Microsoft announces new version of Flight Simulator

Microsoft has today announced that it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight with the release of Flight Simulator: A Century of Flight, which is already in development and is scheduled for release in July.

In keeping with this year's celebration, A Century of Flight will allow players to climb into the 3D interactive cockpits of a number of historic aircraft, including Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP, The Spirit of St. Louis; the Douglas DC-3; and the world's first successful powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer. The game will feature 24 aircraft in total, 15 of which are modern-day aircraft such as the Boeing 777, the Beechcraft Baron, and the Robinson R22 helicopter.

A Century of Flight will feature a number of improvements on the previous games in the series, including an updated dynamic weather system, air traffic control functions, and automatically generated scenery. The game will also feature articles explaining the histories of both the Flight Simulator series and the 24 aircraft featured in the latest installment.

"Launching A Century of Flight in conjunction with a historical milestone as monumental as the invention of powered flight is an exhilarating, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us on the Flight Simulator team," said Bruce Williams, product planner at Microsoft Aces Studios. "There are a lot of organizations celebrating the centennial of flight, but Century of Flight empowers people to get into the cockpit of legendary aircraft such as the Wright Flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis to feel what it was like to actually fly those planes."

When A Century of Flight launches in July, Microsoft will mark the 100th anniversary of powered flight by joining the Experimental Aviation Association in a yearlong celebration called Countdown to Kitty Hawk. Visitors to the touring pavilion at cities across North America will get to experience Century of Flight for themselves, taking the Wright brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer across the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk using hand levers and a shifting hip cradle to control virtual takeoffs and landings in front of a giant panoramic projection screen.

We'll bring you more information on Microsoft Flight Simulator: A Century of Flight as soon as it becomes available.