Probably the most powerful desktop flightsim Ever!

[jcomm 5,939]

FLIGHT UNLIMITED (1)...

I bought the first version ( floppy disks ) for MS-DOS in 1995 and then it's CD version during a trip to Berlin to attend Java's kick off  in late 1997 - all in German 🥴

It's been a long time since I last played FU, but I still retain the experience as UNIQUE and probably one of the very Best I ever had in a desktop flight simulator.

FU2 and FU3 were great flightsims too, but not as special flight dynamics wise as FU (1).

Interesting to read about the creator of FU 1 - Seamus Blackley : Seamus Blackley - Wikipedia

It was the first time I got aware of the reason why he left the project and also Looking Glass Technologies  - he refused to create what would become a direct competitor of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and was fired from LG 😕

Also interesting to learn about the roots of one of the most interesting combat flight simulators I tried back then: Jane's Attack Squadron...

Edited July 27, 2023 by jcomm
typos

[HiFlyer 9,363]

Well I must admit I had not thought about flight unlimited in quite some time, and was actually a bit surprised that it might still be an ongoing concern.

With that in mind I attempted to look up some videos regarding the current state of the SIM and was unable to find anything recent at all.

 And by recent, I mean within the last year.

 Is this sim dead, Or is my search criteria bad?

[pmb 5,137]

I still have FUI (the CD version) on my shelf. Would you think it can be installed and would work on an present-day PC?

And I agree, it was a great Sim, albeit performance was marginal at its time.

Kind regards, Michael

[crosswind 825]

And the support from Richard Harvey (I think that was his name) was stellar.  Unfortunately I think he passed away to cancer if my memory serves me correctly. 

 

These guys implemented things such as taxiing too close behind a larger aircraft providing warning messages from atc about jet blast affecting your aircraft or atc screaming at you if you veered off the taxiway. 

If I recall they also implemented PCL (pilot control lighting). 

 

Awesome sim for it's time FU1 that is. 

[HiFlyer 9,363]

LOL!! You wrote Flight Unlimited but I was thinking FlightGear! 😀

[goates 576]

1 hour ago, pmb said:

Would you think it can be installed and would work on an present-day PC?

Could try the VMware or VirtualBox virtual machines, but might need to look into some emulators for games and sims from the 90s for the best experience.

https://youtu.be/mWEE2RJj3YI

https://pcem-emulator.co.uk/index.html

[Silicus 881]

3 hours ago, crosswind said:

And the support from Richard Harvey (I think that was his name) was stellar.  Unfortunately I think he passed away to cancer if my memory serves me correctly. 

Wasn't Richard Harvey the founder of Fly II ? I don't think he had anything to do with FU? I was a beta tester for Fly II that's why I remember the name. They still sent out CD-ROMs with the beta! 🙂

[crosswind 825]

@Silicus You are correct, and thanks for the correction on Richard Harvey.  Dealing many developers over time you kind of loose track.

 

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I remember Flight Unlimited ATC and Taxi guidance system was revolutionary (something that MSFS later adopted). The Flight Characteristics were better. The Photogenic Scenery wasn't anything new but the quality in FU was far better due to being a limited to a smaller area. Yes I spent many hours in it, with the second and third release not so much. The Flight Sim Community gained a lot from FU raising the bar at that time.