And me to that list. I'm not good enough at these games to feel the nuanced differences in flight between a P-51C and a P-51D, but I can tell the difference between a game that allows one to fly and have fun versus one that's overly complicated for a duffer like me. Give me the former over the latter any day. EF2000 tested my limitations, riding that fine line between fun and frustrating. I imagine Falcon 4.0 or something along those lines would get played a couple times and then shelved.

Even though Falcon 4.0 was very realistic, it also had the most amazing dynamic campaign ever. You really have to play it to understand. It simulates an entire war and you are just one pilot taking part in it.
Amen to that! And with the Wing Commander games already here, Strike Commander shouldn't be too far away right?
That sounds really, really good. I've never played a stealth aircraft game. I'll really have to try them out. Do they work well in DOSBOX? I wonder if GOG would have any trouble getting them>

Too bad I had to read through a 7 pound phonebook it to enjoy it, I never got that far. ^^

I don't think it would be too hard for GOG to get them and they work without much problems on Dosbox, but then again I don't think most flightsims will be real moneymakers for GOG, in that I can understand if they rather go for high profile titles.

I wonder for example how wel Hind sells compared to other old stuff. I really liked that sim back in the day, still do.

It's not that bad :) Definitely worth the effort. You should take a look at FreeFalcon which you can download free. The campaign is really something amazing to behold. Very satisfying to fly a SEAD (Suppress Enemy Air Defences) mission to destroy a few SAM sites, knowing that you have had a real impact on the war effort, with following missions less likely to be shot down. Or if when you fly an air patrol and shoot down a few aircraft, knowing that you have worn away at the enemies limited supply of planes.

In terms of the older games being released on GOG, sadly I know you are right. I still have enough to occupy me until they are released or I'll just have to *sigh* get them from "abandonware" sites. I haven't done that since I discovered GOG.

Can it be dumbed-down for hamfisted knuckleheads like me?

Yes it can actually. You can skip the ramp starts and take-offs if you like. There is a simplified avionics mode which lets you have a perfect radar that lets you cycle through targets.

I never really tried those modes though. There are few things more satisfying than starting an F-16 cold, communicating with Air Traffic Control to take off, flying to your target while trying to identify if any of the little dots on your radar screen are hostile, making a precision strike with laser guided bombs and then landing back at base ready for another mission.

I've never played EF2000 though. Aargh! So many good games in one genre alone and not enough time!

How has no one mentioned Lucasarts yet? We need those flight sims and the Rebel Assault games on here pronto.

I've played Freefalcon, also messed around with Falcon BMS a bit, actually it is on my computer now, but never got to the part where I actually got to enjoy the sim.

There have been topics about that before and the general conclusion was that it is better to get them from an abandonware site than not at all and have the old games fade away.
I kinda agree with that.