As the master of US skies, the United States Air Force knows a thing or two about high quality flying and we were tingling in our flight suits when we were commissioned to come up with our list of the Top 25 Flying Games of All Time. Over the years we've come to rely on flying games as one of the staples of any good videogame library, right up there with racers and fighters. Over the years there have been plenty put the best ones offer a marvelous blend of authenticity, sense of speed and rock solid control schemes. The vast majority of our games here are for PC, since most come with huge bonus option of flight stick compatibility, but there are a few console faves scattered around as well.

Click here, win stuff!
Figuring out the Top 25 was tough. Figuring out what games not to include was not. We decided we'd be dealing with fixed-winged flight games almost exclusively so that leaves out all of the helicopter themed games (sorry Desert Strike), hot-air balloon simulators (snore), and quirky/educational games like Pilotwings. There were just too many human cannonball minigames in there for us to feel comfortable with those Nintendo titles. But for the most part you're going to be getting the best of the best. The elite ... even if the atrocious Top Gun isn't included in our countdown.

25. Air Force Delta Strike


This series of flight combat games took the unique approach of adding an extra terrestrial threat to your challenge of defending the skies. Sort of like Will Smith's character in Independence Day, you're a fighter pilot defending Earth from aliens using conventional weaponry. Unlike the Fresh Prince, you had to keep your jet intact because there's no alien saucers for you in this one. Known more for its replays than its gameplay, Air Force Delta Strike looked great on the PS2.

24. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader


Our first Star Wars-themed game on our countdown lets you know even space sims will be counted, and this GameCube exclusive was one of the best. When it launched the GameCube back in 2001 it renewed a whole lot of interest in the flight sequences from the original trilogy because the Factor 5 game was so detailed. Sure enough the grooves in the Mon Calamari cruisers were in the right places and the towers on the Death Star were just as they should be. The Star Destroyer assault missions are still some of our favorite videogame memories.

23. 767 Pilot in Command


This is an add-on to Microsoft Flight Simulator and one of our favorites because we've always wondered what went on behind the cockpit doors of commercial 767s. And this add-on is the real thing allowing you to fly one of the more popular planes in the skies today because of their fuel and passenger efficiency and giving you control over everything right down to the fasten seatbelt light. You'll even hear the flight attendants doing the safety briefing. If they'd only serve cocktails in the cockpit Pilot in Command could've been better than first class.

22. B-17: Air War over Germany


Dropping bombs on Europe was every nation's favorite past time during World War II, and Air War over Germany puts you in the fuselage of the powerful B-17. There's actually more shooting in this game than flying, since you could rotate through the six different gunner's stations around the aircraft. Manning the guns of the Flying Fortress meant you had to roll with all of the bumps and waggles of turbulent combat flying but those with true aim would have no problem with any of this.

21. Jetfighter V: Homeland Protector


Lots of flight combat games have you flying missions over imaginary lands or real-world non-North American locales. Jetfighter V has you piloting missions against -- you guessed it -- terrorists threatening Southern California. The developers used several thousand square miles of satellite-mapped terrain in this game to give you that realistic feel. You just had to supply the precision flying and shooting to take out those enemies.