FlightGear Flight Simulator (often shortened to FlightGear or FGFS) is a free, open source multi-platform flight simulator developed by the FlightGear project since 1997.
David Murr started this project on April 8, 1996. This project had its first release in 1997 and continued in development. It has specific builds for a variety of different operating systems including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, IRIX, and Solaris.
FlightGear is an atmospheric and orbital flight simulator used in aerospace research and industry. Its flight dynamics engine (JSBSim) is used in a 2015 NASA benchmark to judge new simulation code to the standards of the space industry.
FlightGear started as an online proposal in 1996 by David Murr, living in the United States. He was dissatisfied with proprietary, available, simulators like the Microsoft Flight Simulator, citing motivations of companies not aligning with the simulators' players ("simmers"), and proposed a new flight simulator developed by volunteers over the Internet. The flight simulator was created using custom 3D graphics code. Development of an OpenGL based version was spearheaded by Curtis Olson starting in 1997. FlightGear incorporated other open-source resources, including the LaRCsim flight dynamics engine from NASA, and freely available elevation data. The first working binaries using OpenGL came out in 1997. By 1999 FlightGear had
What is FlightGear?
FlightGear by The FlightGear Team is open-source Windows software in the pc games category. It is written in C++. Besides Windows, it is available for Linux.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (Inno Setup) installers for 64-bit Windows. The main installer is 82.9 MB. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 2024.1.4, released on January 21, 2026. The version history goes back to May 30, 2021: 8 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 1.7 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 9,517 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 23 of our languages. Similar programs include OpenTTD, RetroArch and Steam.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on Linux
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: FlightGear is an open-source pc game tool for 64-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is FlightGear safe to download?
- The file is served by mirrors.ibiblio.org; check that it is the publisher’s official mirror
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
10FF22FF8D25586FBCE260455D140FB283F062BEB93AC6E77F10941B8F04F851· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link answered when we last checked it (October 22, 2026)
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 8 versions ›8 versions over 5 years · about 1.7 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024.1.4Latest | January 21, 2026 | 82.9 MB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2024.1.3 | November 2, 2025 | 82.5 MB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2020.3.19 | October 18, 2023 | 1.91 GB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2020.3.13 | March 30, 2022 | 1.91 GB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2020.3.12 | February 2, 2022 | 1.91 GB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2020.3.11 | January 3, 2022 | 1.86 GB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2020.3.9 | June 24, 2021 | 1.85 GB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2020.3.8 | May 30, 2021 | 1.93 GB | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id FlightGear.FlightGear -echoco install flightgear -yflightgear-2024.1.4-windows-amd64.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask flightgearflatpak install flathub org.flightgear.FlightGearInformation
- Publisher
- The FlightGear Team
- Category
- PC games
- Licence
- GNU GPLv2 or later
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- sourceforge.net
- Written in
- C++
- Content rating
- 13+
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Other platforms
- Linux
- Version
- 2024.1.4
- Released
- January 21, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- May 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 8
- Updates / year
- 1.7
- Chocolatey downloads
- 9,517
- Website
- flightgear.org
- winget ID
- FlightGear.FlightGear
- Chocolatey package
- flightgear
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to FlightGear
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Frequently asked questions
Is FlightGear free?
Yes. FlightGear is open-source software under the GNU GPLv2 or later licence.
Is FlightGear safe to download?
The download comes from mirrors.ibiblio.org; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install FlightGear with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can FlightGear be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does FlightGear run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of FlightGear?
The versions page lists all 8 versions with links to their official installer files, back to May 30, 2021.
What are alternatives to FlightGear?
OpenTTD, RetroArch, Steam, Celestia and SuperTuxKart. The alternatives page compares them.
