google Earth version 4.2 is a flight simulator now. Yes, you read that right. All the visual eye candy is now available to be flown over in a crude (but flyable) rendering of an SR22 or an F-16. It even has the option for a joystick.
You’ll need the latest version which you can get here. FREE
Once you get your hands on it enter CTRL + ALT + A (Capital A – make sure caps lock is on). This will bring up the flight simulator window.
Happy open source flying.
The complete instructions from Google can be found here.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.