Flight Simulator may well be the longest running series in PC gaming history. First released in 1979 by Sublogic for the Apple II then picked up by Microsoft in 2002, curious PC gamers, armchair pilots and real world pilots looking to get in a bit of practice have spent twenty nine years and ten releases exploring the world from above, sharpening their skills and having a hell of a lot of fun at the same time. I’ve been one of them myself since the person who built my first computer installed a copy of FS4 for me back in the day and gave me the chance to buzz around Megis Field to my hearts content.

The sim has come along in leaps and bounds over the years as the video above shows, culminating in the release of FSX in 2006 and the tremendous set of addon aircraft, sceneries, weather engines and other addons the community of freeware and payware developers have produced during the past two years. The increase in computing power over the same period has allowed teams like OrbX, Horizon and Aerosoft to produce aircraft and landscapes so real you sometimes have to take a good close look to realise you’re not seeing a photo or video. And with FS11 in the pipeline from Aces Studios who knew what was waiting over the horizon in 2010 ...

We have the answer now, last month Microsoft closed Aces Studio and halted any further development of the Flight Sim franchise. The IP will not be sold to another developer, the code is being archived and that’s it, we’re done.

Fortunately for those of us who can’t get enough, the community has no intention whatsoever of giving up. Our developers are determined to continue stretching the FSX engine as far as it will go, virtual airlines and flying clubs are not about to close their doors and you’ll take the yokes from the hands of those of us who fly when you pluck them from our cold, dead hands. The next few years of FS development will be filled with the same creativity and passion that the last twenty-nine have and even if this is the end, we’ll make sure the send off is spectacular.

Besides ... there’s always X-Plane .

This post brought to you by the video posted above, procrastination and a moderate case of writers block.